Well, hey. Sinter apparently really trusts us. So if you got us to really trust you again, that could conceivably result her trusting you out of her trust of us. Or something.

I think I said "trust" so many times in one sentence it no longer looks like a word. Trust trust trust.

>>346477
Can't we make you new wings? As beautiful as before, and even grander in size?

ever try using the bio equipment to grow a new body or something?

>>346479
The problem with that is that currently, we really do not trust her. Or at least a certain portion of us do not.

>>346473
>>346477
I don't know why you would miss such a feeble- and gaudy-looking organic body. In my opinion, you look much better now. Though, my opinion is likely a tad biased. Look on the metaphorical bright side: you have a body!

In any case, I would like to request information on any Objects currently stored in the facility, as well as their possible uses and/or dangers.

>>346477

Will a hug token make you feel any better? <:3

Oh, that's so sad. I feel really sorry for you. It may help to think about a certain philosophical concept. The mind is really all you are; everything else is just a peripheral to connect it to the outside world and to support it. None of your body was any more "you" than your body is now. You aren't any less of yourself for losing it.

On the other hand, it does seem that your old body was excellent, something you liked much better. Many parts of organic bodies are vastly superior to almost anything a mechanical body can replicate. That being said, if you liked having it so much, why have you not tried to improve this body or grow a new organic body? We could probably help with either, and it would likely also help build trust between us.

>>346477
I grieve for you, a lot of people don't understand that the process does not bring people back.
Sure, your memories and personality are the same, but it's not the same existence when you can't enjoy a meal with friends, or simple thing like a shower...
...and then there's the psychological issues associated with being told you died and were your mind was copied too, it changes people's perception of you.

I-I've heard horror stories of Simulacrums going nuts due to minor system failures, or simply not coping—or being dug out of cave-ins as gibbering wrecks because they were conscious the entire time...

B-but... -look, most of those problems have been fixed in the later attempts, and you've adapted quite well to a cybernetic existence. Look on the bright side, you have a body that can survive some of the most hostile environments, you can modify your frame to do anything-thing you want —you have an entire facility at your beck and call for [INSERT DIETY]'s sakes! Go out there and manufacture what ever you want, wings are nothing compared to what you could have if you just put some elbow grease into it!
And don't worry about her too much, she'll probably forgive you if you if you be honest with her—if a bit angry, after all you put her through quite a bit of stress with that acid-spray thing—if you sit down with her and just have a chat for a while i'm sure you two will get along great -we already know she's~ [A GOOD PERSON].

There no use moping about the past, we've all lost something here.

When you do have that chat you might want to not be in the same room until after you have explained things though.

What is your opinion on rocket thrusters?

What are snrats, dekuls and keteels?

Also how do you pronounce "snrat" anyway?

You seem saddened by the prospect of Sinter not trusting you again...

Do you... like her?

SARU-601 2011/05/15(Sun)16:40 No. 36742 ID: 3e6377
File 130550280068.png - (76.12KB , 600x800 , sarubody.png )

The primary issues with creating a new organic body is while it's difficult but evidently possible to transfer an active consciousness from an organic brain into a synthetic one, the reverse is significantly more difficult and not known to be possible.

With a synthetic body it's trivial to ensure there's some independent factor responsible for ensuring that body's vital functions continue, but to preserve that factor in an organic body, well, the thing there responsible for keeping the body alive is the same thing you're trying to shove a consciousness into. Basically, the few times it was tried before, it was without question successful, but then after about ten seconds of life the transferee would end up dying due to lack of any automated body functions. In most cases they were just hastily transferred back into whatever synthetic body they had previously. Except in the cases where they just died.

I managed to somehow survive certain death once already. The odds aren't good I could do it a second time, even if the current problems were addressed. I mean, I heard they tried to grow a saa-kru body with a separated brain so that the vital functions of the body could be managed even in the case of total informatic death of the conscious parts of the brain but it just doesn't seem to work. I've heard that based on the brain structures of the known Alliance species, it should theoretically be easier to do this with saa-kru than, say, humans or keynain. Areeni and keletians are out of the question altogether because of the variety of the former and the bizarre properties of the latter. But this is all likely a dead-end approach and the point is if I want to go back to the way things were my only hope is finding a phenomenally talented cyberneticist who's capable of mimicking the entire workings of an organic being in a single creation.

So basically, some form of miracle worker.

SARU-601 2011/05/15(Sun)16:40 No. 36743 ID: 3e6377
File 130550282675.png - (52.42KB , 800x600 , saruwings.png )

Also I really don't even see the point in having wings any more. I think I need to explain the significance of wings to saa-kru so you can understand why asking that question is just further blundering on your behalf for asking and my behalf for not telling you why it's almost but not quite an offensive question to ask.

Saa-kru wings are thin and delicate and usually kept folded away inside our backs. They actually naturally fold in inside. They're not visible externally unless we're actively choosing to display them. They're entirely useless for flight and in fact only serve one real purpose. Attracting mates. Both saa-kru genders have these large colourful wings with all sorts of unique colourations and patterns and I am incredibly glad how easy it is to mask my embarrassment talking about this in my robot state of being. But it goes deeper than that. They're all unique. It's like a visual expression of the unique nature of the genetic code of the individual. They're our identity. There's theories that the attractiveness of certain wings varies so considerably among saa-kru because we're responding to traits we haven't even consciously noticed encoded in the patterns of said wings.

I don't have any genetic code any more, or any reason to attract mates, and I'd never be able to recapture my exact wing patterns from one image from a specific angle. And if I can't recapture my exact wing patterns then what's the point?! I use this name to protect my original identity, not as a replacement for it!! Without those wings I'm just damaged, just incomplete, but with fake wings with a different pattern it'd be like I'm trying to convince everyone including myself that I'm not even the same entity any more!! I am the same sophont I was before this ever happened!! Understand?! I-

...Sorry. I, uh, continue to keep forgetting that you asked in a genuinely curious manner and that you weren't out to offend me.

