- Location
- madison
well that's probably the best 20 word summary of why the technocracy is winning i've ever heard.
Panopticon: A Game of Posthumans, Perniciousness, Paranoia, Politics, and Plasmaguns
well that's probably the best 20 word summary of why the technocracy is winning i've ever heard.
- Location
- America
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Donald, I know you like to downplay your switch from Cult of Ecstasy to Syndicate, but you might actually be able to emphasize with Rose more than you think. Admittedly Rose's change was more violent, but that doesn't mean that there's nothing she can get from hearing about your experience.
Would it be Mind 1 or 2 plus Primal Utility 1 to think like Homo Economicus to defend against Progentor sexiness?
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Kerrus
Fractal Insanity
Depends on the edition. If we're using M20 (we aren't), then you'd need prime 2 to reinforce your pattern, but assuming 2E/Rev, it'd probably just be mind 2 or 3. While ostensibly a mind 1 shield would work, those are explicitly 'basic' and higher ranks can overcome them by taking advantage of weaknesses. You can bet the progenitors are adept in that area, so having higher ranks of mind would be necessary. Of course you'd also want life because one of the things life can do is just directly manipulate biological elements, mess with your neurochemistry via chemical synthesis and the like, and Mind doesn't wholly protect from that.
~nwo~:
How much are you telling the NWO?
[X] Write-In: The Rosarios have assumed control of this mission. Donald now has to report to them and justify what he's doing, but on the plus side since they're stealing him and his team from Bastion they're handling that specific bit.
Serafina's Gear:
What, exactly, was Serafina looking for? (Choose two additional ones, or five total)
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
The personnel files are here to, of course, help Serafina build up a subversive element of the Progentiors, using her contacts and her knowledge to track down the people who might be sympathetic to her.
The combat homunculus and the biohacking kit are because Serafina is very aware that someone might betray her, and that she's going deep into unfriendly territory with no one on her side. She has the X410 genes in her which give her a focus for some combat-ready effects (like "I fix myself up after being shot"), but she's not a fighter - and on a very risky mission like this, the chance of a sudden yet inevitable betrayal is a clear and present danger. Therefore she really, really wants at least one person who's on her side. And a bodyguard combat homunculus, here to keep her safe while she has secret meetings with Progenitors is something that she personally feels is good for her survival and not-being-captured odds.
Especially since as a princess, she's vulnerable to being captured.
The chance of Alicia deciding "Whee, looks like this is a chance for me to pick up a sexy new body" is not necessarily irrelevant, but is only just an additional step that means that hilarity might ensue.
How much are you telling the NWO?
[X] Write-In: The Rosarios have assumed control of this mission. Donald now has to report to them and justify what he's doing, but on the plus side since they're stealing him and his team from Bastion they're handling that specific bit.
Serafina's Gear:
What, exactly, was Serafina looking for? (Choose two additional ones, or five total)
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
The personnel files are here to, of course, help Serafina build up a subversive element of the Progentiors, using her contacts and her knowledge to track down the people who might be sympathetic to her.
The combat homunculus and the biohacking kit are because Serafina is very aware that someone might betray her, and that she's going deep into unfriendly territory with no one on her side. She has the X410 genes in her which give her a focus for some combat-ready effects (like "I fix myself up after being shot"), but she's not a fighter - and on a very risky mission like this, the chance of a sudden yet inevitable betrayal is a clear and present danger. Therefore she really, really wants at least one person who's on her side. And a bodyguard combat homunculus, here to keep her safe while she has secret meetings with Progenitors is something that she personally feels is good for her survival and not-being-captured odds.
The chance of Alicia deciding "Whee, looks like this is a chance for me to pick up a sexy new body" is not necessarily irrelevant, but is only just an additional step that means that hilarity might ensue.
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Aleph
Princess of Stabbity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I enthusiastically support moar Alicia, and I even more enthusiastically support Serafina not dying. Even in the worst-case scenario, a combat-focused homunculus with Seramods should drastically increase her chances of staying alive until we get there should things go down the can - and remember, she's heading for Gregor Leon, who will have his own heavy combat assets in place in Tokyo and who is definitely smart enough to feasibly see her coming as an outside possibility.
We have gone to a lot of trouble to keep this woman alive. Let's keep her that way.
- Location
- in the trash
I've seen several people bring up the idea of stuffing Alicia into the combat homonculus, but doesn't that run into the rather massive issue that proper combat homonculi are specifically said to be incapable of becoming Enlightened (which is obviously a problem if you're trying to download an Enlightened alpha fork into one), as well as the issue that Serafina knows that Alicia is not a bioengineered critter designed to transform into a biological murder machine?
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- Location
- madison
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
because her good friend Alicia (who is totally a separate person and not at all some kind of EDE) is really good at loading up skilled forks into constructs(definitely not any sort of reality deviancy possession nonsense going on here, no sir) so she might as well take along something high end for her to use. Also not having at least one heavy in your corner makes everthing a lot riskier since your safer to turn on if you don't have any of your own combat assets.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
diplomancers need personal info the way exojock's need ammo. Namely in that while it isn't always strictly necessary, it makes things a lot easier.
because her good friend Alicia (who is totally a separate person and not at all some kind of EDE) is really good at loading up skilled forks into constructs(definitely not any sort of reality deviancy possession nonsense going on here, no sir) so she might as well take along something high end for her to use. Also not having at least one heavy in your corner makes everthing a lot riskier since your safer to turn on if you don't have any of your own combat assets.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
diplomancers need personal info the way exojock's need ammo. Namely in that while it isn't always strictly necessary, it makes things a lot easier.
- Location
- Head in the clouds
That may be one of the reasons that the hacking kit is included.
[X] Write-In: The Rosarios have assumed control of this mission. Donald now has to report to them and justify what he's doing, but on the plus side since they're stealing him and his team from Bastion they're handling that specific bit.
Serafina's Gear:
What, exactly, was Serafina looking for? (Choose two additional ones, or five total)
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
More Alicia is always a good thing
Serafina's Gear:
What, exactly, was Serafina looking for? (Choose two additional ones, or five total)
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
More Alicia is always a good thing
Imrix
Periodically Malevolent QM
More likely they'll assume that Serafina has relapsed and vat-grown a construct to enable her delusion.
Didn't you once describe Marianne of Balador as having Appearance: More Than You?
Well yes, but she's not the average Ecstatic.
~nwo~:
How much are you telling the NWO?
[X] Write-In: The Rosarios have assumed control of this mission. Donald now has to report to them and justify what he's doing, but on the plus side since they're stealing him and his team from Bastion they're handling that specific bit.
This is too funny not to use.
Serafina's Gear:
What, exactly, was Serafina looking for? (Choose two additional ones, or five total)
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
Some additional insurance against getting murdered in the face probably outweighs the benefits of the social boosters, especially since Serafina should be able to buff herself with procedures anyway if she's prepared for a social encounter. Getting ambushed by HITMarks is more problematic for someone who's relatively squishy.
