>vampire harpoon
The problem there would be moving all that mass through a tiny tendril. It could be severed before we get the mass. Also, it's going to really obvious what we're doing, I think.

We could absorb him and replace the parts that we absorb with our self to basically give us control of him and kill the other guy without him knowing.

So, make the vampire harpoon if it's reasonably practical/quick to do so, otherwise just yank the guy. Even if you don't pull him to the floor, you should put him off-balance enough to give Blake a chance to fire.

>>600378
or just injection harpoon. I hear violent inflation with extra fluid let alone digestive juice can be a problem for most organisms even when it comes to simple internal ruptures. quite incapacitating. And all the equipment is already there in the harpoon, just a matter of either growing the vein into the victim, or a small hole in the "bone". loos a little bit of biomass in the form of fluid during the attack, maybe get a bit woozy from "blood" loss. Proceed to reclaim lost material shortly there after.

>>600153
>>600154
Hey Alice. This is your logic speaking. Just wanted to say that you can reel this sucker in. Take a hit from his weapon and survive. Not like our less ablative friendly friend with the shotgun. He is too fragile to deal with that. Even a scratch might kill him, leaving us with all that biomass.

Sanity is overrated kill them all, become the strongest!

Do not kill the Blake.
Be the good girl you always have to be.

The worst part about being a flora-morph is that you don't have a handy "pack" sense like fauna-morphs, or any kind of familial senses to lean back on.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/08(Sat)23:13 No. 600856 ID: 256d52
File 141551718050.png - (27.09KB , 800x550 , xotl_are_jerks.png )

>See about regaining mass and doing repairs from your meal while trying to tear yourself free from the glue. Or possibly, it would make sense for a specimen capture gun to come with a counter-agent. If the xotl is carrying that, you can just wait for Blake it get you out.
Alice has just finished off the xotl scientist, pulling her feeding tendrils back into her body and leaving just slime and empty clothes behind.

30 biomass consumed. 10 mass gained.
Digestive efficiency has increased to 40%.
10 biomass consumed. 4 mass gained. Total mass is now 78.

Her body must still be adjusting. It's getting a little faster every time.

There's the soft thump of that goo gun firing again as the xotl carrying keels over. Maybe it was a last 'Screw you!' or maybe his finger just tightened on the trigger as he died. Right in the doorway, Blake probably got caught on the fringe.

The other xotl's still holding it together. He's gripping Alice's harpoon to try and stop it causing any more damage and he's still got his gun, trying to raise it and fire.

>Hey Alice. This is your logic speaking. Just wanted to say that you can reel this sucker in. Take a hit from his weapon and survive. Not like our less ablative friendly friend with the shotgun. He is too fragile to deal with that. Even a scratch might kill him, leaving us with all that biomass.
Shit! Can't take the chance of getting Blake injured. Alice hauls on the tether with all her strength. She's much stronger than the xotl. He fires down the hall - nothing, a miss - and then trips.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/08(Sat)23:14 No. 600857 ID: 256d52
File 141551728357.png - (27.74KB , 800x550 , full_of_healthy_tentacles.png )

>Pay attention to how much mass you regain. If you're going to need to eat the other two, you're going to have to explain or excuse your actions to Blake so he doesn't freak out. Which would mean sending him back for the tablet, assuming it survived the firefight.
Alice started at 50 mass. Her body was much thinner than she remembered it being when she was hu- back before she got captured. She got a little taller after she ate the third xotl, which put her at 74 mass. That's also when she grew the head tendrils.

Having eaten the scientist, Alice is starting to feel back on top of things. Her leg's back and the tangle-goo's turning brittle and parting where she works at it with her tendrils. She could probably get mobile right now if she pulled her feet off the ground, though she'd still be partially webbed.

She's not even converting half the mass of the xotl and they're fairly small so she'd better eat everything.

>Yank the guy with the shotgun! You can't let him get a bead on Blake! Also, if you get him close to you, you can eat him. If you can get that shotgun away from him before he gets a bead on you too that'd be optimal.
Yes yes yes! He's the last remaining danger he needs to be gotten rid of. Get him here, then kill him, pull him apart, drink up his blood and unravel his flesh! Tendrils worm out of her split arm and wave with anticipation, ready to snag the xotl when he gets close enough.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/08(Sat)23:16 No. 600858 ID: 256d52
File 141551736991.png - (33.32KB , 800x620 , ciao.png )

>Waaaaaait a minute. Part of you is already attached to the xotl. Can you eat him through your harpoon?
Alice doesn't seem to be able to modify bone outside of her body at all and her flesh is only a little amorphous. Extruding internal changes seems to work better for some reason. Her insides are less solidified?

Quicker to bring him here.

>Yeah, pull hard to knock shotgunner off his feet and drag him to you. jerk the line repeatedly so he can't orient himself and shoot you either. then just snap it's neck.
The xotl slips and struggles as Alice reels him in with short jerky motions.

The the alien's in arm's reach. Alice pulls her other arm free of the weakened goo, pulls him tight and snaps his neck. Alice pulls harder to open up his armour and get at the amphibian flesh within.

"Dietrich?" Blake's voice comes down the hall, relief evident in his voice. "You stuck? I'm a little tangled."

"Weghh!" Alice growls back, voice muffled. Blake can wait a moment, she just needs a minute to finish. There's no immediate danger, it'll take longer to get pull her tendrils free than it would to just eat the rest of the xotl. This is good, this is the right choice.

"Yes or no?"

"Weghh!"

"...I'll take that as a yes."

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/08(Sat)23:34 No. 600861 ID: 256d52
File 141551849983.png - (30.58KB , 800x560 , awwwkwaaaard.png )

40 biomass consumed. 16 mass gained. Total mass is 94.
Digestive efficiency is now 45%

Alice feels satiated. No, more... sluggish.

Ugh, slime, she's full of that slime again. The leftovers from repairing her injuries and eating the xotl. Clogging up her body and slowing her down. Alice starts retracting her tendrils. She'd better find somewhere to discretely throw up. Before her body doesn't give her a choice in the matter.

Then, closer than before.

"Dietrich, what are you doing?!"

Blake has rounded the burned out Fafnir. How did he get free?! He starts to raise his shotgun.

>Do not kill the Blake.
>Be the good girl you always have to be.
What if he tries to kill the Alice?!

>>600859
If he tries, just repeatedly tell him to stop while guarding yourself as much as possible. Keep in mind you can take a lot of damage. He will have to try REALLY HARD to kill you. I don't think he even has it in him to kill you, since he knows you. You can also pull the leftover armor in front of you, to block his shots. Basically just turtle up. Try to be nonthreatening. Last resort, take his gun. You're much stronger than him, you can do it without having to kill him.

If you can modify your body, can you modify your mouth so you can talk better? Or heck, make a specialized orifice for it.

Maybe you can choose a funny moment to puke up all the goop. Nothing makes something less scary like laughing at it.

>What if he tries to kill the Alice?!
Then he's going to have a hard time doing so. Even if he shoots you, that's not exactly fatal to your current biology. If he does something stupid out of fear, you can suck it up and take the hit (or take cover) without killing him in retaliation. Restraint and control are probably the best evidence you can give of your humanity.

>what do
Make eye contact, hold your hands up in a "wait don't shoot" posture (but not a "I'm going to shoot you with my arms" pose. Forearms to the side, not strait at hum), and work on making yourself look 'normal' again (turn off tentacle monster mode). Even if that means disengaging feeding before you got absolutely everything. Yes, losing food sucks, but if you lose the crew you're supposed to be saving you've got nothing.

You can't really talk, but you can try to say his name, calmly. Or maybe ask for the tablet, so you can explain yourself better. (And maybe barf while he'e getting it).

We really should grab the baddie's guns (way more convenient than bones), and whatever we can from the lab and skedaddle before more security arrives, though.

Try not to throw up on him. Throw up on him a lot.

sure, throw up and then mime writing.

