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Semper Ad Meliora (Code Geass/Britannian Royalty Quest)

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Mazeka said:
Is that a real thing? Using ultrasonics to shake apart sand grains into sharper bits?
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Its Code Geass, so yes. Modern sand manufacture does use air and sonics, but that is more to sort the output by grain size then to create the grains in the first place. For the creation its mostly grinding gravel or coarse sand into more fine grades. Then filtering the result to separate the grades. I had a job in a materials lab which was just to clean their wire mesh sieves of grains that got stuck in them. The larger, industrial scale filters use air pressure and sonics to blow the finer grains away from the coarser ones and provide continuous throughput. It doesn't produce as accurate or fine distinction between the grades, nor can it sort down to the scale that mesh sieves can, but it is a lot less labor intensive and has a much higher throughput.
 
Nice to see this quest wake up a bit, even if its true return is still up in the air. But speaking of the new stuff:
Slayer Anderson said:
Sadly, it's a fictional process I created for the quest, but someone asking this question makes me feel like I did a good job with plausibility.
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While this would be already enormous in RL due to how rare good sand for construction purposes is becoming, wouldn't the need that the Britannians and other superpowers of the CG world have for cement to make their numerous mega construction projects viable even greater? Especially with how Britannia likes to "renovate" everything that it conquers.

This also makes me wonder about how the psionic material science (or whatever it will be callled) will mesh out with cement, or if it can. Because if the end product could be enhanced with some manner of automated psionic treatment, because we have seen with the Sakuradite alchemy that the starting materials still matter... Well, there were those "golden" walls of that large psionic cult / pirates that really weren't gold, as an example. But more importantly, could project psionic shields around their settlement, IIRC. And are probably physically much more resilient than they really should be.

Regardless if that is feasible or not, and on what level if it is, still nice to be theorycrafting here again. I've missed this quest.
 
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEÈEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*COUGH*
I mean, welcome back Slayer, is great to see you here, im glad that you work load as lightened enough for you to rateke this.
 
Going through the thread again, I've been reminded about something: @Slayer Anderson, while I don't think it will happen until this thread is fully resurrected (considering we are at page 481), will you still be giving those 100-page milestone "ask and I'll answer three OOC questions about the quest" if we reach a new one?

And also as a reminder for everyone: Schneizel's secret endgame plan / victory condition is a pretty good question to ask, as it is highly relevant to our long-term goals and how we should approach things in the post-conquest of Australia (if that succeeds). Mainly for planning whatever we want to make it a sub-empire to the Britannian Empire, or completely its own thing.
 
If we still do OOC question once we reach page 500, we may want to save a question to inquire about the plans/secret victory condition for one of the following pirate groups: The Blood of L'Olonnais, La Cosa Nostra, The Children of Ching Shih and maybe the Calico Cats. I feel like for the other groups we either have no reason to purse the secret victory condition (the Blades of Saladin) or that condition can be guessed rather easily (the Crown).
 
meianmaru said:
Going through the thread again, I've been reminded about something: @Slayer Anderson, while I don't think it will happen until this thread is fully resurrected (considering we are at page 481), will you still be giving those 100-page milestone "ask and I'll answer three OOC questions about the quest" if we reach a new one?

And also as a reminder for everyone: Schneizel's secret endgame plan / victory condition is a pretty good question to ask, as it is highly relevant to our long-term goals and how we should approach things in the post-conquest of Australia (if that succeeds). Mainly for planning whatever we want to make it a sub-empire to the Britannian Empire, or completely its own thing.
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Not sure on that front yet. Have to get back to you.
 
meianmaru said:
Nice to see this quest wake up a bit, even if its true return is still up in the air. But speaking of the new stuff:

While this would be already enormous in RL due to how rare good sand for construction purposes is becoming, wouldn't the need that the Britannians and other superpowers of the CG world have for cement to make their numerous mega construction projects viable even greater? Especially with how Britannia likes to "renovate" everything that it conquers.
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Depending on how long this technology has been around this tech could explain why they've been able to build the downright absurd levels of Brittania's infrastructure (elevated city scapes, Pendragon). Oddly... huh... Area 10 could wind up being immensely important for sand exports to Europe, this is far more efficient than dredging the sea coasts. Then again not sure what megaproject Europe could be looking at. Treviso bridge? Channel Bridge? Grand Skagerrak Bridge? Mega-Holland?I mean the only limitations at this point stopping a Gibraltar Bridge is literally just political considerations (European Spain to Brittanian Morocco)

Regardless... Clovis and Cornelia to some extent got to award some potentially very valuable fiefs to their supporters.

