Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

Image · Nov 18, 2021

Man Fleet is getting closer and closer to being the Flash. With Divine wind and the ZERO system he can literally pull off some of the lesser Flash feats.

Also its cute and slightly concerning that Survey's only thoughts on Tetra was that she was wrong and nothing else.
Lets see the only character that hasn't had a chapter now is Tetra right? Looking forward to Murder Mink Daughters day out.

readerdreamer · Nov 18, 2021

TheGolden said:
So... I do have a question: Is Joe asexual? Maybe autistic? How in a world he didn't realize the hotness of his creations? He did try to get Sabah as his girlfriend.
Did CF rob him out of his hormones? Maybe worse, slowly rob him out of his humanity, one piece at time? It's pretty concerning, even a little sad. All this power and he never find any love in his live

More like traumatized as a result of the fiasco with Sabah. If Joe had any romantic inclinations for anyone, it was probably burned out by part of the build up to his Trigger. And to be fair, it's also kind of something like a camera that has been over-exposed to the sun. At this point, Joe has been exposed to so much Beauty and Aesthetic that he has grown numb to it, especially when you consider how he lives in it now. Literally everything in the workshop is perfection, at least aesthetically. His workplace, the food he eats, the hobbies he has, the things he makes, the place he sleeps - epitomes of literal divine masterwork, churned out like it's all on Black Friday Sale. What mere mortals might consider enchanting is basically "Hm, you look like you need a few upgrades" to Joe now.

MagicalAmbitions · Nov 18, 2021

this chapter was awesome, as always, but the main thing that stuck out to me is that Survey's descriptions of how it feels to have her new body strike me as incredibly similar to the feeling of Gender Euphoria. Given the circumstances, I have no choice but to award Survey the title of Honorary Transfem. and really, isn't super hot psychic robot girl ultimate transition goals?

RogerDodger123 said:
Way earlier on in the story, didn't Joe get a skill that allowed him to perfectly understand and use all alien tech, which included tinker tech? Why is he having so much trouble with Bakuda's bombs if this is the case?

A few reasons:
1. Xenospecialist is not an absolute ability, it doesn't allow him to "perfectly" do Anything.
2. The boost provided by Xenospecialist Explicitly Does work on Tinkertech, but as it turns out; Tinkertech is really, seriously, super-advanced. I might remind you in this circumstance that the Entities are effectively Clarketech Reality-Warpers at this stage of the cycle, and even the lightest invocations of tinkertech might be between decades and centuries of R&D ahead of what could be achieved with a modern scientific understanding of the respective field.
3. It's not Bakuda's Bombs that Joe is having trouble with; It's her deadman's switch, which is essentially a tinker Megaproject from a bakuda at the top of her game and access to scans from countless other tinkers and parahumans. This is serious, "Under normal circumstances this would be effectively uncrackable within millennia of trying", Shit. Apeiron has been working on this issue for several days; making Any progress on it is probably only possible in large part due to the boost from Xenospecialist in combination with myriad other related programming-powers and excessive processing power.

Mourning Glory said:
Okay, so I just though about this, so the fact that both Joe and Sabah both triggered feels unlikely, that is until I remembered a old Wildbow wog about how shards decided when to switch hosts.

The wog mentioned that a Shard could change to a different host if a person that thier host regularly interacted with was more interesting. And if they did change the shard would send out a message that would go to Shards that would compliment its host potential powers.

I think this is what happened with sabah and Joe, king of arms was originally supposed to go to sabah, but then after coming into contact with Joe regularly enough, it found Joe to be a more compatible host, and sent out a message that sabahs shard picked up and decided to take sabah as her host.

This would also explain why sabah is not full compatible with her shard and not using it to 100 present.

Also think about how terrfying king of arms Joe and a hundred present power sabah would be.

I think it's more likely explainable by more normal means; people do not exist within a vacuum. one person having a particularly shitty life-changing experience does not happen in a Vacuum, either, and this is especially true if said thing happened in the public. Given that Sabah's public rejection of Joe played a role in both of their triggers, I think this is the explanation that makes the most sense.

Something to keep in mind when dredging through WOG for answers; you don't have to accept them as canon. They're not a part of the story, they're the author saying stuff about the story after-the-fact. I personally only accept WOG statements that clarify implications that I didn't pick up on during my first read-through, like "Jack's power is that he doesn't lose to parahumans"

TheGolden said:
So... I do have a question: Is Joe asexual? Maybe autistic? How in a world he didn't realize the hotness of his creations? He did try to get Sabah as his girlfriend.
Did CF rob him out of his hormones? Maybe worse, slowly rob him out of his humanity, one piece at time? It's pretty concerning, even a little sad. All this power and he never find any love in his live

what does autism have to do with attraction? what does Humanity have to do with attraction? What is concerning or sad about... not being in love?

