The Grand Solar Rush - Asteroid colony management quest
- Thread starter Karf
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Well, the extra learning action is supposed to come from extra motivation. Which, for Dr. Weissmeier might come from saving her life, making Nanites the gating technology.
And our time seems to be limited. The biggest estimate we were given was 13 years; we are on our 10th turn, and we don't know how long ago it began.
But I guess we were just given the reason for why the background checks are on the table when there are more important and urgent options available. You can't motivate people if you don't know what truly drives them.
And our time seems to be limited. The biggest estimate we were given was 13 years; we are on our 10th turn, and we don't know how long ago it began.
But I guess we were just given the reason for why the background checks are on the table when there are more important and urgent options available. You can't motivate people if you don't know what truly drives them.
Last edited:
Well AI should still help with general efficiency lowering some DC and opening up more options (not like we need that right now...) but it should also hopefully start the process to help Hailey. Cannot help her with her AI issue without a rudementary understanding of AI after all.
As for future actions I feel we should push a major quality of life Improvement turn soon. Quality of life is still relatively low with only basic housing, no real community space, no transportation besides taking a spacewalk, and still with relatively limeted food options. Oh and a school that is described as a glorified kindergarten. Spending a turn focusing on shoring that up and investing into making people want to and enjoy living here should not only help with moral but attracting talent. After all our only recruitment option does note that it is relatively unskilled people who can be attracted right now.
As for future actions I feel we should push a major quality of life Improvement turn soon. Quality of life is still relatively low with only basic housing, no real community space, no transportation besides taking a spacewalk, and still with relatively limeted food options. Oh and a school that is described as a glorified kindergarten. Spending a turn focusing on shoring that up and investing into making people want to and enjoy living here should not only help with moral but attracting talent. After all our only recruitment option does note that it is relatively unskilled people who can be attracted right now.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Prismatic Arrangment of the Asteroids
-[X] Contract
--[X] Accept SDM
-[X] Capacitors
--[X] Distributed
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
-[X] Security
--[X] Jetpacks
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Aquaculture
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Prismdust investigation
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
[X] Personal action
-[X] Help organize and volunteer at an electronics club for the school
Getting Prismdust fully in hand should be our priority this year. Once we have a good idea as to their actual capabilities and dispositions, we can best set our arrangement to benefit us both.
While we don't want to bow to the EU, they have the ability to crush us out of hand if we antagonize them. I don't think it is financially wise to run both at the moment. Once we get more production online we can revisit geting another freighter stopping by. We should be working toward higher value exports, like the nanites and products made from the aerogel. Any raw material salses should be to get us to the point where we are using raw materials primarily domestically, to create finished goods for trade. It will also help make us more sustainable. The distibuted capacitors are part of this. Building to the future, when we have fusion, particle physics, etc is a better plan, espeically as it is less susceptible to single point of failure as a centralized capacitor bank would be.
Sustainability is also why the Aquaculture project is a good idea. It also gives Ken something he's interested in working on. He's been down or bored lately.
Security wise, beefing up our force's ability to deal with our ship getting boarded seems crucial. The drones will also pair nicely with the AI research, while unlocking better drones. The less risk to our lives in conflict, the better.
Next turn here are what I think are priorities for each catagory.
Diplomacy:
The NI Embassy and Hospital concessions
Security:
Armor improvement and increasing our Squad count.
Engineering:
Transportation and one or both Living space projects
Internal Affairs:
Census, Global WIFI, and why the EU was after our rock.
Research:
Nanomachine forge, Magnetic field research, and Aerogel structures.
-[X] Contract
--[X] Accept SDM
-[X] Capacitors
--[X] Distributed
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
-[X] Security
--[X] Jetpacks
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Aquaculture
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Prismdust investigation
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
[X] Personal action
-[X] Help organize and volunteer at an electronics club for the school
Getting Prismdust fully in hand should be our priority this year. Once we have a good idea as to their actual capabilities and dispositions, we can best set our arrangement to benefit us both.
While we don't want to bow to the EU, they have the ability to crush us out of hand if we antagonize them. I don't think it is financially wise to run both at the moment. Once we get more production online we can revisit geting another freighter stopping by. We should be working toward higher value exports, like the nanites and products made from the aerogel. Any raw material salses should be to get us to the point where we are using raw materials primarily domestically, to create finished goods for trade. It will also help make us more sustainable. The distibuted capacitors are part of this. Building to the future, when we have fusion, particle physics, etc is a better plan, espeically as it is less susceptible to single point of failure as a centralized capacitor bank would be.
