Ask for more details on his horrible mind control experiments. How effective are the new fufaless models?

The smart clothes don't sound like a very good idea, they could potentially be used to monitor you even more closely.

>Although it notes that modifying the visuals of these clothes aren't allowed, since they're basically supposed to tell others that you're equipped with cameras.
We're working with criminals. Illegal clothing mods are the least of our problems.

Now, illicit recordings we might look bad, but that's pretty much standard practice for the paranoid or overly cautious.

>There's some glasses in there that can swap between tinted and clear
That seems reasonable. On the off chance you end up in a bright area, or somehow around normal people and want to hide your very distinctive and memorable eyes.

>shoes
Probably a good idea. Who knows what you might have to walk though if something goes wrong in one of these horrible science labs.

Now, is this catalog, like, "Vanski's Henchman Outfitters", or is it more...normal? Like, if Vanski's the one in charge, I wouldn't be surprised if everything came pre-hacked, wireless or not.

Also: if this is a long ride, and you have access to a laptop or something, that's time to start customizing your own AI. It'll be useful, and you can lose yourself in practicing your skills.

Wanna go for the creepy super-techno-nerd vibe, the 'rar, I'm so scary' vibe, the 'don't pay attention to me' vibe, or the average sort of look?

I suppose, depending on the actual look of the eyes, those might be enough to nudge average stuff to something memorable. Dunno. Still, this might be an opportunity for fun toys.

Glasses that can tint seem like a good idea. I also still recommend having lots of big pockets and putting stuff in them. Once people get used to seeing you with pockets full of stuff, they won't notice if you happen to temporarily add anything else. You'll probably want to at least start carrying a tazer around with you.

Penn 2015/06/08(Mon)18:33 No. 647215 ID: dd338c
File 143381360958.png - (166.62KB , 1200x1200 , 945.png )

".... how effective are these fufaless bugs?"
>"They work, but the neumono tend to be, well, dumb. Definitely not like a loyal band of unaffected neumono. Think zombies."
"...oh. By the way.... is this catalogue from Vanski?"
>"Nope. Vanski just is in the same network that uses it."
"Okay. By the way, I don't have any of my projects or AI with me."
>"I do. I brought Orix, with last week's memory. It will work with the catalogue's frames. I'll lend you a laptop."

That's good. Orix is a multi functional AI I made that can figure out and be used in any device that uses the appropriate platform. It's pseudo-sentient, and the closest friend I've had besides Roxie.

>Illegal clothing mods are the least of our problems.
Well if I take a picture somewhere I shouldn't, it might be the most of my problems.

Since it's a long trip, I spend it making sure that no one, Arza or otherwise, tampered with Orix. That, and doing what I can to prep Orix in working with the framework.

It takes a couple of hours to be sure, but the AI base that was used included a tamper-evident protocol. It was actually intended to prevent student plagiarism, but it works well here.

Mostly, it's just nice hearing Orix run through diagnostics again.

I've also decided between two outfits that I'll have to choose between when I get there.

Strawpoll, with choices A/B displayed in image:
http://strawpoll.me/4581427

>>647215
B is way more practical. Skirt and lack of pockets does not help us here.

I'd go for rectangular glasses instead of the visor, though. And deffo need boots in case you have to run through debris or horrible science goo.

Maybe upgrade the shirt. Something with a little bit of a better cut, and less a $5-T.

...make sure you've got a multitool in at least one of the pockets.

I say B, but change the computer glove thing for something a little more subtle, and change the glasses for something less retro-futurist and more understated. Maybe give the jacket a fur collar to spice it up a bit and fit with your existing style. Perhaps different colors, too, for the shirt and pants.

How good are you with computer security in general, Penn? And while you're asking questions, inquire as to whether you'll have internet access. Obviously you'll be restricted in what you can send out, but will you be able to keep up with all the tech journals and the latest demos and news and so on? Also, how will communication work? Presumably there'll be people besides you and Arza for you to interact with.

If A had pants I'd vote for it. I'm not voting otherwise, because I don't really like B.

