71 Good Faith - Preamble PHO
Preamble PHO
Topic: Apeiron & Celestial Forge – Local Coverage and Discussion
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay ►Happening
Cobolt (Original Poster)
Posted On Apr 26th 2011:
BROCKTON'S CELESTIAL FORGE
Protectorate Confirms New Apeiron-Led Parahuman Team
Based on information released by the Protectorate, the Brockton-based cape known as Apeiron has premiered with a team of associated parahumans. The group made an appearance at a meeting of local criminal factions where Apeiron announced the formal formation of his team and laid out his objectives following the defeat of the ABB forces last Thursday. Limited information is available concerning the seven-person team, but PRT sources have…
…continue reading at
Okay, I know things are crazy on this site and there's no shortage of reaction and analysis threads. With that in mind I think we need to remember who is actually going to be directly impacted by this situation. This thread is for local coverage of the Celestial Forge and other developments in the Brockton Bay situation. Posting isn't limited to Brockton residents, but keep the focus on local concerns, not what this means at the national level or whatever.
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►The EDG
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
In terms of local coverage, the ENE Watch podcast is doing a special episode reacting to the news. They have CappyG on the stream, as well as ThePRTGuy (I know his politics rub some people the wrong way, but he is former PRT and his insights are usually good if you ignore his rants).
They aren't focusing solely on local coverage, but it's one of the few hometown takes on the situation we have.
►Kolfey
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
ThePRTGuy greatly exaggerates his role in the PRT. It was mid-level admin at best. You can tell by the fact that they didn't burry him in non-disclosures when he left. He wasn't too bad when he started out, but his videos have become 90% ranting about government overreach or the corruption of Watchdog or whatever. Fifty bucks says he finds some way to bring that up in the current stream.
For useable content, there's already a thread (link) for local blogs and independent news sites that have been covering the attacks and recovery. Most of them are discussing the recent news, so not much point in reposting everything here.
►DownD
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
I know the 24 hour networks have reporters in the city. They're probably going to do on-site coverage once they have something to cover. Also likely see something form the mayor's office before the end of the day, and I wouldn't be surprised to see other local agencies chime in.
►el_Miserable
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
If they even have time. Seriously, does anyone in the city have ability to deal with this? I thought we were past the worst of it, even if Bakuda was lingering on, but no. Butcher's back, and now we've got the Secret Apeiron Squad making everyone shit themselves, as if he wasn't doing a good enough job of that already.
►The EDG
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
After what went down I glad Apeiron has some help on hand. Who knows how the Ungodly Hour could have turned out if he wasn't doing everything by himself?
►el_Miserable
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Excuse me? Everyone was fighting in that mess. Most people didn't step down until dawn of the next day. It was the largest cape conflict in the region since the Boston Games, and from what I'm hearing it probably edges that out in terms of active participants. Don't act like Apeiron swooped in fixed everything. Hell, the recovery's still happening, and plenty of that is on Apeiron. I don't get why people are treating the person who set off the powder keg as some kind of savior.
►Kapefab
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Petition to change Brockton Bay's official nickname to 'The Powder Keg'. Truth in advertising, and it looks catchy on a t-shirt.
I get that people are pissy about Apeiron stealing the thunder of their favorite heroes/waifus/husbandos, but let's be real, anyone else trying to deal with the Ungodly Hour would have been mulched. Short of a full S-class response what are you going to throw at that kind of thing? Also, blame Apeiron for setting things off as much as you want, he wasn't the one assuring us that March was harmless (Just the opposite, if the leaks are to be believed).
►Cobolt (Original Poster)
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Unconfirmed leaks are worthless. And this isn't the place to debate the morality or legality of Apeiron's actions. You can find that discussion here (link), here (link), here (link), here (link), and here (link). The last two are locked threads, but I think its safe to say this issue has been talked to death.
Getting back to the actual topic, we now have Apeiron's Celestial Forge, the Teeth, a contingent from Lost Garden, the Travelers(link) (needed to look them up on the wiki), the Dragonslayers, whatever the Elite will send if someone pisses off Uppercrust, and any gang that decided to sit out that meeting.
So we've only sort of but not really dealt with the ABB and traded them for what, six new parahuman teams?
►Kolfey
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Hopefully they won't be sticking around.
Uppercrust should be out after he finishes his work.
Lost Garden is apparently out for revenge on Uber and Leet for the attack last week (link) which kind of got buried in all the Ungodly Hour stuff.
According to the wiki, the Travelers never stay any one place for too long (wonder how they got their name).
Dragonslayers should leave when/if Dragon leaves (take the Apeiron/Dragon discussion somewhere else).
Finally, from what we've heard everyone in the city is basically lining up to kick the Teeth's teeth in, if just to head off the Butcher-Apeiron situation everyone's panicking about.
Hey, since it looks like all the rumors from last night were actually true, any chance we'll see a reversal on al those infractions and bans that were being handed out?
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►GrandSchool (Moderator)
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Most of those bans were about behavior, not the material being posted. Besides, the site's policies on unconfirmed information stand, even if the status of statements changes after the fact.
►VioletHidden
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Can I just take the opportunity to say how happy I am to not be sharing a city with Lethe? Seriously, I can't remember the last time I saw that many warnings in an official PRT release. My sympathy to everyone who has to deal with that.
Edit: Also, my sympathy in general. Wasn't trying to be flippant about the situation in Brockton Bay, just kind of have a thing about strangers.
►INjunction
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Spare us your sympathy. The city has worse things to worry about than a stranger whose only public action is picking up an injured cape. Seriously, everyone is geeking out over the shiny new team like it's the only thing we should be concerned about. Brockton has a damn blackout field running through it, half the roads are unpassable, water, power, and gas are massively inconsistent unless you happen to live downtown, and we still have all the gang problems we did before.
The city cannot handle this. It couldn't handle it a week ago, before Apeiron's throw down with Lung. You want to talk about local concerns? Don't think cape politics, think about the overloaded shelters and hospitals.
Sorry if this is turning into something of a rant, but it really feels like people from the outside don't appreciate what the city has been dealing with.
Edit: Appologies if that came across as confrontational. Like JJJAce said, everyone is on edge. I'm just sick of things getting downplayed by everyone outside the city.
►JJJAce
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Let's take it down and notch. Everyone local is on edge, and this isn't making things better. As a peace offering I'm going to drop the list of relief charities (link) for out of towners and groups looking for volunteers (link) for locals. We all try to do our part, but try to keep on topic. Some of us are using their limited internet access to take a break from the local disaster (cough).
►SanityCheque
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Lethe's warnings are seriously concerning. Does Brockton even have any other strangers? I feel like we are badly underprepared for something like this.
►Kapefab
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Look on the bright side, if you remember Lethe well enough to worry about her, then you don't need to worry about her. It's only when your aren't worried that you should be worried…
Okay, are we sure that Apeiron's growth isn't due to him secretly drawing power from Director Piggot's blood pressure levels? I mean, it makes perfect sense.
Getting serious, I'm more concerned with the stuff about her erasing electronic records. I mean, you can't even pull up a warning about her when you forget her? Do we have to post print outs all over the place?
►INjunction
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
I say don't worry about it. Not to sound fatalist, but if Lethe was coming after you, what would you be able to do about it? Or if it was any member of the Celestial Forge? Really, any cape having a personal grudge is pretty much game over for normal people. We've seen that over the past week in Brockton Bay.
I'm not trying to sound fatalistic, but people are looking at Apeiron like he's some kind of game changer, but what we've learned is you aren't really safe from any cape. Apeiron's just strong enough that you can't pretend otherwise. The whole point of the Protectorate being a national organization was that they could shore up any areas that were getting worked over, yet look at what happened to Brockton Bay under Director Piggot's watch. Things had to go biblical before they were willing to admit they couldn't handle them. How many other Brockton Bays are out there, hoping for some relief forces that never bother to show up?
►Cobolt (Original Poster)
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
I get your point, but once again, there are better threads to discuss that. Try to stick to local coverage and local impact of the team.
►Kapefab
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Anyone notice how suddenly all the local reporters are making a big point about how Apeiron is a Brockton cape. Like, suddenly they're so eager to claim him as a hometown boy. What happened to all those theories about him being a South African mercenary, or tinker experiment, or Alexandria's son? They were doing everything they could to disown him before, but he resurfaces after the Ungodly Hour and they're suddenly ready to plant a flag in him and his team.
►SanityCheque
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Those theories were always fringe, bordering on tinfoil hat territory (or fully inside it for the Alexandria/Hero one). Trust me, people have picked over every word Apeiron's said, down to specific vocabulary choices and inflections. They're pretty certain he's local to Brockton Bay, as in grew up here, or at least lived long enough to pick up certain habits. What the hell that means for someone like him, or if it say anything about the rest of the Celestial Forge, I can't say.
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► Grandioser
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Wait, I though with the Greek thing and the transformation people were going with the Case 53 idea. I mean, Brockton already has more than our share of Case 53s. You have Apeiron 'reverting' during his fight with Lung, then Proto Aima and Matrix shows up (No way you have a normal guy in that suit). Shouldn't it be obvious?
