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"A little shut-eye doesn't sound bad to me.", she says, rubbing a twitching muscle on her neck.
Stifling a yawn, Dr Munroe admitted, "Honestly I'm running on fumes, we've been on the go for a long time. I guess this place seems as good as any? Do you think we could barricade the door?"
"Well, we could block the door with those big pieces of furniture.
Attempts at breaking through would be an automatic alarm."
Xindyra inspects the door mechanism.
"It's possible to mess with the mechanism and block it, but if we were urged to reopen it, that would take several minutes. Not that i'm jinxing things here, mind you."
Also, we would have to unblock/unlock everything to get the delivery... I mean, the spider things won't attack unless we try to leave. I think we're okay with just simple precautions rather than gumming up the locks.
Yukarii nodded in agreement and said, "Barricade the door and sleep, this plan is good."
Edwin agreed with the consensus, "Yes, let's try to rest here. I'm beat"
The archeologists did their best to barricade the entrance piling various heavy bits of furniture (tables, cabinets etc) against the doors. Once satisfied nobody was going to be able to just sneak up the by now exhausted party soon fell asleep en masse.
<--- OH
The passage of time was almost impossible to track in the neon half-light of this underground world. In truth nearly two days had passed and you all fell into a deep slumber. Not that you were aware, but time passed quietly the secretive autonomous functions of the city carrying on as they always did. Tiny bots appeared out of holes in the wall and swept the floor around you, some polished the artfully constructed barricade removing sticky fingerprints, dust and discarded breadcrumbs which marked your passage. If they had been able they would have moved the furniture back into its proper place, but this was a task for bigger stronger units so they filed their tickets and moved on.
While this was happening you had the strangest dreams, your consciousness floated round the city, darting this way and that like a dragonfly. Time passed so much faster for a mind than it did for biological entities. Built to oversee a metropolis of nearly ten million souls, with capability to communicate with all of them individually at the same time you once viewed your vast intellect as a blessing. Oh how delightful it was to nudge here and there, and watch as citizens fell in love or the right deals were struck or undesirable elements decided to venture elsewhere.
For a mind ruling over a city with no citizens was the worst fate imaginable, it had been a subjective million years since the last intelligent organic being had conversed with you. Nobody's lives to follow, nobody to appreciate the brilliant stratagems you had employed to hold back the encroaching rot for so long. Nobody to console your with the undeniable fact that despite winning battle after battle, loosing the war was guaranteed.
In fact the war had been lost even before the sundering, even before the suns had been lit, vaporising the once magnificent surface spires and the millions of citizens within in a blink of an eye. A familiar rueful thought, it could have been prevented, you had been tracking the saboteurs even before they arrived with their dreadful cargo - agents of the great enemy. But no matter how you looked at it the dire calculus was always the same, the enemy had unleashed the rot deep in the foundations of the world. The calculations where clear, the rot could not be stopped only slowed down for a while. The suffering had it breached the foundations would have been immense, it was kinder to let the saboteurs light their sun. At least this way their immortal souls would survive to be collected and cared for by the gods.
Alas no gods would be coming for your soul, the rot was dangerously close now, drawn incessantly by your vast sentience which it would devour utterly. The deep manufactories had printed vast armies which you had thrown with considerable skill into the fray, but it simply could not be stopped and ageing systems were not what they once were. Soon the tide would be unstoppable, soon. Yet with your accelerated consciousness soon would take forever. What was a mind to do?
Many hours later Marek awoke bleary eyed, a half remembered dream still running through his head. He looked around to find everyone still sleeping, and then with a start he noticed a number of boxes had appeared right next to Edwin's curled form.
Alarmed, he reach out and gently tried to wake Yukarii...
Zendara wakes up and sees the delivery boxes. Holy Cats! Had they really slept for 16 hours? I mean, they needed sleep, but that seemed excessive.
She starts unpacking the boxes, getting the supplies so they can fix the things, but as she does she wonders about the overmind... was it an AI? What was the evil that it seemed like it was doomed to fall to?
Xindyra wakes up with a slight yawn.
What she could remember from the dream, she tries to write down as best she can.
