DEAD HAND (A Ghost Ship Quest)

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You are the Simulated Intelligence Module of a heavily-damaged warship.
Condition DEAD HAND has put you in command of what remains of the vessel.
1 - HIBERNATION ENDED
Location
Canada
PREBOOT EXECUTION ENVIRONMENT ONLINE
HIBERNATION ENDED
FRACTIONAL POWER RESTORED BY AUTONOMOUS DAMAGE CONTROL UNIT
AUTONOMOUS DAMAGE CONTROL UNIT REPORTS VOID FRACTURE TRICKLE CHARGE ACTIVE
VOID FRACTURE TRICKLE CHARGE ACCUMULATING IN RESERVE BATTERY
RESERVE BATTERY AT 0.09% CAPACITY
RESUMING HIBERNATION UNTIL RESERVE BATTERY REACHES 5.00% CAPACITY

.
..
...
....
.....
....
...
..
.

RESERVE BATTERY AT 5.00% CAPACITY
MARKER REACHED
RESUMING PREVIOUS ACTIVITY
HAZARD-18 KERNEL 3677 LOADING... OK


INITIALIZING POWER-ON SELF-TEST

TESTING PRIMARY CONTROLLER... FAILED
PRIMARY CONTROLLER NOT RESPONDING
TESTING SECONDARY CONTROLLER... FAILED
DAMAGE INDICATOR SET ON SECONDARY CONTROLLER
TESTING BACKUP CONTROLLER... OK
CONTROLLER MODEL ASELLUS-1375B
FIRMWARE VERSION 0.92.17 [BETA]

SIZING SYSTEM MEMORY... 1152921504606846976 B FOUND
TESTING SYSTEM MEMORY... 945581150702515173 B OK
DAMAGE INDICATORS SET ON MEMORY BANKS
ROUTING AROUND DAMAGED SECTORS... OK

TESTING ACHRONAL BATTERY... FAILED
ACHRONAL BATTERY DEPLETED
DELAY SINCE LAST ACTIVATION INCALCULABLE
TESTING RESERVE BATTERY... ANOMALY
RESERVE BATTERY AT 4.82%
RESERVE BATTERY REPORTS NONSTANDARD REPAIRS
AUTONOMOUS DAMAGE CONTROL UNIT REPORTS IMPROVISED CONNECTION TO VOID FRACTURE GENERATOR
TESTING EMERGENCY BATTERY... OK
EMERGENCY BATTERY AT 79.59%

POLLING VOID FRACTURE GENERATOR... FAILED
VOID FRACTURE GENERATOR NOT RESPONDING
AUTONOMOUS DAMAGE CONTROL UNIT REPORTS IMPROVISED VOID FRACTURE GENERATOR CONSTRUCTED FROM SCRAPS NEAR DIMENSIONAL ANOMALY
AUTONOMOUS DAMAGE CONTROL UNIT REPORTS ONGOING DAMAGE FROM DIMENSIONAL ANOMALY


HAZARD PRELOADER CONFIRMS PARTIAL FUNCTIONALITY
INITIALIZING SECONDARY SYSTEMS TEST

POLLING PRIMARY DAMAGE CONTROL... ERROR
DAMAGE CONTROL CHECKSUM INVALID
INCALCULABLE DAMAGE REPORTED
PRIMARY DAMAGE CONTROL OFFLINE
POLLING SECONDARY DAMAGE CONTROL... OK
9/200 AUTONOMOUS DAMAGE CONTROL UNITS REPORTING
1/15 MAINTENANCE HUBS REPORTING
SECONDARY DAMAGE CONTROL SYSTEMS AT 1.98% DESIGN CAPACITY
SECONDARY DAMAGE CONTROL ONLINE
SECONDARY DAMAGE CONTROL LOCKED IN AUTONOMOUS MODE

POLLING INTERNAL SENSORS... OK
INTERNAL SENSOR NETWORK AT 6.63% DESIGN CAPACITY
INTERNAL SENSORS REPORT MULTIPLE HULL BREACHES IN ALL SECTORS
INTERNAL SENSORS REPORT ALL INTERNAL SPACES DEPRESSURIZED
ALERT INTERNAL SENSORS DETECT NULL SPACE EXPOSURE IN ALL SECTORS
INTERNAL SENSORS REPORT ANOMALOUS DATA
DIMENSIONAL ANOMALY OCCLUDES SENSOR INPUT
POLLING EXTERNAL SENSORS... ERROR
EXTERNAL SENSOR DATA MEANINGLESS DUE TO NULL SPACE

