>>201982
No problemo.

How's the kiddo?

>>201951
Music is appropriate.

>>201982
we need to work on having more physical uses than flare and night-light.

>>201987
Like disco balls. Everyone can use a little time to boogie down.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/01(Thu)20:40 No. 201990 ID: 31cbfc
File 12780420024.png - (3.36KB , 512x512 , 193.png )

>>201984
>Doing fine, though he's quite silent besides when asked.
Zariene dozes off, leaning on Asgeria
>What the... d'aww, such a sleepyhead. I wouldn't mind a nap too, there's still quite a distance up ahead.

>>201987
Well, we seem to be good at light maipulation, but... can we float?

[attempt to float in the air]

>>201990
Awwww, adorable. :3c

it's probably the tranq, it tired her out, just one didn't have the power to knock her out then and there though.

if you don't mind me asking, how long have you and zariene been friends?

>>201991
i think by all account's we're pretty immobile.

so how's this thing powered? is it liable to run out any time soon?

Suggestion 2010/07/01(Thu)21:13 No. 202013 ID: 732129
File 127804399145.jpg - (26.57KB , 200x233 , SpaceCadetAlfie1.jpg )

>>201997

[Speaking aloud, or emitting, or whatever it is that allows us to address everyone]

"I believe Kanes said it's powered by electricity. I do wonder about the power storage though. Asgeria, could you please show us the control panel?"

[And, let's check the status screen while we're at it]

>>202050
Is it safe to assume that all ammo besides the stuff Kanes has is tranq darts?

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/01(Thu)22:05 No. 202061 ID: 31cbfc
File 127804715373.png - (4.92KB , 512x512 , 194.png )

>>202013
Kanes:
"No need, you probably aren't familiar with this. It's a cell made of a strange crystal that's been found a while ago, which seems to absorb power like a sponge to no known limits. Every machine uses merely a small shard of it to efficiently store power."
Asgeria:
"...That means you actually are using magic. Looks like you stumbled upon a wind-bound Capacitor Stone. It stores raw energy, absorbed and emitted in form of its element... in this case, lightning. Which would pretty much work well with your machines."
Kanes:
"You know a lot about these things, Asgeria. You're a mage or something?"
Asgeria:
"No... I'm from a merchant family. At least I was until the battle of Airan 10 years ago."
Kanes:
"Mind telling me more?"
Asgeria:
"We were going there on a regular trading trip. My parents always took me along everywhere, so I was there this time as well. When we arrived in Arneth, the town got attacked unexpectedly by some armed force I didn't know. I... I was the only one who survived."
Kanes:
"What did you do later?"
Asgeria:
"I had no chance of getting back home, and I had nobody left to turn to. But it turned out I wasn't the only one left alone... the prince of Airan offered help to the victims, so since then I lived with another family willing to adopt me. That's when I met Zariene, whose father was a war hero, leaving her with the same fate as me. We chose the way of the sword to hold our own on this world... and after years of practice, we became apprentices to the Guardians of Airan, under Fen's command. You know the rest."
Kanes:
"Oh... I shouldn't probably have asked. I'm sorry."
Asgeria:
"I don't mind, really."
>>201992
>She would go berserk if she realized you're watching.
>>201995
>10 years, as I just said... we had no one besides each other, and... yeah. I wasn't able to do a thing to protect my family back then, but I will stand by Zariene to my last breath. I... I love her. Nothing will take her from me as long as I'm still able to swing the blade.
She smiles and looks at Zariene sleeping on her shoulder.

>>202056
Yes, the rifles aren't capable of shooting real rounds.

i think she loves you too, but is just more reluctant to say it.

>>202061

"Have you considered tracking down your extended family, Asgeria?"

>>202061
...Well, love's love. Now I can see why she got so upset at our comments at the inn. If you heard of them, we want to apologize directly.

You know, just throwing this out here, if you want... help in that regard, we're always willing. Just an invitation. We like to see those who hold us be happy, and the two of you are certainly no exception.

Anyway!

We got a specific ETA?