How much are you telling the NWO?
[X] Write-In: The Rosarios have assumed control of this mission. Donald now has to report to them and justify what he's doing, but on the plus side since they're stealing him and his team from Bastion they're handling that specific bit.
This is too funny not to use.
Serafina's Gear:
What, exactly, was Serafina looking for? (Choose two additional ones, or five total)
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
Some additional insurance against getting murdered in the face probably outweighs the benefits of the social boosters, especially since Serafina should be able to buff herself with procedures anyway if she's prepared for a social encounter. Getting ambushed by HITMarks is more problematic for someone who's relatively squishy.
meianmaru
The Devourer of Fiction
Earthscorpion's specific combination of the stuff that Sera took was somethings that I was contempleting voting anyway, and the write-in is hilarious. Less sheer single-minded focus but more combat readiness and flexibility is something that seems more optimal for someone who is currently operating mostly alone and off the Technocratic grid.
[X] Write-In: The Rosarios have assumed control of this mission. Donald now has to report to them and justify what he's doing, but on the plus side since they're stealing him and his team from Bastion they're handling that specific bit.
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
[X] Write-In: The Rosarios have assumed control of this mission. Donald now has to report to them and justify what he's doing, but on the plus side since they're stealing him and his team from Bastion they're handling that specific bit.
[X] A sizable sum of money in untraceable cash.
[X] A genetic disguise kit, multirole.
[X] pDNA (pedagogical DNA) for the Japanese language and customs.
[X] A combat homunculus and biohacking kit.
[X] Personnel files on Japanese Technocrats and one-time encryption systems
Tasoli
Life is for Living
- Location
- Behind the Keyboard.
Yup, Mind procedure to load extra personality in to a construct.
- Location
- madison
I thought they were aware that Alicia was more than a delusion? I vaguely recall them talking about Alicia like she was some kind of EDE or other strange creature.
- Location
- Spain
Welcome.
Are you reading all the comments, instead of just the story posts? I have to say that i admire such endurance.
I had to. Otherwise I would miss all those sweet unpicked write ins, or the spells.
Also, I have am only familiar with VtM, so I have to read the discussion in order to understand most things.
Tasoli
Life is for Living
- Location
- Behind the Keyboard.
Heh I tried that but couldn't get tough the full quest before running out endurance after like 200 pages. So I instead read the pages the chapter was on and called good enough.
I am more familiar with Mage tough that helped.
Update CLXXXIX: A Matter of Family
JB CLXXXIX: A Matter of Family
The dining room is luxurious. The food is excellent, and there's a haze of blue smoke hanging in the air. Everyone else in the restaurant is a Progenitor construct, and so is suitably intimidating.
"... and that just about sums it up, I believe," Pia Rosario says, smiling at Donald. She flutters her eyelashes at him. "Do you have any questions?"
Donald blinks, eyes drifting up from her tight white blouse. He blinks heavily. "Uh..." he says.
Smiling sweetly, Pia leans in. "Oh, don't worry over the details," she says. "Just keep an eye on the broad overview. You're working under me," her eyes dip downwards, and she licks her lips, "if you know what I mean."
"Yes." Donald takes a drink, trying not to show that his hands are shaking. It's just water. He wants something stronger, but when shut in a confined room with Serafina's mother, he really doesn't want his inhibitions lowered. Donald has to remind himself that this woman who looked like she was twenty if one were to highball it and acted like a flirtatious college student was his superior in basically any way you cared to mention. She's on the Administration, she's also more than twice his age and she's managing to play him. He thought he was good at this sort of thing.
Oh, and she's married, on top of everything else. He has to remember that too.
God, no wonder Serafina was a little strange if this was what her image of a maternal figure was. What would it be like to have someone showing up at your parent-teacher conferences looking like your big sister? Especially when he'd looked through some of Henriette's footage from Mexico City, and noticed that the senior female Dr Rosario got very serious when presented with something like the prospect of abseiling into an Anomaly-contaminated area. How much of it was an act wasn't something he'd been able to read off her, but he'd be willing to bet that she had some kind of mental-tweak regime to keep her mannerisms this distractingly innocuous and harmless.
This was a very, very dangerous lady. And also prettier than even Serafina or Rose, which was leaving him having to constantly remind himself to think with his head, rather than his dick.
"Working under you," he repeats.
He just has to think rational, economic, data-driven thoughts. Think economically and put his base instincts behind him, ignoring cognitive shortcuts and the fact that that is a very, very tight blouse.
"Yes." The cigarette in her mouth does a little circle and he swallows. "Under me. I will be going to Fukushima along with Daniel. We have legitimate reasons to be there, because there are strange unorthodox mutations seen in the local sea-life from the radiation release and Daniel has friends on a committee handling shakedown of the mess the local Union made of handling the incident. We'll be nice and public and close enough to offer support, but far enough away that you'll be off the main radar. We'll make sure you have the tools you need while you look for my daughter." She looks distraught and Donald feels an unwelcome surge of pity go out to her. "I just want her back safe. Find her and protect her."
Donald has to repeat to himself that she's not doing a massive favour to him by offering her help, that she wants Serafina found just as much as he does - and that means he doesn't owe her a thing.
"We'll certainly help you find her," he manages to say.
"I'm sure you'll do an excellent job of it," Pia says. "So since you'll be helping, you'll be reporting directly to me and Daniel. We'll require daily status reports, and we'll have to sign off any operations you conduct. After all, we'll be providing you with resources, so that much isn't much to ask, is it?"
It really isn't. It's such a small thing, and he wants to agree so she'll smile at him again. But Donald grits his teeth and thinks economically. "I'm afraid I can't do that," he says. "That kind of data flow risks compromising you - and us - and on top of that, we'd only be able to communicate with you at safe intervals. With the urgency of the situation, sign-off on everything is just asking for too much."
She looks sad, and his heart wrenches again. "So demanding," she says.
"I'm afraid so," he manages. "While of course I'll try to consult with you whenever possible about major operations and I'll be more than happy to hear your viewpoint, safety and the... ah, unique set of facts on the ground does mean..." What was he saying? His mind is drifting. "Does mean that I'll need to be able to act swiftly and without undue oversight," he manages to say.
Pia shakes her head. "You drive a hard bargain, Mr Sykes," she says, looking at him over her eyelashes. The cigarette in her mouth does another almost hypnotic circle. "I can't help but feel you're taking advantage of my needs."
He swallows. He wants to help her. He really does. "I'm afraid I have to insist," he says, sticking to his pre-decided line in the sand. Goddamnit. His trousers are far too tight at the moment. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "It's all about keeping Serafina safe, after all."