Also, rocket thrusters sound like a terrible idea, and you pronounce it like this. Snrat. There. Hope that helps. I'm going to head down to Sinter's room, or a safe place to observe it. So I can talk to her without risk to myself. Not so I can watch her. I don't know what weird ideas you're getting here, but I'm genuinely interested to know how she intends to conquer the world without violence.

I'll come back to answer questions some other time.

Aww. :(

...

I didn't mean "like" like that!

...

Not that there would be anything wrong with that.

i believe humans made a movie about a robot becoming alive. he used his infinite lifespan to become skilled enough to make artificial organs and such. Bicentennial Man.

>>346543
Oh dear we all seem to be head cases around here...

Hey, maybe interacting with someone from outside the facility for a while will do you some good.

If Regular Science cannot give you a body, we can always try Mad Science, by adding features to your mechanical body which are more similar to those of organics, such as the senses of touch and taste. It would not be the same, of course, but it would perhaps make you more comfortable.

As for your wings, I am afraid I have no plausible solution for that at the moment, logical or not. I am sorry.

Oh god, that's literally the saddest thing I've ever heard, ever. Now we have to figure out how to do something... I do have one idea, though, but it would require a lot of work. There wouldn't happen to be a nearby population of saa-kru, would there? I have an idea for a lab experiment that would be very helpful while still remaining ethical for many definitions of ethics.

>>346543
>They're entirely useless for flight and in fact only serve one real purpose. Attracting mates.
So in other words saying "I had such beautiful wings" is roughly equivalent to "I had such magnificent tits". Okay!

>>346551
>by adding features to your mechanical body which are more similar to those of organics, such as the senses of touch and taste.
Or genitals.

Alright: what we could do is take as large a sample size as feasibly possible of saa-kru from as many populations as we can. Then we would need to collect a complete genetic sample from each of them, as well as get an extremely high quality image of their wings. Both of these would be retrieved, the genetic sample would be completely mapped for each individual, the wing data completely parameterized mathematically, and the resulting data inputted into a massive database on which a powerful data-mining algorithm would be performed. With enough sample sets we would be able to isolate all of the genes that contribute to wing structure so that an adaptive algorithm could extremely accurately associate genotype data with the modeled wing data. With that, it would be possible to predict large portions of the genome, and the entirety of the genes that code for wing pattern from an image. An image such as the one you have there on your wall. Do you see what I'm getting at here?

The rest of the body could be constructed with a lot less effort, as the genes encoding for a lot of it should be either less complex, less noticeable, or common throughout the population. Constructing the rest of the body like this, (especially with the genomics techniques that this futuristic society almost certainly has), would be enough to construct an entire living body indistinguishable from your original one, given enough samples and enough trials.

The brain is probably the simplest solution: we don't even need to migrate your consciousness into a brain, or anything like that. What you do is connect the robotic brain to the brain stem the opposite way that one might implant a brain into a robot. The contents of the brain could be backed up in case of damage or failure, and extra processes could be programmed to control the autonomic nervous system. Surely this could be done.

This is a rough plan, of course, that I came up with in five minutes, but with enough refinement we could surely be able to reconstruct a working body for you, and even retain your current state of immortality. The only stepping stone is the acquisition of a large amount of test subjects willing to donate tissue samples and photographs to a worthy cause.

I think she said the brainless body (in which you would put the robotic brain) has been attempted but not successfully. And a robot brain in a organic body would be kind of awkward anyway, as you would need the effort of maintaining the different needs of both.

Why would tt-thaat have worked? Last time I checked they were trying to see if you could copy a person and then recombine them so the memories of each could be carried on.
It wasn't working as well as they thought it would, after all the [structure of the mind] changes as time goes on doesn't it?
I-i mean people's personalities change after major personal events, like ac\ʗ#cidents and funerals and stuff?!?
Actually if those are skin tiles you could make a mosaic on yourself by anodising your skin plates with tints and dyes! It would be interesting to see what you could come up with, he#^*H, you still look like you've got the original cfactory colours. Even if you can't re-create your body you still have plenty of options.
And yes, do watch "The Bicentennial Man", read the novel too. Asimov's robot stories are quite good.

We look to be little heavy on the I'M SAD for so early in a quest.

>>346600
A Cirr quest in two easy steps:
1. :D Dawww, you need a hug!
2. D: Dawww, you need a hug...

I'm kind of curious about this: Although Sinter is clearly not representative of the entire collective society of the local universe, her thoughts and actions in regards to machines are somewhat strange. Without further assurance to the contrary she tends to consider machine consciousnesses as less than normal people. Your recent comments that everybody treats you this way make it sound like this is present throughout society. How is it that in the type of technological society in which sapient machines are apparently a relative commonplace, this type of thinking can still remain?

>>346646
The would be a number of reasons for this, and some aren't just bigotry or apathy:
Mental instability - Being resurrected is obviously very traumatic for a number of reasons, and is exasperated by her apparent lack of socialisation and other people telling her she’s a machine, among other things.
Cloning Blues: If her mind is rendered in digital format then it may be vulnerable to electronic corruption, or other problems. And of course machine bodies have their own issues regarding damage and endurance. Are they able to be copied? I suppose you could say that it cheapens life or something like that too.
Technological Origins: How exactly are Machine Intelligences created? The Transfer Process seems to create a copy of a person's mind "perfectly" and it would make sense for it to be related in some way to AI creation processes. There is no indication this is a mature technology, considering how complex the brain & mind is and the difficulty of getting an exact copy due to its lack of durability. You could easily say that there is social stigma from when the process wasn't quite as well understood or precise resulting.
There would be spiritual and religious issues regarding this just like any other type of research regarding Sophont-experimentation as per usual, and many corporations supporting it would be deems as having somewhat questionable ethics.
There is probably a hundred other issues and you can write AT LEAST a hundred pages on this but here is not the place or subject matter for a discussion like that. Actually when I think about it this is pretty much a TL:DR version of a discussion I read on a forum about six months ago.