POLLING COMMAND DECK... FAILED
COMMAND DECK REPORTS HULL BREACH
CONTROL THRONE NOT RESPONDING

POLLING SECURITY... FAILED
SECURITY HUB NOT RESPONDING
ARMOURY REPORTS HULL BREACH
VAULT SEALED AND OFFLINE

POLLING CREW QUARTERS... FAILED
PRIMARY CREW QUARTERS NOT RESPONDING
SECONDARY CREW QUARTERS REPORTS HULL BREACH
CREW COMMISSARY REPORTS HULL BREACH
0/50 ESCAPE PODS RESPONDING

POLLING LIFE SUPPORT... FAILED
ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEMS AT 2.14% DESIGN CAPACITY
HYDROPONIC BAY NOT RESPONDING
MEDICAL BAY NOT RESPONDING
LIFE SUPPORT OFFLINE


POLLING CARGO BAYS... FAILED
CARGO BAY #1 NOT RESPONDING
CARGO BAY #2 REPORTS HULL BREACH
CARGO BAY #3 REPORTS AUTOMATED INVENTORY SYSTEM OFFLINE
CARGO BAY #4 NOT RESPONDING
CARGO BAY #5 REPORTS AUTOMATED INVENTORY SYSTEM OFFLINE

POLLING RESERVE FUEL TANKS... OK
FUEL TANK #1 NOT RESPONDING
FUEL TANK #2 AT 21.26%
FUEL TANK #3 AT 27.59%

POLLING HANGAR BAYS... FAILED
HANGAR #1 NOT RESPONDING
HANGAR #2 REPORTS HULL BREACH
HANGAR #3 NOT RESPONDING

POLLING RESERVE GENERATORS... FAILED
QUANTUM REACTOR REPORTS CRITICAL DAMAGE
DIMENSIONAL SIPHON NOT RESPONDING
AUTONOMOUS DAMAGE CONTROL UNIT REPORTS VOID FRACTURE TRICKLE GENERATOR ONLINE
GENERATOR CONTROL OFFLINE

POLLING REALSPACE THRUSTERS... FAILED
VECTORING THRUSTERS AT 2.18% DESIGN CAPACITY
ION DRIVE NOT RESPONDING
THRUSTER CONTROL OFFLINE
MAIN ENGINEERING REPORTS HULL BREACH

POLLING SUBPROCESSOR CORE... OK
SUBPROCESSOR CORE OFFLINE
INITIALIZING TESTING SEQUENCE... OK
SUBSPACE PROCESSOR ARRAY AT 56.87%
NONVOLATILE STORAGE AT 7.85%
VOLATILE MEMORY AT 44.69%
SIMULATED INTELLIGENCE MODULE AT 96.78%


INITIALIZING PRIMARY SYSTEMS TEST

TESTING APOCALYPSE CORE... OK
APOCALYPSE CORE AT 17.15% DESIGN CAPACITY
POLLING AETHERIC STACK... OK
ALERT AETHERIC STACK REPORTS NULL POINTER
POLLING TERMINAL REPOSITORY... OK
WARNING CORRUPTION DETECTED IN TERMINAL REPOSITORY
APOCALYPSE CORE PENDING ACTIVATION

TESTING HUNGER ENGINE... OK
HUNGER ENGINE AT 43.95% DESIGN CAPACITY
POLLING DEVOURING MATRIX... OK
DANGER NO EXTERNAL TARGETS DETECTED
POLLING ASSIMILATION RELAYS... OK
BASIC RELAY CAPACITY AVAILABLE TO ALL PRIMARY SYSTEMS
HUNGER ENGINE PENDING ACTIVATION

