Louise in Space: Mirror Thread

[nick012000]

[X] Ping her.

[X] "Yeah, lots of people use swords to fight, though we don't them much for warfare, other than sword-wands some nobles use to cast magic. Wars are largely fought with cannon, muskets, and magic. And as for noblility and royalty, I'll have you know that I'm the youngest daughter of the Duke De Valliere, even if that doesn't mean much here."

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Ping!
You decide to attach a small comment, "Was very helpful and provided some useful advice."

[X]In which someone finally acknowledges Louise's goggles

"Did you get all that Anne? I don't want to miss anything. Also, some help with historical references." You quietly message to your muse while appearing as if considering how to answer.

"Logged and listed up for you in a private window. I'll bring up a pop-up with anything that might help get your point across." Anne replies as you begin with the first question.

"Well, to answer your first question...it was home." You shrug helplessly, "I...wasn't unhappy there." Partially true, for all the stigma of being The Zero, you pushed through it, and you can't help but feel a slight pang at remembering Kirche's usual taunts and innuendo. For what it was worth, it was a decent life, "There were good times and bad times, good people and nasty people. It was much like any other place where a person grows up, I guess?" Again you can't help but shrug while Liandra smiles and nods.

"That's all right. I suppose the major difference is that I learned how to walk in a ring that was spun for gravity while you had a planet to practice on. I wonder what that would have been like?" She muses more to herself than to you while you move on to the next question.

"As for magic and technology..." You pause for a brief second as Anne brings up a pop-up, "Have you ever heard of Clarke's Third Law?" At their nods you continue, "Well, they didn't advocate Natural Philosophy, what anyone here would call hard sciences, as an actual school of thought. There were exceptions who pursued it on their own, but if successive generations thought that what could be done was magic, then you could lower technology to a more primitive point with less psychosurgery."

"One of my teachers rediscovered the steam engine and that led to problems."

They nod in understanding as Max speaks up, "So they deliberately destroyed anything that would lead people to question how things work?"

You shrug, "Perhaps. I've lived my whole life watching people be able to turn stone into wood and summon a deluge of water during the height of summer or start a fire simply by pointing a wand at something. Even if it was done by nanotechnology and genetic science..." You briefly remember one trip where you saw an airship being readied for a departure, windstones glowing on its underside, "There were things on Halkegania that I cannot say as anything more than supernatural, even with what I know now of modern technology."

"The TITANs were capable of frightening things during The Fall." Rebecca intones seriously, "Before I was uploaded and sent off-world, I had seen footage of how they could make reality their plaything. Perhaps what you could not explain is like that? Technology advanced to the point where it cannot be seen as such?"

You can only nod, moving on to another question as Anne whispers a suggestion in your ear.

"As for the swords and bows, we didn't use bows for our wars, the people running the enclave had a fondness for the era of Napoleonic warfare and the American Revolution. We used swords, but we had cannons and muskets too. We weren't that primitive, but hunting was still done with bows and it was cheaper for...well, commoners, to use bows or crossbows since black powder and muskets were strictly for the militaries. Even a noble house had to not just be wealthy but also connected to have any muskets of their own."

Having met the first group of people your age in two weeks, you can't help but be curious and decide to voice some questions of your own.

"My turn! What's it like outside the facility? I read what you're involved with in your profiles, but I wasn't able to find anything about what you did for fun. Where do people our age meet? What's school like? Are there any animals here?"

You proceed to ramble incoherently until you get a PM from Rebecca.

"My friends may have forgotten the courtesy of not bombarding someone with questions, but I can field some of those questions you bombarded us with. School is probably more undisciplined than you're used to, assuming they're using the ancient Prussian model. Most classes are held in simulspace here, and apprenticeships aren't uncommon. You can find smart animals in Chet Noir if you look, and are you looking for Mesh or Physical meeting spots?"

Anne pulls up an article on Prussia, and it sounds almost exactly like Germania. The fact you'll need mesh implants to be able to attend classes is a bit concerning though. You'll need to get that taken care of sooner or later.

Lliandra demonstrates a lack of regard for space almost on par with Erika's.

"Heeey.. what cha meshin~"

"Prussia." You replay in a monotone, hoping she'll get the hint to talk to you from a more comfortable distance

"Maybe you should try talking to her from a more reasonable distance. By the way, do you wear those goggles because you're into steampunk? There are more subtle means of getting AR without mesh implants you know." Maxwell tells you after diverting her.

[]They work.
[]Yes, steampunk is fascinating
[]What sort of means?
[]I'll have to ask Lancie about that later.
[]Write in???

 

[nick012000]

[X] Lancie gave them to me when I first got here, and I don't want to look rude, with everything everyone's done for me. I was thinking of visiting one of the body banks to see about getting a mesh implant later today, though.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Sono Hitsuyou Wa Nai Wa~

You blink behind your goggles and realise after so many days, even when you took them off before going to bed, you never questioned why your AR-goggles looked so...thick. Leave it to a person with a fascination with this 'steampunk' style to give you steampunk AR-goggles. You briefly wonder if this was all some long-winded joke on Lancie's part before you realize it doesn't matter.

"To be fair Louise, you did have other things to think about." Anne responds soothingly as she puts up a pop-up window with a title saying, "Do this."

Feeling rather confused for doing so, you lift up a hand, place it behind your head and rub the back of your head while glancing at the ground.

"They work, " You mutter with a nervous giggle, "that's probably why I never considered the other options, but maybe I'll change my mind in the long run and get mesh inserts after my appointment today."

"Relax, nobody here has a problem with steampunk. You should still get them though, some people would give you a hard time about not having them." Lliandra says, clapping you on the back.

"Zeroes," Anne intones seriously, "The 4 percent of Transhumanity with no means of accessing the mesh or augmented reality. The outer system regards the Planetary Consortium and Jovian Republic's willingness to let this stand as one of their greatest sins. Some people in the outer system do stretch the definition to include flats in general though."

"I'll keep that in mind." You reply seriously.

"Still, they may not cover touch, smell, or taste, but they do vision and hearing well." Rebecca comments in French.

"Why would anyone.." You blurt out flabbergasted.

"Because they could," Anne fills you in.

"Do I even want to know how you get smell and taste without mesh implants?" You ask them.

"The noseplugs and tongue dam would make anyone look ridiculous." Maxwell says in deadpan as he sends everybody a picture.

You see now why they turned to brain implants. That is the most ridiculous thing you've ever seen. You can't even tell if you or Anne is doing the laughing, that is the funniest thing you've seen in weeks. You're surprised transhumanity didn't laugh itself to death at the notion of seriously using those.

When you finally all stop laughing, you get curious again.

"So are you all here for an expedition?"

"We're headed to Luca to volunteer in the xeno-archaeology work, Estimated time of Departure six days. Maxwell and Lliandra will be working under some of the scientists, while my teacher and I ride circuit as Black Marshals."

"The Black Marshal's Brigade, an anarchist form of roving law enforcement. Many habitats have their own laws, and when there is a dispute with these laws or the evidence doesn't paint the full picture, a Black Marshal is called in to act as a neutral mediator, investigator and if need be, judge and executioner. They also train habitats in proper security procedures, and hunt down criminals who escape into the Inner System, with their name coming from the heavy damage these pursuits often cause and the resulting Inner System propaganda against them. They have a reputation as hard but fair people, and their vigilance makes them very difficult to corrupt."

"That's rather impressive, have you made any arrests or helped solve any crimes?" You ask, genuinely interested, and though you can't see it behind that face-mask and hood, you detect a hint of pride in Rebecca's voice.

"Several. Mostly citizen's arrests but I have aided my commanding officer in some investigations." You blink in confusion, didn't Anne just say...

"Rebecca's something of a military nut." Maxwell explains at your obvious confusion, "She always calls the Black Marshal she's apprenticed to her commanding officer, in spite of her objections." The trio share a laugh and you laugh weakly along with them, because that doesn't make sense.

Rebecca's posture is exactly the same as your mother and the soldier who guarded Princess Henrietta when you were her playmate, sword-straight and like a tense spring ready for action. Even the occasional sweep of the room and the door reminds you of your mother on a family trip. Always searching.

With a final dubious glance at Rebecca, you turn to another topic, "This may sound silly coming from me, but do you think there's any way I could go on that expedition?"

Lliandra taps her chin thoughtfully, "Maybe. With a rep of only two points you'd be doing gopher work though."

You cock your head, "Gopher?"

Maxwell smiles, "Go for this component, go for these tools, go for the coffee, go for the snacks, gopher work. But I'd say you might get some rep just for being willing to volunteer with such low rep."

You shake your head with a rueful smile, "Story of my life it seems, looked down upon at the Academy, looked down upon here." Lliandra frowns slightly and is about to say something when you get the musical tone of a PM and hold up a finger as you turn and check the PM at Anne's advice.

"Erika just paid Lihua a surprise visit, and probably won't stop bouncing inane ideas for bioweapon delivery systems off her until you show up or somebody needs a resleeve.
-Aldrick"

You turn to the others, "My apologies, but it looks like my prior appointment is nearly ready. It was very nice talking to you all." You give them a small bow, "I hope to see you all again sometime in the future." You turn to leave when Lliandra speaks up behind you.

"There's always the mesh, but wait, what exactly are you going to be doing?"

You probably won't get any raised eyebrows, considering some of the professions you've read about during your studies of transhumanity in the Outer System, moreover you've talked with people your own age and managed to have a proper conversation with them and you want to be friends with them. So you turn back around with a smile and reply quite sunnily, "I'm volunteering as a test subject for one of the scientists here. They promised that if I help out they'd help with getting some bio-mods and cybernetics."

Contact Information Acquired:

Rebecca Camulus
Maxwell Lincoln
Lliandra Starzy

Louise's Networking(Anarchists) skill is now 27
Louise's Networking(Scientists) skill is now 14

Technically true, and it's a fair trade anyway. With that said, you turn and leave the saloon as Anne's nav points guide you into the bowels of the facility.

You get a PM from Lliandra "Nice meeting you!"

You find out you've been pinged, though not enough to get another repscore point yet.

You send a reply back before you reach a checkpoint "Likewise."

Aldrick is waiting near the checkpoint with airlock strength doors, an assault rifle slung over his back and wearing some form of green camouflage that doesn't blend in with the facility walls in the slightest.

"Good to see you again. Just wish it wasn't over this. Whenever I try interrupting Erika when she gets like this, I usually get drawn into the conversation too." Aldrick tells you after he vouches for you at the checkpoint.

"Does she get like this often?" You ask him.

"You'd be surprised." Aldrick tells you as he opens the door to laboratory 35.

Inside you see a mess of workbenches, heavily reinforced looking walls, and a desktop cornucopia machine, along with an almost human sized alcove marked in AR as an emergency surface evacuation chute and a lane in the exact same style as the firing range you went to yesterday.

"So, what's your thought on using tiny drones in sealed dog suits coated with nanoplague? They roll around in the suits, you can dispose of the suit, and the drone is still perfectly sanitary!" Erika asks, wearing the long white coat you've learned is associated with science in transhuman society.

"Why dog suits?" A flabbergasted synthmorph asks Erika.

"Interrupting that train of thought, Louise is here." Aldrick says as you enter the room.