>>346663
No need to spoiler everything any longer. Correct me if I am wrong, but >>346473 was an oblique way of saying "Saru is no longer hearing everything in the thread, merely questions directed at her."

On that note. Saru, tell us more about this world that the other creature wishes to conquer? What species and factions are out there? Are they all members of this "Alliance" that was mentioned?

Oh, and were you a horrible person before the accident or were your empathy centers somehow damaged in the conversion?

Just a thought, with what just happened with things being "sealed", it reminds me of this site here: http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/

My thoughts exactly. Sinter has barged into a goddamn SCP containment site.

Hopefully it has some kind of safety protocols intact. I'ld hate to imagine what a SCP site would look if you couldn't open a door without shit happening to you.

>>346543
So, not enough immediately available photographic information to replicate the wings, and no DNA.

We'd need to somehow find something that has that information somewhere else. Deeper in the lab, or outside of it. Very, very unlikely. What a pity.

Would it make you feel better to have wings that had NO pattern? Just blank?

I would imagine blank wings would be kind of creepy like a featureless face.

Well, here are my thoughts about the DNA thing. (Note that this is assuming that saa-kru have a microbiology at the very least analogous to those in humans, and thus could be inaccurate) You could probably get a significant amount of information out of the images on the poster with enough study to determine the genotypes related to the wing patterns, and also associated genes placed at nearby loci on the chromosomes. From the apparently massive genetic diversity in wing patterns, this would probably cover a large swath of the genome. Combining this with the genes shared by the saa-kru population, as well as from (even distant) genetic relatives, it would probably be possible to reconstruct just about the entire genome, especially the wing genes. If we do find that the image is too poor to salvage sufficient data from, which would be increasingly less likely with more data from other saa-kru, there's always the option of taking information about her wings directly from her brain. There appears to be a very sophisticated ability to comprehend subtleties in wings in saa-kru brains, much in the way that humans have a powerful ability to recognize and remember extremely subtle details in faces. With more research we could likely find a way to access this and use her memories of herself to perform the former process. Though difficult, and I don't exactly know the progress of neuroscience in this society, it would likely be made easier since Saru's mind was transfered into a computer.

SARU-601 2011/05/20(Fri)18:05 No. 36975 ID: 3e6377
File 130593990388.png - (66.87KB , 800x600 , saruidea.png )

Okay, I'm back. Yeah, you have it right. Wings with no pattern are creepier than no wings at all. Given the value humans attach to their faces as a means of ascertaining identity at a glance, I guess the blank face comparison is pretty accurate. Even among us it's a little hard to distinguish individuals from faces alone, but we tend to look more for mannerisms and quirks anyway. Mistaken identity is more common for us than it is for humans, but we're also more used to it happening. We tend to distinguish each other by our voices, actually. If there's an absolute need for identification, there's always our wings, and in fact most of the identity chips in use by saa-kru simply store an encoding of the individual's wing patterns. Suitably altered so as not to cause offense or any other unwanted reaction, of course.

If I managed to somehow replicate my original wing patterns I think that means I'd have stumbled across a way to create identity chips and pose as any saa-kru I wanted so long as I knew their wing pattern. ...I can think of a few uses for that. Suddenly this entire idea has more merit behind it than just stopping me from moping around.

I have to go. Plans need to be made. Here's hoping Relk is a success and I can talk a few saa-kru into, well, working with us. I've been... acquiring funds from KerenzeTec for a few years. I can probably pay them to work for our aim if I can't convince them otherwise. There's enough room in the facility to house them. My hands are starting to shake with the excitement of this idea. Here. Uh. I fixed your stuff again a bit more. Enjoy. Gotta run.

KerenzeTec Archives 2011/05/20(Fri)18:05 No. 36976 ID: 3e6377
File 130593992769.png - (107.25KB , 1000x1000 , areenibio.png )

REPAIRING NET. REQUESTED: AREENI BIOLOGY.

Areeni biology is, of course, a topic that can only briefly be summarised here. This particular data chunk covers a synopsis of standard areeni biology, followed by a synopsis of biomodification and how the unique biology of the areeni species lends itself particularly well to this practice.

Areeni are known to vary in morphology, but core organs known to be possessed by the majority of areeni are a cardiovascular system with a single heart (contrast the saa-kru circulatory system, with no single heart and several pump nodes), two lungs, a digestive tract, immune glands, hormone glands (the extent of which are summarised in another data chunk), and standard reproductive organs (the extent of which are summarised in another data chunk).

A curious trait of the areeni species is the ability to modify developing offspring by release of internal hormones, often triggered subconsciously due to external stimuli. Expectant mothers in conditions that have changed or varied considerably since their own birth will release hormones that subtly alter their offspring to develop in a manner that leads to a marginal adaptation to these expected circumstances. The nature of these hormones, and their effects on native flora, were the initial factors in areeni developing biotechnology at a period in their development as a species alarmingly early compared to other sapient species.

Given the frequency and severity of meteorological changes of Areen, such an aspect of areeni biology appears to have some explanation, but does not make it any less extraordinary in comparison with other organic species. Enough generations have passed that areeni communities have morphologically diverged from the original baseline areeni form dependent upon where they flourished.

The areeni immune system is bordering on extremes, being highly resilient to infection while largely ignoring foreign bodies that are not threatening the body directly. Allergies are almost unknown among areeni, but as a consequence many have suffered from harmful foreign bodies remaining dormant in their bodies until reaching some critical part of their body. (Sidenote: it was established that, pre-Contact, this critical flaw in the areeni immune system was often exploited as a means of assassination.)

However, this strange immune response is what allows areeni to insert or graft entirely new organs and appendages to themselves with little to no risk of rejection or infection. They are able to influence the growth of Areen flora and simple fauna into whatever form they desire to serve whatever purpose, and often grow mindless tissue from their own bodies into "biomods", a common term for the aforementioned new organs and appendages. Further chemical injections promote the growth of blood vessels into these new body additions, and in some cases these biomods can even be innervated and controlled. Biomodification is a large subset of the areeni biotechnology industries, and one that KerenzeTec hopes to expand into over the course of the next four years.