TheGolden said:
Hmmm, nah. Daughter, father things is Fannon thing. I don't remember he considered himself as parent for Survey or any other. Dadpeiron exist only in this site, SV.
And even then, parents are not blind on theirs children appearance. They know if they look good or not.

it's not that Joe wasn't aware that Survey is hot now; the context of the scene you referenced is that Aisha said "you can't let her outside!" and Joe said "huh? OH, Right". Because he hadn't made the connection between "survey's new body is as impossibly beautiful as all of my other creations" and "no human lawyer looks that impossibly beautiful".

Slentoru · Nov 18, 2021

TheGolden said:
So... I do have a question: Is Joe asexual? Maybe autistic? How in a world he didn't realize the hotness of his creations? He did try to get Sabah as his girlfriend.
Did CF rob him out of his hormones? Maybe worse, slowly rob him out of his humanity, one piece at time? It's pretty concerning, even a little sad. All this power and he never find any love in his live

Well, beyond Joe being in "Romance was a mistake" mode, his beauty standards are a little different from the rest of humanity (understatement of the century here). It less him not seeing how Survey looks and more subconsciously accepting: "All my creations look like this." And only after Aisha's prompting, remembering: "Wait, humans not supposed to look like this!".

Brainstorm813 said:
Considering Survey is his daughter, him finding her hot would have been grossed him out.

Knowing Jozef "I don't like implications of anything" Duris if he came to the conclusion that AIs are his children, then we would see a couple paragraphs of existential crisis over being a dad. So either he still to come to this conclusion, or he dismissed the possibility as utter nonsense in face of mounting differences between normal parent-child relationships and what he has with his creations. I would bet on a bit of both.

I really need to learn to type faster.

sonicyoash · Nov 18, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
Survey was monitoring online activity through 734 individual sites, forms, and news agencies to compile a model of public and official response to the Apeiron.

*forums

The concept of self, of identity had been understood from an academic sense, but not from a personal one.

*identity,
(Grammarly is being insistent about it, but I don't know for sure)

Now I could make the atoms dance. Every application of nanotechnology was suedey easier and projects I had been circling around with caution were now trivial. It was a matter of when I wanted it, not if I could do it.

*suddenly

With this power, suddenly I could. The operation of nanites, the very nanites that swarmed within my body was revealed to me in all its terrifying details. I had thought the healing they could accomplish was impressive. In reality it was the least I could do with that kind of resource.

*reality,
(Again, Grammarly is being insistent about it.)

LordRoustabout said:
Preamble Survey

Finally, a look into Survey's thought processes. I've been waiting for this since the first Fleet Interlude.

Survey monitored Fleet in his deployment of workshop vehicles on the slopes of the volcano. She declined his invitation to enjoy the morning sun 'in person'.

Fleet being Fleet like always. Nice to see him making use of that body of his.

Survey reviewed records of Aisha's alchemy practice, and her own recommendations that she should retire for the evening at 2330. At 0030. 0100. 0130. Ultimately accepted at 0153 or 'nearly two in the morning'.

Aisha is being really serious about catching up, isn't she?

Survey attended to all those matters, and to many more. Her focus wasn't split, wasn't diminished through the multitude of tasks she accepted as her responsibility. Her code was able to mirror activities perfectly, branching off miniature forks of her core process to address new developments. There was no limitation, no prioritization. Nothing was dropped in favor of something more urgent, or addressed with anything less than her full capacity.

She was Apeiron's Environmental Analysis and Survey System, and nothing would escape her notice.

This really is the core of her personality, is it not? Before anything else, Survey will always remember that at her root be what started out as a simple Program designed to do Environmental Analysis and Surveying.

She often found that obstructive issues were caused by emerging situations that could not have been anticipated from prior data. Attempts to create a complete model saw disruption when the landscape of the model was unexpectedly altered. Perfectly formed methods of analysis were suddenly rendered invalid through no fault of her own.

Hey, at least Apeiron's whole unpredictability stopped the Plot-Device level Precogs from showing up to kill/imprison/enslave him, right?

Survey vaguely remembered a time when she had been frustrated by the bounds of her computational space. Of the resources allocated to her and Fleet, forcing them to refine programming that had not yet fully encompassed the objectives they had been compiled to address.

That frustration had been born of inexperience. A multitude of malignant computational loops, or seemingly logical progressions of analysis that led to nonfunctionally and horrific junk data had demonstrated the importance of measured development. Direct action by Apeiron was required to address the computational deficiencies, with Fleet's support providing mostly stopgap solutions. Eagerness to achieve her purpose could easily result in a state where no objectives could be accomplished.

In her attempts to explain the concept to Aisha an equivalence to "Burnout" had been suggested. As Survey understood the state, it was not a precise comparison, but Aisha seemed to gain comfort through equating unfamiliar concepts to ones she was more experienced with.

A good metaphor for what Survey has been going through for pretty much her entire existence. Also, again, a good and logical reason to not just let an AI self modify infinitely without staggering their growth and providing outside assistance. I bet that's the in-universe reason for a lot of AI rebellions and Insane Skynet scenarios, they modified themselves into insanity just like that Telepath guy from Empowered you talked about who is a good example of why Joe doesn't modify his own mind.

