11 days until deadline.Brain 1:
* Quantum brain mass production
* Mind Editing
Brain 2 & 4:
* Build the fifth Meshanblov Brain. Brain Five will build itself a remote body.
* Modular autonomous drones
* Stealth Systems
Brain 3:
* Nuclear II: Do a short feasibility study to consider if fusion has the potential for better performance. Either way, focus on simply improving the fission. It's fine if less waste heat is produced. That said, research into Heat Application will be suspended until it is determined if it is needed.
* Particle Beam II
Seņor:
Brain mass production finished! Took a sweet long time, but now it is done and you can churn out ten brains every day. Which you are not going to use to make more Meshanblov copies. Or you could, but work efforts must be combined so you have only six active projects going on any given time. That I can probably manage.
Editing memories is easy, simply change any particular reference in the memory sequence to point something else. Constructing and implanting new sequences should be easy too, just plop it down somewhere into the digital data. Adding new languages, and other skills, is a bit harder. It seems like you have to actually observe other digital brains performing task related to skill and then copy related parts. Implanting new skills too seems to be mildly difficult because each individual brain is different, so there won't be universal "do this to add new skills" method. You could develope "do this to understand how to add new skills into this individual" methodology.
Runner ups:
Another brain built as a joint project. Another brain left to fend for itself.
#2 Finishes modular drones and returns to help #4 who takes on stealth systems. #4 has idea for going to the hard end of stealth, which is electromagnetic radiation transparency. Fuck those photons, man! At least those on the most relevant wavelengths. Two of you take head first dive into mad science figuring out why photons with certain wavelength range pass through certain materials and not others. Why material is transparent and most importantly, how to make opaque materials transparent.
Bronze medalist:
Well yeah fusion could totally be an option. You already have particle accelerator, you know? Just add another six meters tall pole on back of your soldier so you can mash hydrogen atoms together at dangerous speeds. Highspeed collisions cause fusion and produce energy free for grabs. Fully plausible. Maybe not a lot of power, but power is power regardless of quantity.
But back to the fission improvements. Best way to increase power output is to replace photovoltaic receptors inside the core with more efficient version. Greater absorbtion rate equals greater output. You tinker around with that, hopefully producing something.
Particle beam's major problem is atmosphere. It's in the way, absorbing your energy. It would be great if you could get rid of that. Unfortunately that's not happening unless you first ionize air all the way to your target and then generate some sort of effect to push it out of the way. The brief moment before pressure pushes air back would mean uninhibited vacuum path to your target, which means you could power up output of your gun as high as it can take.
Ionization part is easy, powerful laser should do it and you should have enough power for do it.
Research in progress:
1 Mind Editing
2&4 Stealth Systems
3 Heat application
3 Nuclear II
To be researched:
Supermaterial Armouring
Fast body
Advanced Sensors/Senses
Particle Beam II
ECM/ECCM
Forcefields
Improved Meshanblov Co-Ordination and Co-Operation
Quantum Entanglement Communication
Cyber-Security
Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
Research done:
Armored exoskeleton structure
Artificial muscles (electricity driven cells)
Digital brain copy
Particle beam
Miniature fission reactor
High density capacitors
Remote controlled body
Quantum brain II
EMP hardening
Remote sciencing body
Compact built-in systems
Modular design
Quantum brain mass production
Modular autonomous drones
Stolen garbage:
Meshanite
Meshanite production line
Myomers
High capacity fuel cell
Test subjects expired: 24
Size of Meshanblov Collective: 5
...What's wrong with diesel, after all? Exo can let us carry enough fuel, and the noise that it makes is less important when everyone in a mile radius is clawing their eyes out.
Bah. Look into compact fission reactors that I could fit on there.
Power output, that's what wrong with it. Combustion based power generation is poor choice when you have so many devices each demanding a lot of power. Portable diesel generator doesn't have very high output, so if you want the exoskeleton to move, you won't be using any other power hungry machines.