It is worth noting, perhaps, that the requirements to develop biomods are as follows. Firstly, the raw materials for the biomod are required, typically consisting of pulped Areen plants and base areeni flesh (distinctions between "base" and normal areeni flesh are covered in another data chunk). The chemical sequence or "bioprogram" is also required, the order and duration to apply chemicals to establish the correct growth pattern for the biomod. As well, of course, as the chemicals themselves. Finally, a gestation environment is required, typically in the form of a standard gestation chamber (mechanical) or sac (organic). It is of note that in theory, this gestation environment could very well be an areeni, but this is apparently viewed as idiotic and dangerous, and is taboo in practically all areeni cultures known to the Alliance.

Note: It is the belief of the author of this data chunk that the "taboo" is just an arbitrary cultural restriction, and if the proper precautions are taken, using oneself as the gestation environment is both convenient and practical for an areeni unable to regularly visit a lab to ensure the chemical sequence is being applied properly.

Addendum: Protocol dictates that the author must indicate that the views of the author do not represent the views of KerenzeTec or indeed reflect conventional societal values. But science and progress don't reflect conventional societal values either. They'll see. They'll all see.

Oh, hey, if we're heading to Relk we could probably also check out the saa-kru.

>But science and progress don't reflect conventional societal values either. They'll see. They'll all see.

Yesssss

So what function do your antenna have? (I that is a virtual image of you in your latest message, since in that image you seem to still have both).

SARU-601 2011/05/21(Sat)12:27 No. 37007 ID: 3e6377
File 130600603493.png - (58.73KB , 800x600 , goneawry.png )

Um... I hate to break it to you but I knew the author of that chunk. Never realised she got assigned to data chunk authorship. She was a post-baseline areeni herself. She... really, really was quite obsessed with the idea of using herself as a gestation environment for biomods.

She actually tried it once, and to no-one's surprise it all went horribly awry and she ended up having almost a fifth of her body mass surgically removed from her just to stop the cancerous spread of the malfunctioning biomod. Fortunately areeni medical technology is at a level where her organs could be replaced with stable biomods with identical functionality.

...Except she tried it again three years later without telling anyone. We found her dead in her room in a pool of her own blood from where another biomod had essentially burst out of her body and continued growing up until her blood was no longer sustaining it. It was a shame, really. She was a generally nice areeni. Just completely insane. And too skilled for KerenzeTec to just quietly move her somewhere where she wouldn't do damage to herself or others. I guess it's a good thing she didn't try using other areeni in her place.

I think I can see why you might view me as a little lacking in empathy given as I just described a former colleague's violent horrific death and I've described it as "a shame", but, eh. I'd be more sympathetic if I wasn't one of the ones constantly telling her the whole idea was suicidal. Guess what? I was completely, undeniably, absolutely right. Stupid idiot areeni wouldn't know basic logic if it started strangling them. You idiot, Skeil. You had so much promise. Why did you have to keep trying something so clearly lethal?

What? Are you still here? Ignore this eye colour, my optical subsystems are acting up. R-really. Just go.

>>346807
You really have not had a good life, have you.

>>346807
Hrm...
I'm going to make a note to invest research time into time shenanigans. It would be well worth at least duplicating her mind in a Saru unit, assuming we can't covertly steal her gestalt.

Hm. We'll have to watch out in case SINT-518 starts that sort of thing. I assume that is what the Biolab option for the room is used for? Production of biomods?

In any case, may we have access to information about the Objects here? I suspect something down there is plotting. It would be best to know what we are up against should it exist, and succeed. In addition, we should plan emergency evacuation routes for you and SINT-518 should such an event occur, and we are unable to stop it.

>>346810
Our group is mentally unstable as is. The addition of an insane, bordering on suicidal Areeni does not seem helpful. Then again, she does appear to have had a disregard for personal safety in the name of Science. I can respect that. And research into altering timelines could be useful in preventing a major catastrophe involving the Objects here.

Seconding research into Time Travel.

>>346807
Wow. No wonder you acted so crazy yesterday. You've really had a fucked-up life.

Anyway, moving on... your eye color indicates your mood? Interesting. Don't suppose you've got a chart showing the different colors?

>>346813
Crazy? Yes. However, she was one of their most brilliant bio-researchers.
As long as we kept her from repeating her mistakes she would make a very valuable asset to the team.

>>346815
No, see the picture? That's her. She changed her eye color to be the same as her original color.

>>346832
I thought it was obvious at this point that the eye color displays their emotions. A dim cyan like that indicates sadness or distress, I think.

Alright, I had a thought and I want to propose something to everyone. We don't actually know for sure to what extent the Cube effects AIs, or any of these other mental hazards, for that matter. I think we should run some tests with some intelligent robots to find out if we ourselves should be staying away from them or not.

cube has effected us slightly, people keep suggesting crazy ideas for how to use it , wanting to use it to solve your problems is one of it's powers.

>>347195
If it has effected us, it is to a low enough degree that is is indistinguishable from out usual behavior. For instance, we are equally eager to use this 'nightmare sphere'.

Now that I think about it, where does KerenzeTek keep finding all of these Objects? Are they just found strewn about inhabitable worlds, sitting in mysterious ruins, or floating in space or what?

>>347207
I imagine they get them from all of those places, and others. I think it operates a bit like the warehouse from Warehouse 13 (assuming you've watched that) only with less magic and more crazy science. I think some of the items have probably been made by KerenzeTek themselves as well.

