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File 142312861492.png - (4.96KB , 840x600 , 3000.png )
623611 No. 623611 ID: defceb

Expand all images
>>
No. 623613 ID: d958ad

>>623611
Well that's not a good sign.

Look around. Are you in a flashback again? Where and when, this time?
>>
No. 623614 ID: defceb
File 142312914611.png - (23.24KB , 840x600 , 3001.png )
623614

"I really do adore you cyborgs."

"There's so many things different about your kind. The constant constant hum of machinery, so quiet but still there. The cold touch of your synthetic skin. Your unchanging faces. Just different enough to be strange."

"But still so similar. You eat, drink, sleep as you did before. You still move as if breathing, despite having no lungs. Just the other day Haley told me you still have a heart, though now it pumps coolant instead of blood. It seems to me like you cyborgs still think yourselves fully human. As if you're growing, aging, and rotting away like any other organic person."

"Every cell of your old body has been scraped away, and still the mind acts as if nothing changed. I think it incredible. But my favorite part, oh my favorite part. Can you guess what it is?"
>>
No. 623615 ID: 89941a

>>623614
...Enhance knockers?
>>
No. 623618 ID: 256d52

Memory? That it can be changed?
>>
No. 623636 ID: d3be40

That you think you're still normal?
>>
No. 623637 ID: d3be40

That cyborgs put on the best show when they die?
>>
No. 623638 ID: 82efdc

*Flick* The ears?

Seriously though, if this is an attempt at flirting, it's coming across as really racist. Well, not the right word for a cyborg, but you get the idea.
>>
No. 623648 ID: 9ddf68

...you know the idea of a cyborg is just a normal person who has had a few part replaced with mechanical ones. We act human because we are. What you're saying is like saying a cripple isn't a person because they can't walk but you find it cute when you see them try.

but yeah for the question, the eyes?
>>
No. 623651 ID: bfdaf0

I suppose this is the kind of guy we can't afford to just slap, or we'd have already done so, right?
>>
No. 623730 ID: 321d85

>>623651
Hmm. If you DO slap him, I have this feeling like he'd catch your hand, movie-like...so be prepared to almost simultaneously punch him with your other hand. :P
>>
No. 623732 ID: defceb
File 142320980741.png - (19.16KB , 840x600 , 3002.png )
623732

>"We act human because we are. What you're saying is like saying a cripple isn't a person because they can't walk but you find it cute when you see them try."

"When someone is disabled they are still a person, wounded yes but the brain is still there, as are the organs. Your kind are made from fake organs and fake limbs. For all we know even your mind is faked, a copy of someone long dead now. Can you really say you're still a person when everything has been replaced?"

>"If this is your idea of flirting, it's kind of racist."

"We all have our faults, some more than others."

>"So is it the ears?"

"No."

>"The eyes?"

"Not quite."

>"Our memories?"

"Getting there."

>"....enhance knockers?"

"Ha! Sometimes, but not the answer I'm looking for."

>"That we think we're still normal?"

"Not quite."

>"Cyborgs put on the best show when they die?"

"So close! You see, it's not the way you cyborgs die..."
>>
No. 623733 ID: defceb
File 142320992067.png - (41.88KB , 840x600 , 3003.png )
623733

"...but rather that you don't."
>>
No. 623734 ID: 9ddf68

it's a sad day when you get tired of your own dreams you know. time to wake up.
>>
No. 623735 ID: 01745f

I suppose now is the point where we wake up instead of getting any answers out of him. (If it isn't, ask what is up with the eyes.)

>Can you really say you're still a person when everything has been replaced?
For the record, yes. A digital abacus can perform the same calculations as a physical one; similarly a digital brain can perform the same thoughts as one made of meat.
>>
No. 623744 ID: 256d52

If sleep is the little death then you'd better wake up because what you're doing isn't allowed.
>>
No. 623746 ID: 491b0e

Slap him, *then* wake up.
>>
No. 623755 ID: 225f37

>Can you really say you're still a person when everything has been replaced?
Yes, easily. Atoms move in and out of you constantly-none of the atoms left in your body when someone dies are the same that were in them when they were born. Cells die and become dust and new ones grow and replace them. Personalities change over time- memories are edited as you remember them inevitably. To rebuild and renew is to be human.

If there is something that differentiates cyborgs from humans it isn't that they've changed, it's that they've stopped changing. Memories are stored reliably, in a way that the act of remembering doesn't change the memory itself. The cycle of renewal of cells are replaced with fabricated exteriors that ideally do not need replacing.
>>
No. 623756 ID: 82efdc

>When someone is disabled they are still a person, wounded yes but the brain is still there, as are the organs. Your kind are made from fake organs and fake limbs. For all we know even your mind is faked, a copy of someone long dead now. Can you really say you're still a person when everything has been replaced?
The parts aren't important. The pattern is.

Even the earliest of peoples recognized that they were more than meat. Just like you're more than metal. Where do you think the idea of soul comes from?

>If there is something that differentiates cyborgs from humans it isn't that they've changed, it's that they've stopped changing.
Well, not necessarily, even. From what we've seen they seem both capable of mental growth (charging opinions, outlooks, learning) and physically modifying themselves.

>>623746
So much this. I'm sick of this annoying sadist messing with our heads.
>>
No. 623761 ID: a19cd5

>>623733
Cool story bro.
>>
No. 624644 ID: defceb
File 142363987426.png - (48.85KB , 840x600 , 3004.png )
624644

"You really think so then? You really think you can just swap everything out and still be the same person?"

"I really hope you are right. I really truly hope you are right."
>>
No. 624646 ID: defceb
File 142363993836.png - (38.38KB , 840x600 , 3005.png )
624646

<<Administrator override. Rewinding audio.>>

"Ii really hopee you aree rightt-

<<Administrator override. Rewinding audio.>>

"I really hopee you aree right. I really trulyy hope you are rightt."

<<Administrator override. Rewinding audio.>>

"I really hopee you are rightt. Ii really truly hopee-

<<Administrator override. Rewinding audio.>>

"I really hopee you aree rightt-"

<<Administrator override. Rewinding audio.>>

"I really hopee you aree right. I really trulyy-

<<Administrator override. Terminating audio.>>
>>
No. 624647 ID: defceb
File 142363996250.png - (22.09KB , 840x600 , 3006.png )
624647

>Slap him *then* wake up
>>
No. 624649 ID: 321d85

Ummm...figure out where you are, and how to get to the medical bay with what's-his-bucket, then do so.
>>
No. 624650 ID: d958ad

>>624647
Great, you just slapped him. This is why I was not recommending violence during the "dream". Considering your strength you may have killed him. See if he's unconscious or lethally wounded by the slap. If he's awake still tell him you're really sorry, you were having a flashback. If he's just knocked the fuck out then I'm afraid you'll just have to carry him to a medkit or whatever. Call up that girl on the radio and ask her where the nearest medical station is. If he's dead then fuck it, just leave him there and get moving, investigate the water.

Also double-check those firewalls, and find out what was going on with that administrator override.
>>
No. 624651 ID: a19cd5

Aw shit, we slapped the mook. Shit buggery cocks.
Ok, let's try and get him to medical after we wrap that puncture wound i guess.
>>
No. 624652 ID: 82efdc

Shit. Timestamp. How long were we out of it?

Note to self: don't react violently during the visions. You don't know what's going on in the real world, and the thing messing with you could be trying to goad you into something bad, just like this.

Quick, check Rudy, apologize. Can we do something about the bleeding? How bad is he?
>>
No. 624656 ID: cc75ef

>>624647
><<Administrator override. Rewinding audio.>>
>"I really hopee you aree right. I really trulyy hope you are rightt."
what in all fucks was that about.
was that someone you knew? was that a memory? something that happened?
who even has administrator privileges other than you?
why is your left eye still all glowey?
>>
No. 624677 ID: 9ddf68

...well fuck. See if Rudy is ok.
>>
No. 624937 ID: 8f01e8

Check logs to look up "administrator's" IP address, and reclassify input from that source as spam. Zero out the biochaunivist's read/write/execute privileges on your system.
>>
No. 624955 ID: defceb
File 142381955498.png - (29.40KB , 840x600 , 3007.png )
624955

>Check Rudy
He appears to be dazed by the slap, but is otherwise fine. He rubs the growing red mark on his cheek, smearing blood over it. "Was it something I said?" He stammers weakly.

>"I'm sorry! I was having a dream. Or flashback. Or something."
He looks perplexed.

>Treat the wound
You tear off some parts of your cloak to act as improvised bandages. In the process of treating his wounds, you spot several short metal rods sticking out of Ruby's chest at the edges of his skin grafts.

>What the fuck was that?
It was a memory. Sort of. There was a party, you vaguely remember some rich asshole being there. It's all out of focus now, you can only really recall that thing where the memory was.

>Radio
You try calling over the radio but only get silence back.

>Timestamp.
>Check logs

re-upping w/ text of bandaging wound
>>
No. 624956 ID: d958ad

>>624955
Can you ban admin.Manaus? Also examine the data that's been downloaded. Maybe track what's been uploaded too. If you can't ban admin.Manaus, disable your wireless connection entirely.

Ah, thinking a bit more about this, you should probably leave him here for now and run off to find a medkit or something. He needs stitches and/or proper bandages. He would slow you down considerably, meaning it would take longer to find medical aid.
>>
No. 624957 ID: fef726

Gather all notes and pictures from the board and then lets get this guy to the security booth and hopefully that medkit.
>>
No. 624959 ID: b283c9

Try pointing out the metal rods to Rudy.
>>
No. 624962 ID: 88960e

>He looks perplexed.
It's the grid, I think. Someone or something has been using it to try and fuck with my head since I got here.

...you really are sorry. You're supposed to be helping!

We'll have to remember not to let ourselves be provoked in future incidents. Since there's no telling what we might be doing in the real world.

>In the process of treating his wounds, you spot several short metal rods sticking out of Ruby's chest at the edges of his skin grafts.
Skin grafts don't require metal anchors or anything. Maybe it's related (crushed and burned on one side?) but normally when you put metal rods in a person they not externally visible.

>what do
Need to get back to the stairs, where we're off grid and safe from immediate pursuit. And so we can get him to medical.

Which way to the security room?

I see flooding, down the hall.
>>
No. 624964 ID: 8f01e8

Five hundred petabytes!? Disk allocation check. How big is your mind, Marie?

Over a hundreds-of-megahertz radio... given eight distinct amplitudes, that download took two solid weeks even under an implausibly generous assumption of perfectly efficient protocols and zero interference. Sixty-four distinct amplitudes, two bytes per carrier wave, cuts it down to one week. If it was much faster than that, you've got evidence of an undocumented comm system using higher frequency EM... like, say, visible light. Through that eye. Which you should be covering with something opaque, not because eyepatches are awesome (though they are) but as a legitimate security measure.

If banning another admin proves infeasible, just throttle all remote connections down to single-digit kilobytes per second. Duels may be finished by a single masterful stroke, but in an all out war it's more common to drag your enemy down by cumulative inconvenience.
>>
No. 624972 ID: 9ddf68

does the name Manaws mean anything to you. Also why is he an admin twice and why does that take up 1108 TB when you're admin access only takes up 20MB?
>>
No. 626538 ID: defceb
File 142485168435.png - (26.32KB , 840x600 , 3008.png )
626538

>Disk allocation check

>Does the name Manaus mean anything to you?
It doesn't seem to ring any bells. Maybe Rudy knows something.

>"Hey Rudy, do you know anything about Manaus?"

"I think it used to be a city in Brazil. Don't quote me on that though, never been there."

>Point out the metal rods to Rudy.

He suddenly seems embarrassed and tries to cover his chest. "Oh, those, it's a uh... a long story. I don't think we have the time to talk about it right now. Uhh... yeah. No time."

>Ban admin.Manaus
>Throttle/disable wireless
Error message again, looks like no luck in that regard.

>To the security room!

"It's just around the corner, I'll show you the way. Could you give me a hand? It really hurts to move right now."

You pull Rudy up and proceed down the hallway.
>>
No. 626539 ID: defceb
File 142485175822.png - (15.62KB , 840x600 , 3009.png )
626539

"That door should lead straight to security."

>"Looks pretty nondescript."

"Leave them a note, I'm sure they'll change it."
>>
No. 626543 ID: d958ad

>>626538
What where did all the stuff on the wall go? Also what the heck is going on with that data transfer? Manaus downloaded something, but it's not there. Was it immediately uploaded again then deleted? What's the MISC stuff?

>>626539
There might be something around the corner. Do we have a shiny thing we can poke around the corner to see around it without exposing ourselves?
>>
No. 626545 ID: a0cfd0

>>626543
[[I'm tired as fuck and missed writing in that prompt. Marie took the stuff per Redaeth's suggestion.]]
>>
No. 626557 ID: fef726

I'm surprised you don't have administrator access to your own body.

Can you make an admin account?
>>
No. 626558 ID: bfdaf0

Wow, most of your memory storages are completely full. This can't be good.
>>
No. 626559 ID: 557364

>>626538
errrr sudu Ban admin.Manaus ?
>>
No. 626590 ID: 1324fc

>Admin account required
How are you not an admin in your own head. How are you not the only admin in your head.

I think it's something of a massive understatement to say information security has been badly compromised.

You need access to people you trust with white hot logic probes.

>soda machine
...is that the same picture as before, only now flipped vertically? Who keeps changing the orientation of those, and why? I wonder if someone is hiding something in them, or using them as a message system?

>security
I see a panel next to it, do we need an access code or something, or can we just get in?

Be careful, a security booth is useful place, there might be a baddie inside.
>>
No. 626600 ID: 8f01e8

You can at least compile and run code in ring 3, right? And use your internal radio to ping the grid? Start scripting up a fork bomb, let's call it quit_touching_me_there.exe and make it something like this:

>1:If user(admin.Manaus) is logged in
>2:run quit_touching_me_there.exe
>3:If pingtime(random IP address)>1000 milliseconds
>4:end program
>5:else goto 1

So it waits in the background until Manaus the Hangs of Fake logs in, then suddenly spawns infinite copies of itself and screams nonsense at every accessible network node until the routers choke or he logs back off. Elegant as kudzu.
>>
No. 626612 ID: d958ad

>>626559
You mean sudo, not sudu.
>>
No. 626663 ID: 5dfe8b

>>626612
err yes.
would you believe me if i said it was a typo?
>>
No. 626894 ID: 2f4b71

Let's see if the future kept up on bugfixes:
env x='() { :;}; zfs set dedup=on tank/Host\ Server ' bash -c "echo this is a test"

Uses shellshock to gain root privileges, then attempts to deduplicate the main server to concatenate duplicate data and free up some space
>>
No. 627777 ID: defceb
File 142551370416.png - (8.80KB , 840x600 , 3010.png )
627777

>Compile quit_touching_me_there

>Why aren't you the only Admin?

You should be! Admin access is supposed to be baked into the uh... it was called the... hmm....

"The neural code?"

Yes, that. Thanks.

>Do you have a shiny thing to peek around the corner?
Current inventory is:
Emergency cookie supply
Swiss Army Knife
Morgan's ID card
Cloak (torn)
Cassette Player
the Key
Movie Poster #1
Screwdriver
Prosthetic Arm
Book
All the stuff from the board (unsorted)

>Security panel, do we need a code?
You take a closer look. It springs to life at your approach.

>Shellshock bug
Using a known bug on yourself... are you sure this is a good idea?
>>
No. 627779 ID: d958ad

>>627777
>shellshock bug
Your software is future tech, that bug has to be fixed by now. Attempting it will probably do nothing.

Key in the code on the sticky note. See if you can peek down the corridor that's now behind you to make sure nothing is about to rush up and gut you. If there is, maybe try to get both of you in the door before it does so?
>>
No. 627785 ID: 8f01e8

Check whether Manaus is logged in right now, and if not, launch quit_touching_me_there. Fail-deadly won't work if it's not running.

Maaaybe confirm that you set it up correctly first. Y'know, if there's enough time.
>>
No. 627798 ID: 5db52c

>Using a known bug on yourself... are you sure this is a good idea?
Maybe not. At least not when we're trying to get someone injured to safety. Experiments with your brain can wait till we're relatively safe and in the company of others.

>code
Hmm. There's six spots. but only 3 digits on the sticky. That's not enough. Do the months take up more than one?

142 could mean the 142nd day of the year. And, uh, 2262 isn't a leap year, so that would be may 22nd.

Obvious thing might be to ask Rudy if he knows how the code works.
>>
No. 627803 ID: defceb
File 142553637187.png - (11.58KB , 840x600 , 3011.png )
627803

>Try the code on the post-it note.
You punch in the code, but nothing happens.

>Maybe Rudy knows something?
"I think Simon was in charge of security codes. He was a huge movie guy, maybe the codes related to them?"

>Check if Manaus is logged in
>>
No. 627804 ID: defceb
File 142553642946.png - (10.73KB , 840x600 , 3012.png )
627804

>Take a peek down the hall
>>
No. 627807 ID: d958ad

>>627803
Ugh, time to check those notes that were on the billboard.

