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Calibration (BAHHSCQ/Sanctioned)

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Kai Merah said:
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.
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Which isn't totally wrong. The really interesting questions are things like:
  • Did they manage to record what happened? It doesn't sound like it, given the Valkyries were discussing the missing arm only after the fact. Surely if someone had seen it happen, there would have been more words and speculation. If they did, though..
  • Did they connect any visible effects on the arm with the same thing happening in their experiments? It's hinted in earlier chapters that they have been experimenting with QA's ID, and are aware how deadly it is.
If they're aware that QA's ID is what caused the damage to Decimator, that would support that she has talked to Antagonists. Because the ID isn't an attack - she's repeatedly said so. But she's also said that the anti-tamper measures are extreme, and they're aware of that.
Kai Merah said:
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?
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Perhaps signal boosters to get into her home? Break through her defenses? But yeah, this is adding up to a lot of interesting pieces of information for the Valkyries. They're aware she's been controlled, now, and... wowie, but that would cause mental damage, to humans. :/
Kai Merah said:
And I'm assuming the insects and other defences were meant to keep out the other titled individuals, which makes sense.
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And to be cute. As Elise noticed. All of QA's Friends that they've seen so far have been cute. The pegacorns are cute (and eldritch, which to Valkyries appears also to be cute). The bug-drones were individually cute. Now these deadly nuclear insects are also cute. That's the distinguishing factor between QA's creations and Queen Shaper's creations, you see - QA appreciates cuteness. :D
Kai Merah said:
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?
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This one I'm puzzling over, too - the bit about having to kill them makes me think (as you say) that it's not Anna, Durga, Silver, or Symbie. If it were Anna, I think there would be more dismay over the possibility. Symbie or Silver would presumably provoke more of a "wait, but I didn't design her to do that" sort of reaction. It's got me stumped, I admit.
 
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Kellcat said:
This one I'm puzzling over, too - the bit about having to kill them makes me think (as you say) that it's not Anna, Durga, Silver, or Symbie. If it were Anna, I think there would be more dismay over the possibility. Symbie or Silver would presumably provoke more of a "wait, but I didn't design her to do that" sort of reaction. It's got me stumped, I admit.
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Passage has been edited for clarity.
...There were also over two thousand recent unauthorized attempts to access QA's database partition by four different unique users.
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Kellcat said:
This one I'm puzzling over, too - the bit about having to kill them makes me think (as you say) that it's not Anna, Durga, Silver, or Symbie. If it were Anna, I think there would be more dismay over the possibility. Symbie or Silver would presumably provoke more of a "wait, but I didn't design her to do that" sort of reaction. It's got me stumped, I admit.
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My best guess for this is still the Queens of Silver and the Zero Breaker. They're the 4 unquestionably best Valks in the world after all, after Anna.
 
Kai Merah said:
My best guess for this is still the Queens of Silver and the Zero Breaker. They're the 4 unquestionably best Valks in the world after all, after Anna.
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Personally, I doubt they'd risk it. I figured it was just some random Valks who ignored the warning - after all, just because most Valkyries know to heed warnings doesn't mean there aren't a few idiots among them.
 
Two things.
The unauthorized users could be antagonists, or some of the Big-Sister group.

The other thing, the model with the tag Decimator? Isn't it likely that Symbie put that there? She doesn't want possible people to die.
 
Alivaril said:
>> "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.'" <<
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*Cackling madly on seeing the idea I was tossing around show up in the forum section*
 
Alivaril said:
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.
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Jokes about Antagonist Infiltrators aside, I think this will probably lead to an encounter with Taylor, not QA. The area where he last saw her is the natural place to start looking.