►SanityCheque
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
There are a lot more 'monstrous capes' than Case 53s. Lots of people have skewed ideas about what it means to be a Case 53 or how common they are. Setting aside the unprecedented idea of a Case 53 fixing themselves, you don't have any evidence outside of Proto Aima's name. Frankly, Greek names are so common it's barely worth noting. Lots of teams go with themes like that.
►Kolfey
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Yeah, like, I don't get why everyone used to act like Apeiron was a weird name. And if he really was Case 53/Greek he probably would have done something like that instead of the Enigmatic Artificer thing.
►VioletHidden
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
God, please don't bring that up. For a lot of people its not easy to deal with. Seriously, it's easier to ignore if you don't draw attention to the GLOBAL STRNAGER EFFECT. I know they assured us it's fine, but I think we should get to be the judge of that.
►Kapefab
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Yeah, the Celestial Forge seems to be big on global stranger effects. Apriron's title thing, Lethe's primary gimmick, Survey's um, you know (sigh), and that thing with Kataklyzein.
►VioletHidden
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
What thing with Kataklyzein?
►Cobolt (Original Poster)
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Apparently, if you hear about Kataklyzein from a secondary source, like just get vague references without any details, there's some effect that makes you doubt the information. Word is the PRT isn't drawing attention to it because it clears as soon as you get details on him, but apparently if you find someone who hasn't seen any of the reports and try to explain Kataklyzein to them you get a weird reaction.
►Kapefab
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
People are filming it! Video compilation here. (Link)
►VioletHidden
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Thanks, just what I needed. Another thing to worry about. We're sure learning about him is canceling the effect, not making it worse? I mean, I can't see anything concerning about the guy (you know, aside from the fact that he's apparently Apeiron's combat specialists), but how can we be sure?
►Cobolt (Original Poster)
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Frankly, we can't, but there's no tactical benefit is people taking you more seriously when they learn about you, while a power that prevents people from accurately assessing your threat level is pretty useful for a combat cape. Cases like this, simplest explanation is usually the right one.
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►CeFalon
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Heads up! We've got PHO Accounts for the Celestial Forge!
Apeiron's account (the one that's done basically nothing since the Ungodly Hour) just started following six other accounts! Three guesses as to why. We've got All_I_Survey, FleetOfWheel, ProtoAima4th, Lethe, MatrixUC79, Kataklyzein
►The EDG
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Okay, lot to unpack there. To start with, we sure it's alright to ping them? Also, what's with those names? And shouldn't they have cape tags?
►Cobolt (Original Poster)
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
From the looks of things this just went out. It's anyone guess as to what the staff will do.
For the names, I remember there was something about there already being capes who go by Fleet and Survey (not associated with each other). Generic names are hard to secure on PHO, though sometimes they make exceptions for a debuted cape. Really, no idea what's happening here.
►Kapefab
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Gotta say, I have to feel sorry for whoever is now 'that other Fleet and Survey'.
►CeFalon
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
The Fleet and Survey accounts have been active since Thursday night. The rest are recent activations. Survey, assuming that is Survey, has kind of been posting all over the place. Nearly random questions spread all across the forum, usually off topic stuff. Got in a few spats with people who probably feel really stupid now.
►Kapefab
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
No girls on the internet, unless they happen to be unnaturally beautiful capes looking to humiliate innocent forum goers. So tragic.
►CeFalon
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Fleet made some light comments on tinker analysis boards, mostly about vehicles (responded to a question about Squealer with nothing but emojis). Since then he'd been on the hobby boards, talking about car stuff. Even after Apeiron acknowledged his account, he's just ignoring everything that doesn't involve cars.
►Kolfey
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
A man who can stay on topic in the face of aggressive derail attempts. That's easily a what, thinker 7? 8? Or am I underselling things?
►DownD
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
Definitely underselling.
But seriously, we have members of the Celestial Forge active on the site? Well sort of active, by the sound of it. Still, shouldn't we do something about this? It feels like this is a really big deal.
►The EDG
Replied On Apr 26th 2011:
They just mentioned it on the ENE Watch podcast. Probably going to be picked up by other sites soon. Odds are the boards are going to get swarmed and shut down, unless some mod steps in.
Edit: Also, confirmed Kataklyzein is active on the cape meme boards. Also not answering question, just replying with cat memes. Also mentioned on ENE Watch, and now spilling over to twitter. Guys, hope you're ready for the boards to be swarmed.
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71 Good Faith
My decision to publicly acknowledge my team's PHO accounts had the expected reaction, but the cognitive acceleration of the computer core allowed the impact to play out in slow motion as a fascinating display. I was well beyond the point of watching outputs of social reactions and the media machine. With the expanse of my abilities, I could pull back the cover and see the machinery in action.
Alerts went out from the people constantly monitoring my account for activity. I could identify specific users as they shifted attention to other areas of the site. The information was posted in threads, and the accounts of the rest of the team were scrutinized. Aside from some limited activity from Fleet and Survey they were mostly dormant, having been created too recently to build up much of a presence. You'd only see the lightest of activity, like the Matrix precisely formatting their account settings, or Tybalt's activity on a handful of meme threads.
A dry well of information wasn't the kind of thing that had ever served as an obstacle to PHO. Direct messages started flowing in almost immediately. It was pretty much as bad as the early floods I had dealt with after my debut. The automated legal response my account was still sending had served to taper off the deluge, but it looked like people were hoping for better results from the rest of my team.
Information bounced across the site as conversations spun up. There was already a flurry of activity in response to the press release, so this just provided a new outlet to explore. Activity shifted to updates of the PHO wiki and made its way to other sites, twitter posts and comments on articles. That drew in more activity as people moved to verify for themselves and see if there was anything that could be spun into a news story or some color commentary on the situation.
It all played out incredibly slowly, even with my ability to monitor every step. There was a sense of consolation from Survey. This was the way she experienced every online development. Cycles of analysis waiting for the next data point to drop. If she had a human mind the experience would have been maddening, but it was literally what she had been built to do. The delay until the next point of analysis was part of the relevant data for that point. Survey ran models on the impact on delays in posting rates and used them to weigh the resulting data.
It was the kind of staggering analysis that I could never have engaged in. In fact, if they weren't working with effectively unlimited computational resources I doubt anyone would bother with that kind of thing. Survey even fully admitted that the data in question was unlikely to provide any actionable analysis, but happily continued with exhaustive analysis of every scrap of information available to her.
Shifting away from the machine intelligences, I found Aisha digesting news reports in a much more reasonable manner, meaning she was only reading them at hundreds of times normal speed within a virtual environment constructed with design and style powers to be as conductive to focus and comprehension as physically possible. You know, despite not actually being physical in any sense.
The Toolkits constellation passed by as I moved to check on her. "How's it going?" I asked.
She looked up from the various display feeds in the virtual environment and huffed. "Having all the time in the world to go through this doesn't mean much when it's all the same stuff."
Survey's digital avatar approached us with a slight nod. "All news agencies are working from the same source data, with slight modifications based on tone, editorial policy, and the opinions of what subject matter experts they have been able to engage. Without additional primary source data there will be little variation between reports."
I nodded. "It's not usually that apparent, but most people don't simultaneously follow six channels and a dozen published articles."
On the screens each of the major news stations stood approximately frozen as our personal perception of time outpaced theirs by nearly a thousand. The temporal disconnect was something that was normally easy to ignore. You slipped into the neural link and were effectively isolated until you disconnected. It lets you ignore the outside world in a way you couldn't when you were watching a television broadcast advance at roughly two frames per minute.
Aisha scanned over the frozen newscasts and frowned. "Right. And, since they've got nothing better to do, people are just freaking out over my power." She switched one display over to an article, one clearly prepped ahead of the time of the official release, outlining the details the Protectorate had on Lethe and suggested protocols for managing the effects of her power.
It was an aspect of the release that really wasn't being undersold, and a reminder of how terrifying Aisha's power could be from the outside. I had a limited immunity thanks to modifications to my own memory. Fleet, Survey, Tetra and the Matrix were unaffected thanks to their non-standard mental structure, and I'm pretty sure that between Tybalt's enchanted helmet and significant divine power he was at least resistant, but outside the group those kinds of resistances would have been vanishingly rare. Even more so when her power was amplified by her armor to allow her to affect technology.
"Seriously, I don't know if I should be taking this as a good thing or not." Aisha mused. "I mean, it's nice to be acknowledged. Nobody's treating me like I'm just a girl in one of your suits, but they're talking about engagement procedures and threat ratings."
"Aisha," I said, "It's the PRT. That's what they do. They probably have engagement procedures for all of us."
"They do." Survey cut in. "And while the information security procedures practiced by the Protectorate and PRT regarding our case have been expanded, I have been able to access broad outlines of the provisions put in place. There is a significant lack of detail and precision in their proposed countermeasures, likely due to lack of precise information on our capabilities. As Aisha's power is the only directly observable effect available to them, extensive analysis resources appear to have been devoted to its assessment."
Aisha smiled. "So, they're panicking over me because I'm the only one they know enough about to know why they should panic." She said, "Good thing they don't know about what everyone else can do."
"That has been the primary topic of inquiry in both direct messages and replies to forum activity, though requests for contract services remain a frequent occurrence." Survey explained.