>>627804
Looks clear. That blue stain is foreboding but we can check it out later.
>>
No. 627815 ID: b283c9

Why do you have so many guests logged i- Oh hey that's us, hey us! Please don't block us.
>>
No. 627816 ID: 5db52c

>You punch in the code, but nothing happens.
Delete and try months, instead. 1 4 2 would be Jan Apr Feb (this probably won't work either, but I want to see if the months take one _ or two, as they look long enough for).

>movies
Maybe that movie poster you found earlier >>618831 is part of the clue?

It's got a date of june 6th, and the number 1 written on it.

"142, jun 6, 1" gives us 6 entries, and there are 6 underlines. Although the intended order isn't clear.
>>
No. 627817 ID: fef726

>"The neural code?"
Who... who said this?
>>
No. 627839 ID: 9ddf68

wait, blue blood? as in coolant? I haven't seen a single drone who uses coolant, the fuck?
>>
No. 627871 ID: 8f01e8

Blue stain out from under the door means there's most likely a damaged container of coolant inside that room. If we're lucky, it might even be a 55-gallon drum that was punctured halfway up, so twenty gallons are on the floor and more than enough for your purposes is still safely contained. (Less lucky, the 'container' used to be alive.) Go check it out before meddling further with password guesses and triggering some five-attempt lockout.
>>
No. 627873 ID: 5db52c

>>627817
I assumed Marie was talking aloud to herself again and that was Rudy, but good point.
>>
No. 628318 ID: defceb
File 142586729634.png - (89.04KB , 600x840 , Poster4.png )
628318

You sift through the notes off the board, finding another movie poster in the pile.

>Who... who said this?
That... wasn't Rudy's voice.
>>
No. 628331 ID: e5d9a4

huh there's a number written in what looks like coolant on this movie poster too
>>
No. 628334 ID: d958ad

>>628318
It's Manaus. He can read your thoughts. Demand to know what the fuck he's doing in your head. How is he even doing that? If you don't like the answer, turn on the program you just made.
>>
No. 628336 ID: 5db52c

Okay, the last poster was labeled number 1, and is dated Jun 6. >>/questarch/618831

This poster is labeled number 4, and dated Nov 9. And that's excellent panty quest fanart.

If the password is 142, we need the dates from posters 1, 4, and 2. We're missing poster 2, which means right now we only know part of the password. (Jun 6 Nov 9 _ _). We gotta find poster 2.

>that wasn't Rudy.
Um. Panic execute stop_touching_me_there.exe?
>>
No. 628892 ID: defceb
File 142622742408.png - (23.34KB , 840x600 , 3013.png )
628892

>"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU IN MY HEAD!?
>>
No. 628895 ID: defceb
File 142622762966.png - (18.85KB , 840x600 , 3014.png )
628895

You're alone. Of course you're alone. Just you, Rudy, and the soft ambiance of ventilation. Alone.

>"s-Sorry about that, I thought I heard something."

"...do you usually hear things and yell at them?"
>>
No. 628897 ID: d958ad

...no. This is new.

Please realize that if someone was in your head, it's likely remote access. Ask if he's seen any other movie posters around.
>>
No. 628916 ID: fbc59e

This guy is enjoying making us crazy, isn't he.
...I wonder if he's a hacker with strong anti-cyborg thoughts or something? Or he wants to play with our sanity for whatever reason...
What was it that dream said? The fact we can't die?
Ehhh, dunno if I like the thought of being rendered helpless or whatever he's driving at...
>>
No. 628918 ID: d04d05

If it is in the neural code, ie. unhackable, that the owner of the brain has admin, is it conceivable that you're connecting to this body from the outside?
>>
No. 628939 ID: 5db52c

>"...do you usually hear things and yell at them?"
"No. I didn't used to. It's becoming an unfortunate new normal here, though.

"The usually cool cyborg uplift thing is apparently a disadvantage in the underground cybernetics facility where something has gone Very Wrong. I can be hacked, and someone or something is literally messing with my head."

Be honest, here. I know it's unsettling to think of yourself as mentally compromised, or admit it to others. But your best bet of countering whatever's messing with you is to trust the people it can't mess with. You need people who can cover for you or help when you slip up.

I mean, when you actually do have radios in your teeth, you need to admit someone is talking you through them, and not worry it sounds crazy.

>What else
"Sorry, I know that isn't very reassuring. Do you know where any other movie posters are handing around, here? I've found numbers written on two of them, and I think if we can find the third, that'll be the passcode for this door. Did, uh, whoever have a thing for movies?"
>>
No. 629020 ID: defceb
File 142631077664.png - (17.02KB , 840x640 , 3015.png )
629020

>Is it conceivable you're connecting tot his body from the outside?
It's... not impossible. But this is YOUR body. Why would you be the one using remote access on yourself?

>"NO! I mean, no, I didn't use to. It's this place. This person. I'm getting hacked, they're messing with my head."

The words stumble awkwardly out of your mouth. It all sounded much more eloquent in your head.

"Clearly we're both under a lot of stress right now. I think it's best we find a quick way into security and sort it all out in there."

>"Have you seen any movie posters around here? I've found these numbers written on them maybe if we find another it'll give us the passcode to get in. You said the security guy had a thing for movies, right?"

"Yeah, he put up posters all over the floor there should be at least one nearby. You go on ahead, I'm feeling tired and don't want to slow you down. Do you have a book or something to read while I wait?"
>>
No. 629022 ID: 9ddf68

he man stay awake, I'm not going to put you down until we find something to fix you up.

I think he's starting to suffer from blood lose so we may want to hurry up and try to find something to help with sooner rather then later.
>>
No. 629125 ID: 5db52c

>Why would you be the one using remote access on yourself?
Maybe because remote access is safe and sensible if you're doing time travel experiments?

That or because someone crazy cut you out of your body to hold you as an unwitting hostage.

No real information to go on, though. Nor do we have a direct means to test it available, right now (if you tried jamming the area around your body and lost contact, that would be proof). For now, put the idea aside.

>Do you have a book or something to read while I wait?
You... do have a book in inventory. You could leave him that. And maybe some emergency cookies? (Getting some sugars in him might provide some short term relief for the blood loss. They give cookies when you donate blood).

Help him to sit down, or lean against the wall, and tell him we're gonna check for posters nearby. You'll try to be back fast, yell if anything happens. You got good ears, you'll probably hear.
>>
No. 629130 ID: d958ad

>>629020
I guess we get to investigate this hallway then.
>>
No. 629348 ID: defceb
File 142648429010.png - (20.38KB , 840x600 , 3016.png )
629348

You hand Rudy the book and some cookies before helping him sit down.

>"Yell if you need anything. I should be back soon. I hope."

You proceed to the next hallway. A muffled tapping sound emanates from behind the door.
>>
No. 629349 ID: 89941a

You may want to nope the hell away from that, just my own opinion.
>>
No. 629350 ID: 01745f

The wall is made of glass, so you should be able to walk to the side a bit to look at what is on the other side.
>>
No. 629362 ID: d958ad

>>629348
Oh hey it's the other you. Open the door, look in, but don't enter the room. There's something in that room that looks like it caused that stain.
>>
No. 629414 ID: 8f01e8

Lick the floor stain to confirm that it's coolant (and identify impurities, possible clues) before opening the door.
>>
No. 629422 ID: defceb
File 142653411554.png - (15.05KB , 840x600 , 3017.png )
629422

>Check the floor stain.
Yeap, that's coolant. It's still warm, too.

>Take a peek through the door.
>>
No. 629427 ID: d958ad

>>629422
HAHAHA NOPE

Check the next room.
>>
No. 629431 ID: 5db52c

Um. Is that an android heart, ripped out on the floor there?

There might be a body behind the panel the coolant line runs to. One of your fellow future uplifts? Or if there is really a time travel nightmare, it could be an alternate you.

Where in the room is the tapping coming from- the other side of the 'one way' glass that's turned off? (The coolant points to a button that turns it on?).

...wait, we don't need to get any closer if that's a component of an uplifted individual. Simply stand where you are, use enhanced vision to scan it for a serial number, and then run it against your database.
>>
No. 629440 ID: e5d9a4

Give that heart a tug, see if anythings still attached.
>>
No. 629732 ID: defceb
File 142665736989.png - (21.42KB , 840x600 , 3018.png )
629732

>Enhance
No luck, you can only spot part of the serial number from here.
>>
No. 629733 ID: defceb
File 142665740895.png - (23.18KB , 840x600 , 3019.png )
629733

>Give it a tug
A small tug wouldn't hurt... right?
>>
No. 629734 ID: defceb
File 142665747774.png - (22.59KB , 840x600 , 3020.png )
629734

-kathunk-
>>
No. 629735 ID: fef726

Check it out, then maybe press the button the coolant arrow is pointing at.
>>
No. 629736 ID: 89941a

Be quick about checking it out. That sounded loud-ish.
>>
No. 629737 ID: 4e2c42

>>629736
Look into the box, but stay out of the field of the glass. Stay behind the wall next to it.
>>
No. 629739 ID: d958ad

>>629734
What is your serial number?
>>
No. 629744 ID: defceb
File 142666077936.png - (20.53KB , 840x600 , 3021.png )
629744

Looks like some IV bags and... some sort of injector?
>>
No. 629745 ID: fef726

Right, looks like you have something in case you need to fight again. Gather it up, inject some into your system and press the button!
>>
No. 629749 ID: d958ad

>>629744
Oh my god... I want that. But if you put your arms in that box the box could KATHUNK back into the wall. This could be a cruel trap. I say break the one-way mirror first so that you can be sure nobody is on the other side about the push the button to take off your arms.

Considering the heart, I'm guessing your benefactor is... that dancer in your dream, who is also inside your head... I no longer know who the enemy is.
>>
No. 629760 ID: 256d52

Wave at the window. Do you recognise the handwriting?

If you're feeling paranoid there's a box on that table - wedge it in there so the box can't close while you are grabbing the precious coolant.
>>
No. 629770 ID: 88960e

Stick in inventory. Don't use yet. We'll want to test if it's safe, first. (Run an oral chemical analysis on a small sample, while we're back in medical, in case it does something bad, or is contaminated / trapped).

Is that a piece of tape with writing on it, to the right of the bags? What's it say?

You didn't answer before. Is that a heart?

Can you get the serial now that you're closer? If not, how many partial matches are there against the fragment? (Is the serial a match and/or partial matches for your heart?)
>>
No. 629772 ID: 89941a

Yay lunch!
>>
No. 629783 ID: b3ff00

only a fool would eat from a plate full of cookies that has a flag stuck in the middle that says "with love, from your enemy"
>>
No. 629866 ID: 8f01e8

Remove a skull from your belt and use it to prop the drawer open before reaching inside.

Recognize the heart's serial number from anywhere?

Grab that box on the table and chuck it through the one-way mirror.
>>
No. 630417 ID: defceb
File 142709419330.png - (18.44KB , 840x600 , 3022.png )
630417

>Prop the drawer open with the skull clip, then grab the goods.
>>
No. 630418 ID: defceb
File 142709432136.png - (23.53KB , 840x600 , 3023.png )
630418

>Heart's serial number

It looks like it's KHI-HT-0028-10-05-2413.

>Press the button.
>>
No. 630419 ID: defceb
File 142709440455.png - (32.50KB , 840x600 , 3024.png )
630419

>Is it a match for YOUR heart?

No, your heart's code is-

-click!-

...is...

...it's....
>>
No. 630420 ID: a19cd5

I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango
>>
No. 630433 ID: 296917

>>630419
What's up? Is there a dead YOU behind the mirror?
>>
No. 630437 ID: bd8b82

some kind of entity in the static, get moving.
>>
No. 630452 ID: cd9270

Hey, your eye's not red anymore.

>it's it's...
Complete sentences, please. Does the serial match anyone you have on record?

>reaction
What do you see? What's beyond the glass? (Is it someone sans heart? An unwilling blood donor for that coolant)?
>>
No. 630459 ID: 89941a

I like those mood-indicating ears~

Anyhow, what is it?
>>
No. 630463 ID: cd9270

>KHI-HT-0028-10-05-2413
Wait, 10-05-2413 is May 5, 2413. That's the day you crashed. That's kind of odd if we assume they include manufacture date in the serial.
>>
No. 630537 ID: 5db52c

>>630463
...may 10th, derp. Still the day of the crash, though.
>>
No. 630871 ID: defceb
File 142726284498.png - (18.12KB , 840x600 , 3025.png )
630871

It's... probably time to go.
>>
No. 630874 ID: 296917

>>630871
HAND. Spin around ready to fight!
>>
No. 630915 ID: b283c9

It's probably Rudy even if it doesn't look like it from this point of view. No need to frighten the guy again.
>>
No. 630937 ID: fef726

Rudy is not wearing gloves.
>>
No. 630939 ID: 88960e

Is that our own hand? Marie is wearing gloves. Although that would require twisting her arm around rather unnaturally.

>body
Between the heart serial number, and the visual on the body (and any other serials you can see from here), can you identify the remains? Was that one of your peers?
>>
No. 630963 ID: 5db52c

>>630871
That outfit is consistent with future-Haley, but there's really not enough recognizable questions, nor is trying to identify someone by something they wore 100+ years isn't very rigorous, either.

A more pressing question: how do uplifted humans handle... hard power down? You can't really turn an organic brain back on once it's been shut off. But hard drives survive power cycling.

Can an uplift be rebooted? Can 'fatal' injuries be repaired, so long as the central memory storage survives?

Because whoever did that, they still have the head.
>>
No. 631393 ID: 2305b0

>>630419
don't change the subject!
can you or can you not remember your own heart code?
>>
No. 631724 ID: defceb
File 142770895806.png - (16.38KB , 840x600 , 3026.png )
631724

>Can an uplift be rebooted?
As long as the brain itself is in one piece, they should be able to. Should, as in nobody has been brave enough to find out yet.

>Can you ID the remains?
They seem... familiar. As if you'd seen them recently.

>Don't change the subject!
Sorry!
>Can you or can you not remember your own heart code?
It is KHI-HAU-01
>>
No. 631725 ID: defceb
File 142770908342.png - (55.34KB , 840x600 , 3027.png )
631725

>Hand!

Aah! You spin around, raising your fists to fight off whoever is behind you. They grab you by the wrists.
>>
No. 631726 ID: defceb
File 142770913099.png - (58.54KB , 840x600 , 3028.png )
631726

>"Stay away from me!"

They give a forceful shove, pushing you down.

"Marie! Calm down already!"
>>
No. 631731 ID: a19cd5

Shit, back to the past . Chill out I guess?
>>
No. 631734 ID: 04b86a

>sol.31Dec2999AD
I have no idea when we are, but I'm pretty sure it's not one day short of the year 3000.

So, yeah. Just chill out and hope this doesn't last too long, I guess.
>>
No. 631735 ID: 296917

>>631729
Can you run that anti-hack program you made? I'm pretty sure every flashback like this is caused by a hacking attempt.
>>
No. 631736 ID: defceb
File 142771082468.png - (22.39KB , 840x600 , 3029.png )
631736

"It's just me."

>>631734
It's supposed to be 2299. Fixed that, thanks.
>>
No. 631737 ID: 296917

>>631736
Ah, so we're remembering one year after the landing of the human colony ship(s).

Chill out, and... ask what her heart's serial number is.
>>
No. 631739 ID: 88960e

>Should, as in nobody has been brave enough to find out yet
Huh. I figured in 100 plus years there would have been at least one serious accident where we found out the hard way.

>Really simple serial
Oh, right. Patient zero. Basically anything of yours you haven't replaced or upgraded will be serial 1.

>31Dec2299
New year's eve, turn of the century, a year after Mars. And you spent it with Haley, it would seem.

That's a skyline. Are you back on Earth, or did mars build up that quick?

>It's just me.
Hi, Haley. What's going on? *weak smile*

>Flashback again
Remember, no violence. You don't know what's happening real world, and you don't want to hurt anyone like when you slapped Rudy.
>>
No. 631794 ID: 5db52c

>>630871
>>631724
>They seem... familiar. As if you'd seen them recently.
Wait, shit. That body matches your last dream. The spike in the neck, the dress, the hole in the chest cavity. That's what you saw here: >>623733

I don't know what this means. He dumped a memory from the uplift he killed into you? He customized an image in your head to match the real world? Made a prop in the real word to matches something he saw in your head? (You had that vision recently, but the prepwork could have started earlier).

If nothing else, this is evidence there's some actor capable of both action in the real world and your head. Just in case you didn't believe it before.
>>
No. 631911 ID: defceb
File 142778163639.png - (25.48KB , 840x600 , 3030.png )
631911

>"Hi Haley, what's going on?"
You smile weakly.

"What's going on? What's going on with you? I just got here and you were acting hysterical." Haley speaks, but not with concern. Frustration? Exhaustion? She lets go and paces about the room. "We don't have time for this right now. Can you keep yourself composed tonight? There's supposed to be a lot of important people there. Leave it to the rich to thing a great new year's party is to spend months flying to Mars for it. It's not even the martian new year!" She taps her forehead at a quick pace. "But still, that Kobayashi guy is going to be there. He invited us by name, I can't just say no..." she trails off, muttering to herself for a long while.