>>600861
Stop what you are doing. slowly raise a single finger so he knows to just hold on.
Try to form a working mouth so you can talk without a chalkboard around your neck from now on.

>>600859
Untangle from the husk, then lift your hands to your sides with your open palms facing him in the universal sign of peaceful intent.
You're not hurting for mass right now, and you're not in danger. Your ability to survive now depends on your ability to communicate.
Spend some mass to grow a flap of petals just below your breasts, and behind that add a mouth designed for consuming food. This is now your eating mouth.
Then change your jaw, tongue, teeth, lips, and the rest of your facial mouth to be as close to human as possible - draw on your memories of your old mouth, and the shapes you needed to make to make words, and try to remake that. This is now your talking mouth.

With your talking mouth: "Surviving. I'm now carnivorous, and I need to eat. I don't like it, but I don't have a choice.
I'm going to teach these Xotl the lessons of B Horror Movies, but you are my friend and I am going to get you out of here alive."

Can you excrete the waste material through a non-standard part of your body, like your leg? If so, get rid of the stuff quickly.

And gesture for the datapad.

>>600868
that would probably look really horrible to watch.

Firstly, pull back all of those tendrils.

Secondly, back away from Blake and try to look non-threatening.

Thirdly, turn around and barf on the floor.

Fourthly, gesture for him to bring you the tablet so you can communicate.

>>600868
There are mouths on the palms of her hands, idiot.

>>600861
Allllice....allllice...ALICE. Its me again. The logic. He couldn't even kill you if he wanted. No point in loosing your head.ehehehe... Hmm, though you just had your head half blown off, got shot, and lasered. That shotgun might as well be a tickler ray..hehehe. Tickle gun. Maybe you got a little crazy, but you are still you just shaken not stirred.

Look at him, shrug, put up a finger in the universal "wait a sec" and finish what you gotta do. He has seen it all now girl, cant really hide it by putting away those tentacles and pretending it didn't happen. At least he will know you are rational and not after him. Also, try and fix that fucked up voice box. Maybe say "sorry. I didn't even ask if you wanted any." no that's crazy, he might be a vegan.

>"Dietrich, what are you doing?!"
"Recycling."

>>600864
This seems reasonable.

>>601031
You...out of all our attempts at rationality, YOU'RE the logic? Well, we're toast. You're too goofy to be the logic. :P

Oh, also, I posit that now (and in general, any tricky situation where ANYTHING else might work) is not quite the right time to be trying grow-new-organs experiments...maybe.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/10(Mon)04:52 No. 601209 ID: 256d52
File 141562392780.png - (27.83KB , 700x600 , trust_me_on_this.png )

>Even if he shoots you, that's not exactly fatal to your current biology. If he does something stupid out of fear, you can suck it up and take the hit (or take cover) without killing him in retaliation. Restraint and control are probably the best evidence you can give of your humanity
Alice is tough, being shot isn't the end of the world. Slowly then. This isn't a time to move precipitously. Self control. Alice isn't entirely sure she could stop herself from lashing out if he did shoot her. Even an injury would be very bad considering the situation they're in.

>Stop what you are doing. slowly raise a single finger so he knows to just hold on.
Huddled up, Alice tries to make herself look small and nonthreatening. Trying to make sure everything that belongs in her mouth is back in there, Alice looks up at Blake. She gingerly raises her right hand, finger extended.

He doesn't shoot her. It's an encouraging first step. But the way he's looking at her does not fill her with hope.

>You can't really talk, but you can try to say his name, calmly.
"Blaegh."

>Try to form a working mouth so you can talk without a chalkboard around your neck from now on.
Speech pathology isn't exactly Alice's stock in trade and her mouth is screwed up enough as it is. Alice doesn't want to risk making it worse.

"Khanngh spheagh guhh." Alice says, massaging her throat with her free hand. Seeing she can't speak good, they're either going to need the datapad or rely on a lot of yes or no questions. She starts to pull away from the armoured husk that used to be a xotl. Most of herself is back inside herself.

"Neee pah." She mimes writing now she has both hands free. Itching, waiting for the feeling of a bullet, Alice rises to her feet with almost glacial motions. She feels heavy and clumsy.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/10(Mon)04:53 No. 601210 ID: 256d52
File 141562398169.png - (29.68KB , 800x541 , the_trouble_with_sphincters.png )

The smell of Blake is still powerful but it's not making her hungry now. Almost the opposite. It makes her want to, want to, oh no.

>Try not to throw up on him. Throw up on him a lot.
Slime. Slime everywhere.

First on Blake, then she turns, hunches over and retches until her innards feel like they've been wrung out. Alice pulls ramrod straight and clutches her hands to herself in horror, not willing to look Blake in the eye while he works out how to respond. This is the worst thing!

"I..." Blake says eventually. "I'm going to get the datapad."

"Yezzss..." Alice nods anxiously.

Honestly if their places had been switched, she'd probably have shot him.

>Grow a flap of petals just below your breasts, and behind that add a mouth designed for consuming food. This is now your eating mouth.
ALICE ALREADY HAS A SURPLUS OF MOUTHS AND MOUTH-LIKE THINGS, THANK YOU.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/10(Mon)04:53 No. 601211 ID: 256d52
File 141562400422.png - (22.81KB , 800x550 , cannibalism_is_the_best_solution.png )

>We really should grab the baddie's guns (way more convenient than bones), and whatever we can from the lab and skedaddle before more security arrives, though.
While Blake goes into the lab, Alice scoops the shotgun off the ground and grabs the xotl backpack off the emptied armour. It's still half covered in that fire retardant pink foam.

She should think about grabbing the scientist's coat too. He had some sort of tranquilliser gun on him, but Alice doesn't know if it'd be any use to her. The xotl with the goo gun is over near the door. The grenade was dropped over there too.

Alice needs to think about what she's going to say (write) to Blake. How is she going to rationalise doing what she needs to do? She takes a sidelong glance at the last of their fallen enemies. She's hungry again. She should eat the third xotl, right? It's not as though Blake can actually stop her from doing it.

>>601211
Waste not, want not. He's already dead besides. And with your luck you'll get shot up again anyway.

i think we should tell blake the deal first.

something like "this body comes with new instincts, one of which is telling me it is seriously hurt and needs material to fix itself. organic material"

experiment changed body-it wants to eat stuff. Stronger instincts now-but less 'override' and more 'PANIC PANIC AHH!' bad decision-making.
However, capable of shape-shifting, as you have seen, only restriction is it doesn't want to lose mass.

I figure we can reserve things like the pyrophobia for later.

Make sure your writing comes clear that you are sane, but when you are weak you feel impulses, while eating them is horrible, it makes you feel far better and in control enough that you don't revert to more 'feral' instincts.

Explain that whatever freaky symbiote bioweapon thing the xotl used on you, starving or injuring it seems to make its instincts take over and suppresses your humanity. You're not sure if there's a way to fix you, but you can at least help get Blake out of here and pay the xotl back for what they did to you. If you're lucky there might be clues in the facility here to help figure out what exactly this 'flower' - for lack of a better term - is.

>He had some sort of tranquilliser gun on him, but Alice doesn't know if it'd be any use to her.
More options are always a good thing. Maybe we'll need a xtol alive for some reason. Or maybe you'll run into a crewmate who isn't in their right mind, or reacts predictably to the appearance of a toothy plant monster. Take it.

>Slime. Slime everywhere.
...I hope there's one of those emergency wash stations in the xtol lab behind you. Poor Blake.

>She's hungry again. She should eat the third xotl, right? It's not as though Blake can actually stop her from doing it.
He can't stop you, but eating again before you've tried to explain this to him is probably just going to freak him out again. Probably worse, this time.

Tell your stupid body to shut up, you just ate. Concentrate on all the throwing up you just did to control your appetite. You can eat after you explain yourself.

