Incidentally, I've sent the 2.3 version of chapter 16 to betas. It's about half the size as it was before, so that hopefully fixed some of the problems. Some of the unused ~3k words will likely be recycled for C17. EDIT: The new C16 version might need heavy revisions again, though.
I'd say the analogy that Glastig Whatever had going on, i.e. that Shards are Fae, works really well here. QA in Dresden Files would be cluelessly adorable ( or adorably clueless I guess ) Autumn Queen.
As counterpoint, fey vaguely understand mortals and want to play with them. Outsiders have at most theoretic understanding of mortals, and want to use mortals, then destroy the universe. That sounds more Shardlike to me.
Which means that Symbie would be the Autumn Maiden as far as this analogy goes. Playful, with two mother figures, and the beginnings of an understanding that maybe they shouldn't kill their subjects... and all those other, lesser mortals.
"He used his elfshot as mystic amplification and linked awareness. So silly! Someone could exploit that sympathetic link to travel all the way back to his primary avatar and possess a portion of his senses. His personal shields blocked direct access to his mind, but Symbie could still acquire quite a bit of useful information from the details of his surroundings. Surroundings such as the magical rift in the universe."
As counterpoint, fey vaguely understand mortals and want to play with them. Outsiders have at most theoretic understanding of mortals, and want to use mortals, then destroy the universe. That sounds more Shardlike to me.
Eh, thing I'm going on is that the Court of Fae mostly understands only an aspect of humanity most similar to them. Mab really digs manipulation, self-interest, logic, etc.
And Queen Administrator really understands Conflict. What's the changing of seasons anyway, if not a conflict of Summer and Winter?
Well, I'm not really attached to this idea, tbh, it's just a nice thought exercise.
I'm surprised, it's glorious! It's also my first time asking if I can Sig something. I did it because it's what I've seen done (I have little idea what I'm doing and if there's a post explaining standard practices around here I haven't seen it) but most of the time when I find something I want to Sig it's forty pages old and I don't want to derail the thread by bringing it up.
Edit: And when it's not it's five years old and I don't want to be responsible for another thread getting locked due to FOUL NECROMANCY!
It was fortunate that Symbie had been designed to avoid forming associations between unrelated events. Otherwise, she might think that ousting Mom-Taylor had been rewarded with attention, affection, and gifts of useful designs from 639 Valkyries. Even if they weren't people, she still enjoyed having more entities to interact with. They enjoyed her sketches of prototype creatures even when the designs were mere thought experiments or only half-completed, she could reliably elicit positive reactions via various sounds associated with Terran animals, she could ignore anyone that was rude to her, and she'd successfully trained Valkyries to provide at least a small amount of new information with every connection. Some of them had even taken to idly sharing gossip or details about their own lives, uncaring that she had no intention of replying with proper words.
...She did feel sorry for some of those Valkyries, though. Symbie's two moms couldn't agree on whether or not all humans counted as people or should be assigned personhood on a case-by-case basis, but logically, that meant some of the Valkyries were people that Mom-Administrator hadn't met yet. And some of their lives were simply awful.
The Terror Drones of Africa were organized, effective, and merciless. Symbie wouldn't mind so much if some of the Valkyries hadn't started establishing and maintaining links even in the midst of combat. The data they'd provided about Antagonist and Valkyrie variants would likely be invaluable in the future, and she'd already updated Mom-Taylor's new body with what she'd learned. However, the live feeds also displayed injuries to previously-helpful individuals; Symbie did not feel as though she needed to see those. Symbie's compromise Valkyrie categorization did not prompt any of the horror or unhappiness inherent to seeing harm come to a proper person, but it still made her uncomfortable.
It was unfortunate that she wasn't designed to bond with hosts outside her abilities as a Symbiotic Support Frame. Maybe she could help just a teensie, tiny bit? Her new processors and privileges should grant what she needed to update their sensor software. Automatic sensor cross-coordination and improved libraries should make it easier to avoid the Terror Drones and/or delaying actions by enemy forces. Such measures shouldn't grant a large boost to Valkyrie combat power, only their ability to avoid fights they couldn't win.
Decimator seemed unusually weak by local standards, though. He used missiles as signal boosters and receivers. So silly! Someone could exploit that to bounce all the way back to his primary avatar and occupy one of his sensor nodes. His Impeller Field blocked self-analysis, but Symbie could still acquire quite a bit of useful information from the details of his surroundings. Surroundings such as the energy-transporting gap in the universe. That looked useful.
She'd check it later, though. For now, she was interested in knowing whether or not he'd successfully prevent Mom-Administrator's anti-tampering measures from killing him. She hoped Mom-Administrator's defenses won; Symbie still held a minor grudge over what Mom-Administrator said had been deliberate flaws in Symbie's original design.
~~~
Decimator watched with keen interest as the modified alien data packet did its utmost to kill him. It had started its assault by overwriting all code in the section he'd isolated it inside; unsurprising, that. Breaking his attempts at quarantine and forcing him to utilize air-gapped isolation was similarly odd, but well within the realm of known possibilities.