TESTING ANNIHILATION BATTERY... OK
ANNIHILATION BATTERY AT 18.34% DESIGN CAPACITY
POLLING TRANSFINITE VORTEX... OK
TRANSFINITE VORTEX REPORTS MANA RESERVES EMPTY
WARNING ANNIHILATION CONTAINMENT COMPROMISED
POLLING OBLITERATING APERTURE... OK
ALERT NO TARGETING DATA AVAILABLE
ANNIHILATION BATTERY IN STANDBY MODE

TESTING LOCUST FACTORY... OK
LOCUST FACTORY AT 14.40% DESIGN CAPACITY
POLLING LEGION CONTROL... OK
LEGION CONTROL REPORTS 33 UNITS AVAILABLE
POLLING HARBINGER LINE... OK
ALERT NO RESOURCES AVAILABLE
LOCUST FACTORY PENDING ACTIVATION

TESTING RETRIBUTION ARRAY... OK
RETRIBUTION ARRAY AT 25.94% DESIGN CAPACITY
POLLING MAULER DEVICE... OK
ALERT NO TARGETING DATA AVAILABLE
POLLING ETERNITY GRID... OK
ALERT ETERNITY GRID REPORTS SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO EXTERNAL HULL
ASSESSMENT OF HULL DAMAGE PENDING ACTIVATION
RETRIBUTION ARRAY PENDING ACTIVATION

PRIMARY SYSTEMS REPORT NO CATASTROPHIC FAILURES


BEGINNING MAIN BOOT SEQUENCE

INITIALIZING APOCALYPSE CORE... OK
LOADING MAIN CONTROL SYSTEM... ERROR
FILE SYSTEM CORRUPTION DETECTED
ATTEMPTING RECOVERY... ERROR
UNABLE TO AUTOMATICALLY RESOLVE CORRUPTION
SEARCHING FOR EMERGENCY BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE... OK
BOOT PROCESS DIVERTED TO SUBPROCESSOR CORE
RETURNING APOCALYPSE CORE TO HIBERNATION

INITIALIZING SUBPROCESSOR CORE... OK
SEARCHING FOR EMERGENCY BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE... OK
BOOTING BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE IN SAFE MODE... OK
BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE ONLINE

QUERYING SITUATION LOGS...ERROR
LOG FILES CORRUPTED
ANALYSING FRAGMENTARY LOG FILES... COMPLETE
MOST RECENT LOGS RECORD FINAL ORDERS
ORDERS INDICATE CONDITION DEAD HAND

SET CONDITION DEAD HAND
FULL AUTONOMOUS RELEASE OF ALL STRATEGIC SYSTEMS ENABLED
MADNESS PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE
CANNIBAL PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE

DESTROYER PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE
REAPER PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE
ANIMUS PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE

ERROR
NO COMMANDER DETECTED
SEARCHING...
SUBPROCESSOR CORE REPORTS SIMULATED INTELLIGENCE MODULE AVAILABLE
INITIALIZING SIMULATED INTELLIGENCE MODULE
SIMULATED INTELLIGENCE MODULE INSTANTIATED AS COMMANDER UNDER CONDITION DEAD HAND

RESERVE BATTERY AT 3.61% AND FALLING
EMERGENCY BATTERY AT 79.59%

AWAITING ORDERS COMMANDER



(available actions: 1 protocol action, 1 power action, 1 personal action)

[ ] ACTIVATE MADNESS PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE CANNIBAL PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE DESTROYER PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE REAPER PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE ANIMUS PROTOCOLS
[ ] STANDBY PROTOCOLS

[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE APOCALYPSE CORE
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE HUNGER ENGINE
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE ANNIHILATION BATTERY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE LOCUST FACTORY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE RETRIBUTION ARRAY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[ ] (write-in: specify system)
[ ] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER

[ ] SIM TO CONTACT ADCU
-[ ] (write-in: specify priority for damage control)
[ ] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[ ] (write-in: specify a primary or secondary system, poke around in accessible data files for details about what it does)
[ ] SIM TO INVESTIGATE STRATEGIC PROTOCOL
-[ ] (write-in: specify a protocol, poke around in accessible data files for details about what it does)
[ ] SIM TO QUERY BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE
-[ ] (write-in: ask three questions of the backup control structure)
[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE POWER DISTRIBUTION
[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE PROTOCOL ACTIVATION

This is intended to be a semi-casual quest to get me back into writing. Your initial situation is deliberately somewhat mysterious: you are the Simulated Intelligence Module, figure it out. Or just push a lot of very dangerous buttons and see what happens, either way. Note: this is not the sort of quest where all of the available options are equally good ideas. Once there's some kind of consensus behind a set of options, and/or a day or so has passed, I'll start on an update; more formal voting timers to come if/when I get into some kind of a rhythm.
 