Thankfully I didn't need to spell out any information security guidelines. Survey had already created a comprehensive, though largely unnecessary guide on the matter and was monitoring all of the Forge's electronic communication regardless. Tetra was taking the guide under begrudging advisement, but carefully evaluating what was being said before she posted anything. Tybalt had a natural understanding of information security that would let him avoid any tactical slips, and Fleet and the Matrix weren't interested in discussing any elements of cape work in the first place.
Aisha had basically no online presence in terms of her cape identity, but people were already obsessing over it. Theories of when she might have been using her power and for how long were circulating through forums and comment sections. The fact that her armor also erased electronic records of her existence added another layer of complexity to the situation, and it was clear this was going to be a sensitive matter.
"You're going to have to be careful with your power." I said. "It's too far reaching to avoid notice, especially now that they're looking for it."
Aisha made a face. "Do I have to stop using it?" She asked. "I mean, I just got a handle on this thing."
"No, but people are going to be watching. Every time you activate your power people are going to document it. They might have capes resistant to the effect, but even if they can't recognize it when it's active, they'll log it after the fact. You have to make sure that you don't leave any patterns that can be traced to you or used for profiling." I explained.
"I believe I can assist with that." Survey added. Another display materialized in the virtual space showing a series of spikes charted over the last five days. "I have compiled a list of all the suspected and confirmed uses of your abilities following your public debut. While there are some models of activity that can be extrapolated from the current distribution, it is insufficient to provide any level of confidence towards specific conclusions. Taking into account their likely monitoring strategies, it will be possible to cultivate a specific impression of your behavior and character through patterns of power activation."
"Right." Aisha said, skimming over the displays. "They're really going all out with this."
"A high point of concern seems to be your concealment of Apeiron following the orbital strike on Lung. While your personal stranger power is highly potent, the ability to extend its effects to other individuals has greatly elevated its threat assessment. It is likely the Protectorate, PRT, and various independent groups will devote considerable resources to monitoring the effects of your power."
"This is a big part of the reason why I've been trying to downplay as much of our capacities as possible." I explained. "What we've shown so far is right on the edge of what people can account for. Particularly with their assessment of our stance following Somer's Rock, they're at least willing to maintain some level of normality in their approach to the situation."
"Do we want that?" Aisha asked. "I thought throwing your weight around was a big part of the cape scene."
I shook my head. "To a certain extent, but it can be taken too far, and the situation is too volatile for that. There are factions active in the city that need to be dealt with. Right now, they think they can continue their operations. We go too far and they're either going to do something desperate, or go to ground and force us to root them out."
"Like the ABB, in both cases, right?" Aisha asked, and I couldn't hold back a frown.
"Progress on decoding the encryption signal has been promising, with significant strides likely to follow full integration of Photonic processing." Survey stated optimistically.
I nodded at that and took a simulated breath. The level of accuracy of the virtual world meant that familiar actions could have a comforting effect, even if they provided no physical benefit.
"Bakuda is a… difficult case. Even without March's coordination, she's still a threat, and the best example of why I need to play things carefully. Whatever she's using to conceal herself, it's almost certainly Leet's work, and that covers too many possibilities to even know where to start. And with all the other active threats, we can't take any more drastic actions that might set her or someone else off." I explained.
"Right." Aisha nodded, looking between me and Survey. "So that 'someone else', that's what, the Dragonslayers, the Butcher, and Coil?"
"The Dragonslayers are somehow connected with Dragon's mastering. We're trying to hunt them down, but it looks like they're exceptionally careful with their electronic security." Which made sense, considering who they regularly went up against.
"I am confident that continuous monitoring of local systems will eventually reveal their locations. Following that, system access should provide insight into the nature of Dragon's situation." Survey stated.
"But until then we have to be careful. The sense I'm getting is that setting them off early could be disastrous." Not 'losing Taylor' disastrous, or 'March's original plan' disastrous, but still one of the worst possibilities out there. "Need to be careful about the Butcher as well. There's a chance the other gangs will be able to deal with her, but there's a reason the Teeth have lasted as long as they have. They're not known for their subtlety, but they can fly under the radar when they need to."
The Vehicle's constellation missed a connection as Survey chimed in. "Expanded surveillance may be necessary to locate their base of operations." She said with clear excitement. "Fleet has been working with several iterations of duplicates to refine designs for concealed observational drones. With the advancements in concealment enchantments, a wide scale deployment should be possible, even in the face of hostile thinker powers."
"Smaller deployment first, as a trial, but yeah." I agreed. "It's a big step up from what we used on Thursday night. If this works, it could be a gamechanger."
I hadn't put the best of my workmanship against the full range of parahuman powers before, and there was no shortage of challenges to overcome at the moment. Still, a trial project to gauge reactions before we went full surveillance swarm was a good idea.
"What about Coil?" Aisha asked uncertainly. "That's a problem because of the Undersiders, right?" There was a slight pause before she continued. "Are they in danger?"
"Probably not." I said. "Or at least not more than they were before. Between the costumes and watches I've given them, they're fairly secure, and my deal means I get a warning about any jobs they get sent on."
Aisha nodded slowly. "Do they even know who they're working for?" She asked. There was real concern in her voice, though she seemed to be trying to hide it. That was probably on me for laying out how important Taylor, Khepri, was to the future. Even without specific details, she was clearly giving heavy weight to my passenger's warnings.
"Tattletale does, but from what I'm getting the rest of them are in the dark, at least officially. There's almost no information available on Coil, and even the PRT only suspects he's a thinker based on his behavior." I said.
Aisha shook her head. "I can't believe they were okay working for someone they knew nothing about."
I just shrugged. "It's not that uncommon. A lot of capes take blind contracts. This was just a more stable arrangement than you usually saw."
"Stable." Aisha said quietly.
"Well, as close to stable as anything gets with villain teams." I added.
"I guess." She said with a sigh. "So, what are we starting with? I mean, after all the prep is done."
"The 'prep' is going to continue as long as we can stretch it. The more we can prepare, the better our odds. But concerning priorities? No way to set them, not with the information available. I'm speaking with Tattletale tonight, which should set some kind of timeline for Coil." It should, but there was an equal chance of getting more layers of run-around from her. "With the rest of the threats, there's no way of determining what's most pressing with the information we have. The focus will be on intelligence gathering. I want to avoid any overt actions before the major concerns have been addressed, so if we can deal with something quietly that would be for the best. Still, I can't rule out something forcing our hand, particularly when other factions are considered."
"What, like the gangs? I thought that was sorted?" Aisha asked.
"It's only sorted as well as they can control their members. You could be looking at internal strife, or conflicts that skirt the terms of the agreement, or even external forces." I said.
Aisha gave me a doubtful look. "You seriously think anyone else is going to jump into this kind of mess? With the Butcher here? And everything the news is saying?"
"While the entry of a new group is unlikely, there are several scenarios that could see additional factions active within the city. I am monitoring multiple possibilities of varying likelihood and should be able to provide ample warning should a new player enter the situation." Survey stated with confidence. It was an odd amount of enthusiasm to have for the prospect of additional fuel being thrown on the fire that was this city, but at least she was clearly enjoying her work.
"Anyway, if we find something, we'll be relying on you for the investigation." Aisha gave me a concerned look, then steeled herself and nodded. "Based on what you find we might be able to head things off before they reach a critical point."
Or we would discover a critical point, at which point the entire Forge would need to go all out, damn the consequences. I didn't want that, but I wasn't going to let disaster unfold because I was holding back. I could deal with the repercussions from an overt display of power more easily than I could the aftermath of a nightmare situation.
"Right." She said, "So, training to prepare for that?"
"As much as we can." I agreed.
"I am still seeing to the initial plans for Garment's upcoming event. However, upon my return to the Workshop I would wish to join you for chi energy training." Survey said. "It appears some elements of my physical form's granted abilities require personal development, in spite of a full technical understanding of the principles at play."
"Is this because Tetra figured out the Dragon's Pulse faster than you?" Aisha teased.
A serious look crossed the face of Survey's avatar. "The natural variation in ability seen between members of the Celestial Forge is an intentional feature introduced to promote specialization. As such, it is natural that certain members would have the occasional aptitude for highly desirable observational skills, regardless of their stances on matters of technological emulation and metamaterial choice."
"Oh, of course." Aisha said, shooting me a sly glance. I returned the smile and looked over to where Tetra's avatar was browsing the news feeds.
The mechanics of chi were nearly identical to the functional properties of life fiber energy. Considering how chi was essentially a person's life force and what the concept of 'life force' would mean to an organism like life fibers, it was obvious they would be connected. It's just, most people didn't utilize their chi in the same instinctive manner that Tetra utilized her life force. It was as much a tool as an aspect of her being.
The fact that Survey was still a relative beginner at both sensing and directing the Dragon's Pulse wasn't surprising, even considering the rest of the capacities of her physical body. Unfortunately, she had gone from never considering the Dragon's Pulse to insisting on mastering it, and I'm sure Tetra's own natural talents had nothing at all to do with that decision.
I left Survey deflecting the various leading comments Aisha was making and made my way to where Tetra had settled herself. Her digital projection was not the scrambled mess of fibers of her first trip to the virtual space, but also not a perfect recreation of her zoanthrope form. It stood as something between the two, like the windings that created her mink form had unraveled just enough to be comfortable. A mink-shaped cloud of loose fibers.
"What do you think about the reactions to your debut?" I asked.