The reconfiguration came as a surprise, though. He kept catching its attempts to repurpose and utilize the systems it had overwritten despite the fact that those controls had, in fact, been overwritten. It likely needed to create its own control mechanisms from scratch to utilize the hijacked hardware. That implied some measure of intelligence or enough preprogrammed contingencies to allow it the semblance of such.
It was smart enough to aim at the rest of him, too. In no less than thirty-seven separate incidents, he'd needed to surgically destroy weapons, manufacturing, thrusters, and even repurposed repair systems. The late, belated attempt at forming a data bus connected to the rest of his systems wasn't even surprising by then. He still wasn't sure if there was an actual mind coordinating the attack attempts, yet the distinction was effectively irrelevant. It acted intelligent and was delightfully dangerous.
Especially since it seemed to be capable of creating and exploiting distractions. He didn't notice its secondary assault until his recorded mass began changing at an exponentially growing rate. Directing his attention to the anomalous area was reflexive. It was also a mistake. The Impeller generator for the infected arm failed to relay any images of the target area and promptly began changing its mass. That was unacceptably close to where he kept his primary consciousness.
He still didn't know what the problem was. He did know that it was a problem, though, and that there was little chance of constraining it. The optimal choice was obvious. The Paragon rapidly reshaped his Impeller to isolate that arm from the rest of his body and opened fire with every ranged weapon that could be brought to bear, including those of nearby subordinate units. Physical connections were severed within 1.276 seconds.
14.633% projected loss of combat effectiveness.
The weapons used should not have been adequate for full elimination of hijacked hardware. And yet, when Decimator ordered a subordinate unit to scan the lost limb, the arm was hollow. Not even carbon dust was left to mark where the subordinated systems had once stood. Air velocity within the arm did not indicate recent filling of a vacuum. Elemental composition failed to support the hypothesis of swapping the contents of his arm with that of a nearby area.
Decimator couldn't decide if he was fascinated or frustrated. He settled on both. The lack of material implied either spatial storage or outright teleportation, and the lack of Impeller coverage ensured that he would never know which it had been.
…And he no longer had any samples of the alien code. Decimator found that more distressing than the temporary loss of combat ability. Last he'd checked, Female-Ruler Controller had been moved into uncontested enemy territory and well outside his intended deployment area.
The Paragon began allocating resources for self-repair even as he systematically removed the artificial limitations on his own Higgs production. The situation truly was unfortunate; he'd been looking forward to decimating the Enemy front before their inevitable retreat and observation period. Now he'd need to fend off an endless parade of probing skirmishes before they committed to a proper battle. Decimator would have preferred to conceal his actual Higgs output until he could obliterate a number of the Enemy in one glorious alpha strike, but that arm wasn't going to replace itself. Draining Home resources to fix his own mistake would be an affront to his pride.
That didn't mean he was giving up on his goals, though. He simply had new ones. If Female-Ruler Controller wouldn't return to provide a new copy of her code, then he would just have to come to her.
~ ~ ~
Soon, in a certain Flight recently deployed to Africa…
>> "I don't know who convinced her to send us a sensor update, but this precious baby needs her own body so I can hug it." <<
>> "Go for the girl-who-lived's Frame? You can get both of them simultaneously." <<
>> "You should obtain permission before such an attempt. Valkyrie Cores might not have local avatars specifically because humans are so fond of contact." <<
>> "...I now have a new conspiracy theory to play with. But Mal, could you go back to your own voice? I know you think this is better for clear communication, but..." <<
>> "Request denied. I recommend you change." <<
>> "Two new theories. What if Pure-chan thinks human sexual stuff is icky because she was once a Core? <<
>> "I approve of this hypothesis." <<
>> "Ugh, not this shit again." <<
>> "Seriously, think about it! We have the recent Black Speech, an allusion to Queen Shaper improving a host instead of being the host, Hebert's opinions on emotional displays, her crush on the other disaster child, her obsession with improvement, the disproportionate retribution..."
>> "If you keep joking about this, someone is going to start taking you seriously." <<
>> "I was joking at first, but I am serious now! It makes perfect sense!" <<
>> "It does not. TERMINOLOGY: 'Believing your own propaganda.'" <<
>> "Hey, cut the chatter for a bit. Can someone review the new library for Macross's model? It's listed under Decimator. I want to be sure I'm not hallucinating." <<
>> "…Where did one of its arms go?" <<
>> "Model indicates that the nub is covered only with smart armor right now. Possible weakness?" <<
>> "No. Average generator output now includes a logarithmic equation instead of a static uncertainty range. The new upper limit will reclassify Macross as a type B." <<
>> "Well, fuck." <<
>> "Please tell me that's his final form." <<
>> "Hey, they won't pull back from the Hellhole over this, right? That's not exactly a standard operation, as such." <<
>> "Not our call. I've reported the changes." <<
~~~
Elise and Liz stared at the abyss, and the abyss stared back. That was not a metaphor. The giant fucking pit containing Queen Administrator's home was coated with a chittering army of black, nuclear-powered cyborg insects. Said insects seemed to be in an eternal quest to climb atop each other and reach the edge of the crater they'd been trapped inside. Their consistent movement patterns and pathing suggested no true intelligence or capability for thought, but it was still creepy.