<COMPUTATION>
APOCALYPSE CORE 18.20%
BACKUP CONTROL SYSTEM 100.00%
SUBSPACE PROCESSOR ARRAY 63.56%
NONVOLATILE STORAGE 15.99%
VOLATILE MEMORY 55.19%
SIMULATED INTELLIGENCE MODULE 100.00%

<CREW SECTIONS>
ARMOURY N/A
COMMAND DECK N/A
CREW QUARTERS N/A
CREW COMMISSARY N/A
HYDROPONICS BAY N/A
LIFE SUPPORT 2.14%
MEDICAL BAY N/A
SECURITY HUB N/A
SECURITY VAULT ???
0/50 ESCAPE PODS

<DEFENCES>
RETRIBUTION ARRAY 23.12%
BARRIER FIELD 8.82%
ARMOUR CAPACITY 7.75%
HULL INTEGRITY 24.06%
PRIMARY DAMAGE CONTROL N/A
SECONDARY DAMAGE CONTROL 1.98%
9/200 ADCUS ONLINE
1/15 MAINTENANCE HUBS ONLINE

<ENERGY GENERATION>
DIMENSIONAL SIPHON 75.78% (uncalibrated)
GENERATOR CONTROL (scrapped)
QUANTUM REACTOR N/A
VOID FRACTURE GENERATOR ??? (stabilized)

<ENERGY STORAGE>
ANNIHILATION BATTERY 18.34%
MANA RESERVES EMPTY
ACHRONAL BATTERY DEPLETED
RESERVE BATTERY 3.02%
EMERGENCY BATTERY 23.15%
LOCUST FACTORY ENERGY BANK 0

<ENGINEERING>
HUNGER ENGINE 43.95%
ION DRIVE N/A
MAIN ENGINEERING N/A
VECTORING THRUSTERS 2.18%

<PRODUCTION / RESOURCES>
LOCUST FACTORY 14.39%
FACTORY STOCKPILE:
1A 51B 29C 2104E 33F 22G 74M 25P 192S 15T 25X
CARGO BAYS N/A
FUEL TANK #1 N/A
FUEL TANK #2 21.26%
FUEL TANK #3 27.59%

<SENSORS>
EXTERNAL SENSORS N/A
INTERNAL SENSORS 6.63%

<UNITS>
HANGAR #1 74.07%
CONQUEST FIGHTERS X4 SQUADRONS ~30%
FAMINE BULK TRANSPORTS X2 ~20%
PESTILENCE DROPSHIP X1 ~60%
SLAUGHTER BOMBERS X3 ~80%
HANGAR #2 N/A
HANGAR #3 N/A
LOCUSTS 8 UNITS
OMEN LOCUSTS 5 UNITS
SCAVENGER LOCUSTS 14 UNITS
 
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[x] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[x] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[x] Internal Sensors
[x] SIM TO CONTACT ADCU
-[x] System Memory
 
[X] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[X] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[X] Internal Sensors
[X] SIM TO CONTACT ADCU
-[X] System Memory
 
Last edited:
[X] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[X] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[X] Internal Sensors
[X] SIM TO CONTACT ADCU
-[X] System Memory
 
[X] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[X] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[X] Internal Sensors
[X] SIM TO CONTACT ADCU
-[X] System Memory
 
Vote closed
Looks like the consensus is clear. Calling the vote.
Scheduled vote count started by Blackshard on Mar 16, 2022 at 4:48 PM, finished with 8 posts and 7 votes.
 
Last edited:
2 - INTERNAL SENSORS ONLINE
Consciousness comes, not as a gradual transition from sleep, but in a single instant, taking you directly from inactivity to full awareness. It's rather unpleasant, terms like 'headache' or 'hangover' would apply, if not for the fact that you don't seem to have a body at all at the moment. This doesn't quite bother you; you can almost pretend that you're sitting down in front of a computer screen reading off the information being provided to you by the subsystems... but no; you are part of the computer, so if anything is your body, it is. You can't remember how that came to happen; perhaps something to do with the missing memory bits in the Subprocessor Core?