A giant starfish-shaped Type Zero isn't getting anywhere near Perth — Australia is almost on the literal opposite side of the planet. He'd have to fight through most of the UN military to make it that far, and since a Class B can be favorably fought with 'only' 10 members of the 300, his odds of surviving such a sortie are... slim, to say the least.
Avalanche said:
More and more members of the Three Hundred arrived alongside low flying Valkyrie battleships, but before the requisite 40-1 and 10-1 force disparity between members of the 300 to Class A and Class B respectively was achieved
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Avalanche said:
Hey Avalanche, that force disparity is for the Valks being able to kill or fend off the Type 0, right? Does that include without any casualties on their end or just that?

Also, would my guess be correct that the disparity for Class C is 5-1 and D is 2-1?
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You're pretty much spot on. Those estimates are for in order of optimism; Kill with moderate casualties / Fend off without fatalities / Bloodless Stalemate.
lol invisitext
C class... one Flight of 300 Frame equipped Aces, so yeah, 5-1/4-1 is about right. An Element of 2 Aces with 300 frames would be about right for a D class too.
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I'm guessing the disappearing limb space inside decimator's was used as temporary storage of the newly QA encrypted decimator code and the upload point to shardspace. Once the upload was done Symbie likely formatted the device to a randomized earth atmosphere baseline.
 
Kai Merah said:
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.
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I'm pretty sure it's the Crafting Club.

The big thing is that, whoever they are, they're all working off a single copy of QA's ID, and it's a special one that won't actively attempt to murder them if they muck with it:
Alivaril said:
Fortunately for the persistent four, that particular transmission would not lash out if they continued their attempts at gaining access.
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There's only one group that really fits that. There is some confusion over how dangerous their copy of the ID is - the one they got isn't completely safe, but it appears to be dangerous primarily because actually gaining database access will result in QA's shardware going haywire and trying to take their brains over with crystal, which I feel is a bit different from the aggressive, intelligent malware that Decimator is busy dealing with.
Alivaril said:
"You should stop trying to break my ID," Queen Administrator absentmindedly interrupted. "I don't want you to trigger the anti-forging measures."

She could likely halt and reverse the process before it killed them, but she'd still have an awkward time explaining any crystalline growths that formed during the defensive backlash.
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edit:
If that's not it, then the "safe version" that QA is talking about would be the one she's been transmitting to all Valkyries, and the four persistent attackers are probably UNARD researchers working on reverse-engineering or weaponizing her ID:
Alivaril said:
Hebert automatically transmits an irregular, self-executing data packet (now claimed to be her personal unique ID) every time she speaks and continues doing so until she falls silent. Sighs and other irregular communications do not appear to trigger transfers. This packet appears harmless unless extensively modified and cannot be copied to outside sources. (See Monolith Project)
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Kai Merah said:
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?
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I believe that the insects and amplifiers are a reference to canon Khepri using amplifier bugs to extend her range. The containment system around the bugs may also be a reference to the Friendbomb incident mentioned both in the Broken Home Tapes omake and in Calibration that got QA in huge trouble for ending a cycle early.
 
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Bloopers VI: Episode 16 Abridged Recap (C16 Spoilers)
  • Sidestory
    • CDRW said:
    I confess, I was lost on quite a bit of what was going on in this chapter.
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    <please don't bleed in front of me. i'm not even one yet and this is very uncomfortable. will you bleed less if i help you know when to run?>


    <Look over there. Roight there. It's an ID. That code occupies over 500 terabytes and can kill a Zero in ten seconds. One jump and I'm gone.>

    <I'm gonna poke it with a stick.>

    <...AAAH, she's angry!>


    >> "I will hug her and squeeze her and call her Symbie. Today is turning out great." <<

    >> "Hey, Decimator is injured but is actually a class B Type Zero." <<

    >> "Every party needs a pooper; that's why they invited you..." <<


    >> "These people were monsters. I'm not even sure that wasn't literal at this point." <<

    >> "Hey look, the suspicious house is inviting us in!" <<

    >> "Seems legit. Let's go." <<


    Hello, ladies. Look at your Core, now back to me, now back at your Core, now back to me. Sadly, it isn't me, but if you stopped attending classes and switched to live combat, it could act like it's me. Look down, back up, where are you? You're on a boat with the Core your Core could act like. What's in your hand, back at me. I have it, it's a database with two blueprints to that thing you love. Look again, the blueprints are now weapons. Anything is possible when your Core acts like Durga and not an AG. I have a horse.​


    "I have questions."

