- Location
- Uruguay
We obviously only need to put stellar bellows in 50 starts and reduce the ringworld creation time.
Also, would my idea of stellar bellows + Dyson sphere/swarm + ringworld work?
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An Extra Primarch
- Thread starter ilbgar123
- Start date
We obviously only need to put stellar bellows in 50 starts and reduce the ringworld creation time.
Also, would my idea of stellar bellows + Dyson sphere/swarm + ringworld work?
We obviously only need to put stellar bellows in 50 starts and reduce the ringworld creation time.
Also, would my idea of stellar bellows + Dyson sphere/swarm + ringworld work?
Wouldn't really help as there is the fact of diminishing returns when constructing something, even on that scale, you can only shunt so much stuff into a system at a time and have so many people working on a project before they start getting in each others way.
Probably not all three, a dyson swarm would reach from halfway between Venus and Mercury and out to about Neptune's orbit, not to mention the gravitational problems with such a set up, a stellar bellows and either of the other two would work fine together though, besides a dyson swarm would be overall safer from the various threats in the galaxy and be better for both living space and energy collection.
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
So, here's an idea.
Should we stop expanding in all directions?
Consider, we have a Waagh fleet coming at us in 8 separate directions, so, since we are expanding in every direction simultaneously, we are approaching every fleet at the same speed. Unless there are major differences in how far apart these fleet's are we should be reaching most of the fleets at roughly the same time, meaning that when the war starts it will pretty much be a war with 8 simultaneous fronts from the very start.
On the other hand, if we are all of our effort on exploring in just a few directions, potentially even just one, we should be able to reach at least one, ideally a few, of the fleets before the majority reach us, making it so that our forces can deal with the various Ork fleet's without having to either fight undermanned or ignore other fleet's as they rampage through our territory so they can stay at full strength.
In short, it's probably better to fight one or two enemies at a time instead of eight all at once, so maybe we should head in just a few directions instead of every direction simulatenously considering we know that a bunch of enemies of roughly equal distance from us are all coming for us at the same time.
Should we stop expanding in all directions?
Consider, we have a Waagh fleet coming at us in 8 separate directions, so, since we are expanding in every direction simultaneously, we are approaching every fleet at the same speed. Unless there are major differences in how far apart these fleet's are we should be reaching most of the fleets at roughly the same time, meaning that when the war starts it will pretty much be a war with 8 simultaneous fronts from the very start.
On the other hand, if we are all of our effort on exploring in just a few directions, potentially even just one, we should be able to reach at least one, ideally a few, of the fleets before the majority reach us, making it so that our forces can deal with the various Ork fleet's without having to either fight undermanned or ignore other fleet's as they rampage through our territory so they can stay at full strength.
In short, it's probably better to fight one or two enemies at a time instead of eight all at once, so maybe we should head in just a few directions instead of every direction simulatenously considering we know that a bunch of enemies of roughly equal distance from us are all coming for us at the same time.
- Location
- Uruguay
Hmm, you have to consider that most human worlds on the way would be destroyed if they aren't part of the bastion. So yeah, we would suffer less ourselves, but only because most victims wouldn't be under our protection.
Not that they idea of destroying a Waghhh doesn't have merit, but I am not sure if we would expand all that faster by going to a single dirrection.
Each choice has its benefits, really.
We actually have a tendency to expand closer to Earth.
It might actually end up worse for us if the ork get those planets to breed on.
How tall is Serras?
The Froggy Ninja
The Blade Will Never Die
Nope. Five thousand. But if you're only putting 1 every kilometer that's only 5% of the planet on hive worlds. That would be about 2.8 trillion people which is close to what you put.
That sounds really fast and cheap. Let me find Niven's Ring's numbers:
Pulled from here: Ringworld
The worst part is, to keep the ring from flying apart under its own spinning, it needs to be made out of absurdly tough material. For Niven's original, he made up some absurdly strong stuff called scrith. In effect, in this setting you'd need adamantium, or possibly wraithbone. So you'd need to be able to create several thousand times earth's mass of whatever building material you choose.
Or approximately 100,000 trillion battleships, based on some rough math on how much 6 kilometers of ww2 battleships would weigh.
I think a partial Dyson swarm is much more practical. Should be a few orders of magnitude cheaper.
Edit: also fun, apparently, an earth-orbit ringworld has roughly about 3 times as much inhabitable area as the entire Imperium of Man occupies in 40k
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- Location
- Uruguay
Hmm, maybe if we had a star system with dead planets that we could mine alongside stellar bellows, though I don't know how much Mithril Serras can make on her own (she can make Wraitbone, right?)
Couldn't we just use a smaller star like a brown dwarf, though?
I already talked about manipulating the circumstellar habitable zone with solar panels to reduce the radius needed.
Not sure if it would work, though. Again, I am not an expert.