EDIT: ...and I just realized... the Mojave, and the Outback just got very VERY valuable. Although where the sand is and how accessible it is will dominate the economic planning
 
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Europa United/Steps Short of War by Slayer Anderson - Canon
  • Sidestory
    • Bastille Government Complex, Ile de Napoleon, Paris

    174 RE (Republican Era), Pluviose, Decade II, Sixtidi

    Time: 5.45.0010​

    "...and we'll increase funding to the Internal Security Bureau as regards their Mentalist Safeguard Program. This will allow them to broadly increase boundary support structures to increase the division between the mentalist communes in Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Rome, and Athens. As the sites of the largest mentalist population centers, they've been stretched thin given the unrest that's resulted from the recent upheavals both here at home and abroad. This should allow them to restore order, though the actual details are still being hammered out. The committee should expect to see a finalized draft make its way through the United Congress sometime next week." Madam Chairwoman Sabina Saturnino's explanation brought relief to a number of individuals, particularly the fact that her admittedly-droning voice had finally ceased.

    The head of the Committee for Continental Defense had not been chosen for her great oratory skills, it should be known. Instead, it was the meticulous nature and lack of significant political ties to the many parties which littered the EU's political spectrum. Such was her apolitical nature that many of the news outlets mocked her as Switzerland's Secretary.

    "Do we believe it will pass?" Gustav Umbraisis asked with a sigh, his traditional relaxed attitude showing through in his disheveled state. Despite his experience in the armed forces, the man was a perpetual slacker even if he did have a gift for coercing logistical cooperation out of the most intransigent EU billionaire tycoons. Officially, at least, his position was Finance Liaison.

    General Gene Smilas, the senior military advisor to the committee, stood as the chairwoman sat. "If we've completed the formal brief on the potential threat to regional security that the mentalists pose, it shouldn't be an issue."

    All eyes pointedly drifted towards a slim, dark-skinned man in a baggy suit with thick bottle-glasses.

    A few seconds after the room quieted other than the scratching of his his pen, he looked up and blinked owlishly. "Hmm?"

    Smilas scowled and grit his teeth. "The report Jefferson. About the mentalists. The one we need for the new policies. Do you have it?"

    "Ah..." The diminutive man shuffled a few papers before coming up with a moderately-sized ream of stapled documents. "Here we go! Yes, I completed it... last week? Something like that."

    Saturnino closed her eyes and breathed deeply to give her the strength of forbearance as Smilas grit his teeth against the urge to strangle the paper-pusher.

    Absalom Jefferson looked the document over for another long moment before nodding. "It should all be in here. The financial incentives for the mentalists to consent to sterilization... I indexed the payments to the number of children they've already had as well. No point in them having a litter if we're going to pay them not to have kids." He paused. "What else? I suggested altering the potential trial regulations based on the type of crime committed rather than the offender's status as a mentalist. That kind of thing always sets off the more tolerant politicos."

    A few of the other men and women at the table chuckled at the thought.

    "So instead of trying someone for crimes committed as a mentalist, we'll be creating crimes that only mentalists can commit," Aerin Hansen smirked, the committee's infrastructure advisor nodding slowly as she did so. "I knew there was a reason we kept you around."

    Smilas shook his head, "if the project is done, then it's done. On to more current business. Cornelia."

    "Cornelia isn't as much of a problem as Bulgaria," Saturnino spat, scowling at the topic change. "Britannia is a known quantity. Schneizel is a known quantity, damn him. I'm far more concerned with the army massing on the very doorstep of Constantinople."

    "Cornelia is the root cause of all of this!" Smilas riposted, slamming a fist down on the table for emphasis. "The Bulgarians would have never dreamed of trying to take Thrace and the Bosporus if she hadn't crippled the MEF!"