KerenzeTec Archives 2011/06/05(Sun)17:37 No. 37508 ID: 3e6377
File 130732067447.png - (203.62KB , 1000x1000 , saakrubio.png )

Agh, I meant to get this fixed up sooner! It's me again, Saru, it's been ages, sorry, there's, uh, everything is fine, it's just a little challenging right now. Here we are. Oh. Uh. This... this one. Um. I wrote it on a deadline. Just. Oh, fine, look at it.
I was the only one motivated enough to write anything about saa-kru? That's... kind of depressing.

Oh, and as a consolation for waiting so long I found a random thing lying around and hooked that up too. I think it's some sort of areeni creation myth, I don't know, didn't really have the time to look at it. Oh, and some information on the Nightmare Sphere, given as I was dumb enough to mention it.

REPAIRING NET. REQUESTED: SAA-KRU BIOLOGY, EYE COLOUR CHART.

This data chunk consists of a summary of saa-kru biology, with some attention given to the significance of eye colours for the expression of emotion, given an otherwise limited range of facial expression.

Saa-kru bodies can be divided into the head, the thorax, the anterior abdomen and the posterior abdomen. The head contains two eyes (sight organs), two antennae (sound and scent organs), two prominent mandibles, and less prominent internal mouthparts. Saa-kru tongues are long and, though rumoured to be prehensile, can only curl and unfurl, and, due to a weaker sense of smell, are used to taste food to verify if it is safe or desirable to eat.

The thorax contains the primary lungs that supply oxygen to the head, thorax and anterior abdomen, and in the event of secondary lung failure can also provide oxygen to the posterior abdomen. On this note, saa-kru body structure is such that our lungs expand and our bodies expand to accommodate this change in volume. We don't have fixed exoskeletons or carapaces. Also, something that bears mentioning is that saa-kru do not possess single centralised hearts, instead possessing about twenty to thirty (can vary for individuals) single-chamber pumps stationed around the body. (Sidenote: Incidentally, saa-kru blood is grey. This bears mentioning considering the freakish amount of sapient species arising on worlds isolated across the galaxy developing red blood.)

Additionally, in the back of the thorax the wings are usually stored folded away. The significance of saa-kru wings is covered in a separate data chunk as they cover far too much significance in saa-kru culure and psychology to summarise here. To summarise, they serve two main purposes - attracting mates and being the primary means of expressing identity.

The anterior abdomen contains almost every other organ not listed so far, such as digestion, metabolic, immune and hormone organs and glands. The posterior abdomen contains reproductive organs as well as the secondary lung pair, linked to the two rows of breathing structures on the dorsal side of the posterior abdomen. These breathing structures are often simply ignored as the benefit gained from use of the secondary lungs is so small as to mean many modern saa-kru do not consciously use them. We still use them subconsciously, of course, but more as a byproduct of the dual-rhythm breathing cycle.

Sexual dimorphism between saa-kru is most notable in a darker skin colouration for males relative to females. Juvenile saa-kru fall more into shades of grey until they begin to reach sexual maturity, where their skin darkens or lightens depending on gender.

KerenzeTec Archives 2011/06/05(Sun)17:38 No. 37509 ID: 3e6377
File 130732069428.png - (25.41KB , 800x600 , saakrueyecolor.png )

With this brief synopsis of saa-kru anatomy complete, further consideration as to the significance and emotional meaning of the colours of the saa-kru eye will be taken. Changing eye colour is as natural and subconscious to a saa-kru as a human changing facial expression or a keletian changing psi signature, with similar levels of conscious control available to mask one's emotions. Antennae are also used to convey emotion to a similar extent, as well as general body language.

Generally speaking, the subtle variances in hues and the saturation and intensities of eye colours are highly idiosyncratic and reflect deeply on the preferences of the individual. However, it should be noted that the intensity of colour correlates strongly to the intensity of emotion, and that weak or sick saa-kru may have difficulty with the saturation of eye colour. Dead saa-kru eyes are a washed-out grey, tinted with whatever colour their eyes held prior to death. It's heavily debated as to whether this is just misfiring colour due to dying or the actual final emotions felt by dying saa-kru, and there is still no clear consensus after millennia of argument and research.

The actual emotions correlating to specific colours, as noted, can vary, but common associations are shown as in the picture. Emotions are summarised in a simplified form - for more complex emotions approximate colours may be displayed, and for more ambivalent emotions sometimes multiple colours may try to make themselves manifest. It is worth noting that saa-kru experiencing extremely intense emotion may suffer a phenomenon known as "stained" eyes, wherein their eyes retain a tint of the strong emotion felt, regardless of current colour. Staining can last for weeks, months, years, decades, or, in some cases, the rest of their lives.

KerenzeTec Archives 2011/06/05(Sun)17:38 No. 37510 ID: 3e6377
File 130732073270.png - (39.63KB , 800x600 , skekre.png )

REPAIRING NET. REQUESTED: RET AND ISI

Translator's Note: This is a heavily condensed version of the original Ret and Isi myth, with most of the more flowery language and metaphor being completely impossible to translate into any languages other than areeni languages. Some attempt has been made to keep the original intent of the work, but, well, translating this is barely possible as it is.

Long ago, before areeni, there were Ske and Kre. Before Areen, there were Ske and Kre. Before our world and the worlds of shadow and ether, there were Ske and Kre.

None know when Ske and Kre came to be, and never did they tell any other being, deity, spirit, or creature alike. They were soon locked in eternal conflict, however. As Ske shaped all to her liking, Kre tore down all of her efforts. Ske, creator, fought an unceasing war to ensure that her creations and influence would remain. Kre, destroyer, fought this war to ensure that all remained free of Ske's creations, in its perfect, empty and void state.

They remained this way for untold millennia. Either they could not, or dare not, bring harm to one another. For Ske knew that without Kre, she would have no place to create anew, and Kre knew that without Ske, he would have nothing to dismantle and return to void. But over time, their hatreds grew for each other and their unending battle.

Their desires irreconcilable, Ske forged an arena. Upon this arena, she exclaimed, both she and Kre would create a single entity each to represent them. She would prove that creation would ultimately triumph over destruction, and Kre's last act of destruction would be to remove the arena. Kre laughed in bitter contempt, and, in his first act of creation, shaped his soldier, Ret, and slammed him onto the arena. Ske carefully shaped Isi, her presence, and placed her onto the arena.