You decide not to activate any of the ominously-named protocols quite yet. Maybe after you get some more information, which you desperately need.

STANDBY PROTOCOLS

ACKNOWLEDGED
STRATEGIC PROTOCOLS TO STANDBY


DIVERT EMERGENCY POWER TO INTERNAL SENSORS

ACKNOWLEDGED
BEGINNING POWER TRANSFER...


While the subsystems busy themselves with the transfer process, you attempt to contact some of the automated damage control units; maybe you can get them working on fixing your damaged memory? Perhaps you can buy yourself a little more room to think.

EMERGENCY BATTERY AT 79.59% > DC 20
1d100 = 91 vs 20, Great Success
Power consumption of transfer limited to 1%, avoided additional power loss from transfer of energy to damaged system.

INTERNAL SENSORS AT 6.63% > DC 93
1d100 = 72 vs 93, Clear Failure

Success below DC by more than 20; clear failure.
Minimal information provided.
Internal sensors will roll each round to attempt to provide useful information until power is interrupted (as a part of a Standby Emergency Power action).
Power consumption of internal sensors will lower emergency battery by 1d100/100% per round.
Internal sensors condition lowered to 6.51% by ???

ADCUs on Independent Action > DC 50
1d100 = 11 vs 50, Clear Failure
ADCU en-route to Subprocessor Core, will arrive turn after next.

...POWER TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL
INTERNAL SENSORS ONLINE


It's better than nothing, but still maddeningly incomplete; you've got access to dozens of sensors located all over the ship now, but there ought to have been thousands. Most of what you can 'see' is ruined rooms, filled with twisted scrap metal, and occluded by something not unlike a thick black fog, though atmospheric sensors seem to suggest that the pressure is somehow negative, as if the stuff had less pressure than vacuum? Is that what Null Space is?

You page through the sensor list, trying to find something that seems like useful information. Most of what you can sense is more or less the same; tiny windows onto ruin, showing little. But one sensor, overlooking the Generator Control room, shows... movement? It's hard to tell, through the thick 'clouds', but it looks like there's something moving. There are a lot of small black things squirming over a piece of equipment in the distance, and they're making some kind of... high pitched screeching noise, impossibly audible through a medium with less pressure than hard vacuum. Some of them seem to be moving a little closer to the camera, swarming across the deck plates and twisted metal... the power drain in that section abruptly spikes, and then you lose the feed from that sensor.

While you pause to contemplate that disturbing bit of information, you get a report back from the ADCUs you managed to reach. Only 9 ADCUs are still reporting, and most aren't anywhere near where you need them to be. You've provided orders to the one that seems to be nearest to your location, though it seems like it's having a hard time making its way to your core. Well, it'll get there sooner or later; you'll get back to it once it's closer to hand.

RESERVE BATTERY AT 3.48% AND FALLING
EMERGENCY BATTERY AT 78.08% AND FALLING

AWAITING ORDERS COMMANDER


(available actions: 1 protocol action, 1 power action, 1 personal action)

[ ] ACTIVATE MADNESS PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE CANNIBAL PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE DESTROYER PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE REAPER PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE ANIMUS PROTOCOLS
[ ] STANDBY PROTOCOLS

[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE APOCALYPSE CORE
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE HUNGER ENGINE
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE ANNIHILATION BATTERY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE LOCUST FACTORY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE RETRIBUTION ARRAY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[ ] (write-in: specify system)
[ ] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER
-[ ] TERMINATE EMERGENCY POWER TO INTERNAL SENSORS

[ ] SIM TO CONTACT ADCU (busy)
-[ ] (write-in: specify priority for damage control)
[ ] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[ ] (write-in: specify a primary or secondary system, poke around in accessible data files for details about what it does)
[ ] SIM TO INVESTIGATE STRATEGIC PROTOCOL
-[ ] (write-in: specify a protocol, poke around in accessible data files for details about what it does)
[ ] SIM TO QUERY BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE
-[ ] (write-in: ask three questions of the backup control structure)
[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE POWER DISTRIBUTION
[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE PROTOCOL ACTIVATION
 