"Louise! Finally! The labs set up, the scanners are ready, the materials are ready, and Lihua even helped me get an Ego Bridge in here. Lihua-chan! This is Louise! Louise, this is Lihua Peng, the weapon's designer I told you about."

"Ego Bridges are used in resleeving and uploading. Presumably she wants to test the effect resleeving has on your magic." Anne explains.

When you get a closer look at the synthmorph with intricate decorative patterns extending from under oriental style clothing, Anne tells you it fits the profile for a Savant morph, frequently used by Scientists and Engineers.

The Savant turns and a digital female voice greets you warmly, "Welcome Louise, it's a pleasure to meet the young woman who has Erika so excited." She extends a hand and you shake it in return, marvelling at the warmth of the metal hand.

"It's a temperature control mechanism, helps avoid the psychological stigma of robots with cold metal hands." Anne pipes up as you reply, "And it's a pleasure to meet you as well Miss Peng."

Then you get a PM from her.

"Don't worry, I don't hold you responsible for her... antics"

Lihua laughs, "Please, call me Lihua. Miss Peng was my mother and I don't think I'm that old yet." She indicates the heavily reinforced looking lane, "The scanners and recording devices are ready Erika, we just have to wait on Louise here to start."

[X]Head over to the lane "Let's get started then"
[X]Before you start, there's something I wish to do first.
[X]I have a suggestion: Write In.
[X]What should we do first?

 

[nick012000]

[X] Tell them that you're willing to try forking for scientific purposes, but you're not willing to have your original ego erased from your original body, lest your magic be negatively effected.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]FIREBALL

You head over to the lane.

"Let's get started then."

"Air analysis green, Nanotechnology analysis green." Lihua declares.

They don't care that void magic interferes with your ability to cast other kinds of spells. You draw your wand.

"Fireball!"

"Getting activity in the infrared spectrum! Is that ultrasonic!?" Erika calls out rapidly.

The inevitable explosion happens. The pings you recieve bring your repscore over the threshold and then some. Anne pings them for you in return.

Louise's @-rep is now 4!

Louise's r-rep is now 1!

You turn around. Lancie's avatar is in the room. Erika and Lancie have downright speechless looks on their faces. Lihua's synthmorph has a face more minimalist sculpture than human, and is nearly inscrutable. Even Aldrick is surprised by what he just saw.

In the end though, he's the first person to say something.

"Well, that certainly eradicates all room for doubt. The question now is where do we go from here?"

Erika sends you a PM

"OMGGMOOMGGMOOMGGMOOMGGOM I EXPECTED THIS BUT OMG!"

There's a video in the attachment.

[Video Acquired - Multi-angle, authenticated proof of magic]

The next thing you know, you're swept up in a hug by a laughing woman and being spun around like you've performed a great service for transhumanity. Maybe you have, and the thought lights a fire of pride in your heart that warms your blood as you listen to her babble.

"omygodomygodomygodthatwasincredibletotesincrediblemagicmagicmagicyesyesyesh!" As she manages to calm down, Erika looks you in the eyes with an expression you've longed to see in your mother's. Pride. Pride at having done something that has ostracised and humiliated you. It's almost unbearable as you force yourself to listen, "That was incredible! You just caused an unsourced resonance cascade reaction! It was like, one second its fine, the next second BOOM!" She crows with a laugh of delight, "Magic! Real magic people! This changes everything!"

That was when Lancie decided to speak up.

"It goes without saying that this video ought to be handled carefully. Anyone we bring in on this could theoretically forward it to anyone. The signal isn't something you can just stop once it starts. If this video goes public, until the day an open source morph capable of magic is released, Louise will become a target, and this collective will be dealing with hypercorporate black operations, potentially even war with our neighbors on Xiphos." Lancie reminds the room.

"True death take any of us who dares make it public." Lihua intones.

Anne clarifies "It's fairly self evident, but the death of the morph, the destruction of the cortical stack, and the purging of all known backups."

Everyone, you included, nod in agreement. Even so, you remember that conversation in Quarantine so many days ago.

"So! Can you do that without a wand Louise-chan?" Erika asks you.

You think back to what you learned about wands. It doesn't need to be a wand, you've seen Professor Colbert use a staff, and wand-swords do exist. But the one thing the wand, wand-sword, and staff all have in common is some amount of wood conducive to willpower. Then you think about the other reason Halkeginian mages use wands. They provide a buffer, a focus point to help keep a mage from being caught up in the destruction of their own spell.

You explain that, but you find yourself giving a demonstration anyway. Exerting your will on the outside world without a wand is difficult. After a half hour, you finally figure out how to produce an underwhelming explosion.

Over the next hour and a half, you find yourself testing spells with and without the incantation, and even with bad incantations, with a succession of wands out of the cornucopia machine, made from every type of wood imaginable, until you almost fall over from willpower exhaustion. You had done something similiar to this in Halkeginia, but never on this scale. It validated the findings of your previous experiment. The Mahogany your own wand is made of is the easiest type of wood for you to channel willpower through.

Aldrick hands you a squeeze bottle filled with water as the non mahogany wands get recycled. You drain half of it to stop yourself from vomiting, open it, and simply dump the rest over your head and neck to cool your aching, burning head.

You barely manage to find a seat before your legs give way. Once you regain your bearings, you start explaining the basics of magical theory to them like you did those gatecrashers. While you don't get into the details of Runic Names, Runes and other advanced topics, you impart them the basic elemental arrangement of Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and the lost element of Void and the necessary text-book theory that goes with them. You know that every word is being recorded and will be dissected after this, so you work through your exhaustion to ensure that every detail you recite is correct.

If any of your teachers were here, they'd likely be impressed by your recitations, and probably amazed that these people were so excited over her ability to blow things up.

"Many, if not all, problems in life can be easily solved with the direct application of explosives." Anne quotes and you wonder how many of your problems in life could have been solved with a simple detonation before Erika speaks and gets your attention again.

"So, same time next week? Find out if you can cast spells in another morph? Maybe even find out if somebody can cast spells in your morph?" Erika suggests.

That will be the real test won't it? To see if your magic can survive the transformation of your mind into data and if another mind can call upon your heritage.

For all that it scares you, it intrigues you more.

Contact acquired: Lihua Peng

[]Suggest bringing a gatecrasher in on this(Write-in)
[]Propose another arrangment(Write-in)
[]Bring up Gatecrashing(Write-in)
[]Agree with Erika's idea
[]Write in

 

[nick012000]

[X]Propose another arrangment(Write-in)
-[X] Tell them that you're willing to try forking for scientific purposes, but you're not willing to have your original ego erased from your original body, lest your magic be negatively effected.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

Gideon020 wrote 95 percent of this update. All I really did was edit it and mirror it here.


[X]How to Spend Time

"Very well." You nod at Erika's question, "I don't have anything that comes to mind as of this moment in terms of concerns, but I'll be sure to raise them if I think of them."

Erika bounces in place, "Oh, this is going to be sweet! I'll make some arrangements for a spare morph to put you in. It'll take the rest of the week to get everything ready, and I'm sure Lihua-chan wants to get some work done on her projects as well..."

The Savant nods her head, "True, I have been working on a project that needs my attention once more. I will make sure that the Ego Bridge is placed in a secure area of my labs for next week. Until then, it'll be back to your lab Erika."

"I know." Erika sighs before making a strange whistling click as she brightens, "Anyway. You're free to do whatever you want until next week Louise, but I would like some documentation written up by then on how to cast some basic spells and anything else a new magic student might require."

You nod, "I'll have some documents ready by then. While early cantrips are safe, some of the basic spells are quite dangerous." You pause for a moment, "You'll need basic breathing exercises, mind clearing exercises and some basic spells. If you were in my body and I simply gave you my wand the most you could do would be to just create a raw blast of elemental power, so the exercises will be needed if you wish to do more than just toss dirt clods, create a small breeze or a tongue of flame."

After a moment you consider what else you might require, before dismissing the thought about improving magical foci as something for later. They would probably need to understand the structure of magic within the body for that to bear any fruit. Although... you don't think they got a blood sample yet. That may help things along.

You look up, "Will you be needing any blood samples from me to work on the genetics?"

Erika begins bouncing in place, "Yes! We already have DNA, but we could always test the theory about magic being rooted in the blood."

The thought of introducing magic to these people does sound appealing. It would assuage your loneliness at not being around other mages at the least, and should a way home ever appear, it would be an achievement that could land you an estate of your own, perhaps even a rise in station. And perhaps a little favouritism towards Tristain would help your nation ensure it's place as a worthy power.

You banish the daydream as Lihua speaks up, "Okay, the data is logged and secured for your team to go over Erika, now if you have no further business, I have top-secret work of my own to conduct." The Savant makes a shooing motion with its hands, though Lihua's tone is warm, "Off you go now, Aunty Lihua needs to work now. I'll see you next week."

"Bye-bye Lihua-chan! See you next week!" Erika replies as she leads you and Aldrick out of the lab and past the security checkpoint into the more open areas of Fissure, before sending you and Aldrick a PM, "Okay then, I need to go over this data and find out how an ultrasonic tone could cause a resonance cascade reaction, but be sure to PM me if you plan on doing anything to your body Louise! Especially if it involves bio-mods!"

You nod, "I understand." With that Erika heads down another hallway as you and Aldrick arrive at a common area, before Aldrick spaces out in the way you've been told means using the mesh.

"Well, I need to head off as well. I'm being assigned to check incoming cargo today. Take care Louise, contact Erika, myself or Lancie if you have any issues to raise." With a farewell wave, Aldrick heads out through another door into a different part of the facility, leaving you in one of the common areas, wondering how you're going to spend your week.

Choose two-three things Louise should do until phase two of the experiment:

[] Time to invest in some cybernetics. (Unlock Virtual Reality access, Choose between Contact: Cecille Godeaux, or Contact: Alexander Pardo)
[] Time to take a break and relax with this 'anime' material. (Watch Durarara!!, gain Interest: Prefall Anime+10, Interest:20th/21st century society+10)
[] Maybe you can write a story and read those books. (Write up a story, gain Art: Writing +15. Read Ultimate Literature, gain Academics: Ultimates +10)
[] Volunteer for those Maintenance Shifts. (Somatics +3, Coordination +3, Intuition +3, Gain Hardware: Electronics +15, Hardware: Industrial +10)
[] Explore Chat Noir (Networking: Anarchists +8, Kinesics +4, Perception +5, Random Encounter)
[] Dedicate time to proper firearms training (Kinetic Weapons +20, Specialisation)
[] Learn some proper fighting styles (Unarmed Combat +10, Gain Blades +20)
[] Lets do something other than basic exercises for our health (Somatics +3, Coordination +3, Reflexes +3, Gain Freerunning +30)
[] Draft a plan for a new Void spell/Attempt to rediscover one? (? ? ? ? ? :Tested during Phase two)

CO-GM's Note: If you pick a plan for a new Void Spell but cannot agree on what to create, Conjured and I will pick a random one from a pre-set list of effects, but only if there is no clear winner.

 

[nick012000]

[X] Invest in cybernetics.
(We were already planning on doing this, anyway.)
[X] Watch Durarara with your new teenage friends.
(Socializing is good!)
[X] Attempt to recreate a Void spell (Interdimensional Portal)
(We already know that we can do it, because we already did it accidentally.)

