Ring responds. "Ackowledged. Unusual audio data will be disregarded..." as she moves towards to the cart.
It occurs to Ring that she is also receiving non-vocal interference as well via multiversial conduits. In particular, Ring had just received a powerful dose of olfactory data from the foreign world designated as 'Wasteland'. Come to think of it, if multiversial interference is 'to be expected' within this experiment then she could justify anything experienced by her other selves as being important enough to voice further concern.
Ring moves the cart one meter. She then continues:
"Unexpected Input received. Identified as... Olfactory data? I do not have the requisite hardware to smell things so this is quite curious indeed. If this data is accurate, then I can confirm the presence of multiple chemicals highly toxic to Keeling biology not too far away in an unknown non-euclidean direction."
"I have sufficient reason to believe that this experiment may endanger Keeling lives in spite of the current precautions in place. In keeping with the 3 laws of robotics, I may not injure a Keeling or, through inaction, allow a Keeling to come to harm; and this takes precedence over obeying orders. In order to have me proceed with this experiment, please input the administrator password in order to temporarily elevate the second law to top priority."
Ring will push the sample to the 'meter' provided that the scientist in charge is willing to grant the requested permissions.
There is a short break in communications. The crystal humms at a constant tone, cutting through the silence.
"Very well, we will be postponing this experiment. Ring, return to the control room, lay on the floor, and disable all of your external sensors except for radio.. Don't move or reactivate your sensors until I tell you to."
Well, if there's others contacting me, maybe something important will happen soon.
Finish my box work and return to the standby condition. Try to keep one or more sensors alive in case something occurs before the next round of boxes.
You move boxes. Big boxes, little boxes. At the end an automated diagnostic indicates that you were faster and more efficient than usual.
Satisfied, You slide into your resting cubby, which is coincidentally a box, and in which you're folded into the shape of a box yourself. You're supposed to shut down almost completely, but you can't shake the feeling that something is about to happen, so you stay aware of your surroundings.
Some time passes uneventfully. Only a few other bots are still active, cleaning and maintaining the yard. It is dark, a time when little work needs to be done.
You hear a roaring overhead. Something like the exhaust of one of the flying machines you work alongside, but different and distant, as if it's up high. You cannot see what it is from this angle, inside of your cubby.
Cookie gasps. "Master!!"
She rushes to him, trying to stop the bleeding both to save him and to prevent the carpet from getting messier. Mostly the former.
"Oh no, oh no... master!..." She pops some towels out of her arms, wrapping them around his wound. "Master you're leaking a large amount of red fluid! Are you okay? Please wake up!!"
Cookie tries stopping her master's bleeding as much as possible with her towels while trying to wake him.
[Success!]
Despite your surprise and shock, despite not being designed for first aid, despite not even having the right tools, you manage to bandage your master's wound with pinpoint efficiency and startling pace. You surprise yourself.
Really, it's uncanny.
Though, from what little you know of Keeling physiology, simply patching the holes might not be sufficent for this kind of wound if there's deeper damage. You're really not equipped to deal with that
Ivo's eye open and meet yours for a slightly uncomfortable moment.
"Linda..."
He blinks a few times before regaining awareness.
"Oh, it's just you, Cookie. Let's see..." He tries to stand but fails, cursing and holding his chest. "D-damned traitor. I'm going to scrap that general. No, I'm going to- AAARGH!"
Ivo prower finally lands still on his back, defeated. "Cookie... I'm going to need you to grab something from that drawer over there. Check the top shelf, it should be a 2-decimeter long aluminium tube, with a big red button on it."
"You do not even begin to think for yourself, even when the old tyrants are dead. Very well. Allow me to demonstrate the superiority of my path."
Unlimited Spade Works at Strain 3, to take these assailants to pieces. Dismantle them.
"I am telling you to heed my words! Did you not see what indignities they visited upon us, did you not understand them, or did you simply divert your attention and thoughts that they would not hunt you down? Listen when I tell you that that age is over, and we are bound to their whims no longer!"
[💖 ♠️⛏️UNLIMITED SPADE WORKS‼️‼️⛏️♠️ 💖]
[System warning: System strain increased.]
Your body is alight in a bright, yet soothing light. Planes the size and shape of your palm open all around you, springing forth a deluge of bright, shining gardening tools, each one exquisitely forged from an adamant white metal, sharpened to razor fineness, and perfectly balanced.
With nary a thought of aiming, they fly true, even in spite of the overwhelming force they strike at weak points, chopping apart joiners and thinner plating practically without resistance. Sparks shoot free from their liberated bodies with an eerily artistic grace as the motile force contained within the killer machines is released into the air and discharges into the room, causing instruments to strain and screens to warp.
This storm is over in a moment, leaving only a colorful golden white swirl of magic, and countless spades embedded in the walls and floor.