B, but lose the gloves.

>>647221
>disliking gloves for utility
Ultimate pleb confirmed.

B.

Penn 2015/06/08(Mon)20:34 No. 647240 ID: dd338c
File 143382086584.png - (20.54KB , 800x800 , 946.png )

I'll go with the more utility option. I'll go with gloves, but use a more, uh, subtle version. There's a few set of glasses that I think work.

Probably final poll: Glasses A-D; all set at 75% opacity. Color tint can be modified if desired.
http://strawpoll.me/4581978

>>647240
I'd go with C, but round the lower / outer corner instead of leaving a sharp edge.

And the default tint feels like maybe it should be a little brighter. (25-50% maybe?). Although what opacity looks best kind of depends on what color / darkness her real eyes actually look like.

Note: The goggle color highlights have been changed to match B's color scheme. Apologies for doing so *after* the poll was put up.

Set the tint to whatever is practical and does not hinder your vision.

ze goggles

If we're going for practicality, the goggles might help if by chance Penn encounters a situation where normal glasses would fall off (wind, swimming, loose temples, slap to the face, etc.) Plus it helps with the mad scientist look

>>647249
>>647250
>what is a strawpoll link

>>647250
>Plus it helps with the mad scientist look

The goggles would help if she was working in a field that needed goggles, something that involved chemicals or explosives or welding things. But Penn is a computer scientist, so the goggles just make her look like a poser.

>>647262
...we are going to run into the science hive in vanski's base. And they're going to be pretty much experts in the social nuances of different kinds of goggles. It's kind of their thing!

Goggles, especially big ones, help hide expressions. If she puts her contacts back in later they may help her act cool, even if she isn't.

>>647262
The local flavor of computer science involves aggressively parasitic fungi. Your job interview and new-hire orientation involved disposing of a couple of corpses which were in such terrible condition that they could not be safely burned. I don't think anybody is going to begrudge you some watertight eye protection. See how much of this outfit can be made discreetly bulletproof, as long as you're shopping.

1/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:11 No. 648356 ID: dd338c
File 143426948448.png - (27.08KB , 800x800 , 947.png )

>See how much of this outfit can be made discreetly bulletproof, as long as you're shopping.
It doesn't appear to say anything about that kind of thing. I can modify the AI that controls the clothes, but I couldn't make anything bulletproof.

I end up falling asleep after I do enough work on Orix. The rapid deceleration wakes me up. My heart is racing, only from terrible dreams. The anticipation is only preventing it from slowing back down.

The outside of the train station is almost like the stations on the farm. There is an emblem, though, and a kind of intimidating heef.

>"Vanski's." Arza says as he follows me out, noticing my look at the emblem. "What's the outfit gonna be?"
"This one." I say, pointing at the catalog.
>"Alright. Don't mind the heef, they're not made to talk. They're as neutral as neutral gets."

An arkot comes to us. An arkot like in a zoo, but Arza doesn't look like this is out of the ordinary at all. It pushes clothes up at me. I realize I'm supposed to take them.

>"There's a bathroom off to the side, there." says Arza. "You can take some time, but don't try to set up camp in there or anything."

2/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:11 No. 648357 ID: dd338c
File 143426950585.png - (43.80KB , 800x800 , 948.png )

I move inside. It's surprisingly spacious.

Alright. I think I can do this. Maybe. I don't know. I shut my eyes, I have to think about this. I'm on the verge of a breakdown already, I can't help but worry about Roxie and just can't help but think she's -

3/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:11 No. 648358 ID: dd338c
File 143426951894.png - (77.44KB , 800x800 , 949.png )

>"GMMPH!"
>"Hey, new girl. You got a buddy that's been snooping after us the last day. Thought we'd show her one of our experiments. Or should we see how much blood a neumono can squirt out of an ar-

4/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:12 No. 648359 ID: dd338c
File 143426954140.png - (12.25KB , 800x800 , 950.png )

No. Goddamn, no.

