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[Sean Mirrsen]

Anton Chernozorov

"Side effects? Well, as long as they're not worse than death, since that's what sufficient aging usually leads to, or so I'm told..." Anton looks slightly amused. "What would change me the least? I don't want to live forever, Doktor, I just want to live long enough to maybe see this little war end. And maybe retire. As myself."

Inquire about possible methods and side-effects.

Locate a suitable workspace on the facility map and help the Doktor with initial set-up in it.

[piecewise]

Wooo boy, writing a paper about the process I used to research the material for a paper is the sort of recursive bullshit that just drains my life force.

In that case, just get assigned a target planet for the propaganda team to work on.

Hey, how about you work on some for Q'baja? They're allied with us diplomatically but we could still do with them being fanatically allied with us.

After the long and detailed discussion with the Doctor and Anton on what would be required, Dr. Maurice Sanctor left for the former Supreme Hephaestus Administrator headquarters - now the residence of Administrator of Engineering, Simulacrus Ferratum-Inanis.
Without taking time to unpack his belongings or change into his civilian garb, he went there dressed as he arrived - in the Mk III of the long-standing HMRC service tradition. He did, however, take a box with him.

And he smiled as he walked there.
Come by Simus's office.

Be instated as Admin of Science.
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE]

• It appears we did not capture those Shade creatures in the end, unfortunately. Reassign the Science Team Gamma working on them to Soundworm data.
• What's with the 'rethinking the whole system', could you elaborate?
• Can we mount expeditions to places of interest? Either on our own, or via requesting Sword detours.
• Can the Samsonite Abyss be revisited? Does it still exist, what is the UWM military presence there?
• You mentioned that we could recreate the Puddle of which the Soundworm came. Is it true, or would we have to visit the 4473 Styx wreckage to resume the research?

Soundworm data eh? Ok. But we're probably not gonna get much without recreating the device they used.

As in making this more RP and less "You there! Go do things till you have made a science!"

Perhaps, perhaps. Build yourself a ship and go adventure!

No, thats closed in the intervening century. But maybe you can find another pocket dimension?

Styx is a crater, if you remember. But you could attempt to recreate the experiment via the data you gathered.

Anton Chernozorov

"Side effects? Well, as long as they're not worse than death, since that's what sufficient aging usually leads to, or so I'm told..." Anton looks slightly amused. "What would change me the least? I don't want to live forever, Doktor, I just want to live long enough to maybe see this little war end. And maybe retire. As myself."

Inquire about possible methods and side-effects.

Locate a suitable workspace on the facility map and help the Doktor with initial set-up in it.

"Best method prevents advancement of physical and mental abilities."

We'll skip through you finding an empty room and getting peons to drag in the requisite computers and medical equipment. After it's up, the Doc starts bringing up programs on the computer and importing data. Eventually, he shows you a 3d visualization of what appears to be a fine web of glowing nodules.

"The brain of your teammate. Faith. Within the arrangement is a useful construct."

Non-RP clarifications (Sorry, this is rushed)

1.We got the genetic material for the SMF from our science and construction crews, a long time ago.  You joked about it going faster if we played jazz, remember?

2.How long will it take for the SMF to be finished?  Remember I'm assigning a constuction crew.

3.How long will the HRB production facility take to be finished?

4.With the test where the forcefield material is already encased in something when activated, I wanted to see what would happen when we activated the material.  Does the forcefield just pop up outside the encasing material?  Or does it force the stuff off?

5.I wanted to test if the forcefield's strengrh--How strong a gauss round it can take before exploding--varies at all between different fields.  If so, what controls the strength?  Mass of the projecting material?

6.How many seconds does a visible light laser rifle (which should bypass the field, since you say it's invisible to us) need to damage the projecting material enough to dissipate the forcefield?

Continued RP-like stuff

7. (Exact numbers don't actually matter here) "Scientist, Please bring in a block of metal of some form.  One inch thick.  Place it on top of an unactivated block of projector material, inside the area that the forcefield will be projected.  Then, activate the forcefield, so that it would be created inside the block of metal.  Is the metal locked in place?  Does it demonstrate superior damage resistance?"

8. "Scientist, bring in a plate of this material which would cost just slightly less than a battlesuit plate, and bridge the cost gap by covering one side in a very thin layer of hexsand--just enough to prevent visible light lasers from damaging the material.  I want it to be optimized for dealing with as much damage as possible, if you can do that. What is the largest gauss round it can take without being destroyed?"

9."Scientist, how expensive is the material compared to explosives of a similar power?"

1. Sure, those are easy to get. Most guys are just giving it away. That wasn't the material I was talking about. I'm talking about the plant or two worth of raw matter needed to create the containment system. Remember that?

2. Skipped

3.HRB? These acronyms are gonna be the death of us.