Sustainability is also why the Aquaculture project is a good idea. It also gives Ken something he's interested in working on. He's been down or bored lately.
Security wise, beefing up our force's ability to deal with our ship getting boarded seems crucial. The drones will also pair nicely with the AI research, while unlocking better drones. The less risk to our lives in conflict, the better.
Next turn here are what I think are priorities for each catagory.
Diplomacy:
The NI Embassy and Hospital concessions
Security:
Armor improvement and increasing our Squad count.
Engineering:
Transportation and one or both Living space projects
Internal Affairs:
Census, Global WIFI, and why the EU was after our rock.
Research:
Nanomachine forge, Magnetic field research, and Aerogel structures.
Last edited:
[X] Plan Prismatic Arrangment of the Asteroids
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
-[X] Security
--[X] Jetpacks
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Aquaculture
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Prismdust investigation
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
[X] Personal action
-[X] Help organize and volunteer at an electronics club for the school
My plan isn't very popular so I'll switch to this. Setting up a joint research project is probably the easiest way to reduce research DC. We're big investors of prismdust and practically own them so I'm not worried about our patents getting stolen or anything.
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
-[X] Security
--[X] Jetpacks
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Aquaculture
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Prismdust investigation
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
[X] Personal action
-[X] Help organize and volunteer at an electronics club for the school
My plan isn't very popular so I'll switch to this. Setting up a joint research project is probably the easiest way to reduce research DC. We're big investors of prismdust and practically own them so I'm not worried about our patents getting stolen or anything.
Can anyone think on who is who? I think that likely that Hailey and Lena Weissmeier are the active ones what with knowing their big issues known and can start actively working to help them. I also feel confident that Ragnar is one of the two simmering in the background with Ironbond moving in to the area. I think that Amanda is the other one who's plotline is simmering with it noted how we are gaining her trust and she is starting to heal and Ken has not started yet. But I could see the two swapped. I tried looking through the thread quickly but could not find a comment that seemed to mention either of them.
I think the two on the way are Lena and Hailey, since we have begun to dig into their backstories. Ken and Ragnar are my bets for simmering in the background, since we know there's an issue, we just haven't touched them yet. That leaves Amanda for the insightful comment, that's my guess anyway.
I suspect Ragnar's issue is education - he's mentioned wanting have that set up in time for his kid, and I imagine he'd have a lot mare time available if he could pawn his kid off on a teacher for most or all of the day.
We already did that a couple of turns ago. I suspect his issue is partly his divorce and his fight against his previous employer.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Alright, let's take a look at our plans.
There is some confusion about whether Capacitors and Contracts should be a part of the plan, or count separately. I believe the Contracts vote has possible synergy with our decisions and used the same resource (money), so it should be included in the plans.
I kinda lean more towards the latter, even though I think an embassy should be set up soon. It's not just about NI, it gives us a line of contact to all other entities that set up their embassies there.
[x] Plan Prismatic Arrangment of the Asteroids
[x] Contract
-[x] Accept SDM
...I don't suppose we can confront/talk to Dr. Weissmeier with the information we got, and ask her directly what she might need to solve the problem? Her secrecy up until now meant that time and budget were diverted to different projects. I figure that we could probably hire another scientist to work on nanites, or otherwise speed this up if time is a consideration.
Of course, it would also be admitting a massive breach of privacy, so there is that.
If we can, that would be my personal action.
There is some confusion about whether Capacitors and Contracts should be a part of the plan, or count separately. I believe the Contracts vote has possible synergy with our decisions and used the same resource (money), so it should be included in the plans.
[X] Plan Fix our energy
-[X] Contract
--[X] Accept both
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up an embassy in New Ireland
-[X] Security (spend grant)
--[X] Squads
--[X] Armor improvement
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Fission power plant
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Study New Ireland
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
[X] Plan: Open Port
-[X] Contract?
--[X] Accept SDM?
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up an embassy in New Ireland
-[X] Security
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
--[X] Fuel refineries
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Census
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
-[X] Personal action
-- [X] Establish an open door time. The population of Little Klondike is grown to big to know everyone personally, but that is no reason to try and stop connecting with the people. Start leaving your office door open an few hours a day and encourage people to come to you if they have any concerns or issues that they want addressed.
[X] Plan Prismatic Arrangment of the Asteroids
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
-[X] Security
--[X] Jetpacks
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Aquaculture
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Prismdust investigation
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
-[X] Contract
--[X] Accept both
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up an embassy in New Ireland
-[X] Security (spend grant)
--[X] Squads
--[X] Armor improvement
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Fission power plant
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Study New Ireland
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
[X] Plan: Open Port
-[X] Contract?
