Quest
The Great One
- Location
- Everywhere
Something like this unlikely to be a natural phenomenon and is possibly attributed to an actual person. That draws interesting parallels with the Enemy and it's affect on our society.
Dragon Ball: After the End
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I don't like this one so much, because it invokes a totally foreign mechanism that doesn't seem to exist in Dragonball as a setting. When it comes to whether outcomes are predestined or determined by people's actions, Dragonball is waaaay over on the "power up and punch Fate in the schnozz" end of the spectrum.
Whereas things like giant monsters that eat planets ARE known to happen in Dragonball.
This, by contrast, is VERY in keeping with how we know things work in Dragonball.
Though it's not clear to me that every planet normally has a Guardian. Another person who knows more DBZ lore would probably know this one way or the other.
The Fourth Monado
S U B A R A S H I I
- Location
- Away
From what I know, the only planets that don't have Guardians are the ones that have the Guardian dead.
An equivalent to the Enemy that detects tech? So we're on Safehold?
Quest
The Great One
- Location
- Everywhere
I was thinking more of a "Dug too Deep" type of situation. Due to the activation of some technology, or innovation they gained the attention of a foe or awakened an ancient horror. Hell, they could have pissed off Beerus or Buu for all we know.
At any rate, the situation left them with scars so deep that they became completely averse to completely new innovation and were left with the after effects even after they completely forgot what caused it. They might have even forgotten the cause on purpose.
Honestly, I always figured that the horror or whatever was the dragon when it first came up. It was completely out of nowhere and IIRC there were implications that it was awakening because of something. Possibly the ICBMs or Maya reaching a certain power level.
Bakkasama
There is always a greater fool
- Location
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Pronouns
- He/his
That doesn't quite fit. From Poptart's last few comments, what I gathered is that the problem is not technology itself but advancing too fast and using a technology that is dangerous without realising. They preffer small increments to their tech base but once something is proven safe by use they are rather fast integrating it to their lifes. That points out to either an external source as been pointed out and the Garenhulders not being sure what the threshold or kind of tech that caused the attack or a situation in which they advanced too fast and discovered and used something dangerous before knowing what it was.
As soon as a new tech is proven safe and that it didn't cause instant doom, they integrate it lightning fast. Which might mean that Kakara's blog detailing ki use as centuries old might have a bigger impact than we realised.
As soon as a new tech is proven safe and that it didn't cause instant doom, they integrate it lightning fast. Which might mean that Kakara's blog detailing ki use as centuries old might have a bigger impact than we realised.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
ack too much stuff
will post when not
aaaaaaaaaaa
will post when not
aaaaaaaaaaa
Quest
The Great One
- Location
- Everywhere
PoptartProdigy.exe has crashed.
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
*prepares the emergency bourbon*
For me of course
Poppy doesn't drink
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
We're just glad you're still alive and in approximately one piece.
- Location
- Somewhere I shouldn't be
We're just glad you're still alive and in approximately one piece.
I have enough duct tape that we could handle...like 3 pieces. We could rebuild them!
See, we do care, Poptart.
VicSage
Not Crazy
- Location
- Czechoslovakia
It's okay Poptart, take your time. Just not too much though, otherwise I'm getting the toaster.
We have the Czechnology!
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
...Wow yeah, that basically sidesteps their entire "trying new things" stigma entirely, doesn't it? The Exiles going semi-public means the rapid proliferation of ki use isn't nearly as useful as it otherwise would be sadly, but it would make sense for casual ki use to become extremely commonplace if they believe Kakara when she says "this is all fine and has been for ages".
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Well they should make good camouflage.
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
Yeah, for lower power levels at least.
...Ugh, I just realised that even if we were smart enough not to mention ki sensing in the videos, Maya knows it - it'll get out eventually. Maybe we can convince her not to tell anyone about it? It's super convenient to be able to head out into the wilds and not have any natives realise we're there.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
I hope we have not mentioned it.
- Location
- Somewhere I shouldn't be
Our Deceit is awful, and our Intrigue isn't anything to brag about.
We did a whole series on it.
It was our best-viewed set of videos.
3 nights after it his 1,950,000 views, we woke up just as we were about to fall asleep and said, "Crapbaskets." With no emphasis.
We did a whole series on it.
It was our best-viewed set of videos.