There was a slight drooping of her fibers. "Nobody knows what I am." She complained. "It's all they're asking about on the forums, and the news is worse. Most people think I'm a Case 53, or even something that you made in a lab."
I let out a breath. "They just don't have enough information to go further than that. Once we start acting in the field that will change."
Tetra looked up at me. "Will it?" She looked around. "Everyone else has something they specialize in, that they were made for. I don't."
I met her gaze, two burning orbs in a cloud of circling fibers. "This is about making you a Kamui."
"I know what I was made for, or at least what I'm supposed to do, but I can't help. Not like this." She said in a dejected voice. "You promised. I know you've been working with Garment. When are we going to-"
"Tomorrow." I said firmly.
"Tomorrow?" Her spirits seemed to rise, but mostly the frustration had shifted to confusion. "Why tomorrow?"
"Tybalt will have finished Aura training by tomorrow. I don't want to do any procedures until then. Also, you know about the skill book?"
Tetra nodded. "I read it after I finished with the articles."
Right, because life fibers were basically living computational engines, on top of all of their other capabilities. Considering the fact that her species, well, our species, if I'm being honest about my own genetics, were intended to operate on a planetary scale, I'm guessing Tetra could give Survey a run for her money if she went all out. It was probably one of the reasons they clashed as often as they did.
"The principles in that book would be very useful for any future projects, but it will take years of practice to refine them. You can't just memorize the instructions; you need to work through them in the real world. Normally, a simulated environment wouldn't be good enough…" I left the implication hanging.
"The photonic system? Spiritron computing?" She asked.
I nodded. "It can simulate reality well enough that we can work through the principles at accelerated speed. Which means we can apply them to your Kamui form, or whatever we decide to go with."
"I want to be a Kamui." She said quickly. "I want to help you fight again."
"I promise, you'll be able to. But I've been working with Garment. We're going into everything that I learned from my Tailor power, and everything else that I can apply to this." I smiled. "You can be a Kamui, but you shouldn't be limited to that, not with everything I can do."
"Really?" She asked.
I smiled. "Really. We can go over the plans later tonight, but Garment is serious about this. She's going to make sure you have the benefit of everything we can bring to the table. The technology from the book is enough to provide alternate options, but we can go a lot more nuanced than that."
It was potentially the most significant project I had ever worked on with Garment, and it was pushing the limits of what could be classified as 'clothing'. But there were more options in play than just improved versions of the empowering clothing I could make. Tetra was a life fiber hybrid, possessing a portion of human genetics. That vastly expanded the possibilities, and Garment was taking advantage of all of them. Really, she was breaking out all the stops, going full grand couturier on this project.
"Thank you. I'd like that." She replied.
I nodded down to her. "So, are you having fun on the forums?" I asked.
"Not really." She said, checking over her screens. "Everyone keeps asking the same questions no matter what, and they take so long to reply when we're in here."
Following the information control guidelines was going to leave a lot of people disappointed. It was a situation that bothered some people more than others. Tybalt was handling it well, and the Matrix firmly didn't care. Survey seemed to be treating forum interactions as something of a social experiment for the purpose of data acquisition, but nobody was handling things better than Fleet.
Fleet was perfectly happy ignoring any inquiries that he deemed irrelevant and continuing conversations on the select topics he had already elected to follow, mostly technical or motorsports discussions. There were a lot of frustrated posters, and things were getting heated to the point of the mods stepping in. Of course, Fleet was the one who was remaining on topic, so the thread bans were consistently directed away from him.
I paused as I noticed the Personal Reality constellation approaching once again. I had been seeing a disproportionate number of connections to that cluster of powers, which was entirely due to the size of the motes in question. Most of the other constellations were depleted of smaller motes. I only had a hope of securing a power if I had a massive amount of reach accumulated, or if I happened to chance upon one of the few small motes left in the other constellations. Nearly every approach of the Personal Reality constellation saw a connection, and often more than one.
That was the case again. Once more, I linked to a pair of tiny motes, smaller than all but my most minor of powers. Outside of the virtual space the workshop rumbled as new additions were added. I reviewed the details in my mind, then turned to the rest of the team.
"Hey, want to take a break and check out the new additions?" I asked.
After a disconnect that Aisha still complained incessantly about, we were finishing our tour of the newly arrived room.
"Okay, this is a lot more impressive than that Trophy Room." Aisha said.
"Well, I don't exactly have much in the way of trophies." I admitted.
The Trophy Room addition was just what it sounded like, a spacious chamber for aesthetically showcasing trophies and other small items. Unfortunately, I didn't have much in the way of prestige items. The room would have been completely vacant if not for Survey's actions. I was willing to bet she was acting on Garment's behalf, but she had her drones move all the versions of my old costumes onto display mannequins, showcasing the development of my cape persona.
Other older items had also been added, but the reverence with which they were presented was almost comedic. Sure, my hydrokinetic cutlas was a decent piece, but having the metal club I used on my first night out displayed like that just felt ridiculous, to say nothing of the elaborate display assembled for the door jam as 'the first item created in the workshop'.
At least the second addition actually had some practical use, and was garnering some legitimate enthusiasm from the rest of the team. The Shooting Range added a professional firing range to the workshop, with every technical innovation and convenience you could want. While that was certainly useful, it wasn't anything my duplicates couldn't create is a fraction of their 20% time. No, what set it apart was the arsenal.
It was a training arsenal, holding harmless versions of actual weapons, but versions that functioned exactly like the real thing, right down to weight, balance, and accuracy. But the real impressive thing was the variety. The Shooting Range had copies of every weapon I was familiar with, and that was an exceptionally long list. Without the computerized distribution system, I doubted it would be feasible to find anything specific in the mess or armaments.
"Holy crap, what's this?" Aisha asked, pulling an exceptionally bulky automatic weapon from the dispensary. It would have been fairly intimidating, but every weapon provided by the Shooting Range had the kind of neon coloration you found on Nerf guns, leaving no chance of mixing them up with the real thing.
"It's a bolter." I said, indicating towards the display before Tybalt skimmed past its entry. "Part of the design set that came with my Weaponsmith power. Basically, a fully automatic rocket launcher."
"Seriously?" She asked, looking over the weapon.
"Yeah. Be careful with that." I warned.
"Didn't you say this stuff is harmless?" She asked, but shifted to a more cautious grip on the weapon.
"The weapons are, but they still emulate recoil. It's not going to cause you injury, but it would probably be plenty unpleasant." I explained. "Also, range discipline is a good thing to learn, regardless of the weapon you're using. You don't want to get into bad habits when weapons are involved."
"Ah, got it." She said with a serious nod, then turned back towards the list that Tybalt and Tetra were happily browsing. "So, every weapon you know how to make is in here?"
"Yep." I said. "Every design my power gave me, plus all the ones I developed or refined on my own. It even has stuff I can't make yet."
"Seriously?" She asked. "Like what?"
I smiled grimly and moved to the interface. Tybalt stepped aside and I keyed up the name of one of the most dangerous weapons I technically knew how to make.
"Vortex Grenade?" Aisha asked as she looked at the supplied item. If not for the bright orange and yellow coloration it would probably have been pretty intimidating. A portion of human skull was built into the base of an energetic sphere, capped with regulator spires and covered in containment shielding and power cables. Even with the neon shading it crackled with energy. "What's the deal with that? And why can't you make them?"
"Well, in reverse order, it requires materials I don't have access to and are still difficult to transmute. I can emulate them with one of my powers, but that has a failure chance, and you really don't want this kind of thing to fail." I explained. "Because it can kill Endbringers."
Aisha froze while Tybalt looked on with no measure of surprise. Tetra had already absorbed most of the knowledge from my Weaponsmith power that had been transferred to the central computer, so this wasn't a surprise for her either.
"Uh, okay." Aisha said. "So, how does that thing kill an Endbringer?" She asked.
"It opens a rift to another dimension, a very energetic and highly unstable one. Physical laws aren't consistent across the rift, so conventional durability doesn't really mean anything. It's not a guaranteed thing, but my power told me that a solid hit with this could put down an Endbringer."
"Okay." Aisha looked at the grenade again. "So, if you haven't used it, there must be a reason, right? Beyond how hard it is to make?"
"Right. Because they function like this." In an act I never imagined I would ever be able to undertake, I activated the vortex grenade and threw it down range. The oversized sphere flew on a low arc, struck the ground once, then detonated in a spectacular display.
Even the rift that was opened was shaded in Nerf colors, which was honestly a step up from the blue-black swirls and energetic greens I knew to expect. As if to make my point about the unreliability of the weapon, the rift spread erratically to one side, causing a vortex to bloom about fifteen feet to the left of the actual detonation site with only a line of crackling space linking them.
The swirling mass of orange and yellow held its form for a few seconds, then faded into nothing. Aisha watched it blink out, then turned to me.
"Okay, not the easiest thing to use, and the aim-" She was suddenly drowned out as another vortex bloomed into existence about thirty feet from the first one, this time drifting at an erratic angle before disappearing. She watched the range expectantly for a moment, then, just when she looked ready to speak, another vortex bloomed to life. Then another after that. Five separate detonations, all randomly placed, sprang into existence from a single grenade.
"Okay." Aisha said quietly. "Okay, I think I get it. And each of those could take out an Endbringer?"