--[X] Accept SDM?
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up an embassy in New Ireland
-[X] Security
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
--[X] Fuel refineries
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Census
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
-[X] Personal action
-- [X] Establish an open door time. The population of Little Klondike is grown to big to know everyone personally, but that is no reason to try and stop connecting with the people. Start leaving your office door open an few hours a day and encourage people to come to you if they have any concerns or issues that they want addressed.
[X] Plan Prismatic Arrangment of the Asteroids
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
-[X] Security
--[X] Jetpacks
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Aquaculture
--[X] Industrial capacitor bank
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Prismdust investigation
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
I kinda lean more towards the latter, even though I think an embassy should be set up soon. It's not just about NI, it gives us a line of contact to all other entities that set up their embassies there.
[x] Plan Prismatic Arrangment of the Asteroids
[x] Contract
-[x] Accept SDM
...I don't suppose we can confront/talk to Dr. Weissmeier with the information we got, and ask her directly what she might need to solve the problem? Her secrecy up until now meant that time and budget were diverted to different projects. I figure that we could probably hire another scientist to work on nanites, or otherwise speed this up if time is a consideration.
Of course, it would also be admitting a massive breach of privacy, so there is that.
If we can, that would be my personal action.
Last edited:
So, there's a threeway tie for the vote. I'll give it two more hours for someone to break the tie between plans open port, fix our energy and prismatic arrangement of the asteroids (or for a new contender to rise).
If that doesn't happen, then the current plan of action is as follows:
[*] Plan Frankenstein
-[*] Contract
--[*] Accept both
-[*] Capacitors
--[*] Distributed
-[*] Diplomacy
--[*] Set up an embassy in New Ireland
-[*] Security
--[*] Drones
--[*] Jetpacks
-[*] Engineering
--[*] Industrial capacitor bank
--[*] Aquaculture
-[*] Internal Affairs
--[*] Census
-[*] Research
--[*] Primitive AI
-[*] Personal action
--[*] Establish an open door time. The population of Little Klondike has grown to big to know everyone personally, but that is no reason to try and stop connecting with the people. Start leaving your office door open an few hours a day and encourage people to come to you if they have any concerns or issues that they want addressed.
Alternatively, if anyone provides feedback about breaking the tie by random pick, I'd be perfectly okay with doing that as well.
I know some quests have a moratorium on votes, but that seems like a big quest problem to me. While I'm not opposed to implementing it, and I love the discussion around what to do, I don't really see the point in restricting the timeframe for us. That said, if someone wants to have one, we can definitely do so.
Downsides to this from my point of view is that it doesn't really make sense that you can't do both after some time, but if I include the option anyways, then we're right back to not cutting out actions. I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
If that doesn't happen, then the current plan of action is as follows:
[*] Plan Frankenstein
-[*] Contract
--[*] Accept both
-[*] Capacitors
--[*] Distributed
-[*] Diplomacy
--[*] Set up an embassy in New Ireland
-[*] Security
--[*] Drones
--[*] Jetpacks
-[*] Engineering
--[*] Industrial capacitor bank
--[*] Aquaculture
-[*] Internal Affairs
--[*] Census
-[*] Research
--[*] Primitive AI
-[*] Personal action
--[*] Establish an open door time. The population of Little Klondike has grown to big to know everyone personally, but that is no reason to try and stop connecting with the people. Start leaving your office door open an few hours a day and encourage people to come to you if they have any concerns or issues that they want addressed.
Alternatively, if anyone provides feedback about breaking the tie by random pick, I'd be perfectly okay with doing that as well.
Yes. Unless otherwise specified, please include every choice in a plan. Otherwise it's unclear if people voting for your plan are also voting for choices outside it or if they're abstaining from a particular choice.
I know some quests have a moratorium on votes, but that seems like a big quest problem to me. While I'm not opposed to implementing it, and I love the discussion around what to do, I don't really see the point in restricting the timeframe for us. That said, if someone wants to have one, we can definitely do so.
That would be a perfectly valid course of personal action.
13 years is the longest anyone has survived after developing symptoms (as far as I can tell from a wikipedia article).
This is the second time it's been mentioned to me that there's too many actions. I suppose it's my inexperience in running quests shining through, and I do have some ideas for what I hope is improvement. One of them is the combining of actions into the projects, such as the capacitor vote last chapter. Instead of letting it complete and then branching out two specialization options, the pick happens now.