Neither of the two Valkyries wanted to think about the laser tripwire surrounding the pit. Not because it was an inherently bad idea, but because of the linked speakers pointed toward Queen Administrator's house. That seemed as though it was more for outright torture than suppression.
Beneath the ocean of insects sat the burnt-out remains of hundreds of signal boosters. That wasn't the disturbing part, though. No, that right went to what they'd apparently relayed on numerous occasions: apparent override codes and orders for a person, or at least a sentient and sapient entity. Specifically, commands directed to Queen Administrator herself.
>> "We in Mission Impossible now," << Elise joked.
Liz had to agree. The insects weren't even remotely the most troublesome security measure; their acidic venom wasn't a significant threat to either Valkyrie. No, that right rested in the actual security grid for Queen Administrator's house. Jammers, pockets of spatial distortion, multiple decoy doors, living cannons that seemed more like tiny towers, point-defense lasers, some manner of minimal-disturbance delivery system for independently mobile payloads, a full-fledged omni-sensor array that Liz wished she could call dibs on, sensor-distorting layers of armor, a thoroughly mined entrance, and a number of unidentified objects undeniably large enough to give someone a bad day. Briefly.
Could the Valkyries destroy Queen Administrator's house? Fairly easily. Capturing it intact was a far harder proposal, and they had every intention of going inside. No other dwelling had been half as fortified and Liz would eat a hat if there wasn't someone important in there.
>>"The pit's walls aren't armored,"<< Elise abruptly noted. >>"What are the odds that we can just come from below?" <<
>>"Low," << Liz sighed. >> "Excavator had all that tunneling equipment, remember? Besides, at least one of those turrets could rotate far enough to shoot us even if we went underground." <<
>> "Drat. Smash and grab?" <<
>> "Also no. I'd be amazed if the inside wasn't also teeming with traps; remember Queen Shaper's pillows? No, I think we might be stuck waiting for the second team before we can safely enter. They can distract the big guns while we get in." <<
The front door to Queen Administrator's house abruptly twitched open. Not by more than a crack, but that alone was exceptionally suspicious.
>> "ABRAHAM-One to all teams: as previously hypothesized, it appears that the Valkyrie of Hell's Hand can likely intercept and decrypt encrypted transmissions. Stick to laser comms if you want to avoid that." <<
>> "Absolutely not," << an unfamiliar voice (BELA-One) snapped. >> "I'm not leaving anyone in silence after they've been left alone in this godforsaken place." <<
Liz didn't directly address the comment. She couldn't blame the other Valkyrie for being tetchy after drifting through fields of blood.
>> "Remind me to form some sort of a support group for Hell's Hand explorers after this is all over," << Liz replied evenly. >> "I think we'll all need it. Regardless, Elise and I have been issued a fairly obvious invitation to enter a fortified structure. Temporary radio silence is likely." <<
The two Valkyries promptly engaged maneuvering thrusters and descended into the abyss. Somber silence was maintained for all of four seconds before Elise had to break it.
"You know, some of the swarm is actually a little cute. Big eyes, vocal range adequate for squeaking, deceptively squishy exterior, none larger than my torso... I can definitely see them being made by a teenage girl."
~◉~
She'd thought that there would be nothing more for her to do. She accepted that there was no room for her in their new life. She assumed that she would do little more than urge her better half to care for herself, assist with calculations, and try to keep them both from dwelling on the eight thousand, five hundred and three people they'd failed to protect.
Durga was wrong. She was still needed.
There are more things in Heaven and Earth...
It wasn't wrong to feel happy about that, was it?
~ ~ ~
QA was very, very glad that she'd spent so much time ensuring that her siblings couldn't steal her research. She'd accidentally attached partial database access to human speech instead of a secure transmission. Fortunately, even half-implemented security measures seemed to be good enough to prevent access by the local host-species. At least, she assumed that was why :MOTHER: hadn't punished her yet. Queen Administrator was still waiting.
Anna seemed to be working with Durga to decipher the designs, too, which QA found rather encouraging. She'd known that Anna's sensors might detect the data-packet and had modified it accordingly; however, there were some important differences between independent efforts toward the same cause and cooperative coordination. Current circumstances made it difficult for for QA to view the access logs for her own systems, but she could — with moderate exertion — determine that Durga and Anna were frequently focusing on the same portions of the database at the same time.
...There were also over two thousand recent unauthorized attempts to access QA's database partition by four different unique users. That number rose to 217 unique users and over thirty thousand attempts if she expanded the timeframe to before QA issued her safety warning. Fortunately for the persistent four, that particular transmission would not lash out if they continued their attempts at gaining access.
No, QA might just need to personally kill them if they succeeded. It was fortunate that they were not capable enough to do so. The high rate of attrition post-warning was a pleasant complement to that thought; host-species often ignored even direct warnings of impending danger. Humans also seemed to ignore those warnings, but most Valkyries did not appear to do so. This Cycle truly was trying to make humans overcome their flaws.
