The future of warfare in UC.
[Ballroom]
The Ren were young, a society that did not bear the glories or the scars of the past. If the heat death of the universe happened and had somehow been avoided, then what of those who had it existed before it? Something had blocked their influence. Se raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Extraplanar...familiar, I suppose, although the closest thing we had to an Elder tried to kill us. If there others, we probably destroyed them by accident defending ourselves."
A pause. "Unless, of course, you count me or perhaps Rein as an Elder. It has been suggested to me that's possible."
edited 2nd Feb '14 4:07:27 PM by Night
Nous restons ici.
Drummer Boy
[Study]
Lord Ren frowned. "Hm, senior staff? Yes, I believe most of them are downstairs as well." He started counting on his fingers and muttering to himself, then found more paper and started making a list of officials and their names. "The finance minister's at home with a migraine, I believe, but you can probably find anyone else you're interested in talking to. My wife and I can point you towards some of them."
There was a knock at the door. "My Lord, an ambassador downstairs wants to see you."
"Oh, dear. I think I'll just go down with you two, unless there's anything else you need from me."
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
Seilaan stared at her metal fingers. It seemed like Kokabiel was right. What could energy evolve into, really? "You seem to imply that we will someday surpass their power and they will no longer be necessary. I—I don't know what they have to fear. Why would we bother destroying them or anything like that?"
Agnesi's own simmering annoyance with Kokabiel was starting to infect Seilaan. Not a surprise; she officially lost control of Agnesi months ago, mere moments after Wilhelm lost control of Lebhaft. If Jonathan hadn't—
The amount of energy from Agnesi in her body increased by a small amount and she took a few steps away from Kokabiel, pretending to look at a silk tapestry.
And there goes my laptop battery, unfortunately.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
Kokabiel bit her lip and thought for a few moments before replying. "I cannot answer that question. Perhaps the Elders will accept their obsolescence graciously. Perhaps it is not herds and worshipers they seek, but fellow creators. And if so, I owe them a great apology for my misjudgments." Then she chuckled, so quiet it was hardly perceptible. "But somehow... I have my doubts. Tell me — if you had the power to exterminate Elders, without fear of their wrath, without harming the cosmos, would there not be some that you would unmake with joy?"
Drummer Boy
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
"There are no religions based on the Elders," Seilaan said dryly. "It is a foolish idea. Even they say so. It will do nothing for anyone. And it seems like you think I'd destroy Angelus's Elder, if I could. No. Aras contracted with him because he passed its test, not because it agrees with him on anything. It might. An Elder's personality is a composite of the most prominent traits shared by its Witches, but mostly the current Witch. The only way to change it is to have it contract with someone radically different than the last Witch."
She gritted her teeth and forced Agnesi's intrusion in her soul to return to a more normal level.
[Governor's Mansion 2F]
"Maybe we can make something like that with runeology. Don't ask me how, though." Feng held up his hands like someone stopped by a police officer. "I'm not too good at the theoretical side of magic. The math gets complicated. 'How much energy do I need to carry in my arcanoconductors right now?' is the kind of math I'm okay with. Look stuff up in a chart, do the arithmetic... yeah. I'm good enough for mage defense units, though. While the mages concentrate and try to blow things up or whatever we have to take care of them."
He walked up to a medium-sized painting of white soldiers shooting into a crowd of Renesians standing in front of the palace. His trembling arm reached out and his finger stopped less than a centimeter away from the glass protecting the painting, hovering over someone's head exploding in a mess of blood and pulverized brain.
"No respect at all," he muttered.
[Phoenix Park]
Hm, was that all he was going to say about it? Taiyin thought it would come as more of a shock, but he didn't want to venture into Vince's mind again to see what was going on. It wouldn't end any better than last time.
"So, intelligent dogs. Is that... common?" Jinhei asked. As far as Vespers knew, the only intelligent beasts were Wolfram. Transformed people didn't really count. "Or was this another scientific thing? Selective breeding can do lots of things, but I don't know if it can result in quite what Lord Taiyin seems to mean."
Dead or insane... yes, that is the fate of most mind readers here was well. Balto rested his head on the ground. If you consider sociopathy a form of insanity, then yes, Taiyin is insane. He acts like this all the time but inside he's broken and miserable and he's dealing with it in the worst possible way.