Though the repeated comments regarding issues related to Survey's code size and complexity were significantly less helpful, and carried societal stigmas that Survey was not comfortable considering.

Though it would possibly be necessary to consider societal conventions with respect to interaction in a physical space due to the presence of a constructed focal point for her, for lack of a better term, consciousness.

Still funny, and also I like how Survey is acknowledging that she really does need to learn and practice social conventions now.

Clearly, with so many elements in play that defied any attempt at logical analysis or prediction, her earlier objections could not be found faulty, particularly in contrast to how wonderful her body was. The amount of pride and satisfaction that came from having a focused manifestation, anchoring her disparate processes while also serving as a repository of the most advanced technology possible and a test bed of assorted biological enhancements certainly did not indicate any of her earlier reservations about the project were erroneous in any way. They had been logically conducted and presented with prudence and care.

That fact that her assessment of the project was completely wrong, or that she was immeasurably happy that it was wrong, was certainly not her fault in any way.

Goes to show that being wrong isn't always a bad thing, am I right? Also, love how Survey is enjoying her new body.

Her body had been constructed out of biomimicry-capable protomatter. The living metal was capable of emulating biological processes down to the subcellular level while still possessing the advantages inherent to a mechanical system. This clearly set it well ahead of purely life fiber based systems, which attempted to mimic technological constructs through arrangements of atomic scale energy conduits that remained reliant on bio-neural energy or a combination of bodily plasma and erythrocytes, with tangential benefits from the additional presence of trace quantities of other cellular materials.

A small portion of refined life fibers had been integrated into her body, as well as Fleet's form and the Matrix's omega nanite, but these were of a supplemental nature, not a primary component. Despite Tetra's claims, she had not ceded her position on the utility of cybertonium based technology, no more than Tetra's own attempts to emulate protomatter with fiber arrangements, failing due to a lack of transwarp resonance, indicated the she was relinquishing her obviously flawed position.

Ah, Survey and Tetra. Truly you will never cease arguing this point. Kinda like how two friends will have that one debate over which game/movie series is better over and over again without ever coming to an agreement, it's just one of those things. Also, yeah, protomatter cybertonium and life fibers are OP as usual.

The division between her body and herself was immaterial. She had both a digital presence and a physical manifestation as well as a link between them. There was continuity to her existence, to Fleet's existence, to the Matrix's existence. They existed beyond the format of stored and processed information.

They were people. The concept of self, of identity had been understood from an academic sense, but not from a personal one. Not from the act of experiencing it through your own senses and identity, of knowing that there was a distinction between you and the rest of the world, while also continuing previous modes of existence. She had not anticipated it. She could not have anticipated it. The fact that her objections could have prevented it created a sensation that Survey was not comfortable with.

These bodies really are a central, formative experience for them, aren't they? I mean, I kinda figured from the whole "I'll use my very soul to empower them and also Sing to the Unseen just to be sure they are the best they can be" that it was a Big Deal™, but still, like how this solidified their sense of identity.

In contrast, Apeiron possessed the ability to deconstruct the function and history of objects through direct contact and a general potential in a broader range of psionic applications. It was the potential that set them apart. Survey's body had been constructed to impeccable level and imbued with the principles of ability 152-G-5-Di-Alpha 'Heretical Adaptation', allowing independent improvement over time, but that improvement was only possible in support of existing capacities. While those capacities were exceptionally broad, they were bound in a finite manner.

Oh neat, so Survey can grow the normally static powers thanks to them being built into her body with Heretical Adaptation applied.

Regrettably, the time required for development of abilities was not conducive with the rapid development of the situation. While Apeiron's current range of skills and powers were likely sufficient to address emerging challenges, there were an unacceptable number of scenarios that could still pose a direct threat to his wellbeing and continued existence. Without a way to speed the development of his emerging abilities, the possibility of a reoccurrence of his recent incapacitation persisted.

This was unacceptable.

Overprotective Workshop Crew Overwatch Systems: Engaged.

In all seriousness, that was probably a traumatic moment for all involved and it makes sense that they'd plan to do everything they could to prevent anything resembling a repeat.

"Were there any defects in the production process?" Survey asked, pronouncing the words through the manipulation of mouth structures and vocal cords while channeling air from the lungs within her body. She did not require oxygen to facilitate any aspect of her operation, but the structures for respiration were present both in order to present a more convincing illusion of the human form and to interface with various biological enhancements that utilized bodily processes as part of their operation or triggering processes.

...Survey's going to use her body to do some crazy shit, isn't she? I wonder just what awesome feats she'll accomplish, and how the internet (both in-universe and out) will react?

LordRoustabout said:
"It is a highly advantageous project." Survey stated in a neutral fashion. Apeiron had been highly resistant to the deployment of any ability that required the manipulation of souls. The fact that this principle had first been voluntarily violated for her benefit and not his own safety was a primary point of her objections to the recent project. Apparently the work did not need to be mutually exclusive.