4. Oh like you wanted to activate the forcefield in such a way that there is stuff in its path as it turns on, so to speak? Because it will just slice through that.

5. It varies between materials used, but you'll have to test out different materials to find the best one.

6. It blocks lasers. It distorts light too, but doesn't block it. Doesn't block stuff like neutrinos either. Never said it doesn't block things invisible to us.

7. The metal is sliced through, but it would hold the inner piece solidly against the anchor material, assuming they were firmly together when it projected.

8. Again, the effect can be anchored to just about anything, so your request doesn't make much sense.

9. Depends on the material it is anchored to. Stronger shield properties also result in stronger explosive properties.

[syvarris]

((Oooohh, I hadn't realized we could anchor the field to a material.  I thought we could just replicate the material which projected a forcefield.))

We now have almost all the required materials and tools required to build the space magic facility.  We only need to choose a planet to sacrifice for the requisite mass.  As admin of expansion, it's my choice, but I'd like for all of you to weigh in before I decide; I'd hate to destroy a planet one of you had plans for, and you might consider something I neglected to think of (Anton, maybe you think this choice might affect the system's defensibility?)

Here is a link to basic data on our solar system, for easy reference.  I was thinking planet #10.  It's distant, but that's probably a good thing in case anything goes wrong.  My first thought was planet #3, but despite the hellish characteristics it has, it's far more likely to be useful for us in some other way, since it's so close.  Thoughts?

P.S. Maurice, our visitor dragged you off before I could actually introduce myself.  If you don't mind, I'd like to personally welcome you to Hephaestus, if you have free time at some point.

((...And then Maurice spends a month outside Simus' room waiting for her to come out of her coma.))

[Nikitian]

What about planet #9? From what I heard, we might need several "planets" worth of mass, so just that one should suffice all the needs; do we even have any particular use for the gas giants in our system?
That said, it probably bears some calculations into how a removal of that (or any other, for that matter) planet would influence the orbits of other planets, and Hephaestus the planet #4 in particular.

P.S. That would be nice of you. I also wanted to meet you again, since the introductions were hampered at the arrival. I should have time after I wrap up the paperwork at Simulacrus's office.

[syvarris]

Thank you for that suggestion.  Just ran the numbers and it looks like the gas giant is a better option.  Either would work, but the giant is easier.

No, the loss of mass wouldn't be an issue.  #9 doesn't get closer than ~25 AU, so the effect on us is negligible.  We can safely ignore that any other effects.

I'll wait for a reply from Anton before sending the order.  It wouldn't do to send it off and then have him say he wanted to somehow turn 9 into an enormous laser.

((Asked PW questions in IRC.  Apparently, we can siphon gas off #9 with asteroids, and steer the asteroids to the place we'll build the facility, then compact them.  The mass is mitigated once there, so the gravitational pull won't affect us.  Of course, if the mitigation failed, the gravity would then drop the moon onto Heph, destroying both of them... but PW said we'd already be dead by then, due to space magic.  He also implied that building the SMF out on one of the outer planets wouldn't save us.))

[Sean Mirrsen]

Thank you for that suggestion.  Just ran the numbers and it looks like the gas giant is a better option.  Either would work, but the giant is easier.

No, the loss of mass wouldn't be an issue.  #9 doesn't get closer than ~25 AU, so the effect on us is negligible.  We can safely ignore that any other effects.

I'll wait for a reply from Anton before sending the order.  It wouldn't do to send it off and then have him say he wanted to somehow turn 9 into an enormous laser.

I doubt the gas giant would make a good laser anyway. I'm sure the system's been swept of everything useful by now, but do me a favor and run some scans on the poor little planet before you compact it all away. Never know what useful stuff might be hiding down there.

Otherwise, just stay away from the local star and Hephaestus's primary moon, and you can do whatever. Those two are the only ones I have plans for.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Anton Chernozorov

"Best method prevents advancement of physical and mental abilities."

"Physical 'and' mental? That might be a bit extreme. I don't want to live forever as I am now, I don't even want to live forever period - I mean, who wants to? It'll get boring eventually. But it's an option at least. Any other options?"

Inquire about alternative aging prevention methods - particularly those that slow aging instead of outright stopping it, or those that rejuvenate the body to "shave some years off" periodically.

We'll skip through you finding an empty room and getting peons to drag in the requisite computers and medical equipment. After it's up, the Doc starts bringing up programs on the computer and importing data. Eventually, he shows you a 3d visualization of what appears to be a fine web of glowing nodules.

"The brain of your teammate. Faith. Within the arrangement is a useful construct."