"Oh well." Pia taps some ash off her cigarette, shaking her head sadly as she checks her appearance in the mirror behind the bar. "Well, we'll handle getting your team into Tokyo - and provide you with the necessary disguises, communication channels and backgrounds. I know you want to show you're a strong independent man, Mr Sykes, but please keep in contact with us. We can only give you limited help, but we know how Serafina thinks and we really do care for her."
"I'll try my best," he says, trying to avoid sounding too relieved that she isn't hammering him with her sheer presence right now. "And... and Professor Bastion?"
She laughs. "Don't worry. I'll handle him. I'm good at handling men."
Donald swallows. His throat is dry. Each word from her mouth in that Italian accent and that tone brings very vivid mental images to mind. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure you are."
An hour later, he slumps down in the comfortable armchair, and takes a drag on his newly lit cigarette. His hand is shaking. Rose glares disapprovingly at the smoke, but decides not to say anything.
"Holy shit," Donald manages, exhaling. "I never thought I'd say it, but here goes; that is too much woman for me."
"You remembered that she's designed her appearance to seem harmless and nice?" Rose asks. "You didn't let her get to you?"
"It was like being fucking Sisyphus," he declares to the world. "Even with everything and all the ways you warned me. Jesus." He checks his watch, sees that the countersurveillance equipment was still in place. "She makes that thing from London seem repulsive. Holy shit, I haven't gone through something like that since the old days and that was around RDs who based everything they did about being too damn sexy. Just being around her when she was turning on the charm... it was like I was drunk."
"Hmm." Rose leans over and sniffs him. "Yeah," she mutters.
"Excuse me?"
There's a slight red hint to Rose's irises for a moment. "I can smell her pheromones on you," she says, a slight growl reverberating at the back of her throat.
Donald slaps himself around the face. "Thought so," he says. "She must spend a fortune on Syndic cosmetics. And that's before you get started on the gene-tweaks and bio-sculpting. God, she's walking around with enough augs to pay for a squad of HITMarks. And not cheap ones, either."
"It's like being around my big sister. She has some of the same things," Rose agrees.
"Your... ah?"
"My big sister." Rose sighs. "Maria. EXEMPLAR II, derived from Helen of Troy."
"Oh." Donald thinks. "So... you're saying I just stood up to a face that could launch... like, a good three hundred ships? Maybe four hundred?" He slaps himself again. "I think I have cause to feel pretty proud of myself."
"Serafina says she almost never lets it all out and sticks mostly to more subtle things. And guilting and telling you that you need to settle down and think of your career, but that's probably what just what she does to Sera," Rose says. "I don't know why she went full blast on you." She pauses. "Did she say anything about your career?"
Donald rubs his temples, and tries to think through the quickly thinning fog in his head. Now that he's out of Pia's presence, he's wondering that too. When he was around her, of course, he just... he just couldn't think ill of her. Or blame her for anything. "I... I think it was a test," he manages.
"Huh?"
"Look, if I could stand up to her enough to not just throw myself at her feet and beg to clean them with my tongue, I'm not going to fold against many weaker things," Donald says, frankly. "I mean, damn. No wonder the Iterators all emotionally neutered themselves and the Order relied on the stick up their arses back before '99, if they were having to negotiate with senior Progenitors who were all like that."
"And that's why the Progenitors became what they did in space," Rose says, looking at her reflection in the shiny counter with a thousand yard stare. "People so smart, so socially adept that baseline humans were just an extension of their will. They were already becoming like that on earth." She looks sad, and there's a little bit of Donald which notes that a sad Rose doesn't compare to a sad Pia in sheer raw sympathy-inducing power. "It's just in space, they lost everything holding them back."
"You know who she reminded me of?" Donald says, pinching the brow of his nose.
"One of your ex-girlfriends?" Rose says, a little cattily.
"No. Well, yes, okay, more than a few." Donald frowns. "I really need to stop dating dangerous, strong-willed women. Not the point. That wasn't who I was thinking of. Actually, she did remind me of Serafina."
"She is her mother. Of course they'll have a similar appearance."
"No, but... not like that. She's like Sera, just... just without the kinder side. Or at least, she's better at hiding it."
"I don't think they're that much alike," Rose says, glaring at her reflection.
"No, I think they are," Donald says. "The mannerisms are similar, and so's the feeling that they're thinking things through ahead and that... look, it's just a feel. I wonder how much she's like Sera when she isn't trying to take advantage of an innocent like me."
"Not at all!" Rose insists. "They... they are not alike!"
"What do you m-"
"They're just not anything alike! Sera is nice and gentle and kind, and her mother is a manipulative... bitch who manipulates Sera and tried to make her give me up and just tried to control you!" Rose is panting, and her eyes are bloodshot.
Hands shaking, Donald takes another drag on his cigarette. "So. How you doing, Rose?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Look, I just got out of being damn near well whammied by your grandmother. I need to talk about other things to distract me from thinking about her."
That produces a harsh sniff from Rose. "You know, in a way she's sort of my descendant, too," she says.
Donald blinks.
"There are quite a few Liors in the Rosario family tree. The first Magister del Rosario even married one of her daughters."
He opens his mouth. He closes his mouth. "Sure. Whatever," he says. "I'm just glad I don't have to deal with your family tree. But Rose, I was talking about you."
She massages the back of her neck. "I... l've been talking with Henriette. It's... it's going okay," she says in a little voice. "I... she knows what it's like. To have to pull yourself back together after... after being broken." She looks directly at him, eyes slightly teary. "You don't know. Not really. Having the central part of your life kicked away from you is horrible. But she survived it. So will I."
Donald raises his hands in mock surrender. "I just wanted to be sure that you were talking," he says. "Little steps are the thing. Remember, I chose to change sides. No, it's not as big as what you two went through, but I can't pretend it was easy."
Rose smiles, blotting at her eyes. "No, I don't suppose it was." She squares her shoulders. "Now, uh... you need a rest, I think. You look exhausted. I'll prescribe you something to help you sleep. And also unpick any hypnotic suggestions or vulnerabilities she might have got into your head."
"I'm pretty sure I already found Italian accents sexy long before I came to this amalgam," Donald jokes. "Neither you nor Sera nor her can claim credit for that."
"I'm being serious!"
"So am I!"
"Right." Alicia says when she's spent.
"Sorry. I just-he stole my research and I sent it to him and I don't know if he's responsible or not but it's just so easy to blame him." Serafina sighs. It's cathartic having someone to blame that you might be able to touch, unlike whatever Panopticon did to her-and their suspicions about Jamelia Belltower. Their insistence that she was a traitor, that she was responsible for the attack on the construct. Cleaning house. She wonders how that could even be possible.
"Anyways, do you want to know what I found out talking to people?" Alicia asks. "No wait, of course you do. Your parents are coming here in a day."
Serafina looks at Alicia in shock and surprise. "What."
