Echo of Choice (A Destiny Plan Quest)

Year 1, Q4 Results

-[X] [CON] Yes
All current contracts renewed for one more year. (Exp. Year 3, Q1)

-[X][COLD] Nothing for now, decide another time.
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-[X] Convert a Factory level with Glimmer tech:
--[X] Trash version (164/500; 100R per dice) 1MD 2FD 5TD 1050R
Roll 1: 97
Roll 2: 98+5(CRIT)
Roll 3: 81
Roll 4: 19
Roll 5: 51
Roll 6: 13
Roll 7: 11
Roll 8: 94
Total= 469+ 5 (manufacturing) = 474

474+164= 638/500 138 TOWARD THE MIXED VERSION
-[] Both version (0/1500) --> 138/1500

It was finally complete.

After months of covert construction and sleepless nights, the Glimmer Production Line had reached its conclusion. Looking at the final result, it was clear that you and the group might have gone a bit overboard. Then again, much of the accelerated progress was thanks to S's invaluable assistance.

You couldn't help but marvel at the sight: three bags of trash, collected from around the company, were transformed into glowing blue cubes and then into various objects scanned into the system. The range of outputs was astounding—simple foods like apples and bananas, beverages like water and soda, clothes, and even complex products manufactured by Skynet.

Among the more impressive demonstrations were exact replicas of your and Cayde's personal handguns. After scanning the originals, the copies emerged identical, right down to the bullets in the magazines and the small imperfections unique to the originals. The precision was breathtaking and the guns worked like the originals when they were tested in the shooting range.

Kora thoroughly tested the food items and confirmed they were safe to consume.

To commemorate the project's completion, Cayde brought out a $200 bottle of wine with the intent to break it over the machine in celebration. Not one to miss an opportunity, he first had the bottle scanned, resulting in several perfect copies now added to his personal collection.

According to S, the new production line had tripled Skynet's manufacturing capacity. This impressive figure was based solely on the trash collected daily from within the company, including imperfect circuit boards that would normally be discarded or recycled.

S noted that if the pending deal with the city to secure their trash went through, Skynet's production capacity would grow exponentially.

One key insight, pointed out by S, was that with a bit more work, the system could be upgraded to use both trash and energy to create Glimmer. While this conversion would require additional time and resources, it promised a significant boost in efficiency, enabling even greater output by utilizing energy alongside trash.

The possibilities were endless, and as you stood there, watching the machine hum with life, you couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.

Reward: Glimmer Production Line, Trash Version; online
(+3 MD)
Construction of Fusion version started.
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-[X] Rediscover the Lost Sloot (610/1000): 110R per dice): 3 RD 330R

Roll 1:48
Roll 2:99+5(Crit)
Roll 3:17
Total= 169+5(Research bonus)= 174

610+174= 784/1000

Suffice it to say, progress on the Sloot Project during this timeframe hit a bit of a snag, mostly due to the holidays distracting the R&D group. Many of them were busy planning their vacations, which slowed things down significantly.

According to Kora, however, there was some progress.

They managed to achieve success in one area: their prototype system was able to compress an entire 32 GB file into just 8 KB.

The problem, unfortunately, was that once the file was compressed, it became completely useless. It couldn't be uncompressed or restored, effectively turning it into a junk file.

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Pic of Rolls for Trash and Qual. cause even I can't believe this!!!

-[X] One man's trash, is another man's treasure (210/500; 50R per dice): 3 OD 4FD 350R
Roll 1: 16
Roll 2: 13
Roll 3: 24
Roll 4: 59
Roll 5: 18
Roll 6: 26
Roll 7: 10

Total= 166+5(Operations)= 171

171+210= 381/500

"Alright, now we can finally get the paperwork sorted and actually make some progress with this deal." You muttered, glancing between your cell phone and the office phone, waiting for the call that would finally break the bureaucratic nightmare.

*RING RING RING!**RING RING RING!*RING RING RING!

Finally, you though as you saw the caller ID on your cell phone saying it was Harold Mason, the director of Sunnydale's Waste disposal and management department; who you been talking with for the last few months on the deal.

You answered the call, your voice carefully professional. "Skynet CEO John Connor speaking. I'm glad we can finally work through with this deal."

A hesitant voice replied, "I'm sorry, Mr. Connor, but the meeting to finalize everything has hit a bit of a snag. We can't get everyone together to hash it out because of overlapping Thanksgiving holiday schedules. As much as we want to get this done..."

You sighed, keeping your frustration in check. "No, no, it's alright. I was just hoping we could have wrapped this up before the Christmas holidays."

And then it happened again.

During Christmas time…

*RING RING RING!**RING RING RING!*RING RING RING!

"Pick up, you bastard!" You exclaimed in frustration, yanking the Santa hat off your head. It was a ridiculous accessory, part of the Skynet Christmas Week Extravaganza, and it only added to your irritation.

Meanwhile S, wearing what could only be described as a sexy Santa outfit; was looking at you with worry.

Finally, another voice answered. "Ah, John, good to hear from you again. How can I help you?"

You exhaled, trying to maintain composure. "Well, you can help me by stating when will the final meeting will take place as we are just a few days away from Christmas and I wish to do it before I go on vacation."

The voice on the other end sighed. "Yeah... I know you've been working on this for months, John, but with the holidays... people are just too busy to do much more than a casual meet-up right now, especially since the city practically gave most of its employees early vacation days this year."

You pinched the bridge of your nose, feeling your patience wearing thin. "So, let me get this straight, everyone's too busy with their own personal stuff and or lazy to get anything done? Meanwhile, I'm sitting here with months of documents to review and finalize, thinking this could be done instead of taking my own vacation early."