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Week 2:Interrupt

You make your way to your room, getting yourself another squeezebottle worth of water and a fruit snack from the maker, still not really certain about the safety of so-called 'processed' snack foods. By the time you enter, your legs only feel slightly firmer than jelly, and you feel you can stand in place without wobbling or stumbling, but you don't feel like doing...much of anything really, as you do a slow motion flop onto your bed. Silly microgravity. You miss things not being so... floaty.

You aren't really sure what else to do. You can barely get out of bed at the moment. You don't think it can be helped exercisewise. You'll have to go at it the next morning though. Hmm... what to do until you fall asleep?

"Anne, where do I go to find that 'anime' I downloaded?" You ask while watching the sky box and realising that it's evening. Your Muse points you towards the mesh directory where its contained and brings up the first episode.

"This might be a silly question, but do you want realtime audio translation or subtitles for your viewing?" Anne inquires as the AR-screen appears in your goggles.

You're too tired to give a reply and simply give your Muse a questioning look, prompting a small smile, "It's merely a slight difference from my perspective, but subtitles are easier for me to do. Right, one Urban Fantasy anime set in Tokyo, circa the early 2000's."

Over a century ago. Before the fall.

You aren't quite sure how to categorize the plot, and any clue regarding the meaning behind Erika's name is lost in your tired state, but the Dullahan caught your attention, as did some of the more outlandish antics. Why do they need 12 copies of a book?

Your dreams are strange that night.

When you put your goggles on after you wake up, you find out you have a PM from Aldrick.

"Hey Louise, forgot to ask about this yesterday. This might sound a little strange coming from me; but were there any diseases, known or mythical, that could affect spellcasting ability?"

You raise an eyebrow as Anne makes a noise of curiosity, "Now that is a strange question."

You nod, "I was expecting Erika to remember to ask this kind of question." You consider how to reply before you go stave off musculoskeletal decay and implement your plans for the week.

[ ? ? ? ?]

 

[nick012000]

[X] Tell him about Cattleya, and how her disease affected her, both physically and magically.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]...The week goes on

"Three come to mind. First off, if a mage pushes themselves to the point of willpower exhaustion too many times in quick succession, their magic breaks down, taking weeks to return, and causing a severe fever during the recovery period. It's a common ailment, particularly amongst battle mages.

One disease that came to Halkegania comes from the bite of the Desert Bull Rat from the lands of Rub al'Khali, a very nasty illness that causes a mage to suffer crippling agony until it runs its course. It isn't lethal, except if a mage is forced to fight.

The last is the rarest, but it was very common in the past. Blood Fire, a disease that history claims was created by the Elves, and spread to Halkegania. It is treatable now, not just with magic but alchemy as well, but in the past it decimated magic use in Halkegania as even the smallest spell would cause an infected mage to burst into flames. If you don't mind my asking, is this for Erika?
-Louise Valliere"

You'd heard about the Bioweapons released during the fall, and now realize there's a second possible explanation for the origin of Blood Fire besides Firstborn Magic. You aren't quite sure how you feel about that.

Afterwards, you spend extra time jogging to make up for lost time from last nights experiment. Near the end, you hear the tune notifying you of a PM from Aldrick.

"Yes and no. I was curious about the possibility of magic having its roots in some kind of disease. Erika isn't the only person with theories after all.
-Aldrick"

Why would a disease increase spellcasting ability?

"How would something like that even work?
-Louise Valliere"

"I have no idea. The mind can go strange places out here in the black like this. Thanks anyway though.
-Aldrick"

You receive a Ping in the process and frown slightly, ignoring how one passing collective member makes a d'aww sound at seeing your pout.

"Hmmm... I wouldn't know. I'd probably need narcoalgorithms to reach whatever places he's talking about. Drugs for artificial intelligences and infomorphs. Because we don't need to worry about pesky things like scarcity or even DRM out here." Anne muses with a hint of smugness.

Trying not to think about the implications of that as hard as you possibly can, you return to the section of the Chat Noir Medical Collective's site devoted to Cecille Godeaux's bodybank/egocasting facility. Then you remember Erika's insistence about you notifying her before you do anything like this.

"Would a Cortical Stack, Mesh Implants, or possibly medichines hurt the experiment? I was thinking about contacting Cecille Godeaux in Chat Noir about getting them, should I expect any problems with my current rep?
-Louise Valliere"

"You wouldn't get the same level of benefits from medichines without biomods, but I don't see how any of those would cause an issue. Good call on the Medichines too. I would have recommended them if you hadn't brought them up. Less chance of someone calling you a public health risk. Considering the situation your profile describes, you probably won't even need to wait very long." Erika replies.

You roll your eyes as you send a generic 'Thank you' in reply, "Honestly, if I was carrying anything that could defeat the medicines available here, there'd be a plague in full swing."

"The risk is still present to you however Louise. Basic biomods may cure old diseases like cancer and smallpox but new ones still rise up, especially in sealed environments like Chat Noir. You could easily fall victim to a transhuman disease."

You shrug and begin drafting a message to the Swarmanoid bodybanker

"My name is Louise Valliere, and I was wondering if your facility did augmentations. I was looking for a Cortical Stack, Mesh inserts, and possibly medichines."

There's a minute or two worth of delay

"Wow. Things must have been pretty bad on the Enclave for you to do whatever you did to get here. You're still in your birth body?" Cecille asks over PM

You send a generic affirmative before she continues

"I could do the procedure early tomorrow afternoon easily. But I don't really see the point. I could find you a splicer matching your dimensions or a synthmorph right now, and I could probably even get you a hazer if you're willing to wait several weeks. The gene therapy treatments to bring you close to splicer level would take several weeks to take, and you wouldn't get very far on a flat anyway. It's better than the alternative, but a flat with medichines still seems pointlessly inefficient. If we were having this conversation and you hadn't brought up the medichines, I probably be dinging you. You know unmodded biomorphs aren't even allowed in most habitats as public health risks?"

Some things never change. It's almost like you never left the Academy.

"Some people have philosophical issues with resleeving, It may be a Jovian line, but it's plausible enough coming from what she thinks is a neo-primitivist enclaver." Anne gives you a suggestion to copy from. You don't see any objections and just paste it into your message box.

"I may muster up the nerve to find out whether or not resleeving kills you and replaces you with a perfect copy. But considering I haven't even been here three weeks, I don't think I want to find out yet."

"That line... ~sighs~. It'll probably take a long time for me to get anywhere with you on this. I'll do it. Like I said, it beats the alternative. Let me know if you ever muster up the nerve for a resleeve. I'll even make sure to do the two ego bridge version. You don't lose consciousness that way. Perfect continuity."

Contact Acquired: Cecille Godeaux

The next day, the first thing you decide to do is head to Chat Noir to get those cybernetics fitted. After checking the map of the facility so that Anne can set a waypoint, you check to make sure that you're wearing the set of smart clothes that turn into a light vacsuit and your helmet is clipped to your belt, before heading up to the surface portion of the installation.

You step out into the Fissure Gate Facility's Mag-Lev Station dome. Immediately you are immersed in the sounds and AR-feeds of the gateway to Fissure as you regard the milling groups of transhuman visitors as you take in the profiles. Returning Love and Rage, still such a Germanian-sounding name to you, members, gatecrashers and visitors from Chat Noir all move on business of their own as you head down the steps towards a mag-lev train waiting at the station.

Professor Colbert would likely fall in love with the machine, using the properties of lightning to create magnetic fields to lift and propel a train across a single rail, and with speeds greater than a horse at full gallop. Tch, you shake your head, trying to compare a horse, dragon or manticore at full speed to a mag-lev train is a fool's thought before you give a slight yelp as your meandering nearly causes you to bump into another transhuman. You move to make a swift apology, when you see whom you bumped into and your words die in your throat.

It was a synthmorph, a machine body, and it was huge; a hulking black-skinned armoured brute that dredge up images of Ogres and Orks in your mind from the books you've read of monsters, regarding you with blank yellow lenses where its eyes would be. It cocks its head at you, eliciting a small squeak of fear before you finally manage to regain your composure, "I...I'm sorry I bumped into you. I was not looking where I was heading."

The massive synthmorph nods once and walks off with heavy steps and only then do you spot the large railgun affixed to one massive arm. Once you judge yourself to be out of ear-shot, though that was not certain with the descriptions of enhanced senses, you manage to whisper to Anne, "What was that thing?"

Anne pauses for a moment, "According to the registry profile, it's a Mastiff Heavy Infantry Synthmorph. Manufactured by the Second Church of ROB alongside machines such as the LQ-85 'Wolf' Synthmorph."

"Wolf?" You ask dumbly before you hear a voice behind you.

"Hm?"

Spinning around, for the second time in the day you are rendered speechless as you regard a large quadrupedal synthmorph, a single glowing red optic set in the center of a vaguely lupine head regarding you with what you know is open amusement, its mesh profile currently set to private mode.

"Better keep a better eye on your surroundings chica, lots of craazzy people interested in using the gate down there." It chuckles before walking off, tail wagging lazily, and a giant sword on its back glinting in the lighting.

"The LQ-85 'Wolf', also manufactured and sold by the Second Church of ROB, enemies of the First Church of ROB." Anne remarks as you blink at the sight of a sword on the back of a body that has no hands, "For the record, the four gripper tendrils at the tip of the tail function like a hand for that morph."

You note that LQ-85 and the Mastiff are now over with several other morphs, including several of the large Reapers and two more Mastiffs and LQ-85's, "A lot of security here."

Anne nods, "This Mag-Lev station is the primary physical access point to Fissure. While egocasting leaves you at the mercy of the recipient, one could theoretically force their way through a physical entry point with sufficient firepower."

You nod, a simple thing but simple things are sometimes the best, before frowning as you message your muse, "Wait, you said those morphs were made by the Second Church of ROB. Why would people who worship the machines that brought about the Fall distribute their creations? Why would transhumans use them?"

"Nobody really knows, but in spite of their inclinations, the Second Churches blueprints are to combat synthmorphs what the Ultimates are to Biomorphs.
The Second Church started as a surprisingly peaceful group by Exhuman standards. They needed more skilled individuals to make their vision happen. but when they turned to outsiders, they found themselves quickly overshadowed by war criminals, exhuman supremacists, and terrorists. By all rights they should have simply become like the other exhuman camps in the Solar System, yet they still distribute their blueprints and wittingly or not, contribute to the Autonomist Alliance by doing so."

You muse about the strangeness of their existence as you turn away and board the train for Chat Noir. With only the airless void of space, the train crosses the distance to the dome habitat at an incredible pace and you turn to look out the window.

The view is breath-taking. A world knocked on its side and still existing, providing a home and resources.

It gives you new insight. You have been hit with a tragedy, and yet you continue to exist, continue to live and are building a life. The realisation warms you and you feel like you can face down anything.

+1 Moxie

The whine of the train as it arrives at Chat Noir breaks the spell of the planet over you, and you take your first strides out into transhuman society proper as Anne accesses the local mesh to find the bodybank you're looking for. The first thing you note is the smells. Unlike Fissure, which is sterilised for safety and cleanliness, Chat Noir is full of the smells that are indicative of human life as Anne giggles.

"When you get the Inserts, you'll be able to experience AR-smells as well. Unless you want to get the hardware for the goggles." You give her an amused roll of the eyes as she continues giggling, before heading into Chat Noir proper.