3 nights after it his 1,950,000 views, we woke up just as we were about to fall asleep and said, "Crapbaskets." With no emphasis.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Actually our intrigue is well above the average. Talented.
Our Deceit is finally Competent.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Hm. I wonder what Lethal or Calamitous Deceit scores would look like.
Maybe DBZA Krillin, with his habit of getting talkative when he's nervous?
Maybe DBZA Krillin, with his habit of getting talkative when he's nervous?
- Location
- Somewhere I shouldn't be
To be fair, he must have critted with his Space Duck deception.
Bakkasama
There is always a greater fool
- Location
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Pronouns
- He/his
I know! It is hard to believe people thought he was human for so long!
Garenhulder Innovation
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
In the following accounting the dates used are derived from the Exile calendar, which counts its years in relation to the Exodus following the destruction of Earth. They thus derive three historical periods: PE, Pre-Exile, which counts backwards beginning from the destruction of Earth; EE, Exodus Era, which counts forward from the beginning of the Exile; and GE, Garenhuld Era, which counts forward from the settling of Garenhuld. Years are equivalent to Earth years; the Exiles maintained Earth timekeeping during the Exodus and Garenhuld's orbital and rotational periods are identical to Earth's.
Garenhulder Innovation
0 PE
Earth
Mato's breath rasps in his ears as he pelts towards the ship. Earth shakes under his feet as he runs.
His mind races. Supplies for three years and we can resupply someplace. There are enough friendly planets. Replacement parts for four years under typical use, two under heavy use, seven if we stretch it. Damn it, if we had been one week faster, we would have had the new drives finished and had the range and speed to be anywhere in a week...
"Mato!" shouts Mari from the ship ramp. "Hurry up! We need to go! The planet is shaking itself apart!"
"I'm on, I'm on!" he says, picking up the pace and hitting the ramp. "Launch!"
The ship lurches, and they're off. Mato stumbles, and Mari catches him before he hits the deck. "Did we get enough on board?"
"Probably not," he growls, standing. He glances behind him as Earth shudders again. "Unless Grandfather pulls out a miracle, we're on survival rations."
Mari looks back at the planet as it recedes in their view, looking lost. "I...I guess I should get the Briefs together? If we want them to finish the engines..."
Mato shakes his head. "Forget it. We can't gamble. They don't have their tools anymore, they don't have their workshops, and they don't have the resources they need to finish their work. We live or die on what we have."
* * *
1 EE
Garenhuld
You swing your hammer, over and over. This many strokes, and no more. Turn. This many strokes, and no fewer. Turn. This many strokes, and stop. Quench the metal for this long. Remove it-
You pause, looking up at your apprentice. "Boy, that's too hot."
At the forge, your apprentice looks up. "Sir?"
You set aside your work and stomp over to the boy. "I said it's too hot." You jerk the blade on which he's working out of the fire and dump it in the quenching bucket. "Now you've ruined it. Cost of the metal's coming out of your meals." You pull out the wasted blade and toss it in the scrap pile. "Start again."
"But sir-!"
"Hot enough that you feel it from this far away," you say, holding your hand out to show him. "I felt it all the way over there. Too hot. Metal does queer things when it gets too hot. Doesn't act as it ought, doesn't break when it ought. It's unnatural and we don't understand it. I don't aim to be the man who finds out that it flies apart when it breaks."
"But it's so much-"
You silence him with a stern glare. "Start. Again. I'll have no fiddling with queer metal in my forge."
He ducks his head. "Yes, sir."
You go back to your project. You recall that there are complaints that your handles tend to slip in the grip. You've had the idea to wrap the handle in leather a few more times for a wider and surer grip.
You are the most innovative smith on the planet. Most would have stopped at one additional layer of wrapping, and waited a few years to see how that worked.
* * *
5 EE
Garenhuld
You are a carpenter, and you build houses. Just houses; you were never trained to build bridges or the like. Harold down the way, now he builds bridges. For the King, even. Prestigious work, that.
You do not know that there are common principles underlying your craft and Harold's. You suppose that technically they both involve building things, but you wouldn't know how to start building a bridge. You were taught how to build a house. Not how to do the math behind building a house; not how to create a structurally sound structure; you were taught to build a house.
A house. The same house that appears in lot after lot, each identical to the last, up and down every stretch of the village. The same house. It's a pretty good house, if you do say so yourself.