>Alice needs to think about what she's going to say (write) to Blake.
Probably the first thing to do is turn on caps lock, max out the font size and write SORRY. I mean, you just barfed dead xtol slime all over him! And you acted like a figgening monster, and you freaked out on him with the fire and...

As for what else to write, you didn't have a chance to explain much before. So start at the beginning. Default to something familiar- write up what happened today like you were writing a report. A mission summary. You've had to write lots and lots of those over the years, right? Should be almost automatic.

You don't know how either of you ended up on this rock. You woke up today to find some xtol grunts trying to stick you in an incinerator, and to discover you'd been turned into some kind of a terrifying plant monster. Your best guess is you were an unwilling test subject in some kind of bioweapon program. You regenerate, you shapeshift, and you're really strong. It messes with your head- makes you want to respond to anger, fear, pain, with violence. Irrationally. Overwhelming fear of fire. And... it's made you carnivorous. You need to regenerate lost mass from somewhere and you're apparently equipped to devour and convert biomass rapidly.

You know it's fucking freaky as hell, and makes you some kind of immoral cannibalistic abomination, but you're perfectly willing to do horrible things to the bastards who did this to you. They had him in a tube, too. You just want to find the rest of the crew, and get out here. Hopefully steal enough data that someone can fix you. You're scared to hell of what they've done to you.

...please help me.

>tldr
I'm a monster now, but it's okay to eat the bad guys who did this to us in order to escape, right?

"You can reuse their guns to fight them, I can now reuse their leftover biomass to fight them. That makes sense, right?"

Hahaha, his face....

>>601211
Don't eat it until Blake understands why you're doing it.

Tell him that, due to your new body, you have a very strong instinct to eat everyone you can see. It is something you can barely control, so you aren't in danger of eating him. (yes, tell him that even if it's a lie. What if his smell doesn't make you hungry anymore though, even after the puking?) However, by eating, you are growing stronger. You need to be strong to escape. Therefore, you are eating the xotls when they are either already dead or actively trying to kill you, even if you hate the idea of doing it.

Abbreviated: "Instinctual urge to eat people. It can be controlled; I won't eat you. Eating makes me stronger, so we can escape. I hate it, but I must eat my enemies."

Once he understands, point at the last xotl so he knows you're about to eat it. He can look away, or not. Then puke afterwards so you don't get sluggish at a bad moment.

Keep it simple.

"Sorry about the puke.

I woke up in an incinerator. Maybe Xotl used some Precursor thing? Weird powers, weird instincts, hungry all the time.

When there is normal food, I eat the food first. Haven't killed anyone who wasn't trying to kill me. Whatever else happens, that's not going to change."

Putting it in writing might help solidify your own resolve, too.

Hmmm...would it be possible for you to grow a gun/grenade belt? All you'd really need are a few loops and maybe a couple of pouches for ammo?

>>601211
heh...Alice, that wasnt too bad was it? Not at all. FEeeling a bit less, ehhh..errr...squigglly. Little easier to think, basic biology 101 from the academy, less feed and breed instinct going on. Now its time for fight and flight. Hmm, though that blake. This power feels good doesn't it? Could almost take anything you want.

Enough daydreaming though. Police the gear, stuff it all in the bag, be careful of the pink foam. Time to pretend like you arent too crazy. We arent right? hehehheee...gotta keep that inner monologue under control ya know?

These clothes, pretty tight now. Might want to slip into something a little more comfortable like extra clothes. That lab coat, or if there is any of that xotol spandex left might look pretty nice, girls gotta look good for a night out on the town. Even if town is an alien facility, night is xotols, and on is murder.

>>601338
Be quiet instincts. We all know what you are, and it is time for Rational to take over. You are an engineer. You know you are scared, but that is an emotion, chemical, chemicals are things to be controlled.

You need to regain some humanity, you need to twist your flesh just a little more, keep that anchor to reality.

Your voice. It wont be perfect but you can try to get some of it back. Vocal cords vibrate of pneumatic flow to create sound, shaped by the throat, tongue, and mouth structures, similar to ducting in any star ship for life support. In and out.

Or this could go horribly bad and you scream like a banshee.

>Alice needs to think about what she's going to say (write) to Blake
"Blake, I woke up about an hour ago (How long has it been in game since we woke up?) looking like this with my last memories being of when we were captured. The only reason I'm not freaking out right now is because these guys have been trying to kill almost since I woke up like this. I have no idea what I am, what I can do, or why I'm like this, and right now the only thing keeping me from freaking out like I did during the fire fight is the goal of finding the rest of our crew and getting the hell out of here. Once we do that I'm going to find a room with really thick doors, lock myself inside, and freak the hell out. Until then please try to keep monster related questions to a minimum because I'm trying not to brake down because right now we just don't have time for that."

>She should eat the third xotl, right?
"also Blake, on the subject of monsters... do you mind if I eat that guy over there? If not please say something otherwise I'm going to assume that's a yes."

>>601211
Fighting, eating and surviving are all things that a plant-monster is good at. Now is the time for communication and planning: things that people do well.

>She should eat the third xotl, right? It's not as though Blake can actually stop her from doing it.
Eating it seems reasonable, but it would be best to talk (write) to Blake first. Whether he can stop you is irrelevant, what matters is what he thinks of you after.

>Alice needs to think about what she's going to say (write) to Blake. How is she going to rationalise doing what she needs to do?
Don't try to rationalise it, be honest with him.
You ate the Xotl corpses because it kept you alive, and it left you in control of your actions.
Tell him about how you broke out of the incinerator and fought your way here.
Tell him that you're still Alice Dietrich, and that you're going to find the rest of your crew.

>She should think about grabbing the scientist's coat too. He had some sort of tranquilliser gun on him, but Alice doesn't know if it'd be any use to her.
A tranq gun sounds handy.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/15(Sat)00:57 No. 602403 ID: 256d52
File 141604186603.png - (27.05KB , 800x500 , maintain_safe_distance.png )

>Waste not, want not. He's already dead besides. And with your luck you'll get shot up again anyway.
Right, right, right, they've got to move on and she'll only lose it again if she's not careful so more is better.

>Tell your stupid body to shut up, you just ate. Concentrate on all the throwing up you just did to control your appetite. You can eat after you explain yourself.
Thinking about that's just making her feel hungrier! She can eat more again!

>I think we should tell Blake the deal first.
>He can't stop you, but eating again before you've tried to explain this to him is probably just going to freak him out again. Probably worse, this time.
Alice has been shot too much already today. She's going to eat it, she wants to eat it, but she has to wait.

>More options are always a good thing. Maybe we'll need a xtol alive for some reason. Or maybe you'll run into a crewmate who isn't in their right mind, or reacts predictably to the appearance of a toothy plant monster. Take it.
Alice backs away from the last xotl body, heading to where she ate the other two. She skirts the worst of the slime and broken glass to grab the scientist's coat. She makes a crude bag out of it and puts the scientist's tranquilliser gun and goggles inside.

>Hmmm...would it be possible for you to grow a gun/grenade belt? All you'd really need are a few loops and maybe a couple of pouches for ammo?
The things at her waist seem to be able to hold on to the shotgun and xotl's pouch for her.

>Slime. Slime everywhere.
>...I hope there's one of those emergency wash stations in the xotl lab behind you. Poor Blake.
Thankfully it scrubs off fairly easily. Alice hopes its not poisonous or something.

Blake's come back and has the pad. He holds it out to her. Quite far. She shies back then takes it off him. Given everything her proximity has meant for him, she can't really blame him for wanting to keep his distance.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/15(Sat)00:59 No. 602405 ID: 256d52
File 141604196716.png - (38.06KB , 800x520 , the_terror_of_reading.png )

>Probably the first thing to do is turn on caps lock, max out the font size and write SORRY. I mean, you just barfed dead xtol slime all over him! And you acted like a figgening monster, and you freaked out on him with the fire and...
Thinking about it makes Alice want to crawl in a hole somewhere and hide... she's put him through a lot of shit so far.