The curiosity in Anton's eyes as he leans closer to look at the screen is genuine, but the thoughtful look of contemplation on his face is a mask that eventually dissolves into a smile. "This is... highly interesting, sir, but I'm afraid I'm an engineer and a programmer, not a... wetware specialist, like yourself. I only vaguely recognize what I'm looking at from some neural net design I practiced before. Is it something I can be of help with?"

Ask. Roll Int/Mind to see if I see anything interesting in the visualized brain despite lacking experience in the (grey) matter.

[syvarris]

1.We agreed over IRC to use planet #9, a gas giant, for the space magic facility's raw material.  How long will it take to be constructed?

2."HRB" is short for Heavy Robotic Body.  I told a crew to build a facility optimized for producing them for our sod armies.  How long will the facility take to be constructed?

3."I want to test if two different forcefields are solid to each other.  Can they move through each other freely?"

4."I want to test what happens when one forcefield is activated inside of another, so that they intersect, like this:" Saint's emoticon switches to an /, then to an X.
 
5."I want to anchor two forcefields to two spheres of ordinary steel, but have one brick be twice the size of the other.  Can we observe any difference in the strengths of th fields?"

6."Next, I want to anchor two fields to two spheres of material, which are identical except for one being harder than the other."

7."Next test is the same as before, but I want to try one material being slightly denser."

8."Next test is the same as the previous tests, but I want one material to be ductile and the other to be brittle."

9."Last test for now, I want to see if a field anchored to hexsand has different laser-resistance properties than the previous fields we've examined."

((I a doing a terrible job at this RP thing, aren't I? ._.))

[Sean Mirrsen]

((I a doing a terrible job at this RP thing, aren't I? ._.))

((Heh, quite. Perhaps you could try not to cram so many questions in every turn, so you can devote more attention to individual actions?))

[Nikitian]

It appears our ex-Chief Administrator is inaccessible for the moment, deep in research and with orders not to disturb. Shall we take a walk around the place in the meantime?

Leaving the box with a note in Simus's outer office, Maurice walked out of there.
Take a short tour around the place and then return to Simus's office.
How does the place look like (in general)? Do we meet any people working around the place?
How does the surface outdoors look like, are there any trees or other vegetation?
[ADMIN OF SCIENCE]

• Take a report on fleshmonster sample research; ETA if nothing to report.
• Take a report on soundworm sample research; ETA if nothing to report.
• What is required to recreate the soundworm experiment? Any preliminary requirements on housing, containment?
• Can the pocket dimension connections be opened forcibly, without waiting for it to spontaneously open? Has there been any research on that?
• Look through the data on anomalous activity both in UWM- and ARM-controlled space. Any news of available pocket dimensions, anomalous planetoids, simply weird anomalies? Start with the systems close to the Hephaestus.

[syvarris]

You were good friends with Simus, right?  There's some things you should know, but I'd rather tell you in person.

Heading towards you now.  Look for the same synthflesh body you met earlier.

Several minutes after Maurice recieves that text, he sees Saint robotically sprinting towards him from the direction of the shipyard.  Saint's movements are precise and exact, but undergo a major change once he nears Maurice; His face brightens as he waves, and he slows to a more relaxed pace to fall in step with Maurice.

"Hello Maurice.  I hope our industrial landscape isn't too displeasing.  As I mentioned before, I'd like to talk to you about Simus."  His face darkens as he continues. "I'm sorry to say, but she's... Well, you've met the inmates who suffer from stasis catatonia.  Simus has a particularly bad case.  She'll go unresponsive for months at a time.  I've done everything I can to try and see what causes the problem, or what might fix it, but her symptoms are the worst I've ever seen that weren't outright permanent.  I was actually hoping that you coming to stay might help her improve--From what I've read, strong bonds with other people are the only treatment for stasis catatonia that is even close to effective."  He pauses, and sighs.  "Simus never had a very good relationship with anyone here, sad to say."

[Nikitian]

Falling in step with his new colleague, Maurice listened to him with a smile that slowly died as Steve kept talking. Finally, with a distressed face and distant look, he replied.
I see. ...Then it must be fortunate for me to arrive now.
It really pains me to hear that. I guess it would be of no use to hide, we were good close friends with Simus back before the whole ARM deal and her post on Hephaestus. I even still remember her how lovely she looked prior to being put in a robot body. Maurice smiled slightly.
You are right, strong bonds with other people might help the affected. His face suddenly became determined for a moment, then relaxed. I will do what I can to help her.
He kept silence for the next half a minute, when he resumed the civil talk.
So, you're the Head of Expansion? What do you do here, Steve? How strict are the limits of the Head designations are here, anyway? Do you do anything outside of your position?
And - Maurice chuckled a little - would you perhaps give some advice what my new position here entails?