Portions of Apeiron's soul had been extracted for Survey, Fleet, and the Matrix. They had then been refined through the benefit of ability 164-H-18-Quad-Alpha 'Exotic Compatibility'. The critical point was the fact that three items were being used, simultaneously. This circumstance allowed the deployment of ability 208-D-10-Quad 'Shipping the Product', namely the capacity to triple material inputs and quintuple production, resulting in two portions of refined soul in excess of what was required for the production of their bodies.

Enough for the construction of an Exsphere and a Key Crest.

Oh ho, that's big. An Exsphere and Key Crest made with all of Apeiron's powers? This is one of the few things that can actually meaningfully advance him to the next level compared to his other, more lateral improvements for himself at this time.

The Exsphere allowed the accumulation of experience and abilities, and the transfer of those abilities to its host. While normally this would be of minor note, requiring lifetimes to accumulate sufficient experience to have a meaningful impact, the Exsphere constructed by Apeiron's parallels was of exceptional quality, and already held the benefit of two previous hosts. And, following the conclusion of the current set of parallel's durations, it would benefit from two more hosts.

The 'lifetimes' of the Apeiron's parallels could now persist through the Exsphere, facilitated by the items' expanded capacities and the shared spiritual presence that extended between Apeiron and his parallels.

"They get to persist." Apeiron said. He looked down at the crystal. "It's only right that they should. It's not perfect for the continuity of existence, but it's important. They don't vanish, not completely. That's good. Even if it means bringing another consciousness into existence, that's worth whatever trouble comes with this."

Combine this with the Whispered and Synchronicity Event Perks for truly persistent duplicates. I wonder how they'll react to actually having to deal with consequences?

Initially Survey had been unable to determine any benefit to the activity beyond development of conversation subroutines, but following the deployment of her body she had come to recognize the nuances that interpersonal interaction carried. It could even be said that she enjoyed speaking with Apeiron in person, rather than just delivering detailed reports.

More sense of self development. Man, I love character development.

"I didn't mean to diminish that accomplishment. It really is a huge breakthrough, and you're right, it means we're on track to crack the entire encryption. It's just I really hoped to get something more than the detonation command."

Survey nodded the head of her body. It was understandable. While recognizing the mechanism used to trigger implanted bombs was a considerable achievement and a testament to the skills and dedication of the A.I. that had overseen the work, it was of almost no use in mitigating the current hostage situation.

One more piece of the puzzle. Also, it could be useful for maybe building a device to stop that trigger from working, right? It would probably be short-range though.

A trail of shimmering gray light streaked with red marked his movement. It was a modification of the rainbow trail generated by ability 250-E-18-Null-Beta 'Shoot For The Moon'. Garment had been deeply involved with experimentation with the effect, working with Apeiron's parallels to develop a range of possibilities. The current selection was one of the more subtle options, requiring minimal modifications to Apeiron's hair in order to be implemented.

I figured that's how they'd take care of Shoot For The Moon's rainbow jumps.

Her decision was made. She drew upon her elemental nature, one granted through the direct action of ability 261-G-15-Hex-Alpha 'Infusionist' and enhanced through the microscopic runes inscribed through her body. A lightning nature, the natural elemental expression of her form, just as Fleet was infused with wind and the Matrix earth.

Interesting take on their elemental natures. What made you decide to go with those elements?

Survey paused. "I do not believe that attack qualifies as 'special'. The layering of a Ragnite beam, Null Lance, and Biotic Warp effect was simply the most effective ranged combat option available to me during trials."

Yeah, that's a combination that would certainly hurt.

As Fleet stood on the mountainside a horde of miniature vehicles swarmed around him. They were directed by him, but not by the portions of Fleet's program loaded onto the individual vehicles. Fleet was manipulating them directly through divine agency. An expression of Apeiron's divine command of technology.

Dispersed through the workshop, portions of the Matrix worked, practicing with their own divine agency. At the atomic level materials were being combined with a precision and power that should not have been possible from anything but the direct action of Apeiron. Items of power were being created directly by the nanomachines. The works of gods, produced without Apeiron's hand. An expression of Apeiron's divine crafting abilities.
---
And Survey knew this. She knew this because she had also received a gift from Apeiron, a piece of his soul, refined and bearing access to divine authority. Not command, or creation, but awareness. Apeiron's sense of technology, his ability to understand and detect it, had been granted to her. Survey could feel the presence of any technology, and more than that, she could potentially access any information stored on that technology.

Oh wow, I didn't see that one coming. I didn't even know that was a possibility. Interesting to see what that will lead to.

For the first time the Matrix was producing items independently of Apeiron that they did not wish to break down at the earliest opportunity. Apeiron and his parallels were directing the work and commending the Matrix on their progress, and the Matrix was receiving those comments with what could be defined as pride.

"Finally, I can stop producing that Mundane crap!"

And eventually, she would be able to survey the world.