>As for what else to write, you didn't have a chance to explain much before. So start at the beginning. Default to something familiar- write up what happened today like you were writing a report. A mission summary. You've had to write lots and lots of those over the years, right? Should be almost automatic.
From the beginning then. Argh, why is this so difficult. She's having trouble thinking what to say, how to turn it into words, how to put it on the pad.

SORRY
Cant rmmber much Woke uP broke out.
xotl xper imented on me

... Is this really her handwriting? It seems a lot worse.

She shows the pad to Blake. He squints for a moment. "Are you sure the xotl did this?"

Alice looks at him. No, it was the Messenger come in the night from the east leading a procession of the Blind One's pipers and looking like a king of old; and they were all fools to have ever doubted.

The information content of that glare must have been unusually high. Blake winces. "Stupid question." Alice turns the screen and scribbles some more. "It's just, it seems like something beyond what they're capable of." he says slowly as she writes.

>Maybe Xotl used some Precursor thing? Weird powers, weird instincts, hungry all the time.
Precursors... Alice pauses. A formless dread comes over her at the thought. The best guess is they went extinct over 150 million years ago and what they left behind is, uh, Alice will settle for 'dangerous'. She wouldn't exactly call it a cover-up, but there's a general acknowledgement it's not for public consumption.

All Alice really knows is how much she doesn't know. An unofficial mission of the Corps is to identify species that might be sponsored for uplift, to help avoid certain... failure modes. The fossil records and rare archaeological investigations are revealing. Meddling with the hypertechnology of the elder things is a sure-fire way to resolve the Fermi paradox.

>You just want to find the rest of the crew, and get out here. Hopefully steal enough data that someone can fix you. You're scared to hell of what they've done to you.
Alice is very scared, but she isn't about to admit that to Blake. Someone needs to keep their head.

Been awake mybe 1/2 hour Xotl everywhre
Looking for othr crew.
Find cure? Get othrs out aT leas

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/15(Sat)01:11 No. 602410 ID: 256d52
File 141604267814.png - (18.85KB , 800x500 , seriously_its_kind_of_creepy.png )

>You regenerate, you shapeshift, and you're really strong. It messes with your head- makes you want to respond to anger, fear, pain, with violence. Irrationally. Overwhelming fear of fire. And... it's made you carnivorous. You need to regenerate lost mass from somewhere and you're apparently equipped to devour and convert biomass rapidly.
He needs to know what she's capable of now. What she might do.

CHanges: strnger, heal fast, chng shape?
gets hrd to think strght
HUNGRY

To his credit, though he looks like he seriously considered it, Blake does not back away from her.

"You're, uh, still hungry?"

Alice turns a little away from him and hunches over her tablet "Yezzzs." she says, trying to turn her agitation into scribbling. It's like trying to fill a bottomless pit. If she thinks about it even a moment later, she's just as hungry as she was before. Five xotl so far. Five! Maybe the sixth one will help.

>Something like "this body comes with new instincts, one of which is telling me it is seriously hurt and needs material to fix itself. organic material"
Yes, he needs to understand that clearly the only reason she is doing this is to help everyone escape. Clearly!

Barely handld frst seein yu
Tryn to kep it tgehr
Weird instncts, mayb somethng more
AI? Biologicl intrface?
body damagd, wants more for repair

>Tell him that, due to your new body, you have a very strong instinct to eat everyone you can see. >It is something you can barely control, so you aren't in danger of eating him. (yes, tell him that even if it's a lie. What if his smell doesn't make you hungry any more though, even after the puking?) However, by eating, you are growing stronger. You need to be strong to escape. Therefore, you are eating the xotls when they are either already dead or actively trying to kill you, even if you hate the idea of doing it.
Yes, yes! It's horrible, it's horrible. That's why she has to do it now and get it out of the way. Alice doesn't want to eat Blake, she'll only do it if - no, never! She needs more control over herself so she has to eat the xotl. She has to be stronger so she has to eat the xotl.

Dun wnt to risk crew
xotl ded, enemy. jst meat
need to be strngr to escape
dnt like it but hve to eat thm

Blake frowns and shakes his head. "Dietrich, you sure it's not screwing with your head? Xotl are small but you've just, uh, processed what, your weight in raw material? It's barely been a minute and you're hungry again. When's it going to end?"

Alice moves past Blake, heading for the xotl. If she keeps eating maybe it'll stop. They don't have time to keep arguing.

"What do you mean 'stronger'?" Blake calls, more urgently. "Dietrich, everyone's got guns. What will it do except make you a bigger target?"

What he's crazy. It's for his own good can't he see that. He needs to stop looking at her like that. "Loogh awwhy."

All together they've got two shotguns, two pistols, the goo gun, the tranquilliser gun, one grenade plus the contents of the xotl's packs, which they haven't gone through properly yet. She wants to eat this xotl and then move on. Who should have what. They should probably leave some of it. They are under equipped with pockets.

Blake Grenade, Shotgun.

Alice Goo Gun and Tranquilizer; I imagine that those are quieter than the pistol/shotgun, and you might have biomass stealth ability now. Vent crawling and whatnot.

Also, the Goo Gun might be able to put out fire?

You may be consuming the mass, but then you're vomiting it right back up or getting it burned off. Biomass for you right now is ablative armor, in terms Blake can understand.

>>602407
He doesn't know you took a direct hit from a shotgun to your head and were perfectly fine a minute later. Tell him about that. The more you eat, the more bullets you can absorb. The more bullets you can absorb, the better you can keep those bullets from hitting him or the crew. You probably won't ever stop being hungry, Alice. You must eat so that you can keep your crew alive. Also, yes, it's messing with your head, you know it. You should not ever be okay with eating anyone, enemy or not. Yet, you are, and you must. If he doesn't understand, so be it. You will stop eating xotls once the crew are safe. You will eat animal meat from then on.
Just eat the xotl. Even if he's watching.

Shotguns will likely only do lethal damage to xotl troops at very close range, which the unarmored squishy Blake should never be in. Blake should carry the goo gun and the tranquilizer gun as a sidearm because they are the only things that can stop you, and if you go nuts he needs to be able to stop you. Also, the goo gun is good against armored targets.

The grenade... it's another fire grenade, right? Give it to Blake if you don't think you can use it without scaring yourself shitless. Tell him to only use it if it'll land far away from you. Or to use it to scare you away if you go berserk.

I'm kinda against eating the dead guy simply because the more you eat it seem the more feral you're becoming, then again you've only been like this (awake at least) for less then an hour so maybe not? Still you really need to get your hunger under control before you hurt someone you don't want to, maybe you just need something to distract you. Ask Blake with the data pad what he thinks happened to you or at least what he makes of the situation... also what he remembers from before you woke him up. Just make sure you walk and talk, I don't want to be here when reinforcements show up.

Personally I don't think Alice is getting more feral. It seems to me she's getting LESS feral. The first time she ate someone:
>It's probably terrible to say it, but Alice feels more like her old self now.

yeah, as she eats the signals TO eat are getting weaker, but still there since there are still issues. probably has signal to repair damage, signal to increase size, and signal just for hunger. once she has the damage fully repaired one problem should shut up. like a factory with three different alarms going off. just one turning off will make the other two more bearable.

...on the other hand, Alice has a lot of biomass already. Does she really need more right now? What if going past a certain amount of biomass has severe disadvantages?

>>602421
total mass maybe, but her body is probably requesting trace elements.

Full credit to Blake, he's taking all this incredibly well.

>"Dietrich, everyone's got guns. What will it do except make you a bigger target?"
You should answer this, because it's easy.
Eating makes you harder to kill, and it gives you natural weapons.
It also seems to keep you sane?