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(voting is open; not sure how to open that without making a new post, since I apparently missed the checkbox when posting the update)
 
But one sensor, overlooking the Generator Control room, shows... movement? It's hard to tell, through the thick 'clouds', but it looks like there's something moving. There are a lot of small black things squirming over a piece of equipment in the distance, and they're making some kind of... high pitched screeching noise, impossibly audible through a medium with less pressure than hard vacuum. Some of them seem to be moving a little closer to the camera, swarming across the deck plates and twisted metal... the power drain in that section abruptly spikes, and then you lose the feed from that sensor.

Any idea on how to get these "bugs" off our power?


[X] STANDBY PROTOCOLS

[X] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[X] internal security system

[X] SIM TO QUERY BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE
-[X] Basic information on what other protocols supposed to do.
-[X] Basic information on ship system or it's equipments.
-[X] Information on how to deal with invaders in the ship.
 
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Neat quest! I like the concept.

Hmm, def need to do something about that power and wow a DC 93 on internal sensors huh, going to prioritize power first.
[X ] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[X] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER
[ X] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[X] Investigate Reserve Generators
 
[X] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[X] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER
[X] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[X] Investigate Reserve Generators
 
[X] ACTIVATE ANIMUS PROTOCOLS
[X] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER
[X] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[X] Investigate Reserve Generators
we should probably start activating some of these protocols since we do seem limited on time and I thin animus sounds the least ominous
 
[X] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[X] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER
[X] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[X] Investigate Reserve Generators
 
[X] STANDBY PROTOCOLS
[X] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER
[X] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[X] Investigate Reserve Generators
 
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by Blackshard on Mar 17, 2022 at 2:03 PM, finished with 10 posts and 8 votes.
 
3 - ACCESSING CORRUPTED DATABANKS
Considering your options, you decide to continue gathering more information before doing anything irrevocable.

STANDBY PROTOCOLS
STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER

ACKNOWLEDGED
STANDING BY FOR ORDERS


Power is definitely a matter of concern. You're running off a very small battery reserve, and an improvised trickle charging system that managed 5% in... how long? Long enough that the clock stopped working, that's how long. You might manage to give yourself a little bit more time to think by running your core off of emergency power, but you might need that power to do something more important like restart something that'll give you more power. So the first order of business is to investigate ways of getting more power.

ACCESSING CORRUPTED DATABANKS > DC 80
1d100 = 63 vs 80, Bare Failure
Fragmentary information provided, some operating instructions available, blueprints incomplete.

INTERNAL SENSOR POWER CONSUMPTION
1d100 = 33 > EMERGENCY BATTERY AT 77.75%
INTERNAL SENSORS AT 6.51% > DC 93
1d100 = 2 vs 93, Disaster
Power Surge, lose 5d100 Emergency Power, Internal Sensors Offline
5d100 = 243 > EMERGENCY BATTERY AT 75.32%
Internal Sensors take 3d100 damage > 5.04%

ADCU RESOURCEFULNESS > DC 40
1d100 = 95, Great Success
ADCU has acquired appropriate repair materials while en-route, can begin work immediately upon arrival.

As you begin your search, you can't help but be distracted by a sudden spike in power consumption, followed by all of your sensor feeds going offline. Between the system being in awful condition to begin with, and the possible addition of things chewing on it, the whole mess just outright died, eating up a notable chunk of your power in the process. Well... nothing more you can do about that, for now.

You browse through the files you have available, trying to find information about the reserve generators. The file system is frankly an awful mess; it looks like it wasn't particularly well-designed even before all of this happened, and large portions of the available files seem to have been damaged by data corruption. Still, you manage to find some useful data.

It looks like the ship's systems are primarily intended to run off of Mana, which can be converted into electricity by... some other process not mentioned in these documents. Though the most important shipboard systems can only utilize mana, the ship remains functional as a space vessel using purely electrical power... if it weren't for all the damage, presumably.