EDIT:
We obviously need to make a pentagonal-world. Yeah, I am sure that there won't be any problems with that.
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Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
@ilbgar123 this is kinda random but can we get Serras an awesome pet/partner? Kinda like how Russ had his wolves?
I seriously doubt that, considering the Imperium has somewhere between 1.3-1.5 million worlds.
Correct. And an Earth-orbit ringworld with the width of Niven's ring has the surface area of 3 million Earths. 100% garden world quality, too, no deathworld zones, unless you decide to add it in.
But true, it is possible that it has only twice the living space as the rest of human occupied space combined. Still an absurdly large prospect.
- Location
- Uruguay
Being able to dedicate that much area to the most effective method of agriculture possible in less than 100 years has its uses, though.
Still, I agree that making a big armada should be our priority, at least until we simply don't have enough manpower.
Interludes
- Location
- Peterborough, NH, USA
AN: Not completely happy with this in places, but I'd rather get it out quick than take another month.
Also, could someone remind me what things people suggested in between Turn 13 and now? I've got the 5 Action (though it'll still take 3 years) Stellar Bellows. Also, do you guys think I should let you use 2 Minor Actions as a Major Action and vice versa.
Also, could someone remind me what things people suggested in between Turn 13 and now? I've got the 5 Action (though it'll still take 3 years) Stellar Bellows. Also, do you guys think I should let you use 2 Minor Actions as a Major Action and vice versa.
A Message Interlude
Mehtrya was... overwhelmed was the word she'd choose, though she found that a massive understatement. Serras had found a way to render The Thirst all but impotent. Certainly, being put in a Spirit Stone wasn't entirely pleasant (what with the long periods of sitting alone in a space that consisted of a singular room which was barely modifiable), but it was far, far better than the alternative, especially now that it was possible to prepare a new body (if with dulled senses). While the batteries were also impressive, they kind of paled in comparison to. It was simply no comparison.
There were serious considerations to canonize Serras. Either as a saint of some kind of demi-god. Cegorach using the ritual shortly preceding IT's birth to create Serras as a human (sort of) to help bridge the gap between their species and because IT would never expect it, as the manifestation of their false pride as well as their excesses could never comprehend the Eldar who'd created it would willing follow anyone not of their species unless it was the only option other than erasure (and Serras was not the type to push them into a corner like that), was exactly the sort of thing he'd do. It was a great joke on both the Eldar and their greatest enemy since the Necrons.
As such, she honestly wasn't surprised all that much when the shard of Khaine in their temple informed them that he had a message from the Laughing God. Serras wasn't particularly hard to convince to come to the temple to hear it. She was very trusting of people once she'd decided they were people and she was reasonably sure they weren't brainwashed or compelled in some other fashion.
"Alright kid, the clown wanted me to pass a message along." Khaine was something resembling respectful to the human. In part because of their accomplishments, and in part because their soul was a shining beacon of purity. Daemons very much did not wish to spend any longer in her presence than they had to.
"'Good job so far, I'm willing to let you pass through the sections of the Webway that fall under Eldar control without interference. Considering the current opinion of the Eldar towards you, I doubt you'll have much trouble convincing them to stop being stupid and ask for help in securing it.'" Mehtrya tried very hard not to choke on her own spit at the casual revelation of the Webway's existence, if not the specifics. They could still do it themselves, they didn't need any help! ...But wasn't that the sort of attitude that had gotten them into this mess? Thinking that they could handle problems they really, really couldn't and otherwise misplaced superiority?
"'Also, you should really get ready for the Waaghs that are going to pass through your sector in 15 or so years. As you'd imagine, the Bitch is kind of pissed off. 9 or so Sector Waaghs are no laughing matter, even if seeing the Bitch so furious is hilarious.'" Khaine relayed. Serras blinked twice, before an expression of deep concentration appeared, followed a few minutes later by shock. While Serras could reliably predict events that major a decade in advance, it grew exponentially 'fuzzier' as she went further, and with IT actively concealing the event, it would likely have been a delayed prophecy. However, when Serras knew what to look for, it grew significantly easier.
"'Now that you've confirmed I'm telling the truth'" Khaine continued to speak for Cegorach within moments of Serras' shock making itself known, disturbing Serras noticeably. Being read that well by someone you'd never met had to be creepy. "'there's one other thing you should know.'" Serras was utterly attentive after her recent revelation. "'The sun is fun in the gum.'"
Serras just sort of stared for about 15 seconds. "...What?" Mehtrya was pretty sure that didn't mean anything.
"'I was just messing with you! Well, I've got to guide some of the more worthy bands of Harlequins to the Black Library. Toodles!'" Khaine relayed. "I have no idea what that meant either. I swear he'd get so much more done if didn't spend all his time thinking up terrible jokes. Seriously, puns would be preferable to this weird surreal humor he's been into ever since the Bitch was born, and I always thought that was the lowest form of humor. Though in retrospect he might just have a weird way of dealing with trauma." Khaine explained.
