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[Xantalos]

Let them fuck around on planet and ruin everything they worked to achieve?

[Harry Baldman]

((Maybe let them chill with their new allies a bit? Failing that, treat them to some sort of wild party for a job well done?))

[SeriousConcentrate]

(Give them a lucid dream sequence while in suspended animation?)

[Empiricist]

Failing that, treat them to some sort of wild party for a job well done?

((Preferably with as much alcohol as possible!))

[Nikitian]

So, these heads going to Steve? Because steve and the unspecified projects on Heph could use some heads.

((Well... Let me ask General Miyamoto on that, but yeah, basically, at least a part of that bio-batch - the heads, the comatose - is intended for Hephaestus use, whether Maurice knew and planned that or not. Also, what use does Steve have for them (He isn't decaying yet, right? Last time he said he was a long time before that) - and would they count towards mission reward pool in that case? ))

And now....I dunno. I can't really bring you back to the ship for the moment. There's nothing there for you to land in. Characterwise Its easy to just say you came back later but I'm not sure what to let you guys do till then.

((Let us Tinker, please! Or some other VR fun. Or Limbo. Or whatever non-mission non-realspace stuff that happens around these days. ))

Private comms to Miyamoto:
General, I think this is a good opportunity to talk. There are some matters that require your attention, I believe, and some of them semi-urgent.

[Lenglon]

((We could just sit in the shuttle outside the Sword while Steve tells us to wait and we get an outside - the - ship view of events and a link to the shipboard VR systems and coms.))

[Radio Controlled]

((I Support for perhaps letting us vr. It would mean we could do crap without having to enter the ship. Failing that, Miya could go drill sargeant on them and make them run laps around the radioactive base 

So, these heads going to Steve? Because steve and the unspecified projects on Heph could use some heads.

((Well... Let me ask General Miyamoto on that, but yeah, basically, at least a part of that bio-batch - the heads, the comatose - is intended for Hephaestus use, whether Maurice knew and planned that or not. Also, what use does Steve have for them (He isn't decaying yet, right? Last time he said he was a long time before that) - and would they count towards mission reward pool in that case? ))

And now....I dunno. I can't really bring you back to the ship for the moment. There's nothing there for you to land in. Characterwise Its easy to just say you came back later but I'm not sure what to let you guys do till then.

((Let us Tinker, please! Or some other VR fun. Or Limbo. Or whatever non-mission non-realspace stuff that happens around these days. ))

Private comms to Miyamoto:
General, I think this is a good opportunity to talk. There are some matters that require your attention, I believe, and some of them semi-urgent.

"What's on your mind?"

[Parisbre56]

((Maybe let them chill with their new allies a bit? Failing that, treat them to some sort of wild party for a job well done?))

((Just got to gag Lars and tie him from a tree branch while we enjoy wild boar under the starlit sky.))

((Oh, we could go watch the other team from a distance, watch for when the eater explodes from afar. Cheer them on or something.))

((Or just sit here and talk to each other or with Steve. There's always questions to be asked and things to RP.))

Get out of Gilgamesh and remove my MK2. Sit somewhere near the shuttle but away from the others. Light a cigarette and start smoking. Try to calm down.

[Toaster]

((Lars just wants to know if you've let Steve into your life.))

Brother Lars looked around the landing site and smiled.  A job well done.  "Well done, brothers and sisters of Steve.  Truly, it is a day to celebrate!  We have done much in the service of the divine!"

[Nikitian]

Let's start with more long-term matters and come down to the current, shall we?

General, I think that our public relations campaign is somewhat lacking, I am afraid. What I mean is: while it's probably good at what it does, the immediate historical moment focus of "them bad, us good, join today!" is short-sighted. In the long run - history of human civilization long run - much more can be done, especially since today we stand at a point of great upheaval - of great possibilities and changes.
Thus I propose that we introduce some new long-term beneficial changes to human psyche and tradition. Think of the impact religions had on the overall history: where would the idea of personality and the idea of non-selective empathy and compassion towards strangers come from, if not for those ancient Earth times and their messianic religions? Where the idea of science our team on Hephaestus lives around come from if not from a select few philosophers' lifetime works and beliefs slightly later? Or, to pick an example just around us, what would be of this particular planet's scientific interest and highly sought ability if not for their Wayfarer beliefs originating in the early days of space travel? I read a little about them on our way here, and from what little I gathered, a lot of what we - and UWM - value these people so much for comes from deeds and pursuits brought forth by their beliefs.
It may be religious or secular, it would require a lot of careful planning, consideration and plain old charisma of the figurehead, but by affecting human society today we can shape the future humanity of a thousand, ten thousand years later. We have the opportunity, we have the ability, both physical and mental - and so we have the responsibility to create a better, brighter tomorrow for the future mankind - the responsibility we are already in part fulfilling by shaking off the yoke of the UWM. This is but a step further, which yet may also have immediate benefits to this war.
Maurice filled his pipe with tobacco from the carefully unrolled cigs and started smoking, looking at the sky above - and continuing his private conversation with the general.

[Radio Controlled]

"So, basically, you propose using social engineering techniques in order to guide society in a direction we deem beneficial to the war effort and the future of humanity in general.

Am I getting the right idea here?

[Nikitian]

Maurice puffed a tiny cloud of smoke and coughed, smiling wide.
Well, yes, basically.

Second thing I would like to suggest is more extensive research into and use of wetware AIs. Animal, yes, where applicable - and human where higher orders of thinking is required. The research I managed to do on them was incomplete and inconclusive, but I feel that I might've grasped two very important ideas.