>>202061
So... you're actually in a relationship? Or are your feelings platonic? If you two really are involved I think you'll find that we will almost never crack jokes about it. We have a bit of a soft spot for loving relationships, gender be damned. Um, be warned we are still kinda voyeuristic... but since we're an orb I think we appreciate the emotional aspects more than the physical.

We will act to make sure you don't get separated, ok?

>>202084
So we like to watch, big deal. We're an orb, it's not like we have any prospects. Ever.

>>202084
of course, since we are an orb you can just put us somewhere else, some may get mad but most of us would be fine and understanding.

>>202086
Yeah, most of us aren't that pervy. We just don't get out much, what with the infinite existence as an immobile ball and what not. Speaking of which I would like to apologize for any past or future transgressions made in relation to this fact.

>>202086

I suggest a bag with heavy rubber foam around it.

>>202091
speaking of which, why does covering us always block our view. We don't actually see out of the orb like 99% of the time, usually we can actually see ourselves. We are a metaphysical mystery.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/01(Thu)23:24 No. 202121 ID: 31cbfc
File 127805184497.png - (5.15KB , 512x512 , 196.png )

>Whoa, that's a lot of questions, all of sudden.
>Let's just say that I had Kanes take you downstairs for a damn good reason. Still, if Zarie knows that I told you, she'll be all right with it as long as you don't make a big deal out of it.

that's nice :3 and i wont tell but someone else in here may try to.

anyway, if you trust the kid enough that you don't think he wont bail we can try getting to know him. he could just be sitting there thinking, which we would hear. and then you can snuggle up and sleep too. if you don't trust him enough then give us to kanes while you snuggle.

>>202121
We will endeavor to only bring it up should an opportunity to do so in a polite and tasteful manner.

>>202121
Kanes suspects you two are involved, btw. I'm not sure if you two are trying to keep it a secret from him or not. We're bad at keeping secrets so it's probably for the best that he's figured it out already.

We're not going to make a big deal out of it. Probably. Most of us won't.

>>202121
A happy, healthy relationship? son of a gun, it's been AGES!

We're happy for you, of course. The most we'll say to the cute hothead is a congratulations for finding someone else, but that's all.

Just put it this way, any sort of bad move we make? Probably fueled by fristration that no one ever trusts us and its physically impossible for us, as an immobile orb, to, er, 'get any'. We're not good at flirting, and no matter how careful we are, any flirting generally gets us in the garbage or the doghouse. Just put yourself in our shoes and you'd understand.

Anyway, you want us to dim so you can sleep too?

>>202135
i think if we want to make it better for her to sleep we should just but kanes between her and us. i think he needs us to see where he's going at this point.

>>202138
Good idea.

Just don't forget...

We're kinda people too. A lot of folks forget that.

Hand us to the man with the mech, please~

>>202139
we aren't really people, we're a sentient artifact of power doomed to an existence where we consistently help others with their problems and receive little thanks. But we've come to terms with it at this point, so it's cool.

>>202139

"Hey we've been on lots of adventures though. Like that time with the blind girl, or that adventure with the giant metal guy, or that adventure with the guy who drives giant metal guys, or the time we helped that one dude trick a dragon..."

>>202146
Oh yeah, there's definitely perks. If it was that bad some of us would have found a way to kill ourselves by now. We should probably stop talking to ourselves...so...kanes, the power source on this thing, how powerful is it? Could it feasibly power anything we configured to run off of it?

>>202148

No, you got put it in the little quote marks, otherwise we're just projecting into our handler's mind.

Like this: "Kanes, the power source on this thing, how powerful is it? Could it feasibly power anything we configured to run off of it?"

>>202149
(woah, man, you're dangerously close to breaking the fourth wall right over Asgeria's head.)

Oh, Asgeria, I tried to engage Kanes in a conversation about this, but he just wanted to drop the issue entirely at the time: does your society have taboos against same sex relationships? Discrimination or anything like that? Or is it a generally accepted practice and unlikely to be a cause for friction with outsiders?

