20 days until deadline.I would recommend start applying any technologies requiring training from user on your soldier, especially if they are "safe". Such as extra limbs, alternative body forms and such. Soldiers aren't as fast learners as you are. Though you still don't need to hurry that, I'll probably add simulated week or two after this month to give soldiers opportunity to get used their new equipment. And to ensure scientist can have replacement parts ready when their hard work gets inevitably totally trashed in combat.
Automatic research
You quickly finish the remote controlled exoskeleton in its basic implementation so you can focus on correcting the quantum brain. Figuring the root cause of memory degradation takes too many hours, but ultimately you triumph over the hardships and fully understand the problem. With this you can tomorrow make changes on your production machinery and then continue with improving the overall function. Like finishing the emotions and minimizing the quantum brain even more compact.
Research in progress:
Quantum brain II
To be researched:
EMP hardening
Modular design
Research done:
Armored exoskeleton structure
Artificial muscles
Digital brain copy
Electricity driven cells
Particle beam
Meshanite
Myomers
High capacity fuel cell
Quantum brain
Miniature fission reactor
Meshanite production line
High density capacitors
Remote controlled body
Test subjects expired: 19
Automatic research
The way to get rid of the last problem, consciousness, lies within various forms of brain damage and coma. Creatively cutting neuron connections here and there, and killing these few neurons here ensures the brain can never wake up as a person again. Next you take your MMI, make modifications and apply them on the brains. Voilá, slave brain array! Well, of course you also build the computer that acts as intermediary between master and slaves.
Next part is prepping the master brain for its new role. You also may want to make a brain-in-a-jar technology so you don't have to keep entire array of now useless bodies.
Research in progress:
Slave brain array
To be researched:
Mind to machine interface - canine adaptation
Mind merging
Artificial muscles
Exoskeleton
Advanced medical procedures
Optical camouflage
Overclocked biology
Research done:
Stable weapon attachment point and remote aiming designator
Mind to machine interface
Dreamstream
MMI - Data Diver
Test subjects expired: 50 (100)
Other victims: 35
I kind of assumed it would be obvious that what I'm trying to discover by messing about with the mice is how Terrible Glory works without extreme human casualties, but point taken, I'll state intended research goals in the future.
Although, mind you, the whole point of the killer electrode in the heart was to keep the brain in a good state for later examination.
From here on in, Terrible Glory and its components will have new, catchier designations:
- TG - the system as a whole.
- TG-B - the brain-to-brain communicator module.
- TG-R - the receiver module.
- TG-T - the teleporter module.
OPERATION: MOUSEWATCH 2016 concluded, result: TG successfully analyzed, further studies branch out into HOMEGROWN and WE HAVE WAYS. Mouse subjects to be held until
OPERATION: GARDEN OF DELIGHTS concluded, result: motivation has no significant effect on withstanding horrible death, must modify TG to be less hazardous.
OPERATION: HOMEGROWN
Research goal: growing more exact model objects to study TG with.
Step One: leverage my working theory of neural design and manipulation to fashion a sort of neuronal test bed - brain matter without a brain that readily connects with a computer, electrodes and miniature chemostats to, in effect, get a feel for what a given module requires as input and actually outputs in a system. Ensure the system is compatible with a wide range of imaging technologies.
Step Two: as a test case, see if I can build such a Homegrown© receptacle for Terrible Glory's receiver module, and link it to a dummy module (where the teleporter module normally would be) that produces a readout of any signals received.
OPERATION: WE HAVE WAYS
Research goal: dissect and understand the principles by which TG-T operates.
Step One: overwriting the laws of physics, you say? Time for intense deconstruction. First question: what is the input? And don't say willpower, desire or the power of the mind, because none of those actually contain any form of meaningful information (at least not to me - perhaps my theory encompasses such things quite well - notify me if this is the case). Do they take neuronal input, and what kind if so?
I'll give you extra progress roll as an apology. Which didn't really help that much.
OPERATION: HOMEGROWNThe thing about these more complex modules which operate outside of accepted laws of physics is that they cannot be fully selfcontained. They are extremely specialized cogs that must be part of a complex system. And as such your test bed have to be a functional brain. Mouse brain will do for that purpose, but bigger brains would be preferred. Studying effects of different modules requires working the computer connection case by case basis, but you figure to do what you to make the progress as fluid as possible. And because you are feeling lazy, you don't finish the test bed today.
OPERATION: WE HAVE WAYSYour theory does some work explaining this, but it is more focused pracital work, how to archieve desired effects and decoding neural connections. As stated earlier, these... reality ignoring modules require a mind as a backbone. How to say it, mind is not just neurons and synapses firing, it's more than that. These neural systems known as brains provide a host for it, a medium of kind. So altering the medium, adding new patterns, can produce these unusual effects. These modules of yours are just a part of it, like a additional program in a computer. Yeah, that's probably a good way to put it. Mind is the hardware and brain is the program. Although that's not perfect description either. I'm not quite clear about this either.