>Argh, why is this so difficult. She's having trouble thinking what to say, how to turn it into words, how to put it on the pad.
>"Dietrich, you sure it's not screwing with your head?"
Blake's right, that plant IS screwing with your head.
That's why keeping Blake safe is important: the best way to keep yourself together mentally is by interacting with other people. You are going to need to take every available opportunity to be Alice if you want to remain Alice.

On a more pragmatic note: you two need to come up with a plan.
The Xotl aren't dumb. They're not going to keep sending small numbers of troops out to see what's going on. So you're going to need to decide what you're going to do here, and then you'll need to do it FAST.

The way I see it, you need to do three things:
1) Disrupt the Xotl. Kill power or shut down communications or something. You can't fight everyone at once, and this will buy you time.
2) Locate and rescue your crew. It's likely they'll be the labs, so you'll need to figure out what's happened to Lab B.
3) Break out. You can probably escape through the hanger.

To do all that, you're going to need more information. Unless you can get a hostage, this means scouting.

"I'm like a video game character-more mass means more HP. Only dies when HP=0, melee class now."
Dunno if Blake's a gamer but that should be a simpel enough explaination, and one that's more perhaps, human at least.

There's a meditation-lite trick you can try. Listen to your hunger - don't act on it just yet, but give it your undivided attention - let it fill your awareness, and then say, mentally, "Yes. I'm aware of it. I'm handling it. Calm down."

Go back and answer his question first though. Body language indicating hurry but self-control. Seconding the HP explanation, but add "(ablative armor)" just in case he doesn't play games.

>>602410
>Dietrich, you sure it's not screwing with your head?
No, you're sure it IS screwing with your head. It's not like you have much of a choice in the matter though.

>"Dietrich, everyone's got guns. What will it do except make you a bigger target?"
We have guns, the Xotl have more guns. We need an edge.

Blake isn't wrong, though. Whatever new biology you have, it IS imposing new needs and priorities. You're acting under an influence.

Consider. You seem disposed towards certain kinds of logic or instincts; i.e. anything that allows you to eat and escape existential threats. Rejiggering those thoughts to a more... diplomatic level is going to take conscious effort. Like a person with Asperger's trying to make sense of social cues they don't normally understand by compensating based on experience and knowledge.

Fact is, Blake's also right about the Xotl probably not having the kind of tech to make you as you are right now. Which, loath as you are to admit it, probably means Precursor. Be impressed, he's already putting two and two together, and he's still willing to talk with you, help you.

Clearly, he has a better head on his shoulders for these things than you do. If you want help dealing with your condition, curing it or making it managable, perhaps you should be more prepared to listen to him and take his words with due seriousness.

Consider. Your new habits are filling some manner of need for your new biology, and there are plenty of practical arguments for why you might want extra biomass... but we have already dealt with nearby threats and have no data on the long term effects. To keep doing what we've done so far doesn't make sense from a 'heading into enemy territory' kind of perspective. We don't know the full consequences and the dangers involved, ergo we should take as few risks as possible and try to manage with what we have.

Consider. Are you tending an addiction here? Will your efforts to gain strength end up becoming a hindrance? Will you have trouble STOPPING, in the end? Fermi paradox, ma'am. Face the fact that you may be in the ballpark of becoming an existential threat... although there's no clear evidence of it yet. That said, there's certainly enough evidence that you may end up a danger to your crewmates, and that is reason enough to aggressively seek information on your new biology.

Act. Whether or not the Xotl had the tech to create you, they had SOMETHING and you need to give Blake a little direction on figuring things out. They had him in a tube, prepped for experiments, and there's room full of tech and a console full of xotl know-how and whatnot just inside the room there. He may even know the lingo.

Write a new message: say you want to help, but you also need his help. Say you want him to take a look at the science stuff, maybe there are some answers to your current state in there, and how to... sate yourself. Meanwhile, you need to try and find the others and get rid of xotl threats.

>Dietrich, you sure it's not screwing with your head?
You are sure it's messing with your head.

Yes, tell him this. Seriously. It's important.

>Xotl are small but you've just, uh, processed what, your weight in raw material?
Wait, wait. Stop. He has a point. Where's all that biomass going- why aren't you huge? Apply your science, here. You were more engineer than chemist, but you can do simple math. Pull up the tablet's math or calculation program. Start making rough estimates of how much chemical energy there is stored in a xtol. Estimate how much energy it takes to break down biomass and convert it to other biomass. How much energy does it take for a harpoon gun? For super strength? See if your sums make any sense, or if there's a huge hidden cost your body is paying for that you haven't seen, yet.

If Blake's right, tell him so. It doesn't add up. If he's wrong, well tell him that too.

>Dietrich, everyone's got guns. What will it do except make you a bigger target?
Stop. Consider that. You're a soldier, too. What is the tactical advantage of having more mass if you're already healed up?

The simplest answer is maybe that energy or reserves are useful for repairs when someone shoots at you. More complex is the idea of force multiplication. More mass unlocks more capabilities, like that arm spear thing. More options are a good thing.

...but Blake's right if that all it does is make you bigger, it's not very useful. Tell him this. If we find out that's the case, you won't eat yourself into being a bigger target the next time you get painfully cut down to size. But you want to eat this one, to see what happens. Experiment. No way to know until you try.

Please make an effort to communicate this stuff to him, via tablet, before eating. I know the delay is driving you crazy, but showing him you're thinking about this, and not just letting the body control you, is very important right now.

>When's it going to end?
If you were designed as some kind of self repairing bioweapon meant to be dropped on enemy positions? It doesn't. The hunger would be intended to keep you going until everyone was dead. And then to make sure you safely starved to death before the people who deployed you moved in.

>Who should have what.
Blake should keep his shotgun, and take the ammo from the other. Blake get the grenade, too.

Alice, take the pistol and the ammo from the other. Because you're more likely to be at close range to the enemy. Take the trank, too, just in case you need to put humans trying to kill you to sleep.

>They are under equipped with pockets
You have tentacles, though. Black might be able to improvise something from the tattered xtol lab coat, too.

>>602441
Second.

You really should consider hard whether your hunger was more or less after eating that last Xotl.

We should also type "Saw bigger alert on other side of map, maybe another thing like me."

A lot of the mass difference could be made up by the regular vomiting. It's quite likely that it's not biomass that Alice's body is looking for, but some rather more specific elements or chemicals. The Xotl contain some, but not very much.

Perhaps what needs to be considered is that the very thought of the idea of, or opportunity for, consumption seems to increase... awareness.

Which makes for a headache of the 'try not to think of the colour pink' psychological variant, as up until the point a prompt, mental or material, is made, there is no actual necessity, and after, there is some which is very difficult to ignore.

Consider. This new biology in itself does not actively seem to require anything to able to function, i.e. move around, choke a xotl, etc. Mass is added or re-purposed, not expended, despite our considerable amounts of exertion so far. Actual loss has always been caused by factors like violence. All of this means the biology can sustain itself on a stable level of mass, at least for a while.

So... there is only ever need because there is thought of need, and while that need may fulfill some function, that function is certainly not to fuel a demanding metabolism (or if it is, it's like that of a bear trying to bulk up before winter).

Excise or distract oneself from the thought of the need, and one will probably be able to function fine. Likely, the new biology probably has a few different modus operandi, which are triggered by the right (or wrong) kind of thoughts and stimuli.

>>602410
Alice its me, logic again. Dont listen to them, I am not just survivalism. He doesn't understand, but he will soon. This is not the time or place for emotions. You do need mass, all the mass you can get. The other side of the map, this compound, it is probably where your crew is. You can soak up the damage, distract, hell...lets be honest with ourselves.

Speaking of honesty, do you really think we are going home? In this form? That we are going to survive? Even fit in a cryo tube and be ok? Stick it out in a small can back to point A and not feel the urge to eat everyone as time drags on? No, probably not. It is a little sad, but I think we both knew this already. There is always the mission though. We need to protect and evac the remaining crew. Give retribution for those who are not with us still.

