Breaking the Law and More
- Location
- USA
Doing another answer and interactions session. Next story update will be early Wednesday.
Threadmarked as "Informational" again. Please see those for all such notes, as they will not show up on the story marks.
Uhh...
...backs away slowly...
No to all.
Just say "no" to DC 'verse nanotech. DC medical tech isn't much better overall than IRL. Control systems to actually target this stuff is beyond almost everyone currently. The Calculator isn't an expert in this field and isn't interested in the decades it would take to become an expert. If someone else did, I'm sure he'd take advantage.
The main problem is the iterative design of the hardware interface. That might work for user testing of simple on/off controls, but it doesn't affect things like "do I hook this up to an eye tracking system" or "when do I show this warning" or "which hero am I making hardlight counters for right now, and using how much of maximum power to avoid killing them". We're not talking a VB single screen interface here, but a complex, reactive, super-power-driving combat control system. Think F16 HUD plus Microsoft Excel plus Iron Man control systems.
Maybe with his second billion dollars. Since he isn't of any of the magical bloodlines only the raw effects would work on him, not any magical enchantments ; so he'd need a full suit or at least a helmet for mostly mental effects, Magneto-style.
The Calculator knows how both tropes and real life works. If he doesn't have proof, the "good guys" will go with the easy answer, not "waste" time looking into a sob story from a known villain. Recovering the staff is the only good looking option right now, as it would make the crime he was framed for look less logical. But this only works if he gets it back without the "good guys" pressuring him enough to make it look like he's crumbling and trying to reduce the heat by "helping" them recover the stolen goods.
The Calculator might be interested in the Cosmic Staff, but for other reasons. AFAIK, the staff is just a flying machine + blaster/gravity weapon, run on star power. No onboard computer to slot remote Pooja operations into.
Remember also that right now Pooja is something like three racks of computers in different datacenters. Short of serious alien tech, which might not be immediately compatible, she's not going anywhere.
Also, he's not stealing a hero's stuff. That would be like rubbing steak sauce on himself jumping into the lion cage. Or rather, the Bat Cage.
Thanks for reading.
Threadmarked as "Informational" again. Please see those for all such notes, as they will not show up on the story marks.
The Adeptus Mechanicus was right! There are machine spirits! What else were they right about? The Omnissiah?
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
*Screams internally*
Uhh...
It's only a matter of time until people wear sanctified power armor, whose machine spirit sings praises for THE EMPRAH with every electron of it's circuits.
Your gear can pray while your pray so you can pray while you pray.
Praise the Omnissiah!
If these nanobots don't praise the Emperor it means that it's techno-heresy!
...backs away slowly...
Note: if you can scry afterlives it should be possible to set up one-directional resurrections, via copying the brainstate of the scried human. Would still leave their time-of-death version stuck in heaven, of course.
Unless the scry resolution is too limited for that, of course.
Do prayer effects stack with multiple people? Do they stack with multiple religions?
No to all.
No looking in into the Christian Heaven works. No one can get a sympathetic link to anyone in the other afterlives--all magic fails to target them. Except (maybe) some necromancy. And what it returns is straight-up Evil. Provably. Just cast Detect Evil and see.
If you get someone prayed for, one session per incident or injury, it works at maximum level of effectiveness or (for minor religions) often not at all. The big ones work every time. Stacking doesn't help.
You get a constant bonus of general good health and wellness just for being active in a major religion. Attending group events helps overall in your life it seems, which is a part of all major religions, and which is why (along with his background) the Calculator tries to be an Easter and Christmas Catholic. Those people still get a bonus for injury recovery from other's after-incident prayers, as that is separate from the general life buff for being an active member of a major religion.
If you get someone prayed for, one session per incident or injury, it works at maximum level of effectiveness or (for minor religions) often not at all. The big ones work every time. Stacking doesn't help.
You get a constant bonus of general good health and wellness just for being active in a major religion. Attending group events helps overall in your life it seems, which is a part of all major religions, and which is why (along with his background) the Calculator tries to be an Easter and Christmas Catholic. Those people still get a bonus for injury recovery from other's after-incident prayers, as that is separate from the general life buff for being an active member of a major religion.
maybe nanite implants to fine tune your body? Human body accumulates damage as they age. Even if you are feeling completely fine and no pain, there is still a little bit of damage. You can also get rid of your disease marker genes with nanites working on them.
Just say "no" to DC 'verse nanotech. DC medical tech isn't much better overall than IRL. Control systems to actually target this stuff is beyond almost everyone currently. The Calculator isn't an expert in this field and isn't interested in the decades it would take to become an expert. If someone else did, I'm sure he'd take advantage.
Or have her design a UI engine where all he has to do is drag and drop buttons etc. perhaps something like Unity's UI features.
The main problem is the iterative design of the hardware interface. That might work for user testing of simple on/off controls, but it doesn't affect things like "do I hook this up to an eye tracking system" or "when do I show this warning" or "which hero am I making hardlight counters for right now, and using how much of maximum power to avoid killing them". We're not talking a VB single screen interface here, but a complex, reactive, super-power-driving combat control system. Think F16 HUD plus Microsoft Excel plus Iron Man control systems.
Maybe with his second billion dollars. Since he isn't of any of the magical bloodlines only the raw effects would work on him, not any magical enchantments ; so he'd need a full suit or at least a helmet for mostly mental effects, Magneto-style.
What if you use one of you're other false IDs to play the part of the private collector and buy the staff yourself. Then just, give it back to the heroes? It would at least give you a little leeway with them, enouhg for them to maybe believe your side of the story.
Because he could have easily fabricated that evidence. Calculator is a known high tech using info broker, who clearly has some, or employs someone with, elite hacking skills.
A more reasonable option is to pursue the hacker who got a demonstration of the Staff for an attempt to track it down.
He didn't, which I think is your point. The likely goal of the operation was to panic Calculator for subsequent pursuit and to give a trail of bread crumbs for the white hats to follow. With a potential secondary goal to jack as some high end hardware.
The Calculator knows how both tropes and real life works. If he doesn't have proof, the "good guys" will go with the easy answer, not "waste" time looking into a sob story from a known villain. Recovering the staff is the only good looking option right now, as it would make the crime he was framed for look less logical. But this only works if he gets it back without the "good guys" pressuring him enough to make it look like he's crumbling and trying to reduce the heat by "helping" them recover the stolen goods.
Slade Wilson was at TriD to stir up the pot and frame the Calculator. He didn't know who the Calculator was and didn't think he was there. He was just trying to spook the person working for him, if he indeed had an inside man. And also to put on a show for the cameras--which he did nothing to disable this time, unlike in Irvine.
I just had a notion of where this fic is going, is SI\Calculator going to download Pooja into the Staff if her ever gets his hands on it?
The Calculator might be interested in the Cosmic Staff, but for other reasons. AFAIK, the staff is just a flying machine + blaster/gravity weapon, run on star power. No onboard computer to slot remote Pooja operations into.
Remember also that right now Pooja is something like three racks of computers in different datacenters. Short of serious alien tech, which might not be immediately compatible, she's not going anywhere.
Also, he's not stealing a hero's stuff. That would be like rubbing steak sauce on himself jumping into the lion cage. Or rather, the Bat Cage.
Thanks for reading.