"Seriously, Sera." Alicia says. "Apparently they, entirely coincidentally, and entirely without any knowledge, are coming to Japan because of weird fauna in the Fukushima exposure zone. I don't know why, your mom seems to be really interested in it, and the ways of senior Progenitors are not to be debated. Professor Li could, but he just wants her out of his hair for a good long while and maybe he thinks that sending her on safari will do it. So. Are you coming to see them? I bet they're here for you."
It's obvious to her that they're here for her. "Anyone else? Is... anyone from the amalgam okay? Donald and Rose and all the others?"
"No sign of them yet." Alicia sighs. "I'm sure they're fine. They won't have given up on you. We can't give up on them either. So first steps first. You'll probably want to make sure they're actually your parents and not some FACADE clones. Then..." she trails off, waiting.
"Then I'm not sure. I'll think of something, Alicia." I promise. Serafina says. Her and her parents saving the world. She's dreamed of this when she was ten. Now it might be a reality and she almost wishes it wasn't happening.
The dining room is luxurious. The food is excellent, and there's a haze of blue smoke hanging in the air. Everyone else in the restaurant is a Progenitor construct, and so is suitably intimidating.
"... and that just about sums it up, I believe," Pia Rosario says, smiling at Donald. She flutters her eyelashes at him. "Do you have any questions?"
Donald blinks, eyes drifting up from her tight white blouse. He blinks heavily. "Uh..." he says.
Smiling sweetly, Pia leans in. "Oh, don't worry over the details," she says. "Just keep an eye on the broad overview. You're working under me," her eyes dip downwards, and she licks her lips, "if you know what I mean."
"Yes." Donald takes a drink, trying not to show that his hands are shaking. It's just water. He wants something stronger, but when shut in a confined room with Serafina's mother, he really doesn't want his inhibitions lowered. Donald has to remind himself that this woman who looked like she was twenty if one were to highball it and acted like a flirtatious college student was his superior in basically any way you cared to mention. She's on the Administration, she's also more than twice his age and she's managing to play him. He thought he was good at this sort of thing.
Oh, and she's married, on top of everything else. He has to remember that too.
God, no wonder Serafina was a little strange if this was what her image of a maternal figure was. What would it be like to have someone showing up at your parent-teacher conferences looking like your big sister? Especially when he'd looked through some of Henriette's footage from Mexico City, and noticed that the senior female Dr Rosario got very serious when presented with something like the prospect of abseiling into an Anomaly-contaminated area. How much of it was an act wasn't something he'd been able to read off her, but he'd be willing to bet that she had some kind of mental-tweak regime to keep her mannerisms this distractingly innocuous and harmless.
This was a very, very dangerous lady. And also prettier than even Serafina or Rose, which was leaving him having to constantly remind himself to think with his head, rather than his dick.
"Working under you," he repeats.
He just has to think rational, economic, data-driven thoughts. Think economically and put his base instincts behind him, ignoring cognitive shortcuts and the fact that that is a very, very tight blouse.
"Yes." The cigarette in her mouth does a little circle and he swallows. "Under me. I will be going to Fukushima along with Daniel. We have legitimate reasons to be there, because there are strange unorthodox mutations seen in the local sea-life from the radiation release and Daniel has friends on a committee handling shakedown of the mess the local Union made of handling the incident. We'll be nice and public and close enough to offer support, but far enough away that you'll be off the main radar. We'll make sure you have the tools you need while you look for my daughter." She looks distraught and Donald feels an unwelcome surge of pity go out to her. "I just want her back safe. Find her and protect her."
Donald has to repeat to himself that she's not doing a massive favour to him by offering her help, that she wants Serafina found just as much as he does - and that means he doesn't owe her a thing.
"We'll certainly help you find her," he manages to say.
"I'm sure you'll do an excellent job of it," Pia says. "So since you'll be helping, you'll be reporting directly to me and Daniel. We'll require daily status reports, and we'll have to sign off any operations you conduct. After all, we'll be providing you with resources, so that much isn't much to ask, is it?"
It really isn't. It's such a small thing, and he wants to agree so she'll smile at him again. But Donald grits his teeth and thinks economically. "I'm afraid I can't do that," he says. "That kind of data flow risks compromising you - and us - and on top of that, we'd only be able to communicate with you at safe intervals. With the urgency of the situation, sign-off on everything is just asking for too much."
She looks sad, and his heart wrenches again. "So demanding," she says.
"I'm afraid so," he manages. "While of course I'll try to consult with you whenever possible about major operations and I'll be more than happy to hear your viewpoint, safety and the... ah, unique set of facts on the ground does mean..." What was he saying? His mind is drifting. "Does mean that I'll need to be able to act swiftly and without undue oversight," he manages to say.
Pia shakes her head. "You drive a hard bargain, Mr Sykes," she says, looking at him over her eyelashes. The cigarette in her mouth does another almost hypnotic circle. "I can't help but feel you're taking advantage of my needs."
He swallows. He wants to help her. He really does. "I'm afraid I have to insist," he says, sticking to his pre-decided line in the sand. Goddamnit. His trousers are far too tight at the moment. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "It's all about keeping Serafina safe, after all."
"Oh well." Pia taps some ash off her cigarette, shaking her head sadly as she checks her appearance in the mirror behind the bar. "Well, we'll handle getting your team into Tokyo - and provide you with the necessary disguises, communication channels and backgrounds. I know you want to show you're a strong independent man, Mr Sykes, but please keep in contact with us. We can only give you limited help, but we know how Serafina thinks and we really do care for her."
"I'll try my best," he says, trying to avoid sounding too relieved that she isn't hammering him with her sheer presence right now. "And... and Professor Bastion?"
She laughs. "Don't worry. I'll handle him. I'm good at handling men."
Donald swallows. His throat is dry. Each word from her mouth in that Italian accent and that tone brings very vivid mental images to mind. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure you are."
***
An hour later, he slumps down in the comfortable armchair, and takes a drag on his newly lit cigarette. His hand is shaking. Rose glares disapprovingly at the smoke, but decides not to say anything.
"Holy shit," Donald manages, exhaling. "I never thought I'd say it, but here goes; that is too much woman for me."
"You remembered that she's designed her appearance to seem harmless and nice?" Rose asks. "You didn't let her get to you?"
"It was like being fucking Sisyphus," he declares to the world. "Even with everything and all the ways you warned me. Jesus." He checks his watch, sees that the countersurveillance equipment was still in place. "She makes that thing from London seem repulsive. Holy shit, I haven't gone through something like that since the old days and that was around RDs who based everything they did about being too damn sexy. Just being around her when she was turning on the charm... it was like I was drunk."
"Hmm." Rose leans over and sniffs him. "Yeah," she mutters.
"Excuse me?"
There's a slight red hint to Rose's irises for a moment. "I can smell her pheromones on you," she says, a slight growl reverberating at the back of her throat.
Donald slaps himself around the face. "Thought so," he says. "She must spend a fortune on Syndic cosmetics. And that's before you get started on the gene-tweaks and bio-sculpting. God, she's walking around with enough augs to pay for a squad of HITMarks. And not cheap ones, either."