"I'm... sorry I pushed you by the way."
>>
No. 631912 ID: defceb
File 142778168891.png - (107.10KB , 840x600 , 3031.png )
631912

"I wouldn't want to hurt you."
>>
No. 631915 ID: defceb
File 142778215068.png - (30.24KB , 840x600 , 3032.png )
631915

>Are you back on Earth, or did mars build up that quick?

The first martian city practically burst out of the ground following the colony ships. They spoke endlessly about making a new place, a better place, that once they were done with construction everything would be worth it.

"I'm going to go get ready for the party. I suggest you do the same. And please do something with your hair, you look like you just got out of bed."
>>
No. 631916 ID: defceb
File 142778226646.png - (11.03KB , 840x600 , 3033.png )
631916

What should you wear to-

"Here, I already got you a nice dress for the occasion."

Oh.


...okay.
>>
No. 631918 ID: 296917

>>631912
Great, you're dying while in the middle of a flashback. Fucking hacker. Hell, it's probably Haley hacking you and killing you. She has issues with the humans, and I'm guessing either you did something that let the humans do something awful which made her seek revenge on you, or you stopped her from doing something awful (and again, revenge), or you wound up sending yourself back in time to try to stop her from doing something awful, ala Terminator 2. Or hell, maybe I was right and it's a copy of yourself that's hostile.

How about you punch the shit out of the air in front of you? Last "flashback", you slapped the hacker in the middle of it and actually slapped someone outside of it. My theory is you can still move. If you have even a moment of lucidity, run that program. Lock the hacker out so you can see clearly. This is no time to dream.
>>
No. 631928 ID: 8f01e8

Alright, tricky double-vision maneuver time.

Abruptly hold the box with the dress way out in front of you, as if punching someone in the solar plexus, and then rip it open as if knocking a pair of arms away from your throat.

When Haley comments on your bizarre spastic movements, acknowledge that you've been having some problems with ataxia, probably malware-related, which is why you're so worried about embarrassing yourself at the party. Ask her to send you a clean copy of the diagnostic suite.
>>
No. 631930 ID: bd8b82

emergency reboot.
>>
No. 631947 ID: 89941a

If this is a playback, can't you just skip forwards until it ends?
>>
No. 631951 ID: 5db52c

>Here, I already got you a nice dress for the occasion
Hold it up. It's not the same dress from your last vision, and the headless body you found, is it?

>fight thing in the real world
The problem is, we don't know that the hands we're seeing in the real world are real, either. The being strangled could be a hallucination as easily as this Haley scene. So flailing around won't necessarily make them go away.

That, and our opponent is an opportunistic sadist. If we manage to make real resistance that way, we're going to wake up to find he walked us in front of Rudy, or someone else, again. And tricked us into attacking them.

Be careful when you can't tell what's going on. Don't let yourself be goaded or manipulated.
>>
No. 631955 ID: 88960e

The problem here is if we're playing the memory strait or not.

Playing it straight, I would say something along the lines of...

>sorry I pushed you
>wouldn't want to hurt you
It's okay. You haven't.. (More general than she didn't hurt us this one time).

>Haley speaks, but not with concern. Frustration? Exhaustion?
Ask if she's okay. It looks like something's bothering here, besides your antics.

Not playing it straight? Tell her you're having issues with some kind of memory fault. Flashbacks. Any idea how to fix that? (Metagame. Ask the memory of the women who should understand our tech how to fix it. Maybe we can trick our brain into providing the info, that way).

>>631918
>blaming Haley
That seems extreme, and premature. She's resentful there was a backlash to her work, and that she was murdered over it. A little trauma there is understandable. And she listened on Mars. I don't see that going to these extremes.
>>
No. 633352 ID: defceb
File 142847720346.png - (98.75KB , 840x600 , 3034.png )
633352

>"It's okay. You haven't."

>Abruptly hold the box with the dress way out in front of you, as if punching someone in the solar plexus, and then rip it open as if knocking a pair of arms away from your throat.

>Hold it up. It's not the same dress from your last vision, and the headless body you found, is it?

It seems similar? The torn dress was too damaged to make a clear comparison.
>>
No. 633353 ID: defceb
File 142847725016.png - (23.32KB , 840x600 , 3035.png )
633353

"Whatever are you up to over there?" Haley asks.

>"I've been having some problems with uh... ataxia? I'm worried about embarrassing myself at the party with it. Could you send me a clean diagnostic suite?"
>>
No. 633354 ID: defceb
File 142847728737.png - (135.54KB , 840x600 , 3036.png )
633354

"Didn't you get your last tune up done by Roderick? He should have the latest software for you, try asking him."

>Run quit_touching_me_there.exe
>>
No. 633355 ID: defceb
File 142847733611.png - (27.92KB , 840x600 , 3037.png )
633355

>"Are you okay?"

"I've been... forgetting things. Memories from before I was uplifted. It's like a fine line, on one side everything I've seen is still crystal clear but on the other..."

"It's all hazy now. Out of order. I'm losing details, moments, days. I reread an old journal of mine. The day after your uplift we-" She pauses, uncertain. "It was unprofessional of me."
>>
No. 633357 ID: b283c9

Why is there an arrow in that image?
>>
No. 633361 ID: 296917

>>633354
Fuckbutts. Leaking again. We just got some coolant so maybe it'll be okay but still, FUCK. Looks like the enemy is in about the same location. Try to kick out to trip it. Since you're on the floor there's not a lot of coordinated stuff you can do. It might be a good idea to curl up into a defensive posture until the program stops the memory-lock, as well.

Tell her it's fine. The heart wants what it wants. Also, that you're forgetting... everything. There must be some flaw in memory storage. Ask if she knows anyone called Manaus.
>>
No. 633366 ID: 01745f

You know, I think at this point we should stop worrying about playing this memory straight.
Explain that you are experiencing your own memory problems of a different sort, to the point where you are experiencing both this and an alternate internally consistent sequence of events simultaneously and it is unclear which is the hallucination or memory. Because of this we are avoiding anything too risky in either sequence, and right now that means fighting off an attacker in the other one. If Haley could get us some diagnostic help asap that would be great.
By the way, do you currently have access to memories later than this one? Being able to bring up relevant future knowledge could be useful.
>>
No. 633368 ID: 225f37

>>633366
I have to agree with this. I mean, we already considered time travel as a possibility. Think about it, if you have traveled in time to the past somehow, you could be actively changing the future- and your memories are essentialyl of the future. Haley might be forgetting events because they're, right at this moment, becoming overwritten, and because your memories are of the future they are changing to reflect that.

Maybe that's why your system keeps showing them to you- not because you're being hacked, but because cyborg memory (hell, maybe memory in general) simply does not play well with time travel.

I move that we treat you as acting both truly in the "present" and in the future/your memories simultaneously. Approach the problem from both directions. Worst case, one of the two is just a hallucination but at least the others that may be able to help you in the "true" world at least have all the knowledge they need to help you.
>>
No. 633373 ID: 296917

Oh! I have an idea. Ask Haley to spar with you. If we're lucky, the memory will match Haley's movements with whoever's attacking you while you're in this trance. You won't be killing the enemy probably, but you will be able to fend off its attacks.
>>
No. 633376 ID: 5db52c

>"It was unprofessional of me."
Laugh. Honest and genuine.

Haley, you saved my life. Trust me when I say nothing that happened between us wasn't something I wanted. Whatever happens, don't doubt that.

>pre-uplift memories fading
I wonder if the whole digital processor / memory storage has problems with playback / long term storage of analogue memories.

(You currently have access to a pre-uplift Haley via time travel. I wonder if you could restore the memories of future Haley if you copied a backup from the past one? ...assuming we survive, find a way to copy that kind of thing, and find a way back to the future).

...but you know the feeling. Your head's all jumbled out of order lately, only it's not just pre-uplift.

>>633357
Points to the two way mirror in the real world.
>>
No. 633377 ID: bd8b82

ctrl+shift+esc
>>
No. 633379 ID: 88960e

>spar
I'm not sure that will make sense to Haley in-dream. And more importantly, that's really dangerous if our brain hacker puts us in the room with a human, again. Violence while mostly blind is bad.

If we're looking for actions that make sense in both worlds, hugging Haley could also serve to restrain / pin our attacker.

>>633376
If we ever get off this base, we might have access to a pre-uplift Marie, too.
>>
No. 633382 ID: 60700b

>>633377
Yes, let's open task manager, or it's equivalent.
>>
No. 633670 ID: 8f01e8

Tell Haley you feel like you've lost admin privileges in your own head.

Ping Roderick with some kind of distress call and try to plug him in to where the diagnostic interface should be for your off-spec eye.
>>
No. 634339 ID: defceb
File 142899446605.png - (31.67KB , 840x600 , 3038.png )
634339

You laugh. A deep, honest kind of laugh that catches Haley off guard.

>"Haley, you saved my life. Trust me, nothing that happened between us wasn't something I wanted. Whatever happens, don't doubt that."

"...still, I feel I acted irresponsibly. I was your doctor, after all. Not that I didn't want to, well, I did want to but. Uhm. Apparently I was quite overcautious at the time as well. Maybe I was overeager at success or emotions were running high and-"

It's almost cute to see her so flustered for once.

>"Relax, would you? I wanted you too. I've also been forgetting things as well. Not just pre-uplift memories though. It's like I'm skipping around in time, all the information is jumbled up and I don't even know what I'm forgetting. I think.. I think I've been hacked. Or I'm stuck in some time bullshit."

"Or you're falling apart."

>"Or that!"

"...or what?"

>"That, you just suggested maybe I'm falling apart. That's kind of morbid but I guess I can't rule it out."

Haley remains quiet for a long time, the gears in her head quietly clicking through all her thoughts.

"I didn't say that."
>>
No. 634340 ID: 296917

>>634339
Point.

Then ask who the hell are they, anyway.
>>
No. 634344 ID: d3be40

Alright, what has happened since you last met? What's the general plan?
>>
No. 634346 ID: a19cd5

>>634339
>4028 instances running
...shit.
>>
No. 634371 ID: 88960e

>It's almost cute to see her so flustered for once.
I'd be tempted to make some kind of naughty doctor crack if the conversation hadn't already moved on.

>I didn't say that
*Sigh, sad smile* See, that's exactly what I mean. That kind of thing isn't supposed to be happening.
>>
No. 634373 ID: fbc59e

Aaand that's what I mean.
SOMETHING screwy is going on with me. Like, I just got...You could say chrono-warped? Here from the future where I was getting choked or something?
Whatever, I'll snap back to 'normal' and then I'll deal with that jerk choking me.
>>
No. 634375 ID: 8f01e8

Explain to Haley that five minutes ago you were a hundred and thirteen (earth) years older, in a haunted ruin in Idaho in the year 2262, being strangled by an individual you have not yet been able to conclusively identify, and you just pulled the pin on a fork bomb.
>>
No. 634386 ID: 88960e

>>634373
>>634375
Careful what you say, there. If you sound too crazy or unstable, it becomes internally conistent for dream-Haley to hospialize / instatutionalize us before we hurt ourself or someone else in our delusions.

We need her to think something's wrong, but we need her giving us information we can use to help ourself in the present, not locking us up or ending the flashback.
>>
No. 634513 ID: defceb
File 142907290096.png - (32.89KB , 840x600 , 3039.png )
634513

>"See!? It's not supposed to be happening! It's... it's..."

You point.

>"Who the hell are you!?"

"...the closet? Marie, you're pointing at the closet."
>>
No. 634514 ID: defceb
File 142907292170.png - (12.03KB , 840x600 , 3040.png )
634514

"There's nobody in there."
>>
No. 634515 ID: defceb
File 142907298859.png - (15.53KB , 840x600 , 3041.png )
634515

"Don't you see that?"
>>
No. 634516 ID: 01745f

"No!" then rush for the gun.
>>
No. 634517 ID: 296917

>>634515
Acquire gun.
>>
No. 634519 ID: 5db52c

Go for the gun. Not the person because, again, we can't trust what we're seeing.

>"Don't you see that?"
*Shake head* Yes and no, Haley. That's the problem with not being able to trust what you see. Stuff overlaps.

Can you help me? I don't know if you're real, or in my head, but if there's something in my head that could help, I'd like to think it was you.
>>
No. 634520 ID: 247c50

>>634519
...you know what? Yeah. Go with this.
>>
No. 634530 ID: d3be40

If she has auto-targeting, Marie is screwed. Considering that you'd expect hand-to-eye coordination to be a top priority for augmentation research in a world where the only thing better than an unrelenting body is the precise gunfire that can destroy it, I'd say that's a fairly reasonable upgrade for any assassin.

Attempt to parley with the assassin. If she fires, throw something at the gun and take her down.
>>
No. 634535 ID: a19cd5

>>634520
I mean at captain menacy-redeye there.
What's his game? Is he trying to help? Is he trying to shock us awake? Does he even have a reason?
Talk to him.
>>
No. 634716 ID: defceb
File 142916758952.png - (63.11KB , 840x600 , 3042.png )
634716

>"Help me?"
>>
No. 634717 ID: defceb
File 142916764726.png - (32.95KB , 840x600 , 3043.png )
634717

<<Audio squelched; above 140dB>>
>>
No. 634718 ID: defceb
File 142916766512.png - (36.21KB , 840x600 , 3044.png )
634718

<<Audio squelched; above 140dB>>
>>
No. 634719 ID: defceb
File 142916768179.png - (31.05KB , 840x600 , 3045.png )
634719

>>
No. 634720 ID: defceb
File 142916769773.png - (53.17KB , 840x600 , 3046.png )
634720

<<Audio squelched; above 140dB>>
>>
No. 634721 ID: defceb
File 142916775878.png - (32.50KB , 840x600 , 3047.png )
634721

<<Could not create process>>
...
...
...
<<Could not create process>>
...
...
...
<<Could not create process>>
...
...
...
<<Could not create process>>
...
...
...
>>
No. 634724 ID: 296917

>>634717
Wow. Confirmed: eyesight is HEAVILY compromised. We were almost the subject of a snuff film! I wonder... does the new "compromised" eye actually see past this nonsense? Have we been going about this the wrong way all along?

>>634721
Um. Turn off the antihack exe file, and edit it again. Put a cap on it at 100k instances. This can be done by having a global variable- uh wait it's an exe file not a java file I don't know how to track that. It looks like we started properly seeing the camera and shit at just past 80k but that may have been due to our benefactor shooting the killbot. Is it possible to program this thing to not eventually hog all processing power? Because apparently the ping time will never be exceeded.

Also apparently when we're in those memory things, time slows down. A lot. That's easy proof that they're memories, I think. This is reality.
>>
No. 634726 ID: a19cd5

Wow, holy shit. Spooky red might be benevolent like I thought.
>>
No. 634755 ID: fef726

We... really need to get you better security Hailey. Something more then the stopgap program we made.

We didn't even see those cameras. That means they could have killbots walking right next to you and you'd never even know.
>>
No. 634758 ID: 88960e

Well. That was different.

Real time sensory hacking was in effect- the camera, sound boom, and assailant were edited out of your perception. And they were probably being used to record data being used for the edits.

Red-eye's interference suggests there might be someone else messing with you, and they're at odds. That, or he just doesn't want you dead yet.

...you might as well kill your jamming process. It's not working. And your vision is completely compromised. You might as well unquarantine the other eye and see if it makes a difference.
>>
No. 634781 ID: 8f01e8

>>634758
> might as well kill your jamming process.

Can't be done. It's a fail-deadly fork bomb, new instances will spawn faster than they can be singled out and terminated. Only way is for Admin_Manaus to log off.
>>
No. 634874 ID: 5db52c

>>634721
...wait. That's an English translation of Lorem ipsum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum#English_translation

The bit quoted is about people not choosing pain for it's own sake, but for some other reason. As a means to an end.

If that was hacked there deliberately, that could be seen as an apology or justification. That he's saying he's not doing this for the sake of hurting us.

...well, that, or he's saying he hurts us because it brings him pleasure.
>>
No. 634902 ID: 7df7d1
File 142924591149.png - (220.88KB , 840x600 , 3048.png )
634902

>>
No. 634903 ID: 7df7d1
File 142924596467.png - (45.46KB , 840x600 , 3049.png )
634903

"Theseus' syndrome, we took to calling it. A person forced to replace body parts with machinery begins to have doubts about their identity. Feels like less of a person, like they've lost an important part of themselves. Often they'd slip into depression, have an existential crisis, do something stupid and end up back in my office again. Some of them would turn violent, act irrationally, you've probably seen those in the papers. Stories of augmented people going bad sell well these days."

>"Is there any specific reason you're telling me about this now, Haley? 'Cause I don't feel particularly existential."

"No, I'm convinced you're emotionally invulnerable at this point. But not everyone can be as... rational? ss you are about it."
>>
No. 634904 ID: 7df7d1
File 142924599660.png - (32.72KB , 840x600 , 3050.png )
634904

"I just figure if I'm going to die alone and a failure down here I may as well talk about myself for once."