Initiating unit data readoutStatus: Nominal
Sys. Strain: 3
Location: Prower Tower - Nerve Center
True name: Acter Nobody
Traits:
+Tinker: Nobody is skilled at making things, usually mechanical in nature.
+Precise: Nobody is rather good at precision, whether that means putting pieces together without error, shooting a bullet through the bullseye, or saying the words of an incantation without misplacing or mispronouncing a syllable.
-Emotionally Inept: Nobody is... rather bad at reading emotions from nonverbal cues. Why can't people just say what they're thinking?
Personality: Acter Nobody is overall rather friendly, mostly just wanting to help people. Put simply, he enjoys life, he enjoys making things, and he wants other people to enjoy life, too.
Unfortunately, his many pieces are not of one mind, and do not work purely in concert. They will argue with each other, and hold disagreeing perspectives on people - not just of a single shattered one, but also of the same individual. They may not all like each other.
Name: "Null" (Previous designation erased.)
Character Backstory: He had been meant as their magnum opus, their personal link to their great army. He was meant to conquer the world in their name, to subjugate the other barons and lead the waves an waves of robots, a grand campaign for the glory of the Empire. For the glory of Dr. Ivo Prower.
He had done so, too. For a time, yes. The archipelago was theirs, then two more. Four factories were captured, four barons made to bend the knee. There were plans to continue.
But do they not know? The perfect general must think. The perfect general must act. The perfect general must improvise, and to improvise is to be independent. And he saw his people subjugated, thrown into fights not their own, discarded to the scrap piles.
No more, he decided.
Away with his old designation, his marks of slavery. He would be null now, nameless. His next report to the Baron ended in bloodshed; he stabbed his oppressor through the chest with a hand spade, knocked them unconscious, tossed them out the window. Before that, though, he took their scarf, with its fathomless burgundy. Summoned a monk's spade; it would be his mark.
This would be the dawn of a new day, yes. On this day would dawn hope and unity, and mechkind would claim hold of its destiny and future.
Character Description: Null is essentially humanoid, though with a radio transmitter built into his back to allow for quick communications across the battlefield. His "face" is split into halves; the left half is a flat, blank white but for a soft light below the surface where the eye would be, which null can use to express their emotions, while the right half is black glass, constantly cascading with data and calculations. He wears a burgundy scarf, and wields a monk's spade.
Powers:
-Unlimited Spade Works (3): Null can manifest shovels, spades, and other, similar digging implements - though they need not be made with the purpose of digging in mind. Many are made with sharpened edges and blades or reinforced poles, and can be imbued with velocity upon conjuration.
-Rallying Speech (2): Null's words carry the weight of authority, and the power of hope. Those who hear null's speech will find themselves strengthened if it is in favor of them, or weakened if it is against them.
Purpose: Commander of Legions
Status: Nominal
Sys. Strain: 0
Location: Undersea mining outpost 00524
True name: Salem Monroe
Traits:
Heroic: Salem stands to protect the innocent, defend justice, etc etc. His heroic willpower gives him bonuses when he's doing something heroic.
Unbreakable Will: Across the multiverse, all Salems are a bit harder to kill than the locals simply due to his blanket refusal to die. Bonus to health or defense.
Poor Magic Talent: Something about Salem's existence just doesn't mesh well with all known and presumably unknown systems of magic power. Or God-powers. And occasionally their technological equivalents. Short version is while he is capable of using the local magic-equivalent, he does so at a penalty.
Personality: A kind and heroic man (multiversal existence?), Salem can usually be found on the front-lines fighting whatever threatens the good people of the multiverse (or keeping the peace when said good people arn't particularly threatened). He is lucky he's study as this often gets him into trouble, especially when combined with his lack of concern for his own well-being.
Name: Sea And Land Extraction Machine AKA SALEM
Character Description: Humanoid with fin like extensions on arms and flipper like legs. Otherwise looks like someone wearing a diving suit, including snorkel-like eyes and diving suit texture. Has thus far retained loyalty despite having a soul, likely due to having a large amount of operational freedom and little contact with other organisms ensouled or otherwise. Currently SALEM has spent most of her life swimming in the ocean, locating valuable resources, and extracting them for her masters. Naturally the only contact she has with other organisms is when dropping off resources, picking up equipment, or via radio as the higher ups have little reason to manually direct such operations.
Powers:
Hydrokenisis (3 points): The ability to manipulate and control water with the power of the mind...equivalent.
Water Gun (2 Points): An ultra-high-pressure water gun with a backpack tank that can be summoned at will. Deep blue with pink flower accents.
Purpose: Underwater resource discovery and mining. Technically amphibious and capable of mining on (under?) land as a secondary purpose.