"It's like being around my big sister. She has some of the same things," Rose agrees.
"Your... ah?"
"My big sister." Rose sighs. "Maria. EXEMPLAR II, derived from Helen of Troy."
"Oh." Donald thinks. "So... you're saying I just stood up to a face that could launch... like, a good three hundred ships? Maybe four hundred?" He slaps himself again. "I think I have cause to feel pretty proud of myself."
"Serafina says she almost never lets it all out and sticks mostly to more subtle things. And guilting and telling you that you need to settle down and think of your career, but that's probably what just what she does to Sera," Rose says. "I don't know why she went full blast on you." She pauses. "Did she say anything about your career?"
Donald rubs his temples, and tries to think through the quickly thinning fog in his head. Now that he's out of Pia's presence, he's wondering that too. When he was around her, of course, he just... he just couldn't think ill of her. Or blame her for anything. "I... I think it was a test," he manages.
"Huh?"
"Look, if I could stand up to her enough to not just throw myself at her feet and beg to clean them with my tongue, I'm not going to fold against many weaker things," Donald says, frankly. "I mean, damn. No wonder the Iterators all emotionally neutered themselves and the Order relied on the stick up their arses back before '99, if they were having to negotiate with senior Progenitors who were all like that."
"And that's why the Progenitors became what they did in space," Rose says, looking at her reflection in the shiny counter with a thousand yard stare. "People so smart, so socially adept that baseline humans were just an extension of their will. They were already becoming like that on earth." She looks sad, and there's a little bit of Donald which notes that a sad Rose doesn't compare to a sad Pia in sheer raw sympathy-inducing power. "It's just in space, they lost everything holding them back."
"You know who she reminded me of?" Donald says, pinching the brow of his nose.
"One of your ex-girlfriends?" Rose says, a little cattily.
"No. Well, yes, okay, more than a few." Donald frowns. "I really need to stop dating dangerous, strong-willed women. Not the point. That wasn't who I was thinking of. Actually, she did remind me of Serafina."
"She is her mother. Of course they'll have a similar appearance."
"No, but... not like that. She's like Sera, just... just without the kinder side. Or at least, she's better at hiding it."
"I don't think they're that much alike," Rose says, glaring at her reflection.
"No, I think they are," Donald says. "The mannerisms are similar, and so's the feeling that they're thinking things through ahead and that... look, it's just a feel. I wonder how much she's like Sera when she isn't trying to take advantage of an innocent like me."
"Not at all!" Rose insists. "They... they are not alike!"
"What do you m-"
"They're just not anything alike! Sera is nice and gentle and kind, and her mother is a manipulative... bitch who manipulates Sera and tried to make her give me up and just tried to control you!" Rose is panting, and her eyes are bloodshot.
Hands shaking, Donald takes another drag on his cigarette. "So. How you doing, Rose?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Look, I just got out of being damn near well whammied by your grandmother. I need to talk about other things to distract me from thinking about her."
That produces a harsh sniff from Rose. "You know, in a way she's sort of my descendant, too," she says.
Donald blinks.
"There are quite a few Liors in the Rosario family tree. The first Magister del Rosario even married one of her daughters."
He opens his mouth. He closes his mouth. "Sure. Whatever," he says. "I'm just glad I don't have to deal with your family tree. But Rose, I was talking about you."
She massages the back of her neck. "I... l've been talking with Henriette. It's... it's going okay," she says in a little voice. "I... she knows what it's like. To have to pull yourself back together after... after being broken." She looks directly at him, eyes slightly teary. "You don't know. Not really. Having the central part of your life kicked away from you is horrible. But she survived it. So will I."
Donald raises his hands in mock surrender. "I just wanted to be sure that you were talking," he says. "Little steps are the thing. Remember, I chose to change sides. No, it's not as big as what you two went through, but I can't pretend it was easy."
Rose smiles, blotting at her eyes. "No, I don't suppose it was." She squares her shoulders. "Now, uh... you need a rest, I think. You look exhausted. I'll prescribe you something to help you sleep. And also unpick any hypnotic suggestions or vulnerabilities she might have got into your head."
"I'm pretty sure I already found Italian accents sexy long before I came to this amalgam," Donald jokes. "Neither you nor Sera nor her can claim credit for that."
"I'm being serious!"
"So am I!"
***
"Mr. Belltower." Jaron recognizes the voice instantly. He's been trained to.
"You are go for Belltower." He says, taking the call via his implants. "Is there something new?"
"Is this a good time?" Daniel asks. Jaron's pulled his background. Unlike his wife, who definitely does not squirm away from taking things into her own hands given her modifications-he's more of a safe, rear-echelon Progenitor scientist. An excellent but boringly plain one, whose talent and luck brought him into marrying one of the scions of the Rosario bloodline and taking her last name. Still not entirely used to the political machine, and definitely not basically a walking memetic hazard. Sometimes he misses being fully flesh and blood, but having to deal with Pia Rosario was not one of those times. "You sound a bit busy."
"It's nothing important." Jaron says, firing back calmly as bullets whiz around him, barely missing. He takes a moment to shoulder-charge through a wooden door, ignoring the enchanted splinters that would maim or kill a normal person, and fires at one of the RDs, aiming to cripple rather than kill. The first one goes down, and he marks her for recovery and interrogation. "Just asking some RDs a few questions. They're shooting back, but they're not as good as they think they are." TYRANT wanted to know what these Ecstatic drug-dealers knew about Pentex. Apparently, their association with the Rogue Council was tighter than the NWO had suspected. "It shouldn't take that long." In his tactical network, he gives his teammates orders. "Feel free to talk."
It puts Mr. Rosario off-balance, as intended. He's not the kind of Technocrat who reacts nonchalantly to someone holding a conversation and engaging in a firefight at the same time. His loss. "I'm calling to say that we've been requested to leave Brazil and visit Fukushima for some testing on the anomalous plant and animal life found there... they want a neurology and cognition expert as well so I'll have to leave soon. I'm sorry I couldn't give you any advance notice but-" It's obvious to him that Daniel is only giving an excuse, that they've found who they're looking for. They have their own contacts in the Progenitors, people who can get them there. They would be foolish to rely on the NWO.
"So Japan, then. I take it you've found where the trail leads and that she's still okay. That's good to hear. We'll provide whatever assistance we can." Jaron leaps, and he's on the rooftops with them, keeping an easy pace, hardly taxing his body at all. One of them panics as he runs away from the cyborg, losing his balance and falling. There aren't that many of them friendly to the Rogue Council. Most veterans of the Ascension War are willing to enjoy the situation where the Technocracy isn't trying to assassinate them in their sleep, after all.
"I don't think that'll be necessary. You seem to be busy." Jaron sends a mental command to the MiB 2.0s with him to grab the fallen RD for questioning, and makes sure that one of his own will be around in case he does more to resist than they can handle. They seem to be newbies-but Jaron is fully aware that sometimes things are more than they seem, and even neophytes can be dangerous.