    "We didn't move against Cornelia two years ago for the same reasons we aren't moving against her now," Umbraisis waved the man off lackadaisically. "Beyond the obvious causal effect, do you have any actual evidence that would suggest some kind of link between the Britannian Witch and the Bulgars finally deciding to roll the dice?"

    "Armenia," Smilas replied, snapping a map onto the massive display board in the middle of their conference table. The gathered committee members sat up slightly, glancing over an image of the various new boarders of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia. The various areas of military control were off-set in color, Britannian-occupied regions of the MEF in a lighter red as opposed to the dark green of the Anatolian peninsula and Persia. The eastern and northern-most sections of the map showed dark blue and lighter blue, respectively, each signifying the EU member-state of Greece and the exiting EU state of the Rus Republic.

    Notably, the buffer state of Greater Armenia, which had been confined to the border of the Caspian Sea, now showed a light-purple expanse on the Black Sea.

    "Ambassador Yurislov oversaw the treaty that ensured the Rus wouldn't start an open war with Cornelia's expeditionary force," Hensen observed. "Are you saying that he's on the Britannian payroll as well?"

    Smilas paused, then shook his head. "At least, not that I've been able to prove. The issue is that, by enlarging the Armenian territory claims and giving them a port on the Black Sea, we've opened up a trading lane."

    Hitting a digital marker, a flowing line appeared on the map, arrows moving from the Euro-Britannian Empire in eastern Asia, through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Armenia, across the Black Sea, and finally into Bulgaria.

    Smilas continued, hitting another key to bring up images of the now-infamous Britannian glasgows being put through their paces. "We rigged a commercial flight to do some recon work during a routine trip to Bulgaria. Between that and some of our HUMINT sources, we've got solid evidence that Bulgaria is importing last-generation KMFs from somewhere. Currently, we believe the Britannians are using independent cutout companies to bring the KMFs into Kazakhstan by train, then fly them over the Caspian and send them by train through Armenia before shipping them to Bulgaria across the Black Sea. Every time, of course, they get sold and resold, sometimes cut up into different loads or parted out and put back together. It's incredibly difficult to actually trace everything and we don't have proof, but it's supported by a lot of local sources we've got on the take."

    There was silence in the room for a long moment before Saturnino shook her head. "It's not good enough. Europa United has purchased several black market machines of the same type through third-party salvage operations. Even if we were to confront the Britannians with a KMF battalion on our eastern flank, they'd say that they were likely sold to the Bulgars by criminal elements in the MEF or salvage from the Eee-Bees." She paused, then snorted. "In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that if we traced serial numbers on the parts, that's where they'd come from."

    Smilas looked about to erupt, but Hensen chose that moment to speak up. "Playing devil's advocate here, but our relationship with the Rus is rocky enough that it wouldn't be out of the question for this to be a deniable operation by them to try to get us to start something with the Britannians."

    Jefferson shuffled a few papers, a nervous tic which grated on many present in the otherwise quiet room, "ah... I suppose it's plausible enough, especially if they want to begin hostilities with Euro-Britannia again. Even if they've technically left the EU, this kind of situation would force our hand to support them militarily and logistically."

    "Before Gene blows out our eardrums, I'm going to do something completely out of character and agree with him," Umbraisis sighed, weaving a hand through his messy hair and shrugging off the shocked look the general threw him. Reaching into a pocket and plugging a flash drive into the table, he pulled up several photos. Immediately, a young man with dark hair and purple eyes alongside an obviously non-Britannian diplomat came to the fore.

    "Prince Lelouch vi Britannia should be obvious," Umbraisis stated, waving a hand at the younger man, but then pointed at the other. "Grigoy Abrahamian was a middling Armenian diplomat sent to the EB Tunguska Conference at the end of last year. I pulled this from our image archive when the reports about glasgows showing up in Bulgaria crossed my desk."

    Smilas grimaced. "Those shouldn't have gone anywhere near your desk."

    An infuriating smile slipped over the lazy man's face. "Temper, temper, general. What kind of... ah, what are the kids calling it nowadays? Civilian analyst? Yeah, that's a euphemism I've heard going around the office. Anyway, what kind of civilian analyst would I be if I didn't have the right kind of connections to see something like this coming?"