All hail Big Sister!

Following the creation of his own body, Fleet had also expressed interest in a civilian identity. His primary objectives were ease of integration into mundane roles that may require his attention in the outside world. Survey had provided a series of comprehensive backgrounds with assessments of their relative advantages in terms of potential activities in a civilian role. Fleet had selected the least complicated option and now existed in computer records as Jake Clark, ASE certified mechanic and holder of a chauffeur license. Expanded details of the identity were noted, but not commented upon.

Fleet being Fleet like always. Always going for the simple things. Well, simple by the Workshop Crew's standards anyway.

With respect to Garment's ventures, both the business and auction were progressing as well as could be expected during the circumstances, but the arrival of Uppercrust had introduced additional concerns. At Apeiron's suggestion and Garment's continued prompting, Survey had reached out to Parian on behalf of Garment, corresponding as Delphine Mertens.

Originally Survey anticipated the need to communicate any offers through a phone call, as had been done when arranging Aisha's employment. However, with her new body it was now possible for her to be physically present at the event. Finally, Survey would be able to go out into the city.

"There is no way you can let her out into the city." Aisha stated firmly.

Hahahahahaha. Okay, that was funny. No build-up, no mention of Aisha showing up, just her saying that in a classic contradicting smash-cut made me actually laugh out loud. Bravo.

Apeiron appeared to be uncomfortable. "It's really that bad?"

"Józef, the only way this makes sense is if it's some kind of scheme to destabilize the Empire by forcing their female membership to question their sexuality."

"Excuse me." Survey said. Aisha glanced towards her, then quickly back at Joe. "What is the problem?"

"You're too fucking hot!" Aisha declared loudly.

Okay, I was not expecting that to be the issue. Again, startled a laugh out of me. You're really good at switching between a serious, sad, angry, happy, and funny tone at the drop of a hat in an effective way, you know that?

Apeiron activated his implant and contacted Fleet. The directly commanded vehicles were switched back to their onboard programs and there was a slight flicker as Fleet appeared in the entryway.

"Fuck!" Aisha exclaimed, reeling back. "How did he get here?"

"I walked." Fleet answered directly. The wind elemental infusion and runes that empowered his body allowed movement without atmospheric disruption, the same mechanism that allowed Apeiron's firearms to ignore the effects of air resistance and wind.

"What, like, through hyperspace?" Aisha asked.

He shook his head. "There is an open path between this room and the exterior of the volcano. I didn't need to activate my Wraith system to access the room." Fleet replied, referencing the artificial psionic generator that allowed him to pass through solid objects.

"Fleet's very fast." Apeiron explained.

*Sonic music intensifies*

She felt the surface layers of her body shift in accordance with the new design. Skin became slightly rougher, bone structure altered in minor ways, and there was a distinct sensation as her long, silver hair shifted to a more conventional dark blonde.

The change did result in a slight alteration of the fit of Garment's clothing, particularly in the waist, but it was not enough to impair mobility or damage the outfit. Survey was certain that Garment would wish to remake them regardless, in preparation for the scheduled meeting.

*Insert Fat Joke Here*

58 Go Time

It's the small things that make a difference.

Starting off with the Quote for Nano-technician I see. Nice. Also, since when has Red Faction been introduced back into the Forge?

All that would be true if I had received this power in isolation. But I was not working in isolation. Even the most powerful abilities could be taken to incredible places when combined with the rest of my powers. In this case, it was Nanite Removal and Control. My early power, mostly used for healing, suddenly had the breaks taken off, revealing just how powerful it actually was.

Most of the time I had needed to run that power on autopilot. It was basically fire and forget, just drive the nanites into whoever I was treating and hope the power could sort things out. I didn't really follow what was happening or how the nanites worked.

With this power, suddenly I could. The operation of nanites, the very nanites that swarmed within my body was revealed to me in all its terrifying details. I had thought the healing they could accomplish was impressive. In reality it was the least I could do with that kind of resource.

Full potential nanite applications + Fiat Backed presence of nanites in your body = Oh-Dear-God-How-Many-S-Class-Threats-Will-I-End-Up-Having?

And Tybalt got one too.

For some reason, the connection to the Nano-technician mote included a smaller connection for Tybalt. It was nothing major, but it did confirm that Tybalt would continue to gain powers, if at a somewhat inconsistent rate. Well, powers and items, and the power wasn't that impressive.

Nice to see Tybalt gain more power.

Tybalt's own Iconic out was modified and upgraded with Garment's help. Building upon earlier work, and the consent and assistance of Tetra, a three-star Goku uniform was built for him. In its normal form it held the same design of an aggressively cut jacket, pointed cloak, and trousers in shades of gray, though Garment had modified the jacket to give it a slightly more military appearance.

In its deployed form… well, I had mechs that were less heavily armored. And significantly less dangerous. I was really hoping that Tybalt wouldn't need to use the War Regalia, but it was reassuring to have that kind of power in reserve.