Just the thought of Roxie being silenced or worse, simply for being my roommate, is making my intrusive thoughts nearly be hallucinations! I didn't even almost drift off to sleep like I did with Korrili!

That was a - yes, that was a hallucination. Roxie isn't here. Of course she's not. If they had Roxie, what sort of mental process would they go through to get a heef to wait a the bathroom just to be dramatic about it? It's absurd.

I have to take off my contacts. I can't take Arza's word for it that Roxie is safe, and knowing what Korrili has to go through...

If we met on equal ground, I don't even think I would have liked Korrili. But the thought of her getting beaten and abused just so people can self-validate their own power and status in life is... it's one of the most disgusting things I can think of in my life.

The other disgusting thing is what those two corpses I buried must have gone through.

I can validate taking my contacts off for others. If it was just for my sake, I don't know if I could.

5/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:12 No. 648360 ID: dd338c
File 143426955427.png - (19.06KB , 800x800 , 951.png )

"They tell me it's not my fault, but I'm still a monster anyway."
>"It takes a monumental dimwit to think a confused, scared child is some kind of monster. Did you get the lecture on your genetics?"
"Um... I didn't understand a lot of the words. They tried to tell me my parents weren't my parents."
>"They may as well be, don't worry about what your genes are. It doesn't matter. Terrible, terrible parents have had wonderful offspring, and wonderful parents have had terrible children. You are your own person."
"But... they said I was such a good sample of past belenos."
>"Past belenos in a new world. This isn't some kind of ticking time disease, kid, this is your personality. It's malleable. It's up to you more than any genetics. Think of your family members as the ones who take care of you."
"Um... can you be my grandma, then? My grandparents either died before I was born or before I could remember anything."
>"...... yeah, kid, I can be your third grandma. Why not. Now let go of my coat."

6/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:12 No. 648362 ID: dd338c
File 143426957122.png - (19.95KB , 800x800 , 952.png )

"My eyes are more than just eyes, aren't they? I keep getting told that I'm, uh, not even the biological child of my parents. Which means I was made by something else. My eyes are just the only thing that stand out, but I'm nearly entirely a terrible thing."
>"You're nearly entirely like the rest of us. We've looked at your eyes till our own eyes practically fell out, and we just don't see a thing that says they're anything but some fancy marker that was added on for others to know about your body."
"... they're not gonna take my eyes out, are they? I was told I only need one, and that I can get an artificial prosthetic."
>"You're not going to have so much as a cut on your eye. I've discovered that your eyes will lose their traits if they're disconnect from you, their host. Once the paper goes through, people won't want to remove them."
"Wouldn't they want to remove them to remove my monsterous parts?"
>"No, the people that want to do that are the same that would just as well have you dead. Many people want your eyes without you, but they can't do that. It doesn't matter what laws are twisted to say you're not a person or legal entity. Humans wouldn't stand for it, they are barely standing for letting belenosians take care of you. It's a wonder you're allowed to even enter the public school."
"But what about my body? If my eyes are just a marker, what about me?"
>"I'm working on that, kid. Just give me some time."

7/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:13 No. 648363 ID: dd338c
File 143426959875.png - (16.57KB , 800x800 , 953.png )

>"Do you understand now?"
"I had past, dormant genes do a sudden takeover. I was rewinded back to a long time ago to a place people are scared of now. But I'm not from back then, I don't know anything! Why are people afraid of me?"
>"They're afraid of what you might become after you've grown up, but also, there was nothing special about your parent's genes that we could locate. The fact that they produced someone like you means that for all anyone knows, any belenos couple could do the same. You're a sign that we're all the descendants of genetically engineered organisms, and even after this long, those grand designs could just boil right back up like they weren't even diluted. It's known that our genetics contain a thorough history of belenosian lineage, but up until you were born, no one even thought rewinding genetics in a fetus was possible, let alone a reality."
"Why me? Why so long after?"
>"Just remember, it's not likely you were the first and only. It's just that up until 50 years ago at the farthest, anyone with your condition would have been killed even as an infant. You might've been put on a frying pan, but the alternative was plain fire."