    The general shook his head. "Fine, dammit. So we've got a photo of a prince talking to an Armenian diplomat. Any connection to Cornelia?"

    Saturnino closed her eyes, sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. As effective as the man could be on the battlefield, Smilas had always been possessed of remarkable tunnel vision. "The elder of the two Vi Britannia siblings, he's unofficially-officially engaged to Cornelia's younger sister." She opened her eyes and looked at Umbraisis. "So he put in a good word with the Armenians, they knew how to approach Cornelia, and managed to broker a deal with our superficial assistance as a fait accopmli?"

    Umbraisis shrugged. "I'm not saying that's what happened, but the evidence paints a compelling picture. Especially when you consider that we've got old intelligence that puts Cornelia making bedroom eyes at a younger Schneizel even if they're nominally competing for the throne these days. Tearing the Bosporus and Bulgaria away from Europa United and giving them an economic and political toehold in eastern Europe produces enough good political credit for both of them that this could be either the trial run for an eventual alliance or just a momentary aligning of common interests."

    Scowls, grimaces, and thoughtful frowns manifested across the room.

    Smilas stood and slammed both of his hands on the table. "That's it! That's more than enough evidence to call up the army! Those goddamn Britannia's aren't getting a foothold on my continent!"

    Jefferson blinked owlishly at the man. "What do you propose we do, then, general?"

    Saturnino, Hensen, and Umbraisis bit back grimaces at the question being asked which, for anyone else, would be rhetorical. But, no, there was a reason Jefferson was the actual secretary of the organization. Studious, book-smart, and a consummate intellectual, he had little to no understanding of politics or military operations. The man was a miracle-worker when it came to writing, formatting, and presenting a research paper or penning new laws, but couldn't connect with another human being outside of an academic setting. The apple truly had fallen far from his ancestor's tree.

    Thankfully, even Smilas knew Jefferson was asking in good faith as the man grinned wolfishly. "We've tolerated Bulgarian independence and neutrality for too long! Europa United peacekeepers brought the Balkans to heel fifty years ago and it's past the time where we should finish the job they started out. Then we'll march into Thrace ourselves and dare the Witch to a head-on confrontation with a proper fighting force!"

    "-and if President De Leon doesn't sack you immediately, she'll be ousted for someone who will." Saturnino reminded him. "After that you'll be brought up on treason charges by a military tribunal. The Great War is still in living memory. If we start a game of military brinkmanship with Britannia, Spain will go into full-scale revolt and the French might follow suit. Neither of them want anything to do with another armed conflict after the mess of trench warfare in the Pyrenees. You might convince the Germans or the USBI, but only if the other one doesn't want to back it." She took a deep breath as the general's face purpled. "We've been through this, Gene! You aren't getting a blank check against the Britannians unless and until they drop a bomb on a Europan City or land an army on our soil!"

    "Goddammit!" Smilas growled. "Then what the hell am I supposed to do, Sabina? Every year they cut us off more and more! Betting on them tearing each other apart when Charles eventually keels over is all well and good, but by then we'll be surrounded by petty squabbling warlords with our armies rusting in the fields!"

    Saturnino sighed. "I agree, you know that. This is too much of a coincidence to be anything but enemy action. I have no doubt that, even if Schneizel is just using the opportunity presented by Cornelia's crippling of the MEF, he's ultimately responsible for this given the evidence. I'd pay good money to know exactly how complicit Lelouch vi Britannia was in this whole scheme too, given his prominence in east Asia these days."

    "So what do we do?" Jefferson asked once again, just as cluelessly.

    "The Greeks are going to be insufferable," Hensen broke in. "Even if the Bulgarians royally fuck this up, the very idea that they're making the attempt will escalate tension on the border."

    Umbraisis snorted. "We're looking at this the wrong way. This is an opportunity."

    "Really?" Smilas pressed, his eyebrows knitting then pressing on sardonically. "How so?"