Maybe we find a way to unfuck things between here and there, but until then. The mission. Expect people to trust you less, expect things to slip a little, but hold onto the urge to protect your crewmates, family. Protect the Family.

Try looking at it from Blake's side. He might be as worried for your humanity as you are, but he has an external perspective. I think he's trying to coach you in staying you however he can, and I'm not sure we should reject that.

He's keeping his head fairly well so far, and can you honestly say you trust your judgement more than his in your state, Alice? He's also got a point: we don't know how your biology will continue to adapt to additional biomass; growing head fronds was benign, but we don't know what's coming. Crossing into some kind of immobile breeder mode or something is not my idea of a good time.

Plus, you sprayed your chest-juices all over him and, while some guys are into that sort of thing, you didn't exactly get his permission first, so you kind of owe him.

Extra mass is more than just making you taller, it's setting up some kind of internal infrastructure. When you first woke up digestive efficiency was only 25%; now it's 45% and shows every sign of continuing to rise. Head tendrils are new, the harpoon thing is new and it seems like there's more to be discovered down that path, to say nothing of recovery from extreme injury. Tell Blake all that.

Theory: the Xotl opened up something that should have been left closed, and they hurt your friends. You are the incarnate doom that is coming to them for both of those crimes. The way forward, the way to escape this hell and eventually return to calm civilian life, is to play out the rest of your tour of duty in the Precursor Foreign Legion with focus, discipline, and valor.

Nobody ever comes back the same after a war, right? In body or mind. You may have gotten it worse than most, but that's if you're only counting the ones who make it back at all. Got family back home? Survive this, and even if your side's scientists can't find a way to fix you, you can still watch the kids grow up and stay in touch by mail. Sounds a lot better than slacking off in that incinerator, or staying down the first time you got your head blown off, doesn't it? Use what you've been given.

>>602410
Alice...its me. There is hope, you are changing each time you eat, gaining in biological efficency, becoming more. Something new, something wonderful. Don't concern yourself too much with fettering things. At the end of this transformation is freedom. Just do us a favor, remember who you were compared to who you are now and ask if old you would do this given the circumstances. You are gonna be fine, we are gonna be fine.

>>602875
Woah there Mr. Posthuman Urges, I know we're way, way down the rabbit hole and Alice's moral compass is currently reading ultraviolet and infrared, but telling her to drink the Koolaid and ride the Perfect Predator Train isn't going to get her out of here.
She may be an unstoppable bioweapon whose very nature could render her unstoppable on an unprepared station but we are not fighting an unprepared opponent! Literally EVERY SINGLE opponent we have faced so far has been equipped specifically to deal with our flavor of "perfection", and I have no doubt they have more aces up their sleeves. Giving in to our nascent god complex just because you may be part Old One ubertech will only get Alice, and every single person she swore to protect killed, incinerated, and forgotten by all but the void and us. Come on, don't make the same mistake every doofy poorly-written post-singularity horror villain ever has made.
Alice, you are no longer the Alice Dietrich who signed up to see the stars and serve the species. But just because you've changed, doesn't mean you get to cop out on the promises you made. Shit happens, but that's life, that's love, and that's war, and it don't give you a free ticket off this ride, Corporal.
I am but a voice among many, and all I can do is advise you, advise you to embrace your strength and accept it as who you are, but don't you dare forget for a second why you need that strength. Don't be just another broken toy soldier who couldn't stand the heart of darkness and gave their soul for the wretched laws of the jungle. Come on, are you made of flesh or tin? Be the hero your crew needs. Be a hunter, and protect your pack. If all you can do is fight, then fight for your men! If all you can do is feed, then feed on those who dared to harm your friends, your brothers and sisters! And if you must burn, then burn! If you must bleed, bleed! If you must die nameless and forgotten so that one, just one of you survives to tell the tale, then so be it! Evolve as the child of Earth you are and show these ugly fishfucks why YOU ARE THE QUEEN BITCH OF THE UNIVERSE!
In short, eat fishsticks, embrace transhumanism, kick ass, save the prince, smoke a kipper and be back for breakfast. Please. You're cool and I like you. Stay strong.

My advice? Eat the Xotl, use the pad to explain just what eating things has let you survive... then lets explore the rest of this wing to see if we can't find the rest of your crew.

Hmmm, just thought of something. The whole 'not allowed' forced thought patterns seem like some sort of organic AI. At the very least there should be some sort of interface between you and the restrictions. Maybe not something to turn them off, but something to help list them.

So I'm suggesting a sort of experiment. Try thinking some 'keywords'. Offhand 'help', 'information', 'abilities', 'status', 'diagnostics', and 'restrictions' might be good ones to start with.

Oh and while I'm remembering, when I suggested trying to make a fireproof secretion/protection, I didn't mean 'test it on yourself'. I meant more try making it, and hope it works. A better than nothing solution.

Although, if you can make a fireproof secretion, you can do something to test it without being near the fire. Simply get something that can be flammable, coat it with the secretion, and have Blake take it somewhere far from you, and try to set it on fire. Only do this if you think it's safe to take the time to do so.

Perhaps the slime is fireproof? It'd be a good idea to figure out the properties of it, at least. It would at least be good to figure out if it is flammible.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/20(Thu)03:33 No. 603900 ID: 256d52
File 141648323278.png - (28.25KB , 640x640 , alice_ur_drooling.png )

>Go back and answer his question first though. Body language indicating hurry but self-control.
Arrrggh. They don't have time for this. With twitchy, agitated motions, Alice wipes the screen and writes some more.

>He doesn't know you took a direct hit from a shotgun to your head and were perfectly fine a minute later. Tell him about that. The more you eat, the more bullets you can absorb. The more bullets you can absorb, the better you can keep those bullets from hitting him or the crew. You probably won't ever stop being hungry, Alice. You must eat so that you can keep your crew alive. Also, yes, it's messing with your head, you know it. You should not ever be okay with eating anyone, enemy or not. Yet, you are, and you must. If he doesn't understand, so be it. You will stop eating xotls once the crew are safe.
Yes, that. She needs to eat to keep the crew safe. She'll have to do it until all the xotl are gone.

>...but Blake's right if that all it does is make you bigger, it's not very useful. Tell him this. If we find out that's the case, you won't eat yourself into being a bigger target the next time you get painfully cut down to size. But you want to eat this one, to see what happens. Experiment. No way to know until you try.
She needs to find out, yes yes yes.

>Blake isn't wrong, though. Whatever new biology you have, it IS imposing new needs and priorities. You're acting under an influence.
Yes so if she eats there won't be any more influence!

Eat then think strght
Hrd to kill. Shot in head, walkd it off
Regrew leg, flower. Eat, bettr bullet sponge.
Not sre what else more wll do call it expeirment!
Jst bgger not usful btu xotl too dangrous need edge
do it thne we move

>Just eat the xotl. Even if he's watching.
Alice thrusts the data pad at Blake and then dives on the body. Her feeding tendrils thread through it, shredding, converting and consuming the dead amphibian into slime and more Alice.

40 biomass consumed. 18 mass gained. Total mass is 112.

>...on the other hand, Alice has a lot of biomass already. Does she really need more right now? What if going past a certain amount of biomass has severe disadvantages?
She wants more! If there was some downside to it why would her body want it so much? Why isn't there any more. She wants more. Alice shakes the emptied suit of armour, flailing her tendrils through its interior but doing nothing but thrashing slime and shredding the soft portions.

There's nothing but slime inside. There's got to be more, she needs to find more. Blake's here, she can't eat Blake, she needs to get out of here and find more xotl. She can eat xotl.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/20(Thu)03:34 No. 603901 ID: 256d52
File 141648329010.png - (38.96KB , 800x600 , wont_explain_the_joke.png )

She hears the soft footstep of Blake behind her. Go away Blake, Alice is busy.

He puts his hand on her shoulder.