The two were given life, and Ske and Kre knew not the significance of what they had done.

As Ret was ordered to destroy, so too was Isi ordered to create. They began.

Ret destroyed everything he encountered on the arena with vicious callousness, vigorously tearing everything he could find apart with his claws and teeth. Isi took the materials she could find lying around and made intricate sculptures and machines, useless but perfectly functional, towering in the skies.

KerenzeTec Archives 2011/06/05(Sun)17:39 No. 37511 ID: 3e6377
File 130732074818.png - (23.79KB , 800x600 , retisi.png )

Kre roared in frustration, watching the eternal war simply made manifest beneath him. This was no decisive end. No point was being proven here. To prove his final victory, he decided, he had to bring Ret to Isi. While Isi lived, she would create, but if she was destroyed, she couldn't continue creating. Ret would destroy Isi, and Kre knew he would win.

Ske was silent, watching the two beneath her in their endeavours. They did not tire or sleep. They did not hunger or ache. Much as herself and Kre, Ret and Isi would simply act forever. She had to stop Ret from acting, and Isi could create a great prison for Ret. Creation would stop Ret. Isi would imprison Ret, and Ske knew she would win.

Ret and Isi were placed together. They did not know what another living being was, and they were confused. Their commands faded as curiosity crept into their minds. They were fascinated by each another.

Ske and Kre were similarly confused. Why was nothing happening? Why had neither of them finally ended their ages-old struggle? They watched with growing anxiety, both terrified of the thought of finally being proven wrong.

And they continued to silently watch as the two continued to act in ways that they had never been instructed to act. Ret and Isi talked. They regarded each other with affection. They became completely infatuated with one another, to the complete contradiction of their creators' every intention.

Ske and Kre watched, bewildered. Their fight had taught them creation and destruction were antitheses. Yet here, Ret and Isi worked together. Ret tore the objects around him to scraps and shreds, and Isi remade them into greater and greater works. They taught each other the arts they had been taught, and when Ret was assembling the shards of a creation Isi had carefully dismantled, Ske and Kre began to ponder.

One thing was for certain. One way or another, the arena had ended their war. The two no longer cared about proving each other wrong. They wanted to see more life. Ske wanted to see it blossoming and beginning, while Kre wanted to see the grand conclusion of lives lived well.
Ske gave the two birth, while Kre gave them death.

When Ret and Isi gave life, Ske was there, rejoicing at new life. When they died, Kre was there, celebrating their lives as a whole.

And what started as an arena became a home, and what started as two creations became us, the areeni, those who thrive in change.

KerenzeTec Archives 2011/06/05(Sun)17:39 No. 37512 ID: 3e6377
File 130732078610.png - (84.31KB , 800x600 , nightmaresphere.png )

REPAIRING NET. REQUESTED: NIGHTMARE SPHERE

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS RESTRICTED TO KERENZETEC PERSONNEL WITH CLEARANCE RED AND HIGHER. OBJECT DATA 0-29-013 [NIGHTMARE SPHERE] SECURITY RATING: RED This object appears to distort sensory feedback for a large variety of sensors, including organic, mechanical, crystalline and combinations. It is highly recommended that, in the event containment must be breached, no less than three individuals are permitted to be within the same room as the object, and reality checks should be made frequently (30 second to 2 minute intervals advised). Under no circumstances should anyone touch the object. In the event of accidental contact, please consult Procedure Data 0-29-013-1. This object is, apart from a source of disturbing hallucinations, completely harmless so long as it is not touched. Under no circumstances can anyone be allowed to touch the object. Knowledge of Procedure Data 0-29-013-P1 is mandatory for anyone wishing to enter the object containment room. If you are attempting to find data on the results of contact with the object, consult Event Data 0-29-013-V5, 0-29-013-V9, and 0-29-013-V15 through to 0-29-013-VA2 for instances of object contact. As is currently understood, recorded information is not currently a known vector for the phenomenon, but caution is advised regardless. CAUTION: ANY FORM OF SENSORY IMPAIRMENT OR HALLUCINATION AFTER READING THIS TEXT OR ANY OTHER TEXT RELATED TO THE OBJECT MUST BE REPORTED IMMEDIATELY.

> saa-kru blood is grey
Is it... either very light (close to white) or highly translucent? That gives new meaning to the off-white writing on the wall in the cube room.

Anyway, [query] all un-forbidden event data or containment procedures listed in the sphere document.

>>347312
If it distorts sensory feedback but simply causes hallucinations if not touched, then of course this could easily be used as a type of weapon. Just get the containment vessel mobile, and expose the Sphere to direct visual contact with the enemy. Mass confusion results.

The orb would obviously distort tactile and aural feedback... I wonder how the reality checks work? I mean, how do you know that the other person is telling you what you're hearing, and that's not a hallucination?

It must be very tricky to keep your head on your shoulders while in the same room as it.

>>347312
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TOUCH IT???

1) What would it be like to see a saa-kru whose wings changed constantly?
2) Requesting more info on the Alliance.

>>347356
For #1, I'd imagine it'd be like a person whose face changed constantly.

Gonna have to take a break from the site and therefore this quest for a while due to some IRL concerns. Sorry, guys!

>>347407
Aww man, now how am I going to live out my fantasies of taking over the world using dangerous artifacts with a female alien sidekick who is slightly unstable?

Just kidding, good luck with whatever is going on. I'll be looking forward to your return.

>>347318
This is pretty much what I was talking about with my suggestion to move the nightmare sphere to the spacers' ship.

Also, Saru, why is it so freaky that so many species have red blood? I don't have any specific data on other species except for humans, (apparently our data on them was on a secondary hard drive) but I assume it's a case of convergent evolution. Blood is red because of iron based groups in proteins are extremely effective in storing oxygen in the bloodstream, and heme tends to be very red. If it wasn't for that the blood could probably be a clear or greyish color, I imagine. Your species must use something different. That actually would explain the need for extra lungs.