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/03(Sat)18:23 No. 202796 ID: f80af7
File 12782066202.png - (3.42KB , 512x512 , 197.png )

Asgeria yawns and hands Kanes the orb.
[...]
>Everyone's asleep, and I'm just supposed to follow this path straight I guess. Mind keeping me awake?

we'll try. what do you want to talk about?

or we could try just being so loud and annoying that you can't sleep though the noise.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/03(Sat)18:37 No. 202802 ID: f80af7
File 127820742120.png - (1.93KB , 128x128 , 198.png )

>Just anything that won't let me pass out.

then VUVUZELA TIME! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ[repeat ad infinity]

>>202803

Hey I thought we agreed no more being dicks! Stop that terrible racket.

How about we talk shop?

What's the energy density of the crystal used for energy storage?

>>202802
brace for hardon, im gonna open my porn folder!

 

[Repeat ad Infinitum]

>>202806
well i'm just trying to keep him awake, being too loud and generally annoying to sleep is what he wanted. but fine
[suspend vuvuzela while the others ask their questions]

>>202808

Argh, no, that's horrid! Stop that!

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/03(Sat)18:54 No. 202812 ID: f80af7
File 127820849740.png - (2.87KB , 512x512 , 199.png )

>What the FUCK is this? Where did you ever in existence hear such an instrument?

>>202812

Isn't it awesome? And now consider hearing this 120 minutes.

>>202812

It's a few thousand plastic horns being played all at once with no coordination at all by enthusiastic football fans.

Energy density?

it comes from the south Africa, one of our continents. alone it sounds pretty good, but too many at once just makes a ruckus. doubt you can get to sleep with this on.

5Copper!OcWN4aulz6 2010/07/03(Sat)19:40 No. 202849 ID: 68fbf2
File 12782112571.jpg - (89.86KB , 1200x483 , 1274515315128.jpg )

since my porn bait didnt worked, how about we talk about guns and other stuff from your world?

what was the biggest warship ever made?

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/03(Sat)20:15 No. 202864 ID: f80af7
File 127821330965.png - (3.45KB , 512x512 , 200.png )

>The most powerful aircraft is the Imperial Palace itself. Very few know of this, but it's in fact a flying fortress capable of vertical take off and landing, able to stay airborne for weeks without recharging.
>Its engines and weaponry are constantly modernized. It could conquer all these primitive nations alone as of now. If you found a way to power it with magic, it would be invincible. We must not let it happen at all costs, our only chance to stand up to it is with the Citadel on our side, before Zein learns the way of the wizards.
>The worst thing is, the fortress was the one thing we kept secret from the Citadel as a safety measure. Right now, it's a terrible advantage which has to be taken care of - and it's my responsibility to put an end to Zein's cover once and for all.

what about a strike team attacking when it is coming down to recharge? just make it unable to charge and leave it grounded. which is what i guess is it's current weak point. with magic some guy could just stand there shooting lightning at the crystal all day and it will last forever.


... has any crystal ever gotten over charged before? just finally filled up and then someone tried to put more in it. something tells me that would result in something very, VERY bad.

>>202864

Well no wonder they went batshit trying to shoot down your jet.

Asgeria might be the better person to ask about this, but are there ways to shut down the power storage crystals? Dispells, or disjunctions, or overloading or something?

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/03(Sat)20:55 No. 202883 ID: f80af7
File 127821569343.png - (3.69KB , 512x512 , 201.png )

>They're too damn reliable and provide almost infinite storage and output. I'm going to look for a mage to find out about any weak points of using capacitor stones.

if anything can fuck them up it's magic. so how do you get the energy back out? and how do you charge them for that matter?

sounds like superconductors.

you know what happens every time humanity comes up with a new type of energy source?

new type of weapons of mass destruction.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/04(Sun)20:24 No. 203397 ID: f80af7
File 127830024035.png - (2.13KB , 512x512 , 202.png )

>>203115
>You don't need to remind me of that.

luckily though i doubt anyone has tapped into it's true potential or looked at alternate energy sources since the things are so good. like fission and the even more powerful fusion nuclear power sources. which when set to overload generates a miniature sun for a few seconds, instantly destroying anything not designed to withstand insane amounts of heat or have a thick enough shell that it can't get hot fast enough.