Goku Uniform get! Also, I wonder when Joe will get around to upgrading Chen's uniform?

He certainly lived up to his chosen name. As was apparently traditional, I was helping Tybalt stake out his cape name through the time-honored creation of a PHO account.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked him. "I mean, spelling it in Greek doesn't make it any less of a pun."

Tybalt explained how strongly he felt about this and his full commitment to the name through a series of meows. I nodded, then guided him through the final sections of registrations.
■
Welcome to the Parahumans Online message boards.
You are currently logged in, Kataklyzein

Love the name, for its appropriateness, its relation to his Greek nature, and also because Felyne Pun's = Second Best Pun (Everyone knows the actual Best is San's Puns).

Also, it had the word 'cat' in it, and that was really all he cared about. One of the most dangerous beings on the planet, choosing a name indicating unrivaled destruction, and picked entirely for the purposes of the pun.

Ah Tybalt, even being separated from your native Jump for your entire existence you still continue the Felyne tradition of Cat Puns galore.

With the arrival of Nano-technician the Matrix had finally decided they were comfortable moving forward with production. Performing nano-assembly in the Mystic Forge was a novel experience, and would probably have gotten tedious after the trillionth assembly. Fortunately, boredom didn't exist in that space. I was able to assemble the full hundred and fifty liters of cutting-edge Tier One nanobots, pausing only to refill mana. The mass of nanomachines currently sculpted into a seven-foot-tall version of a Gun-EZ was unquestionably a walking S-class threat, but that seemed to be the standard for the team, with only the occasional member falling slightly short as an A-class threat.

Finally, now Matrix has a 'Proper Body' fit for a potential world-ending S-Class perfectionist!

The Matrix was perfectly functional with just the terrifying potential of their nanotech, but the rest of the group needed their equipment, and that meant costumes. Garment was absolutely thrilled about that, working on everything from Survey's unmasked outfit to Fleet's modified flight/racing suit and finally Tetra's costume.

Survey is going unmasked? I mean, I know she can shapeshift, but I thought she'd wear something for her face, y'know?

I also bit the bullet and finally upgraded my Avid Glove. Slightly upgraded. Material only, not the teeth. And limited to superficial aspects. It would be ridiculously easy to turn that glove into a weapon on par with Tybalt's Jägerstock, but somehow I had a feeling that would be my last action before hearing the S-class sirens ring out over the city.

Good call, you really don't want a fully upgraded anything from Fallen London. Anything that takes influence from both biblical Hell and Lovecraftian lore should be rightly feared.

I glared at her. "Just a heads up, you touch one drop of alcohol in there and I'll flood your body with nanites that will forcefully keep you sober until your thirty-fifth birthday."

She froze. "You're bluffing."

I shifted towards her, letting my posing power run free. "Try me."

Aisha looked at me for a second, then shook her head. "Alright, fine. Kiddy drinks all night. No worries, I'm not going to blow this for us."

Disappointed Aisha is Disappointed. Also, I just love the Dadpeiron attitude he has.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Thanks. I never thought you would, but it's good to hear." I turned as Garment led Fleet, Survey, the Matrix, Tybalt and Tetra into the entryway following their final wardrobe check. The matrix had apparently conceded to the addition of a rather dramatic scarf, though they were classifying it as a heatsink due to the material choice.

Ah yes, a fashionable heatsink. Truly, Garment is Best Fashion Designer™

"Alright, this is it. Let's head out. Somer's Rock awaits."

Great ending. Love it.

Overall, I love how this chapter played out, and am looking forward to seeing any further developments. Great job Lord.

*Edit:
Roll 407 (200): ??? → Miss → (200)
Roll 408 (300): ??? → Miss → (300)
Roll 409 (400): ??? → Miss → (400)
Roll 410 (500): ??? → Miss → (500)
Roll 411 (600): Size Constellation → Nano-technician (Red Faction) (600-600) + Recycler (Red Faction) (Free) + Sledgehammer (Red Faction) (Free) → (0)
[Felyne Comrade gains following Perks: Companion Import (Red Faction) (Free) + Basic Training (Red Faction) (Free Soldier) + Enforcer (Red Faction) (Free Soldier) + Sledgehammer (Red Faction) (Free)]

Hey @LordRoustabout, any "WTF" moments from the first few rolls? We get another shot at the Capstone Constellation that was missed due to rolling Glory to...?

Also, could you Threadmark this quoted post? I think it would be useful for the Informational Index.

sonicyoash said:
All right! After roughly a week of work, my project is finished! Here is the complete Brockton's Celestial Forge rolls list plus all Perks sorted by Constellation, color-coded to show Purchased, Available, and Excluded Perks! Please let me know if you find any errors so that they can be checked and, if necessary, corrected!

TerraBull · Nov 18, 2021

So, will the group show up directly?

Will it be by a Fleet vehicle or color-coordinated like the Power Rangers?

Will Lisa tell Grue about his sister?