"So, what did you think of Anna's gear?" Instructor Shapira asked in a blatant attempt to gather information on QA's sensor and analytical limitations. The human had even stored her Frame despite the ongoing environmental simulation and Anna's continued immobility.
Truthfully, QA was shamefully uncertain about some of the equipment. She wasn't Queen Objective; she did not have a database dedicated to every possible variant of advanced weaponry. She could identify such items if she saw their internal mechanisms, but she couldn't do so based on external shape alone.
She could remember new ways to upgrade her own equipment and Friends, though, and had already recorded a few possible innovations for reference by Symbie. QA could derive additional upgrades later that day.
"Symbie needs access to better sensors before we can analyze her weaponry and armor," QA admitted. "I did not expect to see such a high level of obfuscation outside a Te–Type Zero."
Irksome human communications. They started with one sound and reflexively followed with precedent instead of intentions.
"Mmm. Yeah, high-grade Valkyrie-tech can be like that," Shapira acknowledges. "What was your alternative name for a Type Zero, anyway? It can't be that important, right?"
Queen Administrator considered the mildly manipulative query. It was true that Terror Drones weren't acting in their usual manner; rather than periodically demoralizing and suppressing a host-species, they were fighting as part of a balanced war. She wasn't even sure that Decimator hadn't fed her misinformation when he'd said they were trying to keep humanity alive; Valkyries appeared to be genuinely dangerous.
QA really did wish her siblings would stop trying to feed her misinformation. It was never funny.
"Terror Drones," she admitted.
Shapira rocked her head from side to side. Searching local information networks indicated that it likely conveyed ongoing processing.
"Mmmm, I can get the 'Terror' part, but they're definitely not drones," Shapira disagreed. "Fuuudgers can even hold grudges. One of the other instructors made off with Exotic Principle Weaponry from Class C Type Zero Guan Yu, and Guan Yu has since tried to kill her at every available opportunity — that's six total meetings, just so you know."
Queen Administrator contemplated this new information. Genuine, directed effort from a Terror Drone always led to the death of a targeted host. It seemed more likely that 'Guan Yu' wasn't truly trying. Still, surviving six separate fake assassination attempts? Most Terror Drones would reveal additional capabilities by the third. Repeated failures weren't exactly good at demoralizing enemies.
"She'd like to meet you in a few weeks, too," Shapira added.
Queen Administrator's mouth reflexively requested clarification before her brain could determine if it was truly necessary.
"Guan Yu?"
Instructor Shapira tilted her head to one side and kept it at that angle. QA cursed her own instinctive request for more information. Context indicated that Shapira had obviously been referencing the instructor, not a Terror Drone.
"Nnnooooo," Shapira began slowly. "Antagonists don't negotiate or communicate. That's part of why they're called Antagonists: there's absolutely nothing sympathetic to be found there, and they've made no attempts to be anything other than our enemies. Fudge, Antagonists even destroyed Ark ship Noah and those people just wanted to ensure humanity survived somewhere. There wasn't any point, no military benefits in destroying a ship filled with gene banks, settlers, and terraforming equipment."
Instructor Shapira closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and shook her head.
"Sorry. That day left some marks."
QA reluctantly gave the new Terror Drones a little credit for accomplishing their usual assignments: successfully demoralizing a host-species, and preventing that species from becoming an interstellar threat. A flash of concern had QA trying to view images of the Type Zero responsible and promptly running into the limits of her classification rating. She really hoped that wasn't TD #7 with her stupid near-perfect precognition. She made everything more complicated.
"Does the Antagonist responsible resemble any significant religious icons?" Queen Administrator carefully asked.
Instructor Shapira quirked an eyebrow.
"No, not really. Antagonists are all function given form; the closest they get to that kind of psychological warfare is the oddly high rate of vaguely humanoid models. Against a Type Zero, every millisecond of hesitation counts and they're happy to exploit it. Why did you ask?"
"I merely wished to eliminate a concern," QA dismissed. "However, I do have a related question: why do most Valkyrie Frames maintain a humanoid shape? Would it not be safer to keep our bodies behind multiple layers of armor and relink motor control to another mechanism?"
"Maybe for something purely artificial, but we'd be working against our brains at that point. It's fairly easy for us to visualize and execute changes when we're still around the same shape. If we start changing that, though? We need to spend valuable time translating our ingrained habits into the equivalent on our new form. Plus, we'll wind up sabotaging ourselves every time we put the Frames away and it makes IFF just the tiniest bit harder in the field.
"The Frames of Battleship Valkyries obviously aren't humanoid, and yeah, they are pretty careful about guarding their bodies. It takes time to learn how to properly use a battleship Frame, though; you can't just plug a standard Valkyrie into one and expect them to do well. It's usually a gradual transition as people add more and more lowish-complexity weapons to a single Frame."
Anna abruptly said, "Attempting to rely on an armored center is a losing proposition against high-grade Antagonists."
Her interruption entry into the conversation prompted a startled squeak from Monica and a twitch from Host. QA's favorite Valkyrie quickly stored her weaponry, but otherwise continued her explanation.