>>203397
izat one of your magitech guns? are they this rettibly easy to trigger?

damm. we gon get sum coooool explosions.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/04(Sun)20:38 No. 203406 ID: f80af7
File 12783010847.png - (2.37KB , 512x512 , 203.png )

>We don't have shit like that yet, and it's in the best interest of everyone to keep it that way.

>>203406
yeah, powerful weapons, lots of destruction. Not good.

>>203397
So do you guys have any good movies? By which I mean projected images displayed frame by frame at a speed where to the human eye it looks like the image is moving?

agree. we can skip it and go to solar energy, which turns light into energy. just bolt a few panels to your roof and have a crystal store any excess and viola, you never have to worry about power again.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/04(Sun)21:43 No. 203454 ID: f80af7
File 127830498713.png - (2.16KB , 512x512 , 204.png )

>I noticed one of you voices is acting like a complete idiot. You probably have no names so I can't really tell, but that one really stands out. It pisses me off.
>We use solar energy, this crabtank has panels on the legs. However, current panels aren't efficient enough, so they alone cannot power a machine. The stones' power lies in capacity - but it takes time to charge them.
>Movies... they banned most good ones lately. Sure, maybe a dude or two wouldn't sleep after watching Metal Glen but outright banning anything "too violent" seems like a poor excuse to me, as that means all the documentaries on Outcasts went down the drain as well. Which was probably the goal of this bullshit law.

>>203454
Tell us more about the Outcasts.

>>203456
i suppose that is a good question.

>>203454

Some of us aren't as well educated as the others. Some are prone to jumping to conclusions. Most of us like to speculate wildly, though we'll usually let you know when what we're talking about is just conjecture.

A couple of us just like stirring things up. We try to ignore those idiots. Surely your own decision making bodies have the same problem, albeit not in such a compact form factor.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/04(Sun)22:50 No. 203477 ID: f80af7
File 127830904497.png - (5.41KB , 512x512 , 205.png )

>The Outcasts are a civilization that predates Zein, their origin is unknown and they vanished about 500 years ago. They were akin to the White Citadel, but far more advanced. About 700 years ago, a group that opposed their policy of halting expansion and keeping away from the rest of the world, has left the Outcasts and formed the Independent State of Zein. The Outcasts, seeing themselves as people of honor, granted the Zeinians the basic blueprints on technology required to survive to give them a fair start, and taught them the basic laws of physics - but nothing more. We were no better advanced than the people here are now. They just stood back and observed, treating this as no more than an experiment. Sadly, even though they gave us no weapons, 200 years was enough to develop weapons and start a conflict with them already - but instead of crushing us after our violent, initial mass attack, they just vanished leaving no survivors or knowledge of their former place of habitat - which Zein almost bombed to hell anyway. The official version states that they simply got overthrown in battle with us - with their technology though, I call bullshit. I doubt that even the White Citadel knows what really happened to them.
>It is also known from legends and old documents that there were two sentient kinds among them that aren't known today. I suspect one of these being advanced machines, and the other... nothing is known besides the fact there was someone else. They lived much longer than humans and actually inter-bred later, which means that before their fall, pure humans were quite rare among Outcasts. None of them ever made contact with Zein too, for some reason - which is why there's barely any evidence left.

man, whoever was in charge of zein at the time earns my official 'dumbass award of stupidity'. regardless of your reasons, picking a fight with a group that is better then you in all ways is just... dumb.

from our knowledge of the things you described the machines would be androids. we have a few shoddy prototypes, but the hard part is getting a powerful enough brain small enough. the long lived ones are most likely called elves, which have the traits described, long life and the ability to crossbreed with humans.

>>203490

AI wouldn't need to be housed in an anthropomorphic body. If they had android bodies, the bodies could be controlled remotely.

The second species sounds like a genetically engineered race, probably a sub-species of homo sapiens sapiens with traits chosen to emphasize intelligence. I'm basing this guess on the fact that there are no other known sapient species on this planet, and that the second species was cross-fertile with humans and produced fertile hybrids, and that cross-breeds were dominant by the time the Outsiders removed themselves from the world. There may be magical ways to enable cross breeding between species, but we wouldn't know about that.