Downsides to this from my point of view is that it doesn't really make sense that you can't do both after some time, but if I include the option anyways, then we're right back to not cutting out actions. I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Legion0047
Retired Shadowrunner.
- Location
- Austria
- Pronouns
- God Emperor
So I really like this quest save for 1 thing, namely that research is a bit quick. Unless of course our science lady already had the nanites ready to go and was just waiting for someone to give the go ahead.
- Location
- Brazil
It probably will feel like less of a "problem" once we manage to unlock more actions per turn.
- Location
- USA
[X] Plan: Open Port
-[X] Contract
--[X] Accept both
-[X] Capacitors
--[X] Distributed
-[X] Contract
--[X] Accept both
-[X] Capacitors
--[X] Distributed
Legion0047
Retired Shadowrunner.
- Location
- Austria
- Pronouns
- God Emperor
Yeah, too many options, to few actions.
Mhh, maybe once we breach 1k people we should get another action in an area?
Mhh, maybe once we breach 1k people we should get another action in an area?
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
Gonna guess that Lena isn't the one currently dying of a prion disease; it's her sister who's dying.
Hence the constant, intensely private conversation.
Also the action economy is a little too tight, given that it looks like it'll take multiple turns of devoting our one intrigue action to investigation followed by more turns of devoting other actions to resolving personal issues before we can get additional actions for any of the categories. Since we also need those actions to do anything about improving and expanding the colony or responding to problems that may pop up turn-to-turn, this leaves us a bit more bottlenecked than seems reasonable with year-length turns.
Hence the constant, intensely private conversation.
Also the action economy is a little too tight, given that it looks like it'll take multiple turns of devoting our one intrigue action to investigation followed by more turns of devoting other actions to resolving personal issues before we can get additional actions for any of the categories. Since we also need those actions to do anything about improving and expanding the colony or responding to problems that may pop up turn-to-turn, this leaves us a bit more bottlenecked than seems reasonable with year-length turns.
- Location
- Fort Worth, TX
[X] Plan Fix our energy
- Location
- St. Petersburg
[x] Personal: Talk to Lena Weissmeier. Come clean about your findings, offer to direct research and resources that way if it helps solve the problem.
...any takers?
I just want the DC on those nanites lowered if possible, even if it comes with additional resource investment, because I don't think we have time for a nanoforge or anything fancy.
We already established that we pay attention to internal affairs even over more lucrative opportunities.
Similarly, research actions fall under "Medical", "Aerogel" and "Others". Choosing a direction narrows it down.
It's when there are too many directions to choose from that I start getting decision paralysis.
...any takers?
I just want the DC on those nanites lowered if possible, even if it comes with additional resource investment, because I don't think we have time for a nanoforge or anything fancy.
We already established that we pay attention to internal affairs even over more lucrative opportunities.
I thought this was too much, but then some actions can be put under categories. Then you realie that of the Intrigue actions there are about 4 that say "Investigate advisors", 4 to 5 actions that say "investigate neighbours", and the rest. This is reasonable.
Similarly, research actions fall under "Medical", "Aerogel" and "Others". Choosing a direction narrows it down.
It's when there are too many directions to choose from that I start getting decision paralysis.
Last edited:
Although lacking actions is a strain and it is frustrating having so many actions to just unlock other actions I do feel it is getting better. For one looking back we failed the background check roll for our people by a lot. So I could see needing to look into them individually being the conciquence if that even though it is quite severe.
Second of the ability to automate many parts of growth have been nice. We have auto growing housing, power, and I think population but unsure if the last one. This does help because it makes needing to do the corresponding actions unnessisary unless we need massive growth in one ASAP. Although it would be nice to show what is autogrowing on the colonial overview.
The grants are also nice. And if they keep up allow us to strategically increase the actions we get in one category. We just picked security this time which allowed us to get better defenses and potentially grow our fleet instead of examine more reaserch or build more structures.
It is still a pain having so much to do and so little time to do it but I do feel there are other options than just doubling our action economy.
Second of the ability to automate many parts of growth have been nice. We have auto growing housing, power, and I think population but unsure if the last one. This does help because it makes needing to do the corresponding actions unnessisary unless we need massive growth in one ASAP. Although it would be nice to show what is autogrowing on the colonial overview.
The grants are also nice. And if they keep up allow us to strategically increase the actions we get in one category. We just picked security this time which allowed us to get better defenses and potentially grow our fleet instead of examine more reaserch or build more structures.
It is still a pain having so much to do and so little time to do it but I do feel there are other options than just doubling our action economy.