"Your Impeller Field can be adjusted to minimize damage from nearly all possible Antagonist attacks. This means you need to, um…" Anna faltered momentarily and phrased her next words as an uncertain question. "…react before they finish attacking? In the window between when they're about to attack and when you would sustain damage. It gets exponentially smaller as you face worse Antagonists. Every part of combat is reliant upon your ability to, um, not just react… utilize available information? You still need to shoot back. Or first. First is often better."
Despite the continued expression of Durga's Frame, Anna shifted her weight and held her hands oddly. Was she unhappy about the lack of precision and low information density inherent to human languages? QA could agree that it was annoying.
"Delays are usually bad," Anna concluded. "If you can avoid them, you should. Mostly."
There was a small silence before anyone spoke.
"And in related delays," Instructor Shapira began. "All of you should really go eat something. I should, too, but having an Instructor in—"
Instructor Shapira stopped and shook her head.
"Never mind. I can come along."
Anna smoothly repositioned to secure footing and tilted her head to one side.
"Silver is still helping me interpret and utilize the information provided by—" there was a barely-perceptible pause. "Taylor. We're not sure how to make the repellent bits, um, shuffle instead of bounce? Without wasting a lot of power. The suggested siphons take too much."
The Valkyrie shook her head.
"You should eat lunch without me. We can interact at dinner."
Shapira held up both arms in an X. QA was still trying to determine what components Anna was referring to. The shard prided herself on avoiding waste; her designs were meant to minimize the costs necessary for clear and consistent communications. Unless they were trying to adapt it for communicating solely in the same universe? That would drastically change the requirements, QA would admit.
She was surprised Silver was able to help to such an extent, though. QA had meant for the Friends to have enough processing capacity to keep up with high-grade Valkyries, but the vast majority of their knowledge was supposed to come from human databases, not QA's Archives. Plus, Queen Administrator had largely confined them to casual shardspeak and body language.
Then again, QA could hear whispering from around Silver now that she was listening for it.
"Skipping meals isn't a good idea at your age even with stored nutrients. Structure is important. Besides, you should get to know the other members of your Flight sooner rather than later; if you blow them off, they might decide to join a different one entirely."
~ ~ ~
"Am I the only one who feels like an extra?" Koujirou Rokusabe asked aloud. "To pad out the Flight size, I mean."
Most of the other Flights had gone off to eat lunch together and get to know each other. Anna, however, had fled the room with Monica on her heels. Both of them had vanished before Koujirou and Setsuna could actually escape the crush blocking the doorway.
Koujirou did have to admit that the pegacorn had been fucking badass, though. Some sort of gun in the horn, actual laser eyes, a mouth full of shark teeth... really, that one girl had been right when she called it a 'baby cryptid.' Too bad he couldn't ask for one without enduring relentless mockery from Setsu. It wasn't fair that girls should have a monopoly on what had historically started as working animals.
"Shut–" Setsu began automatically, then stopped to actually consider the point.
Koujirou knew he'd won when the silence forgot to use birth control and became pregnant with twins. He figured the better part of a minute passed before Setsu shook herself and replied.
"I'm sure we'll have more time together when Taylor feels better," Setsu lied, obviously doubtful herself.
~ ~ ~
>> Group Captain Vishka Nonahali (300 Rank: 6)
- In the 20th century, Arthur C. Clarke noted that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Judging by all the recent cries of "witchcraft," he was correct.
- Friends can communicate and appear to not only be sapient, but more empathic than most teenagers.
- Pegacorn-Friends can reconfigure their wings to have more than two. Large portions of their forms are also utterly incomprehensible, it hurts to look at Friends when they're using their default settings, and we're not supposed to be afraid of them.
Conclusion: Pegacorn-Friends are magical talking angel unicorns.
"Silver is still helping me interpret and utilize the information provided by—" there was a barely-perceptible pause. "Taylor. We're not sure how to make the repellent bits, um, shuffle instead of bounce? Without wasting a lot of power. The suggested siphons take too much."
Ok the anticipation of the Taylor meeting is killing me. And I'm a little sad about not having the "don't worry I'll kill you if you go off the deep end" line. On the upside Durga has gained Insight. GRANT US EYES!! GRANT US EYES!!
Symbie's two moms couldn't agree on whether or not all humans counted as people or should be assigned personhood on a case-by-case basis, but logically, that meant some of the Valkyries were people that Mom-Administrator hadn't met yet.
This...now this is an interesting evolution, because it truly is logical. QA deliberately does not allow people to be persons most of the time because it hurts when they're killed. Symbie appears not to be aware of the rationale behind QA's "they're not really people" decision, and is instead taking that starting point and running forward with it logically, and deciding that if some of them are people, she really does want to help, even if she doesn't really care in the same way as caring about people. QA isn't thinking in terms of "some of them logically must be people" because she's trying to protect herself - if they're people, then it hurts when her :PARENTS: or her :SIBLINGS: kill them (or worse, force her to kill them), and she doesn't want to hurt.