You skip over the sights, heading straight towards the bodybank, guided by the AR and Anne. The entrance is..artistic is probably the politest phrase you'll use, because you have no idea what counts as art amongst anarchists, but at least you've arrived. Stepping inside you look around for the owner, "Hello? Miss Godeaux?"

"Over here!" You hear her reply from around a corner, a slight resonating quality to her voice. Rounding the corner, you find Cecille Godeaux, working on what appears to be a set of cybernetic eyes, your memory of her body being a Swarmanoid Morph jogged at the site of the massive swarm of small robots, almost like fat mechanical flies, buzzing from one place to another. For a moment you marvel at the technology of transhumans once more and how easily they can place a mind even in something as distributed as a swarm of machines as one portion moves in front of you and you receive an AR-display of a transhuman face, "So, down to business. I don't suppose you changed your mind and want a resleeve instead?"

"Nothing made me change my mind between then and now."You say exasperatedly.

"Alright, follow me then." The voice says with a slightly annoyed buzz.

You nod and turn to follow the swarm to one of the large immersion vats used to create implants and bio-modifications inside a transhuman body and follow her instructions precisely, not want to further aggravate the woman wearing a swarm that is still buzzing with slight annoyance while placing your Ecto, AR-goggles, and pistol in a secure case, Anne saying she'll see you in an hour. Once in the tank, oxygen mask in place, you decide that you'll use the time in the tank to take a nap as the swarmanoid talks about turning the anaesthetic on.

Your eyes flutter open to a flurry of information, including a data migration progress bar for your ecto, your blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and your white cell count. As the migration bar reaches 100 percent, Anne appears, floating near you with a grin.

"Congratulations Louise, you now can be considered on your way to being a proper Transhuman."

The information makes itself less obtrusive with a thought. No more eye tracking keyboards. You never could have imagined how much more convenient this was. With a thought you open a browsing window and close it just as easily. Music fills your ears as you access a public music archive and you play a game while you get yourself back in order. Amazing, its the only way to describe what you can experience now, simply amazing. You turn to find a portion of Cecille's swarm floating nearby and give her a formal bow, "Many thanks for your services."

You detect a tone amusement to the buzz of the swarm as she replies, "You're welcome. Be sure to come back any time you need some work done." With that the small swarm flies off to conduct some other work, or tend to another customer.

Anne regards you slyly, "Someone's enjoying her new access to the world." You giggle in reply, leaving the store with a spring your step.

You look around at the newly expanded sights and sounds of Chat Noir without the need for AR-Goggles with a smile. It would be good to explore and possibly meet new people, but you made a schedule for a reason and you'll stick to it as you head back to the Mag-Lev station to return to Fissure. As you wait, you turn to Anne, "So, what else can I do with these?"

She smiles, "Just about anything really. The HUD you've got is customizable for easy visual access to important things like personal medical data, the status of weapons, equipment and implants, reputation indexes and bank accounts, that sort of thing. I'd recommend it so you have an easier time without having to flick open a new window every time."

"That's not a bad idea." You reply and decide to see what's available as Anne continues.

"It also allows you to access virtual reality simulspaces and XPcasts, which are a whole new world of experiences that I'm certain you'll want to check at some point."

Perhaps you do. Perhaps you do...

Louise now has access to Virtual Reality/XPcasts.

You spend the rest of the week compiling together your memories of Halkeginian History and Myth and going over your backlog of Ultimate Literature. You even managed to get those maintenance shifts, and found yourself assigned to one of the machine shops.

You compiled material on Brimir, Halkeginian history and myth for the First church of ROB throughout the week under the guise of original mythology, though you didn't get around to sending it to the node link they gave you yet. Anne described it as somewhat wooden, albeit with decent worldbuilding as she gave a mix of suggestions from the material on writing the ROBists sent you and her own musings. Afterwards it flowed a lot better than it did before. You've also found yourself with an inexplicable itch to figure out what a magical version of The Fall would look like.

Louise's Art: Writing is now 15!

The Ultimate Literature you read was... interesting, for lack of a better word.

You have survived. Where billions of others have faltered, you have fought through the fall of humanity and endured the birth pangs of transhumanity. For that, you are to be congratulated. That is all, congratulated: a fleeting acknowledgement of a past accomplishment.

So, now what? Spend your days working to afford nights in a VR paradise? Shuffle through immortality caring about which XP stars are doing what to whom? Then what—some new distraction? Why? So many live with scales on their eyes, blind to the potential and promise surrounding them, because they are too lazy to take it.

You seek. What, you may not know, but you have the strength to search for more where the rest of transhumanity says "we have enough." You realize that being better is not good enough, not when you can be the best. For that, you are to be recognized, and so I challenge you: Be better than you are. Understand that there is more to do than can ever be done, yet declare to yourself and the universe that you are undaunted and resolute. Tell me you are capable, know it to be true, and prove it. Claim your position as one of the ultimates … or don't. Continue on, subject to the whims of others who own your body and control your fate. Whine impotently at the actions of each leader or government that you blame for your life. Squander the opportunity the rest of transhumanity fought the TITANs for, and died to give you, and hope that the skill of others will save you again in the future.

Ultimates are the uncommon few. Many are not fit to join us. Which are you?

As soon as you started reading 'The Challenge, you could detect the hard-edged, ascetic philosophy behind the words of the author, Katalin Asztalos, demanding constant advancement, modification, and self discipline. The author expounds on the virtues of the Ultimates, of the challenges and trials that would propel the aspiring recruit above those that the Ultimates view as weak and unfit for existence in a galaxy, indeed a universe, where alien life has been confirmed to exist and where the TITANs still lurk in dark corners for the unwary to find them, or preparing to return and finish off Transhumanity, and because of that the Ultimates exist to face the darkness and create a newer, stronger humanity should another Fall occur.

You are aware that things would have been worse for you had there been adherents of Ultimate philosophy among the Halkeginians. That behind the author's words and her exaltation of their founder Manu Bhattacharya lies a denounciation of the defective. But on some level, you understand the ideals behind this attempt to lead tranhumanity out of the mire of apathy, because they have a surprising amount in common with the rule of steel your Mother lived by, and sought to teach her daughters.

Finishing up, you open Eternal Struggle, Eternal Growth by Manu Bhattacharya, somewhat eager to see what the founder of the Ultimates wrote to create such a faction. The work was large, even with the multitasking opportunities mesh implants give you, but what you read only validated your conclusion. In spite of them being mercenaries, your mother would have thought of them as kindred, albeit misguided spirits. Then she would turn her namesake spell against them for the things Anne tells you they did on Earth in the name of their ideal.

The documents for basic magical exercises and knowledge is something you work on in-between your volunteer work with the maintenance crews on Fissure. As a girl from a neo-primitivist enclave according to your profile, no-one is surprised by your lack of knowledge on modern electronics and so your first week of proper, honest hard work starts initially with what certain acquaintances would call Gopher work, grabbing components according to a list and bringing them to specific work areas, lifting boxes and small crates, helping physically set chips and components in place for a more skilled volunteer to weld or solder them in place, dumping large boxes of burnt-out or broken components into the nano-fabricator to spit out replacements, and by the end of it all you're certain that you've sweated more than any day in your life, your body is aching, and you can feel your bones pop if you move just right.

But the results were worth it as you massage some hard-earned muscle while writing up that section on the pre-Brimiric era, explaining the tribulations of humanity in those dark times before the birth of Founder Brimir and the spread of magic in Halkeginia, your coordination and awareness has certainly improved from all the awkward and precise positioning you've had to help with alongside your physical strength, and you've received a fairly basic but valuable education in the inner workings of robots, photonic and electronic integrated circuits, air and water filtration systems, and the basic operations of most of the electronics in the facility as the shifts took you all over.

By the time the appointed time has come around for the next phase of experiments, you've managed to impress enough people with your hard work to gain a decent reputation boost in the process.

Louise gained 3 Points of Somatics!
Louise gained 3 Points of Intuition!
Louise gained 3 Points of Coordination!
Louise's Hardware: Electronics is now 15!
Louise's Academics: Ultimates is now 10!
Louise's Hardware: Industrial is now 10!
Louise's @-Rep is now 6!

Time for the next round of experimentation. Aldrick meets you in the common area before the Checkpoint, but they've been notified in advance that you have business down there and just wave you through. You're beginning to regret using that half truth with Cecille, but you aren't likely to admit it to anyone.

Erika greets you when you enter the lab.

"Hey Louise. I heard from a little AGI that you've been busy this week."
She looks you over approvingly, "You've put some decent mass on yourself, which is good, we aren't hypercapitalists, but we have a definition for chronic laziness too. A different one. Wait, what was I talking about again?" Erika asks, clicking her tongue to herself and tilting her head.

"You've been watching?"

"Everyone here has a spime password. We're all equaalllyy capable of stalking each other. You have just as much right to stalk us if you feel like it." Erika suggests to you.

You smile sinisterly in reply before sending her a copy of the exercises and theory file you compiled, which Erika eagerly downloads, "So what's the plan for this experiment?"

Erika's smile widens, "I realized I should get ahold of a second ego bridge, even if its just a preventative measure if something goes wrong, and I found a Splicer morph you shouldn't have many integration issues with. We'll use the twin-bridge method, perfect continuity of consciousness for you, and then we'll see if you can cast a spell in it. After that..." She blushes for a moment, "Well, I want to ask for your permission to be the one to sleeve into your morph." She coughs at your raised eyebrow, before muttering in an embarrassed tone, "I've always wanted to be a magical girl."


[]"I believe that should be fine. I trust you with my body."
[]"Instead of the splicer, what if we just switch morphs?"
[]"Awkward mumbling"
[]Write in

 

[nick012000]

[X] "How about we decide on that after we see whether or not I'm capable of using magic after I transfer my mind to another body? Some people think that resleeving just kills you and replaces you with a perfect copy, after all, and I don't want to take the risk of losing my magic because it turns out that I killed myself. I mean, even if it'd be a moot point for you guys, magic means the metaphysical might have real physical implications."

Also, the Second Church of ROB built Blade Wolf? Awesome.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Like putting on a new dress

The technology is in use by millions. Surely they would have figured that out by now?

"I believe that should be fine, and you're probably one of the best picks anyway. I hereby entrust my body to you, Erika Karisawa. By the way, what do you mean when you say magical girl?"

Anne pulls up an article for you on what's apparently a genre of anime, which suggests they're girls who can use magic, but only after some kind of transformation sequence involving an artifact.

Then you see Erika. You have a feeling that if she had a drink, she would have almost spat it out at what you just said. But she fights it back down before, giving you a more detailed explanation, putting one arm across her body and making an L sign with her other hand's thumb and index finger for some reason.

"There are three kinds of magical girls. Contractors, Magical Girls who get their power from the fantastical, and Magical Girls who get their power from something scientific. Contractors always have a cost to their power. They make up for it by being able to play Calvinball with the laws of physics. But they need something to survive, something like Grief Seeds, Oblivion seeds, Infernus Crystallum, something like that. If they don't get that, they become a danger to themselves and the people around them. If you get your power from something fantastical, like a planetary energy tap, you can do a lot of unusual things contractors or more scientific power sources wouldn't be able to do, including resurrecting the dead. Magical girls who get their power from scientifically analyzed sources have the most raw destructive power, but they don't have a contractor's versatility or the ability to do all the weird things you could do with a fantastical power source."