"I won't need all of the team here, and there's plenty of reasons for the NWO to get involved. There's plenty of reason for me to be involved." Also, an issue that is almost certainly spiraling into all-out conflict. If it wasn't, they'd have the resources to vet people, to check if anyone was listening to the Computer and taking orders from 'Control.' But right now they're too busy, too overtaxed, and with the war on there's too many oddities in accounting to really make a good determination. "The events happening in Asia are rather important right now." He can't help but suspect that they'll be operating there. If you were going to distract the Technocracy, you'd want to create a war there. Something the Union would have to keep its hands full trying to spin and suppress-invading an actual mystical kingdom where the Traditions' paradigm holds out. "And this is something that will benefit both of us." He's almost caught up with the runner-his pack full of RD drugs, his stance clearly learned from Akashic tutoring. Still, Jaron can see the trembling. The kid-and he is a kid, dark brown skin unmarred by age or combat, eyes wide and scared-has clearly never fought anyone deadlier than a MiB team. It's the kind of thing which makes you overconfident, but suddenly breaks when you're facing someone who's gone through your friends without any apparent effort.
"I understand your concern, but we'll be fine."
"Let me rephrase my request then." Jaron says. "I want to talk to your daughter about what happened in Los Angeles. I need to know who or what in the Technocracy is compromised. I want to help you, but if you are unwilling to let me help you, I still have to talk to Serafina and that would probably lead to mutual inconvenience. For both of us. I sympathize entirely with what you're doing-I was a father myself-but this is important for the Technocracy as well. Moreover, having someone like me around might be useful. An ace in the hole, as it were." He keeps eyeing the RD, the kid-who keeps inching backwards, hoping for an opening. No luck.
"I'll consider it." Daniel says. It's all he can hope for. Just that seed of an idea. He hangs up, just in time for the RD to gather his guts and try to attack.
"You are go for Belltower." He says, taking the call via his implants. "Is there something new?"
"Is this a good time?" Daniel asks. Jaron's pulled his background. Unlike his wife, who definitely does not squirm away from taking things into her own hands given her modifications-he's more of a safe, rear-echelon Progenitor scientist. An excellent but boringly plain one, whose talent and luck brought him into marrying one of the scions of the Rosario bloodline and taking her last name. Still not entirely used to the political machine, and definitely not basically a walking memetic hazard. Sometimes he misses being fully flesh and blood, but having to deal with Pia Rosario was not one of those times. "You sound a bit busy."
"It's nothing important." Jaron says, firing back calmly as bullets whiz around him, barely missing. He takes a moment to shoulder-charge through a wooden door, ignoring the enchanted splinters that would maim or kill a normal person, and fires at one of the RDs, aiming to cripple rather than kill. The first one goes down, and he marks her for recovery and interrogation. "Just asking some RDs a few questions. They're shooting back, but they're not as good as they think they are." TYRANT wanted to know what these Ecstatic drug-dealers knew about Pentex. Apparently, their association with the Rogue Council was tighter than the NWO had suspected. "It shouldn't take that long." In his tactical network, he gives his teammates orders. "Feel free to talk."
It puts Mr. Rosario off-balance, as intended. He's not the kind of Technocrat who reacts nonchalantly to someone holding a conversation and engaging in a firefight at the same time. His loss. "I'm calling to say that we've been requested to leave Brazil and visit Fukushima for some testing on the anomalous plant and animal life found there... they want a neurology and cognition expert as well so I'll have to leave soon. I'm sorry I couldn't give you any advance notice but-" It's obvious to him that Daniel is only giving an excuse, that they've found who they're looking for. They have their own contacts in the Progenitors, people who can get them there. They would be foolish to rely on the NWO.
"So Japan, then. I take it you've found where the trail leads and that she's still okay. That's good to hear. We'll provide whatever assistance we can." Jaron leaps, and he's on the rooftops with them, keeping an easy pace, hardly taxing his body at all. One of them panics as he runs away from the cyborg, losing his balance and falling. There aren't that many of them friendly to the Rogue Council. Most veterans of the Ascension War are willing to enjoy the situation where the Technocracy isn't trying to assassinate them in their sleep, after all.
"I don't think that'll be necessary. You seem to be busy." Jaron sends a mental command to the MiB 2.0s with him to grab the fallen RD for questioning, and makes sure that one of his own will be around in case he does more to resist than they can handle. They seem to be newbies-but Jaron is fully aware that sometimes things are more than they seem, and even neophytes can be dangerous.
"I won't need all of the team here, and there's plenty of reasons for the NWO to get involved. There's plenty of reason for me to be involved." Also, an issue that is almost certainly spiraling into all-out conflict. If it wasn't, they'd have the resources to vet people, to check if anyone was listening to the Computer and taking orders from 'Control.' But right now they're too busy, too overtaxed, and with the war on there's too many oddities in accounting to really make a good determination. "The events happening in Asia are rather important right now." He can't help but suspect that they'll be operating there. If you were going to distract the Technocracy, you'd want to create a war there. Something the Union would have to keep its hands full trying to spin and suppress-invading an actual mystical kingdom where the Traditions' paradigm holds out. "And this is something that will benefit both of us." He's almost caught up with the runner-his pack full of RD drugs, his stance clearly learned from Akashic tutoring. Still, Jaron can see the trembling. The kid-and he is a kid, dark brown skin unmarred by age or combat, eyes wide and scared-has clearly never fought anyone deadlier than a MiB team. It's the kind of thing which makes you overconfident, but suddenly breaks when you're facing someone who's gone through your friends without any apparent effort.
"I understand your concern, but we'll be fine."
"Let me rephrase my request then." Jaron says. "I want to talk to your daughter about what happened in Los Angeles. I need to know who or what in the Technocracy is compromised. I want to help you, but if you are unwilling to let me help you, I still have to talk to Serafina and that would probably lead to mutual inconvenience. For both of us. I sympathize entirely with what you're doing-I was a father myself-but this is important for the Technocracy as well. Moreover, having someone like me around might be useful. An ace in the hole, as it were." He keeps eyeing the RD, the kid-who keeps inching backwards, hoping for an opening. No luck.
"I'll consider it." Daniel says. It's all he can hope for. Just that seed of an idea. He hangs up, just in time for the RD to gather his guts and try to attack.
***
They've worked out of better places, high-end labs and constructs where the quarters for researchers are lavish and everything optimized for maximum comfort and efficiency-the Progenitors have never been big fans of Iteration X's moves towards asceticism. They've also worked out of worse places, like the motels in South America or 'her' home in Brazil. She's working out of a rented apartment, with just the materials she's managed to improvise from Sleeper technologies-some carefully husbanded favors from Progenitor colleagues from school or who she's worked with, and of course the gene-hacking kit designed for field modification of combat constructs. Alicia's demonstrated that she's incredibly useful when she's not being silly-taking out a few Kuei-Jin nests and stealing their ill gotten gains, doing scouting, standing guard. Without her Serafina wouldn't have any sort of operation, instead of a merely rather tiny one.