"Take out, or seriously mess one up. But you're basically damaging the fabric of space with that kind of weapon. It's not the kind of thing to use lightly." I said. "I have other options for dealing with Endbringers, when the time comes for that. They aren't as effective as THAT, but they're a lot more reliable.
"Got it." She said, looking around. "So, what's going to happen with this place?"
Tybalt meowed, then turned to start pulling brightly colored weapons out of the dispensary.
"Seriously?" She asked before turning to me. "You're okay with that?"
I shrugged. "The weapons aren't tied to the Shooting Range. It'll be good to have more options in the training room, and these ones are guaranteed to be harmless. It'll be a good way to practice with some of the more advanced enchantments, and find out what works for you."
Anything I built was going to get copied to the Shooting Range's inventory, so it presented a chance to try out some of the more powerful types of armaments that I could produce. I could actually open up with elemental weaponry without relying on the Mantic Circuits to rebuild the workshop afterwards.
"So, more training?" She asked, looking between me and Tybalt.
Tybalt meowed a response and I nodded. "For the moment." I said. "If you keep making progress with the chi training and the Dragon's Pulse we can move into medical alchemy during your next computer study session." Aisha's eyes lit up and she gave me an excited nod.
There was little doubt that Tetra would be ready for that, but I knew how significant it would be for Aisha to effectively get healing powers of her own. Medical alchemy was fairly basic compared to my magical and technological methods, but it was enough to keep someone from dying and could be pushed fairly far with enough medical training. Theoretically, I could train Aisha up as a full 24th century doctor, but that would require a substantial amount of work, even with the acceleration of the improved computer core. I had no doubt she would want to pursue that kind of training, but I doubted we would be able to fit it in with the time available to us.
I shifted my attention as I felt the Capstone constellation approach and my power connect to a mid-sized mote. A familiar mid-sized mote. One that shared an origin with several powers I had gotten the day before.
I barely had time to ponder the implications before the mote detached from the constellation and Cyborg Hindu Godbody descended towards me.
The way the power hit me, suffusing and altering every aspect of my body, it really seemed like it should have caused more of a display. I could feel the change, both through the awareness of the nature of my power, and through my expanded senses. My divine awareness of technology was informing me of the staggering scale of the transformation.
My entire body had been instantly converted into divine cybernetics. This wasn't granted as an item, the way my neural implant had been. It was a power of its own. An enforced aspect of reality, fiat backed guarantee that my body would be converted to a combination of flesh and staggeringly advanced theotech. There was no surgical procedure, no discrete element that had been added. It was a complete, uniform, and seamless change.
And from the outside it looked completely normal. And it would continue to, until I channeled enough Mantra to break down the enforced illusion. My altered state was thankfully not openly displayed for the world to see. Beneath the surface I was a churning mass of man and machinery, but to the naked eye, and most varieties of sensors and detection powers, I was completely normal. Or at least as normal as I had been before the power arrived.
"Okay, what?" Aisha asked. "What was that one? I can tell when it's bad."
She was the only one completely in the dark. The change had hit my duplicates as well and, as usual, they had taken it in stride. Rather than wrestling with the existential issues of sudden changes to your mode of existence they were updating the records in the computer core, documenting the new power and the capabilities it introduced. Tetra was scanning through the information through her infrared link to the system, and both Garment and Tybalt had an innate sense of my abilities.
Before I could respond I received a message from my duplicates through my now altered implant. My entire body saw a seamless conversion. It didn't matter if the components were biological, mechanical, or some blend of the two, everything was equally impacted by the fiat effect. My implant was now tied in more closely to the rest of my body and able to utilize Mantra energy. My heart had seen a similar, but much more complex level of integration.
'If you don't show her, we will.' My first duplicate messaged. 'We have charged Mantra capacitors ready to go. A burst of level three will reveal the augmentations.'
My lips quirked down. 'Why are you pushing for this?' I asked. It wasn't the first time they had taken a firm stance, but they usually gave me more time to adjust to life-altering powers.
'Because this isn't the time to get caught up in your own head.' The second duplicate responded. 'We know this is a big change, but it's not a bad one. You know that too, but if you keep focusing on how drastic it is you're going to lose track of things. Like it or not, this is something we'll have to deal with from now on. Just face up and pull off the band-aid in one go.'
I took a breath. Right, doormat. I had to break away from that kind of thinking. The scale of the change had made me lose focus on that goal. Putting this off, delaying the inevitable just because it was complicated or uncomfortable, it wouldn't do any good in the long run and would be a step back on my progress towards Mental Fortress. Aisha has seen Garment's designs for Barbarian Chic. The internet had seen me fight Lung in a tattered costume. This was no time to be modest.
After all, my Mantra affinity was Pride. I should start acting like it.
I reached out to the theotech constructs that had been assembled in the Laboratorium and triggered the installed capacitors. A dozen hours of collected prayers flowed out in a concentrated stream. With a surge of energy, my Mantra level jumped from one to three. A burst of white light played over my body as the power of faith and pride was channeled through the divine cybernetics that suffused my form. The veneer of mortality fell away and my body shifted into its true, augmented state.
Divine cybernetics were a different beast from the kinds of things I had been able to create. Considering I could manage up to a full body conversion, that was really saying something. They were less about replacement and more about supplementation. There was no disconnect from the new form, it was me, and was still very much alive, if drastically altered. It could still grow, heal, adapt, and develop, but it was also an eternal construct, something designed with the intention of persisting forever.
The outward appearance didn't look particularly robotic, but there was an unnatural edge. Well, it might be better to say there was the impression of a guiding hand in the design of my appearance. If you were being exceptionally glib you could make some comment about having a sculpted physique. In practice, every element of my body carried the feeling of intent, that it existed as a conscious choice, not a concession to chance or nature.
A delicate pattern played across the surface, outlining the structure of my form. My body appeared to shift from flesh to metal and back again in a complicated, interwoven design, but the appearance belayed the complexity of the technology at play. What looked to be clay textured flesh or unusually flexible gold and bronze were actually complex composites of nanostructures, smart-matter, and precipitated Mantra.
Despite the complicated structures that had been integrated into my body, I was still flesh and blood. It was just much more complicated flesh and blood than it had been before. More complicated than life fiber integrated, ragnite infused, biotic enhanced, kaiju protein augmented demigod flesh and blood. None of that had been lost, instead incredibly complicated technology had been integrated into it. I don't know if that kind of perfect blending would have been possible with anything less than the power of the Celestial Forge enforcing the alterations.
I stood before Aisha, Tetra and Tybalt in my fully manifested cybernetic form. A white glow of pride mantra still suffused me, playing through the channels present in my flesh and glowing through the material of the t-shirt that was now fitted rather tightly over my new build. My powers ensured that my clothing could survive any transformation, but there seemed to be some leeway in what the new fit would look like. My jeans in particular seemed to be taking advantage of the 'sculpted' aspects of my new build.
Somehow I had the feeling Garment would approve.
"O-kay." Aisha said slowly as she looked over the changes. "Um, right. I'm not ashamed to admit, even after all the stuff we've covered, I have no idea what's going on here."
"There was a new power called Cyborg Hindu Godbody. It was a power, not an item or piece of equipment. As a result, it kind of turned me into this. Full and seamless cyborg conversion."
Cybernetics were something I had been dragging my feet on. There was always something else to focus on, and the tradeoffs never seemed worthwhile, particularly when powers started augmenting my own body. It wasn't worth compromising those benefits for the slight boost that cybernetic limbs could grant.
Then I get a power that gives all those benefits while sidestepping all the drawbacks. Honestly I didn't know if this was the Forge rewarding me for my patience or getting fed up with waiting and taking matters into its own hands.
"Right, lot to unpack there, but for starters, 'Hindu'?" Aisha asked.
"Uh, yeah. That kind of got me as well." I flexed a hand, feeling the metal of the gauntlets that appeared to extend half way up my forearms shift as easily as skin. There was subtle ornamentation to the metal, light engravings that complimented the design of the rest of my body.
Despite the possibly literally chiseled physique, the changes hadn't bulked me up that much. My build seemed geared towards precision rather than brute force. I would almost say it was focused on non-violent pursuits, but from my own senses there was no doubt. This body was a weapon. It was just more of a scalpel than a sledgehammer.
That intent came through in the design and artistry of my body, but beyond that there was a definite theme. It didn't map to any specific Hindu iconography, but there were definitely stylistic similarities.
"Best guess, it's something from the source universe." I took a breath. "This is Mantra technology, so that means…"
"Faith." Aisha finished, taking another look at the modifications to my body. This time I could tell she was looking with a more critical eye, examining the situation from a technical standpoint. We had only covered the basics of Mantra theotech during our training, but she had enough scientific understanding to piece things together. "So, it's that theotech, but worked into your whole body?" She asked. "Is this how they use that stuff wherever it's from?"
"I'm not sure." I said, flexing my arm again, feeling the technology within as Mantra continued to flow. "I only have one data point for this. Beyond that it's just the technology and clothing."