My name is Morgan and I am not prepared for this kind of conversation.
>>
No. 634905 ID: 296917

>>634904
Ask her if she thinks maybe that's happening to Marie. Except like ten times worse because she replaced her entire body.
>>
No. 634907 ID: 01745f

So when did things go from "some psychological issues" to "cyber-zombies everywhere"?
>>
No. 634926 ID: 88960e

You're not going to die alone! You've got me! Worst case we die together.

Maybe if you're worried about death and failure you should have asked the Martian time traveller what happens to you. Maybe she knows. And hey, isn't she sort of proof your idea will work? She's a whole robot person without being crazy. Mostly.
>>
No. 634973 ID: 37745a

well, that's the human condition issue, it's normal. we go to sleep and wake up a slightly different person. that's like dying and becoming a new person with the old person's memories and certainty of being the old person.
you're ok, haley. you're still as much you as anyone is themself.
if it'll make you feel better, try to make an identity for yourself; things that are important to you, your values, music that characterizes you. anchor points. remember those and reference them later.
>>
No. 635243 ID: defceb
File 142942661551.png - (108.34KB , 840x600 , 3051.png )
635243

>"You won't die alone! I'm here!"

"I'm so reassured."

Haley takes the ball and goes back to bouncing it against the wall. Again and again, she's been at it for at least an hour by now.

>"But that whole thing is just the human condition, isn't it? We're always becoming a new person as time goes on. You're still you Haley-"

"I wasn't worried about myself."

>"The Martian invader?"

"No, by her recollection she's been a cyborg for a long time. Are you familiar with how the brain processes memories? It's not really a thing that you have, like an limb or- that was poor choice of words, sorry. It's a process, where the brain revisits the neural pathways from the original event. But the memory itself is more of a... re-imagining, of the original event. The details are fuzzy, later suggestions get mixed, it's all a mess. Computers on the other hand- have you worked much with computers? Like fine details, not just excel sheets."
>>
No. 635244 ID: defceb
File 142942664620.png - (90.00KB , 840x600 , 3052.png )
635244

...the important thing is that technically speaking, it's not a war crime anymore. Besides, all you have to do is push the buttons. Our employers are the ones who have to catch all the flak.
>>
No. 635245 ID: defceb
File 142942669325.png - (124.52KB , 840x600 , 3053.png )
635245

>"...Can't say I have."

"Well with computers they store information more-"

The ball bounces off the wall and into Haley's forehead.

"Ow, fuck that stings. Does it look okay?"

>"The doctor is asking me for a diagnosis?"

"Oh shut up and tell me how it looks."

>"I can't do both."

"You know what I mean."
>>
No. 635246 ID: fef726

It's a bit red, I'd be more worried about how the pupils of your eyes aren't the same size and the bags under them. Both indicate a severe lack of sleep. You need rest doc.
>>
No. 635247 ID: 57d76a

>>635244
You got any BEAR CLAWS?
>>
No. 635265 ID: 296917

>>635243
So, does that mean when you try to uplift someone... the memories from when they were flesh will be foggy? All their clear memories will be from their life after the uplift. Then if the memory system does cleanup and removes "unimportant" memories based on how often they're used and how clear they are... they start to forget their life before the uplift.

>>635245
One of her eyes looks dilated compared to the other.
>>
No. 635292 ID: 5db52c

>Does it look okay?
You got a little red mark. It'll be fine.

What's less fine is your right pupil is much more dilated than your right. Is that what happens when you don't wear your glasses?

Also you've got bags under your eyes. I know your bed got burnt up, but when did you last get any rest?

>memories
So computers pull up exact recordings of what they remember, people simulate a re-run in their head where it happens again, maybe a little different.

I get it. Where are you going with this? If she's not worried about herself, or the martian, or the you... is she thinking somehow this explains what went wrong down here?

>>635244
Suddenly volunteering for experimental medical tech makes a whole lot more sense. Guilt and/or trying to lose himself.
>>
No. 635320 ID: 89941a

One pupil is dilated, you may want to see a doctor or something.
>>
No. 635333 ID: 5db52c

>you may want to see a doctor or something.
Oh look! We have a mirror! You can see a doctor in there.
>>
No. 635434 ID: defceb
File 142952271841.png - (110.11KB , 840x600 , 3054.png )
635434

>"It looks fine, but one of your pupils is way more dilated than the other and you've got bags under your eyes. You should really get some sleep Haley."

"I can't sleep."

>"We could cuddle."

"I'd rather hold the teddy bear some more."

>"Aww, when will it be my turn again?"

"When I'm not being crushed by anxiety."

>"So never, got it. What were you getting at with all the memory talk?"

"I think I made a mistake. I figured that with the uplift process that organic memories would be reinforced upon integration with their neural code. But after talking to our martian friend... I had a patient. Have a patient. Very sick girl. Was very sick. We were already ahead of schedule when she arrived, but having a willing person in her condition it- I may have been a little overeager."

Haley's step falters as a dizzy spell washes over her.

"I'm sorry, did you say one of my eyes was dilated?"

>"Very noticeably so."

"I need to.... take a nap. Yes. A nap. I'm going to go lie down and catch a little sleep bye."

Haley walks briskly back into her office, muttering obscenities under her breath.
>>
No. 635435 ID: defceb
File 142952275632.png - (121.10KB , 840x600 , 3055.png )
635435

Haley is officially weirder than usual. Not much I can do now though, so back to MY nap it is.
>>
No. 635437 ID: defceb
File 142952284876.png - (267.76KB , 840x600 , 3056.png )
635437

I'm Jeannine. Jeannine Lyotard.
You're french? I can't hear an accent at all.
t-thanks? I'm not french but my parents were. It's an adoptive kind of family. They're doctors too. Red Cross type, you'd probably like them.



...you really think I don't look weird?
Everyone looks weird, but I don't think you look bad.
The doctors think I look weird. They talk about things like apoptosis and organ failure like I'm not there. They don't think I understand what they mean, but I do. Mother used to worry every morning if I'd wake up, and now I know why. I wish I hadn't asked her to stop, I miss her.



I... I don't know what to do from here. I've never- nobody's ever been interested in me like-
We can stop if you want. We don't have to do this.
No, no, I want to. I don't know if I'll still be here after tomorrow and I don't want any regrets. Are you uncomfortable?

>>
No. 635438 ID: defceb
File 142952289205.png - (101.34KB , 840x600 , 3057.png )
635438

Shut up brain.
>>
No. 635442 ID: a19cd5

>>635438
Think of something pleasant, take your mind off it. Like gelato, no memories involving gelato can be bad because they involve gelato.
>>
No. 635444 ID: a19cd5

>>635438
Wait, someone's here.
>>
No. 635447 ID: 88960e

>>635434
I really hope Haley's not having second thoughts about uplift after meeting Marie. It would suck if we accidentally caused a paradox where she never saves our life. We've been through hundreds of years of wear and tear, a time travel accident, brain hacking and who knows what else. We're really not very indicate of the immediate consequences / side effects of the process. ...and even if you can attribute 100% of her problems to the uplift process, Haley still gave Marie hundreds of active years, when she should have died in bed in her twenties. That's a massive quality of life improvement any doctor should be proud of.

>>635438
See if you can get your guest to talk to you. Maybe they'll be better company than your brain!
>>
No. 635466 ID: 8f01e8

Haley has a concussion. Not 100% sure on this, but I think proper treatment for a concussion involves keeping the patient awake. I think there actually is something you could be doing about that.

>>635437
Brazilian flag on the shoulder patch. Huh.
>>
No. 635468 ID: 88960e

>Brazilian flag on the shoulder patch. Huh.
That would fit with the South American war they mentioned back in thread one.
>>
No. 635502 ID: defceb
File 142956393426.png - (112.80KB , 840x600 , 3058.png )
635502

Someone's here? Who the ffffffffffffffffff-
>>
No. 635504 ID: defceb
File 142956405592.png - (111.06KB , 840x600 , 3059.png )
635504

"Fix it."
>>
No. 635505 ID: 5db52c

>Marie's here
Oh no! Rudy got left behind! He's gonna bleed out before Marie wakes up and gets him back to Haley now. :( (Not sure how we could have avoided that. Stayed clear of that room as soon as it became clear the last piece of the passcode wasn't there, and kept looking? Maybe if we dodged the vision entirely we could have avoiding being incapacitated).

>Fix it.
Fix her.

And uh, if you want her to get help sooner rather than later, you wanna go pound on the doctor lady's door. I'd do it myself, but I've got less legs than you.

...is mister creepy shadow dude a girl now?
>>
No. 635506 ID: 7188e2

"Didn't you stab her earlier?"
>>
No. 635507 ID: 5db52c

>>635506
...although I was kinda high at the time.
>>
No. 635514 ID: 296917

>>635505
Well *I* noticed it was a trap. But everyone else was like "LET'S INVESTIGATE THE BLOODY ROOM :D"

>>635504
Tell them you'll uh, try. Also ask who they are.
>>
No. 635650 ID: d3be40

Ask her to be more specific; she beat the perfunctory senses out of your brain.

Also, you'd like a gun.
>>
No. 635697 ID: bb0ef1

>>635502
WAIT A MINUTE

I RECOGNIZE THAT MIDRIFF

FUTURE HALEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE FUTURE
>>
No. 635814 ID: defceb
File 142969268090.png - (151.46KB , 840x600 , 3060.png )
635814

>"Fix her."

"Fix it."

>"...Didn't you stab her earlier?"

"Pierced, stabbing implies close range."

>"I'll try but uh.. I am a little short handed if you know what I mean."

"It had this. Use it." They drop a mechanical arm into my lap.

>"And I need tools to-"

"Use this." They drop a laptop and some cables into my lap.

>"Hey! Careful with this stuff! Besides, shouldn't you go ask Haley? She's really the one in charge of all this stuff."

"I know you."

>"Me? I'm just a patient here, I'm nobody really-"

"I know you."

>"....I don't suppose you're planning on leaving her here when I'm done, are you?"

"It's mine, and I'm taking it with me. Now fix it."
>>
No. 635816 ID: 296917

>>635814
Didn't they also kill a bunch of your friends with a crowbar? Tell them to apologize or you won't help. See if you can get that arm on, and turn on the laptop.
>>
No. 635824 ID: 88960e

>"I know you."
...do I know you? Pre-not-stabbing, that is.

Can I ask for Haley's help? I know her, and I'll vouch for her. (Maybe if you keep asking they'll drop Haley in your lap)!

>what do
Worst case, see if you can attach an arm on your own.
>>
No. 635975 ID: defceb
File 142976733971.png - (157.57KB , 840x600 , 3061.png )
635975

>"Didn't you kill a bunch of my friends with a crowbar? I'm not helping until you apologize for it."

"..."

>"c'mon, ellipses are just poor writing."

"..."

>"...can I at least have Haley's help? I can vouch for her!"

More silence. Of course. They turn and walk into Haley's office.

"Not now Morgan, I'm actually trying to sleep for- you're not Morgan." I can barely hear Haley's voice behind the door. The sound of struggle follows. "Help!" She shouts. "Morgan! Anyone!" A dull thud, and then silence.

They come out the door, dragging Haley behind them. "Fine! Fine! I'll follow, where the hell are you- Morgan what is going on here!?"
>>
No. 635976 ID: defceb
File 142976736939.png - (185.41KB , 840x600 , 3062.png )
635976

They forcefully drop Haley into my lap. Oof, she's heavier than she looks.
>>
No. 635985 ID: 296917

>>635975
Note: That helmet is not the same as the helmet of the RedEye that had the bloody crowbar. Is this a different person? Is there more than one shady helmet person running around?

Tell Haley she gets to help you with repairing the cyborg. Also putting on your arm so you can repair the cyborg.
>>
No. 636016 ID: 88960e

Okay, mister shadow their definitely has tits. Either we've been missing that the whole time, there's more than one of them, or he/she can jump between multiple bodies (an infection personality? Would kind of fit with the implants taking control of bodies).

>what do
Greetings Haley, ask her to give you a hand.

Explain that the shadowy interloper brought her favorite patient back and is insisting we fix her.
>>
No. 636026 ID: 09b7fb

>>636016
>ask her to give you a hand

Also grin sheepishly/dorkishly as you ask this.
>>
No. 636072 ID: 809713

>>635975
Hey. Can you tell if those two sets of horns... or are the lower ones exaggerated elf ears like Marie's got?
>>
No. 636162 ID: defceb
File 142986464720.png - (156.63KB , 840x600 , 3063.png )
636162

>"Hey Haley, I need you to give me a hand."

I try my best to make a dorky grin as I speak. She seems very unamused. "You mean to tell me I was just punched, dragged out here, and thrown onto you for a pun?"

>"Well our new best friend also wants us to fix our ol' pal too."

"Why is- I'll ask later, take your shirt off."

>"Haley, we haven't even gone on a date yet!"

"Can it, you're not my type."

>"What, ~suave~ male?"

"No."

>"Organic?"

"Not answering that!"

>"That's not a no!"

If looks could kill.

"Just... just shut up and hold still."

Are those... bandages on her arms? I can't recall having seen them before. Wouldn't make sense to hide any sudden injuries around here. Then again, she IS always wearing that lab coat.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I haven't ever seen her wear this little.

"Morgan, I'm flattered but please stay focused."

Uh oh.

"Your old joint should work with this model. Assuming I don't get some of these wires crossed. This should take a minute, I suggest using that time to think up a plan."

Haley's right, I should focus.
>>
No. 636163 ID: defceb
File 142986471074.png - (210.84KB , 840x600 , 3064.png )
636163

Those were chemical weapons! How are they possibly NOT a war crime!?
That's none of your concern. You just fly the drones and tell them when to drop cargo.


While the loss of your arm is regretful, you did sign a contract and we still expect you to follow through on it. See this doctor, they'll have you outfitted with a replacement and ready for work again ASAP.


Promise to keep a secret? My parents always told me to say it was from disease. Apparently the border isn't kind to people like me, and they didn't want to risk having to leave me behind. They said to tell nobody about what really happened, or who I really am. I don't like having to bury my identity. What if I forget it?


Look kid, way I see it, as long as we still got two good eyes we're stuck working here 'till the contract is up.



...as long as we have two good eyes, huh?

>>
No. 636164 ID: defceb
File 142986476806.png - (64.31KB , 840x600 , 3065.png )
636164

Damnit brain, not helping.

"By the way, I found some soporifics in back and took one or two. Or three? So whatever you need me help with, I suggest getting it over with quickly 'cause I can feel them kicking in."

Damnit Haley, that doesn't help either. She's still sitting on my lap too.

That thing is tapping their fingers now. Bored, maybe impatient. I need to clear my head fast.
>>
No. 636165 ID: 09b7fb

Think about Marie's enhanced knockers.
>>
No. 636172 ID: 88960e

>So whatever you need me help with, I suggest getting it over with quickly 'cause I can feel them kicking in.
Give me an arm to work with, and diagnose what's wrong with Marie, if you can. (Or failing that, help me get set up). If I know what I need to fix (or at least where to start), and I have the means to do it, this will go better than me poking around in the dark.

Stay awake long enough to be a doctor so you can give the soldier some orders.

>what else
Start writing a text file, explaining what happened. Upload to Marie while the laptop is plugged in so she knows this happened when she wakes up.

>Are those... bandages on her arms?
From the blood stain, that looks like a cut along her forearm. ...like if you'd tried to open a vein lengthwise.

I really hope that wasn't a suicide attempt, but I see how this place could inspire one. Also no time to push it, now.
>>
No. 636175 ID: f47994

>>636163
so, did you do it?
did you drop chemical weapons on your girlfriend?
or rather, were you a part of the war effort that dropped chemical weapons on your girlfriend's country, but the implication is the same.
were you in any way responsible for what happened to her? to people she knew? to where she was born?

ponder that as you check on marie. check out the new guy, too. we're gonna need to find a weakness, a distraction, a way out. you're no fighter, i don't think, and neither is haley. i doubt marie can take him as soon as she gets up. a weapon maybe? he's obviously mechanical in part, is hacking someone a thing?
>>
No. 636176 ID: 88960e

Oh, wait. We're off grid in this room. We haven't actually seen shadow guy(s) off grid before, even if we found those doodles.
>>
No. 636185 ID: 296917

>>636162
She's cutting herself. Fresh wounds on one of her arms, even. Considering her tattoos I wonder if she has a fascination with opening up her skin to look at the muscles underneath. Ask about her tattoos.

>>636163
>Manaus. A city Morgan bombed.
SON OF A BITCH MORGAN IS MANAUS. He takes that name later to remind himself of what he'd done, and that's how this cyborg knows him.

>>636164
Pinch yourself or bite your lip or something. Then start up the laptop with your free arm.
>>
No. 636285 ID: defceb
File 142993678888.png - (95.77KB , 840x600 , 3066_1.png )
636285

>So... did you do it?

I'd like to think about something else please.

>"Please stay awake long enough to put this arm together, at least. If you've got any ideas for how I'm supposed to help fix her I'm all ears too."

"One second..." She mutters, fiddling with some wires. "Don't bite your tongue." A searing pain shoots up the arm, my arm, as it connects and powers up. A wave of pins an needles washes up from the fingers right after. Vague gargling noises rise up from my throat. Morgan, you're supposed to be cooler than this! Keep it together!