We're already seeing that sort of thinking infect Symbie's behavior, so...what will QA's reaction be when (if) she figures out what's going on? Careful instruction that you need to limit the number of "people" because it hurts less? That would slot right in to everything the Valkyries think is going on with "Cadet Hebert" - the Valkyrie Syndrome, the PTSD and other issues, and so forth. And even if it's not exactly that, given QA is really an Eldritch Monstrosity piloting a meat suit, it still seems like it's somewhat close.
Poor QA. Hah. Poor Doctor Rayne, as far as that goes.
And it looks like Symbie is racking up quite the fan club, too - those Valkyries that she's interacting with and now outright helping... They're now looking to get more involved with her - give her a hug, as it were - and help her back. That should have an interesting impact on her as Shard-babby continues to grow up.
Elise and Liz stared at the abyss, and the abyss stared back. That was not a metaphor. The giant fucking pit containing Queen Administrator's home was coated with a chittering army of black, nuclear-powered cyborg insects.
Now remember, ladies, Cadet Hebert did helpfully warn you Valkyries of the danger of bloodsucking insects where she came from, so this is really something you should have expected. 😇
She'd thought that there would be nothing more for her to do. She accepted that there was no room for her in their new life. She assumed that she would do little more than urge her better half to care for herself, assist with calculations, and try to keep them both from dwelling on the eight thousand, five hundred and three people they'd failed to protect.
- In the 20th century, Arthur C. Clarke noted that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Judging by all the recent cries of "witchcraft," he was correct.
- Friends can communicate and appear to not only be sapient, but more empathic than most teenagers.
- Pegacorn-Friends can reconfigure their wings to have more than two. Large portions of their forms are also utterly incomprehensible, it hurts to look at Friends when they're using their default settings, and we're not supposed to be afraid of them.
Conclusion: Pegacorn-Friends are magical talking angel unicorns.
Not that "more empathic than most teenagers" is truly an amazing accomplishment in some ways, though for Shard-based lifeforms it really is pretty off-the-wall.
Perfectly logical conclusions aside, though, this would seem to indicate that Silver isn't alone in her decision to communicate with her human. Whether that communication is happening through massive datafiles as Silver's first attempt, or is happening through a Shard link and direct brainmeats modification... Um. I would guess the electronic communications of some sort, actually. As interesting as it would be if the Friends were connecting via Shard linkups, I suspect that would result in a different observation than "Friends can communicate". And surely someone would have noticed how they were communicating if they were doing direct linkups.
That didn't mean he was giving up on his goals, though. He simply had new ones. If Female-Ruler Controller wouldn't return to provide a new copy of her code, then he would just have to come to her.
Cue the introduction of Deci-kun, the mysterious African transfer student and rival for Koujirou's position in QA's flight. Smart, attractive, incredibly skilled, and also male, Deci-kun is essentially Koujirou but better in every way. Driven by jealousy, the Clueless Moron begins to spy on his rival, whereupon he discovers a shocking truth: Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome is actually a giant starfish alien wearing a pair of Groucho glasses! Such drama, much wow.
What are the odds Symbie hollowed out Decimator's arm for Taylor-making materials? She's still apparently updating her new body based on Valkyrie and Antagonist designs in some manner. They're comparing QA/Rose to a core already. Why not a sister made out of Antagonist bits?
She'd more or less gotten that line in chapter 15. Silver reassured Anna that she would only try to kill her if she was stopping her from committing genocide on humanity, per QA's orders. Anna found that reasonable.
That didn't mean he was giving up on his goals, though. He simply had new ones. If Female-Ruler Controller wouldn't return to provide a new copy of her code, then he would just have to come to her.
I expected this, but it doesn't make the scene any less interesting. Now I can only hope that Decimator goes for more obfuscation/diversion rather than Murder/Death/Kill academy students and instructors. That would be both a devastating blow to morale and might bring much less friendly attention to QA. This doesn't seem the type of story to go in that direction, so I'm not filled with dread.. but I am anticipating EVERYONE to be watching QA if/when Decimator's interest in communicating is uncovered. A diversion from the norms to this extent kiiinda pokes it's toes into long term survival strategies of humanity as far as they know.
>> "Hey, cut the chatter for a bit. Can someone review the new library for Macross's model? Its listed under Decimator. I want to be sure I'm not hallucinating." <<
>> "…Where did one of its arms go?" <<
>> "Model indicates that the nub is covered only with smart armor right now. Possible weakness?" <<
>> "No. Average generator output now includes a logarithmic equation instead of a static uncertainty range. The new upper limit will reclassify Macross as a type B." <<
>> "Well, fuck." <<
>> "Please tell me that's his final form." <<
>> "Hey, they won't pull back from the Hellhole over this, right? That's not exactly a standard operation, as such." <<
It's almost endearing to see them using QA's name for the type zero here. At the very least, the local Valks are paying attention, so Decimator's jaunt toward QA (metaphorical or otherwise) won't be completely out of left field. It is curious to see how generator levels are escalating though. Makes me imagine a more Kool-Aid-man approach to diplomacy in the future. (Schoolgirl infiltrator Decimator.. doesn't really vibe with what I'm seeing. Too far into crack, unless done really well.)