(George, the Count's engineer, claims that he could build a different kind of house. People kind of stopped talking to him after that; they have perfectly good houses, thank you very much, and they don't need some newfangled contraption inevitably collapsing around their ears.)
Your house is a family design, and it's been in the family since forever. No house in the village is any different; you'd be chased through the streets if you introduced some dangerous change into a man's home.
You shake off the momentary chill that just afflicted you and go back to planning the Count's summer retreat. It's just The House, of course, but the Count wants it on a hill! It'll be a few year's work figuring that out; the rest of the village is all on flat ground! The Count is generous, though; he gave you ten. You'll have plenty of time to figure out where to dig out a flat patch of ground without breaking your back doing it.
* * *
70 GE
You are Kakarot Roma, and you are about to make your fortune.
The Duke squints suspiciously at the arquebus, clearly doubting its structural integrity. "And you say that this...works, Karl?"
"Perfectly, milord," you say, nodding. "As you can see, the force it projects-"
"Looks pretty unstable," says the Duke with all the confidence of a man who's never held a hammer in his life. "You say this spits fire?"
Smile, smile. "It only looks that way, sire," you say. "What it spits is a small metal ball, at high speeds-"
"And a ball can outperform an arrow?" sneers one of the Duke's courtiers, to general polite laughter. They all give the musket nervous glances, though.
"If it's travelling quickly enough, yes," you say, smiling.
"I'll be honest with you, Karl, I don't trust this," says the Duke. "Perhaps they do things differently in -- ah, Kreisholt, you said? -- but here we don't tend to put much faith in...inventions."
At that, the assemblage shudders, to a general murmur of agreement.
And at that, you play your trump. "Oh, this is no invention, sir," you say, laying a hand on the arquebus. "No, this is a family possession -- been with us for centuries!"
Silence.
"Would you like to see Great- Great- Great- Grandfather's notes?" you ask, picking up the sheaf of papers you most certainly did not forge last night.
The Duke looks at the notes. He looks up. "Centuries?"
"At least two, although records get a little sloppy before then," you say.
The Duke looks at the papers again. "...perhaps a demonstration of this family heirloom would be in order? While you explain how it is meant to work?"
You smile.
* * *
239 GE
Garenhuld
You sprint away from the musket and dive behind the earthworks, panting heavily. Your friend pats you down. "Alright?"
"I'm fine," you pant.
"It didn't get you?"
"Nah," you say. "You ready?"
"No. But we don't have a choice."
You two of you slowly peek out from behind the earthworks, looking at the musket where it stands. It shifts slightly in the wind. The two of you panic and hit the deck.
Nothing happens, but it takes a few minutes before you muster the courage to sit back up.
Before you can lose your courage again, you pick up the string attached to the trigger and yank. At the bang, the two of you descend into panicked shivering once more. It's a long time before you look back out.
Your friend blinks. "It...it worked?"
"Once," you say, looking at the musket with even more suspicion. "It worked once."
"We don't have time for a proper ten-year testing cycle," says your friend. "Aramaian troops are getting closer to the capital every day!"
"We have time to test it at least a few more times," you say. "I'm not putting something-"
"Little bit," says your friend, also shivering. Then he sighs. "Alright, fine. Matchlock ignition mechanism, test two. I'll go reload."
* * *
270 GE
You're not sure where that unusually energetic man who built the railroad through your town got the idea for it. He claims that it's the result of a seventy-year project, and you hear that he has papers saying as much.
You don't much care. The trains have been running without fault or failure for twenty years, now (in fact, the owner's been a damn fanatic about keeping the rails clear and in perfect condition). That's enough for you.
After all...who really wants to live away from the city? After all, the countryside
In a week, the home that your family has owned for seven generations is empty, and you're only ever near it when you come to work your fields.
* * *
300 GE
Garenhuld
In secret, a group of saiyans meet. In secret, they draft out plans. In secret, they toast each other's success.
In secret, a thousand superhuman laborers travel out into the untracked wilderness of Garenhuld, where no humans dare to live, and begin building the infrastructure for a postindustrial economy until it's ready to present, pre-completed.