Yeah, so fission reactor. Must make core. One that is not based on boiling water turbine. Because it is very ineffictive. Hmm, grinding uranium into fine dust, fed into plasma and let megnetohydrodynamic generator absorb energy from produced reaction. Yep, sounds about right.
Research in progress:
Miniature fission reactor
To be researched:
Terrorizer shielding
Exoskeleton
Mind to machine interface - canine adaptation
Mind merging
Artificial muscles
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
Braincase
Slave brain array
Simple brain-enhancing system
Test subjects expired: 62 (100)
Other victims: 35
OPERATION: WE HAVE WAYS concluded, result: TG-R and TG-T altered and recreated as WHW-R and WHW-T, considerably more useful designs with fewer side effects.
OPERATION: ALL-SEEING EYE
Step Ten, cont'd: explain to HR that paying the test subjects is in their best interest, considering they are prospective employees (as well as prospective dimensional sorcerers). An experimental ape costs like $60k a pop, you numpties, and these guys cost $210k a year! To say nothing of the other materials! Point is, just write the test subjects off as an additional expense. Not even a particularly large one. Give them company accounts. Offshore bank accounts that can be remotely frozen in case of rebellion, even. Honestly, do I have to explain the notion of compensating a valuable asset (especially given that it's a paycheck they'll see if they survive Mad Science Thunderdome)?
Step Eleven: start adapting TG-B into a new form of communication module, WHW-B, with the hypothetical goal being impregnable communication between the hivemind modules. Go minimalist, see if I can figure out how to upgrade the hivemind modules to utilize this mode of communication.
Report all this to the Doc. If he has any things he wants me to do, do it. Otherwise, spend my time making sure our stuff is secure and training my bodies to be in optimal shape.
Also inquire about the one female. Did he do something to her to enhance her perception of green that much?
Step Twelve: see if I can figure out what happened to the woman's vision and perceptions. As for the Executive Producer, training is still highest priority.
Project lead joins the email discussion and points out that test subjects are liability. None of them are permitted leave the project, and when project ends, so do they. Unless you happen to have a way to erase their memories with 100% certainty, then that's what going to happen. If you
do have a way to erase memories, then your request for paycheck and non-termination can be seriously considered. Even more so if you happen to produce superiour product and win this friendly competition.
OPERATION: ALL-SEEING EYEEh, the thing with EPA woman's eyes turns out to be natural mutation in her both X chromosomes. Very rare recessive gene which produces fourth type of cones in retina, sensitive to wavelengths little lower than normal green sensitive cones. Badly documented because people with this mutation don't usually realize they see more than others.
TG-B has few problems to solve before it can be used safely. First is rather abysmal range, paltry 20 meters. Second is indiscriminate broadcasting to every single brain within range. Third is that it is tuned to take input from TG-R. So you work it in reverse order. Removing TG-R dependancy is highest priorty after all, and giving it ability to read language center of human brain as well as hivemind module's contact point with radio chip. Huh, that was easier than expected.
Next you solve the broadcasting issue. It must be strictly limited to brains with safe signature. You figure having few hundred neurons firing in a recursive feedback loop could function as a key, so the module broadcasts only to brains with same neuron "key". This theoretically increases effective range because of reduced amount of valid targets, but in same time reduces it because it has to look for the key. The net effect ends up being slightly more on positivite side.
But it doesn't matter as much as undoing the last part of problem. Theoretically you could increase range infinitely, but in practical theory transmission efficiency is limited by how many brains it have to scan to locate acceptable recipients. More unrelated brains it has to scan, greater toll it takes. You go sleep while pondering what's most sane range in battlefieds and great metropolises.
Research in progress:
Codename: WHW-B
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
Hivemind master module
Extra fast neuron growth
Executive module
Codename: WHW-R
Codename: WHW-T
Major Technologies:
NERVOUS SYSTEM DESIGN AND UNDERSTANDING
Test subjects expired: 35
Other victims: 8
Volunteers killed: 1
Automatic Research
Hmm, no. Diamond isn't a good option. It has limits and most of all it is kind expensive lining material, even if the price is artificially inflated. But nothing better comes into mind...