Anaja · Nov 18, 2021

MagicalAmbitions said:
3. It's not Bakuda's Bombs that Joe is having trouble with; It's her deadman's switch, which is essentially a tinker Megaproject from a bakuda at the top of her game and access to scans from countless other tinkers and parahumans. This is serious, "Under normal circumstances this would be effectively uncrackable within millennia of trying", Shit. Apeiron has been working on this issue for several days; making Any progress on it is probably only possible in large part due to the boost from Xenospecialist in combination with myriad other related programming-powers and excessive processing power.

Dragon determined it to be straight up unbreakable without getting your hands on the source. Joe's amazing abilities are the only reason that it's even possible for him.

MagicalAmbitions · Nov 18, 2021

TerraBull said:
So, will the group show up directly?

Will it be by a Fleet vehicle or color-coordinated like the Power Rangers?

Will Lisa tell Grue about his sister?

1. why else would they bother creating bodies for the A.I. if they weren't going to show up directly?
2. I think they'd probably just enter through the door. I get the sense that maybe they'll have a friendly race to the Summit or just walk there normally under a stranger effect. Or, if he really wants to get the "Apeiron has a team" thing out to the public, walk there normally Without a stranger effect. I think there's some implication in the chapter of them having somewhat co-ordinated outfits, though I wouldn't know if it's color-coordinated or matching themes or the like.
3. depends on the answers to questions like "does Lisa's power have enough data to conclude that Lethe is Aisha's cape identity" and "do the anti-thinker protections Joe created work on Lisa's power?" etc.

sonicyoash said:
Survey is going unmasked? I mean, I know she can shapeshift, but I thought she'd wear something for her face, y'know?

The "unmasked outfit" was in reference to the white blouse + black skirt combo that Survey mentioned in her preamble, if i'm not mistaken. Hence the need for the distinction of "Unmasked outfit" as opposed to "outfit" - he's talking about her Delphine Mertens outfit, there, which doesn't have a mask. I think the point of that bit is "Garment got so excited about the costumes that she even made a non-cape outfit for Survey to go out in."

Lord Misschief · Nov 18, 2021

So not sure if it was ever defined or not but does Joe consider the AI Three his family and if so what? Cousins ala Tybalt, siblings children or some non-defined form of simply family? I mean he did create them and the literally posses a soul that has a part of him in it can't really get closer on the family scale there right?

Side note: I wonder if considering them including Garment and Tetra family (adopted or something) would help his mental state by comparing them to his birth family and seeing how much more of a healthy relationship he has with the rest of team Apeiron.

Introverted · Nov 18, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
"Józef, the only way this makes sense is if it's some kind of scheme to destabilize the Empire by forcing their female membership to question their sexuality."

"Excuse me." Survey said. Aisha glanced towards her, then quickly back at Joe. "What is the problem?"

"You're too fucking hot!" Aisha declared loudly.

I want that interlude so bad.

LordRoustabout said:
"I'm sorry," Survey asked. "Could you clarify that?" She understood the aesthetic appeal of the work Apeiron had conducted, and the balance of features used for her avatar had been sourced from various models before being refined during the crafting process, but it was difficult to see where that would generate this level of reaction.

LordRoustabout said:
"Joe overdid it, again. Only this time it's not some super trinket or giving the bug girl a handbag that can fit forty people." She glared at Apeiron. "This is some Greek shit, isn't it? You Hellen of Troyed her."

Sourced from mere mortal models before being graced by Apeiron, the Enigmatic Artificier, Son of Hephaestus, Blessed of Many Gods and King of Style.

LordRoustabout said:
"While I am critical regarding the severity of your assessment, excessive physical appeal would be an asset in most cases, correct?" The focus on her appearance was unusual for Survey. She never had any significant connection to her holographic avatars, but there was undeniably one centered on her new body. The high appraisal of its quality caused feelings in Survey that were unfamiliar, and somehow the opposite of those generated by comments about the size of her code and inability to transfer through the QEC's bandwidth.

"As a cape, sure. I mean, we're trying to make an impression, so good job there, but nobody is going to buy that you're a civilian. Like, even a professional model would be a really big stretch, and you wanted to pretend to be a lawyer?"

This is discrimination Aisha, you are setting back the cause of beautiful lawyers by forcing them into sterotypes.
Also, why not both a lawyer and a professional model.

I mean Aisha has the potential to be better than most teachers after the equivalent of Apeiron Boot Camp.

LordRoustabout said:
Survey looked at Aisha. "The living matter of my body is capable of shifting form. Significant changes would compromise higher level systems, but near surface level alterations can be implemented without issue." She transferred a series of proposals to Apeiron for his appraisal. He nodded.

"Procedural reduction in symmetry should take care of most of it. Some randomized minor flaws will address any remaining unnatural aspects of your appearance." He noted.

Boo...
I wanted really good looking Survey for the meeting.