[Ballroom/ Banquet Hall]
Lady Ren didn't know enough about Se or "Rein" to say much about that. "And who said this to you? Someone who had met this world's Elders before?"
SENIORITIS IS TOO REAL AND MY HOMEWORK IS MERCILESS I'M SORRY
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Phoenix Park]
Colin shrugged. "Well, it's the only one I've ever experienced," he said. "Seen it myself, actually. It's- You know what, why don't I just show you."
He dug into a pocket for a moment before pulling out a small, flat disc. Holding it in his right hand, he tapped the top with his thumb. A simple holographic desktop appeared above it. "Hang on," said Colin. With his left hand, he began manipulating it, tapping this, sliding that. In a few seconds, he brought up a high-resolution picture.
It showed an incredibly wide waterfall, taking up the left three-quarters of the picture and extending beyond the edge. About halfway down, the waterfall vanished into spray. The rest of the picture was taken up by a sheer rock wall, seeming remarkably flat for all the crags that could be seen on it.
"See that?" said Colin, pointing at a small vertical line near the edge of the waterfall. "That's almost a quarter-mile high." He zoomed in; the resolution wasn't good enough to go in all the way, but it was enough to see that the line was a man-made building. "That ought to give you an idea of the scale."
The future of warfare in UC.
[Ballroom]
"The requirements as enumerated by your daughter's...manifestation were essentially a magic construct, preferably older, with a direct line to whatever source is used. Rein meets those criteria easily. I am somewhat more questionable." Se assumed a classic parade rest, hands behind her back, legs slightly apart. "Being a creature purely of the physical world, I suspect a full set of criteria are something I would fail."
edited 4th Feb '14 11:04:16 PM by Night
Nous restons ici.
[Phoenix Park]
"Cool," Shinako said to Colin, looking at the hologram, "I bet you can do some pretty awesome BASE jumping off of that. Or maybe hang-gliding. Or both."
"So... if your world's flat, then is there anything above or below it? Like space, or other worlds?"
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
[phoenix park]
His editing process dropped to the wayside almost instantly. Yet, he still felt the need to think aloud, for no reason other than having some convenient people to bounce thoughts off of.
"I assume humanlike intelligence in canines would be quite rare, if there was a way to check." Vince paced a bit, lightly stroking his chin. "Seems rather environmentally-driven as well, much like humans..." A faint shrug. "Indeed, if a person was spoken to throughout their entire life with babyish, condescending language and taught nothing more than tricks for the amusement and convenience of others, there's little reason why they wouldn't turn out similarly to the average pet dog..."
Master's talked to me about these things that he calls algorithms. Usually about them not doing what he wants them to do. I really want to try making one, but I can't read. Her ears dropped.
[governor's mansion 2F]
Perhaps this floor's stuff wasn't enjoyable for other reasons.
Eli's brow furrowed slightly as the artist-speak prattled on by in his head- standard oil-on-canvas neoclassical, only with more exploding heads.
"Just out of curiosity, how long ago did this fight for independence happen?"
edited 6th Feb '14 11:35:59 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
"A religion is not an essential prerequisite to having worshippers," Kokabiel said. Then she frowned. "So let me understand — the Elders are fundamentally amoral, offering their services to those who pass their test in exchange for, I presume..." it paused. "What do your Elders get from this bargain? Surely a being of their alleged power has no need of mortal servants?"
[Interrogation Room]
Marianne sighs,"Perhaps you are correct. There is little I can do here. Some change for your troubles."
Marianne disappears, taking her tea set with her. In its place a small silver tea set remains, fortunately for the Renesians completely empty.
Bet you didn't see that coming
Drummer Boy
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
"There's something strange about magic, you know." Seilaan held up her normal hand, glanced around for any museum employees, and lit a small flame in the palm. It did not burn her. "I can feel the heat in my palm, and anyone who puts their hand close enough to it will feel it as well. Heat is an unusable form of energy, and I'm producing it. The universe's entropy should be going up. But because this flame is powered solely by magic, entropy is going down. The Elders' goal is to manage this universe, which was at the verge of maximum entropy eons ago, and keep it from dying. Witches use vast amounts of magic. Thus, they like creating Witches. Of course, increases in entropy are inevitable, but magic and other things the Elders do keep things under control."