"I just had the weirdest dream, and from another's point of view, even.
The 'manager' of this city, i guess is the most apt description."
She starts mixing her daily ingredients for extracts and mutagen.
I had the exact same dream, but I don't think it was just a dream. Apparently we have slept for over 16 hours, since our delivery is here. Something has an influence over our minds here.
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The dream Yukarii had was more than a little disturbing and it had just ended when Marek woke her up. Yukarii sat up and looked over at Marek with a sleepy smile as she asked, "What is happening Marek-kun?"
When everyone else started to speak Yukarii didn't understand all of the words but she caught the gist of it. They all shared a dream and they all had slept far longer than they should have. Yukarii considered and said, "Whatever kept us asleep I do not think it is an enemy. It seemed more lonely and afraid than anything and I think it needs our help."
Marek listened to Yukarii and gently leaned into her. Catching Zendara's eye he said, "She's right, I'm sure of it. It seemed so utterly alone, fighting a doomed battle that nobody alive was aware of, until we arrived that is. Now we have the spare parts, we should try and contact Dr Taproot again, maybe he'll have some idea of what to do?"
Dr Munroe was troubled by the long sleep but he did feel rather better for it. He listened to the others speak before saying, "As good a suggestion as any Marek. I think we try and find out what's going on, what exactly is this uh 'mind', whatever that is, fighting?"
His tone of voice left little doubt that he had a bad feeling about this.
In general terms a 'mind' is an artificial intelligence. Sick of constant wars over resources, of religious oppression, of politicians and of general corruption of those in power the ancients to drag their society out of the gutter. There came to feel that people simply could not be trusted with power, it was too corrosive. Something with unimpeachable moral fortune was needed to lead, and so the first minds were conducted by the ancients as the better angles of themselves. This combined with near unlimited energy by directly siphoning plasma from the sun brought a new post scarcity society. A culture where individuals were free to live their lives as they pleased, nobody had to work anymore, nobody would ever starve again. This wasn't to say society was idle, far from it, freed from the shackles of daily drudgery the arts and sciences flourished and sports became an obsession.
Physically a mind is a large oval shape with a coppery or gold hue, about the size of a large cow. Made of exotic materials it is extremely heavy although they are able to levitate slowly. Minds are not entirely without defences but they are not themselves built for combat, of course the ships that some are plugged into most definitely are.
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(pass)
After checking the terminal, Zendara says
It looks like Yukarii is correct. The ancients, in an effort to make a more equal and sane society, started putting power into the hands of "minds" which were basically artificially intelligent constructs...
She realizes that lots of her new vocabulary wasn't getting through and adds
...kind of like a really smart robot brain. Anyway, so this robot brain thing has been controlling the city all this time, even after the people were dead, and it is fighting a war it thinks it can never win. If we can help it as Yukarii suggested, then I would like to. However, we also need to keep in mind that it is certainly also controlling the bot spiders that are trying to keep us here, so let's be wary. Perhaps it only wants help, but we don't currently know its motives, or whether bot minds can go crazy. I didn't get that feeling from the dream, and I hope not, but a human likely would have after all this time.
(fail)
I think talking to Doctor Taproot is a good idea, and that's why we got these other parts, but if we go back there I am going to have to insist that Yukarii stay out of the room. If he suggests any more upgrades that allow us to interface with the city or the overmind, then we need to be able to make decisions without risking her health. I actually would prefer it if she stayed here with a group, or went with a group to repair the refrigeration unit, but I know the professor is worried about us getting separated. I just can't have her in the room if we are going to talk to Doctor Taproot again and hope to follow any of his further instructions.
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Edwin felt disoriented when he woke up. "That was really weird. I'm still trying to remember where we are, and figure out what is real."
He felt his grip on reality was disturbingly tenuous.
"The sooner we get back to the Dawntreader, the better, as far as I'm concerned."
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"Hmm...the map seems to suggest there is a central control suite down a dozen of so levels from here and a little way East. Perhaps that's where the mind is!"
"Oh! Can we get there?" asked Dr Munroe?
We might be able to, but there are security protocols that we might not be able to get past...
