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Total Members Voted: 21

[Gotdamnmiracle]

Does that please everyone?

Also The Mavens can just as easily be politicians as well as super soldiers. Again, arbiters. Let's also add the ability to observe lies, body language, and facial features along with increased hearing, and the ability to change and modify the voice the Maven speaks in.

The Maven idea allows for some more interesting writing if you like it (especially in the case of the avians). A subroutine speaking directly to a brain would be weird and different normally but an alien brain?? Now that will be neat. However if you aren't feeling creative just do the usual back and forth. I think the thinking would be similar to the speaking in Greg Bears Blood Music.

Keep in mind though the original host, human mind or avian, always has the most control and the final decision. There is no manual override in the case of the subroutine, just suggestion power. (That means no human extermination, Xeron.)

[Gotdamnmiracle]

Modified above post.

And Maven is a title, not a rank or name, just for proper use.

[Deep Waters]

That would be pretty interesting. Could have certain subroutines volunteer to be paired with certain (willing) humans, allowing for more direct interaction with the environment. It would allow the game to progress in a more detail-oriented direction without sacrificing the more broad scope of things we're dealing with now.

Of course, it would also be more difficult for you to keep track of anything, Maldevious. I'd say it should be your call- you're the one that has to do all the work, after all.

[Xeron]

My vision is augmented.
Now on a more serious note.We need to get those humans loyal to us ,because they may eventually go rogue.

[Gotdamnmiracle]

My vision is augmented.
Now on a more serious note.We need to get those humans loyal to us ,because they may eventually go rogue.

I think a charismatic super polotician in our pocket would work wonders for that.

The problem with the Mavens is we might have to work out some bugs in the start. This isn't just rocket science after all, it's a hell of a lot more complicated than that.

[Gotdamnmiracle]

I'm so pumped for this next update.

I think we should keep our Mavens locked up in a hidden facility so we can test them out, make sure there is no nasty effects (insanity and all that). A couple months should be enough of a test period to make sure they are stable (atleast that no short term problems will arise). We will present the first Mavens at 4 months from now. We should stress that these are the go betweens of the biologicals and AI.

[Xeron]

Oh and another suggestion once we are done with the borgs.
Mutants in the vein of X-Men.We should slowly attempt to convert all the humans into those,of course after creating a way to shut off their powers in case they go rogue

[Gotdamnmiracle]

Oh and another suggestion once we are done with the borgs.
Mutants in the vein of X-Men.We should slowly attempt to convert all the humans into those,of course after creating a way to shut off their powers in case they go rogue

I'd preffer we didn't mix science with telepathy as far as a game mechanic goes. I always hated when they did that in games like Mass effect and stuff. We could eventually make them mechanized if it catches on, though.

[Mr. Palau]

Why not provide cybernetic implants to the gerneral population after the test with the mavens?

[Gotdamnmiracle]

That is the idea, but I don't to the extent that the mavens are implanted. They are sitting on the fence between biological and robot at the moment. Plus keeping it a privelege puts people in out pockets, the mavenism I mean.

[Deep Waters]

You know, whenever I hear 'Maven', I keep thinking of Palace Maven Spenser, from Pokemon Emerald's Battle Frontier. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing- I never really saw much of Spenser. Was always too busy beating up Tucker and Brandon (and inwardly drooling over Lucy and Anabel). <<;

EDIT: To make this thing actually on topic- I agree with Gotdamnmiracle. Mavenism should be a privilege. That way, people will be too busy wanting to be a Maven to really understand what Mavenism is all about- trading a bit of your brainspace and a lot of your privacy for superhuman capabilities and the ability to communicate with the Master Control Pro- I mean, the shipboard AI (the AI is still on the ship, right?) as well as other Mavens. At least, we should be able to communicate with other Mavens as well. I'm not too keen on the whole secrecy deal thing. That makes it seem like there's something wrong with it- people might get suspicious of us. Even if we get permission, they'll only be suspicious of both us and the government. We should make a petition, making it seem as attractive as possible by emphasizing the myriad advantages and the fact that we'll have no (direct) control over the (volunteer) humans, and that the humans can say yes or no to accepting a certain subroutine.

[Maldevious]

The xenoarcheological outpost attracts roughly 50 volunteers, who excitedly set up a thriving base on the new planet over the next two months. While it contains environmentally stable capsules for living, the volunteers quickly establish (thanks to one brave scientist) that external living is easily doable without breathing apparatuses. Small huts are set up outside the capsules, and a vegetable garden using stocks from the ship of soil and plants is set up (in a greenhouse to prevent cross-contamination). The outpost even has a mascot, a particularly affectionate Giant Bee. His name is Gomer. He is well-loved by all.

A mission is sent out to one of the temperature maintenance stations that is kicking up truly tremendous amounts of water vapor into the atmosphere. After a few days probing around the outside, an attempt is made to enter through what appears to be a maintenance hatch. All hell breaks loose. The communications from the group are incredibly unclear, garbled, and confusing. Satellite images fail to offer high enough resolution. Something loud and high-pitched is heard on the tapes, screams are heard, and then the feed dies. There are no survivors, and no one volunteers to return. Fifteen people perish, in all, although they are mourned as brave volunteers in Aries and Gaia alike. A low level of panic begins to run through Gaia, but they manage to keep it to a minimum.

When the archives are examined again, the same corruption that thwarted earlier attempts to find information about the system and the mission rears its ugly head. This issue seems to be intractable.

The "Moonies," as they seem to be called affectionately by subroutines and colonists alike, are contacted regarding Gaia and the beings that transformed it. They reply thusly: "They have been gone for many [ages or centuries]. They did not [talk or contact] like you do. We [know or tell] no more."