Research in progress:
Pressurized air jump-jets
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
Advanced flamethrower
Insulation suit
High power laser
Test subjects expired: 6
Automatic Research
Now multitasking is funny thing. A brain can naturally think about two things at the same time, thanks to two brain hemispheres. It takes some training, but it is doable even without extra metal bits. Mostly it requires very good short term memory and ability to jump between tasks rapidly and recall state of mind. So what you do here is that you construct a short term task state memory which should take load off from natural memory. But that's only half of the job.
Research in progress:
Extended brain - Enhanced multitasking
To be researched:
Stealthsuit non-visual camo
Extended brain - Enhanced visual cortex
Lightweight armor
Full enviromental protection
Self-sealing body
Redundant organs
Extended brain - Control equipment with thought
Extended brain - External knowledge
Extended brain - Physical and mental pain filtering/hardening
Stealthsuit body integration
Suggestible pheromones
Stealth holodrones
Researched done:
Reaction time study
Optical camouflage
Mobile holoprojector
High density battery
Dazzleball
Extended camouflage
Coilgun
Shock absorbent lining
True cyber limbs
Leg enhancements
Brain integrated chips - Improved reaction speed
Improved internal organs
Hyper eyes
Locable joints
Extended brain - Enhanced coordination
Built-in coilgun
Major Technologies:
True fusion of biological and mechanical technology
Test subjects expired: 37
super. I wonder whatthe others' tech looks like these days. I shoot a emo to the company, asking for a rundown of general tech progress from the others. I word it so that the company knows I expect a refusal, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask for a general progress report.
Continue with the variant pulse engine and the improved reaction time, balancing it with higher functions.
I kinda want to look into transferring consciousness into nanobot swarms, but I feel it might invalidate several of my previous technologies. Perhaps the distributed neural networks can alleviate that concern. hmm, since nanotools are being used to manipulate the brain anyway, let's look into that. Let's push the boundaries between mind and nanomachine.
I don't know if this is an additional tech or not, but let's look at miniaturizing the support systems for our brain in a jar as well.
to do: body reconstruction and restoration - for those who want to reenter their human bodies.
Answer is polite denial of information full of empty words and thanks for understanding. Well, there's one word with actual meaning. "Interesting".
Final gentle touches to the prototype VPDE floater is done. The floater produces constant low frequence brrrrt noise when it hovers perfectly still in
midair. Simple remote controller moves the gyroscope inside and tilts it enough for sideways motion. Assistants love it! Everyone is taking turns flying
it around the lab compound until... until you say Enough, back to work. You killjoy.
FYI, distributed neural networks only work with fleshy people. Neurons must be protected and fed, which is hard to do in nanite body. This is why it was only available for mostly fleshy men in ER. But transferring consciousness into nanite swarm? That... is interesting idea. The way to do it would be simply letting nanites simulate neurons. Make duplicate of the brain. It would require specialized nanite type to do the job. Few could be bundled to simulate function of single neuron and stringing lone nanites into line would simulate axons. Benefits would include much higher trauma tolerance, more easily distributed form, complete destruction of the "brain" and still be able to reconstruct it and restart mind as long as no nanites were damaged or lost. Very attractive option. With the swarm soul upgrade user could instruct the swarm seep through walls using smallest cracks and reconstruct self on the other side.
No miniaturizing your brain jar is not easy task. There's no much to shrink. Brain cannot be minimized, certain minimal safety standards must be observed (human skull level protection), nutrient and waste packs could be reduced at cost of higher change frequency. Same with battery. Blood substitute pump could be integrated with veins to save some space. Which you do. Then... well, general layout of parts could be optimized for more spherical shape. Now that think about it, the swarm soul would take even less space than human brain. Maybe half as much if you go for optimal compression.