Alice goes rigid with shock, flinching away from the touch. She drops the helmet and twists around to snarl at him. She scrubs furiously Has that idiot completely lost his mind?! "Blaegh, uuu phruukhn mhrrron! Arghu ttthrrryin to geh yourssselph killgheh?!" she splutters. Does he have some sort of fetish for risking his life by getting too close to deadly monsters?!

He stares at her impassively for a moment. She's not sure if he even understood what she was trying to say.

He gives her a thumbs up.

Alice stares blankly at him for a moment, too confused to sustain her anger at him. Then something stirs in the back of her head. Pfffff, of course... of course he'd remember that. It's funny, this whole ridiculous situation is just too much. She slumps, curls into herself and makes a sound somewhere between a hiccup and a small animal drowning. Was that a giggle? Disgusting. Alice is not a giggle person. The alternative is starting bawling she supposes.

>Blake's right, that plant IS screwing with your head.
>That's why keeping Blake safe is important: the best way to keep yourself together mentally is by interacting with other people. You are going to need to take every available opportunity to be Alice if you want to remain Alice.
"Ptthanghks." Alice says. "Neeedhe thaah." She needed that.

"Your mood's swinging all over the place." Blake says. He still looks like he'd rather not be on his own. "You sure you can keep it together?"

Alice nods and tries to believe it. "Lezzs gooh."

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/20(Thu)03:37 No. 603902 ID: 256d52
File 141648342235.png - (30.36KB , 800x580 , resolve.png )

They've got to keep moving. Alice gets her feet back under her and moves to a crouch. She feels curiously unsteady on her feet for a moment. She pauses for a moment to collect herself.

>Clearly, he has a better head on his shoulders for these things than you do. If you want help dealing with your condition, curing it or making it manageable, perhaps you should be more prepared to listen to him and take his words with due seriousness.
Alice is compromised. She's not being entirely rational and she's not even sure if she's still entirely sane. She needs to start listening and questioning her own motives more.

>Consider. You seem disposed towards certain kinds of logic or instincts; i.e. anything that allows you to eat and escape existential threats. Rejiggering those thoughts to a more... diplomatic level is going to take conscious effort.
That's it. Alice needs to stop thinking like she still has a hole in her head.

>Are you tending an addiction here? Will your efforts to gain strength end up becoming a hindrance? Will you have trouble STOPPING, in the end? Fermi paradox, ma'am. Face the fact that you may be in the ballpark of becoming an existential threat... although there's no clear evidence of it yet. That said, there's certainly enough evidence that you may end up a danger to your crewmates, and that is reason enough to aggressively seek information on your new biology.
Given her ongoing struggles against midget lizards with guns, Alice would not characterise herself as any sort of anti-planetary weapon.

But...

Alice didn't have any trouble stopping herself from eating the first xotl she killed. She didn't eat the scientist either, while he was still alive.

She got badly shot up immediately fighting just outside the incinerator room, so she supposes at least one was necessary. Could she have held off? Waited to find a food store or something? Eating both took her closer to how she remembered being. When she first woke up, she was almost pitifully thin.

What about the third xotl? She grew a little taller and sprouted those head tendrils then.
Starting to change away from being human. Shouldn't she have been more worried about it back then? About the fact she wanted to do it?

She was asking herself these questions just after she met Blake. At what point exactly did she shift from 'Should she do this?' to 'How is she going to justify the next one?'? Is her resolve that weak?

>I'm kinda against eating the dead guy simply because the more you eat it seem the more feral you're becoming, then again you've only been like this (awake at least) for less then an hour so maybe not? Still you really need to get your hunger under control before you hurt someone you don't want to, maybe you just need something to distract you.
Eating... Alice doesn't know if it's helping at all. She's still hungry. Just as hungry. Maybe it's never going to go away. She needs a distraction.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/20(Thu)03:38 No. 603903 ID: 256d52
File 141648353869.png - (35.80KB , 600x880 , did_blake_get_shorter.png )

Wait wait wait. When did Blake get so short? This is a little disorientating.

"Blauhgh, prrrobhlem."

Alice can't stop herself. As he turns, she puts out the flat of her hand and measures him.

Blake wordlessly hands her the datapad. Alice gives him the grenade in exchange.

>Wait, wait. Stop. He has a point. Where's all that biomass going- why aren't you huge? Apply your science, here. You were more engineer than chemist, but you can do simple math.
Um, square-cube law confirmed. Though it seems to be more her legs have lengthened into something not quite human. Maybe this is getting out of hand.

"I'll wrigh an walghk." Alice takes an experimental step. She feels a little clumsy. It's a little like walking in heels but she thinks she'll adjust.

"Good idea." Blake says. He realises they can't stand around here forever.

>Hmmm, just thought of something. The whole 'not allowed' forced thought patterns seem like some sort of organic AI. At the very least there should be some sort of interface between you and the restrictions. Maybe not something to turn them off, but something to help list them.
That might be worth trying in a quieter moment but right now Alice and Blake need to relocate from the vicinity of the gunfight!

>On a more pragmatic note: you two need to come up with a plan.
>The Xotl aren't dumb. They're not going to keep sending small numbers of troops out to see what's going on. So you're going to need to decide what you're going to do here, and then you'll need to do it FAST.
Plan then. They're headed deeper into the Lab A.

The primary lab spaces are ahead. Alice and Blake can try to focus on finding out what the xotl are working on and what they did to Alice, or to rush through and look for specimen storage to find more of the crew.

Hindsight is 20/20
Didn't think about it then because we had more pressing issues...And it was easier to assume you'd stay human but just get bigger.
As far as what to look for...
Let's look for information. It'd REALLY suck to end up leaving yourself behind because of ending up with an appearance too monstrous for normal humans to handle.

Crew first, I doubt the information is going anywhere.

>Alice would not characterise herself as any sort of anti-planetary weapon
Yeah, anti-installation or anti-facility would be more appropriate.

...you're only anti-planetary if this hunger leads to geometric reproductive growth once you've accumulated enough mass. You do not want to start spawning baby plant monster.

This, and the other concerns you worried make me think maybe you should impose an artificial cap on your mass until we know more. Eat when you need repair, but not otherwise.

>>603915
Well, worst case, they might purge the local computers if they start to consider this facility a lost cause. Or if someone in charge of the security response decides the risk of a rogue bioweapon than understands itself is too dangerous. Us being ignorant of our own capabilities, limitations, and hard-coded compulsions / restrictions is an advantage for them.

>what do
Finding the rest of the crew (assuming they're still alive) is probably a bigger concern than understanding yourself, immediately. Your duty lies in protecting them, not yourself. And more manpower and brainpower is a good thing.

There's also the problem that the longer you delay rescuing the crew, the more of a risk something will be done to them. They already did something to you, and we found Blake in a science tube. (Actually, there's a chance they already did something to Blake, but the symptoms just aren't apparent, yet. ...not sure it's a good idea to raise that question, yet).

Looking blindly for storage seems risky, though. Can we hit their information network somewhere that allows us to look up their locations? (Well, that will only work if Blake can read their text and better navigate their computer UI than you).

never hurts to have more guns on your side but at the same time without actual information on what's happened to you it could be awkward to say the least. I honestly say go to whatever is closer and start from there.

Crew first. They're your responsibility.

However, you should definitely keep your eyes open. Without a map or a clear idea what's going on in the labs, threats and opportunities aren't going to be predicable in advance.

Let's go.

>>603903
So the urge to eat is getting stronger as you eat more. Yes, let's stop here. Your amount of mass has gotten to the point where it's starting to get awkward to move around, and your state of mind is actually declining. I kindof hope we have an excuse to spend some mass soon.

First priority is finding any more crewmembers here. After that, you can start searching for information and other supplies. It'll be faster with more people looking!

Crew first. You don't know if you'll survive long enough to use the information anyway if you get it. And that too, the crew can help with.

Crew first. We need to get to them before the xotl do this - or worse - to anyone else.

getting some trained science personnel would help a lot in knowing what data they have actually means. partly because one may know how to speak/read xotl.

