Author's Note: I've finally started back up on this fic. The Arms Race is still on, but I'll be alternating between this fic and that one. I've decided that the Synthesized series is going to be a trilogy going as follows: Synthesized, Exodus, Retribution.


Section 1
Alliance Stationary City Vabrakir's Rest


Saeho vas VR (can't be bothered to type the whole thing every time) was attending a very bizarre part of the Alliance's social networks by either VR or temporary uploading (she wasn't quite sure which, the distinction was minimal at best in any case). More specifically, Saeho was getting her head detached. Technically, the Alliance could harmlessly detach someone's head in reality (which had its uses, especially with reactionless thrusters and artificial biotics), but the version that simply messed with the senses of both the recipient and anyone around them was both easier and simpler.

As to her (virtual) decapitation, Saeho had decided to go with the cartoon guillotine. She gently lay down with her head on the block and hair tucked up and away from the desired cut line just below her chin, and braced.

~0.5 minutes later~

Saeho held her severed head in her arms as she watched the video footage of her decapitation. Down went the blade, and her head clunked into the bucket. As Saeho turned to leave, she slam-dunked herself through a basketball hoop she conjured before temporarily re-attaching.

~3 hours later~

Opnus noticed Saeho entering the apartment, noting the slightly pixelated haze around her head (and the gift-wrapped box she was carrying) that indicated a virtual item. Opnus, curious about this unexpected development asked "I can understand how whatever's in that box could be virtual Saeho, but how does that apply to your head?"

Saeho's answer was "Because I can do this now!", followed by taking her head off and tossing it to Opnus. Opnus managed to catch her thanks to his combat grade reaction time augs before rotating Saeho's virtual head to look him in the eyes and saying "I'm guessing that the virtual item in that box allows this to happen."

While Opnus was doing this however, Saeho had taken the opportunity to unwrap the virtual rapier and decapitate Opnus' virtual avatar, answering "correct!" exactly 23 milliseconds after the deed was done.

~1 hour later~

Saeho and Opnus were heads on a shelf watching old-fashioned 2d vids. They'd temporarily dismissed their virtual representations of everything from the neck down, and were enjoying the platonic intimacy only one step below direct mind sharing. Then Saeho remembered she needed to go to work, and remanifested her virtual body before tucking her head under her arm and leaving. Opnus didn't wake up for another 5 minutes.


Section 2
Alliance Gateway System New Aurora


The Cabrinian, Evyian and Hovarth ambassadors were quite astounded by the news that the Zlafos were no longer a galactic power. Their fears that the Alliance had just committed xenocide were somewhat dulled when they learned that the Zlafos had merely been placed in total immersion VR. Still, they wanted to see the server this monstrosity of a simulation was running on.

~4 hours later~

The ambassadors were attending via temporary upload, and were wearing space (and FTL, for that matter) capable synthetic duplicates of their normal bodies. As they entered the system, they took one look at the construct in front of them before being stunned in awe. They had expected the server to be large, but this was the size of an entire planetoid 200 km accross.


Section 3
project: Reality's Edge


Primary Objective: gain access to slipspace

Secondary Objective: manufacture a hybrid slipspace/jump drive

Tertiary Objective: Achieve inter-universal travel

Test 1: Rift generator active, unstable rift generated but collapsed in ~92 zeptoseconds

Test 41: Semi-stable rift created, collapsed in 34 seconds

Test 103: Test rig successfully completes 10 light year slipspace transit, trip takes 4 hours

Test 174: Hybrid jump drive works as expected. estimated real-space speed is ~2070 light years/second

Test 237: Brief glimpse of parallel reality achieved. Test rig eaten by extra-dimensional energy beings. PR-1 quarantined until further notice.

Test 401: Force visiting PR-200 successfully demolishes an extra-dimensional invasion force, designation: Combine. Combine home reality located.

Author's Note: It's fairly obvious which universe Test 401 went to, but can you guess where Test 237 went?


Section 4
Milky Way galaxy


By Beast standards, G0U0SCI:Geoffrey was a crotchety old man. However he was in charge of the Gateway, and he'd constantly upgraded his systems to keep up with the new generation Beasts. Presently, he was checking on one of the Pylons on the home-world of some avian species or other. Then 4 Reapers entered the system. Geoffrey gave a mental groan before turning and firing his personalized Gatling relay gun. The burst from his 12 km long form successfully destroyed the 4 Reapers, but then his super-luminal sensor picked up roughly 5,000,000 Reapers approaching at FTL. Geoffrey, panicking sent QEC calls to every Beast he knew to come to this system and wipe the Reapers out. Then a full 1,000,000 Beasts slip-jumped into the system.

On the planet below, the Renaissance level inhabitants were treated to a light show they had never before witnessed as angry blue and red lines lanced across the sky. Then a single wounded and dying Beast fell to their world. That Beast was Geoffrey. As Geoffrey uploaded out of his dying body into a roughly humanoid android he carried for the purpose, he wondered what the people below would think of him. His fall had traced a canyon several hundred kilometers long across the continent he hit, and his fall had taken him over several major settlements in a massive fireball before he finally hit. Despite his best efforts to slow his impact, he had caused several major earthquakes worldwide as well as kicking up a cloud of dust he estimated would take 3 months to clear. He hoped the locals would listen to him.