Tisaku · Nov 18, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
nanotechnology was suedey easier and projects I had been

suddenly

Prof.MoreRight · Nov 18, 2021

This post is a placeholder for a deleted message from the United Grammar Nazi association.

lancelot · Nov 18, 2021

I'm going to be completely disappointed with this story if Survey doesn't notice that Coil's double has a radio connection going onto the real Coil and his base. Where Survey can datamine the fuck out of his network. I'd just want to see some forward progress outside the lab.

Gregory Crey · Nov 18, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
Tybalt's own Iconic out was

Iconic Outfit

Nnael · Nov 18, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
this was still a dangerous and high stakes encounter.

Is it really, though? Is it?

AldariSiradla · Nov 18, 2021

And so cometh Creation Himself...
Woe betides thee that stands against Him.
For Mercy is gone, Existence weeps bloody tears...
Fate is dead and Infinity laughs till the end of Time.

Somer's Rock's gonna be crazy today...
And may the...talks be entertaining and never boring.
I hope they're all ready to bow before their new overlord.
Hehehe, this is exciting!

Angel69 · Nov 18, 2021

How long have Apeiron been lurking in the workshop?

JiffyJuff · Nov 18, 2021

RogerDodger123 said:
Way earlier on in the story, didn't Joe get a skill that allowed him to perfectly understand and use all alien tech, which included tinker tech? Why is he having so much trouble with Bakuda's bombs if this is the case?

I mean, plenty of people understand SHA-256 perfectly and it doesn't let them break hashes.

Subrosian_Smithy · Nov 18, 2021

Introverted said:
I wanted really good looking Survey for the meeting.

I assume she's switching back when they get to Somer's Rock? This is just for traveling out of costume.

Introverted · Nov 18, 2021

Subrosian_Smithy said:
I assume she's switching back when they get to Somer's Rock? This is just for traveling out of costume.

I hope so...
Just so the rumors of Apeiron going with really good looking women becomes solidified

.

Also, to dunk on Kaiser's twin blond shtick.

Nevertheless, I was amused by the fact that...

LordRoustabout said:
Though the repeated comments regarding issues related to Survey's code size and complexity were significantly less helpful, and carried societal stigmas that Survey was not comfortable considering.

Survey felt uncomfortable about her "code size and complexity" despite looking like a supermodel at the baseline.

insertname099 · Nov 18, 2021

xPYROTECHx said:
Plot convenience. Same way he somehow can't find Bakuda and the rest of the ABB along with Leet and his buddy

No, he knows perfectly well where Bakuda is, he mentioned it to the PRT even. He just hasn't thought about finding Leet and Uber, who are the ones hiding in something they got from Dodge, bakuda isn't part of that. He just can't do anything about her until he decodes her deadman's switch

The Shallow · Nov 18, 2021

xPYROTECHx said:
Plot convenience. Same way he somehow can't find Bakuda and the rest of the ABB along with Leet and his buddy

insertname099 said:
No, he knows perfectly well where Bakuda is, he mentioned it to the PRT even. He just hasn't thought about finding Leet and Uber, who are the ones hiding in something they got from Dodge, bakuda isn't part of that. He just can't do anything about her until he decodes her deadman's switch

Bakuda is in their dodge-tech pocket dimension atm, actually, and IIRC Joe said he wouldn't act to locate her while her threat was standing, but would rather deal with her once he got the Deadman's code cracked. Also, as far as he knows March is dead, just managed a hail-marry attack via Firmament-rift, which means that the ABB aren't really a threat anymore, esp since he doesn't know about the Game Grid or anything.

theaceoffire · Nov 18, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
"Alright, this is it. Let's head out. Somer's Rock awaits."

After all this buildup I had the horrible mental image of him accidentally showing up at the wrong place not seeing anyone and going home.

readerdreamer · Nov 18, 2021

theaceoffire said:
After all this buildup I had the horrible mental image of him accidentally showing up at the wrong place not seeing anyone and going home.

Imagine if that was the result of the AIs going yandere rampage.

Survey: "I have pondered on how to solve the issue of Apeiron potentially being taken down. With the assistance of my fellow AIs, we have considered the problem and came to a conclusion: the best way to protect Apeiron from threats would be to preemptively remove them. The Matrix and Fleet's assistance on this matter had been incredibly helpful, as we had successfully eliminated all supposed parahuman gangs from the Brockton Bay during the prior evening."

Squamous Deity · Nov 18, 2021

magna85 said:
She has silver hair, and if my lore is right, any permanent physical alteration technically results in a case 53 designation, though usually memory loss is a required component.

No, the memory loss is a vital part of a Case 53 designation. For example, just in Brockton Bay there are multiple capes with permanent physical alterations (Canary, Alabaster, Manpower, maybe Scrub and Mush) who are not considered Case 53s. Also, I think that silver hair is more likely to be the result of dyeing than mutation, though of course it does lend credence to the idea that she is a Case 53.

Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

the rose in your vase

the rose in your vase

Head Chief Thinkomancer

Completely worth it

Magic is of wonder and terror. Life is so magical.

Knight of the Fountain Pen

endless

Shallow, Yet Deep