>Did you drop chemical weapons on your girlfriend?

I'd really like to think about anything else now!

Spasms take hold of my body. Fuck. It hurts. Fuck. "It... may not be calibrated right for you. You may have some sensitivity issues until we fix that."

>Or rather, were you a part of the war effort that dropped chemical weapons on your girlfriend's country? Were you in any way responsible for what happened to her? To people she knew? To where she was born?

I don't know! I was just a kid! I didn't know what I was doing!

"Morgan, I need you to take a deep breath. You're reacting poorly to the artificial nerves. It'll pass. Breathe."

I was a different person back then! I just pulled the trigger! I'D VERY MUCH LIKE TO THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE NOW.

I break into hyperventilation and a cold sweat. The arm is heavy and throws off my sense of balance. I feel lopsided. The arm, my arm, feels too much.
>>
No. 636286 ID: defceb
File 142993688212.png - (123.87KB , 840x600 , 3066.png )
636286

Haley grabs my shoulders and guides my breathing. Deep breaths. Deep. Breaths. Calm down.

>"...that wasn't very cool of me, was it?"

She lets go and sits back. "No, you goof. Usually the reaction isn't that bad though. Are you going to be okay?"

>"I think so. Maybe. It'll pass."

She seems unconvinced.
>>
No. 636287 ID: defceb
File 142993694795.png - (169.34KB , 840x600 , 3068.png )
636287

>"So uh... what's with the tattoo?"

"I had a phase a few years back. Which is way more than you need to know already. Not that it matters, we're walking dead already in here. I had depression, a sense of uselessness, thought I had wasted my whole life up to that point. Years upon years of studying brains and, and, and I had done nothing else. Made a lot of stupid choices, stupid nearly suicidal choices but I figured if I was going to be out soon it wouldn't matter. That consequences didn't mean anything to a person in my position." Her pace picks up, but her words slur. Wild gestures start to lag behind her speech more and more.

"I don't even know why you think I can help with Marie, I don't even know why she thought I could help her either. I mean, clearly I'm a failure here and I was a failure then and I'm just fucking useless I couldn't even stop whatever happened down here from HAPPENING." She yawns. A deep, slumbering type of yawn.

"The funniest thing to me, is that I spend all this time studying brains and I... I get... I remember what the doctor said, he said Inoperable..."

She blinks lazily, eyes unfocused. She's wavering unsteadily now.

"...did I just say that all out loud?"

A moment passes.

Followed by another.

"I'm taking your pillow." She mumbles before flopping over onto it.

>"Haley, wait! How can I help Marie?"

"try checking the neural code there sshhould be software to do the thing" She's out like a light.
>>
No. 636289 ID: 809713

>>636287
Well, assuming the timeline hasn't already been knocked off course, Haley won't be a failure if we can keep her from dying down here.

...and sounds like she'd have needed uplift to survive herself, even if she hadn't been shot up. Funny that affected future Haley as much as it did if she already thought she was dying.

>"I'm taking your pillow."
Hey, maybe you get to cuddle, after all! Assuming the shadow crazy doesn't kill you when you're done.

>what do
Pick up the laptop and find yourself some kind of cable or connector. And then examine Marie and start looking for a port to jam it in.

Then see if you can find any icons on the desktop that look like they have anything to do with robot brains.

And start writing a text message to upload to Marie.
>>
No. 636294 ID: e114bc

>>636287
Boot up the laptop. Also take a look at Marie's injuries.

...wait a minute is your arm similar to the cyborgs'?
>>
No. 636314 ID: f47994

>>636287
yeah, that's what i feared. brain damage. she's got a brain tumor. cover her with your blanket and get to work on marie.

while you work, leave her messages about what happened at your end. tell us what you see in there.
>>
No. 637195 ID: defceb
File 143045550067.png - (130.03KB , 840x600 , 3069.png )
637195

I always dreamed of being surrounded by women.

Didn't expect it to happen like this.

>"So how exactly do you expect me to fix her?"

"It has a jack hidden on their back, near the spine. Connect the wire there."

>"....and then?"

"Fork bomb, wipe it. Keep it from happening again."

>"Is that it?"

Silence. Yay. I connect the wire and boot up the laptop. It's a simple machine, compared to the martian next to me. There's a mess of icons and stray files floating over the desktop. Security files, mostly. Couldn't even get one of the lab computers, those have all the relevant software. Or even my bag. If I had my bag right now I could-

Won't do me any good to dwell on the things I lack. I'll start with a note.
>>
No. 637196 ID: defceb
File 143045553471.png - (194.85KB , 840x600 , 3070.png )
637196

>>
No. 637197 ID: e114bc

>>637195
See if you can investigate the laptop while fixing Marie. Maybe there's something useful on it.
>>
No. 637198 ID: defceb
File 143045581561.png - (13.74KB , 1120x600 , 3071.png )
637198

>>
No. 637199 ID: defceb
File 143045584261.png - (14.69KB , 1120x600 , 3072.png )
637199

>>
No. 637201 ID: defceb
File 143045593240.png - (2.87KB , 840x600 , 3073.png )
637201

"How does someone even manage to lose a spaceship?
>>
No. 637204 ID: e114bc

>>637201
Well, space is pretty big, so...
>>
No. 637212 ID: defceb
File 143045896846.png - (28.31KB , 840x600 , 3074.png )
637212

>"Well, space is pretty big, so..."

Your name is Marie, and now funny looking people are looking at you funnily.

"Who is that?" They whisper amongst each other.
"That politician I think."
"A cyborg? In politics? I didn't vote for her."
"We don't vote here, this is Mars."
"Nonsense dear, we have money we vote anywhere."
"Not here we don't. Because of people like her."
"How did she even-"
"She made decisions and people just let her keep making important decisions."
"Do you think it'll try to bite us?'
"That's superstition. I'm sure they're harmless. Mostly."

This party is nothing like the parties you used to go to. Everyone is standing around drinking expensive wines, wearing expensive masks, and flaunting their wealth to each other. The music is some new-post-re-modernist remixes of post-renaissance orchestral music. Or should be, it all sounds like noise at this point. Few uplifts like yourself even showed up.

"Hey! What did you say?" One of them speaks up.

>"I said space is really big. There's uh... lots of it."

Awkward.

>"...I've been there. In space. Out there."

Awwwwwkward.

>"...it's pretty cool. I think."

Where did Haley go? She knows how to handle these people.
>>
No. 637224 ID: 57d76a

>>637212
Well no wonder it's awkward, you're at a masquerade with no mask!

AMEND THIS.
>>
No. 637225 ID: a19cd5

>>637212
"Also, you know, I'm right here. I can hear you talking about me like I'm some kind of monster. That's really rude."
Stare at them with the same lack of expression you have now as you say this.
>>
No. 637234 ID: defceb
File 143047098674.png - (28.28KB , 840x600 , 3075.png )
637234

>"Uh... I'm right here. I can hear you talking about me like I'm some kind of monster. That's really rude."

They go back to whispering to eachother.
"Do you think it's the ears?"
"They are rather large."

>"You know what, I need to go. Find a mask, or something."
>>
No. 637235 ID: defceb
File 143047119205.png - (26.57KB , 840x600 , 3076.png )
637235

You wander around the party until you find one of the waiting staff. They appear to be wearing some sort of bunny(?) mask, and an all white outfit.

"Looking for a mask? There's no better way to lose yourself at such an occasion."

>"Actually yes. Do you have a spare?"

"Only the one. Others find it a little too peculiar(?) for their tastes. I recommend you try it on before making judgement about it."

They hand you the mask.
>>
No. 637237 ID: defceb
File 143047123970.png - (17.47KB , 840x600 , 3077.png )
637237

You equip the peculiar(?) mask!

It's quite comfortable.
>>
No. 637239 ID: f63e0b

>>637237

That mask is spooky.

Spooky awesome.

Sneak up on the bigots, then jump out and use some distorted animal sound clips to scare them. They deserve a good bit of freaking out, after all that rudeness.
>>
No. 637243 ID: 88960e

Is this supposed to be symbolic if we accept the shadow guy's messing with us?

Say it's nice, but you like her bunny one better. People already seem weirded out you're an uplift, maybe you can put them at ease with a cute mask instead of a scary one. Want to trade?
>>
No. 637244 ID: 88960e

(Also, name field changed, aaah, bad).
>>
No. 637279 ID: e114bc

>>637237
I wonder if you can talk to Manaus now. Ask why they're in your head. Why didn't the fork bomb hit a limit, anyway? How much bandwidth do you have?
>>
No. 637301 ID: 809713

>"That politician I think."
You were in politics, Marie? Can you remember what you did? Are you the governor of mars now, or something? (If the uplifts claimed ownership of Mars, cause they were there first, they would have to put forward one of their own as a leader, even if they didn't need that kind of formality when they were living all spread out on their own).

>"Do you think it'll try to bite us?'
Honestly, it's really weird for upper class people to talk to any kind of politician like that. You'd think they'd be trying to curry favor, or buy you off, not blatantly making enemies by treating rudely like a non-person.
>>
No. 637329 ID: defceb
File 143052872535.png - (27.64KB , 840x600 , 3078.png )
637329

>You were in politics, Marie?

If you could call it that. It was more like-

“A glorified desk job, telling people when and where they can land, and how to integrate to the martian colonies.” The waiter speaks up. “It’s just a mask, by the way. You’re looking for meaning when answers are already in front of you.”

>”What?”

They lean forward and speak slowly, enunciating each word with pained precision, "Connect. The. Dots."

The music cuts out as a live band marches out to perform.

“And that’s time. You’re about to be asked to dance by a very opinionated individual. Don’t be too rough with them.”
>>
No. 637330 ID: e114bc

>>637329
It's the waiter. Manaus is the waiter. Ask the questions.

Do you already remember who the dancer will be? Should we bother with the formality of going along with the memory, or can you turn him down and try to talk to Manaus instead? If Manaus shoos you along just give them a glare and go dance.
>>
No. 637337 ID: 809713

>A glorified desk job, telling people when and where they can land, and how to integrate to the martian colonies.
Geeze, complete control of planetary immigration / air traffic control seems pretty powerful to me.

>You’re about to be asked to dance by a very opinionated individual. Don’t be too rough with them.
Yeah, we've met. I had that dance once already, tonight.

>>637329
...ask them why they're helping you.
>>
No. 637576 ID: defceb
File 143060088254.png - (27.67KB , 840x600 , 3079.png )
637576

>”Why are you helping me now?”

“Best interests, Marie. We’re all following our own best interests.”

A man walks briskly up to you and swoops his arm under yours. “It’s a dancing song, not a wallflower song.” His breath smells heavily of wine. He practically carries you away to the dance floor.

>”Wait, I needed to talk to-”

“They’re the help, they’ll still be here later.”

>”No, you don’t understand, it’s actually kind of important-”

“It’s a party! Important work things can wait until tomorrow. Or the day after, if your kind still get hangovers.”

>”Gah! Fine! One dance!”

“Wonderful!” They spin you around in a sudden twirl, grabbing you by the waist. “You know, I really do adore you cyborgs.”

it’s this asshole.
>>
No. 637580 ID: 809713

>He practically carries you away to the dance floor.
Actually, wait. That's sort of impressive. How much does all that metal weigh?

>Or the day after, if your kind still get hangovers.
Probably shouldn't even get drunk, unless your systems can simulate the effects drugs on brain chemistry.

...and if you actually ingested enough of a chemical that it compromised or damaged your systems the effects would probably be more serious than a hangover.

>“You know, I really do adore you cyborgs.”
Yes, we already established you have an undying grandmother fetish.

Seriously, I know some people are into older women, but if you're into us just cause you want to think we're already gone... *cluck disapprovingly*

Keep a perfectly strait face as you say this, and pick up the pace as much as you can while still matching the music. (Double timing it would mean you're still moving in step with the notes, you'd just have an off set between beats). Take advantage of cyborg reflexes- make him work to keep up.
>>
No. 637585 ID: e114bc

>>637576
>it's this asshole
Play along. Tell him not many do, why's he so different?
>>
No. 637758 ID: defceb
File 143062574291.png - (25.96KB , 840x600 , 3080.png )
637758

>"Yes, we already established you have an undying grandmother fetish."

"There's so many things different about- wait, what?"

His concentration breaks and you take the chance to increase the pace of the dance.

>"Seriously, I know some people are into older women, but if you're into us just cause you want to think we're already gone..."

You hold a perfectly straight face as you give him a disapproving cluck.

"I... I don't understand how you came to that conclusion."

>"Dude, I'm like 50. Or 60. It's hard to keep track in my advanced age. How old are you even?"

"Uh... well... I'm 34?"

>"So by the time you were getting through high school I was building solar cell arrays and fixing terraforming engines over here. Gee, great, you're shooting a little over your age."

Half-truth, they were community efforts and you spitballed the date. But he didn't need to know that.

"Uh, but, the point I was getting at is that-" He's flustered, and struggling to keep up with your pace.
>>
No. 637759 ID: defceb
File 143062578749.png - (21.57KB , 840x600 , 3081.png )
637759

Between your befuddling speech and quick steps, he trips over his own feet and falls flat on his stupid face. The mask bounces off and gets decent air time too.
>>
No. 637764 ID: e114bc

>>637759
Get a look at his face before you give the mask back. ...is it Morgan...?
>>
No. 637765 ID: 809713

>>637759
FLAWLESS SUCCESS!
>>
No. 637804 ID: defceb
File 143063197858.png - (13.71KB , 840x600 , 3082.png )
637804

You bend down to pick up the mask and sneak a look at his face. What the fu-

"Don't." He says, snatching up the mask and donning it to cover the intricate pattern of burn wounds over his face. "Just... just don't." He walks away, shoulders slumped in defeat.

The sharp taps of walking feet echo in behind you, barely noticeable above the music.
>>
No. 637806 ID: defceb
File 143063220426.png - (21.48KB , 840x600 , 3083.png )
637806

"Chemical burns." A woman's voice pops up behind you. "Common condition for people growing up around the Gulf of Mexico these days. You're Marie Castillo, I presume? Thank you for making a scene, I've been looking for you all night."
>>
No. 637809 ID: 7188e2

And you are? (Do you know who she is? Did you originally meet with her during the dance?)
>>
No. 637811 ID: e114bc

>>637806
That's odd. The memory is departing from the proper timeline? Unless this lady had some reason to approach you after the dance anyway...?

Ask who she is, and why she's been looking for you.
>>
No. 637812 ID: 809713

Well, if we overreacted and were mean to someone who didn't deserve it due to our last hallucination, we can take comfort in the fact that when we actually lived this memory, we hadn't seen that yet, so we would have had no reason to be a jerk to him. Probably.

Although if he was still gonna spout all that cyborg-racist stuff, being disfigured still doesn't excuse that.

>You're Marie Castillo, I presume?
In the flesh. Or not, as it were.

>Thank you for making a scene, I've been looking for you all night.
Sorry, I didn't mean to make myself hard to find. How can I help you?
>>
No. 637826 ID: 7188e2

>Although if he was still gonna spout all that cyborg-racist stuff, being disfigured still doesn't excuse that.
I don't think it is possible to open with something as patronizing and generalizing as “I really do adore you [race or species]” and then not say racist. Its almost on the level of "I'm not racist but..."
>>
No. 637828 ID: bd8b82

did the floor just change?
>>
No. 637833 ID: 09b7fb

Wait... was that Rudy? I'd feel bad if it was...
>>
No. 637856 ID: defceb
File 143063739032.png - (17.62KB , 840x600 , 3084.png )
637856

>"Sorry, I didn't mean to make myself hard to find. How can I help you?"

"I've been instructed to give you a gift. Collections of coffee beans. I was told you preferred Brazilian, so I procured three crates. They were difficult to procure, so I hope they are to your liking. If not, contact me for alternatives. When and where do you wish to receive them?" She speaks without raising her eyes from her tablet.

>"I'm sorry, but you are...?"

"Marceline Aurelius, assistant Marceline Aurelius. My employer wishes to see you once we are done here. Says it's a matter of business imports, city development, important things like that."

The name rings a bell. She's the forgettable type, and intentionally keeps herself that way. Present, busy, but always silent until approached.
>>
No. 637857 ID: e114bc

>>637856
Give her a PO Box or something for delivery. Considering you're a high profile uplift, someone miiiiiiight have put a bomb in one of those crates.

Ask her if she knows that waiter with the bunny mask.
>>
No. 637875 ID: 89941a

>>637856
...Manaus?

Ma Au, got an n and an s in the first and last name as well.
>>
No. 637878 ID: e114bc

>>637875
MArceliNe AUreliuS. First two letters of each word with the last consonant of each word. Seems likely. Could be coincidence, but...

Ask who her employer is.
>>
No. 637904 ID: 809713

Um. If we're a politician in charge of managing airspace control for landing spaceships, and the integrations of said imports and immigrants into the Martian colonies... wouldn't it be kind of improper to accept the gift of a luxury item from a person with an interest in those areas?

This kind of sounds like lobbying and corruption 101.