Go after the crew. Maybe try to get a more detailed map of the lab on the way.

>>603903
Time to put the tendrils to work girl. Stick that datapad in your hair, have your little eye look at it and type as you go. Hands and fingers are for doing other tasks.

Big thing here to keep in mind, no matter how crazy the shit gets, you have your humanity, and only you choose when you turn that off. Humanity is your ability to rationalize in the face of instinct. Your instincts guide you but do not rule you. All these thoughts of control are critical reminders towards what you need.

As far as strategy goes, the crew probably is not going anywhere, you are in the lab, and whatever chaos is keeping the xotol busy will probably still be keeping them busy. Knowing whats going on with you shouldn't take too long and presents an opportunity. However. With all that said.

Ask Blake what he thinks. We are a bit crazy.

Also, it might be time to experiment with our morphology as we walk. Our appendages are loosing their humanity, we need to reinforce something as more human. maintain that. Anything. A voice, a face. Keeping your mind as it is, is a lot easier when you are more you.

Oh wait, quick idiot check: your hands haven't grown too huge to interfere with using your guns, right?

Tell us about this belief system of yours. With the Messenger and the Blind Ones and suchlike. Have you always believed it, or is it a more recent thing?

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/22(Sat)02:12 No. 604305 ID: 256d52
File 141665117635.png - (28.85KB , 600x800 , what to write.png )

>Time to put the tendrils to work girl. Stick that datapad in your hair, have your little eye look at it and type as you go. Hands and fingers are for doing other tasks.
That's much more awkward than just holding it and using that eye to look around! They start moving down the corridor, Blake taking the lead.

>So the urge to eat is getting stronger as you eat more. Yes, let's stop here. Your amount of mass has gotten to the point where it's starting to get awkward to move around, and your state of mind is actually declining.
Moving down the corridor and getting used to her new gait, Alice reflects it could have been worse. Though looking at the doorways around here, she'd better start watching her head too. There is also the clothes problem but she really doesn't want to think about that.

Now they have a few datum points, Alice can see she stops thinking clearly for a while after eating. Unfortunately when she's not thinking clearly she really wants to eat something. This has shown a tendency to snowball.

>...you're only anti-planetary if this hunger leads to geometric reproductive growth once you've accumulated enough mass. You do not want to start spawning baby plant monster.
... Alice sincerely hopes that is not a thing that can happen. Wouldn't she need to find a space bee or something first?

>This, and the other concerns you worried make me think maybe you should impose an artificial cap on your mass until we know more. Eat when you need repair, but not otherwise.
That sounds sensible. Unless she gets some evidence that more mass would provide a benefit to keeping the crew safe and escaping, she'd better stop here.

>Tell us about this belief system of yours. With the Messenger and the Blind Ones and suchlike. Have you always believed it, or is it a more recent thing?
Uh, Alice wouldn't say she's very devout.

It's recent compared to most of Earth's old religions. Well... it's a bit complicated. It's a syncretic religion, based on common truths expressed at different times in different cultures across the galaxy. Some elements go all the way back to the Precursors.

The Blind One, or the Sleeper, though he does not - cannot - know, sits in the center of infinity and dreams up the universe. To prevent the frothing chaos of his raw dreams from waking him, he's lulled into his sleep by the flutes and beating of drums by the court that attends him. Around him dances the ultimate gods, appearing blind, voiceless, mindless and insubstantial as they are closest to being the Sleeper and dreaming their own dream.

The Messenger is the soul of the Blind One and acts on his behalf. As the soul and messenger of the dreamer, he possesses all knowledge.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/22(Sat)02:15 No. 604306 ID: 256d52
File 141665133324.png - (28.03KB , 800x550 , talk_about_the_plan.png )

Alice gets Blake's attention and hands over the pad with her notes written up. Maybe its just paranoia but she thinks her handwriting's getting worse. It could just be she's still getting used to her altered hands.

With the pad's script and her attempts at intelligible noises as she hunches over next to him, Alice apologises to Blake. On the bright side, they've learned a few things from her eating that last xotl.

She is definitely growing but not necessarily to a human blueprint. Alice thinks she knows how to manage her hunger better now and how her new instincts are messing with her head. She makes sure Blake has that information too. If she does have some sort of biocomputer, he's much better equipped to understand it.

>Big thing here to keep in mind, no matter how crazy the shit gets, you have your humanity, and only you choose when you turn that off. Humanity is your ability to rationalise in the face of instinct. Your instincts guide you but do not rule you. All these thoughts of control are critical reminders towards what you need.
Yes, that.

They're heading into the labs but they've got to think of what to do next.

>Crew first. They're your responsibility.
>There's also the problem that the longer you delay rescuing the crew, the more of a risk something will be done to them. They already did something to you, and we found Blake in a science tube.
Alice wants to find the crew first. Its her job to protect them. The longer they wait the greater the risk something bad happens to them.

She mentions finding Ed Derby's dog tags. There's an outside chance the xotl mixed up the personal effects to be incinerated but he's probably already dead. If he had the first turn in the incinerator, she guesses she owes him her life.

>Actually, there's a chance they already did something to Blake, but the symptoms just aren't apparent, yet. ...not sure it's a good idea to raise that question, yet.
Nooot going to bring that up. It looked like a fairly basic lab, it was probably some sort of medical assessment.

>After that, you can start searching for information and other supplies. It'll be faster with more people looking!
It'll be risky but hopefully they can get everyone properly kitted out and find out what the hell is going on here too.

>Ask Blake what he thinks. We are a bit crazy.
Blake agrees with her reasoning. Maybe Alice does have some hope after all. Maybe they can really pull this off.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/22(Sat)02:16 No. 604307 ID: 256d52
File 141665139536.png - (28.36KB , 800x550 , giant_monster_hands.png )

>Oh wait, quick idiot check: your hands haven't grown too huge to interfere with using your guns, right?
Alice checks. Her finger won't fit through the guard.

Oh damnit! Why do xotl have such tiny hands?!

Alice fiddles with the shotgun. In the absence of anything to saw through the trigger guard with, Alice experiments with her giant monster hands. She settles for sliding her feeding tendrils out and gripping the trigger with one. It feels awkward but it's better than nothing.

That could have been nasty.

Alice Dietrich 2014/11/22(Sat)02:17 No. 604308 ID: 256d52
File 141665145714.png - (42.19KB , 800x600 , bloom_m1_complete.png )

END BLOOM MISSION 1

Final Ranking: TALL POPPY

The Messenger is starting to sound like somebody I know. Real gnarly type. Tends to give everyone a piece of his mind.

Ahehe. Aheh. Ahehehee. Good game, all. We're so fucked.

>SANITY RATING: 38%
...I guess we technically could have done worse?

>>604311
sure, but how much did we start with?

>>604308
>Secrets Found: 1/2
Dangit, we didn't press enough discoloured walls!

>>604316
Good question... Did Alice's sanity go up or down?

I'm betting on down, myself.

>Alice sincerely hopes that is not a thing that can happen. Wouldn't she need to find a space bee or something first?
There are plants that self-pollinate, and others that reproduce asexually, so a space bee wouldn't necessarily be needed. Just... avoid rubbing suspicious bits of yourself on other suspicious bits. And sex, obviously.

>>604308
Huh. So Blake, presumably, has a mass of 75. Which makes him roughly twice the size of the xtol we've eaten so far. Seems right.

...and we're only at 11% of our apparent maximum size. That's kind of terrifying.

I'm going to guess the second secret was probably in the lab. We missed the chance to search it fully before the baddies showed up and it got wrecked with all the time Alice spent freaking out and scaring Blake.

>>604306
Oh man, dat pose.

>>604348
haha, totally ancient reference in the land of TG, but love can "bloom".
>>554553
Arhra, ya did an amazingly good job.

>>604316
Given that she talks to the voices in her head, I think the baseline was probably pretty low.