    The spy shrugged. "Look, none of us have ever been happy with the fact that the MEF still controls the Bosporus and they're collapsing in on themselves. We can't go to war to seize it, so let the Bulgarians bleed to take it. If they manage it, we'll dust off the old paperwork to admit new members and add a bunch of juicy extras and sell it to the public as an attempt to curb aggressive expansionism by expanding our influence over them."

    "...and the Greeks?" Hansen pressed. "They aren't going to take this lying down. They've wanted Thrace since the nation was founded and would have gotten it if the Ottomans hadn't managed to start reorganizing as quickly as they did."

    Saturnino hummed loudly, raising a hand to forestall conversation, then turned to Smilas. "Do you think you could contact the far right military elements in Greece? If they can start building a 'volunteer battalion,' we can black budget more conventional arms to Bulgaria and blame the deal on one of the ousted generals we're still investigating."

    Smilas mulled the idea over. "And what would they get out of this? Because they'll want something to help the Bulgarians."

    Saturnino nodded and cleared away the images populating the display until it was back to the basic map. She moved a cursor over several islands in the Aegean Sea as well as certain parts of the Anatolian mainland. "If memory serves, these areas are still mostly-Greek. If the MEF really does collapse, tell Greece that we'll support territorial claims on them and negotiate to get them at least some of the Thracian mainland when we finally get Bulgaria to join Europa United."

    "Don't you mean, 'if'?" Simlas asked grudgingly, already considering the logistics of the course of action.

    Saturnino shook her head. "No. Europa United can't afford to leave the Bosporus in the hands of a Britannian-friendly independent nation-state. It's why we paid the butcher's bill we did to take back Gibralter during the Great War. If Bulgaria takes the straits, they join Europa United one way or another."

    Smilas cut a jagged grin and Umbraisis nodded, even Hansen and Jefferson giving quiet assent to the ultimatum.

    QM's Note: Still alive, still planning on reviving this fully, still very busy. Hope everyone enjoys the unintended consequences of helping out the Armenians, because Schneizel is a cunning son of a bitch. (PS: Fuck Decimal Time.)
     
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  • Sidestory
    • <Opens up calendar converter>

    174 RE (Republican Era), Pluviose, Decade 15, Sixtidi Time: 5.45.0010

    There's no decade 15 only I, II, or III. The decade meaning one of the three 10 day segments in the standard 30 day months. So I'm assuming it's the 15th day of month. Time 5.45.0010 in Decimal time means (10 hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour [Yes it is that weird]

    which means the date/time by Brittanian Standards is

    February 5, 2021 ATB (1966 CE) at about 12:25PM

    I know some people were likely curious.
     
    Mazeka said:
    Didn't Napoleon's abolish the Republican calendar?
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    Napoleon also re-instituted slavery and proclaimed himself emperor.

    In this timeline, after Napoleon's regime fell apart following his death (either cancer or poisoning, unsolved), a number of his pieces of legislation were rolled back or outright thrown out. Decimal time was given another chance and, by then, everyone was too tired of perpetual conflict to get that upset over it.
    Firebringer2077 said:
    There's no decade 15 only I, II, or III. The decade meaning one of the three 10 day segments in the standard 30 day months. So I'm assuming it's the 15th day of month. Time 5.45.0010 in Decimal time means (10 hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour [Yes it is that weird]

    which means the date/time by Brittanian Standards is

    February 5, 2021 ATB (1966 CE) at about 12:25PM
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    That's what I was going for, yes. So at least someone can make sense of it even with the mistake. So changing it to Decade II should fix it then...
     
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    okay so by helping Armenia Bulgaria is using this to take new lands which the greeks want which is upsetting the eu's top officals who are scared (not without good reason since brittiania's is well brittiania) and we have annoyed smiles (which might be bad cause well the warhawk is crazy)
     
    Thanatosra said:
    okay so by helping Armenia Bulgaria is using this to take new lands which the greeks want which is upsetting the eu's top officals who are scared (not without good reason since brittiania's is well brittiania) and we have annoyed smiles (which might be bad cause well the warhawk is crazy)
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    That's the problem of whoever is in the European theater, though. Lelouch is still preoccupied with his slice of the South Pacific. And Australia. Which, collectively, are about half a world away from the EU.
     
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