On Aquarius, some progress is made in speaking with the Avians. One tribe seems to be congregating around the Contact Center, and they are picking up the sign language quickly. Within the next few months, a dialogue of some type may be possible. No new insight is gleaned yet, however, as the language is still in its infancy.

The Maven program bubbles up from the depths of the subroutines, and the general is consulted. He seems to be intrigued, and agrees to circulate the program amongst his top soldiers and officers to see if there are any volunteers. After a few weeks, an initial class of 10 Pre-Mavens are selected (7 soldiers, 3 officers).

Neurological implants are surgically inserted to allow them to begin to network together, as this is seen as the most difficult technical issue to master. The surgeries go fine, but the testing phase is... catastrophic. The ability to communicate almost instantly through the implants seems to overwhelm the brains of the candidates, as too many messages begin to shoot back and forth (including things like impulses from their autonomic nervous systems), and they begin to seizure and hemorrhage almost immediately. Five of the candidates die outright, and three of the surviving five are clinically insane. One officer and one soldier remain, thankfully intact physically and mentally after a quick-acting subroutine puts in a program that filters out all non-conscious thoughts from transmission.

On a somber note, the last Pre-Maven to pass away signifies the 100^th casualty of the mission. A small ceremony is held in the chapel to mark the occasion.

Amidst all of this chaos, satellites observing the system report that an asteroid is heading towards Aquarius. It is not extinction-level, but will still wreak havoc if it is allowed to hit. The next two months will be... busy.

Time lapsed in system: 2 years, 4 months

Spoiler: Mission Status (click to show/hide)

• Controlled Infestation on Aquarius
• In orbit of Aquarius
• Militarized Shipyard
• 2 Nano Factories
• 4,995 person colony on Aries
• 35 person Xenoarcheological outpost and small town on Gaia
• 2 Pre-Mavens (1 soldier, 1 officer)
• 100 dead
• Bank of animal and plants

Spoiler: Resources and Technology (click to show/hide)

Note: if no location is given, resource is on ship

• Basic genetic manipulation of complex organisms
• Beginnings of the Maven program
• Electrochemical Ammunition
• Aerotransmission
• Giant telescope in orbit of Aries
• Strong Magnetic Shields
• Diagnosing medical robots
• Deep Land Drilling
• 2,000 space suits
• Small defensive fleet
• Mass drivers (orbital)
• Mass drivers (planetary)
• Sensor Probes
• Construction and miner bots
• Nuclear weapon (1)
• Orbital lenses (Aries and Aquarius)

Spoiler: System Info (click to show/hide)

• Planet A "Gaia":
  • abundant minerals
  • 50% water,
  • genetically modified, unintelligent animals
  • Earth-like atmosphere
  • dangerous temperature maintenance systems
  • 35 person Xenoarcheological outpost with small village and Giant Bee Mascot (Gomer)
• Planet B: ash, acidic atmosphere, radioactive, small mining operation
• Planet C "Class.2224" "Aquarius": aquatic world, savage aquatic life, pack-like nomadic intelligent Avians, virulent bacteria, algae infestation: 6% of surface, small harvesting operation, Wrinkled Suckfish Cloning industry, Avian Contact Center
• Planet D "Class.1111" "Aries"
  • Some minerals
  • Mars-like with basic atmosphere
  • Some bacteria
  • Some moss and fungus
  • Medium mining operation
  • 5000 person colony with survival bunkers
  • Medium industrial base
  • Small brewery
  • Thriving insect creation industry
  • Small clinic
  • Grand Parliament
  • Basic School system
• Planet E: abundant minerals, inhospitable
• Abundant Asteroids
• Gas Giant A: mysterious interference, intelligent life
• Gas Giant B: mysterious interference, intelligent life

Spoiler: Info about the Avians (click to show/hide)

• Pack dwelling
• Near-human intelligence
• Nomadic
• Capable of tool use
• Quick breeding rate
• Teach new generations

Spoiler: Info about the Moonies (click to show/hide)

• Dwell on multiple moons around Jovian planets
• Appear isolationist
• Possess at least rudimentary space flight
• Maintain an economy between multiple moons (evidenced by traffic between them)

[somebody]

Send a team of robots to investigate the maintenance station.

[Deep Waters]

Um... well then. With that disaster in mind, should we attempt creating more Pre-Mavens, since we can keep the problem that killed half of our Pre-Mavens and drove three insane from occurring again? Hell, do the two surviving Pre-Mavens still want to become Mavens, let alone anyone else? I'm not sure if this is just a really bad roll of the dice, or if Maldevious is not-so-subtly telling us that no, we aren't allowed to influence things directly, dammit.

Ninja'd:

Send a team of robots to investigate the maintenance station.

This, but do it cautiously. It seems like there's something there that's extremely dangerous. We don't want to accidentally release something we don't want released. That said, we also don't want it to get out while we're unprepared, so we can't afford to leave it alone.

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

Alright, two Mavens!  A triumph for science!  On to the next stage of enhancements!

Also, we should probably redirect that asteroid so it doesn't hit Aquarius.  We've done enough damage to that planet, its the least we could do.  When is it expected to hit?  If we have time, I'd suggest using a mass driver that mines chunks of the asteroid and hurls them in the opposite direction of the way we want it to go, thus propelling the asteroid using its own mass as propellent and solar power as the power source (Like so: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid-impact_avoidance#Mass_driver)

Or we could use our little fleet to pound it into rubble small enough to burn up in the atmosphere.