I think the proper course of action would be to thank her, than to politely express your doubts if accepting such a gift in your position would be appropriate. And to ask who they're here at the behest of, and where you can meet with them.
>>
No. 637921 ID: facf2f

>>637856
refuse the coffee. it's obvious bribe.
>>
No. 637940 ID: 8f01e8

"Ah, thanks! That's wonderful. Just drop it off with the ethics board. Make sure to include all the receipts and flight plans and so on from those logistical difficulties you mentioned, and a full copy of your boss's original instructions on how and why I was to be bribed. That kind of thing simplifies an investigation immensely. Who exactly IS your boss, by the way?"
>>
No. 637962 ID: defceb
File 143068545125.png - (20.43KB , 840x600 , 3085.png )
637962

>"I don't think it would be right for me to accept that, given my position."

She frowns. "Please understand, my employer meant to give the coffee as a show of good faith, not to sway your decisions."

>"And who is your employer?"

"Victor Kobayashi, head of Kobayashi Heavy Industries. You may recognize the name from their efforts at asteroid mining and lunar industrialization. When you're ready, I can take you to him immediately."
>>
No. 637964 ID: e114bc

>>637962
Yeah sure let's talk to the dude.
>>
No. 637965 ID: 809713

Well, it might be nice to talk to someone who doesn't talk around you like a thing, or make weird racist passes at you.

We put in appearance, made a scene... probably okay to duck out for a bit.

Might want to look around, see if the not really a servant is still hanging around or they disappeared. Maybe see if they have anything else to add?
>>
No. 638088 ID: facf2f

>>637962
his intentions are irrelevant. it's a matter of appearance and integrity.

also, we're not advancing with this whole "connect the dots" thing. do we even have enough dots? it feels like we have dots numbered 32, 75,149, 3001, 506 and 714 out of like, 1024 dots.
>>
No. 638136 ID: 7188e2

>Kobayashi Heavy Industries
They may have some shifty practices, but sources say they are an exceptionally solid long-term investment opportunity: http://www.tgchan.org/kusaba/quest/src/142390462572.png
>>
No. 638452 ID: defceb
File 143089235062.png - (31.52KB , 840x600 , 3086.png )
638452

Marceline leads you out and away from the ballroom.

>”Do you know anything about one of the servants around here wearing a bunny mask?”

“The staff was instructed to not wear masks tonight. Why do you ask?”

>”They gave me this mask.”

“Hmm, it is rather… peculiar(?). I’m sure it’s harmless though. Mister Kobayashi is currently waiting for you in meeting room C. He’s been using it for the duration of his stay so it may be a little cluttered. Also, don’t comment on his eyes.”

You enter Meeting Room C.

“Ah! Marceline, you’re here! Perfect! I just heard from- oh! Marie, I presume? Name’s Victor Kobayashi, you can just call me Victor.”

>”In the flesh. Or not in this case. Do you always work in the dark?”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, it helps me to think sometimes. Marc, may you please flip up the lights? So! Marie,how’s that body working out for you? I hope it’s doing well, I practically paid for the thing.”

He laughs. A sharp, quick, pointed laugh at his own humor.

“Technically I paid for the research that lead into- I’m getting sidetracked. Where ARE my manners? Would you like a drink? Do you drink? I hear some of our kind are getting into this whole asceticism shindig, living without the things they don’t need in their new bodies. Cool stuff, prefer the to enjoy the pleasures life has to offer personally. Besides, I spent a lot of money on working taste buds and wouldn't want to waste them. You?”
>>
No. 638459 ID: e114bc

>>638452
Body's doing well, but the coolant is a pain in the ass sometimes.

But yes, you do drink. Shall we get down to business? What did he call you here for?
>>
No. 638468 ID: 09b7fb

>spent a lot of money on working taste buds and wouldn't want to waste them

Didn't Hailey say something similar to this before?
>>
No. 638500 ID: 7188e2

>Do you drink?
Yes. We didn't escape an early death to not appreciate life.
>>
No. 638507 ID: 88960e

Body's doing well enough. Certainly in better condition than I left my last.

>wine, asceticism
*light laugh* You know, I had almost the same conversation with Haley not too long ago.

Being able to do without is handy sometimes, but the whole point is to be able to live life.

>he's an uplift, involved in the research from the start
Kind of surprising you never met, then. The community isn't that big, and he would had an interest.
>>
No. 638646 ID: defceb
File 143094902575.png - (34.53KB , 840x600 , 3087.png )
638646

>”Of course I drink. I didn’t escape an early death to not appreciate life. The body is fine. Coolant can be a pain though.”

“Oof, I know. It’s a blood we can’t restore. I knew this one uplift, got pierced right in the gut. Real messy, had to carry the spike around in them for a while. Kind of goofy in hindsight actually. Though I suppose they fared better than if a regular person got hit in the gut. It gets all bloody and messy and- I’m spoiling the mood, let’s get back to appreciating life. This is a ‘56 Scotch, had it hauled all the way from Earth. Before you ask, yes it was declared in customs. Enjoy it, I know I will.” He passes you a glass.

>”A funny coincidence, I had a very similar conversation with Haley not too long ago.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences. Just disconnected dots.”

>”And I believe you wanted to talk business.”

“Yes, of course! Business. I would like to help with the Martian development plan. More specifically, I think it’s going in the wrong direction currently. We have been given an incredible gift, Marie. An unnatural longevity, theoretical immortality. We should be playing to the long game, now. What I see being built out there isn’t something that will last. It is people building what they know, to enjoy in their lifetime. We can do better. We have the technology, we have the capability, and currently there isn’t even an old city we’d have to pave over to make it happen.”

He gestures to the cloth hanging over the desk next to him.

“Under that I’ve got a model some lab techs have put together. It’s a design for a city that is meant to last. Something we can build with all the accumulated knowledge from Earth, without all the baggage. Take a look, please, it’s pretty impressive.”
>>
No. 638678 ID: e114bc

>>638646
Oh I bet there's going to be something shocking under there and then you wake up. How about before you do the grand reveal they tell you what they're doing in your head? Are you actually on a lab table somewhere with someone hacking into you, and these flashbacks are them trying to retrieve important memories? Like Inception? Meanwhile the adventure in the facility is a dream where it's a representation of your subconscious fighting back against the hacker?

Well if this IS a memory-retrieval hacking attempt you should probably not uncover the city. That could be one of the secrets they're trying to get at.
>>
No. 638688 ID: 79940c

>>638646
Oh look, it's the O'Neill Cylinder.

>I don’t believe in coincidences. Just disconnected dots.
And repeated themes, it would seem.

>Take a look, please, it’s pretty impressive.
Well, you heard the man. Remove that tablecloth.

>play long game, build something that will last
>play to the long game and to immortality
On the one hand, I can see the value in that. If you're building from the ground up, you might as do it right the first time.

On the other hand... is that really what we should be making our priority right now? What percent of the population is uplifted to take advantage of that? What percent will even have theoretical access in their lifetime? (Marie was basically a scholarship kid into the rich robot club, here. She might have some sympathy lingering for others who don't have access). Isn't there a lot we could do to try and make the world(s) a better place before going for endgame city?
>>
No. 638775 ID: 463727

>>638646
i do not trust this guy at all. ask when did he get uplifted. I'm worried he had something to do with the war.
>>
No. 638776 ID: 79940c

>>638775
Do we need to ask, actually? If we ever knew, we should be able to pull up his profile, like we did for Haley, right?
>>
No. 638841 ID: 8f01e8

Building for the long-haul future is a nice idea, but people less than a century old have tried it before, with... mixed results. We don't know how a world full of immortal cyborgs really works, and won't know until it's already in place. Let's give this proposal fair consideration, but avoid committing to anything grandiose and founded on oversimplified assumptions.

>>638688
>Oh look, it's the O'Neill Cylinder.

Yeah, but... check if it's going to be called the "Wandering Star" class. Lots of people think about cylinder habs, they were in Gundam. The less unambiguous bit is the space elevator counterweight there behind it.
>>
No. 638842 ID: facf2f

>>638775
also, red eyes. why does everyone have red eyes these days?
>>
No. 638850 ID: 88960e

>>638842
Shh, we're not supposed to mention those.

Were it not for his assistant's comment, I'd assume they were a deliberate stylistic element, like Marie's ears, or Haley's facial markings. The suggestion he's not comfortable with them is odd when he should have the resources to customize stuff like that as he wishes.
>>
No. 638858 ID: f89113

>>638842
ixnay on the eyesway

In any case sounds like a decent idea- though, when you think about it, the only difference is time scale. Entropy ensures that nothing will be permanent. But at least there's nothing that says a city that will last for the lifespan of a cyborg and a city that's comfortable even for those whose lifespans will pale in comparison to the city's are mutually incompatible. So yeah, let's see it.
>>
No. 639359 ID: defceb
File 143124746187.png - (27.36KB , 840x600 , 3088.png )
639359

“Ta-da!~ The city of the future. Or rather, a scale model of the city of the future. People have been dreaming of making cities like this for a long time, actually. But nobody wants to be the one to bulldoze an old one to make way for the new. Political suicide, I believe is the term.”

>”People less than a century old have tried it before with mixed results. Isn’t it a little early to claim knowledge to how a society of immortal cyborgs would work?”

“Cyborgs or not, we are all still people. This is the culmination of our knowledge, everything we’ve learned from past societies can be perfected and made real. Terraforming the atmosphere will be done in twenty more years, after that we can begin tilling the land and flooding the seas. In fifty more years, we can create a real nation. Eighty? Perhaps even a global one. It’s a chance for a new world, Marie.”

>”For cyborgs.”

“Who else?”

>”How about everyone else?”

“Everyone? Including the people who curse you? The ones who looked upon a medical miracle like yourself and considered it a crime?”

Victor pauses, holding the taste of his drink.
>>
No. 639360 ID: defceb
File 143124767969.png - (15.32KB , 840x600 , 3089.png )
639360

“Overpopulation is a measure against available resources. People used to believe that 10 billion humans would be too much, like it’s an objective measure. Have you seen the latest UN reports? 3 billion strong, and still overpopulated. They’ve gleefully gassed more than half the world over and are shocked that it has come back to bite them. They blame the government, they blame ‘terminator soldiers’, then they blame the rich and machines, the uplifts, the upper class, science, NASA, the UN, each other. But they never blame themselves.”

“They marched for blood, and now they’re swimming in it. Do you intend to forgive them so easily? For what they’ve done to earth? For what they did to you? I read the police report, you were shot 36 times trying to protect Haley. Not to mention what you faced before coming to America.”

>”Leaders called that march, not the masses.”

“Leaders called to march, and the masses followed.”

>”They still have a future.”

“People don’t run to the future. They run from the past. What is it that Haley is always saying? Children outgrowing the home. She’s optimistic about a person’s ability to lead themselves to a brighter future. But the child does not set foot outside because they know it to be their right. They leave because the home becomes a prison. The walls that kept them become small, the parents that guard them become poison. They leave in desperation.”

>”And you intend to just leave them behind?”

“I intend to make a place for the children leaving their homes.”

>”It’s not just cyborgs who live here.”

“Let them stay. But Mars is no home to organic humans. Neither is space. I’ve studied the possibilities since I was a small child, and there is no future for them. Their dreams of a galactic society are empty at heart. There is no FTL miracle just around the corner. There is no cryogenics or genetic solution. Organic people are not meant to claim the stars. Their ideology locks them in their born prison, and that prison locks them to this star.”

“Even at the most optimistic of chances, in 5 billion years when the sun has long burnt it’s core and Earth is consumed. When the heat from our star reaches to Titan’s surface and the last of organic mankind is crawling for salvation they will have nothing. They will struggle, and scream, and curse the sky. They will shake their fists, and blame us for not saving them from the inevitable. Then the sun will burst, and they’ll be gone.”

“That is where their beliefs will take them. That is the belief that has already come to your land. That is the inevitable future. But not for us.”

“....enough talk. I’ve laid myself bare to you, I believe it’s time for a solid answer. Will you let me help you build a new future?”
>>
No. 639362 ID: fef726

There is no future without those organics as you call them. After all we aren't a different species. We are all human, the only difference between me and those people dancing out there is that I was cut up and then stitched together with a machine so I could survive where I would have died otherwise.

I'm sorry but unless you plan to support all of humanity I can't support your city.
>>
No. 639366 ID: 79940c

>I believe it’s time for a solid answer. Will you let me help you build a new future?
You're going to find a way to try and build a future no matter how I answer you tonight.

...I've nothing against building a better future. But I can't condone shutting the door behind us. That I'm still here at all is only because I was lucky. Very lucky. I can't deny others that chance.

I don't forgive, but it's not people who are the enemy. It's fear and ignorance. Surely if you're thinking on the scale of billions of years, there's time to change some minds? (Education / PR campaigns would be very possible).

Earth won't last, the sun won't last, and in the end, even we won't, either. But as I said before, living is about experiencing life. The fact life ends doesn't change that. They deserve that chance, same as we do.

>tl;dr
Willing to work with him if he bends / responds to the stuff we're saying.
>>
No. 639369 ID: 225f37

>>639360
Regardless of any clash in ideologies, the city should be built, I think that's clear enough.

Because in the end, a lot of what he's saying is right: organic humanity will end, far sooner than cyborgs will. There's a future there, several billion years of it- but for a lot of people it's going to hurt. Caring about humanity doesn't mean you have to do everything in your power to accommodate them in their current form: if you really care, our best bet is going to be trying to change hearts and minds, and the city will help with that. Show a child a glimpse of what their future can be and they might leave the house to try to achieve it.

And, I mean, on the practical level: Mars has land, cities are gonna be built, might as well make sure they're good ones.
>>
No. 639492 ID: a9753c

"Do you think that the humans who fought and farmed and ran from their homes ten thousand years ago would ever realize their descendants would sacrifice parts of themselves to become something other than what they had always been? And that in spite of this, we'd learn more about what it means to be human?

Maybe the people on Earth don't have a future, but they BUILT a future for someone: us.

We're leaving them behind because they chose to be themselves so that they could keep Earth. What if they can do it again? Make an entirely new kind of cyborg, find other singularities that ensure survival, beat the odds and survive the sun exploding?

If you're going to let the masses starve to death, at least have a reasonably selfish motive other than "Because they deserve it and watching their methods fail makes me happy". If you don't want them to destroy your future, I understand. If you want to get the most out of Earth so that the cyborgs have a higher chance of survival and higher growth rate, I understand. If you don't want rivals, I understand.

But don't tell me that they're backwards and doomed as you turn your back and look to Mars, regardless of whether it's self-inflicted damage or not. They've been here too long to deserve that."
>>
No. 639499 ID: 04e33b

>>639360
Regardless of his beliefs there is no downside to building the city. Organics will be able to live in it after the cyborgs are gone. Or while we're still here, even, if we can convince the other cyborgs to play nice.

There is always hope for peace. Mankind evolves rapidly even now, and society evolves with it. They will adapt to the presence of cyborgs. They will accept us. They will become us, or eventually die, in the far far far future. Also he seems to think FTL is the only way to travel the stars. He cannot claim to predict the future- some other technology could come forward enabling an escape from the solar system without FTL.

Build the city. It's a good idea.
>>
No. 639575 ID: 82c018

In a way its like you said; cyborgs are still people. The physical frailty of humans isn't what ruined the Earth, and the fact that we stay ourselves through the uplift means that the true danger stays with us. Keeping out humans won't keep out greed, fear, or tribalism, and trying to do so with broad strokes bans would be rather counterproductive in that regard. To avoid Mars ending up like Earth we will need to teach our descendents to live as a better society, and that starts with learning to address the social failings and irrationalities of humans now rather than putting it of until we produce our own versions. I agree that we should build cities, but that is only one component of building a future.
>>
No. 639628 ID: 9863ec

>>639360
and do you intend to support that terrible future? we should create leverage from here and force them to stop the madness.

also, overpopulation is a myth. birth rates adjust themselves based on available resources. negative population growth already happens in some richer countries.
>>
No. 639659 ID: 82c018

>>639628
The key words there are 'some richer countries'. That isn't birth rate adjusting based on resources (especially since those are the countries with the most resources); it is birth rate adjusting based on societal factors such as education and women's rights.
>>
No. 639830 ID: defceb
File 143141822886.png - (22.22KB , 840x600 , 3090.png )
639830

>”I think your beliefs are fucked up.”

“That’s not an answer.”

>”You intend to shut the door behind you. Because you believe they’re marching to some nihilistic end point. But we’re not different from them. We’ve taken the same flaws that you denigrate them for with us this whole time. I don’t intend to act like we’re some sort of enlightened prophets to a new age. There is still hope. There is always hope. We don’t know for certain that they won’t change, and we certainly don’t know whether or not some great advance could still save them. Could still save all of us. If we just give them a glimpse of a future- this city alone could be a beacon.”

“I intend for it to be a new future-”

>”You would make it a tombstone!”

“So you just intend to forgive them?”

>”I don’t forgive, but it’s not the people that are the enemy. It’s fear and ignorance. If you really want to help, then do so on my terms.”

