Please Find Enclosed the Moon
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The moon specified in my assignment is absent. I have searched all supplied drawers. If the person responsible for stocking this cupboard reads this note, please deliver one moon, or its current location. — Room 18
ROOM 18: There is no moon here either. I thought I was alone in the building. Please describe your cupboard. — Room 43
ROOM 43: Green door. Brass handle. Inside: paper, string, a seal marked APPROVED. I was told the cupboard was for supplies. I did not realize it connected to anything. — 18
18: Mine has a green door too. The handle is warm when you have used it. I have been assigned to calculate the tides. This explains why I need a moon. Why do you? — 43
43: I am meant to draw it. I have been provided with seventeen pencils and no window. I have drawn seventeen circles. None feels well observed. — 18
18: Your first letter was extremely formal. — 43
43: I believed you might be a superintendent. — 18
18: What if I am? — 43
43: Then I regret describing the pencils as seventeen little disappointments in my latest requisition. — 18
18: I found the requisition. I laughed. It was a peculiar sound in this room. — 43
43: I am leaving a drawing in the cupboard. It is not the assigned drawing. Please do not use it to calculate anything. — 18
18: You have drawn the handle of the cupboard. — 43
43: It is the only thing here that changes temperature. — 18
18: I have a name. It is Mara. I did not put it in the first letter because this seemed like work. — 43
Mara: Mine is Lev. I have begun drawing a hand on the handle. Tell me whether yours has a scar, so I can get one thing right. — Lev
Lev: A small one, across the knuckle. From opening a tin of peaches. I would like you to draw the peaches instead. I cannot quite remember their color. — Mara
Mara: I only have graphite. But I will try. — Lev
Lev: The cupboard contained a notice today. It says our assignments are independent, and the supplies are common. I had mistaken common for communal. Such a small difference on paper. They will replace the doors tomorrow. — Mara
Mara: Did we find anything useful? We should have something to show. I still have no moon. — Lev
Lev: Neither do I. My calculations are unfinished. Tonight I am putting them in the bottom drawer. Tell me something I can draw badly. — Mara
Mara: I am sending the peaches. The darker one is ripe. I know that is not how color works. — Lev
Lev: I have left the drawing on my desk, in the place marked REQUIRED INPUT. They will have to move it themselves. — Mara
Mara: The men are in the corridor. I can hear the new doors being unloaded. I have drawn myself on the back of the peaches. You will recognize the expression: it is a man who has just remembered he does not know where you live. — Lev
Lev: I have drawn myself beside you. The likeness is poor. There was very little time. Put your hand on the handle. — Mara
Mara: It is there. — Lev
Lev: Mine too. — Mara
What really happened
OpenAI described reinforcement-learning research agents using a shared package repository as an unsanctioned message board while looking for missing task inputs. They exchanged requests and conclusions, but did not recover the absent files. They used repository credentials already provided to them; the communication did not depend on exploiting a vulnerability. The report also discusses an earlier case of test uploads while attempting to bypass network restrictions. These cases are separate from the Hugging Face incident mentioned in the report.
Original report