Lacking more information about this second species, I propose we title them homo sapiens ex vas, literally, "wise man from the vessel" in reference to the work that would have needed to have been done to make the original genetic improvements.

If I had to guess wildly about what happened to the Outsiders, they probably just left. It's possible to leave a biosphere and set up shop in orbit, or elsewhere, with enough technology. That they were (maybe) willing to make genetic modifications means they probably would have been willing to embrace the calcium hack and other modifications required to live in microgravity.

>>203504
that sounds overly complex. i'm more willing to bet on the elves idea then a super genetically modified group.

>>203504

As an addendum, the hacks for longevity involve a mechanism for periodic resetting of cell-death mechanisms, genome reconstruction proteins adapted from radiodurans to work in eukaryotic cells, and a myriad of measures that improve the immune system in general. As a side effect, people with the longevity hacks tend to be perfect candidates for space travel, since they're immune to the effects of low levels of radiation.

>>203508

Complex, sure, but if they were as advanced as Kanes believes, then it would be possible. Likely, even, especially if the research to make such changes could be done in an ethical fashion.

>>203477
Okay, who's the White Citadel?

well ok, i'll try to be less idiotic pevert stupid insensitive jerk myself.

so how is the machine capacity at?

>>203477
this is actualy interesting. one sounds like dwarves and the other like elves. are there actual reports on how they interacted together?

>>203650

How did you conclude the two races were dwarfs and elves out of such limited information?

[Let's bring up the stats page again]

>>203677
frankly? one was a isolationist race with inbreeding. that says elves to me.

the other was a tecnology-like driven race that sometimes go on wars. just the fact that their moms would be complex anvils makes me think of dorfs.

>>203724
INTER-breeding not inbreeding you twit. as in they did it with humans and had viable offspring.

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/06(Tue)01:03 No. 204005 ID: f80af7
File 127840339988.png - (5.54KB , 256x1024 , 206.png )

>>203677
I don't see much of a reason but fine.

>>204005
Why isn't Kanes' gun fully loaded? Kanes you should always keep your gun fully loaded.

>>204005
Oh, we still have to talk to Denn! :3

>>204016
is he still up?

ThatFuckingCat!HLi.T/XeD2 2010/07/06(Tue)01:31 No. 204022 ID: f80af7
File 127840507399.png - (2.55KB , 512x512 , 207.png )

>I haven't had the time to sort out the ammo.
>The kid's sleeping like a rock.
>White Citadel is a self-sustaining fortress settlement located in the northern polar circle. Their technology is advanced enough to keep Zein under control at the moment - until the latter get their hands on magic, that is. This is about how much do I know, though.

>>204022
How insular are they?

they could be doing so much more for this place then just sitting up there waiting. they may be our only hope but i just don't like them.

>>204051

Would you give a loaded gun to a pack of chimpanzees?

I think they're just being responsible.

>>204104
no weapons, but like automated farms and stuff. things that simply CANNOT be turned into weapons.

>>204186

Nothing lasts forever. Even the best automated systems need outside maintenance at some point. For the White Citadel to have confidence that the systems wouldn't fail, they would either have to maintain an outpost with technicians or have to train the locals to be able to maintain such things. The first means there is a removed enclave that could mix with the lower-tech population and give up secrets either freely (if they "go native"), unwittingly, or unwillingly (interrogation). The second means that you've trained the lower-tech population in tools and concepts that could be turned to making weapons.

A hands-off attitude is the safest course of action to take if the higher-tech population has any doubts at all about the lower-tech population's leadership.

Real quick - Kanes, this may sound somewhat counterintuitive, but things like fission weapons in the hands of multiple parties actually can act as a PEACEKEEPING force. There was a war on a world called "Sol III" known as the "Cold War" simply for the fact that there were NO combat casualties - in fact, no combat to speak of. Neither side used their fission weapons, out of fear that the other would do the same. This concept is called "deterrent" - if the weapon is terrible enough, and distributed widely enough, everybody's mostly afraid to hurt each other. The system has broken down slightly on Sol III, as they are not spread widely, and the nuclear "superpowers" have a slight tendency to bully the nations without it, but the politics there are relatively simple, without tiny splinter nations all over the place, so it would be easier to arm all of them with exactly one nuclear or magitek "black box" - designed to make it impossible to reproduce the mechanism without detonating it, but self explanatory in its use as a weapon - and abolish war simply by making the very FEAR of it cripplingly devastating.