So the actual question: how does mind overwrite laws of physics? Your theory doesn't really answer that other than "it can do it if it has proper outlet. Here's how you can make these outlets".
Research in progress:
OPERATION: HOMEGROWN
OPERATION: WE HAVE WAYS
To be researched:
Hivemind testing
Research done:
Improved coordination
Improved cooperative bonding
Improved learning ability
Improved reaction times II
Terrible Glory + Analysis
Hive mind
Brain killswitch
Incentive module
Major Technologies:
NERVOUS SYSTEM DESIGN AND UNDERSTANDING
Test subjects expired: 35
Other victims: 8
Volunteers killed: 1
start producing scales. 2 shapes. defensive: thin plates, overlapping provide defense. offensive: parts of all of the scales create a blade form a la T-1000.
After spending the day producing enough scales and programming forms into them, you line the exoskeleton with a kevlar weave and attach scales on it one by one. It's a long and boring work. Of course you also implement simplest electric system to provide predefined AC frequences for shape change. Though providing heat for it remains a problem. You could give your man a blowtorch Actually the same electric system can heat it up. The scales act as resistor where part of the current is wasted and turned into heat.
Research in progress:
To be researched:
Reverse chemical formulation
Improved training speeds
Intelligence increasing treatments
Research done:
Layered lighweight armor
Matter annihilation power plant
Dead man's switch
Rail-guns
Exoskeleton
Military armor grade shape-memory alloy
Test subjects expired: 6
Adding a layer of the shock absorbant lining under the steel armour seems obvious.
Upgrade legs to provide enhanced mobility. Running and jumping and running on walls and surviving long falls. Give the feet the ability to shoot guns and grab things like hands too.
Edit: And the abiliy to run backwards.
Bare footed soldier. Yes, bare feets have much better grasp of the ground they are touching. Standard bone, joint, muscle and sinew strengthening techniques are applied. Faster running means legs must absorb and release shock impact more efficiently. Wall running means a really good traction. Prehensile toes are most certainly possible, but the soldier's ability to learn how to use those toes better is bigger problem. Backwards running... restructuring knees and ankles. You actually have to reconstruct everything below hips. Problem with long falls is not as much legs as it is the speed and how quickly the speed goes away. Longer legs are must. More springy muscles to absorb large amounts of power.
Huh, that's suprisingly lot of work! Many subjects perish while you cut their legs apart and try to reconstruct them into superior form.
Research in progress:
Leg enhancements
To be researched:
Brain integrated chips - Improved reaction speed
Brain integrated chips - Imprinted knowledge
Killing emotions
Associate obedience with joy
Researched done:
Reaction time study
Optical camouflage
Mobile holoprojector
High density battery
Dazzleball
Extended camouflage
Coilgun
Shock absorbent lining
True cyber limbs
Major Technologies:
True fusion of biological and mechanical technology
Test subjects expired: 25
If I could produce magnetar level magnetics, I wouldn't need confundium. I'd have a railgun source that could shoot through the planet.
Welp, research superpowerful and compact electromagnetic devices.
May as well go supernatural. Begin researching psionics. APricularly in terms of control of elemental forces/particles.
Sorry, I didn't mean you would need to use magnets, and I think I said that too. But the way how magnetar level magnetic fields can manipulate motion of almost all types of material contains the key your more safer and effective way of controlling confundium. So that in mind I keep rolling for confundium research. Which was actually good for you.
((
But please don't shoot any mass through the planet.))
Ah, secrets of universe are open to you, or at least secrets of confundium. You may need to rename it yet again. After staring models of magnetics and confundium for a half day your mind does it again. By which I mean another trip to madness place and coming back with solution. You work fervently constructing Confundium Harmonizer jargon jargon but have to technobabble and actually finish it!
The resulting device, in shape of tetris T block and one meter wide, effectively throws inertia out of the window. Extremely mathematical in usage, it requires very specific information as what to manipulate. Coordinates using the device as point of origin, shape and size of affected area, and new vector for confundiums in the area. Theoretically you could use it as an impulse engine for spacecrafts. Energy usage scales directly with volume of affected area, and more importantly, its effects are instantenious though it takes roughly a 50 milliseconds for it to do necessary math after receiving instructions.
That means your work with psionics is nothing more than idle thinking in bed before falling asleep. That thinking amounts roughly this: Self-respecting scientist won't say something is impossible, instead they say "by our limited understanding of the universe it may be unlikely". And being self-respecting scientist, you don't thow any ideas right out of the window like you do with inertia nowadays. Psionic power must come from brain. So you are *yawn* pretty sure you have to cut open few skulls tomorrow.
Research in progress:
Psionic powers
To be researched:
Camouflage
Railguns
Multibrain control systems - fixes
Lasers
Nanobot production: Extended raw materials
Armor
Distributed neural networks
Swarm bots
Hunter drones
Large scale modularity
Research done:
Nerve interface
Brain in a jar
Meshanite
Myomers
Highly volatile fuel
Robotic body
!!Multibrain control systems!!