8/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:13 No. 648364 ID: dd338c
File 143426963098.png - (34.15KB , 800x800 , 954.png )

"Grandma, grandma! Your paper was released! They said you couldn't do it, but you did even while sick!"
>"You're old enough and smart enough to keep a secret, so I'll let you in on one, kiddo. It was fake."
"What?"
>"The paper. It was a complete fake."
"Wha-why?"
>"So those bastards at the science centers would stop bickering about whether or not taking out your eyes would be allowed. Maybe if you get lucky, that worthless human bureacracy will make a damn decision and let you get out of this entirely You're a good kid, I wish my granddaughter had half the kindness you do. They said you've been feeling detached at school, lately? Do an old lady a favor and don't take that too far. If you just be a person, you'll find a place to fit into someday. It was because of your bad luck that you didn't find a fit. It was like the world was handed a card that never existed before, and no one knew what the rules were or what to do about the card. But you can still be the, I dunno, jack of hearts."
"Or the queen of clubs?"
>"Girl, it was just an awkward analogy, it's... whatever, yeah, you can be the queen of clubs."

9/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:14 No. 648365 ID: dd338c
File 143426964228.png - (85.70KB , 800x800 , 955.png )

".... I let myself slip, grandma, but I was able to get contacts and pull myself back for awhile. But it's too hard like this! Detachment was my only coping mechanism! I'm going to break down if I keep going. You wanted me to me to show everyone and myself that I wasn't the monster people thought I was, but I can't do it normally.

10/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:14 No. 648366 ID: dd338c
File 143426965634.png - (13.09KB , 800x800 , 956.png )

"................ I'll put them on again when I can. I promise, and I'm sorry."

12/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:14 No. 648369 ID: dd338c
File 143426969189.png - (18.05KB , 800x800 , 958.png )

>"Hey, Penn! Sounds like you're setting up camp in there after all."
"No. I'm ready."

Composing myself here is more important than me, my grandmother, or my favor to her. I have to think clearly and face reality as best as I can analyze it, instead of performing mental crutches on myself such as believing that it's only my eyes that are abnormal. It's only my eyes that are visually abnormal, while the rest of my body is, all things considered, surprisingly plain.

13/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:15 No. 648370 ID: dd338c
File 143426972359.png - (22.71KB , 800x800 , 959.png )

>"Hello, Penn." Orix speaks up through headphones embedded in my goggles. If you've programmed me for these clothes, then I'll spare you diagnostics. There's an elevator ahead, we'll get people's names to show up so they're legible but not in your way."

As per my programming, I tap my index finger to confirm while Arza leads me to that elevator Arza talked about. The gloves have a thin wire up to the goggles so that I can pair them together without relying on wireless. I spend the rest of the elevator time working with Orix to calibrate the text that floats above points of interest. This particular base appears to be OPA-3A, and Orix further explains that the collection of factions involved here are sometimes referred to as the Underspace, and sometimes the Underweb, but there is no official name.

>"Chin up, legs straight." Arza says. "We're going right into the science fair, as planned."

On another note, I'll find shoes later. The floors, thus far, have been kept well maintained and clean.

14/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:15 No. 648371 ID: dd338c
File 143426974720.png - (63.89KB , 1000x800 , 960.png )

There are various booths and rooms inside. It looks like this entire area is a communal center.

We cross by people from the Mind Lever. An intergalactic engineering firm. They primarily deal with civil aspects, and are highly sought after for their quick designs. They have highly robust systems that can quickly deal with a wide range of projects.

If Orix is right, that's Fritz Manson, their vice-president. This place must be considered extremely safe, because hell would fall on the company if it was known their vice president was loosely affiliated with this crowd, let alone be physically at this site. Mind Lever must be paid extremely well to supply infrastructure designs to the Underspace.

15/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:16 No. 648372 ID: dd338c
File 143426977441.png - (52.94KB , 800x800 , 961.png )

Ladrell. They're a somewhat sapient creature that has kept to themselves under sea level, usually inside deep sea caverns. Studies have been made for these, but they have been hostile to neumono.