First, I believe we might be underusing them... as they will probably prove much, much more capable and useful than we let on it. Sure, we have Steve almighty - and yes, Steve, for the record, as I know you're recording and listening to all of this, in no way I intend to replace you, rather make your ... kin more common and more fully used, in the best meaning of that word. For example, I believe that there is a chance they'll be able to use field manipulators, and do so quite efficiently and well - and there are many other tasks they could be helpful with, ranging from general tactical analysis to immediate knowledge and skillful advice on doing varying basic tasks like shooting, talking, programming... and so on.

And second, this might sound somewhat novel, but I've begun to see them as 'people' - or, to use a slightly archaic term, fellow sophonts. Sure, they can be sort of reprogrammed - then again, cannot we humans be brainwashed? Maybe it requires a certain amount of ... brain matter and high-level functioning to be so. But, judging from the history of artificial intelligence made by humans, the wetware AIs are the closest non-human sentient entities we can ever have - no xenos, hardware AI or devolved human can come as close to us as they stand, and thus I find it only prudent that we should embrace them as our cousins, regardless of our further policy on alien or other sapient beings. Not that they need it that much, mind me; judging from Steve, he doesn't really need us to consider him entitled sentient being to orchestrate a galaxy-wide revolution. It is for us that we should do so, so that later generations would not have to suffer from their ancestors' narrow-mindedness and bigotry when the advanced wetware AIs become truly common.

Oh, and we'll probably need a shorter name for their kin later on.
Maurice winked and puffed out some more smoke.

[Radio Controlled]

"I'd tell you smoking is bad for your health, but in this day and age, who cares right?

Hmm. I would agree that more research into AI, wetware or otherwise, could certainly be worthwhile. That said, from what I know, an identically cloned brain will never really be able to use amps and such. Apparently the little demons inside those machines don't like getting to eat the same soul twice, hah.

As for the second... that's a more difficult one. Because at what point do we draw a line? Is a sod who feels nothing and has no will to live, or any will at all apart from following orders, very different from an advanced silicon AI, such as our stevebots, who are more capable of independent thought than those biological machines? Then again, those creatures are our making, so we are responsible for them even if we deem them non sentient. They're alive after all, and didn't ask to be made. But if the end goal is making public opinion of advanced wetware ai's such as steve more positive, I guess that might be worth the trouble. Though remember, social engineering isn't exactly a walk in the park, it's difficult and with lots of potential to backfire."

[Nikitian]

Just enjoying the pleasures of flesh while they last, General. It's too often too late to experience them in our field of work - he made a wide gesture - for most of our bot-bound friends, for example. Maurice grinned pensively.

Well, nothing's ever easy, right? And I trust that you are a rare person actually capable of achieving such feats.

Now, onto the nest topic. You see, I've so long wished to have this topic with you, that at one point I had to write down all the things I wanted to discuss. Maurice laughed a little, then sobered up.
General, I believe it's time we started working on biotech - and by that I mean all that the regular engineering could accomplish and much, much more. Going onto the Doctor's turf, even.

When people say 'lift the biotech bans' they usually mean genetic modifications to the point of creating new species. That is true, old and proved, but that is not all there is to it. I believe that the true potential begins as we start at new species and go further.

For one, as you know, biological production suffers from a completely different bottleneck than regular 'mechanic'; combining them leads to optimal output and all, that is easy. More interesting features come from specific qualities of biological organisms - ability to regenerate, to accept wide range of materials as 'input' - food, the specific process of growing things instead of building them, and so on. But the most interesting stuff, in my humble opinion, comes from emerging properties of biological - or, generalized, living - entities. One example of that would be the Avatar of yours, inherently more complex and powerful than mere scaling of a synth-flesh body would suggest; and another - ... human being, with all the civilization and culture and historical impact involved, standing miles above our closest animal 'relatives'.

In a nutshell, I believe that we should start biotinkering, bioresearching full-time and more openly, and applying the results as widely as it is efficient to do so. We might have to answer the question of whether (and to what extent) we would allow human gene-engineering down that lane, but even then there is absolutely no reason not to use biotech in other fields of work. Oh, and yes, Q'Bajans would help us greatly with that now that we're allied, but this research and engineering need not to be confined to being their (and Doctor's) purview.
And then... maybe we should ask the Doctor to share a few of his trade secrets - Q'Bajans are already going to share all they know with us.

The beginning and the end, the cause and the effect... Would I ever think so just a year and a half ago - or was it centuries now out there? - when they dragged me for 'advocating biotech research' and 'aiding the enemy' that I would soon be serving among true sworn enemies of the UWM and advising their leadership to look into bio-research? ... Funny how things sometimes go.

[Radio Controlled]

"You just might have the right idea there Maurice. I'd be inclined to join you, but I don't think there's any Avatar sized smokewares available. And duct taping a bunch together just doesn't cut it.

Ahem, either way, one of the bottlenecks for biological tinkering is the fact that Steve himself has put restrictions on what us former inmates are allowed to work with*. Except for people residing on Hep, I'm not sure if there's anything we can do ourselves until those are lifted. More in general, one of the things we promised our new best friends here is that we'd lift their bans and allow them to push the boundaries. There are the obvious, and not trivial, dangers and risks, and potential 'unknown unknowns' that come with such a decision. However, when I asked Steve, he said that "they're limited in the damage they can do without access to certain materials". So yes, while we should be careful and keep an eye out (no virtue in blind faith and naivete), there should be possibilities for going beyond what we're used to.

Just, uh, make sure you run things by Steve or me before you embark on heretical new science, ok? If only so I know in which direction to run once the screaming starts, heh."

((*aka pw doesn't really like the idea, as I'm sure you're aware.))