Corrosion resistance
Major Technologies:
Nanomachines
Self construction
Self destruction
Electric manipulation
Kinetic shielding
Structural support
Gray Goo Limited EditionTM
Corrosion resistance
Confundium Harmonizer
Test subjects expired: 19
In the back of my mind I was just starting to think about modified creatures designed for non-combat purposes, but wow, my muse has really outdone herself here. I choose some subjects to turn into these earthworm-like support creatures, then begin the process of growing the combat bodies.
If I have time left, I begin researching additional biological capabilities that could be added to the combat bodies. I'm thinking poison spines, improved vision and light perception (those were some cool shrimp), perhaps even infrared/EM perception... though new senses could be overwhelming. I'll have to test that out on human subjects first.
I was wondering if I could turn your lab into something like
this.
The alteration virus is finished suprisingly quickly. You are getting good at this. And you do have pretty good equipment to make these things happen, thanks to your earlier work, though they could be more... clinical in appearance. You pick six bodies for harvesting, two for each of your combat bodies. First you give them most balanced and heaviest meal you can arrange. They are going to need all that energy before reformation is over. You carefully remove limbs, spine, brain and all other superfluous organs. Heart gets electrodes to keep it pumping until autonomous system reforms. Your virus is injected and organ bags are wrapped up in leftover fat and skin. They should be fully effective tomorrow. Probably.
Making the first cell for each of combat bodies is... well you are probably better off grabbing a stem cells from some test subjects are rewriting their chromosomes using usual methods. You get code for Codename Tarantula done and halfway through Codename Brutus.
You will always have time for other projects if you choose to work in parallel. But from your wording it seems you are fan of sequential work. Works for me.
By the way, how big are those combat bodies of yours? It makes difference in how fast they grow.
PS. Some of your assistants are starting to get cold feet. You hear rumor someone has request to be reassigned somewhere else.
Research in progress:
To be researched:
Extra body functions
Post-implantation adaptation
Research done:
Targeted hyper cancer
Inline DNA manipulation
Artificial Siamese Twins
Monster maker
Rapid healing
Extra bodypart attachments
Panacea - Immune system replacer
New nerve pathways
DNA: Codename Tarantula
DNA: Codename Brutus
DNA: Codename Chimera
Nutrient slurry generator
Major Technologies:
CELL MANIPULATION AND LARGE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Test subjects expired: 41
Find out who toppled the dice shrine in the rec room. Make them write out "I will not anger random Elder Gods by destroying the shrine in the rec room" in crayon on the ceiling of the rec room, 6d6+6 times.
I mean, Elder Number Gods.
You know what I mean.
Then rebuild the shrine.
Well, it's good that she's healed well. If she decides not to return... unfortunate, but understandable. Make sure to send a short hand-written apology letter, with best wishes regardless of where she decides to continue her pursuits. I may be a mad scientist, but unlike others I'm well aware that I'm not the one doing most of the actual work.
Continue on target towards fractal supercomputing and consciousness simulation. Even with the entire Universe against me, there is no other way but forward.
Have my assistants check in with me once they've finished the rebuild. I may have some ideas they might enjoy working on. Big honking superalloy guns.
And I know the Company is footing the bill, so let me rephrase the earlier query - obtain the current best off-the-shelf sensor packages for optics, thermals, IR/UV, sound, ultrasonic detection, and passive and active radar. Regardless of what vehicle they're for, but aim for something compact, we'll mostly use them as a tech base anyway. Throw in some things for sensing vibrations and perhaps pressure/contact/touch. An assault/recon trooper must be able to do both assault, and recon.
Nobody admits, so you pick somebody randomly. Dice rolls 4, 6, 1, 4, 3 and 2, so you make him write it 26 times.
You fail to rebuild it in its original glory on top of single die. You end up using two dice as a base. It's good, but not as awesome as it should be.
Progress is far less than you were hoping, but little progress is progress nonetheless. Most of the electronics for your supercomputer are now done, so you now focus on the construction facet of the work. Like how individual packages are built, how they should connect together, how they are cooled and so on.
CSE likewise makes some progress. Now that you know how actual hardware functions, roughly at least, you can rewrite portions of your pseudocode into something final and in the process discover and fix what coulde have been a fatal bug.
Prototype body is reassembled. Hopefully no more "rapid prototyping" is required.
Yeah, you get your sensors. Express delivery. At least something works.
Research in progress:
Non-Newtonian Kinetic Protection - outsourced, molecular simulation
Consciousness Simulation Engine
Customized Personal Supercomputer
Research to do:
Bionic Brain Matter
Wetware AI
Superalloy weakness
Research completed:
Structural skeleton
Myomers
Muscle layout
Cooling
Molecular simulation
High capacity fuel cell
Wear protection
Knowledge Database
Man Machine Interface
Other victims: 1
Oooh. I consider myself very lucky for having found this.
Xantalos volunteers as a test subject for any scientist, if there happen to be openings.
With my track record of how weird science shit and I interact, I daresay I'd be a prize asset to any aspiring supergenius!
Yep, you'll be Harry's new pet. Don't let him stick anything into your brain he doesn't understand.