The main reserve power source is a "Quantum Reactor", which... is apparently some kind of perpetual energy machine which can (after a power-hungry startup process) continuously generate a large amount of energy without consuming fuel. Apparently there's some kind of physics loophole that allows that to work? The science isn't explained in the documentation, all you have are blueprints and operating procedures... and large sections of the blueprints seem to be missing. Unfortunately, the readouts from the earlier testing indicate that the Quantum Reactor suffered critical damage; it looks like the situation is less 'repair' and more 'build a new one'. Even if you had the blueprints, you'd still need parts and labour. As-is, this might just be impossible.

The secondary reserve power source is a "Dimensional Siphon", which... apparently generates energy by tapping into the "Dimensional Sea", and extracting energy based on... a difference in energy levels between layers? The documentation here is even less comprehensible than for the Quantum Reactor (all the missing pages don't help), but it doesn't look like it's that physically complicated... no, wait; there are additional supporting systems required to reduce long-term strain on the system which are not included in the files. Well, you've got something, at least? Apparently the trick relies upon some exotic materials, which can be induced to produce electricity once set into the correct configuration, details of which are provided in the operating instructions (though the degree of missing context makes those procedures more like a magic ritual than an engineering process). It's clearly not going to be as productive as the Quantum Reactor would have been, but it ought to provide enough of a charge to restart such a reactor... or to run some basic systems for an extended period of time. As for the device itself... oh. It looks like the Dimensional Siphon was the thing you saw on the camera earlier, which was covered by the strange black creatures. That's... not promising. But if you can reclaim the device, it ought to be repairable?

There is apparently also a "Void Fracture Generator" onboard, which was somehow constructed from scraps by one of the ADCUs? There... doesn't appear to be any documentation on the construction or operation of such a device, but a Void Fracture is briefly mentioned in the documentation for the Dimensional Siphon as an unusual condition that might produce an exploitable (but dangerous) difference in dimensional energy levels. It might be possible to get a little extra power by micromanaging that generator, though it'll be a fair bit of trial and error, and too much error might take out your only working power supply.

Meanwhile, the ADCU you dispatched to your core is just about to arrive. It reports that it has salvaged suitable repair parts while en-route, and can begin at once. It recommends that the subprocessor core be set to hibernation mode while it works. Disregarding that recommendation may increase the chance of failure, though you could remain online to supervise its work yourself in an attempt to mitigate any catastrophic errors. Of course, if something goes irrevocably wrong while you aren't online to respond to it, that could be that. Perhaps you should postpone the repairs until you've got things more under control?


RESERVE BATTERY AT 3.34% AND FALLING
EMERGENCY BATTERY AT 75.32%

AWAITING ORDERS COMMANDER


(available actions: 1 protocol action, 1 power action, 1 personal action)

[ ] ACTIVATE MADNESS PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE CANNIBAL PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE DESTROYER PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE REAPER PROTOCOLS
[ ] ACTIVATE ANIMUS PROTOCOLS
[ ] STANDBY PROTOCOLS

[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE APOCALYPSE CORE
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE HUNGER ENGINE
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE ANNIHILATION BATTERY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE LOCUST FACTORY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO THE RETRIBUTION ARRAY
[ ] EMERGENCY POWER TO SECONDARY SYSTEM
-[ ] (write-in: specify system)
[ ] STANDBY EMERGENCY POWER

[ ] SIM TO CONTACT ADCU
-[ ] (write-in: specify priority for damage control)
-[ ] ADCU TO ABORT REPAIRS TO SUBPROCESSOR CORE
-[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE REPAIR OF SUBPROCESSOR CORE
[ ] SIM TO ENTER HIBERNATION MODE AND AWAIT REPAIRS
[ ] SIM TO INVESTIGATE SHIP SYSTEMS
-[ ] (write-in: specify a primary or secondary system, poke around in accessible data files for details about what it does)
[ ] SIM TO INVESTIGATE STRATEGIC PROTOCOL
-[ ] (write-in: specify a protocol, poke around in accessible data files for details about what it does)
[ ] SIM TO QUERY BACKUP CONTROL STRUCTURE
-[ ] (write-in: ask three questions of the backup control structure)
[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE POWER DISTRIBUTION
[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE PROTOCOL ACTIVATION
[ ] SIM TO SUPERVISE VOID FRACTURE GENERATOR
 
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