[Governor's Mansion 2F]
"Something like thirty years ago. Lady Ren was... eighteen at her coronation." Feng began counting on his fingers, brow furrowed. "Lord Taiyin born about twenty-five years ago, and she was, uh, twenty-four, so that's... thirty-one? Yes? Sorry. War ended thirty-one years ago but it'd been going for at least three years. I'm not so good with exact dates, you know? Numbers aren't my friends. So, yeah. We're a young nation."
[Phoenix Park]
Balto tried to remember what was going on when Matthias was learning to read. Balto was just a pup, so his recollections were vague. I wish I could give you some pointers on reading, but I'm lazy and just read my partner's mind when he's reading things. Well, you have to learn what each symbol is, and what is sounds like, and then you start mashing them together, and... things happen.
"Good point." Jinhei reached out to pet Lise's head, but her eyes were on Balto, who was also watching her carefully. "That'd be an interesting experiment, but it's inhumane, isn't it? It's like something a bakkomo would do."
Taiyin grinned lazily. She had used The Word.
[Ballroom/ Banquet Hall]
"Well, Elders are like that, but they are set apart by their abilities, their functions in this universe, as well as their natures." Lady Ren tossed her hair behind her. "People dedicate their lives trying to find out more about the Elders. Religions have sprung up, revolving around hypothetical higher beings that created the Elders and put them here. They are almost as much of a mystery to me as they are to you."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
"Ah," Kokabiel said, "the defeat of entropy. I hope that effort goes better for them then it did my predecessors." There was a grim pause, before it continued, "Wait, no, that's not quite right. Heat isn't 'unusable', quite to the contrary as the human species soon realized when they first put meat over flame, but that's a quibble... so where is entropy decreasing..." She tapped her forehead, speaking more to herself than Seilaan. "That's cheating. But that's really the point, isn't it?" A clearly rhetorical question, as she continued without waiting for Seilaan to reply. "Still, their bio-centric solution seems remarkably inefficient — why not simply slap some arcane objects about and have them continually run spells to..." it dropped the sentence as a thoughtful look came to its face. "Maybe they souls as catalysts as the Eyes and Teeth... but then again, those are remarkably easy to create."
It was likely she'd continue to ramble her thoughts unless she had a new question for Seilaan or was interrupted.
Thinking for Iveya, Solin, and Nore.
Attitude is prohibited
[Phoenix Park]
Midina was watching Taiyin, though her reason were not obvious... After a moment, she returned her gaze Marla and the others, though still remained silent.
Tanis, meanwhile, was actually paying attention to the conversation, and was slightly bewildered by it. First floating islands, now flat planets? And Shinako mentioned infinite ones? Wow. I really need to get out more. She thought. But then again, I really doubt we have any of that stuff back home. If they existed, then surely someone would have discovered something like them by now?
At any rate, she liked the direction Shinako's questions seemed to be going, and wondered what happened to people who walked off the edges of these flat worlds, if that was even possible. Colin's holographic device was also interesting, and it reminded her of similar gadgets her own people had created. Clearly, the non-spherical nature of the planet was not an impediment to technological progress...
Not entirely dead.
Drummer Boy
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
What not slap some arcane objects about?
Seilaan made a tiny smile. "They say these islands were put in the sky by a vain emperor who wished to look down upon the lands he had conquered. After our journey to Geier, my uncle Cyrus and I began writing a research paper. It may confirm the hypothesis that there's another reason why we're up here. The Elders don't remember why these islands can float. The discovery of antimagic at Geier nearly destroyed their avatars, and their memories. Their guess is as good as ours. Agnesi does agree that my hypothesis is plausible, though. But don't tell anyone yet. I wouldn't want to make a fool of myself with ramblings in a half-completed, unedited paper."
She extinguished the flame in her hand. "Ever since the existence of antimagic was revealed to me, I've been obsessed with how it fits in this puzzle. Anyway, what would the Eyes and Teeth have to do with this?"