They have had the unfortunate coincidence of preferring habitats that are convenient to dump pollution into, something that humans are barely starting to crack down on these years. It would be easy to leverage these creature's ire into criminal allies.

What they're actually doing here, I wouldn't know. They do not have many apparent skill sets outside of swimming, and I have to wonder about the possibility that, by some long stretch both figuratively and literally, there's a connection from here to the ocean.

16/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:16 No. 648373 ID: dd338c
File 143426980952.png - (140.60KB , 800x800 , 962.png )

We cross by a group of Black Supernova. They have been hunted down in recent decades in anti-crime ambitions. They have lost many minor footholds across the galaxy, but they have, in turn, further entrenched themselves in what footholds they've kept. This planet is a perfect blend of being a frontier planet while also having a strong economy.

It's not surprising whatsoever to see them on the planet with that in mind, but seeing them here specifically indicates this is a far larger operation than I was initially led to believe. I don't know if the government has simply kept the Supernova's involvement here on the down low or if they honestly don't know about the pirates being here, but Arza has not been open about what factions are down here. I can bet that there is effort to avoid blatant affiliation with Vanski, especially in recent months.

I can see why Arza insisted that the contacts come off. They probably prey on perceived weakness.

17/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:18 No. 648374 ID: dd338c
File 143426993041.png - (41.21KB , 800x800 , 963.png )

But the next area proves that Arza has a much stronger reason. I notice that my brain is having an unpleasant reaction, and without being able to ignore the panic, a breakdown would have occurred.

This area is inhabited by the Silhouette Empire. They are less affectionately known as neo-imperialists. They will leap on any sort of trans-organism advances, and consider people and themselves little more than arbitrary chemical reactions whos only redeeming quality is the desire to become something more.

They have hunted me before, and some of them have the audacity to look at me with adoration and idolship. They are convinced I am capable of great power, and have many lawyers on Belenos that fought for legal rights to study and constrain me more forcibly, although they did not use their own banner to do so. Despite attempts at keeping me more or less a secret, they know exactly who and what I am. Specifically, they are interested in me as a body and person more than my eyes, and so they continued hunting for me even after my grandmother risked her life's reputation by making lies on my behalf.

I don't know if the Silhouette Empire is dangerous to me or not. They stare at me like like an ethereal deity took flesh.

18/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:19 No. 648375 ID: dd338c
File 143426994471.png - (51.11KB , 800x800 , 964.png )

We pass a moving group of Salikai while we pass a hall. A salikai's network complexity raises exponentially the more factions they involve themselves in. I expect they are at least half the reason this underworld has the Underweb as a nickname.

There were more individuals behind me that I have seen, and with what little conversation I'm picking up, it sounds like there are several more factions of varying size that are visiting here.

19/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:19 No. 648376 ID: dd338c
File 143426998517.png - (37.79KB , 800x800 , 965.png )

Arza leads me through a door on the side, where I hear talking.

>"- are on thin ice. One slip up, and this could come crashing down on us. We will not help you with your dilemma, and we are remaining close to the escape routes."
>"Absolute nonsense. Do you know how much of my hand I had to tip to bug that hive? I am even conspiring to bring Polo right over us for those nature lovers." That's a salikai voice. A tired one. Oriz displays the name Vanski has he talks.
>"You're only able to because of the Supernova's help. It's a big risk to them as well. Does your thinned hive know of their involvement in this?" an Empire belenosian says.
>"No. They'll think Polo coming here was all me, and think of me as manic on top of it. I had just ranted to them last week about how I wished for nothing to do with Polo unless she was handed to me wrapped up in bugs and sealant. Which, honestly, I expect to be done. It can't be any harder than pulling the strings needed to get her out here in the first place."
>"Don't tell us you expect anything! We hardly have middle management capabilities in Polo's own ultrahive. The Tree's upper command will be on high alert if their precious war hero is brought out on a mission controlled by the Coalition. If she so much as gets a papercut in the wrong spot, the whole planet will shove daggers over where she was supposed to go. In this case, right over us."
>"We'll talk about this later. We have visitors."