    "I probably have answers?"

    "We have answers, comrade."


    "Do you ever get the feeling that we're supposed to have a bigger role in events than what we've been given? That we're supposed to be more?"

    "No, Koji, because I'm not a complete narcissist."
     
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  • Sidestory
    • Alivaril said:
    <Let's split up, gang!> :V
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    Like Zoinks!!

    Alivaril said:
    Hello, ladies. Look at your Core, now back to me, now back at your Core, now back to me. Sadly, it isn't me, but if it stopped attending classes and switched to live combat, it could act like it's me. Look down, back up, where are you? You're on a boat with the Core your Core could act like. What's in your hand, back at me. I have it, it's a database with two blueprints to that thing you love. Look again, the blueprints are now weapons. Anything is possible when your Core acts like Durga and not an AG. I have a horse.
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    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
     
    Alivaril said:
    Friends—no, entities?—like Silver were allowed to connect with one person at a time to lend assistance, and did not typically disconnect until either their own demise or that of their host.
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    I can't wait for Taylor to realize she Budded. Especially with how much effort she put into trying to stop that from happening in It's Not Wrong...
    Alivaril said:
    >> "Well, I guess we know Hebert's title now," << Elise sighed.
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    WRONG
    Alivaril said:
    whether or not he'd successfully prevent Mom-Administrator's anti-tampering measures from killing him.
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    'he had' and 'prevent' don't match up...
    Alivaril said:
    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,
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    What an interesting comparison, it's a lot like the Shards!
    Alivaril said:
    Hello, ladies. Look at your Core, now back to me, now back at your Core, now back to me. Sadly, it isn't me, but if it stopped attending classes and switched to live combat, it could act like it's me. Look down, back up, where are you? You're on a boat with the Core your Core could act like. What's in your hand, back at me. I have it, it's a database with two blueprints to that thing you love. Look again, the blueprints are now weapons. Anything is possible when your Core acts like Durga and not an AG. I have a horse
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    Is this what an Acid Trip reads like?
     
    taovkool said:
    Ikr. I just wanna scream 'What in the world is going on?'

    This does not answer any of my questions.
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    Symbie realized valkyries even if they aren't people can be decent pets and is rraining them to fetch things for her in exchange for approving noises.

    Decimator tried to hack the ID Qaylor transmitted and got hacked by it in turn so had to hack itself apart to survive.

    African valkyries chatter about now much they like the treats symbie gave them and notice decimator hacked itself apart and reveald it's full power.

    Liz and elise plan a support group for people exposed to hells hand possibly including hells hand also invited into QAylor's fortification inside a fprtress which is surrouneded by debris from attempts to harrass the occupants.

    Taylor has valkyrie combat axioms and methodology wzplained as she muses that valkyries are refreshingly less suicidal than normal hosts.

    Koji is begining to realize the universe does not revolve around him sooner han most teenagers.
     
    Carrnage said:
    Symbie realized valkyries even if they aren't people can be decent pets and is rraining them to fetch things for her in exchange for approving noises.

    Decimator tried to hack the ID Qaylor transmitted and got hacked by it in turn so had to hack itself apart to survive.

    African valkyries chatter about now much they like the treats symbie gave them and notice decimator hacked itself apart and reveald it's full power.

    Liz and elise plan a support group for people exposed to hells hand possibly including hells hand also invited into QAylor's fortification inside a fprtress which is surrouneded by debris from attempts to harrass the occupants.

    Taylor has valkyrie combat axioms and methodology wzplained as she muses that valkyries are refreshingly less suicidal than normal hosts.

    Koji is begining to realize the universe does not revolve around him sooner han most teenagers.
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    Ah, thanks mate. That clears up a lot.

    One more question though, who the hell is Koji?
     
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