I could actually discern quite a lot from that, thanks to my Protoculture power. Unfortunately, the cultural path I was seeing play out in the presence of that specific combination of natural ability and technology, combined with what I could discern from their style of clothing, was a little worrying. It was naturally designed for a select few to achieve unparalleled power, with the dynamics of emotional Mantra likely exacerbating the problematic mindsets those kinds of positions would cultivate. The level of decadence evident through the clothing provided was evident, and spoke to how intrinsic Mantra was to that culture. While there was a possibility it would result in a ruling class of measured and benevolent overseers, more likely you'd be looking at a group of pseudo-demigods increasingly detached from their humanity and driven to greater and greater extremes in pursuit of their particular flavor of Mantra.
The 'detachment from humanity' part was something that particularly worried me. Fortunately, while biological processes were now optional, none of them had been eliminated. Sleep wasn't strictly necessary, but it was still possible. The same with food, breathing, and other physical acts. Thankfully, I was only as distant from the human experience as I wanted to be.
"These cybernetics amplify the ability to control Mantra. I can handle a lot more without risk, and do more with it." I continued.
The path to Mantra control was supposed to be one of personal development, training and growth. These cybernetics provided a shortcut, letting you jump straight to direct results. Still, it was like handling a powerful weapon to someone with limited training. You could do a lot of damage with it, but you'd get bodied if you went up against a more skilled fighter with the same armaments.
"Uh, are you going to go that route?" Aisha asked in a deliberately neutral voice. I let out a breath.
"Probably not. It's a lot of power, but managing something like that…" I gestured nebulously.
"Yeah, I get it." She snorted. "I'm pretty sure most capes start cults because they're deluded or completely full of themselves. It's not normally a strategic decision."
I smiled. "Hey, the skulls already had a cult. Weird machine worship. I didn't have to do anything. And I doubt that's likely to catch on with the rest of the world."
She smiled back. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure I've seen people praying when they're trying to get a printer to work. Seems like a natural extension of that."
"I think I'll pass, all the same." I said.
I took a breath, feeling the machinery inside my body move as the Vehicles constellation missed a connection. No, the machinery that was my body. There wasn't a division anymore, or at least not the kind of one that mattered. The cybernetic components were as much a part of me as the organics. The augmentations had included magical and genetic components as well, so it wasn't like there were any portions of my body that I could consider untouched. This was a complete overhaul leading to a new state of existence.
"With the Mantra from the skulls and my own emotions, if I manage it carefully I can hit level three fairly consistently. That's not one-man-army levels, but it's enough to provide a serious boost." I explained, then smiled. "I'm going to need some of that chi training as well." Tybalt perked up at that, but Aisha looked puzzled. "Mantra functions in the same manner as chi. It's kind of half way between life force and the spiritual energy I use in Elven Enchanting, but any chi techniques will also work for Mantra." I explained. "The better I get with my control, the more I can do with the Mantra I have."
She nodded. "So, are you tapping in?"
I shook my head. "Need to get a handle on this first. I'll be going over it with the duplicates. After that I should head out for a bit. Set some more access points for the Key Link and check on things outside the city." I gestured to where Tybalt had been loading down drones with piles of brightly colored training weapons, including copies of some of the most powerful elemental weapons I'd built. "You and Tetra go finish training. I can work out something later tonight."
She glanced between Tybalt and me, her eyes wandering across the stack of weapons. "Right, uh, should be fun." She said with a slight waiver to her voice, then followed Tybalt out of the Shooting Range.
Without prompting, Survey theorized that her uncertainty could be traced to prior viewings of my training sessions against the duplicates, featuring the full deployment of the elemental weapons Tybalt had happily added to his training course. It was probably a bit early to begin teaching the use of handheld tactical weapons, but underplaying the scope of what was available wouldn't do any good.
Reflecting on it, I probably needed to make sure Aisha was handling things alright. I always planned appropriate amounts of downtime during our accelerated study sessions, but those were strategically placed. Using the benefit of my teaching power and knowledge of memory structures I could precisely calculate the exact amount of downtime needed to ensure Aisha didn't burn out on the material, but there was a difference between calculated downtime and real relaxation.
Aisha had been going non-stop since pretty much the moment she realized I could teach her. It may have 'only' been two days, but with my powers and technology we had fit significantly more into that period. I had been keeping up the same pace, and for longer, but I had powers that helped me deal with it. I also had a therapist, which was probably a more significant factor in my mental stability than any number of mindset abilities.
Aisha needed something that wasn't entirely limited to interactions with members of the team. Garment's charity event would probably be a good outlet, and it would give her a chance to debut as Garment's assistant. Unfortunately, based on the rate at which we were processing things, that was effectively years away. Well, there was still movie night. Maybe I could bring something up then.
I noticed Tetra was lingering behind and moved to check on her. She was still scanning through the information my duplicates had uploaded to the central computer on my cybernetics. At my prompting she turned to face me.
"You still have blood." She said confidently. "You can still use a Kamui."
"Still have blood, neural energy, and full organic compatibility. No problem." I checked over their analysis. "Probably better than I could before."
Her eyes lit up, both figuratively and literally. "You got an upgrade too! Got yours first." Her eyes shifted to a contemplative expression. "Are you going to change the design? It's new technology right? I think I can emulate some of it."
I nodded, but something occurred to me. There was another term for a Kamui, one that properly conveyed the sheer power possessed by that kind of item.
God Robe.
Tetra was going to become a God Robe, and I had just been granted a Cyborg Godbody. There was a symmetry there, even if it was more theological than I was comfortable with.
"I'm sure you can handle the technology. Like I said, we'll go over the design with Garment tonight. Now, you should get back to training, or Survey might end up with a better mastery of the Dragon's Pulse than you." I joked.
She scrunched her nose, but nodded. "I'm going." She called as she scampered off. I waited until she was gone, then signaled my duplicates. There was a slight blue flicker as the two of them teleported into the room, courtesy of my Dark Slayer power. Both were in full Mantra mode, with their cybernetics fully visible. Seeing them, I could really appreciate the artistry that was put into the conversion. Still, I put that aside and focused on the matter at hand.
"They're gone. Let's hash this out." I said.
"Right. Survey's still watching, but she's good with discretion. Fleet could find the records, but he doesn't care until a decision is made, and the Matrix is only interested in any design changes." The first duplicate explained.
"Right." The second said, "So, Mantra Sources."
"No cult." I said sharply. "You two won't have to deal with the aftermath, I will. This isn't even a self-image thing. I've barely established an identity in the outside world. This kind of thing will color it forever."
"That stance was fine back when we were dealing with a limit of level three Mantra, but that's not the case anymore." The first explained. "We're level five, base."
"And we can make Mantra reactors." The second added. "Instant Mantra form, and stable to level eight."
"Level eight." I echoed. "Level eight is multiple worlds worth of Mantra, even if we manage to concentrate it. We'd need someone to channel that much Mantra anyway. The infrastructure alone, not to mention the social aspects…"
"I'm not saying we start by shooting for level eight, but we can't deny what we have access to. This is the kind of power that only Spiral, and maybe life fibers could match, and we have access to it. And it would normally take years to make a Mantra Form, but we can churn out a reactor in seconds and have one ready to go."
"It's supposed to take years to make a Mantra Form. You need time to be able to understand that kind of power. And we're still talking about a peak of level three. Running a reactor Mantra Form from that… it's like using an ICBM to deliver a hand grenade." I said, shaking my head. "I understand where you're coming from, but we just don't have the resources to generate that much power. There aren't enough Mantra sources, and there isn't enough pride."
I paused as Survey contacted me through the Workshop's network. She informed me that, while they would comply with whatever decisions were made regarding the technology, she, Fleet, and the Matrix all wished to convey their pride in me, for its value as a source of Mantra.
"Well, that's sweet." The second duplicate said with an amused smirk on his face.
"Shut up." I said, but felt my face flush even through the machinery of my Godbody.
"Look, we don't need to push this now, but we can't drop it. It's too significant. If you want to wait until we can present it to the world with a full explanation of the technology behind it, or if you want to set something up on the down low, that's fine, but this is too big a deal to ignore." The duplicate gave me a hard look. "This is endgame-level. We have to see it through. Level eight might not be feasible, but we could easily manage level five. With enough capacitors that could be concentrated to level six."
Meaning going from parrying mountains and jumping between celestial bodies to the kind of power the reshaped entire continents. In other words, going from 'fight the Endbringers' to 'fight all the Endbringers, at once'.
It was also a relief that there wasn't even a hint of the easy way out. The use of souls as a mantra source, crafting and spending them for easy access to the highest tiers of power. I knew that I approached things differently from my duplicates, but it was reassuring to know that they still held the same values that I did.
"So, basically, you're not going to shut up about this until I see it through?" I asked. There was a shared shrug between them. "Fine." Annoying duplicates bugging me about stuff they found important was nothing new, and I'm sure 20% time would be more than enough to prep all the required Mantra infrastructure for deployment the moment we decided to go forward. "Anything else?"
"Yeah." The second duplicate said, pulling off his shirt. Chiseled chest muscles split along the seams of the stylized lines that painted his, and our, bodies. The open chest revealed the pulsing combination of biology, theotech, life force, and directed mantra that my latest power had granted us. "We're machinery now. Still human, but also machine. You know what that means?"
I nodded, then smiled. "Just like the boots." They returned my grin. The combat boots I'd received counted as weapon, armor, and clothing all in one. It allowed me to apply a staggering amount of powers to their rebuild, creating something immensely powerful. They served me well against the ABB, despite being of limited help against March and Lung.