"So, Sera." Alicia says, smiling. "I've been doing some looking around on my own while you were out talking with Dr. Maeda. How is he, anyways? I remember you had the biggest crush on him when he was teaching."
"Shut up, Alicia. I just liked him because he gave me good grades and he was a good professor." Serafina insists. She's good enough at lying that she managed to almost believe it herself. "He's fine, thank you very much, and he's been keeping busy."
"Of course he would be." Alicia says."Keeping busy trying to fight to do other things besides 'kill all RDs' and 'get on track with the Time Table'? Maybe occasionally getting some actual work done with the exciting parts of being a Progenitor? Like trying to make a mutant turtle that breathes fire and knows kung-fu?"
"Maybe not the mutant turtles but most of that's true." She concedes. "But guess who's signed up on this crusade and has become the voice that's garnering mass support from everyone opposed to Professor Li?"
"Gregor Leon." Alicia sighs. "For someone who scoffs at cosmetic augmentation and has the charisma of a sea sponge, he's done well for himself."
"The one and only. I don't know if he's just being an opportunist or if he works for the other side-but he's been setting himself up as a peacemaker." She sighs. "Probably because of his pet project and how it's a compromise for both sides-a chance to get no-questions-asked development done on anything as long as it might have application to the war-and he's very good at saying things are combat-applicable in a way even Professor Li has to concede. 'An army marches on their stomach,'" she says, mocking Leon, "and if we can feed the starving people of North Korea they're less likely to become an insurgency that we need to suppress.' I'd be more sympathetic if he wasn't such a smug sociopath." Alicia, thankfully, lets her vent about the developments. Allows her to vent about how Leon is an unlikable troglodyte but is playing everyone, about how this wouldn't be happening if Professor Li hadn't managed to create a situation ripe for it, and how everyone is walking into unknowable doom with their eyes wide open and big grins.
"Shut up, Alicia. I just liked him because he gave me good grades and he was a good professor." Serafina insists. She's good enough at lying that she managed to almost believe it herself. "He's fine, thank you very much, and he's been keeping busy."
"Of course he would be." Alicia says."Keeping busy trying to fight to do other things besides 'kill all RDs' and 'get on track with the Time Table'? Maybe occasionally getting some actual work done with the exciting parts of being a Progenitor? Like trying to make a mutant turtle that breathes fire and knows kung-fu?"
"Maybe not the mutant turtles but most of that's true." She concedes. "But guess who's signed up on this crusade and has become the voice that's garnering mass support from everyone opposed to Professor Li?"
"Gregor Leon." Alicia sighs. "For someone who scoffs at cosmetic augmentation and has the charisma of a sea sponge, he's done well for himself."
"The one and only. I don't know if he's just being an opportunist or if he works for the other side-but he's been setting himself up as a peacemaker." She sighs. "Probably because of his pet project and how it's a compromise for both sides-a chance to get no-questions-asked development done on anything as long as it might have application to the war-and he's very good at saying things are combat-applicable in a way even Professor Li has to concede. 'An army marches on their stomach,'" she says, mocking Leon, "and if we can feed the starving people of North Korea they're less likely to become an insurgency that we need to suppress.' I'd be more sympathetic if he wasn't such a smug sociopath." Alicia, thankfully, lets her vent about the developments. Allows her to vent about how Leon is an unlikable troglodyte but is playing everyone, about how this wouldn't be happening if Professor Li hadn't managed to create a situation ripe for it, and how everyone is walking into unknowable doom with their eyes wide open and big grins.
"Right." Alicia says when she's spent.
"Sorry. I just-he stole my research and I sent it to him and I don't know if he's responsible or not but it's just so easy to blame him." Serafina sighs. It's cathartic having someone to blame that you might be able to touch, unlike whatever Panopticon did to her-and their suspicions about Jamelia Belltower. Their insistence that she was a traitor, that she was responsible for the attack on the construct. Cleaning house. She wonders how that could even be possible.
"Anyways, do you want to know what I found out talking to people?" Alicia asks. "No wait, of course you do. Your parents are coming here in a day."
Serafina looks at Alicia in shock and surprise. "What."
"Seriously, Sera." Alicia says. "Apparently they, entirely coincidentally, and entirely without any knowledge, are coming to Japan because of weird fauna in the Fukushima exposure zone. I don't know why, your mom seems to be really interested in it, and the ways of senior Progenitors are not to be debated. Professor Li could, but he just wants her out of his hair for a good long while and maybe he thinks that sending her on safari will do it. So. Are you coming to see them? I bet they're here for you."
It's obvious to her that they're here for her. "Anyone else? Is... anyone from the amalgam okay? Donald and Rose and all the others?"
"No sign of them yet." Alicia sighs. "I'm sure they're fine. They won't have given up on you. We can't give up on them either. So first steps first. You'll probably want to make sure they're actually your parents and not some FACADE clones. Then..." she trails off, waiting.
"Then I'm not sure. I'll think of something, Alicia." I promise. Serafina says. Her and her parents saving the world. She's dreamed of this when she was ten. Now it might be a reality and she almost wishes it wasn't happening.
Reunion:
How does Serafina approach this reunion chance?
[ ] Write-In
Reunion, Part 2:
And does she run into Rose and Donald and Henriette yet?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No, not yet
Investigating Tokyo Construct 3:
So what exactly has Serafina found out about Gregor Leon's plans and what he's making?
[ ] It's... *sigh* another half-organic giant robot. You'd think that the Technocracy's plan to destroy North Korea would be more interesting.
[ ] Some sort of super-infiltrator hivemind thing. Sounds very... London-esque.
[ ] It's a miniature giant death robot, built out of Deity Suppression System seed tissue. A swarm of miniature giant death robots.
[ ] He's restarting the EXEMPLAR project. And those names he's using as sources-those sound very, very familiar. How he's managed to sell it to the review board Serafina's not sure.
[ ] He's found some failed stuff from Project Svalberg-the anti-soul-parasite thing which got shelved because it lobotomized every one of its test subjects, and when you can tell that a Bob is lobotomized that's some bad shit.
[ ] Oh, it's just another bioweapon. The nasty kind built out of xenobiology with genetic memory and all. Imagine a horde of 'zombies' which are all actually a hivemind made up of an uploaded Damage Control operative.
How does Serafina approach this reunion chance?
[ ] Write-In
Reunion, Part 2:
And does she run into Rose and Donald and Henriette yet?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No, not yet
Investigating Tokyo Construct 3:
So what exactly has Serafina found out about Gregor Leon's plans and what he's making?
[ ] It's... *sigh* another half-organic giant robot. You'd think that the Technocracy's plan to destroy North Korea would be more interesting.