"Um, alright. Say Mehtrya. What the hell is the Webway?" Serras seemed a bit shaken from that whole ordeal, and she hadn't even actually met the Laughing God.
Mehtrya forced herself not to shuffle her feet like a misbehaving child. "It's a network of tunnels in a dimension that acts as the skin of reality between the Immaterium and the Materium. They were constructed by the Old Ones for quick travel between their worlds, and later expanded by my race. When IT was born, the paths between most places were lost temporarily from minor damage inflicted by the shockwave, leaving us isolated from other fragments of our races on other Craftworlds, beyond the communication provided by Khaine." She would have bowed to the god, but Khaine had moved his attention elsewhere shortly after the message ended. He'd mentioned he wasn't one for sappy nonsense a few times, though he might have simply been dealing with a lot of traffic.
"Okay. I take it you've been trying to restore access to the wider network, potentially including a portal on Ivanor if that's why you were so interested. I'm guessing that's what the Concealment Runes were for. You know we have entire armies doing basically nothing but train and garrison planets. Heck, fighting the Orks over Therog is the most action most of the PDF has seen!" She tilted her head.
"Speaking of which, that name doesn't really suit them anymore since they aren't really specific to their own planets any more. I'll have to have it changed at some point. Anyway, you need to focus on rebuilding your numbers and making sure that you don't lose too much of your knowledge and technology. I would have assigned PDF members to help you out in a heartbeat if you'd asked." Serras paused. "But that's just it, isn't it? You were starting to feel like I was coming in and fixing all your problems for you, and you'd still like to have some pride in yourselves, which made it sting that you weren't solving your own problems, so you wanted to do this yourselves."
Serras worked it out pretty quickly. This was why you'd avoided mentioning it at all up to this point. Serras was perceptive, and she understood psychology well, particularly where those she cared about were concerned. "Well, I can keep the help to a minimum if you like, but I insist you accept some help. I refuse to buy that you could effectively police a galactic network with, what, 1% of your old population? On that note, if IT being born only scrambled the Webway somewhat, wouldn't those maniacs who must have lived in the Webway and were, if anything, worse than their counterparts on your worlds have survived for the most part? I mean, unless IT made a concerted effort to break in, which is a possibility. If they did survive, there's no guarantee they'd be willing to work with you, possibly considering you cowards for turning away from exploring every possible avenue of experience despite it being made clear how terrible an idea that was, or something equally stupid, and either ignore your efforts, or hinder you outright."
Mehtrya had heard this exact argument for informing Serras of the Webway network. Frankly, she'd been on the fence. While there were logical and emotional arguments for both sides, the main justification she'd made to herself to avoid saying anything was that it would be something of a betrayal to inform her without her people's approval. Of course, a nasty little voice would always point out that hiding something so major would be considered a personal betrayal by many, and the fact that Serras was simply laying out why she thought having some help would be a good idea rather than ranting and raving made it worse somehow.
Noticing her internal conflict, Serras proceeded to give her an out. "Not to mention that if other Deathworlds have connections to the Old Ones, then it's entirely possible that a lot of human worlds, maybe even ones that have existing infrastructure for ships, have such gates, making them a great way to spread The Bastion much more quickly and prevent the snowballing threats like the Orks from getting out of hand. Even ignoring the interest I have in your people not killing themselves trying to correct their mistakes, I have an interest in restoring the network simply to gain access to a quicker, and presumably safer, means of transportation to various worlds. In a way, it could be said that you'd be doing me a favor if you let me help."
Mehtrya shook her head. "Let's not pretend this isn't what it is. We've yet again failed to clean up our own mess, and you're offering help, again." Mehtrya didn't mean for that to come out so bitter, but she really didn't want to admit that her people couldn't clean up their own messes. Admitting they'd screwed up badly enough to further screw up the galaxy was one thing. Being unable to fix their mistakes was entirely different. They were supposed to be better than this, at least, they'd acted like it for the past dozen or so millennia.
"To be fair, having 1% of the population responsible for causing the problem try and fix it seems unreasonable, especially when they were the ones trying to prevent the problem in the first place." Serras pointed out. "Technically, the only thing you're guilty of is not stopping a much larger portion of your species from descending into debauchery and then of failing to convince them to stop, and I'm not really sure what more you could have done. Telling them it would end badly and trying to get them to stop peacefully was accomplishing nothing. What were you supposed to do? Blow up one of your homeworlds to try and give them a wake-up call? Is there any indication something like that would even have worked?" she asked.
"...We still shouldn't have other people clean up our mess." Mehtrya stubbornly clung to that.
"I'm not saying you should, but there's a distinct difference between having some help, and getting someone else to clean up after you." Serras responded, laying a hand on Mehtrya's shoulder. She'd probably have gone straight for a hug, but she could tell Mehtrya wasn't in the mood for it.