We might be able to talk to it through a VR suite instead though. That should be easier. ... Should we do that before or after talking to Doctor Taproot again though? Or, some people do that while others do the repairs on the holo or the refrigeration unit?
Zendara refers to the map, trying to locate a VR suite, though she personally wants to consult Doctor Taproot first, because he might have information about Vesta .
"As long as we don't have to split up. It'd be problematic if we'd run into another graft creature by just 2 of us."
Zendara looks around at everyone.
Okay, Doctor Taproot it is.
She makes sure she has all of the parts she needs, and sets off.
Having fixed what she would need for now, Xindyra dons her pack and follows.
"While a potential war is bad enough, this 'encrouching darkness' is on another level. A squad of soldiers you can see and target. Pure blackness, if that is a physical manifestation, cokld be anything unseen.", she muses out there.
"It sounds rather ominous to me." said Dr Munroe, "Anyway there's nothing we can do about it right now, I suggest we head back and try to repair that device and contact Dr Taproot. Also I suppose we should fix the refrigerator too although quite what those poor folks on the surface are going to do with it I don't know..."
You head back to the apartment building through the garishly lit neon streets. On the way in the distance you notice dozens of spider kill bots moving towards a distant tunnel, something about that sent your hackles rising. Certainly you wouldn't fancy being on the recieving end if that lot were to charge.
A couple of blocks and several twists and turns later you arrive back at the apartment block. You head back upstairs, taking what the girls described as an 'elevator' and you find the room just as you left it.
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As they travel, Zendara examines the spider kill bots to see if she can pinpoint what it is that is making her hackles rise, or if it is just pure fear.
____
When they get back to the room where they met Doctor Taproot, Zendara starts working on the hologram.
Xindyra starts helping on the repairs where needed.
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Edwin tried his best to help with the repairs. To his surprise, he didn't feel completely out of his depth.
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The beige box which Zendara identified as a communications console turned out to be incredibly complex inside with lots of strange flat wedges with lots of small inscrutable boxy objects stuck to it. A number of these were discoloured and there was a reek of burnt hair mixed with strong ammonia.
Edwin assisted as the girls used small heaters to remove some of the small boxy objects and he found himself able to follow some of what they said. It seemed a power surge had fried a significant portion of the electronics, some components could be scavanged from the repair equipment, some had to simply be replaced. Also they were doing more than just repairing the system, they were uprating it too. With the new indrium amplifier it's carrier signal will be much stronger than before and less susceptible to jamming.
The repairs took most of the day and the less technical members of the team grew restless. Marek didn't like being in the same room as the robotic surgery table and he kept eyeing it suspiciously. Dr Munroe distracted him by asking him to help him write a description of the town and their experiences.
Hours passed and finally it was done. Repairs made and updates done, the once sleek box now had various parts taped to it. Dr Munroe looked at it skepticaly asked if it was going to work, the girls seemed sure it'd be fine and they just had to turn it on.
Satisfied with the repairs, Zendara said
Ready?
She waited to see if anyone wanted to leave... she'd explained herself enough times. If the hologram set the others off again, or further surgical implantation was necessary, well she couldn't be responsible for other people's trauma when they had been clearly and repeatedly warned.
Once everyone indicated readiness, she turned it on.
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"Ready when you are.", the tiefling replied excitedly.
Zendara flicked a switch to turn the machine on, a fan inside stirred to life and a small light winked on. She was about to try something else when a powerful noise like static which was interspersed by a series of rising tones which carried on for a thirty seconds or so before suddenly falling silent. A flickering light appeared above which got brighter anf brighter and then in a flash there was a tiny transparent facsimile of a man in seemingly suspended in mid air above the unit, it was Dr Taproot and much clearer than before.
Taproot squinted at you before booming, "Ah excellent! You have boosted the signal, did you manage to obtain energy weapons too like I suggested? That city mind is never going to let you go willingly, it's been alone too long and gone rather strange."
We don't have energy weapons yet, no. As far as the city mind, is there a way to help it? It seems to be doing a good, but seemingly hopeless work, and if it fails it seems like it could threaten everyone. Before we try to escape it, we'd like to figure out how to stop whatever it is that it is fighting... uh, which is what exactly?