“...very well then, on your terms. I just hope you’re making the right choice.”
>>
No. 639831 ID: defceb
File 143141827563.png - (40.34KB , 840x600 , 3091.png )
639831

“I’ve been thinking about that question. That one you didn’t ask.”

“When was I uplifted?”

“Information is a game, Marie. A game I play well. How do you know the things you know?”
.
“Can you hear me? I’m trying to get through to you. Can. You. Hear. Me?”

“Who told you that your name is Marie?“

“How do you know to trust them?”

“I am the speaker for myself. You are being spoken to. Morgan speaks for himself. You are being spoken to”
>>
No. 639832 ID: defceb
File 143141830633.png - (28.30KB , 840x600 , 3092.png )
639832

>Wake up
>>
No. 639833 ID: fef726

These were emphasized in the last little speech. A letter per sentence and a dot in the middle.

DFD.EAEE

Not sure what that means. It might be a address of some sort, the local office network maybe?

Anyway that can wait. Greet the person who saved you from certain death. Ask their name, introduce yourself.

Ask if they know what the hell is going on. Because honestly you have no idea.
>>
No. 639872 ID: 79940c

>>639830
He shouldn't be bleeding. At least not blood.

>>639832
Are we in the real world, again? Hard to tell if this is more vision-space or if that's just paintings.

You hoodie-wearing rescuer appears to have the same kind of two-tone hair you do. (Not that means much for cyborgs).

>>639833
I can't see any significance to those letters either, offhad. Thought they might map to the passage in the image, but nope.

I thought this wasn't the first time we'd seen seemingly random letter boding in this quest, but I can't seem to find the other example.

>what do
Check internal clock. How long have you been out? (Is Rudy fucked, yet?).

Look around. Where are you? Greet stranger(?). Although now that the face is exposed, you might know her.
>>
No. 639903 ID: defceb
File 143145783081.png - (28.47KB , 840x600 , 3093.png )
639903

>Are we in the real world again?

“That depends on how far down the solipsism hole you've fallen.”

>Your hoodie-wearing rescuer appears to have the same kind of two-tone hair you do.

“That would be quite the coincidence, if you believe in those.”

>Ask their name
>Ask if they know what the hell is going on

“It wouldn't be any fun if I just told you everything, now would it? What was it that he said? Information is a game, we should treat it like one.”
>>
No. 639904 ID: bd8b82

what if i'm tired of playing?
>>
No. 639907 ID: 79940c

You didn't thank her for the help slash intervention.

>“That would be quite the coincidence, if you believe in those.”
Recent evidence would seem to tilt pretty against coincidences.

>Information is a game, we should treat it like one.
So you're telling me to cheat.

...where's the spotlight coming from? It moved, from you to her.
>>
No. 639910 ID: defceb
File 143146142233.png - (29.26KB , 840x600 , 3094.png )
639910

>You didn't thank her for the help/intervention.

“It's a little early to be thanking me.”

>...where’s the spotlight coming from?

“It is rather peculiar lighting, isn't it?”

>What if I’m tired of playing?

“That would be so boring! “

>So you want me to cheat.

“Now you’re thinking on the right track. How about this, if you can guess my name I’ll answer any one specific question of yours. Truthfully. I’ll only give you one guess, no take backs!”
>>
No. 639913 ID: 79940c

Rumpelstiltskin.

I don't think she's Manaus.

Jeannine Lyotard? Her hair matches Morgan's flashback, and the only other ladies we know the names of are Haley and Marcy.

Marie shound't know a name from Morgan's flashback, though. So I guess using it is appropiately cheating at this game.
>>
No. 639938 ID: defceb
File 143146806436.png - (27.00KB , 840x600 , 3095.png )
639938

>Jeannine Lyotard?

"...is that your final answer?"
>>
No. 639939 ID: 26e769

"...Marie?"
>>
No. 639957 ID: 60700b

You didn't tell me I had only one guess.
>>
No. 639958 ID: 79940c

>"...is that your final answer?"
'course not. If I gave only one answer I wouldn't be cheating.

I don't suppose you had any relatives who uplifted? The hair could be a family thing. (Sister, mother, cousin?).

Unless this is right >>639939 . Although multiple instances of ourself is gonna get confusing fast. (Well, bonus, we're already confused. Saves time, that).

>>639957
>I’ll only give you one guess, no take backs!
C'mon, our memory isn't that bad.
>>
No. 639961 ID: b0801e

>>639939
"Is that your final answer?" Either A. Means we got it right and she's giving us a chance to get it wrong, or B. Means nothing at all. That she's asking it, then, should not change our answer.

>>639913
I think this is right- at least we have some amount of reason to believe it.
>>
No. 639973 ID: 82c018

I also guess Marie.
>>
No. 640037 ID: 50cce1

Are you guys serious? This is Manaus. The bunny waiter had two-tone hair too.
>>
No. 640094 ID: a19cd5

>>639910
There's no pointy ears, so clearly not marie.
>>
No. 640107 ID: 57d76a

>>640037
Well, yes, but I don't think Manaus is the name we're looking for.
>>
No. 640119 ID: 9863ec

>>639938
that's not in the rules, Jeannine. this is a game, and games have rules.
no final answer bullshit, a single answer was not stipulated.
>>
No. 640206 ID: defceb
File 143155410004.png - (28.58KB , 840x600 , 3096.png )
640206

>Jeannine. Your name is Jeannine Lyotard.

“You really think so? Aha. Ahahaha.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”
>>
No. 640207 ID: defceb
File 143155412387.png - (25.90KB , 840x600 , 3097.png )
640207

“I don’t know the answer. I’m sorry I just don’t know the answer. There’s a hole in my head where it fell out. Isn't that pathetic? It’s a hole where everything I ever was and everything I could ever be just fell out and it’s gone. All I can remember is that city. That vague impression of a city up in smoke. I hear people praying for mercy and screaming when the gas touches them. It’s all I have left, I can’t lose that too.”

“I’m pathetic, aren't I?”
>>
No. 640208 ID: fef726

Can she untie you? You kinda want to give her a hug, because she needs one.
>>
No. 640209 ID: 79940c

...hmm. Bit hard to cheat when you were already cheating. (Unless we want to make the case that a lack of a name means any and all answers are correct).

“I’m pathetic, aren't I?”
Pathetic? No, not really. She sounds rather like she's in much the same situation you're in. Holes in your head suck.

The interesting question then, isn't what her name is. It's who she is. Who's left when you scrape away your name, your past, your future. Apparently, someone who cares enough to reach out and help someone in a bad spot. Who still needs someone to talk to, to relate too.

That's enough of an answer. It's proof that there's still something good in you. I'll take that.
>>
No. 640213 ID: fef726

We might have incoming hostiles the light shifted to the red-eyes.
>>
No. 640252 ID: 8403a7

>>640207
Was the city's name Manaus? We know a person who has a deep connection with that place. His name is Morgan.
>>
No. 640289 ID: 82c018

Maybe it would help if she could talk to someone who knows about that event? We might know someone who does.
>>
No. 640326 ID: 8f01e8

Patheticness is highly subjective! I'd gladly reduce yours, or my assessment of it at least, by several percentage points if you were so kind as to restore my limbs to a usable condition.
>>
No. 640368 ID: defceb

"It's hard for me to remember, too. I'm not entirely sure who I am... or if any of this is real or not. All I know is that I don't want to fight anymore. How about you?"

You have enough enemies. Make a friend.
>>
No. 640528 ID: defceb
File 143167337846.png - (26.10KB , 840x600 , 3098.png )
640528

“Y-you’re right. I should… Why did I even do this? There’s got to be a better way, isn't there? I just wanted answers. I just want answers.”
>>
No. 640543 ID: defceb
File 143167511919.png - (46.22KB , 840x600 , 3099.png )
640543

>???:They’re trying to manipulate you. Focus!
>>
No. 640558 ID: 82c018

"Manipulate", says the voice that literally has its own army of corpse-puppets. How do they say getting answers follows from going around killing people with spikes and crowbars?
>>
No. 640571 ID: 875253

>>640528
what did you do, lady?

also, from the tiny bits we scraped, looks like you're Jeannine Lyotard, you got your ass gassed but you survived with scarring. your family sent you out of the country. you had a boyfriend named morgan, or maybe just a friend and he just really cared about you.
also, you're past marie maybe? I've got no clue by this point.
>>
No. 640574 ID: bd8b82

so information is a game only when it results in the things you want to happen? if anyone else says anything they are just doing it wrong?
>>
No. 640577 ID: 88960e

Roll to resist manipulation?

Believe in yourself. You don't know what's missing from the hole in yourself, but you don't have to let someone else fill it for you. Don't let them tell you who to be. Be you, whoever that may be!
>>
No. 640613 ID: 329569

Push the red eye. Poke or jab it even. Maybe it works as a BUTTON. Or just tear it out. There's something suspicious about red eyes.
>>
No. 640686 ID: defceb
File 143172797020.png - (54.22KB , 840x600 , 3100.png )
640686

>You're Jeannine Lyotard, you got your ass gassed but you survived with scarring. your family sent you out of the country. you had a boyfriend named Morgan, or maybe just a friend and he just really cared about you.

“I’m…I’m…”

>???:You’re nobody

>Believe in yourself. You don't know what's missing from the hole in yourself, but you don't have to let someone else fill it for you.

“T-t-t-they[’re in my heaA-aa-ddd.”

>???:They’re liars, you can’t trust them.

>"Manipulate", says the voice that literally has its own army of corpse-puppets. How do they say getting answers follows from going around killing people with spikes and crowbars?

“I c-c-can’t stop him.”

>So information is a game only when it results in the things you want to happen? If anyone else says anything they are just doing it wrong?

>???:Information IS a game. A game you just lost.
>>
No. 640687 ID: defceb
File 143172800003.png - (28.25KB , 840x600 , 3101.png )
640687

“...average temperature of 400 K. Atmospheric pressure estimated to be 80 bar. Classified as inhospitable. Fourth planet, gas giant. Default inhospitable. Fifth planet, average temperature 120 K. Classified inhospitable. Addendum: third moon rich in He-3. Recommended for refueling. Sixth planet, liquid surface. Default inhospitable…”
>>
No. 640706 ID: 79940c

Jeannine being a candidate for uplift fits her medical condition. The unknown is how she survived what Morgan thinks should have killed her. And how she's an uplift here and now. Did she come back in time too? Or was Marie not the first- there were secret uplifts in this underground facility?

>???:Information IS a game. A game you just lost.
We'd have to agree to play by your rules before we can lose. And we're not done cheating, yet.

And no one wins if we flip the board.

>2368
So... a little more than halfway between Mars and Marie's present.

From the text, I'd guess this is from her time in space, that's a computer's analysis of a system. Not our home system though. 3rd rock from the sun isn't 400K, and mars isn't a gas giant. Not far enough in the future for the sun to have gone red giant and changed that, either.

Image doesn't match, though. That's a map of the facility we crashed into.

Uh, Marie? Can you do anything? Move, look around, open your eyes...?
>>
No. 640730 ID: 6e1eb1

>>640687
What I find interesting about this map is that it SHOULD display something to the left of that T-intersection if it were a real map. We haven't been there, though. It's a map according to either Marie's memories or ours.
>>
No. 640840 ID: defceb
File 143176760042.png - (57.51KB , 840x600 , 3102.png )
640840

>Uh, Marie? Can you do anything? Move, look around, open your eyes...?

You can do all of those things! In fact, by the looks of it you have all day to do whatever you please. Whatever a ‘day’ counts for out here. It used to be a 24 hour period, 16 being up and about with 8 blissful hours of sleep. A few months into your trip and a ‘day’ became 28 hours of activity, with only a few hours of sleep. By your current clock, you've now been awake for 105 continuous hours without feeling tired.

The computer analysis drones on about the topical notations of this system. Inhospitable this, inhospitable that, potential for mining these. You suppose hoping to stumble onto a magical alien space superhighway was a little far fetched. But at this point even finding alien relics would be nice.
>>
No. 640843 ID: a19cd5

>>640840
push butan
>>
No. 640845 ID: 26e769

>>640840

>In fact, by the looks of it you have all day to do whatever you please.

...

Enhance knockers. (Hey, it's been a while.)

Check the various screens. If everything's okay, then try writing music or drawing.
>>
No. 640867 ID: 10b82c

>>640840
ok, why are you out in space again? where are you even going? was your name always marie or did you change it after you got uplifted? how long have you been out here? where were you before the launch? did you have a boyfriend named morgan? are you out in space by choice or is this some sort of escape shuttle? if it's an escape shuttle, why is it so spacious? did you really take 37 bullets to save haley? when did that happen and what was the story? what's with the cable connected to your back, is it to keep you in place or does it have a purpose?

also, whatever you do, DO NOT ENHANCE KNOCKERS!
>>
No. 640899 ID: 79940c

>By your current clock, you've now been awake for 105 continuous hours without feeling tired.
No mental fatigue? Humans get kind of loopy without that much sleep. Not that I know how closely your processors emulate a human brain. But the fact you can still sleep, and dream, suggests the associated mental processes still exist. People need to clean up and defrag their thoughts every once in a while!

>But at this point even finding alien relics would be nice.
Have you found anything besides uninhabitable rocks, so far? How long have you been out in space? How long did it take to reach this system?

>In fact, by the looks of it you have all day to do whatever you please.
So, uh, what is there to do on a spaceship? What's keeping you busy?

Is there anyone else on board, or are you flying solo?

What kind of ship is this, actually?
>>
No. 640900 ID: 90b08b

Oh well, better log this stuff. What's the date? Enjoying the zero gravity?
>>
No. 640907 ID: 82c018

So how are things on Mars going that you have the time and/or obligation to be all the way out here>
>>
No. 640962 ID: defceb
File 143182361785.png - (25.48KB , 840x600 , 3103.png )
640962

>No mental fatigue?
There used to be. It’s waned over time, like hunger.
It’s been 5 months since you last had something to eat.
The last time you got a message was a little over 8 years ago now.
48 years since you've left Mars. You think it’s been 48 years. Supposedly the tech accounts for time dilation but you won’t know for certain until you get back. If there’s nothing out here then it’s almost time to turn around and go home.

Maybe a nap would be a good idea.

>Is anyone else on board?
You’re the only sentient thing on board. There’s some algae and bacteria samples that could technically count. Some of Roderick’s machines are strapped to the ship as well. Not sentient, but astoundingly effective at repairs and resource collection. He’s always been tight-lipped about how he made them tick though.

It’s a lonely flight, but on the flip side every day can be no pants day.

>Have you found anything besides uninhabitable rocks, so far?
There was one planet with a proto-algae on it. That was exciting. One planet had rocks that if you squinted could maybe look like ruins? Massive amounts of cyanide in the atmosphere though. Logged all relevant information and moved on.

>What’s with the cable?
It’s a direct connection to the ship computers. It’s feeding all sorts of charts, graphs, and information directly to you.

>How are things on Mars?
They’re… fine. They’re doing great down there. Last you heard they were finally building open-air farms now.

>Check the screens
One of the lunar drones is reporting an obstruction. Apparently it’s been trying to move around something but keeps getting stopped. In a wide, flat area of the moon. Unless rocks grew legs that shouldn't happening.
>>
No. 640966 ID: fef726

Oh hey! something exciting. Lets check it out.

Also we gotta figure out a way to break you outta this rollback. That poor girl was getting mind whammied something fierce.
>>
No. 640979 ID: 79940c

Geeze. What made you want to be alone for 48 years? I mean, sure, space, and you're effectively immortal, but you're still psychologically human. You'd think that would get to you.

Did the psychological studies just show if you locked a few people in a box for that long you'd end up murdering each other or something? Maybe lonely is less crazy making than a group, on this time scale.

>hanging around naked, not eating, not sleeping, not interacting with anyone
Huh. Despite what you said to Haley and Victor, maybe you went the asceticism route after all?

...that or space food just isn't worth bothering with. If you don't have to eat, why eat junk.

>One of the lunar drones is reporting an obstruction.
Ooh! Investigaaaate! Way better than space solitaire, or whatever you've been doing.
>>
No. 640984 ID: 6e1eb1

>>640962
Do you ever dream?
>>
No. 640991 ID: defceb
File 143183965201.png - (11.91KB , 840x600 , 3104.png )
640991

>Do you ever dream?

Every time.

>Maybe you went the asceticism route after all?

Space food starts out tasting kind of okay, and ends up tasting that bad when it’s all you have.

>Investigate!

You pull up the video log from the drone, noting that it's the one on the He-3 rich moon. At this distance the video is delayed by just under 15 minutes.

So far the video just shows the boring surface of a barren moon.
>>
No. 640992 ID: defceb
File 143183968223.png - (21.40KB , 840x600 , 3105.png )
640992

Then a flag pops up, being waved furiously back and forth. Or rather, an improvised flag. It looks like some cloth that’s been smeared with an oily substance.
>>
No. 640993 ID: 79940c

Okay, flags are not naturally occurring phenomenon. You've found intelligence. Intelligence that's not so alien- they understand the concept of flags!

Looks like today is going to be a pants day. You get to meet aliens!