"..." Mehtrya considered that. While she was, on some level, aware that Serras' intense charisma from her psychic power wasn't something she could entirely turn off, her arguments made sense, and they seemed heartfelt. She'd gained a great deal of insight into how Serras' mind worked since they'd first met, so she was sure of Serras' honesty.
"I'll show you the gate. When the others hear that Cegorach was the one who told you, they won't be willing to try and hinder you." Mehtrya sighed. Trying to keep her out was just being stubborn at this point.
"Well, as long as you accept some level of help. I mean, it's not like most of the garrison forces are doing much right now, with the exception of the Deathworlds. We might as well deploy them.
It's not like I don't benefit from this either." Serras patted her shoulder. "I mean, this is a galactic network! I could get all kinds of insights just from seeing it!"
Mehtrya smiled at Serras' almost entirely genuine exuberance. She really was determined to take care of everyone's problems, even the ones that sprung from doing so.
Reward: Access to Webway. The Webway is a network of Wraithbone tunnels which span the galaxy much like blood vessels. Many worlds important to the Old Ones and Eldar will have a gate on them. Currently accelerates troop/good movement somewhat across the sector. Cannot currently have major extensions made. Requires time and/or actions to gain major benefits. Currently being explored by Eldar and now by small complements of Deathworlders and similar veteran human troops. +10 to Psyker and Education skills from cursory study of Webway.
AN: Solving all of someone's problems with little to no input from them in finding the solution has its downsides for their self-confidence. Granted, they recognize that pride was the cause behind their downfall, since that was the root of their rampant hedonism and lack of restraint (besides the whole 'feels sensations and emotions more strongly than humans' thing), but they'd like to hold on to some of it.
Serras can usually determine if there's any major threats within the next decade, but any further than that is iffy. Being informed of a specific threat dramatically extends that to about 50 years, though Slaanesh (since it doesn't have a trickster/diviner build) shortened that to about 20 years. Serras doesn't particularly trust gods, since most of her experiences with them have been through Chaos cultists, or the less psychotically deranged but still somewhat nutty Mechanicus. This translates more along the lines of 'trust but verify' than 'automatically disregard everything they say unless you have outside confirmation' for allied gods such as Khaine. Cegorach's reputation as a trickster didn't help his case.
Education: Advanced: 70. You continue to push the upper limits of human knowledge. Education bonus is now 170 for General.
Education: Advanced: 80. You continue to push the upper limits of human knowledge further and further. Education bonus is now 180 for General.
Education: Cultural Analysis: 70. Many xenos races require your personal intervention to acquire their allegiance to the greater state, but you can assimilate most of them without problems. Can assimilate xenos cultures which are anything more than neutral towards you.
Education: Cultural Analysis: 80. Some xenos races require your personal intervention to acquire their allegiance to the greater state, but you can assimilate the majority of them without problems. Can assimilate xenos cultures which are neutral towards you.
Education: Seer: 70. You are one of the greatest scholars on the Warp in the nearest 8 sectors. Education: Esoteric bonus has increased to 170.
Education: Seer: 80. You are one of the greatest scholars on the Warp in the nearest 9 sectors. Education: Esoteric bonus has increased to 180.
Psyker: Sorcery: 70. You have advanced humankind's knowledge of manipulating the natural world using the Warp a great deal. +70(170 total) to yourself in combat, +35(85 total) to allies within 17000 meters.
Psyker: Sorcery: 80. You have advanced humankind's knowledge of manipulating the natural world using the Warp a large amount. +80(180 total) to yourself in combat, +40(90 total) to allies within 18000 meters.
Psyker: Spirit: 60. Your soul rejects Daemons who do nothing more than enter your personal space. +160 to attempts at mind-reading/domination, and to defending against such attempts. Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses whether they try force or stealth. Greater Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses if they try force anyway. Even a Chaos God wouldn't be able to just waltz in without a very noticeable struggle. Lesser Daemons risk will be destroyed simply from coming into contact with you.
Psyker: Spirit: 70. Your soul rejects Daemons who do nothing more than enter your personal space. +170 to attempts at mind-reading/domination, and to defending against such attempts. Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses whether they try force or stealth. Greater Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses if they try force anyway, with a minor chance of dying to them if they attempt subterfuge. Even a Chaos God wouldn't be able to just waltz in without a very noticeable struggle. Lesser Daemons will be destroyed simply from coming into contact with you.
Psyker: Navigator: 60. You can read and manipulate the Warp around you to a degree similar to the junior members of a Navigator House. You can reliably predict events 600 minutes into the future, and get some flashes of events up to 600 days hence. +160 to ritual-disruption Checks and similar esoteric uses of psychic power such as divination and guiding ships through the Warp. +80 to ritual-disruption Checks among allied psykers.