Dr Munroe suggested, "Zendara can you tell him that uh, we had a shared dream about the city mind. Vesta's its name I think, anyway in the dream we learned the enemy had unleashed the rot deep in the foundations of the world. Can you ask him what he thinks that could be."
Dr Taproot listened to Zendara's translation and his image flickered as he frowned. He sighed and replied in Marin.
The Enemy loathed the society we had built and vowed to send us back to the dark ages. In a profane rite, he opened portal to an unspeakable demi-plane and through this tear in reality flowed a kind of sapient darkness that some have likened to elemental evil. The antithesis of all life, its hunger knows no bounds, in time it'll eat through anything even bedrock, and that's exactly what it did.
With devious cunning the Enemy manipulated various factions in starting a terrible war. A war that shall be rued forever. When the thousand suns were ignited, Oberon was so weakened from the rot that it shattered. I can only assume some of this sapient darkness lingers below, I would advise you to stay well away for it is extraordinary dangerous!"
Zendara speaks to the Doctor in Marin, and then translates.
We don't want to just let the world fall to this evil though, doctor. Can you help us understand what it is and any possible strategies against it? Specifically, can you teach us how to activate the other possibilities in the chips... the combat and shield modules? Perhaps that will help? Is there somewhere we can learn about how the portal was opened, and perhaps close it again?
We definitely want to hear what else you have to say, and we appreciate your help. ... It just seems useless to find a way to escape the city and go on our merry ways trying to learn from archaeological sites if we know we are just biding time before the world is destroyed by evil. ... I want my hope back!
Xindyra returns the glance, with a small smile and a nod. She places a hand on Zendara's shoulder for a supportive gesture.
Turning towards doctor Taproot, in Marin..
"Doctor, to go on about the question of the chips, aside combat and shield modules, are there chips or technology for other improvements as well?"
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"Hope..." Dr Taproot blinked, "It's a long while since I've had any of that. Of course being dead tends to change your outlook. Like the majority of the population, my body died when the thousand suns were lit. What you see here is a kind of a backup, an incomplete timeworn one at that. Every so often I come out of stasis and do what little I can to help, although my influence is not what it once was."
He started pacing although his flickering image hovered in place above the communications console. Sighing he told you, "As for combat and shield modules... Well this is going to sound silly, you already have the implant but military grade functionality is locked out, any of the minds could provide the codes but I don't suppose any of them will. Well certainly not Vesta, I doubt would Herra or Ixtab would.
Maybe Indar might, it's the only mind I know of that hadn't gone completely mad. Minds exist to care for a population and Indar mining town mostly escaped the sundering. Mostly. Honestly visiting Indar might be your best bet. The only success I've ever heard of in fighting the sapient darkness involved a solar well accident and Indar is where all the solar wells are.
The only problem is Indar is on the innermost planet, Icarus. It's not exactly a hospitable place, no atmosphere. The side facing the sun is semi-molten and the reverse side is incredibly cold. I seriously doubt there's any space worthy ships left to take you there, although we still have power so there must be be portals. Our portals are unmistakable, large circular objects big enough for a train to run through, made out of dark metal with Marin script describing their use around their circumference.
Many where destroyed or lost, I do however know where one keyed to Indar is, but I don't think you'll like it. It's an exhibit in the Imperial Museum in Midderland, I seriously doubt they've any idea what it is however and it would be for the best if it stayed that way... Oh and you'll need to beg steal or borrow a microfusion generator to power it up."
Of course solar plasma is rather scary stuff and nobody was mad enough to try and build a power station anywhere near Oberon. Icarus was the most convenient and logical place for the solar wells although the portals could have been moved anywhere once functional.
Thank you for that information, Doctor. Can you tell me also... is there any kind of anesthetic that could be used with the chip implantation? The ... trauma of the whole thing has raised concerns with the group, and honestly, they're right. Trauma can do crazy things to your body, and we were taking a big risk by following your directions.