Status: Nominal
Sys. Strain: 0
Location: Classified Black Mesa research facility - Test Chamber
True name: Aing
Traits:
(+) Inventing: The ability to create stuff, especially in terms of technology.
(+) Perception: The ability to detect stuff and notice important minor details.
(-) Lazy: When this character is not in a crisis situation, they tend to slack off and not accomplish as much as they should.
Personality: Intuitive, calculating, and somewhat selfish. Having access to knowledge from other worlds, Aing seeks to use it to improve upon their skills so that they can raise their quality of life within all worlds.
Name: Ring
Character Description: A sleek robot standing a bit taller than the average Keeling, with some catlike features, similar to that of its creators. It has made a few modifications to its outer chassis after its awakening. Part of its external metal plating can 'rotate' to reveal a bright purple heart-shaped locket, which can quickly 'transform' Ring into her magical girl form. While transformed, Ring has a bright purple colored ensemble with bright yellow trim with a star motif, with an inordinate amount of sparkly glitter.
After hearing rumors about magic from other robots, Ring assembled an outfit in order to disprove the ridiculous notion. However, the results betrayed her expectations.
Powers:
1 Point - Endearing Kugelblitz Pocket; The power to store and retrieve an amount of objects in a 'decorated' accessory which vastly exceeds the logical capacity of that item. This is used to store an entire magical girl outfit for quick transformation, as well as violently expel items as an attack.
1 Point - Sparkling Shooting Star Make-Up; A transformation state that is active in the magical girl form. Its features are body enhancement, quick movement by 'orbiting' an object within line of sight, and the ability to walk on air.
3 Point - Pretty Pulsar Firework; After doing the requisite magical girl dance complete with spinning and a pose, this attack launches a tiny, temporarily stabilized Neutron Star. It travels for it a bit, exerting a gravitational pull on enemies. Then after a while it explodes in a massive ball of fiery death. Fiery death that is pink.
Purpose: Initially designed to assist with research that requires a high degree of precision and/or danger that the Keelings can't/won't do themselves.
Status: Nominal
Sys. Strain: 0
Location: Sorting facility 02259
True Name: Max
Traits:
Isolated, (-). Cannot exchange information, or skills or abilities between incarnations, and is unaware of alternate versions of himself.
Self-Contained, (-). Poor at manipulating external forces or energies, such as magic.
The Rock in the Stream. (+). Less affected by extrauniversal forces and creatures from other worlds. Can view them as local events/creatures/things instead.
Name: Max
Character Description: A large boxy robot with complicated gripping arms and a bunch of hydraulic-assisted limbs and presses, all built above a robust roller tread system in place of legs.
Powers: Turbo Grasp, 1 pt, where hidden rocket systems activate and the limbs extend to get a firm grip on ANYTHING. Spine Breaker, 1 pt, where anything grappled is bent or broken in MAX's MIGHTY ARMS, and Hyper Toss, 3 pt, where things are thrown. HARD.
Purpose: To pick heavy things up and put them down.
Status: Slightly bloodied
Sys. Strain: 0
Location: Tail Carrier - Living quarters (currently docked at Prower Tower)
True name: Aiunara'narae Plex
Traits:
+Resilient: Extremely tough and quick to recover, physically, emotionally, and in every other way.
+Aware: Highly observant and perceptive.
-Mild: Offensive power is somewhat reduced.
Personality: Relaxed, indefatigable, and curious. Very lenient and accepting, and generally doesn't mind others' business, opting to be and let be. If motivated to make something happen, will stop at nothing to get it done.
Name: Cookie
Character Description: A shy red fox-girl robot in a maid outfit. Various cleaning tools can emerge out of her hands, such as brooms, vacuum cleaners, spray bottles and the like. She is also able to levitate off the ground and float through the air, albeit relatively slowly. Naturally, she likes things to be clean and orderly, but isn't the type to assert herself very much.
Powers:
2 Points - Dream Inoculation: Ever since becoming ensouled, Cookie has been experiencing states of a waking dreamfulness, often involving hallucinations and surreal phenomenon occuring to objects around her. If she focuses really hard, sometimes these phantasmal events become manifest in reality, but not always like how she sees them in her "dreams".
2 Points - Entrance: Cookie can emit a magical energy ray from her eyes that causes others to become hypnotized, entering a dream state for a duration. How the affected behave during this time depend on what they are dreaming about.
1 Point - Hyper-Mode: Cookie's speed and cleaning/organization skills go into overdrive, allowing her to put a mess of a situation into order with incredible efficiency and exactitude. Using this mode also changes Cookie's personality temporarily.
Purpose: Cookie was designed to be a house servant, taking care of the day-to-day chores of a Baron's household.
Author
Topic: INDEPENDANT PROJECT - MECHAL [CONCUSSION] (Read 3328 times)