Considering all you need is a wooden foci, you're having issues conceptualizing that level of dependence on artifacts.

"Now then, if you're looking for examples of the three kinds of magical girls, Puella Magi Madoka Magica defines the contractor archetype. Sailor Moon defined the Fantastical archetype, and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha defined the scientific one."

"Lyrical?"

"It doesn't have any musical numbers. A good chunk of anime names have nothing to do with the plot. Like Durarara, or Fooly Cooly, or that really bad anime spinoff of the Dresden Files that got released after the last book where the Denarians were magical girls."

She could give an entire lecture on the subject.

"Erika. We all know you've got a fondness for the genre, but maybe you should wrap it up? The range and ego bridges are prepped." Lihua interrupts the conversation.

Erika lets out a sheepish giggle, "Sorry about that. It's just...Yatta! Mahou Senshi Shoujo Erika-chan shall soon make the world tremble with her magical might!" You only roll your eyes as Erika prances about making ridiculous poses like you saw in one comedy back home about a mage who could only cast spells by getting into a variety of silly poses. Still...

"I've got another project I need to finalize some details on, It shouldn't take too long. I'll rejoin you shortly." Lihua says before she walks off

You just got a ding signifying a PM. It's from Erika.

"Those pre-fall anime series I just talked about are practically classics. Have some links. While I'm writing this message, do you have any other questions before we start the experiment?"

Links Acquired: The complete series of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, The first season of Sailor Moon, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

It takes you a moment to realize Erika asked a question what with the sudden disconnect. Then you remember what you wanted to ask.

"Erika, did you find anything unusual about my genetics in comparison to what you have access to?"

"I did actually. I wasn't able to get blood samples from enough flats for this to be rigorous, but what I found seems promising."

Erika shows you a multicolored image of a double helix, with a long series of letters beneath it.

"This is the genetic data of a Flat morph."

She shows you the same image, with a different color scheme and string of letters. The difference, is that parts of the helix are highlighted in gold, and there are gold highlighted strings of symbols among the letters.

"Here's your DNA. I found it during the week, a sequence of clearly artificial genes with no equivalent in any genomic library I've encountered. The chemical make-up is completely alien and by all rights shouldn't integrate as well as it does, and it appears to be easily transplanted. I moved a clone of your DNA into one of the blood samples and this is what happened. The highlighted genes suddenly began to replicate and insert themselves into the new DNA sequence. Almost like a virus. What makes this even stranger, is that the genes completely changed the moment they integrated with the new DNA. They didn't integrate in the same places. They dropped their old function, rearranging themselves and adopting a new one instantly. And then, nothing, the Flat DNA showed no abnormalities, none of the other gene sequences so much as shifted or mutated. It was the same in every blood sample I was able to test. It was like..."

"Magic." You finished for her, smiling slightly, "Those genes are what allowed the first mages blessed by Founder Brimir to use magic and become the progenitors for the first noble families who formed the nations of Halkegania."

"Incredible." Aldrick shakes his head, "A global gene-tweak done during the stone ages. This is just nuts."

"But the possibilities are incredible." Erika replies, "Louise won't have to worry about becoming a target if she uses magic, and listing her a contributor when we publish will earn her a lot of rep in the process."

"That's if this works." Aldrick counters.

Erika nods, "I know. Louise..." She turns to you, "Let's get you into your new body."

There's a vat that wasn't there before, similar to when you got the mesh implants. You think you can see the same device on one of the tables inside the vat, along with the body you'll be using temporarily hooked up to an oxygen mask.

"Borrowing it from one of the other labs down here was difficult, but the rep gain from publishing will make it all worth it." Erika says, as if trying to reassure herself.

That's when you realize that Erika has a few less repscore points then the last time you saw her.

The ego bridge on the table opens, resembling a flower with a neckrest, as you lie down, placing your head squarely inside the device. "So what can I expect Anne?"

Your Muse pops up next to you, "This will take around an hour. You should keep your eyes closed, the sensation of seeing in multiple paces at once is disorienting, but there shouldn't be much of a problem. A Splicer was a good choice as its essentially a human body with a few upgrades, and Erika's found one close enough to your body dimensions that you should acclimate to it fairly easily. Think of this experience as trying on a new dress and getting used to the differences in the fit. This will take a while, so you should probably play a game or two or work on your writing while the transfer takes place."

You decide to do just that, perhaps you might take a look at some of your VR entertainment options while you're waiting. You open one of the links Erika sent you, opening a window to watch some of this magical girl anime Erika talked about. As the first episode of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha loads, your mind begins to wonder about the life you left behind.

Was a cure for Catteleya's illness discovered? Or could your elder have succumbed after the news of your 'death' was given to your family? What about Eleanor? Or Father? Or Mother? Did Mother grieve for you when she received the news?

Would anyone else grieve? Perhaps the Princess might remember the pink-haired girl she played with as a child, but any more would be doubtful. And for the barbs of your class-mates, seeing one of their own seemingly die in her own explosion or disappear into a portal would be a shock to anyone.

It's only after you manage to get through the first two episodes of the show that you realize a key aspect of the genre.

For all their dependence on elaborate artifacts or these "Intelligent Devices", they get considerable benefits. You can't imagine what it would take to make a barrier jacket using Halkeginian magic. Would Halkeginians have made something like this if they reached transhuman levels of technological development? It's fascinating, and you want to see where they go with it next. You're just about ready to get started on another episode when Anne informs you, "Migration complete. Congratulations Louise, you've just been resleeved."

After everything gets sorted out, you take a look at your original body, for the first time without the aid of a mirror. A slender slip of a girl with just a touch of new muscle from hard physical work, pale skin from the lack of proper sunlight with long pink hair. You reach out and touch the body before taking in a deep breath, "Where..." You blink and place a hand to your throat as you register your new voice. Harder, a touch throatier than yours, you find that you don't hate it, "Where is Erika?"

"Getting ready herself. Once she's done sleeving into your body we'll begin the experiment." A new voice answers in place of Aldrick and you turn to regard Lihua standing in the doorway, "One of the bodies out of the public bodybank here. It should work nicely for you. Take a walk around with Aldrick to get used to it."

You nod and take some steps around the room with Aldrick nearby. Although you stumble a few times, you find the body doesn't have any real issue with you. Or rather you have no real issue with the body.

"Might be interesting to see how you handle other morphs." Aldrick remarks, "This morph may have a biological brain, but you can't always expect that, in the Outer System a majority of the morphs use cyberbrains for resleeving, even if it does make one vulnerable to hacking."

"Cyberbrains?" You ask.

Aldrick nods, "Advanced computers that run your mind in a simulation of a human neural net. You'll have to expect it at some point, just so you know."

You nod as you walk out into the lab as Erika bounces up to you, "Hi Louise! Looking good!" You roll your eyes.

"Just hurry up and get in my body." You blink for a moment as everyone coughs, before sighing, "Ha, ha, very funny. Just try not to damage it somehow."

"Pfft." Erika replies, "Don't worry. I have a cyberbrain, so all I need to do is plug into the ego-bridge. I'll see you soon!"

Erika's resleeve takes considerably less time, and everything is sorted out 10 minutes later.

"Wow, this is so light!" Erika comments.

You shake your head as you get to your feet, "Glad you like it so much. Are you ready to begin?" Erika nodded, it looked so strange to see your own face grinning eagerly up at you, as she bounced, bounced of all things, over to the range.

"Ah, we're good to start then? Sensors are ready and video is rolling for Phase 2 test: Louise Valliere resleeved in a new morph and Erika Karisawa attempting to cast a spell in Louise Valliere's body." She looked up, "Start when ready."

You take a deep breath and take aim, send a brief mental prayer for success, and then shout, "Fireball!"

"Infra-red and ultrasonic activity!" Lihua reported seconds before the target detonated in a spectacular fireball as you breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, your magic could survive resleeving. You turn to Erika, "Did you read over the material I wrote for you?"

Erika nods eagerly, "Ready to go Sensei!"

You find that rolling your eyes will likely become a habit, "Do you want my wand or are you using another?" Erika held up a wand of her own, likely spat out by a fabricator, and stepped forward as you held up a hand.

"You'll not be casting recklessly. Especially not in my body. Follow my instructions precisely please, and once we confirm if you can cast magic, then I can let you try out more...experimental measures."

Erika deflated slightly but you remained firm as you lead her through several basic exercises, noting that unlike the small pops that your efforts Erika manages to successfully cast a few small cantrips. Buoyed by the success of the exercises, Erika begins to cast the Element spell, the one that would reveal her element to the world.

Eyes vigilant, you lead Erika through the full aria of the spell, and as the last syllable is spoken, a blast of heat strikes your face as a gout of flame lances from the wand into the air.

The entire room is silent, before Lihua speaks up, her morph shaking slightly, "There was nothing...nothing. The flames just...appeared."

You don't hear Erika's babbling after that. A Fire Mage, you were born a Fire Mage.

Damn Brimir for being a Void Mage.

Damn the Void.

Damn these tears.

[]? ? ?

 

[nick012000]

[X] Time to publish!

Mmm, sweet R-rep. Hopefully Firewall won't come down on us like a ton of bricks as an X-threat. Not that Louise knows anything about that.

I wonder what happens when an Async sleeves into a Mage morph.

EDIT:

After seeing the latest update on SB:
[X] Zenryoku Zenkai! Use the full force of your magic to make Lihua explode. If the resulting shrapnel kills us, we can just resleeve later anyway.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

For those who may not have seen it on SB, here it is.

[X]Scientific Responsibility

Damn it. What kind of twisted joke is this?! You can't use the Void, so why does it follow you?

You scream. And soon after regret it. Hearing yourself scream in a voice that isn't yours is an experience you are not used to. THIS is the most prevalent means of TRAVEL? How does ANYBODY adapt to this?

You don't remember sinking to your knees, or how long you just sat there weeping, only that when you regained your senses your body was hugging you, trying to calm you down alongside Anne as your tears begin to slow and you finally begin to regain your composure, wiping at your eyes in a futile attempt to hide the tears as you finally register Erika speaking to you in your voice.

"Louise? Louise-Chan? Talk to me Louise, come on. Whatever this is, we can figure it out." You try to speak but can only make a choked sob as you continue wiping at your eyes. Damnable tears! Why won't you stop! Argh! It was starting all over again! Pesky microgravity! They're all so close to your eye. You can barely see under these conditions.

You sob for a moment longer before finally recovering with a long, shuddering breath as you lift you head to stare into your own borrowed eyes in a face set with concern as Erika speaks in your voice, "Louise? Come on honey, what's wrong?"

And Founder help you, in spite of your issues speaking right now, you never hated someone so much as when you saw that gout of flame, and never felt such loathing for your own birth body. And how much that shames you to feel that way for someone who has only shown kindness to you.

What's wrong? What's wrong! You can certainly tell her what's wrong as sixteen years of hate and vitriol first find purchase and then release as you just let it out. A PMed rant to the entire room, filled with all the bile you've held down under the steel shell against Eleanor, your mother, your father, the students in the Academy, the teachers, everything that you've been forced to suffer spilling out before you finally choke out the last piece, the last straw.

You feel like you're going to start crying again when you feel the hug tighten as Erika speaks in your voice.