Psyker: Navigator: 70. You can read and manipulate the Warp around you at the same level as the junior members of a Navigator House. You can reliably predict events 700 minutes into the future, and get some flashes of events up to 700 days hence. +170 to ritual-disruption Checks and similar esoteric uses of psychic power such as divination and guiding ships through the Warp. +85 to ritual-disruption Checks among allied psykers.
Contact Interlude
Less than a month after your talk with Magnus, a psychic ping resonates with you. Unless the forces of Chaos had suddenly become excellent at pretending to be beings of Order (HA!), your father had contacted you. It only made sense. Magnus had mentioned talking to him a little bit, and he was much further away from Terra than she was, relatively speaking. Her father probably wanted to know more about her. She allowed the link to form.
'Hello?' She asked. While she could tell he wasn't malicious, that was really all. His defenses were too strong to bypass passively, though she was concerned that the opposite might not be true. Still, she didn't have a whole lot to hide... hopefully. Though considering the fact that Magnus didn't remember her being amongst his 19 siblings, she wasn't actually sure. She didn't actually know him beyond the second-hand account she'd gotten from Magnus.
'HELLO. I BELIEVE YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SHOWED MAGNUS THOSE CRYSTALS HE'S BEEN GOING ON ABOUT?'
Serras blinked. Huh, was that how she sounded to regular psykers? 'Yes. That was me.'
'HE ALSO MENTIONED TWO THINGS THAT CONCERNED ME. THE FIRST BEING THAT YOU CLAIM TO BE HIS SISTER, DESPITE MY NOT MAKING ANY FEMALE PRIMARCHS. THE SECOND BEING THE SHADOWY CREATURES YOU ENCOUNTERED, WHICH LEFT THE FIRST FEW CRYSTALS BEHIND.'
'Uh, yes. I have a pod, which is how I knew about you and Magnus in the first place. Waking up inside is my first memory, so I just kind of assumed…' Serras trailed off. If she wasn't one of the 'Primarchs' then what exactly was she? If nothing else, she'd like to be sure she wasn't going to go nuts as soon as someone pressed a mental trigger.
'WELL, I THINK I HAVE A THEORY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. LATE IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING MY SONS, THERE WAS A… MISHAP, AND THEY WERE SCATTERED IN THE WARP. SAID MISHAP RESULTED IN A SHOCKWAVE OF WARP ENERGY THAT COULD BE FELT A DOZEN SECTORS AWAY. THIS MAY HAVE CAUSED A CHUNK OF WARP ENERGY TO IMPRINT ON THOSE THE INCIDENT WAS CENTERED ON. THE PRIMARCHS.
I'M NOT SURE WHY YOU WERE CREATED FEMALE, BUT SINCE YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY WARPSTUFF THAT FORMED INTO A COPY OF THE IDEA BEHIND THE PRIMARCHS, YOU ARE STILL TECHNICALLY MY DAUGHTER. AT LEAST, IN SO MUCH AS YOU WOULDN'T EXIST WITHOUT MY HAVING CREATED THE PRIMARCHS IN THE FIRST PLACE.'
'Uh, well, thanks for that, then.' Serras gave the mental impression of a nod. She certainly hadn't suspected that, though she supposed it didn't change a whole lot. She might be a little miffed about not having been supposed to exist, but it seemed roughly equivalent to an accidental pregnancy (if scaled up) so she could deal with it.
'YOU'RE WELCOME. NOW, ABOUT THOSE SHADOWS.'
'I don't really like to talk about them, but I figure you should hear about them from a first-hand source. They tended to appear like actual shadows that had broken into the 3-dimensional world, though with glowing yellow eyes. From what I was able to tell, they were roughly equivalent to Warp Horrors in their home universe. They broke into our reality after the inhabitants of a third reality badly failed in dealing with a spatial anomaly, tearing a hole that allowed the shadows into ours, and presumably their own.
They possessed the ability to temporarily become like normal shadows, rendering them invincible to conventional physical attacks, and highly-resistant to energy-based attacks and psychic powers, though they themselves were almost unable to harm my forces in turn.
In addition, they possessed the ability to… assimilate other beings. They would be swallowed by a seemingly bottomless well of darkness, before re-emerging as one of the shadow creatures. Considering I saw it happen to humans, Eldar, Orks, some third race of xenos whose species name I never learned, and Daemons, I don't think anyone's actually immune.' Serras explained.
Her father was silent for a few moments. Probably turning that thought over in his head. 'DAEMONS. WERE TURNED INTO ANOTHER UNIVERSE'S DAEMONS. BY SAID DAEMONS.' He paused. 'THAT DESCRIPTION ACTUALLY SOUNDS FAMILIAR. ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU GOT THEM ALL? BECAUSE IF THEY'RE WHAT I THINK THEY ARE, WE DON'T WANT THOSE THINGS RUNNING AROUND.'