[ ] Some sort of super-infiltrator hivemind thing. Sounds very... London-esque.
[ ] It's a miniature giant death robot, built out of Deity Suppression System seed tissue. A swarm of miniature giant death robots.
[ ] He's restarting the EXEMPLAR project. And those names he's using as sources-those sound very, very familiar. How he's managed to sell it to the review board Serafina's not sure.
[ ] He's found some failed stuff from Project Svalberg-the anti-soul-parasite thing which got shelved because it lobotomized every one of its test subjects, and when you can tell that a Bob is lobotomized that's some bad shit.
[ ] Oh, it's just another bioweapon. The nasty kind built out of xenobiology with genetic memory and all. Imagine a horde of 'zombies' which are all actually a hivemind made up of an uploaded Damage Control operative.
Last edited:
NonSequtur
a body
Reunion, Part 2:
And does she run into Rose, Donald and Henriette yet?
[x] No, not yet
Reunion, Part 2A:
And doesshe Alicia been spotted by Rose, Donald and Henriette yet?
[x] Yes. Turns out she's not quite as methodical about erasing her tracks as she should be.
[x] He's found some failed stuff from Project Svalberg-the anti-soul-parasite thing which got shelved because it lobotomized every one of its test subjects, and when you can tell that a Bob is lobotomized that's some bad shit.
Yeah, I'm good for something a bit more esoteric.
And does she run into Rose, Donald and Henriette yet?
[x] No, not yet
Reunion, Part 2A:
And does
[x] Yes. Turns out she's not quite as methodical about erasing her tracks as she should be.
[x] He's found some failed stuff from Project Svalberg-the anti-soul-parasite thing which got shelved because it lobotomized every one of its test subjects, and when you can tell that a Bob is lobotomized that's some bad shit.
Yeah, I'm good for something a bit more esoteric.
Investigating Tokyo Construct 3:
So what exactly has Serafina found out about Gregor Leon's plans and what he's making?
[X] He's restarting the EXEMPLAR project. And those names he's using as sources-those sound very, very familiar. How he's managed to sell it to the review board Serafina's not sure.
I have to say, immediately this option leaps out at me. EXEMPLAR ties heavily into both Sera and Rose's stories, and given what went wrong with EXEMPLAR III and how it seems that most of them were taken over by probably Evil Space Control, that seems a good project to start knitting things together.
This may end in Rose having to knife-fight Reina Mark 2, or possibly Blanc showing up in a finger puppet.
... or, you know. The party might actually not fuck up for once, and we might actually be able to get into the labs before they're started up and there can be a tense confrontation with Gregor in a room full of growth tanks with floating cloned members of Control in it. "Not fucking up by leaving it too long" is something we've got to manage some time, right?
So what exactly has Serafina found out about Gregor Leon's plans and what he's making?
[X] He's restarting the EXEMPLAR project. And those names he's using as sources-those sound very, very familiar. How he's managed to sell it to the review board Serafina's not sure.
I have to say, immediately this option leaps out at me. EXEMPLAR ties heavily into both Sera and Rose's stories, and given what went wrong with EXEMPLAR III and how it seems that most of them were taken over by probably Evil Space Control, that seems a good project to start knitting things together.
This may end in Rose having to knife-fight Reina Mark 2, or possibly Blanc showing up in a finger puppet.
... or, you know. The party might actually not fuck up for once, and we might actually be able to get into the labs before they're started up and there can be a tense confrontation with Gregor in a room full of growth tanks with floating cloned members of Control in it. "Not fucking up by leaving it too long" is something we've got to manage some time, right?
[ ] It's... *sigh* another half-organic giant robot. You'd think that the Technocracy's plan to destroy North Korea would be more interesting.
GIANT ROBOT FIGHT IN DOWNTOWN TOKYO.
[ ] Some sort of super-infiltrator hivemind thing. Sounds very... London-esque.
Isobel? Is that you?
[ ] It's a miniature giant death robot, built out of Deity Suppression System seed tissue. A swarm of miniature giant death robots.
More Yinzheng. Much more Yinzheng. Yinzheng might be Mr. Smith.
[ ] He's restarting the EXEMPLAR project. And those names he's using as sources-those sound very, very familiar. How he's managed to sell it to the review board Serafina's not sure.
Threat Null EDEs want bodies to run around in?
[ ] He's found some failed stuff from Project Svalberg-the anti-soul-parasite thing which got shelved because it lobotomized every one of its test subjects, and when you can tell that a Bob is lobotomized that's some bad shit.
This sounds like something that I wish we could have Kessler and Elsa around for. Although maybe it's setup for Gretzkov and his like.
[ ] Oh, it's just another bioweapon. The nasty kind built out of xenobiology with genetic memory and all. Imagine a horde of 'zombies' which are all actually a hivemind made up of an uploaded Damage Control operative.
... Ami? Also zombies.
GIANT ROBOT FIGHT IN DOWNTOWN TOKYO.
[ ] Some sort of super-infiltrator hivemind thing. Sounds very... London-esque.
Isobel? Is that you?
[ ] It's a miniature giant death robot, built out of Deity Suppression System seed tissue. A swarm of miniature giant death robots.
More Yinzheng. Much more Yinzheng. Yinzheng might be Mr. Smith.
[ ] He's restarting the EXEMPLAR project. And those names he's using as sources-those sound very, very familiar. How he's managed to sell it to the review board Serafina's not sure.
Threat Null EDEs want bodies to run around in?
[ ] He's found some failed stuff from Project Svalberg-the anti-soul-parasite thing which got shelved because it lobotomized every one of its test subjects, and when you can tell that a Bob is lobotomized that's some bad shit.
This sounds like something that I wish we could have Kessler and Elsa around for. Although maybe it's setup for Gretzkov and his like.
[ ] Oh, it's just another bioweapon. The nasty kind built out of xenobiology with genetic memory and all. Imagine a horde of 'zombies' which are all actually a hivemind made up of an uploaded Damage Control operative.
... Ami? Also zombies.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] He's restarting the EXEMPLAR project. And those names he's using as sources-those sound very, very familiar. How he's managed to sell it to the review board Serafina's not sure.
Fuck yeah mirror matches. Mirror matches are the hypest narrative shit. Also we've already done giant robots, zombies are second only to the Joker in oversaturation, and it ties into the past and the onging conflict with Threat Null really well. And it gives Serafina a much more personal stake in things rather than just "ambiguous superweapon #23".
You can tell she's the evil model because of her fabulous goatee.
Fuck yeah mirror matches. Mirror matches are the hypest narrative shit. Also we've already done giant robots, zombies are second only to the Joker in oversaturation, and it ties into the past and the onging conflict with Threat Null really well. And it gives Serafina a much more personal stake in things rather than just "ambiguous superweapon #23".
You can tell she's the evil model because of her fabulous goatee.
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