Plot a course, find some pants.
>>
No. 640995 ID: 90b08b

Tell the drone to look down.
>>
No. 640997 ID: 8f01e8

Got any external lights on the drone you could toggle for signaling? Start with prime numbers while you're rooting around for whatever the theoretical best-practices standard in alien first contact protocol was fifty years ago.
>>
No. 640999 ID: 82c018

Keep monitoring the drone, store all data for later, and get closer (if only to get a shorter delay on the drone). How long will it take you to get there?

>improvised flag
Now that part is odd. You would think that anyone who is both able and willing to stick a flag on a barren moon would have it tailor-made, Unless kludged flags are some tradition of theirs, that would suggest that the flag placer actually lives (or is stranded) on that moon.
>>
No. 641000 ID: 225f37

>>640999
Alternately, it implies that flags are an inevitable technological advance, and that this is a hastily-made flag of surrender. Or an urgent message of another sort.

I get the feeling this is the whole accidental-conquering-of-an-alien-race we've heard about.
>>
No. 641007 ID: defceb
File 143185169740.png - (28.66KB , 840x600 , 3106.png )
641007

>Plot a course, find some pants.

You punch in the destination and wait for the computer to do all the complicated math for you. Putting into consideration acceleration, deceleration, direction that moon is going, and so on it looks like you’ll be able to get there in about… 80 days worth of time. Might as well start the engines now.

>External lights?
You set the drone to start toggling lights to a series of prime numbers. At the very least that will show them you’re paying attention in roughly 15 minutes.

>Look down.
You switch through the drone’s cameras until you get a view of the alien in question. It moves with sharp, jerking actions not unlike a pigeon. The drone continues to try to find a different course, and the alien follows to continue standing in front of it.
>>
No. 641013 ID: 79940c

Maybe order the drone to hold position? So it stops trying to go around.

>aliens
Hmm. Seem humanoid. Organics, too, if they need protective suits. Looks like they have less fingers on a hand. Can't tell much else unless that drone has other sensors you can scan through.

Another 2 behind him.

They might not be native to this rock, either, if they need environmental suits.

Start scanning EM bands, too. Maybe their suits have radio or something.

Might as well blast off a message reporting this, too. Just in case it turns out they're a hostile and capable of blowing you out of the sky, the discovery won't go unreported.
>>
No. 641025 ID: d04d05

Okay.

I can sort of see how this is going to go.

Send a "stop moving, stop ANYTHING, just record" signal to the drone NOW. If, and this is a big if, but some *idiot* programmed it to treat obstacles as something to be mined through... can they do that? Do they have *anything* that might be construed as weapons? Run damage control for anything that might even potentially do damage in a first-contact scenario.
>>
No. 641039 ID: b17fe0

>>641025
Don't worry, I don't think Death Of Being Ground By A Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tool is working tonight.

But yes, DO send a signal to the probe to stop moving.
>>
No. 641064 ID: 2b56ca

>>640962
dude, how are you not going crazy being alone for 48 yea- OHHH that explains so much maybe

80 days is plenty of time for a nap. what the hell have you been doing instead of sleeping anyhow?
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No. 641082 ID: 8f01e8

Aliens seem to be wearing protective suits, meaning this isn't their native environment. Run some spectral analysis to figure out what the suits are made of, that might provide some clues about their native biochemistry and tech level.

Also, go back through the drone's video logs, see how long aliens have been running around trying to get it's attention. Persistently standing in the way seems like an attempt to stop the drone from intruding into their territory and/or trampling something.
>>
No. 641426 ID: defceb
File 143202105194.png - (94.14KB , 840x600 , 3107.png )
641426

You order the drone to stop everything and scan the aliens. Sifting through the video backlog shows that they’ve been dancing around the drone for roughly three hours. The video mostly consists of them waving their limbs as they run around it, a few minutes where it looks like they’re trying to push it back, and then the current situation after it finally stops to find a path around them.

>Scan the EM bands.
The only thing the drone is picking up out of the ordinary is a weak, irregular pulse. It’s barely noticeable against the background noise.

>What the hell have you been doing instead of sleeping anyhow?
Reading books, watching movies, lots and lots and lots of studying, chess against computers, science experiments, cataloging information, more science experiments, conquering your backlog of unfinished games, participating in piles upon piles of psychology questionnaires, contemplating life choices, more science experiments, studying philosophy, maintenance, introspection, replaying old memories, rewatching movies, re-contemplating life choices, having minor panic attacks over the endless vastness of space and the possible implications of even a minor form of ship trouble when flying alone, replaying old memories, and going through old messages again. But mostly science experiments, cataloging information of your travels, and ship maintenance. Plus all the time in an artificial sleep between stars.

80 days… better than 80 years, at least. But you need a plan for first contact.
>>
No. 641430 ID: e114bc

Okay, you'll want to review their movements when they initially found the drone, of course. Focus more on their interactions with eachother than how they acted towards the drone, because you know they are friendly with eachother but you don't know if they're initially or currently friendly with the drone or angry at it. Posture and gesture is important. It's not that you want to mimic what they're doing in order to seem friendly- it's that you want to avoid doing something that makes you seem hostile. Confusion is A-OK during first contact, so if your mannerisms are simply strange to them it's fine.

I think you should wear a spacesuit when greeting them. If you walk up without one they'll be freaked out and possibly assume you're not alive. Um, you DO have a spacesuit, right?

They seem to like showing off their handprint as a gesture of peace or communication or something, maybe you can put your handprint on a piece of cloth and show it to them when you arrive?

They will probably try to escort you somewhere. This will be so that they can take off their suits and attempt real communication. So, follow them obviously. If you can bring along a touchscreen or something that can be drawn on that could help. Bring along some sort of display to show information from a variety of topics. If possible bring along some sort of translation aid like a program that can calculate shit like this.
>>
No. 641451 ID: 88960e

Do we have anything like the Pioneer plaque or the Voyager golden record on board to offer them? Do you have the fabrication capabilities to make one, if not?

You should study them as much as possible from the probe for these months in transit. Learn what you can from their behavior, try to see how they communicate, make basic attempts at communication via probe.

Important to pay attention to is what senses they seem to have, and in what bands. (The partially transparent faceplate suggests sight, or something like it, at least).

Find some appropriately nice clothes for diplomacy. Clothes mark you as an intelligent being, distinct from a probe.

I wouldn't worry about a hard suit, or faking being organic.

Don't bring any weapons. Do send a message documenting all you've logged to date, and your plans, before first contact. Just in case things go terribly wrong, your mistake hopefully won't be repeated.

Make sure to get real sleep before making contact. Can't risk your judgement being effected, or being off your game.
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No. 641524 ID: 78a595

>lots and lots and lots of studying
You know, that would have been real handy in the present / future ...past (damnit) if it weren't for all the memory problems.

>conquering your backlog of unfinished games
Steam libraries finally have a practical purpose! Sanity preservation on sub-light interstellar flights.
>>
No. 641569 ID: d4a543

>>641426
>The only thing the drone is picking up out of the ordinary is a weak, irregular pulse. It’s barely noticeable against the background noise.

That's probably their radio chatter. As communications tech gets more sophisticated, short-range signals get weaker to avoid wasting power on a sufficient sensitive antenna and noisier-seeming because that's how compression algorithms work. Run it through whatever cryptanalysis you've got, looking for patterns that might be language, and figure out how you might transmit signals on the same band. Don't worry too much about what you're going to say to them until you know what they're already saying to you.

As for 'actions speak louder than words,' have the drone backtrack, extra cautiously at half-speed or less, to the point where it was three or four hours ago when it first saw them. They seem to want it to stop intruding on their territory or something, and such a symbolic concession costs you nothing.
>>
No. 641670 ID: e114bc

What do you dream about?
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No. 641682 ID: 2b56ca

>>641426
ok none of that is as important as sleep. cut that shit out.
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No. 641796 ID: defceb
File 143218711843.png - (37.83KB , 840x600 , 3108.png )
641796

Nice clothes, check.
Working tablet, check.
Up to date versions of Pioneer/Voyager messages, check.
Drone backed up about three to four hours worth of travel, check.

You opt to go without the hard-suit, needing only to cover your eyes and ears against stray dust. Crypt-analysis never broke the radio chatter, just turned up junk noise again and again and again in it’s attempts. Watching their actions and attempting to communicate through the drone proved marginally more successful. By the time you arrived on the moon you've transmitted basic math equations back and forth through the on-board light. Since then more of the aliens have crowded around the drone regularly.

You shoot off one more message back home with all this information and grab a good night’s sleep.

>What do you dream about?

Your dreams are often nonsense. Noises, almost-person shapes running around, broken buildings, birds. So many birds. The dreams began vague and have only gotten worse over the years. By now they've blurred into the barest sense of a dream.
>>
No. 641797 ID: defceb
File 143218714477.png - (9.29KB , 840x600 , 3109.png )
641797

Stage fright is an all too familiar feeling for you. From being paraded around doctors as a medical miracle to making important speeches for Martian politics, you've had many close encounters to the gut-twisting anxiety that predates action.

One of the aliens pops out from behind the rocks and holds it’s arms up high. You've seen the gesture before, it’s practically their handshake.
>>
No. 641798 ID: bd8b82

reply in kind
>>
No. 641803 ID: e114bc

Throw your hands in the air like you just don't care.

Makes sense for it to be a handshake, as people suspect the handshake evolved to be a way of signifying you were unarmed (at least with the hand offered).
>>
No. 641804 ID: b283c9

Flags, perhaps they're celebrating something? Return the gesture.
>>
No. 641819 ID: 88960e

>broken dreams
That's different. Especially compared to the fully fleshed out flashbacks you're getting now.

Did your dreams break completely (so you had to fall back on replaying memories instead of generating 'original' content)? Or did the crash fix or unstick something, and now you're being overwhelmed by your dreams rushing back?

...damnit, where's a good a cyber-neurologist psychologist electrical engineer programmer when you need one?

>ear and eye protection
Do the ear condoms sheaths feel weird?

>white flags, hands in the air
Here's hoping the similarities to human symbols of surrender is only coincidental.

>what do
Return the 'handshake'.
>>
No. 641827 ID: d4a543

Wave hello, approach at a leisurely pace but stop outside the line of flags until invited in.

You've got basic math available as common language? Start by explaining the metric system, then enough observational astronomy to specify where you're from. This presents the risk that they could use the information to hit Earth with a relativistic KEW, but sharing it so readily implies that you're either ignorant of such strategic considerations or willing to trust them. Then, ask them to reciprocate with their own point-of-origin data.

Biggest thing to remember is that just because they can't speak your language doesn't mean they're stupid. Everything has political implications, and while any remotely reasonable civilization is going to cut you some slack about mistakes during an unplanned first contact, but second chances won't do much good if you're still thinking of them like children on some level just because they have trouble with "see spot run." When in doubt, go for respect and caution.
>>
No. 642297 ID: defceb
File 143236869603.png - (11.07KB , 840x600 , 3110.png )
642297

>Do the ear condoms feel weird?
They’re earplugs and they feel fine!
>>
No. 642298 ID: defceb
File 143236877505.png - (25.91KB , 840x600 , 3111.png )
642298

You return their gesture in kind and slowly walk towards them. The one standing out grabs a large package and slides down to greet you. The metal legs stand out during it’s descent. From watching all the drone footage it seemed like every single one of the aliens had legs like that. Seeing it in person makes it very clear that from the… knees? down, they’re completely mechanical.

Once it reaches your level, the alien puts the package down and gives it a solid push in your direction.
>>
No. 642301 ID: ec1df5

Crap, we forgot to bring something.
Accept the package. Carefully motion to opening, but watch for any gesture meant to stop you: We don't know whether it's to be opened right here in front of them, or safely in a pressured habitat.
>>
No. 642303 ID: bd8b82

>>642301
no we brought the voyager messages.

trade items.
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No. 642314 ID: fef726

Huh, interesting, those legs are clearly mechanical.
>>
No. 642325 ID: e114bc

>>642298
That is interesting. I wonder if their species evolved without legs that let them walk upright? Or maybe it's just so that they can handle space travel better. It is difficult to exercise in zero gravity, after all.
>>
No. 642335 ID: 78a595

Huh, they got short stubby legs. Maybe... they evolved as swimmers or something? Or tall trees or a cliffside where they swung around from their arms alot? So they're from some kind of an environment they could get around, but isn't so suited to a barren plain in vacuum.

Well, at least then the idea of cybernetic enhancements won't be completely alien to them.

>They’re earplugs and they feel fine!
Pfff. (In the previous image, the ears were the same shade as her visor. I thought they had little things slipped over them).

>>642298
Put the package you brought for them down next to it, and push it in their direction.

Then turn your attention to the one it left for you. What is it?

(Or maybe we inspect, then trade? Not sure if the more polite thing is to first show interest in their gift, or to immediately reciprocate).
>>
No. 642445 ID: d04d05

Immediately reciprocate is definitely the more polite thing to do from a game theory perspective. Play it tit-for-tat.
>>
No. 642504 ID: defceb
File 143243632887.png - (36.71KB , 840x600 , 3112.png )
642504

>Put the package you brought for them down next to it, and push it in their direction.
>Accept the package. Carefully motion to opening, but watch for any gesture meant to stop you
Inside the package you find what appears to be a decorated short sword, two clear and apparently empty canisters, an engraved metal sheet, a folded up bundle of cloth, and a stack of… tissue samples? Gross. They’re suspended in small glass-looking containers. Sitting neatly on top of the pile is also one picture, with writing next to it.
>>
No. 642506 ID: e114bc

>>642504
What, no writing samples other than the writing on the photo? Gonna have a hard time reading it without enough writing samples to decode their language. Well, at least that picture on the sheet tells you where their home planet is. And apparently they have a space station! Uh, I hope that is this system. Otherwise you may have to devise some sort of method of communication so that you can find out where they are. Or not. I mean, normally you don't tell strangers your home address, and it doesn't get more strange than alien life. If war broke out you really wouldn't want either side to know where the other's home planet is.

Get a better look at the photo. Oh, maybe there's more writing samples on the back of the metal sheet? Check the back of the photo too.
>>
No. 642507 ID: 78a595

Oh, dang, we didn't think to offer any tissue samples. Did we even bring any?

It looks like we were right to offer something like the Voyager / Pioneer plaques- they have one of their own, right there.

Check that first. Is there enough information that you can tell at a glance if they're from this system? Or where there system of origin is? (If not, snap a screeshot, and transmit to your ship. See if it can compare with the onboard starmap or whatever to determine point of origin).

Hold up the photograph. Is that what they look like without the hardsuits?

Screenshot the photo, send the written text through the crypo-analysis programs you were using before.
>>
No. 642512 ID: fef726

I don't think we have any tissue samples to give? Marie is almost completely mechanical.
>>
No. 642513 ID: d4a2dc

>I don't think we have any tissue samples to give?
Does our ship have spares of any small, easily detachable part (like maybe an ear)?
>>
No. 642529 ID: 78a595

>>642512
We might have brought some human tissue samples for those experiments Marie mentioned earlier. The effects on human tissue of long periods of space travel would be could be useful data. They might want to spent a generation or hibernation style colony ship with non-cyborg settlers out, some day.
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No. 642606 ID: defceb
File 143245824350.png - (27.63KB , 840x600 , 3113.png )
642606

The following weeks go by in a blur. Communication begins awkwardly at best, but in time you learn several important things about your new friends. Their home system is many, many light years out from Earth. Not that you would want to travel there, as their home world itself exists only as space debris in an asteroid belt. Eventually you manage to get across that you’re a full blown cyborg, and thus not at risk of strange alien diseases or suffocating inside their environment. They’re quick to invite you to their lunar base after that.

Following the many hours spent in airlocks, decontamination rooms, and waiting for a whole slew of other tech to confirm you can safely travel inside their lunar base, you finally get to meet one without the hefty space suit. In doing so, you learn one very important detail.
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No. 642607 ID: defceb
File 143245827807.png - (35.81KB , 840x600 , 3114.png )
642607

They’re not opposed to extensive modification to survive all the way out here.
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No. 642609 ID: defceb
File 143245829163.png - (25.42KB , 840x600 , 3115.png )
642609

>>
No. 642610 ID: defceb
File 143245831945.png - (27.80KB , 840x600 , 3116.png )
642610

Your name is Marie, which has been mentioned several times previously.

Your current inventory is empty.

You have lost track of when and where you are.

In a moment you will wake up, and what follows is going to hurt.

It’s going to hurt a lot.
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No. 642613 ID: defceb
File 143245838870.png - (5.16KB , 840x600 , 3117.png )
642613

End of Thread 3
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No. 642652 ID: 78a595

>>642606
>>642607
Oh, hey. Is the big claw they removed what they made the ceremonial dagger / short sword out of?

>Your current inventory is empty.
But the collectibles! How will we ever get all the posters now.
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No. 642661 ID: e114bc

>>642613
Tell us more about the birds!
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No. 642707 ID: d4a2dc

>It’s going to hurt a lot.
Is that even possible under normal circumstances? I would think putting a maximum on the amount of pain perceivable at a time would be one of the first changes you make when rebuilding those systems from scratch.
>>
No. 642805 ID: e114bc

An off switch for pain would make sense too.
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