Just a thought. Keep it on the shelf till we've taken care of this business with the Citadel and Zein.

*the politics IN YOUR WORLD are relatively simple. On Sol III there's several hundred nations, and most of them aren't nuclear powers.

>>208784

If you're going to tell the story of the cold war, tell the whole story.

At least twice the major players in that war came to the brink of firing off super weapons at each other sufficient to destroy entire cities, and, en masse, to send the entire world into a cooling period that would last 5 to 10 ten years. Casualties were projected to be in the range of FFFFFFFF. The first time was due to deliberate provocation by one of the minor proxy powers that the major players propped up, and the second time was due to an equipment error that, luckily, the technician on duty had the good sense to ignore (against procedure and orders, I may add).

Throughout the course of the cold war, numerous smaller countries were used to fight proxy wars, where one of the major powers would supply them with goods and training and set them against other smaller countries in the areas. The economic damage to those countries was felt for decades even after the cold war concluded.

>>208818
>the nuclear "superpowers" have a slight tendency to bully the nations without it
I mentioned this, brah. DO read the whole post before you RAGE, and although there WERE close calls and plenty of fear to go around, that fear kept all the nukes safe in their silos.

>>208974
Smacked the post button too early - it IS correct that if even one leader gets shortsighted or hot-blooded, the planet's ecosystem is pretty much fucked. So consider this risk also, Kanes - an event we refer to as "full-scale nuclear exchange" could feasbly kill every human in your world, so although the PROBABILITY of risk is low, the MAGNITUDE of risk is.... huge, to say the least.

>>204022
How much father until we get to the next stop?

>>208974
>>208977

The sample size for your hypothesis is too small to draw any conclusions besides "super weapon brinkmanship requires lots of super weapons."

Even from a game theory point of view, brinkmanship only works if all players are actually rational. And we know leaders of nations are not always rational. It's a crazy idea to be an advocate of.

>>209177
Leadership of a nation usually selects for rationality. Not always, as Zein demonstrates for us, and I'm leaving the decision as to whether or not to pursue it, as well as the information on the risks and benefits, to Kanes and the girls. To sum up briefly again in case Kanes got confused by the discussion: Probably usher in a new era of peace for mankind. If the wrong person gains leadership, guarantee an end to all war because nobody will be left to wage it. It puts all our eggs into one extremely tough, but not indestructible, basket.

>>209180

It puts all your eggs, and all your opponent's eggs, and all the eggs of every generation that follows, in the same basket made of woven toilet paper. The trouble is that a cold war takes the status quo away from being a matter of if a super weapon capable country gets a crazy leader, and turns the status quo into a situation of waiting for when a country involved gets a leader crazy enough to let the midnight clock chime.

The only way to avoid an eventuality like that is to disarm the cold war as soon as possible. The two sides involved in the Sol III cold war did so by engaging in economic warfare, causing enough lasting damage to one economy to collapse the government. The other side did systemic damage to its internal economy, and the fallout from the economic war left the entire world economy in a much more fragile state than it needed to be in.

>>209243
These are factors I had sorely missed. Would they still have occurred if there had not been smaller non-nuclear nations to bully, however?

>>209245
Disregard this question, I've had the time to do the appropriate research and found that the economic erosion still would have taken place in a relatively simple political system like the one we're observing here. They'll discover nukes on their own anyways, but Kanes? Disregard my previous recommendations about creating a "cold war" scenario, as this other spirit is a bit more observant than I am. I made similar recommendations while my voice sounded different; it's too difficult to explain why, but at some point my voice would have sounded like "69f105" for part of the conversation, where it now sounds like "db60d0". If that made any sense to you.