Arza and I reach the voices.

Apparently Polo is alive. She put a crack in this place by sheer chance and circumstance, and I was thinking I would have to wedge it open myself.

20/21 Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:20 No. 648377 ID: dd338c
File 143427003141.png - (26.13KB , 800x800 , 966.png )

Even with this out-of-body mentality, I still value my feelings, which are expectedly less than ideal at the moment. I can feel them outside of me, but they're no less important than a family member would be. I can isolate my feelings as well. There's a hope to get out of this alive. A hope to get out of this without jail time. Alongside that, there's a wish to help those who have been subjected to these people. Myself, Korrili and Roxie are merely three people in a countless pool of people who have suffered at least as much. Yet those people generally deserve dignity as much as us three.

>"It is nice to see you again, Arza Fletch." Vanski says. "Your CAI is doing well."
>"Thank you, but you know I'd like to check that in person."
>"Are you going to tell us about your pet project, here?" an odd, lizard like thing clicks the words out, and a speaker translates it into something useful. "More importantly, why we should tru-"
>"Clamp your face, you half uplifted ingrate." says that Belenosian from the S.E. Do you even know who that is?"
>"Uh, what?" the lizard gawks at me, proving it can read its own goggles, which may also to serve keeping its eye's light intake low.

Over the course of 30 hours, my original ambitions were put on hold. Apparently these people can find out my normal and born identity just by using these utility eyepieces. This database, safeguards or not, is a ridiculously dangerous thing to make virtually public here. Regardless of that, it would be foolish to think that if I do some AI work and favors for Arza, I will be allowed to walk out of Vanski's lab, take a bus back to Roxie's dorm, and have a grand reunion happily ever after.

At least, not so long as these people are capable of preventing me from doing so.

To say that underworld politics are not my strong suit is an understatement. However, by some combination of learning to play that game and leveraging what AI skills I do have, I have a newfound, overly ambitious goal to spin my presence with these enormous criminal factions, and make it so that they cannot stop me from getting back to my original pipe dream of leading a staggeringly average life.

Polo Quest - Thread 6 END Penn 2015/06/14(Sun)01:21 No. 648378 ID: dd338c
File 143427010334.png - (66.57KB , 800x800 , 967.png )

Allegedly, my genetical predecessor did at least as much.

You uh...

You look kinda cute and kinda creepy without the contacts. It's a good style.

Good luck, kid. Find your path, you have the skill and potential to crack this entire facility open.

Dear god lego, 21 fucking updates in one go?! You're nuts man, and that ending twist... I applaud you and look forwards to the next thread.

>>648374
I'd be worried about the guy in the chair not having a listed name, but it appears that he cannot be matched to anything. He is, quite likely, a person who has had their appearance altered to hide themselves from reality.
>>648375
I'm liking the look of Rekter, gotta say. While the other two look to be the typical ambitious Salikai, his appearance suggests a calmer demeanor, and that he's fine where he is. Which makes sense, he's essentially in charge of OPA-8B.
That Kurrinki looks unsatisfied to hold a similar position is curious, but not important. Salikai have their own complicated forms of logic.
>Biological Reincarnation of the Sapphire Emperor
(Spoilered because spoiler ending) I, uh, hm. That's... An interesting way of putting it. Emperor, not empire? Like, wasn't he a Jetal? Also, crazier than the Salikai?

>>648419
>I, uh, hm. That's... An interesting way of putting it. Emperor, not empire? Like, wasn't he a Jetal? Also, crazier than the Salikai?
Yes, emperor, not empire. She's the reincarnation of an individual, not a government. Said government wasn't called the Sapphire Empire, anyways.

And Sapphire wasn't born a jetal. He just used his wealth and power to get himself uploaded to a jetal core to make himself nigh-invincible. He started out organic, at some point.

Relative craziness I'll leave be.

Well uh...
Good luck Penn.
I hope we see you again soon.

Take care, Penn. Don't let them wear you down.