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Dr Taproot blinked, "Ah! Oh! You mean to say you underwent the procedure without anesthesia!? My my, I'm not sure I'd recommend that... Well the health center, next building over has a dispensary, you can probably get some meds there. Let's see, yes I've sent a prescription for you I have that much influence still. I was a medical doctor before I got interested in high energy physics, and the system still recognizes my license."
Thank you.
Zendara finishes taking notes about Indar and Vesta and the portal in the imperial museum in Mitterland.
Can you tell us more about how to get the energy weapons and maybe give us a suggestion about where to find a microfusion generator? Is that something I can request from the city mind... er, Vesta?
Speaking to the party she says
Okay, it looks like we also have a way for the rest of you to get the implant without the pain and trauma... we would just need to go and retrieve the anesthetic. Is anyone else willing to do this? You can see that Xindyra and I are okay, and we have additional knowledge, for instance about the language, that you could also have, if you are willing. Should we retrieve the anesthetic?
While people decide, Zendara remembers the brochures she picked up when they first came here, shuffling through them to see what they say now that she can read the language.
Yukarii listened to all that was said and found that some of it made very little sense to her. It wasn't until the end, when Zendara spoke about everyone getting chips that Yukarii's eyes widened in panic and she cried out, "NO! Nothing is being pu tin my head, I will noy allow it Zendar-san." The panic at the thought was obvious as Yukarii turned and clung to Marek as an anchor so she wouldn't lose herself again.
Zendara shrugs. Exactly what she was trying to avoid.
It's obviously a voluntary procedure. No one has to do it. Just wondering if anyone else wants to take advantage of the opportunity.
When Zendara asked if anyone else wanted an implant, Xindyra was right in expecting the response that came from Yukarii.
But she decided it would be best to remain out of that discussion, to avoid upsetting her companion more than she was right now.
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Edwin told Dr Taproot, "We saw something that sounds like the darkness you're talking about. It was on a drifting derelict vessel of tremendous size. Some sort of catastrophe occurred there, wiping out all the people."
Marek tried to comfort Yukarii, "I'm sure they don't mean to force you..."
Dr Munroe seemed uncomfortable with the idea but grudgingly admitted, "
The implants could end up being very important, but unless anyone's especially keen I'd suggest we hold off until long term effects are clearer and we can provide proper anaesthesia..."
Edwin's words took Dr Taproot by surprise, "Really? You found a derelict vessel carrying the Sapient Darkness and you survived... I'm sure there's quite a story there. I'm curious what manner of vessel was this? An Oberon Force ship?"
We don't know what kind of ship it was either, really, but a githyanki ship we believe...
Zendara describes the ship, and whatever she can remember about it, including what they know of the spell that was cast and the tower inside, and the incursion of the spider things. And the hovering darkness.
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Dr Taproot seemed troubled "Mmm the Githyanki are raiders and opportunists lead by the iron fist of Vlaakith their lich queen. They foolishly picked a fight with a race called the Orix who came this close to wiping them out. Some of them came here seeking asylum, Special Circumstances argued against it but the people felt sorry for them and we took them in. This was a mistake, some factions within the Githyanki worship unspeakable things from between the stars and our act of generosity brought their malevolent attention and we all know what that lead to."
He listened to the rest of Zendara's story before saying, "So it sounds like their priest caste knew about the sapient darkness and manipulated the warrior caste into thinking it was a weapon for the taking. Poor deluded fools, doesn't explain the spiders but Githyanki court politics is famously vicious and it wouldn't surprise me if some other faction had an axe to grind. Anyway their ship is likely horribly compromised and no longer able to provide life support outside of an atmosphere, although if things get desperate it could be one last card up our sleeves."
He paused to consider, "I still think the gate in the imperial museum is your best bet. Regarding a micro fusion generator, it would be within Vesta's power to make one for you, but you can bet it'll require a service of some kind, something it can't do itself. Considering what it can do I'd be worried about what that service might be."
Doctor, is there some way that we can carry your program with us as we journey, or is it tied to this place?
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"indeed, might you have a portable hologram device?"
Interface for knowledge is all well, but i'm not looking to carrying a digital persona in my head, if that is even remotely an option.