* * *
301 GE
Garenhuld
SECRET RESEARCH GROUP REVEALS FINDINGS
AN ADVANCEMENT CENTURIES IN THE MAKING
TECHNOLOGIES OLDER THAN STEAM UNVEILED
SPOKESPERSON CLAIMS, "A GRAND LEAP TO FIRMER GROUND!"
GROUP TO ADDRESS ARAMAIAN SENATE TOMORROW
* * *
312 GE
Garenhuld
You are Bruce Marsden, and you are a mechanic.
You have a book in your workstation, filled with entries on every make and model of car on the market. When a car comes in with a problem, you take it from the (invariably nervous) owner, crack open your manual, and begin inspecting the car. You find the problem. Whatever part is broken, you remove, and then you order a new one. You install it as directed in the manual. When the car is back to factory standards, you return the car. If you change the car from factory standard in any way, the owner can sue you for malpractice.
(If you find anything in the car that's not broken, but is nonstandard, you have a hazardous waste disposal bin in back, right next to the phone so that you can call the police.)
Every time, you roll your eyes. Garenhulders. So afraid of the unknown.
* * *
313 GE
Garenhuld
You're an engineer.
Your job is, broadly, to apply existing technology. Sometimes you're hired by manufacturing plants, in which case your job is to plan the workspace and determine how everything should work together. Sometimes you're hired by people who want to build a bridge, and you are responsible for the (insanely dangerous) work of making the small tweaks to the standard bridge design that make it fit with its new location.
You do not design things. You do not change the fundamental design of things. Yes, you alter standard designs to suit circumstances, but standards are standards for a reason (what that reason is, you couldn't rightly say
* * *
314 GEGarenhuld
You stand carefully, being careful not to look like you're asserting yourself; the men to whom you're speaking wouldn't appreciate assertion.
They stare back at you with a skeptical air, but you can tell that you've won them over.
At last, the chairman of the board lets out a sigh. "Very well, Mister Davis, the board agrees with your findings. While a mere five-year testing cycle makes us uncomfortable, your studies have displayed nothing but the most exacting standards of research. In conjunction with your previous project designing the Teris II, we are prepared to accept your assertion that sufficient evidence on the mechanical shortcomings in the Teris II has been gathered to justify a rebuild. Furthermore, your various failure analyses have proven to our satisfaction that the 14C bolt in the engine assembly is the part that, upon review, wears out the fastest even accounting for statistical error. Combined with your cogent, if impolitic, analysis of the public relations meltdown regarding the failure rates in the Teris II, and the warnings which -- as you pointed out -- you presented along with the original Teris II regarding the various reliability issues, the board is willing to authorize a project to replace the 14C bolt with a more reliable version."
You bow your head. "Thank you, sirs. My team will commence our work immediately."
(The work is already done, has been for years, you've just been proving to these idiots' satisfaction that it was necessary all along, and now you'll need to waste more time waiting until you can present your findings in a plausible amount of time-)
The chairman nods, and the board shuffles out of the room.
Later than night, poring over the blueprints for the Teris II, having already made the changes and prepared the recommendations for an improved 14C bolt, you stare down at the paper. Slowly, daringly, you reach up, erase a few lines, and make a second change -- this one regarding the suspension, which is unsteady over less level ground. You know it's an issue. You know you can fix it. You know how.
You look around. You make sure you're alone. And then -- quietly, so quietly it barely reaches your own ears -- you whisper, "How's that for the Unknown?" You shiver at it and imagine, briefly, a world where you could make this second change.
And then you go back and put it back the way it already was. You were authorized to make one specific change, and it's a change you've just made. This is as much as a curious man can do, on Garenhuld, and Garenhuld is very good at crushing anything further.
You are a researcher. And this is what your job title means, on Garenhuld.
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And also suggests a supernatural influence. One that the Exiles and Maya seem immune to. And I can identify two possibilities for that:
1) It only affects those below a certain level of power. If this is the case, then we can probably expect to see a rise in the number unaffected as Ki spreads.
2) The Exiles with their Saiyan physiology and Maya with her mutation are significantly different enough they don't trigger the effect.
Also, this line freaks me out:
1) It only affects those below a certain level of power. If this is the case, then we can probably expect to see a rise in the number unaffected as Ki spreads.
2) The Exiles with their Saiyan physiology and Maya with her mutation are significantly different enough they don't trigger the effect.
Also, this line freaks me out:
Seriously, holy fuck. Literally illegal to be non-conformist.