[syvarris]

Saint nods "Yes, I am the head of expansion.  My job is to continually increase Hephaestus' production ability, making sure that we can keep up with the needs of supplying an army.  I also keep track of domestic issues, and make sure everything runs smoothly.  Nothing more." Saint smiles "Officially, at least.  We're not strict at all, and the head designations primarily exist so that there's always a person who can settle disagreements.  Everyone dabbles in what interests them, and we try to make important decisions as a group--Like earlier, when I asked you and Anton about what planet to use for the SMF.  And if you want a construction crew--who are technically commanded by me and Anton--to build some building to help with your research, that's fine.  It's best to ask first, in case we have plans for that crew, but we generally trust each other to make good decisions."

Saint pauses when Maurice asks about his own job, briefly losing his smile.  It returns with a laugh, and he says "You have the best position of any of us!  Your job is to oversee our research into new technologies.  I know you've personally seen how strange alien tech is, and come face to face with it before.  You get to reverse engineer it, figure out how it works, and how to make use of it.  You're also directly above all four of our science teams, and therefore have final say on what they do.  I mentioned that we all dabble in what interests us?  Well, I tend to dabble in science and alien tech.  Right now I'm working on a fascinating phenomenon that allows forcefields to be attached to various materials, which... I'm rambling.  You have authority in that area, of course.  If you want to, you could forbid me from experimenting with artifacts, and I wouldn't be able to refuse." Saint shrugs.

"As far as other people, well, you mostly know about Simus already, so the only important thing about her is that you have to share command of the science crews when she's awake.  The fourth and last head is Anton Chernozorov.  He's the head of defense, and is focused on our warship production and internal security.  He's also an exceptionally good engineer, although he has no fondness for the... stranger technologies we have.  As I mentioned before, he shares command of the construction crews with me.  Lower ranked than all of us is Charles Leroux, who is in charge of public relations and used to be a psychiatrist, if you feel insane. Saint chuckles  "He's a nice guy, although he mostly keeps to himself.  Ah, and there's a kid somewhere, possibly quite far from this area.  You've probably heard of Grate Worm Gold, the immortal eleven year old?  He gets himself killed every now and then, might send you a confused text when he reappears.  Nobody has tried to replicate his immortality yet, so that might be a decent project for you."

Saint pauses, and scratches the side of his head; an odd gesture for a robot.  "That's... pretty much everything important.  Information for contacting the science crews is easily accessible on the database, as are various databases about what artifacts we have stored.  Is there anything else you would like to know?"

[Nikitian]

Oh, yes. A personal question, if you don't mind. Maurice smiled to Steve. You are particularly articulate for a person in a synthetic body; that isn't a very common thing. Yet the first time we met you were particularly still and inanimate while waiting.
Maurice grinned.
Now, ordinarily my guess would be light case of stasis catatonia, but something - a hunch, if you wish, or simply an observation of how timely you became animated upon our arrival - tells me that isn't the case. Were you doing your management and research "in the back of the head", so to speak, - disabling the output to the body for some reason, - or was it something else? He eyed Steve's reaction with curiosity.


And then no, I wouldn't think of forbidding you to experiment. You have stayed here far longer than me, and obviously know it better - at least for the moment. He slightly hesitated, then continued to speak. Actually, I would like to ask for your permission to dabble into the expansion domain. The first reason would be that scientific research might necessitate that; and the second is that, even back on the Sword, I was unsatisfied with our Movement's effort with expansion - and would like to rectify that personally, now that I am here. Of course, he smiled, I do not blame that on you; if anything, that might have been the Generals' error... But I can guess how busy the General Board is these days, with only two of them left - and probably only General Miyamoto concerned with the big picture. It wouldn't do any use to assign blame, so I simply want to do what I can to rectify it - with your permission, of course.

[syvarris]

Saint pauses for several seconds, thinking.  After deliberating, he sighs and shrugs, then replies "My brain isn't inside this body.  It's locked deep within the command center, and I have remote bodies such as this one, which I call auxiliary bodies, project their senses back to me over our comm network.  I can remotely pilot them while safely away from any danger, with very little latency.  It's an exceptionally useful program, especially when working with dangerous materials.  It's also convenient, because if my attention is needed in-person somewhere, I can typically just possess a body that's already there.  For example, before you arrived, I stationed this body outside the ship while I was working on the forcefield effect that I mentioned earlier, and had a sod watch the feed and alert me when it saw people walk out.  Once I was alerted, I switched back to this body."

After hearing Maurice's request, Saint smiles and says "Of course I'll let you dabble in my domain.  Different viewpoints on the same issues can often bring better solutions.  As always though, I ask that you talk to me about what issues you see first.  If you don't mind, I'd like to hear about those issues now--I'm not busy, and it's rare for me to hear about things from the perspective of the Sword's crew."

((Question that occured to me:  You originally suggested we design the MMI.  Do you want to say Maurice came up with the idea, and suggested it to Heph?))