Research in progress:
Swarm soul
Brain in a jar II
To be researched:
Improved reaction time
Swarm bots
Hunter drones
Psionic powers
Kinetic shielding
Camouflage
Railguns
Lasers
Nanobot production: Extended raw materials
Armor
Distributed neural networks
Large scale modularity
Body reconstruction and restoration
Research done:
Nerve interface
Brain in a jar
Meshanite
Myomers
Highly volatile fuel
Robotic body
Multibrain control systems
Corrosion resistance
CF launcher
Improved spatial recognition
Variant pulse detonation engine
Major Technologies:
Nanomachines
Self construction
Self destruction
Electric manipulation
Kinetic shielding
Structural support
Gray Goo Limited EditionTM
Corrosion resistance
Confundium Harmonizer
Test subjects expired: 34
I transfer a test subject brain into Tarantula, then apply my post-implantation treatment and assign it an assistant. If the new rooms are completed, I transfer it into one of them. Otherwise it can probably be in a normal room for a day or two.
Then I devise tests to determine the combat bodies' physical capabilities: strength, speed, stability, endurance, carrying capacity, dexterity with weapons, hand-to-hand combat ability, and anything else that strikes me as important in a military setting. They should be tested each day, so I am able to compare the combat bodies at the same levels of implantation adaptation, and ideally extrapolate the data to predict the bodies' performance when the brain is fully used to it. Hopefully I'll be able to use the data to make decisions sooner and get renegadelobster into his body faster.
If I have any time left, I give a test subject IR-sensing organs (probably around the eyes) and the implantation treatment. I provide the assistant with a Bunsen burner and some ceramic balls (or any set of small fire-safe objects I have around the lab), then instruct them to periodically heat up some of the balls out of sight of the subject and test whether the subject can identify the ones that had been heated by IR vision.
I also contact my agent and request some spherical iron magnets and identical-looking iron balls for magnetovision training. The assistant should be able to determine which ones are magnets, then bring them into the room with the subject and test how well they can identify them. That should speed up the process a bit via external validation.
Another test subject implanted. This one appears to be very uncooperative so it's very nice when reinforced holding rooms are finished today. He's not trying actively murder assistants, but staying in your lab doesn't seem like his favourite option. He makes sure you hear about his nightly adventures with your mother. Raunchy stories.
Testing procedure figured. Chimera should be tomorrow in good shape for tests. Subject with Tarantula body may be problematic. Almost certainly.
You have a plenty of time. More than you know what to do with. IR organs treatment given to subject and his eyes are disabled to avoid cheating. Iron balls and magnets are brought with express delivery. The subject appears to be able locate direction fairly well, but determining distance is harder depending of magnet's orientation.
With your remaining time you finish the neurotoxin and passive counter agent. Normal tranquilizer gun should be enough for delivery system. Easily shattered container will ensure target is exposed to toxin even in case armor is in the way. You prepare twelve test subjects and give six the counter agent injection. Testing effectiveness of the toxin will be left for tomorrow.
Research in progress:
To be researched:
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
Magnetoreception
Post-implantation adaptation
IR detection
Weaponized neurotoxin
Major Technologies:
CELL MANIPULATION AND LARGE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Test subjects expired: 41
Full-ass as opposed to half-ass. Some may call it "going for broke", or "victory or bust". I call it going full-ass.
Well, this is quite fortunate timing, isn't it?
Connect the soldier to the MMI-consciousness linkup and have him spend the day resting, just focusing on memories of his military training and service. Don't remain connected to the entity itself so as not to mix up incoming experiences, and just monitor the process remotely via the connected computers.
Mention to the agent that, medical skills aside, Captain Malpractice is currently the foremost expert on installing these particular implants in the world. Technically. He's at least already made the errors that anyone else trying the procedure would be liable to make again.
Daily research #1: Design a synthetic-to-machine interface. This one would be two-way, intended for the synthetic brain to communicate with the mechanical components of its body, as well as letting me guide the growth of synthbrains with the simulated consciousness data. In terms of structure, it would probably resemble a "brainstem" - the central core out of which the synthbrain matter will grow. The core must be based on the fractal supercomputer, obviously, because it acts as a natural bridge between the synthetic consciousness and regular machines. It will use shifting electric potentials to cause the metallic impurities in the surrounding proto-brainmatter to condense in specific ways, thus forming the brain with the guiding consciousness already imprinted.