There was a long pause, then the voice replied casually, "Well, John, those'll just have to wait... because I'm too busy. And so is everyone else. Merry Christmas."

Click.

The line went dead.

"SON OF A BITCH!" You roared, slamming the phone down as your frustration boiled over.

=====================================

-[X] Check your qualifications. Just because you're a CEO now doesn't mean you're a REMF: 25R
Roll- 25, FAIL

Christmas holidays here I come.

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-[X] [FREE] Talk to the Traveler: 2 Rolls

'Rolls below'

You were dreaming again.

And just like last time, it started out the same way.

You're on a battlefield once again, this surrounded by swarms of strange insect-like monsters. Their grotesque forms are both alien and horrifying, their chittering sounds filling the air as they advance.

You fight with everything you have, your fists, weapons that you made appear out of thin air, even the monsters' own bodies are used as weapons; but they just keep coming. Overhead, a massive shadow looms, its presence oppressive and suffocating. A female voice echoes in your mind, sharp and cruel: "Struggle, slay and survive, little warrior. Feed my war."

You look up and see her, a familiar, towering shadow, watching the carnage like a queen surveying her domain. Her laughter reverberates through the battlefield as the monsters press closer again. Your arms are heavy with fatigue and it was taking all your mental fortitude to resist the desire to let go of your control and let the bloodlust take over. But just like last time, something in you knew that if you did, it would be worse than getting killed by the monsters in front of you.

Just as the swarm is about to overwhelm you, a brilliant light pierces the darkness along with a sound, a low, ethereal whinny.

A horse emerges from the darkness, its coat shimmering like the night sky, constellations swirling within.


Before you can even process the absurdity, the horse charges forward, trampling through the monsters with godlike ease.

It then charges at female leader, rearing up and taking a massive bite out of her shadowy form, directly from its right arm.

She roars in pain and fury, but before she can retaliate, the horse delivers a powerful kick that sends her staggering. The horse then grabs you by your collar with its teeth and drags you away at impossible speed, leaving the battlefield behind.

One second, you are seeing flashes of light racing in front of you, next thing you know, you find yourself in a bizarre room, its walls swirling with colors and lights that seem to defy explanation. The horse stands before you, regal and imposing.

It spits out the chunk of shadowy flesh it tore from the female monster, and you watch in stunned silence as the black rotting flesh begins to float. It contorts and morphs until it becomes a giant wheel, spinning with glowing tiles inscribed with words.

The wheel slows, clicking into place. It lands on a tile that despite being strange letters, you could understand it and it read: "Metal."

Before you can make sense of what's happening, a white monkey appears out of nowhere, perched atop a cardboard box. There's something oddly familiar about it, but your mind can't place where you've seen it before.


The monkey screeches loudly, pointing at horse. The horse responds with a series of whinnies, and the two begin yelling at each other in their respective animal sounds. The chaotic exchange goes on for several minutes, leaving you bewildered.

Finally, the monkey waves its right hand, and a syringe materializes out of thin air. Without hesitation, the monkey throws it at horse, who catches it in its mouth and swallows it in one gulp.

The ground beneath you suddenly gives way, and you're sucked into a swirling vortex.

You wake up with a start, slumped over your desk in your dimly lit office. The clock on the computer reads well past midnight, showing that it was the New Year and the fireworks in the outside being heard very loudly.

You mentally remember that you told your friends that you were going to stay in the office to handle some private matters instead of going to the party Cayde set up in Kora's apartment for the group and those invited to it.

In reality, the reason you were in the office was to spend New Year's with S, to not leave her alone. A small celebration between the two of you.

Rubbing your temples, you mutter. "Just another weird dream."

Your computer screen flickers, and S appears, who was wearing a daring black and red long sleeve mesh mock neck Rhinestone Mini Dress that she got from one of those fashion websites to celebrate New Year's.

But something is wrong, last time you saw her, she was lively and happy, but now that demeanor is gone, replaced by a look of pure dread.

"Hey S, what's wrong?" You ask, sitting up straight.

S doesn't respond verbally. Instead, a new window on the screen next to her. It displays a human body diagram surrounded by streams of data.


Your eyes narrow as you try to make sense of it. There was something familiar about it.

Then you see it, the name at the top of the program: Sons of the Patriots V.5.

You recognize it immediately. It's SOP, the battlefield nanite control system from Metal Gear Solid 4.

"So, what is this?" You ask, your voice filled with curiosity. "Are you making a mod for Metal Gear R4 or something?"

S's eyes look at you directly. "This is not a mod or anything like that, John. This here is a real thing if the data I am reading is correct. But I didn't create this. It… just appeared in my system, like Glimmer."

You go rigid, the weight of her words sinking in. Glimmer had fundamentally changed Skynet's production capabilities when it emerged from nowhere. Exactly on the same night you had that strange dream about Gale.

And while a part of you is saying that it was impossible, another part was now wondering if it was possible for a fictional system to be real.

If this SOP in front of you was anything similar to the one shown in the game…

But before you could speak your mind, something else catches your attention.

Lying on your desk, glinting under the dim light, is a syringe.

Your breath catches in your throat. It looks eerily familiar—the same design used in the game to inject nanites.

You reach out, hesitating for a moment before picking it up. It feels cold in your hand, its weight real and undeniable.

"What the hell is going on?" You whisper, your mind racing with questions and fear.

S's voice, now steady but somber, cuts through the silence. "I think were about to find out."

Reward-
Survived encounter with the Darkness….again.
Been gifted with a modified MGS SOP system courtesy of the Starhorse.


Total Cost= 1755 R
3,490R-1755R= 1735R
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By the way, before I go, I need an important opinion....
Which of these two pics looks the cutest:

[] 1
[] 2

Vote closes on Monday Night.