If we are going to be moving the Nightmare Sphere then we might as well read Procedure Data 0-29-013-1, as well as 0-29-013-V9 for an example of it's effects. The way it's floating on its pedestal could easily be a containment function, and if contact does something then simply boxing it may not be an option.
>>347308
I don't suppose almost all red-blooded sophonts come from worlds with atmospheric conditions similar to the one we are currently stationed on?
Speaking of respiration, are there any spacefaring species that breathe gases other than oxygen? Considering the various conditions life can arise from, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few anaerobic sophonts.
>>347451
Interestingly, colourless blood can indicate cobalt-based proteins, which are similar in efficiency to haemoglobin.

...Uhh Saru We have a situation here... AOS has contacted us directly and is trying to get us to lead Sinter to the Nightmare Sphere. I don't like the sound of it. HELP US!

Cirr 2011/07/08(Fri)17:09 No. 39446 ID: 1cfaaa
File 131017016821.png - (2.99KB , 16x16 , favicon.png )

I tried to squeeze the 20x20 Sinter icon into 16x16 pixels.

This had the side effect of making her resemble a potato. Oh well. ONE FAVICON

>>349245
Once again, I am fairly sure AOS refers to us, given it is also the title of our little icon majiggy.

Yeah, it's some unknown entity contacting us. We've chosen not to follow its requests.

One thing I do want to ask SARU-601 is what did you do to us in the past?

>>347312

Hmmm...if we could somehow harness this energythingy then maybe we could make some kind of awesome insanity spreading ray or something. 83c

But of course if you wanna do the good thing then we can just leave it alone. |3c

Cirr's already said that we're AOS. Incidentally, it stands for Autonomous Operating System, as he said in IRC one time.

Votan Gaems Cirr 2011/07/09(Sat)04:49 No. 39481 ID: 1cfaaa
File 131021217683.png - (16.19KB , 640x480 , yetanotherstupidvote.png )

So here's the situation. Rather than revive my somewhat rotting pestilent corpse of a general Cirr quest discussion thread, I'm hijacking this one for A VOTE.

The current thread of The World Is Mine has finished, and I'll make a note to flag it for archive once it gets its favicon in place. As such, I have two choices where I can go from here in terms of what I run next.

CHOICE 1 : THE WORLD IS MINE (Thread #2)

CHOICE 2 : DEFECTIVE (Thread #3)

To help fully inform you, Choice 1 is simply carrying onto day four of The World Is Mine and continuing as you would expect (barring me switching things up a bit like I just did for the end of thread 1).

Choice 2 is a single-thread diversion from the Kata-centric progression of Defective, focusing on a different but already encountered (and pre-selected, sorry) character operating in a different part of the complex. Thread 4 and onwards will return to the community's favourite cyborg lizardy alien with more letters in her name than days in her life, don't worry.

Now that you know the score, VOTE, FOR THE FATE OF ALL CIRR QUESTS RESTS UPON YOU, THE READER!

failing that I just end up starting another quest and we all know that's the worst possible outcome right ;~;

Oh, and I feel it's worth noting that a vote that is neither choice 1 nor choice 2 will be discarded with extreme prejudice. No more voting for Lesin again.

>>349281
TWIM, I choose you!

Defective sounds nice.

Za Warudo.

I'll vote for The world is mine.

>>349281
That Defective-was-just-a-game sidestory thing!

Lesi--I mean Defective because something something portal guns.

THE WORLD IS MINE

Assuming this doesn't mean the other quest is canceled, I vote for Defective.

The World is Mine has my vote.
(although I do like Defective too)

>>349296
That was his April Fools thing, he said he would consider doing it more next year.

Super Defective Fun Times.

And the results are in!

The World is Mine: 5
Defective: 4
Votes Discarded: Seven

Stay tuned for more The World Is Mine!

Too late to vote for Defective?

Unless you're planning on running it in sessions instead of daily updates, in which case disregard this. :<

Anonymous 2011/08/06(Sat)12:39 No. 41181 ID: 180ec2
File 131265958778.jpg - (123.31KB , 636x700 , Saru_by_BiteQuest.jpg )

(This question arose from a discussion with Cirr)

Hey, Saru? We noticed that saa-kru really lack a lot of sexual dimorphism besides the coloring and obviously genitals, and specifically the note that the wings are one of the primary visual sexual stimuli, but have no differences specifically between males and females. It raised the question of how things like bisexuality are treated among saa-kru societies when the sexual displays of both genders are identical? Would somebody like, say, you for example be just as aroused if a female unfurled her wings before you and started stroking you as you would if it would a male? Or by the most relavent picture I could find of such a thing, attached beside? (That picture also raises another question: how functional is your current body or possible modifications to it?)

P.S. Don't ask where we got that picture.

Are both this and the other quest going to be running at the same time? I am confuse.

If TWIM is continuing now, can we ask more questions to SARU?

Hey, Saru. You're a saa-kru. I know you've been working at this facility alone for ages, but do you know enough about current saa-kru politics and society to say how they would react to us hypothetically making some kind of public statement about how we've just discovered the secret of their creation? I'm just wondering if this would do anything to destabilize or gain leverage over a significant amount of the population to further our goals, especially if there's any major religious influence that could be affected by saying "No, this is wrong now, because we know who created us and it isn't gods." From what you said about your fossil records being very incongruous with the rest of the life on your homeworld, it seems like creationist religions would be far more likely to last until now than one by a species with evidence of natural development. Both outcomes, influence and destabilization, would be useful, and they could have far-reaching effects beyond this world.