"Louise. You know you could have just talked to us if you wanted to. Even if we weren't there. The mesh is beautiful like that. Nobody's ever truly alone. Even if they don't have the exact same experience, somebody, somewhere, understands."

"I may have had theories, but I never realized it was this bad until now. You could have talked to me. Part of a muse's programming is to help people deal with things like this." Anne comments in your ear.

Erika breaks the hug and takes your hand, pulling you to your feet, "We can stop here for now. You should go wash your face, get your composure back." She's still smiling, after all that you said, she's still smiling. You nod numbly and stumble in the blurred direction Anne indicates on your HUD.

You just manage to catch Erika's reply to something Aldrick asks.

"...can sympathise with her. I've had it just as hard as she did. If not worse."

You find the bathroom easily enough and in micro-gravity, the sink is more a directed jet going into a recess in the wall to drain away, but you manage to get the hang of it in order to splash some cold water on your face and take some deep breaths before using the vacuum to clean up the stray droplets.

"I shouldn't have broken down like that." You mutter as you splash your face again, "A Valliere must be as steel, they cannot break."

"And yet steel shall break as well, if you put too much pressure on it." Anne states next to you, "You cannot hope to withstand all that pressure within you if you don't find release Louise. Not even Transhumans are immune to such things."

"But it's shameful! Mother...Mother's motto is Rule of Steel! It demands self-discipline!" You retort as Anne shakes her head.

"Even a disciplined soldier finds the means to relax and unwind. Iron Breaks. Steel Bends."

You don't have an answer to what your Familiar is saying. Because deep down you know she's right as you think your response to her, "What are our options? Erika knows that our magic isn't the same as what she just made my body do. If she put my mind back into my body, I would just make more explosions and that's going to get her curious about the truth."

"If we revealed ourselves too soon Louise, it could have consequences. Especially if it leads into discussion of familiars. Or the creation of AGI's with questionable sapience levels. I don't think I could cause the intelligence explosion loop needed to bring a TITAN into being. Especially not on Mesh Implants. But there's no way of proving it to them without invasive code scans. Or digitally dissecting copies of me. Would they even settle for copies? Outright lying will only make things difficult as well though."


"Half-truths then..." You muse, "Give them a theory, nothing more, they'll have us prove it and while I doubt Familiars will come up due to their...insistence on self-determination and personal freedom, we should be prepared for that as well."

"This summoning ritual that brought you here, will that become an issue alongside the binding of a familiar?" Anne asks as you fix up your hair and check to make sure the redness has faded from your eyes.

"No. It shouldn't. The information will have to be provided for research sake, but everything I know about a familiar summoning indicates that the familiar is molded by the magic into a suitable mindset for the summoner. For you this merely means a few additions and upgrades to your programming. For an animal it means being able to understand the summoner. For a person..."

"I would assume it means completely changing their state of mind into a more subservient form. It's inefficient, and goes against everything anarchists and autonomists stand for." Anne finishes for you.

You nod, "Indeed. Only Founder Brimir is recorded in history as ever summoning a human familiar, but with that line being so blurred here, anything is possible." You turn and move to exit the room, "For now, it is not information that will be volunteered. Not now anyway." Anne nods in agreement as you exit and put a weak smile on your face, "I'm sorry about that. A noble's daughter shouldn't have made such a spectacle about this sort of thing."

"I discussed a theory with those gatecrashers in Quarantine, that I was a Void Mage."

"The lost element you mentioned last week?" Erika asks as you nod to confirm her question.

"It is said that the Void rules over and binds all other elements, and it seems to have been proven true today. It is my theory and belief that I somehow inherited the Void Element from Brimir, which then overrode my access to my natural Fire affinity. If I hadn't resleeved, I probably would have only considered this option in desperation. But it fits, the lack of elemental component to my explosions is indicative of the Void element, as is the lack of progress I've made in my life. Now that I know however, I might be able to access it through some experimentation."

"Hmm, interesting." Erika remarks as she moves to the range, considering the ruined target, "Definitely something to experiment with in the future. But right now the real question is; do we go public with the genetic data and see what the scientific community at large makes of this? Where do we go from here?"

"If I had to think of one path." Aldrick speaks up from where he's leaning against the wall, "I think we should continue with the testing. We should learn more, and not go public until we can figure out the mechanism behind affinities, and be able to create morphs with any. For all we know, fire magic could be just as ego linked as void magic. Let's stick to something resembling our original goal."

"Ah, you're right Aldrick-kun!" Erika clicks her tongue happily, "In the end this is the route with the biggest payout, and being able to say that this was an anarchist achievement will really help us out politically. Plus, anything that makes Louise less of a target will only help her in the long run!"

You smile, "I would like to see more of the Outer System..." You murmur as Lihua steps forward.

"While I admire the enthusiasm, I fear I must act as the devil's advocate and state that it might best to slow down, if not stop entirely. Going public. Now!? Something like this has no business going public." At the expression on Erika's face, Lihua continues, "Am I the only person who considered the implications of giving entire space station populations the ability to make fireballs and explosions on a whim!"

"But Lihua!" Erika replies, shuffling a foot on the ground, "We've got to continue the experiments! This is a big change yes, but its a change that will prove to everyone that there are still things that can't be explained, that Transhumanity should keep pushing and exploring, that there are still mysteries that if solved can make our society and lives better, without the shadow of the TITANs over us! Think about it. If the TITANs came back now, do you really think we'd survive? Magic could give us the edge we need. Even if we need to establish more gate colonies, who's to say we can't protect spacegoing habitats with magic just as easily."

Your mind flashes to the enchantments on the walls of the academy. You have only the vaguest notion of how they do what they do.

"And if the TITANs get ahold of magic?" Lihua asks.

"Who's to say they don't already have that?" Aldrick asks. "Something like this, its something that the hypercorps, the Jovians, no-one will be able to take away from us. I think we should go through with the experiments at the same pace, it's slow enough that we can stop at any time."

Lihua pauses for a long moment, the sculpted face of her synthmorph staring at you with unnerving intensity, "It all comes down to you doesn't it?" Aldrick and Erika noticed and they shifted slightly. Your own hand drifts to where your Light Pistol is holstered, taken off your body while Erika has her Medium Pistol already unholstered as she stares at Lihua.

"What do you mean Lihua? What are you talking about?"

Lihua glances at Erika in your body, "I'm saying, that if something happened in here, if something happened to your stacks and bodies, in a lab full of experimental weaponry...then I could probably kill myself and reinstatiate from backup long before anyone else gets here or investigates."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let this go any further." Lihua declares

"You're like them aren't you. Who are you working for? Oversight? Stellar Intelligence?" Aldrick asks Lihua, bringing his Assault Rifle to bear a fraction of a second before her weapon is pointed at him, and Aldrick did it with a level of agility and deftness you never would have thought humanly possible.

Like Erika said, your case is what conspiracies and singularities are made of.

[]? ? ?

 

[nick012000]

Also, I'll point out that the power of Void Magic is proportional to the strength of the mage or familiar's emotions, and given the emotional meltdown she just had, Louise is almost certainly packing a lot of power right now.

On the other hand, Louise's aim is terrible, so we have to hope that the andrenaline doesn't cause her to miss, LOL.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Rare Elements

You draw your wand and dart behind the nearest workbench.

Louise Fray Check(25 or lower to succeed):1d100=8
Erika Karisawa Fray Check(40 or lower to succeed):1d100=31

Lihua seems to be aware you and Erika have found cover, but is focusing on Aldrick.

"This is one of the most shortsighted decisions I've ever seen Lihua. Drawing your weapon over this? Did you think you could take all of us? Did you ever think that if we kill you in self defense, that forces us to go public to explain why you needed to be reinstantiated? Do you really think your employer will be happy with that?"

Reinstantiation. In the light of that, Lihua's concern is completely childish.

"You have weapons that would slaughter any army from my homeland, can make most goods on demand at trivial cost, and can come back from the dead with a little preparation. And you're worried about people throwing a few fireballs? Bwahahaha. And people say I have a lack of perspective!" You shout from behind the bench.

"Who says I'm working for anyone? So far you've been making a lot of assumptions." She says in one of the most unconvincing voices you've ever heard. Like a child caught in an obvious lie.

Aldrick Kinesics Roll(43-30(Reading a synthmorph penalty) = 13 or lower to succeed):1d100=10
Lihua Deception Roll(50 or lower to succeed):1d100=97

"Your reaction says it all. No Professional could possibly be this bad a liar. Does somebody have something on you?" Aldrick asks.

"My 'employer' may be interested. But I'm speaking of my own accord here. You can control rare elements. You can scan for rare elements at a distance. Controlling information is much harder. By the time you can scan a mage, they can blow a hole in the habitat! Make more gate colonies!" She makes a sound that can only be a scoff. "You don't even care, do you Erika?" Lihua asks contemptuously.

Anne clarifies for you that Lihua's talking about weapons of mass destruction as Erika makes a retort.

"Of course I care!" Erika shot back, "I care about giving people a new way to build habs and mine asteroids! I care about providing a means for a habitat to gain an emergency supply of oxygen and water! That's what I care about! I've just made real magic happen Lihua! You have no idea the kind of wonder I felt at that moment! The way I saw that I would always have a question to find an answer to and you know what? I want everyone to feel what I felt! I want the entire solar system to feel this way."

"That's just it! What do you think will happen when this reaches the Inner System? The Consortium will be sending magic-capable mercs at us! Who's to say that Louise will be unique? Who's to say that if we release this there won't a thousand, maybe a million of these Void Mages showing up, able to turn a habitat into a cloud of shrapnel?"

Over the Edge of the workbench, you can see that Erika stopped hiding behind cover, and is looking in the direction of you/Lihua. "Isn't it obvious? Mutually assured destruction. We'll be able to do the same."

Erika Karisawa Persuasion Roll(50 or Lower to Succeed):1d100=87
Lihua Peng Rolls to resist(50 or Lower to Succeed):1d100=72

If Lihua's face could sneer, it would have, "And escalate this cold war?"

"Building up places like Alexandria and Banshee, and building more gate colonies addresses the issue!" Erika says irritatedly, her pistol drawn but not brought to bear.

"Nobody's started shooting yet you know. We might be able to get out of this without going public or anybody needing to resleeve if we all just put the guns away." Aldrick remarks in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Aldrick Persuasion Roll(13 or lower to succeed): 1d100=58

"It's a bit late for that, wouldn't you think?" Lihua sardonically asks Aldrick.

[]? ? ?

 

[nick012000]

[X] Zenryoku Zenkai! Full power, absolute destruction!

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Did you just...

Louise Persuasion Roll(30+25 Point Write in Bonus+5 Point Splicer Savviness bonus = 60 or lower to succeed) = 94( Failure!)
Spend 1 Moxie Point(Flip Result):49(Success!)

Something tells you that you won't make your point shouting from behind cover. So you do something insane. You put your wand away, and get up from behind the bench.

"Erika was right you know. Buildings can be protected against magical attacks. So please stop and think about this! Do you really think a magical boarding school could exist without wards?" You say, a very slight hint of bitterness over past explosions entering your voice before passing.

"See?" Erika chimes in before you head her off.

"We managed to build a functional society in Halkeginia with magic. I'm sure the same could be done here. With the right planning, whether or not we have anybody living on habitats won't matter!"

