>>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.