"Right. Our body is biological, mechanical, and also technically a weapon. There's a lot of stuff that we can apply to it." The first explained.
"Upgrades." I said, looking at the exposed machinery of my duplicate's chest. "And no reason to get squeamish about it."
They nodded. "Miniaturization and Efficiency overhauls will make a big difference, but also open up room for a lot of additional systems and equipment." The two of them shared a look. "We can work out where to go from here, what the base improvements should be and what we should switch out."
I nodded. On top of everything else, the augmentations had integrated with my modified heart. I essentially had a divine level power source beating within my chest. Channeling that kind of power as a human was a challenge, requiring some form of mystical outlet. Channeling it as a theotech cyborg was as simple as making the connection.
I was set for every possible upgrade within my vast skills. Everything I'd been able to apply to technology was suddenly a source of personal enhancement. I didn't know where to start.
And then my power connected to a mote from the Knowledge constellation. It was a small mote, one bundled with a much larger power that I lacked the reach to connect with. But, as I had learned plenty of times, small powers weren't always weak.
It was a power from a source I had encountered before. The same source as my Armourer, Weaponsmith, and Fixer powers. As my Advanced Materials and Lathe Metal. The same source that gave me the Laboratorium.
The power was called Technical Training. It covered the use and maintenance of technology from that universe. Something that with any other power would be limited to a set of design principles and a few maintenance practices. That wasn't the case here. In whatever universe had provided this power, technology use wasn't a task you handed off to anyone. It was a cause you devoted your life to.
I knew that technology was advanced. I could tell from the way the Laboratorium reacted to my own work and to artifacts from other universes. I could tell by the complex nature of the machine spirits, and by the way the technology had the ability to persist for thousands of years. Until I got this power I didn't really understand the scale of what I was dealing with.
To be fair, I doubted most people in that universe did. For them, the majority of the use and maintenance of technology was ritual, not engineering. Rote commands and actions without any understanding of the underlying principles. At least to begin with. Gradually, with study and experience, the technological class would piece together bits of information, elements of the operation of what they were working with, enough to slightly modify the rituals, or accomplish more than the most basic tasks. They were dealing with technology on the level of the gods, and they turned its operation into a religion.
Funny that. Sometimes I wonder if the Forge has a sense of humor.
The combination of a complete understanding of the rituals themselves and my own extensive technical understanding made the reality of the situation clear. The 'religion' was built upon worship and appeasement of the spirits of machines, careful ritual to calm them or entreat specific actions. The idea wasn't completely wrong, it was just coming at it from the opposite direction.
As I said, the technology was frighteningly advanced. Most of it looped past Clarke's Law so hard it started to circle back again. The appeasement of machine spirits to ensure harmonious operation of the system worked, but not because there were ghosts in the machinery. This wasn't haunted technology; it was an internet of things that had run away with itself.
I said it was advanced, but that was understating things. Everything had a control system, and every system could communicate with every other system in the vicinity. The presence of technological consciousness wasn't limited to things where it would make sense, like robots or computers. You would find completely sapient systems within power packs, tools, or appliances. If one started to malfunction it would make the rest of the items aware of that state, and the logged errors and countermeasures against damage would cause a cascade of failures. Basically, it was like if you had to make sure your Wi-Fi enabled toaster was working properly, or it might adversely affect your smart TV. Or your car.
That was where the situation went from humorous to serious. The tangled mess of technology that could barely be used regularly controlled systems of vital importance and devastating power. The consequences of things screwing up were absolutely life or death. If a malfunctioning toaster could make your car crash you would be damn sure to keep the operating system up to date.
It was made even worse by the methods of operation. Most of the systems were so complex that they could only be activated by very precise sequences of actions. Most of the time it amounted to booting the device in safe mode with most of the features locked out, but the core elements still technically usable. Then you got into the increasingly convoluted aspects of the craft. The incense was sometimes ceremonial, but most of the time it was used to trip smoke detectors and unlock emergency access to features that would normally be locked out without administrator access. Anointments of oil could trigger sensors that would register a maintenance cycle, allowing use of otherwise locked down systems. Everything was a work around, sometimes an effective one, and sometimes they were just throwing everything at the wall to try to get something to stick. I'm pretty sure the elaborate three-hour long digital chant that I suddenly knew by heart was just a set of steps for setting up a guest user account in an unfamiliar system.
The practice may have ritualized conventional operation, but it wasn't entirely pointless. Once again, looking at the techniques with the benefit of my other powers provided insights I doubted anyone within the society could really grasp. It was true that the 'machine spirits' were really just advanced control and management programs, intentionally limited intelligences that were singularly devoted to their tasks. There might not have been spirits directing the machinery, but that wasn't to say that everything about the technology was limited to the observable universe.
This was the same universe that had produced the Vortex Grenade. The skill I had in technology operation wasn't enough to provide any expertise into the metaphysics at play, but I had the occasional insight and enough background knowledge to fill in the gaps. I knew about the other dimension, the Warp, and the advanced technology that utilized it. I also know about the risk it posed, both from its very nature and from the entities that existed within it.
This universe had to contend with incursions from psionic beings who were constantly infringing on the material universe. Humans were at risk from them, but an intelligent mind in a living human with a spiritual presence presented layers of resistance. Technology had no such defenses. That was known by the people who designed the tech, and countermeasures were put in place. Psionically resonant materials, structures of thaumic significance, and even integration of human neural matter. In the Laboratorium, the skulls served as more than just assistants.
As a consequence, there was more to the technology than just its physical presence. The idea that it had a soul might be a bit much, but there was definitely something there, something that responded to the rituals practiced. The prayers, faith, and structure of the operators had the effect of reinforcing their technology against corruption. Considering the consequence of having those kinds of systems subverted, every possible advantage was worth the effort.
Take that principle and extend it beyond the confines of any single workshop or laboratory. Beyond any individual machine, no matter how simple or complex. Extend it through the Warp, through the psionically resonant landscape where distance was arbitrary. Extend the practice of millions, billions, trillions of practitioners, all devoted to the same cause, the same tenants, the same direction, and you had a motive force. A guiding principle of mechanics, the god that they believed in existed because ritual sustained it.
Or, with the instability of the Warp, maybe something existed already. I don't know, but from what I could tell, what I could piece together with my scores of technical knowledge, scientific understanding, magical principles, and cultural insight, there was something there. The bulk of the religion might be dressed up interpretations of technical manuals, but I was sure of one thing. The motive force was real. The Omnissiah did exist.
I finally understood the Laboratorium. The rituals, the reverence, even the language of their music. My actual knowledge from the power was as scattered as ever. I had the principles of the art, but none of the fine details. No history or greater context to the organization, only the skills necessary to function within it.
Huh. I guess that made me a properly ordained member of a religious order. I wonder if that came with tax breaks?
"Well, that was a trip." My duplicate said. I could only nod along.
"What next?" The second asked.
I took a breath. "I need to go to the Laboratorium." I looked down at myself. "I knew they would have gone nuts over this, I just didn't know why until now."
"The flesh is fallible." My first duplicate said.
"But ritual honors the machine spirit." The second continued.
"Yeah." I clenched a fist and released it, noting the complex interplay of technology beneath the surface of my body. "No reason to put off the basics, especially now." I turned towards my duplicates. "We can run through the standard upgrades, the ones from powers. Get those in place for everything else, then you can look into additional modifications." I took a breath. "Let's get started."
The process of being stripped down and rebuilt would have been a lot more unnerving without the insight gained from Technical Training. Cybernetics were practically religious artifacts within that faith, and nothing to be nervous about. The fact that my powers facilitated easy upgrade and modification turned the process into something that had more of a makeover-feel than invasive surgery. In fact, I'm not sure anything really counted as 'surgery' anymore. My body was still alive, but it was also very much mechanical and, at least for someone like me, could be easily modified and improved.
There were two parts to the upgrade. The first was applying fiat backed effects of my power, universal improvements that existed independently of any design principles. The second was the integration of additional types of technology to supplement the integrated theotech. That was one I was going to need to leave to my duplicates to iron out with trial and error.
The first step was fairly easy. I couldn't apply every effect supported by my powers, particularly those that required specific materials, conditions, or ones that could only be applied at the point of creation, but everything else was fine. My body was unquestionably an instrument of war, so Weapon Modifications and Customized Weapons allowed levels of refinement to automatically be applied to the design. Ambrosial Artificer removed unnecessary components, simplifying the design of my cybernetics while improving performance of the remaining elements. Gadget Master and Miniaturization and Efficiency further refined the systems, with Miniaturization and Efficiency also dramatically reducing power requirements of all of my systems. Heretical Adaptation provided another method of automatic improvement and They're Like Legos integrated flawless modular principles into my cybernetics, making the integration of new technology much easier.
I held off on a few effects for the moment. Hybridization was potentially extremely powerful, but I needed to be careful about what I integrated into my body. I could reverse the process, but it was better to let my duplicates experiment to determine what technology needed hybridization, rather than just being integrated as a modular component. Additionally, elemental properties from my runic enchantments, Maliwan Intern knowledge, and Infusionist could all be applied to my body, but I was going to hold off on that until I knew what kind of effect that would generate.