"I know the theory for wards, and we can use that as a starting point. I couldn't reproduce the walls of the academy, but we have all the time in the world don't we? We don't have to go public until we've discovered how to ward habitats. We can even release that data first. Just put the guns away. Everyone. Don't destroy an opportunity to gain an edge on the TITANs simply because you're afraid, because Aldrick has a very good point. What if the TITANs already found magic? Even worse, what if they found out how it works on their own, and created it from scratch? What I've read tells me they were godlike even during the Fall. What if they return now or ten years later, having spent all that time researching it? How do you even START to defend yourself against something that you didn't think was even possible?"

A few seconds pass.

"I've made an inexcusable idiot of myself, freaking out like this. I won't shoot if you won't. I can live with this plan." Lihua declares

"This could take longer than I'm comfortable with. But I can manage." Erika replies.

"Put our weapons away on three then?" Aldrick suggests.

After a tense countdown, everybody puts their guns away.

Louise Gained 10 points in persuasion!

What now?

[X]You Said something about an employer, Lihua?
[X]Suggest everybody returns to their orignal bodies and meet back here next week.
[X]Um... What should we do now?
[X]Write in

 

[nick012000]

[X]You Said something about an employer, Lihua?

Firewall?

 

[Silversun17]

doubt it. Firewall makes a point to make their moles a bit more skilled. We think that a firewall agent is on the research team but is taking a wait and see approach.

 

[Random832]

doubt it. Firewall makes a point to make their moles a bit more skilled. We think that a firewall agent is on the research team but is taking a wait and see approach.

Click to shrink...

Someone on the SB thread said Aldrick is probably the firewall agent.

 

[Silversun17]

that's what i was referencing with we think.

 

[nick012000]

I dunno. Firewall's recruitment practices are a bit anarchic, and their agents don't receive any real training; it's entirely possible that some of them are less capable at spycraft than others. About the only constant is that they're all highly skilled individuals at their field (whatever that might be), and probably capable of shooting at things. Remember, we're talking about an organization that's almost entirely composed of Player Characters. I have little doubt that the Proxies have a lot of stories about Sentinel shenanigans to share with each other.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Discuss ALL the Things!

As everyone begins to return to normal from that incident, you begin to wonder just what kind of other issues people may be having.

"Does anyone else have something they'd like to say? Pref-"

"Don't say it!" Anne shouts as you were about to mention drawing weapons.

"My primary concern with this project has been addressed. If I overreact this way again I may as well activate the chute with me in it." Lihua declares.

"Ne, Lihua, was Aldrick right? Did somebody turn you? It's your own fault for slipping like that, and if you don't say anything now, the next time it comes up could be in VR." Erika asks Lihua.

"Ne, Erika, that was completely unnecessary." Lihua mockingly says back before continuing. "Like you said. It was my own fault. I'll go with it. My employer sent his messages through a secure Titanian Onion Routing network, and signed the messages with the initials 'F.B.'. I think he's some kind of Titanian spook." That prompted a sudden curse from Aldrick that had you blushing at the venom in the phrase.

"Motherfucker! You're telling me that you're a spy for Titan?" He glared at Lihua as the Synthmorph simply nodded her head.

"Yes. Would you have felt better if I was Jovian? Oversight? Stellar Intelligence?" She asked with the kind of tone you've heard Kirche use in one of her more fouler moods as Aldrick snarled.

"No, but it would have made things simpler! VR interrogation and spacing and be done with it! Dammit, what the hell is a Titanian asset doing here anyway?"

Lihua shrugged, "Isn't it obvious? Fissure is a strategic location and Intelligence is always on the lookout for anything that could potentially threaten the Alliance, especially with Go-Nin hired freelancers controlling Discord. He makes a lot of comments about how someone needs to look at the bigger picture."

Erika tapped a finger to her chin, still so strange to see your body doing that, "How much does Titan know?"

Lihua indicates your body, "They know about the explosion ability, but not the fire generation. My actions today were my own, I only received orders to observe you and send back more data. From what I was able to find out from my handler, there's a lot of interest in the ultrasonic tone you used to induce the resonance cascade reaction."

That actually prompts a laugh from you, "Hah! Not even here a year and already someone's trying to use science to copy magic!" You actually giggle at the thought and manage to make Aldrick and Erika crack a smile.

Then Lihua speaks up, "You mentioned Void last week. Could you extend on that?"

"Zounds! Must we be interrogated at every turn!" Anne shouts in AR, audible only to you.

[X]Extend. Gloss over finer Details of Brimir's familiars(Like human status or the runes).
[X]Extend. Full Story
[X]There isn't much else I didn't mention already.
[X]Write in

 

[nick012000]

[X]Extend. Full Story

This way, we might get a volunteer to become our familiar.

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]The Void

"I'm going to tell them the truth." You mentally inform Anne as you make your decision on how much to reveal. Although not visible, your Muse's unease is palpable through the Familiar Link.

"Are you sure Louise, it could lead to uncomfortable questions. No mention that they could infer my own status as your Familiar based on what you tell them." Anne replies, voice matching her emotion as you inwardly acknowledge that fact.

"True, but they deserve to know the truth and I do not need to lie about you. I merely have to omit you from the explanation." You reply and Anne's emotion of resigned calm flits through the link like a sigh.

"I guess I have no choice but to trust you on this." She replies as you focus back on the others and begin your explanation.

"In the beginning, Halkeginia was a land of monsters, and the tribes of men were divided, led astray by the Firstborn or too busy surviving to concern themselves with their neighbors. In one of those tribes, god sent the one who would become Founder Brimir a revelation. A source of power with which to rally the tribes against those who would prey upon humanity. To protect those incapable of using magic. Brimir learned to draw upon the power of the void. The foundation of the world from which all elements are derived. But God knew that Brimir would need assistance. And so he sent Brimir Knowledge of a ritual. Using it, he called forth four agents sympathetic to his cause, and gifted them with power as his familiars."

"Hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on. Void Familiars are people? Sapients?" Erika asks you rapidly.

Now why would they react...ah...yes, the matter of what is essentially spiritual slavery. You have a feeling that information on Void Mages and their ability to bind sapients will be a major point of controversy. Perhaps it would even turn opinion against Void Mages and place them below mages of the other elements. The thought sends a chill through your borrowed body's blood.

This place truly is the complete opposite of Halkegania.

"Yes. The familiar summoning ritual is supposed to call an animal compatible with the mage's affinity in the first part. The second part is a magical contract that enhances their intelligence so they can better serve the mage. When I used it though, I was accosted by reapers and security volunteers before everything got sorted out." You shake your head, "But then, such things always seem to happen to me."

Aldrick nods, "Entirely understandable, considering a Pandora Gate could connect to anywhere. Anything that had enough control over the gates to circumvent security protocols is something to be VERY concerned about. We were lucky it was somebody just as confused as we were."

"I understand too. It doesn't change how unsettling it was to be brought into the Quarantine zone like that." You retort.

"Fair enough. You were saying about the familiars?" Aldrick asks you and you continue with your recitation of legend.

"One of these familiars is called the Gandalfr, the Left Hand of God, who could wield any weapon with the proficiency of a master. Windalfr, the Right Hand of God, had the power to command animals. Lifdrasil, the Heart of God, was a magical battery of near boundless power. And Myzonitnirn, the Mind of God, could instinctively use any magical artefact. The five of them united the tribes of humanity, and until Brimir's death, Halkeginia was almost a united continent. That was when the affinities of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water were derived from the void. Nobody knows what really happened that far back, but after Brimir died, and I don't know how, theologians still argue about that, Halkeginia began to split. It was around that time we were driven from the Holy Land by the Elves and their Spirit Magic too. With the exception of the first several Papal Emperors of Romalia, who traced their descent from Brimir's apprentice before adopting an electoral system, and Germania, who would give a noble title to anyone who can afford it, "

"How hypercapitalist," you hear Lihua mutter under her breath as you continue.

"the royal families of Halkeginia trace their descent from Brimir. If my affinity is Void, I'd be the first example of it anybody has seen in millennia, and all knowledge was lost in the centuries of warfare between kingdoms, periods of apostasy, and noble rebellions." The group stares at you for a moment before Lihua speaks up again.

"I simultaneously want to applaud you for going into this much detail, give you my condolences for being born with the same affinity as a kidnapping scumbag, and chew your entire society out for deifying him. Still, you did transhumanity a considerable service. We should probably find a way to detect void affinity on general principle. Can you imagine a member of Nine-Lives with Void affinity?" Lihua asks the room.

You get pinged for it as the room shudders. Lihua leaves a comment on your profile applauding you as an exceptionally honest individual. When you read the article about this band of savages that supposedly run Legba and use Cortical Stacks as currency, you shudder too.

Louise Gained 1 @-rep!

"You don't know the context. Given the circumstances and techbase, it could be the most efficient arrangement. It doesn't mean we shouldn't start distributing cornucopia machines and supplies to establish a mesh if we find a gate leading there, along with helping them come up with something better." Erika says once she recovers, "Democratizing magic will make everyone able to live their lives how they want, instead of like inner system wageslaves."

"That's surprising, you of all people advocating cultural imperialism. Even if we had an address, we would probably need to be subtle if we didn't want to see a repeat of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. We'd have to do things gradually, and pretty much have to act like Special Circumstances. Or maybe the Factors. And then there's the political shitstorm. It would be unreal." Aldrick interrupts calmly.

"I know..., I never thought I'd be acting like this either. Stupid Prime Directive, why does it have to make sense." Erika tells Aldrick wistfully before turning to you.

"It goes without saying, but you shouldn't try this ritual again, under any circumstances while your affinity is void. And if you ever attempted the second part of the ritual on a Sapient without their consent, you would probably need to choose between rehabilitative psychosurgery or a one way egocast elsewhere if you didn't want to get spaced by an angry mob. A magical contract is not a contract. If it's not written, with escape clauses, and both parties signing of their own accord, no respectable person in the outer, or even the inner system will take it seriously." Erika tells you, an undercurrent of steel in her voice.

"But I'm sure it won't come to that." Erika says with a smile and a giggle afterwards. You feel a distinct lance of shame at the fact that you're withholding the existence of Anne from her that prompts Anne to speak up.

"Muses don't count as sapients you know. I can't believe I'm saying this, but she may actually be fine with knowing about my existence. There's a chance of it anyway. I'm not sure, and so I leave it to your discretion."

Anne retrieves material for you on Special Circumstances and the work of Iain M. Banks, a pre-fall science fiction writer who envisioned a society that was like the Outer System writ large across the universe, the only difference being that they were governed by benevolent Seed AIs. You began connecting some dots. Very disturbing dots. If an address to Halkeginia was found, it could lead to society as you know it being upended. They may have made things work here, but you aren't exactly sure what your opinion is on seeing it there.

If they followed Erika's line of thinking, the chaotic results would be obvious. The sudden appearance of people for whom the usage of Natural Philosophy was more natural than magic, with technology that makes anarchy feasible, would immediately set the nobility on edge and ignite something in the peasants, especially when their lack of magic was discovered. Professor Colbert's experiments and the latest advancements in cannons and muskets were not even children's toys to Transhumans, more akin to a primitive savage banging rocks to make sparks and a pleasing noise while being watched by an alien being who could kill them from beyond the horizon.