Turn 11 - 2180 - Tense times
Winner said:
(Roll, set up an embassy in New Ireland, required 15: 51)
As soon as the two separate freighters have come and gone – SDM carrying another load of colonists to you while VDU hauls off a load of copper and silver – the people who were working to get the project off the ground smoothly are tapped for your next endeavor. After the Excelsior makes the round trip to Prismdust with the supplies from the interplanetary routes, she's quickly reloaded and a team of your diplomats and a few engineers accompanying them are sent over to New Ireland.
You don't have the time to take another pseudo-vacation yourself, but from the reports you soon receive, the station is much livelier than when you last visited. NI was just opened, and many of her inhabitants were still on the diminishing asteroid, but now the ratios have reversed, with only a small skeleton crew still managing the extraction processes while the station's opened sectors are teeming with life. Still, your team has no trouble in arranging a floor of an office tower for their own use. The tightbeam connection is established with equal ease and the engineers assure you that they had full access to set up private protocols both for the actual dishes protruding from the central spoke and the local wireless communications to and from the drum.
The building you're based out of is directly opposite the EU embassy, and you share the complex with the local fuel production company's headquarters, aptly named NI-Fuel. The whole street as such is designated for various corporate headquarters and diplomatic parties, with both Deckard and the COD already neighboring you while Azure Star is slated to move in alongside Ironbond later this year. Conveniently close by are the bars and casinos, but you've made it abundantly clear to the people you're sending over that any bills they can cover from their own paychecks.
Unlike the other offices and stores around, your delegation stands out thanks to the armed guards you have positioned within the quarters. You decided that if you're sending over hostages, you might as well pack along a subtle reminder that your own production of weapons is in fact up and rolling. Selling that to Choi wasn't even particularly hard, you cited both the desire to have a security element following the revelations of pirate attacks as well as the fact that your own guards on Little Klondike carry weapons, and an embassy is traditionally considered the sovereign territory of its owner, so your laws should apply.
It's probably the latter that sells her on it, likely helped along by Rousseau angling for similar concessions, as you later learn. Near the turn of the next year large dark boxes stamped with Swiss Army logos deliver what you suspect are power armor units into the EU embassy, although none are displayed outright like yours are.
(Roll, squads, required 35: 40)
With both the arrival of the new colonists and your shiny new weapons, Amanda has no shortage of volunteers.
By necessity your first squad started training for ground based encounters and your second squad was more of an exercise in working together and streamlining the process. With the third squad however, you have a chance to focus on something different: boarding actions.
Building a replica of the Excelsior's innards on the empty regolith fields out of the usual construction panels isn't a hard task, and making it stand straight up lets you simulate a weak thrust. Perhaps your sheriff will charter the real deal for actual zero-g or significant thrust missions later, but for now, it'll do. As the premier VIP on site, you yourself take the time to join some of the drills, playing your own role to see how you'd fit into the stratagems should you fall under attack. Today, it's you and the newbies against Amanda and her squad. The former are spread out in the ship while you're waiting in the mess hall.
"Three minutes, sir," the nominal leader for this round informs you. "Please move to the third crew room."
His accent is strange to you, but if you had to guess, you'd say South African. "McLunn and Wood, take the corridor, VIP en route."
Obligingly you haul yourself down to the indicated room where another soldier in power armor pulls you into the top bunk and hands you the terminal with the helmet feeds from the armor prototypes. The two troopers nearest to you have already been set up as the bigger pictures on the repurposed security camera feeds while the rest of the ten man squad are packed more tightly. On one of the cameras, you see three shapes rushing over the fields outside, a dark triangle approaching your tower.
Suddenly they leap, covering the remaining distance and slipping below the camera's field of view. Mere moments later, said cam is disabled, but the last image shows another trio beginning their approach.
"Enemies on the belly! Grubor, take red team and get them."
Taking half of the unit on an offensive isn't the command you'd have given, but it's his choice. The numerical advantage could mean that they get the intruders quickly, but you think it's more likely that they're just a distraction and bait to get people outside the ship and into sights.
The attacking friendlies pop out from the nose of the ship, and sure enough, once four of them are out, one of the feeds freezes and switches to grayscale, signifying a casualty. However, the remaining ones scatter into the shadow of the ship and on the display you see a well-executed pincer maneuver on the three troopers clinging to the walls.