In the end I stood in an improved, streamlined, and adaptive body, the product of a blitz of work facilitated by reality altering powers to produce an impossible accomplishment of technology. I could feel the strength, versatility, and efficiency of my cybernetics in every movement.
Additionally, the same principles that had been applied to my body had been utilized to improve my implant. It was still comparatively primitive, and hadn't been fully replaced, but with how invasive surgery was no longer a concern there was no reason to put off the improvement. Now that opening up my own head was more of a mechanical task than a surgical one, switching out the implant was a simple matter. Suddenly, there was no issue with taking incremental improvements.
"Go. Show off for the skulls." My first duplicate said from where he was assisting the second with the installation of an experimental element zero manifold into his body. "We'll run through the possibilities here. Have an upgrade list ready for you later."
"Yeah." The second said, "You're a man of the cloth now." With a grin he pulled out a red robe. It had been divinely crafted with the benefits of my noble phantasm and assorted fashion powers. The cuffs and hem held a gear like pattern and there was a familiar cog symbol on the front. "Go on. Can't keep the congregation waiting."
I accepted the robe, feeling the smooth fabric in my hands. It felt completely natural to wear what were essentially religious vestments, but from an alternate perspective the act had all the significance of putting on any other piece of personal protective equipment before going into an industrial zone. It was easy to see how the skulls had managed to unify work and prayer.
"Thanks. I've got this." I said, exchanging nods before making my way to the Laboratorium. I pulled the robe over my shoulders and briefly considered summoning my armor, then shook off the thought as the Resources and Durability constellation passed by. I took a steadying and now completely unnecessary breath and pushed into the Laboratorium.
The first thing that struck me was the windows. The room had previously had stylized alcoves shaped like giant lancet windows, but containing nothing but stone or the occasional icon. Now they were open, showing a breathtaking scene.
The windows opened to show a sky full of stars, only it wasn't a sky. I could tell from the angle, the lack of atmospheric flicker, and from the crystal-clear nebula structures on display. The rest of the workshop had settled for scenic landscapes. The Laboratorium was looking out into space.
The view was so stunning you could almost miss the awed reaction from every servo skull present in the room. Then, all at once, they sprang to life, swarming me and calling out in trilling electronic voices. Only now, I could understand them.
Binary. Well, not literal binary code, but that was the common name for the lingua-technis, bursts of machine code used for communication. I was bombarded with excited questions about my modifications, my rank and training, my role within the order, and a thousand other eager inquiries. That wasn't an exaggeration. Binary bursts could contain insane amounts of data, and with my improved cybernetics I could process all of it.
I trailed my way towards the center of the Laboratorium, answering what questions I could. Yes, I was indeed the director of this facility, both the Laboratorium and the larger complex. No, I didn't have any additional staff. Well, the other two 'techpriests' sort of counted, but it was a complicated arrangement. Yes, the Upstanding Automata Fleet and Survey were doing well, as was the ordained construction Matrix. No, I still did not know the Veritech's knightly house. Or the Gun-EZ's knightly house. Or the Leo's knightly house.
They pointedly did not ask about Ion's knightly house. It seemed they classified her as an attachment force for the larger robots.
I made my way to the Laboratorium's command throne. I could feel the attitudes of the machine spirits that dwelled with the ancient cogitators. Shifting slowly, with begrudging curiosity and vague interest, carrying a sense of approval that I had finally stopped faffing about and begun to do things properly.
On that note I looked down at the throne. I could still wirelessly link to it through my implant, but frankly, after all I had gone through, I was beyond that. A brief extension of digistruct principles saw a mechadendrite extend from my back. Modular design allowed perfect integration with the flash constructed appendage, and it allowed direct connection to the room's primary data loop as I settled into the chair.
The last time I had connected to the Laboratorium's systems it was through a magnetic induction link in the back of my skull, and I had found even that much connection overwhelming. This was closer to wearing the entire room like a glove. It was more an extension of my body than a separate entity. My awareness extended through every system, every cogitator and sensor and tool. I didn't have to direct my attention towards any specific area. I was aware of them all. I was them all.
A week ago, it would have been overwhelming. Now, it was second nature. I clamped down on the mess of sensory data and began sorting reports. More information had been collected on the disassembled tinker tech than I had known about. Possibly more than Survey knew about. I tagged the potentially overlooked files and sent them forward for her analysis.
Next I shifted into system reports. They came in twenty-seven formats and covered five hundred and seventy-six separate elements of the Laboratorium. I dug through them all. Preventative maintenance reports that took fifty pages to say everything was fine. Damage reports that were flagged as non-critical and had been sitting as 'pending' for several centuries. Performance updates on every element of the Laboratorium, from the critical to the superfluous. Still, if you wanted a detailed breakdown of the efficiency of the incense burners, it was right there.
From the edge of my awareness, I felt the machine intelligences, watching and judging. I had a feeling the initial burst of information, presented all at once with no support, was a deliberate tactic to gauge my ability to cope with the overload. It was a test I had passed, as was the deluge of information I was working to sort and address. Maintenance work was prioritized and approved. Some was as simple as granting a specific servo skull permission to carry out the work, but some was as complicated as putting forth a repair proposal for out-of-service maintenance of critical systems for the review and approval of the Laboratorium's cogitators.
Finally, I was done. The issues I had addressed hadn't been seriously impairing the Laboratorium's operation, but they had served as a point of irritation for the systems and the skulls. I was glad to be able to properly deal with them. The appreciation of the servo skulls was just icing on the cake.
I changed out of my vestments after finally leaving the Laboratorium and reviewed the status of the workshop. Aisha was still training with Tetra and Tybalt. My duplicates were continuing their work, both regarding our cybernetics and the larger projects we were addressing. Outside the workshop, Garment was still working to make arrangements for Wednesday's charity event, meaning Survey was making the arrangements based on the Hera-assisted guidance from my duplicates while Garment made public appearances and Fleet enjoyed himself playing chauffeur.
That was going fairly well. They had met with the directors of a number of charity efforts, shelters, and soup kitchens. There was a serious push to get resources to people in need as soon as possible, not after they had cleared bureaucratic hurdles. Survey was actually looking into ways for donations to go directly to shelters and food banks, rather than larger organizations that usually handled relief funding.
At the same time, she was reaching out about volunteers and potential help for the coming event. There wasn't exactly a surplus of labor at the moment, but Garment had a fairly good reputation in the community, plus people consistently responded exceptionally well to Survey's human form. I didn't think we would have any problems staffing the event, particularly considering it was going to be fairly basic. This wasn't the time to put on glitz and glamor. Everyone would respond better to a more sober event with a clear direction. I would be working with Garment to make sure that came across in the design.
I turned towards the door of my Entrance Hall, then down at the pedestal of the Key Link. I didn't have a terrible spread of locations across the city, but we could always use more. More across the city, and as far out as we could comfortably push. And I just happened to have a freshly enhanced cyborg body that was ready for a test drive, and was completely compatible with stealth technology and concealment magic.
I smiled and relaxed the flow of Mantra through my body. The overt signs of my cybernetics faded as they receded into a completely human form. I could still feel the power under the surface, but until I tapped into our reserves of Mantra I could continue to pass as my old self.
Which was good. After everything that had happened, and everything I had scheduled for tonight, I was due for a break. It was time to go for a walk.
Jumpchain abilities this chapter:
Trophy Room (Personal Reality) 50:
A spacious chamber set up for you to aesthetically showcase the various trophies and rewards you will gather on your chain. It keeps them safe and from causing harm or from decaying.
Shooting Range (Personal Reality) 50:
This adds a high tech shooting range to your Personal Reality so that you and your companions can to practice your marksmanship in a safe environment. The Shooting Range comes with a fully functional but harmless copy of any weapon you're familiar with. They have the exact same weight, balance, and accuracy. These duplicates are colored like nerf weapons so you don't get them confused if you accidentally take them out of the Range. If you also have the Underside or Arena, you automatically get a self-reconfiguring laser-tag arena. If you have both you automatically get an urban combat training course, and if you have the Woods, you get an outdoor shooting range / wilderness combat training ground. If you have Weather Control, you can change the terrain and climate inside this zone. Said zones' size depends on how much space you have. If you're running with only Starting Size, your Laser-Tag Arenas are going to be 40 m on a side and 2 stories tall. Every size expansion applies to the arenas as well, doubling the height and multiplying the footprint by x100 (400 m x 40 stories, 4 km x 4 km x 8 stories, 40 km x 40 km by 16 stories, and so on.)
Cyborg Hindu Godbody (Asura's Wrath) 400:
You have a genetically, cybernetically and magically enhanced physiology, and the knowledge to propagate this technology. Your capacity to wield Mantra is enhanced, both accepting general Mantra as well as your primary association. This constructed body can heal itself, or be repaired by yourself or others. Your magical physiology is obvious, but always aesthetically pleasing. You can survive in space without a suit, endure planet busting attacks with sufficient Mantra, and are otherwise ageless. This increases your maximum Mantra Level by 2.
If you took any of the theotech cybernetic perks, those upgrades are integrated seamlessly into your body however, channeling larger amounts of Mantra can gradually reveal your body's true nature. Basically you get a perfect passive 'I'm normal!' disguise until you bust open the mantra.
Technical Training (40k Redux) 100:
Skill in using and maintaining 40k tech, does not apply to Ancient or Alien technology.