'Well, I closed the rifts they first came through, and we couldn't find any of them afterward. Not to mention I personally turned the Hulk they were first found on into a set of ships, which we would notice disappearing or having any outbreaks of shadow monsters. As long as the Daemons aren't stupid enough to mess with something that was trying to eat them, and succeeding to a degree, we should be fine. ...Why does that not fill me with confidence?' Serras explained.
'PROBABLY BECAUSE DAEMONS ARE SELFISH BASTARDS. IT'S PRACTICALLY THE JOB DESCRIPTION. I'LL LOOK INTO IT. HOPEFULLY THEY CAN'T ACCESS THAT DIMENSION WITH THE ORIGINAL PORTAL CLOSED, BUT I'M NOT USUALLY THAT LUCKY.
ANYWAY. I'M IN THE MIDST OF REUNIFYING TERRA, SO I DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF TIME TO TALK. NOTHING I CAN'T HANDLE SO FAR, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE A WHILE BEFORE I HAVE THE RESOURCES TO SPREAD BEYOND SOL. I CAN'T PROMISE I'LL HAVE REACHED YOU BY THE TIME YOU HIT 30, BUT I WILL MOST DEFINITELY HAVE GOTTEN THAT FAR BY 50.' He explained, a note of frustration coming through.
'Hm, any way I can help? Like, anything you're having particular trouble with?' She asked.
'THERE'S REALLY ONLY ONE MAJOR PROBLEM. THE THUNDER WARRIORS APPRECIATE THE TALISMANS BEING FORGED OUT OF THE CRYSTALS YOU DISCOVERED THE MEANS TO CREATE, WHICH HAS THE ADDED BENEFIT OF REDUCING THE GENERAL POPULACE'S MISTRUST OF PSYKERS BY BOTH REDUCING THE RISK OF POSSESSION AND GIVING THEM AN EVERYDAY USE BEYOND COUNTERING OTHER PSYKERS. IN ADDITION, THEY SHOULD PROVE USEFUL IN AT LEAST PARTIALLY RESTORING TERRA ITSELF.
CURRENTLY, MUCH OF THE POPULATION IS FORCED TO AVOID HUGE SWATHES OF LAND. EITHER THE REMNANTS OF BROKEN ENEMIES PROWL IN SMALL GANGS, ROGUE ARCHAEOTECH ATTEMPTS TO KILL ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT ISN'T ONE OF IT'S OWN, OR POISONED/IRRADIATED WASTELAND THAT EVEN MARS' TECH-PRIESTS WOULD CONSIDER UNINHABITABLE MAKES UP NEARLY A HALF THE AVAILABLE LAND FOR LOYAL CITIZENS OF THE NASCENT IMPERIUM OF MAN.
I AM CURRENTLY TOO BUSY DIRECTING THE TROOPS AND CONSOLIDATING MY EXISTING HOLDINGS TO PUSH MUCH RESEARCH IN THAT DIRECTION, AND MY CONTACT WITH MARS IS EXTREMELY LIMITED AT THIS POINT. LUNA IS OCCUPIED BY LUNATICS, AND MUCH OF THE REST OF THE SYSTEM IS WORSE OFF THAN TERRA, THOUGH I'M NOT SURE WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON PAST JUPITER, AS I AM TOO FOCUSED ON THE HERE AND NOW TO BOTHER WITH THAT UNTIL TERRA IS IN DECENT SHAPE.
MALCADOR IS MORE OF AN ADMINISTRATOR THAN A SCIENTIST, AND MAGNUS IS MORE INCLINED TO THE STUDY OF THE WARP, BOTH BY PREFERENCE AND NATURAL TALENT. THEREFORE, I TURN TO YOU. HOW GO YOUR OWN SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS?'
'Well, we've recently designed arcologies, and I built the test case in a couple hours, which held 50000 people without too much trouble. While we prefer to have 1 per kilometer, it is technically possible to hold 16 in a single kilometer. That should be enough, right?' she asked. There probably couldn't be more than a couple billion on Terra at absolute most if Father's description wasn't a massive exaggeration, especially once the fighting was over.
The impression of a nod of approval came through. 'THAT WOULD BE PERFECT. IT WOULD ALSO CONSOLIDATE PEOPLE INTO SMALLER, MORE EASILY DEFENDED AREAS. GETTING THE MATERIALS WOULD TAKE SOME TIME, BUT I COULD SPARE A COUPLE HOURS AT SOME POINT SOON. SHOW ME THE SCHEMATICS.'
Serras proceeded to do just that. After a few minutes discussion of the finer points of their design and construction, and Father copying the plans, so that he could show regular humans and have them construct the things without his direct supervision. While the Primarchs possessed essentially perfect memory, barring something screwing with their brains/memories directly, and their progenitor actually did have perfect recall, regular humans very much did not.