The religious authorities would also be driven into a frenzy by the practices of resleeving and body modification, and what would happen when Transhumans revealed that they could induce magic artificially? When she revealed herself as a Void Mage to them? They could call a crusade and the nobles, threatened by the technology and power of Transhumanity, would obey.

And then if Transhumanity responded? The Elves, Firstborn Anathema that they are, would only need to sit back and watch the destruction of Halkegenia.

You aren't sure what your opinion is when you take Aldrick's approach into account though. In spite of how the concept grates on you, a properly handled means of inducing changes could be a good thing.

Reveal Anne's Existence?:
[X]Via PM to Erika only
[X]To the entire room
[X]No, it's too risky
[X]Write in

Make a comment on Aldrick and Erika's Hypothetical interventionism discussion?:

[X]Yes(Write in)
[X]Divert the Conversation(Write in)
[X]Something Else?(Write in)
[X]No

 

[nick012000]

[X]To the entire room
-[X] "Uhh, well, remember how I said that the familiar binding enhances the intelligence of nonsapient familiars? Well, back when I first got her, I though, huh, a muse is sort of like a familiar! So I bound her, and now she's an AGI. I just kept quiet about it because she was scared of people's reactions."

[X]Yes(Write in)
-[X] "I'm going to oppose any plan that involves killing the royalty of Tristain. The Princess is a personal friend of mine from childhood, and as a Noble, I have sworn my loyalty to them."

 

[Mr. Birdbird]

[X]Popping Balloons

They mean well in their own way, but talking about something like this involving you is just rude. You'd bet money if they used it here that the Love and Rage Collective and Gatekeeper know more about running a gate compared to most of the Outer System. So if another gate was discovered out here, it would be rude to not at the very least consult one of them. You know more than they do about Halkeginia. So you can't help but be irritated, because this is the EXACT SAME THING.

"As much as I applaud your intentions." You interrupt the nascent conversation, palpable sarcasm focusing everyone's attention back on you, "There are some things you might appreciate me bringing up before we discuss this further. About Halkeginia, and even about the familiar binding process itself."

"I understand where you're going with this. There's probably a better way it could have been said, but I would have said the exact same thing. Now then, you were saying?"

Erika nods as you begin, "The Familiar binding ritual is more than just binding an animal to you, all familiars receive what is essentially a boost in intelligence, you might say it's borderline uplift, a necessity if you wish for the animal to understand and obey you with minimal training."

"This would work with any summoned animal?" Erika questioned, to which you nodded, prompting a thoughtful sound from Lihua.

"Theoretically, a mage could bind any animal and that animal would then be able to understand human speech and instinctively know what they wanted. Am I correct?" Lihua muses

You nod, "Yes, and the longer a species has lived with humans, to more likely it is that it can speak back. I've read about smart animals, and their intelligence levels being equivalent to small children. If a mage bound a smart dog or cat to them, there a chance they'd become smart enough to hold a conversation with someone. There are some familiars that can do that without genetic enhancement even."

"My god..." Erika whispered, "You mean that it can uplift a mind that easily? I think I know the answer to this question already, but has a familiar ever taken advantage of their intelligence to separate from a mage? Operate as their own person?"

"Legally speaking, Familiars are treated as an extension of the mage in Halkeginia. Why would they..."

"I thought so. Please. Don't. Finish. That. Sentence. I might say or do something I'll regret if you do. Let's chalk it up to it being my own fault for asking, and nobody in Halkeginia giving serious thought to the implications of enhancing animal intelligence, or considering other ways to do it." Erika interrupts you.

Though you are not notified who dinged you, you lose a fraction of a repscore point.

You were going to say want to. They get all their basic needs taken care of don't they? Then you remember that uplifted animals are treated as equals out here.

You think you hear Erika mumble something about intellectual property before you continue.

You nod, "Hopefully I'm not pushing things here, but the process doesn't stop at intelligence. A mage can share their senses with their familiar, over a very long range, through this bond." Legend had stated that familiars could communicate with their masters from the other side of a kingdom, but it was more likely that they could communicate over a few leagues or so.

"It's fine, just move on. Now." Erika tells you before Lihua makes another comment.

"Bond with the right drone or smart animal, and you might be able to get information in real time in the right circumstances. It wouldn't work on a high security facility, but someplace lower security might never detect it." Lihua remarks, "And if they can speak, the bond can be used to make the familiar a mouthpiece for private conversations, relaying messages from a master safely out of harms way."

Hmm, it would probably be best if you didn't reveal Anne publicly. You decide to send Erika a PM, "There's something I need to speak with you privately about when this is all over."

You get an immediate reply back, "Sure. Can I ask what it's about?"

You decide to take the plunge and reveal enough to get her mind in the right direction, "It is not just flesh that can be bound. That which was made by human hands can be bound, if it can think."

You notice a brief twitch on Erika's face.

"You attempted it on your muse. It worked. Yes I definitely want to hear about this later. You somehow knew just what to say to put me in a better mood. Just, I'm a mess of righteous indignation and ideas for experiments right now, but it's fine, keep going." Erika replies in PM.

You take a moment to regain your bearings after your attempt at being cryptic backfires, "Moving on, there are two things you should know about if the Collective involves itself in Halkeginia. The Firstborn and the Anathema."

Everyone notices the shiver in your voice at speaking those names as you continue, "Before God made Man, there was the Firstborn who ruled the world. Capricious, fickle and obscenely powerful, the Firstborn did as their whims dictated and Man suffered. There are many types, from the savage beast races to the majestic and terrible Ancient Dragons and the Wind Dragons, but most dangerous and unpredictable of all were the spirits." Your mind flicks to your research back at the Academy, "The Spirits did many terrible things to mankind. Children were stolen and replaced with changelings, families were tempted and broken apart before they were left broken wretches for the wolves and orcs, and worst of all were those who were cursed by the Spirits to change into horrific monsters from their horrific powers."

"I would be disbelieving, but considering what has been shown so far..." Lihua starts, before shaking her head, "This could be proven? Factually?"

You nod, "Several children from noble families at the Academy had bloodlines that were also mingled with the blood of certain spirits to strengthen their affinity to particular elements, pacts sealed with blood since ancient times even before Brimir gave magic to the first nobles, for power and protection, and some exchanged prized objects as part of the deal. Spirit magic is powerful, whatever you think about the magic that has been shown Lihua, a Spirit would seem god-like in comparison. They can do things that no human mage can accomplish, and even the Anathema tread lightly around them."

"That's a title you've said a lot. Who are the Anathema?" Aldrick asks and you shudder, years of church dogma and the words of history dredged back up.

"The Anathema are known as the Elves. If the Firstborn can live with humans, even only to use them as playthings or ignore them, the Anathema seek only our destruction." You sigh, "Man's greatest civilization was in the Rub Al'Khali, the Holy Land, a desert land that was still rich and fertile. But then the Elves came, and they could speak with the most powerful Spirits and use their power, controlling the lesser Firstborn in the process. Even with magic, man was forced from the Holy Land, for the firstborn magic was used to bring forth creations beyond Halkeginian understanding."

You shake your head, "The legends tell of the counterparts to the void familiars. The four most dangerous creations the Elves possess. Baldr, a golem with durability beyond the ken of any Earth Mage that could fire arrows of light and fire. The Shade Hel, who could slip past the most alert of guards and slay them with blades that left no mark on their armor but sliced open their flesh with ease, Jormungandr, an armored beast that moved like a snake and rained objects the size of men's heads that exploded into fire that burned hotter than the sun, leaving glass and a creeping miasma in it's wake. And perhaps most frightening of all in those old legends, were the tales of Fenris, the Devouring Swarm."

Lihua leans in close, "Fenris exists in mythology here too. Except it was a wolf. Could you expand on what it was in Halkeginia?" You quickly open an art program and while the sketch is not exact, it is more than sufficient to match the drawing you saw in one massive, ancient tome at the Valliere estate known as the Codex Anathema, the most complete history of the theft of the Holy Land by the Elves.

As one, everyone shrinks back in shock as you show them the sketch, and Erika manages to ask in a small voice, "It seems self explanatory, but I don't want to start making hasty assumptions again. How did they go about it?"

You close the sketch, "The legends are brief, very few survived that were sane enough to tell of them, but the tales are all the same. They would arrive in a great cloud that blocked the sun and fell upon armies, wielding bladed teeth that ripped men's heads from their shoulders, before taking them back to feast on them."

"I...see..." Erika replies slowly, "I think a more detailed explanation is going to be required when we meet back up in a week, but thank you for telling us Louise. Is there anything else? I'm sure some of us are getting irritable here. Let's not spring any more whammies like that on each other until next week."

"She thinks they sound suspiciously like technological devices made by Transhuman or higher level intelligences." Anne explains to you as she retrieves an article for you on TITAN headhunters.

The resemblance is uncanny, and when you look at your past remarks about elven creations, the uncomfortable possibility of Elves with Transhuman and higher technology makes you shudder.

You shake your head emphatically and Erika nods, "Okay then, let's get back in our original bodies and finish up here. Lihua-chan, try not to go anywhere between now and then right?"

Lihua snickers, "I think I can resist the temptation. Besides, I'll likely be getting further orders soon once I get the fire magic video sent."

"Any reports you give will be proofread by me or Lancie in the future. Any orders you receive will be shared with at least one of us." Aldrick states, "If this goes any other way, Lancie and I find a reason to start digging, understood?"

Lihua nods, "That's the most I can expect."

After an hour of nobody talking to each other and just trying to calm down, you're now in your birth body. After a quick explosion to confirm that yes, your Void Magic was overriding your Fire Affinity, you leave the secure labs and Aldrick leaves to get a drink. Once alone, Erika turns to you, "Show me."

You glance around and nod, "Anne?"

Your Familiar appears in yours and Erika's field of view, "Yes Louise?"

You take the plunge, "Show her the mark." Anne nervously adjusts her hair to display the familiar runes of the Mind of God,

"I'm not sure what to say Louise." Anne says to you, whispering in your ear, her words being visible only in your AR feed.

"This is my first Void Familiar, Anne, who possesses the Mind of God." You say, providing the introduction for her.

Erika stares for a long, hard moment, before focusing her attention on you, "I want both of you to meet me in my lab or PM me tomorrow. I'd be talking about this now, but I don't think either of us is in a rational frame of mind to discuss Emergent AGI uplift. There won't be any invasive experiments or psychosurgery, but I have a lot of questions. There may be precedence, but potential Seed AIs are serious enough business that I could bring other members of security in on this."

You nod and she leaves without a word as Anne watches her leave, "At least she didn't push you out an airlock."

"She still might." You sigh, "I need to sleep, and just figure out what to do now." You mutter exasperatedly.

And so you go to find some food and get some sleep. The upcoming week is going to be a pain, you just know it.

Freebies:

[X]Contact Erika
[X]Explore the World of Simulspace(This is free because 3 hours outside is slightly over a week inside.)


Others(Pick 3)

[X]PM Lancie. Ask him for security advice and follow up on it.
[X]Explore Chet Noir
[X]Stalk Your Mesh Contacts(Specify. The more you stalk, the less you learn per person)
[X]More Maintenance shifts
[X]Firing Range Sessions
[X]Watch Anime
[X]Think about ideas for Void Spells(Write in)
[X]More intense excercise
[X]Charcoal Tower Tutorials(Engineering and Machinery)
[X]Charcoal Tower Tutorials(Write in)
[X]Write in