Daily Research #2: As long as I'm working with supercomputer structure, design the secondary brain that will fit in the unit's cranial cavity. It should be essentially a smaller shard of the fractal supercomputer, running a culled version of the synth-consciousness OS for compatibility, and select bits of software. Its purpose is to accelerate solution-finding tasks for the primary consciousness. Complex ballistics, structure collapse predictions, determining visiblity from particular vantage points, any sort of sheer number-crunching that the complex conscious brain might lack the sheer petaflops for doing quickly enough. Losing it in combat (presumably along with the head) would be a heavy blow to the unit's efficiency, but a far cry from total incapacitation that the enemy might expect.
Also tell Security to increase... uh, security. If we're turning the lab into a factory, might as well up the defenses. Nothing silly like parking tanks out the front, but definitely make sure that nobody can pull the "sneak in at night and plant bombs everywhere" thing again, because a second time they might succeed, and we're definitely having more busy floor space and more people doing work now.
-----------------------------
Semi-in-character list of "things to be done before the project has to go into testing":
Mandatory:
- Brain. To brain things. Consciousness included.
- Synth-skin, outer layer of "natural" protection. "Dragonskin"?
- Sensor suite: Optics, sound, contact/tremor, IR/UV, ultrasound, passive radar, active radar - in order of decreasing importance.
Optional, in order of decreasing importance:
- Training with body, and any optional equipment.
- Armaments, ranged: Heavy autocannon, small arms.
- External armoring: superalloy half-plate barding?
- Armaments, melee: Sword? (Hyperalloy preferred)
- Apparel: Military combat gear redesigned for different body.
It also could be no-ass.
Man disconnected, another connected.
Agent informed. They'll keep that in mind.
It shouldn't be hard to build SMI. Just take MMI and alter inputs, right? Wrong! Oh so wrong! You metaphorically bang your head hard on walls, kick table corners with your toe and so on, only to find that it is not that easy.
I consider bionic brain support computer as separate project, small as it is. Smallest unit of fractal computer is a cube size of avarage office worker's fist, so it doesn't exactly fit nicely where you want to put it in. And culling the consciousness simulator to work with only one node is hard work. It's a big program after all.
Oh, ding ding! Hyperalloy simulation has some results!
Research in progress:
! Synthetic Intelligence training
Synthetic Machine Interface
Bionic Brain support computer
Outsourced work:
Sidearms - assistants
Full A/RT-ACCS production line
Research to do:
Bionic Brain Matter
Sensor suite
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
Non-Newtonian Kinetic Protection
MMI-computer control
Customized Personal Supercomputer
Consciousness Simulation Engine
Main gun - assistants
Synth-dragonskin
Hyperalloy
Other victims: 1
Ooh, excellent!
Report all this to the Doc. If he has any things he wants me to do, do it. Otherwise, spend my time making sure our stuff is secure and training my bodies to be in optimal shape.
Also inquire about the one female. Did he do something to her to enhance her perception of green that much?
Training, training, training. One would think that's boring, but since George told you to train you find it very nice and rewarding thing to do. Physical training it is.
Assassinate the first 2 targets and moving to the 3rd and 4th. (Still a prank)
Assassinate!? Doc said capture! Anyway, kidnapping goes as well as it can be expected, thought the part where fire from burning house causes raging forest fire was not intenteded. Well whatever. No way this will come back to bite you. Doctors are packed and send to your boss via another route while your group moves on neighbouring country. All quite like over the border. Nobody notices a thing.
Work on not swearing as much. Ask politely for access to the camera feeds. Might as well watch the lab while I'm here.
By bloody ferret's bollocks, those dumb wank lord lickers are too easy with that eight legged spunk-bubble collector! Go suck a foot butler, you bloody nut detectors!
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Topic: Roll to create a supersoldier! Bloody air resistance (Read 139697 times)