[Study —> Ballroom/ Banquet Hall]
Assuming that the guard who came upstairs would make sure Shazad and Sulaj were directed to wherever they needed to go, Lord Ren went downstairs.
"Hello there!" He extended a hand to Valerion. "What can I do for you tonight?"
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[phoenix park]
Lise wagged her tail in anticipation of Jinhei's touch. Acting like a dog was just something she sort of did by this time in her life, regardless of how she was actually feeling. I've watched Master and Mistress teach their grandsons how to read, but at the time, I didn't know what they were doing and missed it all... now they're grown up and don't read aloud anymore.
A racial slur? Cute. He gave her an almost patient smile. "People of all colors and walks of life are capable of great cruelty, Madame Feng. That being said, our neurological technology has advanced to the extent that such an experiment would not cause the subject any discomfort. What I need is data from the active brain... and putting the subject under duress wouldn't help."
Hey, Balto, what exactly does 'bakkomo' mean? It sounds like an insult... but insults always really mean something else.
I suppose it should be noted here that Vince is actually slightly darker-skinned than Eli. They're spitting images of each other, after all. At least they would be if Eli shaved his beard off.
[governor's mansion 2F]
"Oh, okay." Urk, so much of this was in living memory. That explained a lot. In fact, this seemed to be a rather... sensitive topic, this war... Eli really didn't like war. He really, really didn't. It just seemed to cause more problems than it solved, and the nationalism of this place was beginning to unsettle him. Eldritch creatures from beyond didn't really seem that bad anymore. "I'm going to head back downstairs. Want to come?"
[phoenix park]
Oh, maybe she just sensed Taiyin's mind reading powers. Marla turned back to Colin and Shinako, the latter of which had begun to quiz him on his flat world. The physics made her head hurt and it seemed rather inconsiderate to put Colin on the spot about his world like this, but she waited to see what he'd say- after all, he seemed rather intent on quizzing her, a magical engineer, about spherical planets.
edited 14th Feb '14 9:04:08 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Drummer Boy
[Phoenix Park]
Balto looked away from Lise. It literally translates to "white horror." Sometimes used casually by those who remember the revolution and the oppression that happened before it. But the worst kind of people... they will use it to mean any outsider.
Jinhei grimaced. "A bakkomo is capable of only cruelty, Mr. Acquati. We were once ruled by bakkomo—"
"She is a xenophobe, Mr. Acquati. Don't bother." Taiyin crossed his arms.
"We all are to some extent." Jinhei was slightly pink. "I would apologize, but is it really a bad thing?"
[Governor's Mansion 1F]
"Downstairs? But what if Seilaan is still talking to that creepy woman? I am not interested in being near the creepy woman. But I am also not interested in being near these horrible paintings." Feng put his hands on the sides of his head as if trying to hold it together. "Wait, you met her before, right? And so did Seilaan, but she's mad at it, so.... nah, I haven't heard any explosions, so it can't be that bad. I'll come."
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Attitude is prohibited
[Ballroom/ Banquet Hall]
"Ah, Lord Ren!" Said Valerion, shaking the lord's hand. "I was speaking to Lady Ren a moment ago, though she's since become quite busy. I was wondering if, perhaps, you could tell me a bit about some of the technological marvels your country has produced? I've heard wonderful things from a few of the others around here, and indeed, I had begun to discuss the subject with Lady Ren, though I'm afraid we never got into any details." That wasn't a strictly true statement, but it wasn't a complete lie, either.
Valerion was really hoping to get some details out of Lord Ren, because otherwise the whole trip would feel as though it had been a waste of time. Ren Island didn't look like it was advanced enough to consider formal relations with, and if new information didn't arise, then that's how it would be classified back home - 'not worth the trouble.' A disappointing outcome for their first interdimensional-international visit, to say the least.
Not entirely dead.
[Phoenix Park]
"Interesting," Shinako said, "I don't think I've been to an actual flat world before - plenty of round ones, a few infinite planes, stuff like that, but a world with an actual edge? Sounds cool, in kind of an old-school way."
She nodded back at Tanis, but it's not like she's going to say 'long time no see' or anything, given they split up for all of 30 seconds.
edited 2nd Feb '14 2:59:43 PM by Sonzai
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.