I'm sure something like might also cause problems for us, however. It hasn't exactly been studied rigorously enough to gain a lot of acceptance, although this will help by the fact that (as I assume from the fact that we can remember it) we have a recording of what took place. More concerning is the reaction KerenzeTec might have to us unilaterally releasing our findings about an object. They're already suspicious of us and I'm sure such a thing is against company policy, and would get pretty quickly found out about. So this looks like if it is going to be effective it's going to be very risky. Still, this is such a major discovery it has the potential to change the entirety of your society. Not to mention how much knowing about the origins of your race could help biological sciences. And I'm not even going to go into how useful having a living and friendly member of an extremely advanced precursor race could be to all species.

Also, how do you get such big billowy wings to fold in to be completely flush with your bare skin? Relatedly, are these pictures we have now actually your wings? Because we have good pictures of the whole things spread out all the way, of a quality that's probably far better than what we can consciously visualize.

Anonymous 2012/10/11(Thu)22:16 No. 61999 ID: f2c20c
File 135001898959.png - (89.36KB , 800x600 , wingsCaptured.png )

Saru, this is now extremely urgent. Please tell us what that red thing is on level -5. Tell us why it wants to kill the Byon. Also tell us your best guess as to how two Objects wound up on the Mahari.

In exchange for this information, I will give you the footage of your wings we captured from the time you were in the soul capsule. As a show of faith, I will give you the image now. This is partially because I can't tell if the resolution is good enough for your purposes, and it would be astoundingly cruel to hold it hostage only for it to turn out to be useless.

>>61999
That's a roundabout way to request information. Can't she just access that stuff, being the system administrator and everything? Which gets me thinking: how old is this AI anyway? It's acting all erratic like it's accumulated way more damage over than the years than should have been allowed. Someone's acting like they're still being affected by the cube after a year and a half a few days, people are forgetting recent information from a period of time that was clearly only a day or two ago, a couple are being extremely paranoid, and one even ran a vote in here to decide on some kind of game. They're crazy! All of them! What is it with facility AI systems and deteriorating to the point where they try to trap everyone inside for their own good? Everyone is trapped down there...

>>62003
Of course she can access that stuff. She has stonewalled us on information relating to the red anomaly, though. This is an attempt to persuade her that she should tell us.

SARU-601 2013/03/21(Thu)12:45 No. 69260 ID: 29c085
File 136389514236.png - (50.67KB , 800x600 , saruanswers.png )

Okay, I'm browsing for information while everyone else is asleep, mostly because I don't need to sleep for nearly as long. Hooray, accelerated sleep cycle. Wow, there's a lot of questions I haven't answered yet. Lemme see.

>>41181
Societies are societies. They're all different with their own views and their own values. ...Not going to even touch the rest of that question.

ISO, erase all copies of attached image on network, maximum priority.

>>61995
The leading secular theories hypothesised an evolutionary transition too fast to leave a fossil record. There actually was a rising school of thought arguing the existence of some kind of creator, divine or otherwise. Once the existence of intelligent life on other planets was confirmed, and ruins on other worlds found to be similar to ruins on our own world, the idea of ancient aliens became less of a subject for ridicule.

This whole thing would just basically give them more proof. They already had enough, really. I just didn't particularly care after a while. Why does it matter how we came about? I've seen too much to worry about the past. It's the future I'm more concerned about.

Oh, the wings? They're a lot thinner than they look. They collapse down into curls, and, like I've shown you guys before, they have no practical use beyond displays. We have pockets in our back for the curls.

They're incredibly fragile, actually. A lot of saa-kru have problems unfurling them if they feel even remotely threatened. They heal back, but it can take a lot of years, and wounded wings are, well. Well, theoretically. I know back when I was in the academy there was a trend among some saa-kru of deliberate scarring. Some saa-kru think it makes other saa-kru look weak. Others think it makes them look like hardboiled survivors.

>>61999
Definitely worth considering this image for later. I can probably make an ID card with it at least. I don't... I don't really know if I want to give myself my old wings in this body.

I appreciate the effort, but, well, you know I can go through the camera feed myself, right? Bargaining with information I already have is not going to make me tell you anything more. I have no idea how two Objects ended up on a spacer ship. All I can think of is they were stolen or some underhanded deals were made.

And as for the entity on level -5, the more you let it concern you, the more power it has over you. It feeds on the attention. There's all the information you need. If you keep asking questions and acting paranoid about it I'm going to need to shut the system down to stop a containment breach.

>>62003
You're older than I am. I'm surprised you're still capable of coherent thought. I'm surprised I'm still capable of coherent thought.

>>69260
Saru, what you should really be worried about, is where we hid the backups of that picture, how we circumvented your manual computer overrides, and how many of us drew mustaches on that picture in various strategic locales.

>>69260
Thank you for the information exchange. I will take your instructions to heart, and so that will be the last time I speak to you about it.

I'm glad the image and/or footage is useful to you. I'll have to ask the spacers about if they knew the two Objects were on board, and where they came from. I kinda wish I knew what the Objects looked like. They are apparently the Eye and the Core. Please inform us as to what they do and how we can contain them properly for transport.

>>69271
Having containment procedures are important.
Correction: Having containment procedures beforehand is important. We need to know what is ideal, and what to avoid, before something happens and we're thrown into a situation with no briefing. Sort of like you and the pillar of light.

Hmm. Have there been any experiments on whether the immunity our type of AI has to the memetic effects of some objects (such as the Cube) extends to memetic effects in general?

So, what is all that you have plugged into your head? And on that note, if you have a robotic brain now, can its contents be backed up or copied? Like, in case you get killed again, or become compromised, or go missing, or are in town for two hours and can't tell us where the snacks are until you get back?

>>69282
>Immunity to the cube
Ok, there was a suspicious amount of suggestions to use the cube for things after we found out about it. I'm not so sure we're completely immune.

The cube didn't have any effect on me whatsoIT IS SO PERFECTLY CUBICAL I MUST HAVE IT

>>69348
>Ok, there was a suspicious amount of suggestions to use the cube for things after we found out about it
Whenever I see something I try to consider how it can be used for world domination.
I am under the impression this is normal.