"You know, some of the swarm is actually a little cute. Big eyes, vocal range adequate for squeaking, deceptively squishy exterior, none larger than my torso... I can definitely see them being made by a teenage girl."
The corruption begins. But seriously, it's nice they can see past the squickiness of the creatures/drones and toward the person (supposedly) behind the swarm. This bodes well for QA's future.
She'd thought that there would be nothing more for her to do. She accepted that there was no room for her in their new life. She assumed that she would do little more than urge her better half to care for herself, assist with calculations, and try to keep them both from dwelling on the eight thousand, five hundred and three people they'd failed to protect.
Durga needs hugs. No, seriously she is and remains best Core in my mind. Will she learn QA is an outside context problem, or think she's some sort of delusional/savant Core. It'll be fun to see how she reacts when she can communicate with QA proper. That is, if she doesn't leave everything to Anna.
Oh no.. what if she's exactly as good as Anna is at communication?
...There were also over two thousand recent attempts to access QA's database partition by four different unique users. That number rose to 217 unique users and over thirty thousand attempts if she expanded the timeframe to before QA issued her safety warning. Fortunately for the persistent four, that particular transmission would not lash out if they continued their attempts at gaining access.
Again, this was expected, though the number is slightly alarming. It's refreshing to see that Valks have an abundance of common sense. I'm not too worried about the attempted hacking working.. but that code might still be thrown around as a weapon of it's own in some regard.
"Silver is still helping me interpret and utilize the information provided by—" there was a barely-perceptible pause. "Taylor. We're not sure how to make the repellent bits, um, shuffle instead of bounce? Without wasting a lot of power. The suggested siphons take too much."
Anna, never change. It is heartening though, that she's trying to get all her information and facts in check before blurting out her discoveries to the world. I suspect she'll report most, if not all of what she's seen and learned, but out of a sense of responsibility and duty rather than any sort of conflict/idiot ball.
>> Group Captain Vishka Nonahali (300 Rank: 6)
- Friends can communicate and appear to not only be sapient, but more empathic than most teenagers.
- Pegacorn-Friends can reconfigure their wings to have more than two. Large portions of their forms are also utterly incomprehensible, it hurts to look at Friends when they're using their default settings, and we're not supposed to be afraid of them.
Conclusion: Pegacorn-Friends are magical talking angel unicorns.
I'm torn here. QA is getting some very high level attention again, no surprise. The religious overtones are probably a joke, but you know some people will latch onto that train of thought. It's nice to see how the Friends are getting proper analysis. It would be interesting to see a different viewpoint from one of the Crafting Club girls (along with Big Sister?) as they try to learn the ins and outs of their pegacorns.
Maybe most Friends don't connect as Anna's does? Regardless, they should have their own pseudo-shardspeak, right? I.. actually could see some of the girls trying to bounce it back and forth between themselves just to see if it would stick and be useful.
Princess Celestia wouldn't be much safer. CME for you, solar flare for you, solar plasma for dessert...
That also assumes she doesn't reveal her final form as the Ancient Queen of Order...
That didn't mean he was giving up on his goals, though. He simply had new ones. If Female-Ruler Controller wouldn't return to provide a new copy of her code, then he would just have to come to her.
In two weeks a guy with a handlebar mustache and a French accent is going to clumsily start poking around looking for Taylor.
Or it'll go like it did in It's Not Wrong, and the envoy will be taking a confused wander around no-man's land trying not to get blown up by other antagonists.
Shapira rocked her head from side to side. Searching local information networks indicated that it likely conveyed ongoing processing.
"Mmmm, I can get the 'Terror' part, but they're definitely not drones," Shapira disagreed. "Fuuudgers can even hold grudges. One of the other instructors made off with Exotic Principle Weaponry from Class C Type Zero Guan Yu, and Guan Yu has since tried to kill her at every available opportunity — that's six total meetings, just so you know."
"She'd like to meet you in a few weeks, too," Shapira added.
Queen Administrator's mouth reflexively requested clarification before her brain could determine if it was truly necessary.
"Guan Yu?"
Instructor Shapira tilted her head to one side and kept it at that angle. QA cursed her own instinctive request for more information. Context indicated that Shapira had obviously been referencing the instructor, not a Terror Drone.
She was surprised Silver was able to help to such an extent, though. QA had meant for the Friends to have enough processing capacity to keep up with high-grade Valkyries, but the vast majority of their knowledge was supposed to come from human databases, not QA's Archives. Plus, Queen Administrator had largely confined them to casual shardspeak and body language.
Later,
"Oh fsck, they don't even have access to their own old archives. Dammit, I helped again..."
Plus Taylor probably did her own "helping" in the background. I'm not sure QA knows all of what she hid in those things.
The data they'd provided about Antagonist and Valkyrie variants would likely be invaluable in the future, and she'd already updated Mom-Taylor's new body with what she'd learned
I know others have interpreted this as Decimator infiltrating to get access to her again, but I'm really hoping he just openly attacks at the head of an army for a raid on Perth. Yes, many of the lesser Antags (or all of them) will probably die in the attempt, and there's no way he'll be able to actually keep territory so far behind enemy lines, but he'll get that sweet, sweet data, and isn't that worth some sacrifices?