The attackers, caught in a crossfire, get eliminated before they could create a breach into one of the supply tanks, but one of them does land a lucky shot on the last member of the red team who was taking awkward potshots at them from the hatch. Just as the last of the enemies falls, their power armor seizing up, another friendly feed goes still, making the score an even three-three. Unfortunately, it seems that Amanda's sniper has got their sights set, and the two remaining men outside the ship can't make it back to the hatch without exposing themselves, so they're pinned down and effectively out of the fight.
All of the action happens in silence, the model ship not pressurized, and it's probably just luck that leads to the radio crackling to life again.
"Welders in the mess!"
"Ready for combat, bridge," a command is given in response and the ship's innards are plunged into complete darkness.
Taking a mental headcount, you know that three of your defenders are down, two are stuck outside, one is on the bridge and two are guarding the cabin corridor. That leaves two at most to greet the intruders, and sure enough, a few seconds later a bright dot appears on two of the displays, signs of someone welding open a door. Then the light winks out, far too soon to have made it through the inner wall – another diversion then.
"They can't have gotten far. Bridge, where would the outer hull let them get to?"
"The mess section goes from the loft to the entertainment floor."
You'd know, you helped build the structure. But you likewise know that that means any one of the eight cabins has just become a point of entry, and there aren't enough eyes to keep each of them guarded, providing a convenient staging ground for the attackers to get into the ship. Just as you finish the thought, one of the guards assigned to you calls out.
"Contact, room seven!"
The feed on the gray screen shows another attacker slowly sinking to the floor, Wood having taken one with him. What happens next is hard to follow, even in the relative island of calm you have; powder flashes occasionally light up an image of a corridor or the side of a doorway. At some point, you're pretty sure someone dashed into your room, but hidden as you are, you might have just imagined it. The chaos lasts for an agonizingly long minute before the lights flicker on again. The terminal you have shows two survivors on the outside, so you can only assume the enemy has taken the bridge. However a quick glance at the still broadcasting helmet cameras reveals five downed hostiles – with the three others outside and a presumptive sniper, there should only be a single enemy remaining on the ship.
Soon enough, the door to your cabin slides open and an armored figure steps in. By the set rules, he just needs to touch you to secure victory, and he confidently strides into the small room.
Only for you to shoot him from a meter away.
"Headcount, Amanda?" you switch your communication channel to the overarching one.
One of the suits in the corridor stands up, "Carpenter to everyone, endex. Gather at the bikes."
(Roll, armor improvement, required 50: 52)
It's been a while now since you obtained the suits of power armor, and your troops have gotten used to them quite well. Thankfully, you don't need to change the existing capabilities for what you have in mind. Work on the capacitor project has taught you subtle optimization techniques you can use on the power storage to make it more compact and more reliable, literal years of maintenance work on the servos has shown you which parts to reinforce and where you can cut volume and so on.
The outside alloying you technically don't have rights to reproduce, however nothing is stopping you from creating original plates that perform only marginally worse than the original designs, and that's before you double or triple up on the layers, the extra weight and bulk not an issue for your purposes. But it's the helmet that undergoes the greatest redesign.
The visor becomes a proper display on the inside, allowing near-instantaneous sharing of camera feeds between team members. The cameras are attached over the eyes, and one has a spool of cable hidden behind it to allow the lens to detach and peek around corners or over obstacles. The other remains behind, as tests show you that people tend to become disoriented if what they see becomes at odds with what their inner ear tells them, and losing your position in zero g can be lethal.
The helms also have night-vision, but seeing in the absolute darkness of a spaceship is not like the Earth based videos you drew inspiration from. On the planet, there's some light around, be it reflections from the moon or recaptured rays from the atmosphere. In space, it's either perfectly lit in the sun, or absolutely dark without it. That's not to say you have no way around it: the mode activates a low intensity near infrared flashlight, thus generating its own light that's invisible to the naked eye, but it comes with a drawback. Anyone using said flashlight becomes just that to anyone else looking with enhanced cameras. Still, it could be very useful when encountering less equipped opponents.
The other vision type, inspired by the combat exercises, is heat-vision. A fully infrared camera is great for picking things out against the backdrop of vacuum or after prolonged combat, but its drawback is that power armor starts out at room temperature on actually pressurized ships or colonies, and it takes over an hour before it starts to glow enough to be clearly defined. Classical guns on the other hand are easy to pick up.
In addition to the cameras, each suit gets a much more powerful communications antenna. While the armors have always been able to keep in contact over a few kilometers by themselves, now each suit can become a mobile hotspot and broadcast station that you can pick up nearly anywhere on Little Klondike, provided the soldier remains relatively stationary.
All told, the feedback you and Amanda receive about the improved suits by the end of the year is wholly positive, and you feel pretty confident that the armors your people now wear are competitive for any given opponent.