Father remembered the creation and design of the vast majority of human technology, but lacked the tools to build the more advanced stuff, which he'd need time to build the tools necessary for the creation thereof, and so on and so forth. This was faster. He'd bring technology up to standard as soon as Terra wasn't in imminent danger, and do his best to do it as he went, but technological uplift took years at the best of times, and they simply didn't have that sort of time to spare. Perhaps when Terra was far behind Imperial lines, but until then, no.
'Say, Father, perhaps Imperium of Man isn't the best title, or Great Crusade. The former makes it sound like a humans only club, and the latter has religious connotations. Why not call it the Federation of United Worlds and the Reunification? Or the-' Serras cut off as a chuckle resounded across the link. 'What? What's so funny?'
'YOU JUST REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING.' At this he turned serious. 'THE IMPERIUM WILL ALLOW XENOS TO JOIN, BUT HUMANITY COMES FIRST. WE CANNOT DEPEND ON XENOS TO STAND WITH HUMANITY AFTER THE DESERTION THAT OCCURRED WHEN THE AGE OF STRIFE BEGAN. AS SUCH, WHILE WE WILL NOT ATTACK XENOS RACES ON SIGHT, WE WILL NOT TOLERATE XENOS HARMING HUMANITY. THEREFORE, I REFUSE TO CALL THE HUMANITY'S RESURGENT STATE SOMETHING LIKE THE FEDERATION. XENOS WILL HAVE TO EARN OUR TRUST, RATHER THAN RECEIVING IT FREELY.
AS FOR THE GREAT CRUSADE, I CONSIDERED CALLING IT SOMETHING ELSE, BUT REPRESSING ALL RELIGIOUS TERMS DOESN'T USUALLY DO MUCH TO STEM ENTHUSIASM FOR IT. AS SUCH, INSTEAD OF REPRESSING RELIGIOUS TERMS, I WILL REPURPOSE THEM FOR SECULAR GOALS, SUCH AS THE REUNIFICATION OF HUMANITY. IF THE PROBLEM IS THE RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION, THEN I WILL ALTER THEIR ASSOCIATION. AFTER ALL, A WORD CANNOT BE BOTH SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS AT THE SAME TIME, AND IF IT'S USED FOR SECULAR PURPOSES FOR LONG ENOUGH, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE WILL ASSOCIATE IT WITH.'
Serras thought that over, and nodded in acquiescence. Well, as long as the xenos races in The Bastion weren't enslaving people, there shouldn't be a problem. As long as he didn't name everything in religious terms, Great Crusade wasn't the worst name he could choose. 'I suppose that makes sense, though I'm not sure how well it's going to go down with xenos races. Anyway, I'm probably not going to physically reach you soon either. I've made contacts with the Eldar, and apparently Cegorach considered it worth it to warn me about a major incursion of Orks in 16 years time, so I'll be dealing with that for the foreseeable future.'
'I CAN SEE HOW THAT WOULD BE A PROBLEM, YES. BE CAREFUL OF THE SPACE-ELVES. THEY HAVE THIS NASTY HABIT OF ACTING LIKE THEY'RE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE, AND ACTING LIKE IT'S TRUE. THAT BEING SAID, IF YOU CAN MANAGE A GENUINE FRIENDSHIP WITH THEM, THEN THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU ACCESS TO THE WEBWAY, WHICH SHOULD PROVE VERY USEFUL, AND I WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN.' Father commented.
'Actually, Cegorach already addressed that. The elite soldiers among the star nation I'm building are working with their soldiers to clear the Webway out and establish a working map of it. Apparently it didn't really like the psychic shockwave of… IT's birth.' Serras began cheerfully, but ended solemnly.
'...SO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT THEN. I SUPPOSE THERE'S NO HELPING IT NOW. HOWEVER, AVOID TELLING THE MASSES. CHAOS IS INCREDIBLY CORRUPTING. EVEN THE LIKES OF OURSELVES AREN'T IMMUNE, AND THE MOST WEAK-WILLED OF PEOPLE CAN BE SWAYED SIMPLY BY KNOWING ABOUT IT.' Father told her with great seriousness.
'Don't worry, the people who deal with Daemons on a regular basis are the only ones even considered for being informed under most circumstances, and I do my level best to absolutely minimize risk of corruption.' Serras responded.
'GOOD. THEY FEED OFF OF THE BELIEF OF MORTALS, WHICH IS WHY THEY POSSESS SUCH INTEREST IN THE MATERIUM, DESPITE HAVING LITTLE ABILITY TO PERSONALLY INTERVENE IN IT COMPARED TO THE WARP. WHILE THEY ALSO DRAW FROM CERTAIN EMOTIONS, ACTUAL WORSHIP PROVIDES FAR MORE POWER FROM THE SAME SOUL. CURB BELIEF, AND THEY WILL ALSO BE CURBED, POTENTIALLY RETURNING THEM TO DORMANCY IN TIME.' Father explained.