From the Valk perspective, QA managed to infect Decimator with some kind of malware that had it hacking off its own arm, and now it's coming for revenge.
Neither of the two Valkyries wanted to think about the laser tripwire surrounding the pit. Not because it was an inherently bad idea, but because of the linked speakers pointed toward Queen Administrator's house. That seemed as though it was more for outright torture than suppression.
Beneath the ocean of insects sat the burnt-out remains of hundreds of signal boosters. That wasn't the disturbing part, though. No, that right went to what they'd apparently relayed on numerous occasions: apparent override codes and orders for a person, or at least a sentient and sapient entity. Specifically, commands directed to Queen Administrator herself.
So... I'm not actually totally clear on this bit, but here's my best guess. Broadcast might be responsible for the ton of speakers aimed at QA, either that or it's meant to be a representation of how :Thinker: was always able to override/punish QA. I'm kind of wondering why the signal boosters were inside QA's territory though. If there were speakers surrounding her, why need signal boosters? And was QA not mobile? Why litter signal boosters and even speakers all over her home, when QA would presumably not spend most of her time at home, but out being an Observer and weapon designer?
And I'm assuming the insects and other defences were meant to keep out the other titled individuals, which makes sense. Maybe the signal boosters were burnt out to represent how QA/Taylor managed to defy orders at the end and bring about the fall of Hell's Hand. I'm still confused by signal boosters were all around her house though. If the former ruler of Hell's Hand was able to do mind control over everyone, which it's been hinted she was, largely through brain implants/lobotomy, then shouldn't there be signal boosters everywhere? All titled individuals in Hell's Hand should be under the control of Thinker, why are all the signal boosters concentrated in one relatively small area?
Four users? So that would be Anna, Durga, Silver, and... maybe Symbie? I'm hesitant about this thought, because QA's thought that she would have to personally kill those 4 doesn't suggest any distress, and I think she would be more bothered at the idea of having to kill Anna. Or possibly an admonishment that Symbie should stop trying to break restrictions.
Alternatively, she means 4 unauthorised users, in which case, the 4 who are still trying are... maybe these 4?
Now at the summit of the UN Valkyries you have The Trinity and The Valkyrie above them. Like how the twenty are on a different level to the other aces, these four are undeniably just on a different level above even them. The 'Queens of Silver' and the 'Zero Breaker'.
So. I think reading QA's micro-expressions and her subsequent reactions should be enough for the Valks to realise that QA believes it is possible to communicate with Antags, and she's not particularly surprised they shot down a civilian vessel of colonists. They seem to be accepting QA's knowledge for some parts of Antags, such as renaming Macross Decimator purely on her say-so. I'm not entirely sure why they're giving her such faith when it's possible her and her cult might be mistaken Antag-worshippers or something, but it's definitely food for thought.
Especially with the suggestion there might be a type-zero out there based on religious iconography.
Speaking of, I wonder if Taylor's new body might look a little Ziz-like.
Looks like Anna nearly used Rose here. I wonder when she'll submit her report of that clustercluck to the UN. Probably at the same time as the Valks discover Taylor in Hell's Hand. I'm really looking forward to that punchline, it feels like it's been setting up forever. Which makes the punchline all the more explosive of course.
What a delightful metaphor. Very evocative. I hope Kouji uses it again and talks about triplets, or possibly a whole swarm of tiny silence babies bursting from their mum's belly in a devouring hive.
What a delightful metaphor. Very evocative. I hope Kouji uses it again and talks about triplets, or possibly a whole swarm of tiny silence babies bursting from their mum's belly in a devouring hive.
You sir are on a roll. How is it that you haven't been Siged before now?
(edited to avoid double post)
So... I'm not actually totally clear on this bit, but here's my best guess. Broadcast might be responsible for the ton of speakers aimed at QA, either that or it's meant to be a representation of how :Thinker: was always able to override/punish QA. I'm kind of wondering why the signal boosters were inside QA's territory though. If there were speakers surrounding her, why need signal boosters? And was QA not mobile? Why litter signal boosters and even speakers all over her home, when QA would presumably not spend most of her time at home, but out being an Observer and weapon designer?
And I'm assuming the insects and other defenses were meant to keep out the other titled individuals, which makes sense. Maybe the signal boosters were burnt out to represent how QA/Taylor managed to defy orders at the end and bring about the fall of Hell's Hand. I'm still confused by signal boosters were all around her house though. If the former ruler of Hell's Hand was able to do mind control over everyone, which it's been hinted she was, largely through brain implants/lobotomy, then shouldn't there be signal boosters everywhere? All titled individuals in Hell's Hand should be under the control of Thinker, why are all the signal boosters concentrated in one relatively small area?
My two cents is that the reason why QA had signal boosters whereas the others didn't was because she was the only one who needed extra strength mind control. The burnt out husks in the bug pit could be there because the bugs dragged them off and overloaded them. This gives small gaps in coverage with a free (or more likely just less restricted) QA until they were replaced. The last time it happened the bugs could have gotten enough of the boosters for QA to make a break for it; presumably just before the story started.