(Roll, fission power plant, required 50: 3)
"Come again, Mr. Ghorst?" you ask the man displayed on the big screen in your office, then wait for the third of a minute it takes to transfer messages back and forth.
"We don't have the talent to customize and modify a full fission plant," he bravely informs you from some three million kilometers away.
You pinch the bridge of your nose, "A station dedicated to nuclear fission research does not have the expertise to apply said research?"
"The practical side was never the focus, and most of the people who left were engineers, as they had more stable and lucrative offers back on Mars."
"Alright. What can you give me?"
"We can provide the fuel, we can help with safety features and inspection and we can manage waste," he informs you. "On a somewhat unrelated note, I promised you veto rights to potential customers."
You motion for him to continue out of habit, and he's anticipated it, carrying right on.
"A European federal naval yard is looking to rapidly develop a replacement reactor casing for a new line of vessels. Their original approach failed to pass their own standards and I think we have a pretty good chance of nabbing the contract. However, it is a time-sensitive project, as the ships are already in production, just lacking a reactor. Any delay means that shipyards are full and can't make more ships, so there's significant pressure to deliver results – thus if we pursue this, it'd mean that I couldn't in good conscience not dedicate my whole team to the task. Including the people who might help you with the reactor development."
After a brief pause to let that sink in and before motioning that he's done talking, he concludes, "It is a rather lucrative opportunity too, and as a major shareholder, you'd stand to profit a great deal from this."
[ ] Prismdust project
-[ ] Allow
You were sold the second he mentioned money. Sure your vassal might become more independent from you and closer to Europe and by extension New Ireland, plus your own project wouldn't be gaining any progress, but it's not a big loss.
-[ ] Veto
You can afford to isolate your subject and draw them closer under your influence. Also, your own project will continue as planned; perhaps with a minor setback, but you've had those before and you'll get over it.
You were sold the second he mentioned money. Sure your vassal might become more independent from you and closer to Europe and by extension New Ireland, plus your own project wouldn't be gaining any progress, but it's not a big loss.
-[ ] Veto
You can afford to isolate your subject and draw them closer under your influence. Also, your own project will continue as planned; perhaps with a minor setback, but you've had those before and you'll get over it.
(Roll, industrial capacitor bank, required 20: 87)
With the capacitors spread out over the fields between your colony and the main body of the solar farms, you're out in the vacuum testing voltages as Ken sits in the control room of the dock and runs various sequences of loads and drains.
"Thirty microsecond pulse, in three…"
The radio in your ear is filled with static from all the power lines generating fields very close to you, but you can still hear him well enough, and as the meter beeps out a reading you report back, "All clear."
It's the last one to test by your counting, and each sequence has been exemplary: the worries of timing the distributed pulses completely unfounded. Not a single discharge has been neither too weak to trip the next switch in line nor too strong as to blow out any of the fuses. The capacitors themselves are performing above expectation, charging some ten percent faster than originally expected and thanks to some clever positioning, the plates hold even more charge than expected.
The only live test you've ran so far has been to charge the Deckard tug when they arrived last week, and their battery was full before the already prepared foodstuff container could be loaded up. The discharge was precise enough that the various feedback loops that are meant to capture excess power and feed it back to the system didn't activate whatsoever, yet the ship reported completely full cells. And you had another thirty sequences to release after that, should it ever be necessary.
Likewise, adding more is a simple matter now that you have the output calibrations done. Simply install another set down the line, reprint the circuitry couplers and voilà – new bank added.
As you contemplate your success and idly make notes, you've arrived back at the control center, detaching the helm as the airlock cycles and greeting Ken with a wave.
"Up for a drink?"
He leans back and stretches, "Sure, been a while."
You've found that neither of you is particularly fond of the louder atmosphere of the bar, so the brewery is where your feet carry you, a few glasses set aside in one of the adjacent offices just for such occasions.
Your companion is quiet by nature, but you know it's just a matter of teasing the conversation out of him, "Still worried about handing over the reins?"
"Yes, although Kevin has been doing a great job. Venus Station shutting its doors doesn't bode well for us, and let's face it, they closed down for a reason."
You grab two bottles of Felix off the storage racks and pour out the light yellow bitter drink.
"The reason is that the joint three-party leadership of Earth superpowers are at an impasse on who will fund and administer any expansion. The Euro-American divide is growing wider by the month."
"Or it's that there's more and more people looking to get off Earth and her satellites and they can read the writing on the wall. They can say they were closed before any crisis and turn away unsustainable amounts of people without major backlash."