'I suppose that makes sense. Having thoughts directed to them instead of just emotion would probably provide more energy than just one or the other.' Serras agreed.
'AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION. I'LL NEED TO BE GOING. THERE'S A BATTLE THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BEGIN WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS THAT I'LL NEED TO DIRECT.'
'I'll talk to you again some other time Father.' Serras nodded as the link faded. She turned back to the pile of metal and schematics a few feet away. "Now then… where was I?"
Reward: Gained Emperor SL. Currently 1 of 10. +10 to Education and Psyker skills.
AN: Serras didn't tell Emps about the Soulstones because they aren't going to have an effect until she can get to him to personally demonstrate them. Orichalcix, however, she has already demonstrated to Magnus, who, in turn, showed Emps. Eldar can make Wraithbone without much in the way of training, so human psykers can do the same with Orichalcix. Soulstones are a bit more complex.
It's sort of the difference between a solitary gear from Big Ben, and a wholesale clock. The former is big (power-intensive), but relatively simple, while the latter is small (relatively low-power), but complicated and therefore harder to make.
Emps has already made a bunch of equipment for the Thunder Warriors. Having equipment that fixes itself means he can push them until they're collapsing from exhaustion without overmuch having to worry about their arms and armor failing on them.
Education: Advanced: 80. You continue to push the upper limits of human knowledge further and further. Education bonus is now 180 for General.
Education: Advanced: 90. You are nearing another new tier of knowledge on mundane subjects. Education bonus is now 190 for General.
Education: Cultural Analysis: 80. Some xenos races require your personal intervention to acquire their allegiance to the greater state, but you can assimilate the majority of them without problems. Can assimilate xenos cultures which are neutral towards you.
Education: Cultural Analysis: 90. A few xenos races require your personal intervention to acquire their allegiance to the greater state, but you can assimilate the vast majority of them without problems. Can assimilate xenos cultures which are slightly worse than neutral towards you.
Education: Seer: 80. You are one of the greatest scholars on the Warp in the nearest 9 sectors. Education: Esoteric bonus has increased to 180.
Education: Seer: 90. You are one of the greatest scholars on the Warp in the nearest 10 sectors. Education: Esoteric bonus has increased to 190.
Psyker: Sorcery: 80. You have advanced humankind's knowledge of manipulating the natural world using the Warp a large amount. +80(180 total) to yourself in combat, +40(90 total) to allies within 18000 meters.
Psyker: Sorcery: 90. You are nearing another new tier of esoteric knowledge. +90(190 total) to yourself in combat, +45(95 total) to allies within 19000 meters.
Psyker: Spirit: 70. Your soul rejects Daemons who do nothing more than enter your personal space. +170 to attempts at mind-reading/domination, and to defending against such attempts. Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses whether they try force or stealth. Greater Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses if they try force anyway, with a minor chance of dying to them if they attempt subterfuge. Even a Chaos God wouldn't be able to just waltz in without a very noticeable struggle. Lesser Daemons will be destroyed simply from coming into contact with you.
Psyker: Spirit: 80. Your soul rejects Daemons who do nothing more than enter your personal space. +180 to attempts at mind-reading/domination, and to defending against such attempts. Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses whether they try force or stealth. Greater Daemons will find your soul impossible to take by force, and will get themselves killed on your passive defenses if they try force anyway, with a small chance of dying to them if they attempt subterfuge. Even a Chaos God wouldn't be able to just waltz in without a very noticeable struggle. Lesser Daemons will be destroyed simply from coming into contact with you.
Psyker: Navigator: 70. You can read and manipulate the Warp around you at the same level as the junior members of a Navigator House. You can reliably predict events 700 minutes into the future, and get some flashes of events up to 700 days hence. +170 to ritual-disruption Checks and similar esoteric uses of psychic power such as divination and guiding ships through the Warp. +85 to ritual-disruption Checks among allied psykers.
Psyker: Navigator: 80. You can read and manipulate the Warp around you to roughly the same degree as the senior members of a Navigator House. You can reliably predict events 800 minutes into the future, and get some flashes of events up to 800 days hence. +180 to ritual-disruption Checks and similar esoteric uses of psychic power such as divination and guiding ships through the Warp. +90 to ritual-disruption Checks among allied psykers.
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Ave Anathema
Ave Imperator
- Location
- Jacksonville Illinois
we are officially Big E's Favorite daughter and yay we know what we are and are still considered his daughter
- Location
- The Sticks
Aw yiss motherfucking Webway access. Our borders are going to expand faster than a b-
EEEEEEE
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
Woah
- Location
- United States
perk vote time?
Rowknan
Roar
- Location
- The Unknown
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yay for not dieing by Emperor!
Also my new goal for this quest is to get more planets under our control than daddy. That would be hilarious.
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him