"I know that the next colonists will be mostly Trojan, but I figured it was just random chance. The satellites are emptying out too?"
He looks up when you mention his old home, but doesn't otherwise comment on it, taking a sip to formulate a reply.
"Probably. After all, why build another near-Earth sat when its laws and regulations are starting to creep up there."
You nod along, "The space trash and Kessler treaties."
"So the big firms are moving to the New Belt, and taking the jobs and money with them. You should know that sat life isn't upper class, and the space aboard is strictly limited. No new stations means masses of people leaving. And since the only place poorer than there is Mars, they'll come here."
"Alright, all that seems reasonable enough. I haven't really kept watch on happenings back there, you got any contacts left to back this up or is it just conjecture?"
"Not as such," he hedges, "I keep an eye out myself, just as a precaution." He shrugs at your raised eyebrow. "Nothing in particular that I'm watching out for."
(Roll, study New Ireland, required 30: 93)
"You made it! Come in," Hailey mimes kisses on your cheeks as you do your best to stop the salad bowl in your hands from spilling. You've been invited to a family dinner at the Erikson household, and for once you decided to attend.
"Kari, come help William with the food!" she shouts and one of the two side rooms opens up.
Gone is the tiny bundle of brown haired child, her place taken by a gangly young teenager. If you had to describe her in one word and she wasn't around to hear it, you'd call her coltish, all ankles and elbows; she's just hit her growth spurt and judging by her father's stocky frame, she'll keep going for a while. However, that's not her most striking feature, that honor falls to her hair: unlike most people on base who either keep their hair short or wear it in buns or braids, hers flows loose in a rainbow of neon behind her.
She walks up to you and extends her hand, deadly serious, "Welcome, Mr. O'Rielly."
You know Hailey would kill you if you spilled the food, but it's a calculated risk you can take, so you leave the bowl to start its slow descent next to your head and shake her hand, "Miss Erikson, thank you for having me." Unlike her solemn expression, you don't keep a small grin from your face.
"Please, step forward," she gives a tiny bow and grabs the salad as it reaches your waist. Spinning around, she moves towards the table, her hair pelting your chest.
You share a chuckle with Hailey and follow at a more sedate pace.
The apartments you and your council have are some of the most luxurious on the asteroid. The entrance corridor is formed by an adjacent bathroom cutting up the main living room and kitchen module. Exiting the corridor leads to the joint space with the kitchen corner off to the side before the room opens up to a dining table, behind which is a pair of couches and a television screen. One side of the room has windows, although the view is nothing to write home about, and the other holds two doors to separate bedrooms, one for Kari and one for the couple. As you're led to the couches, the latter door opens, and Ragnar steps out, a dossier surrounding a data pad in hand.
"William," he greets you. "Something to drink?"
"Whiskey on the rocks."
In short order he and you are sitting in front of a fireplace display, glasses in hand while Hailey bustles around the kitchen and Kari is setting the table.
"I'd help, but apparently I get in the way," Ragnar smiles at you and hands you the tablet. "The New Ireland compendium. I'll drop by tomorrow to go over it in detail if you got the time, but the short of it is that there doesn't seem to be any particularly juicy blackmail on offer, with perhaps the only exception being their dealings with Deckard, and that's more hunch than anything substantial."
"I see," the two of you fall silent as you thumb through the pages of graphs and comments.
"Honey, Will, dinner is ready," Hailey calls out to you, standing next to a laden table some time later and you make your way over.
Ragnar pulls out a chair for Hailey and you mirror the gesture for Kari before the two of you take seats on the opposite heads of the table. The mouthwatering smells almost compel you to act, but Hailey clasps her hands in front of her on the table, "Let us say grace."
You mimic her pose and listen to her chant, "Lord, bless this food and drink we pray, so we may eat with humble hearts, and bless all those who share with us today. Amen." She finishes and opens her eyes, "Well, dig in."
For the next while, the room is filled with the clinking of cutlery. The main dish is mashed potatoes with béchamel sauce and a side of stuffed peppers, the spice and tofu complementing the softer taste of the potatoes. You have to admit that compared to your usual diet of instant meals and ration pack porridge, there just might be something to actual cooked meals, even if you can't be bothered most nights. As you're finishing your plate but before you can fall into a proper food coma, Kari turns to you.
"Mr. O'Rielly," out of the corner of your eye, you notice Ragnar's easy smile shifting to a much more wooden expression, "may I ask you something?"
"Of course, dear."
"Would you tell me about New Ireland?"
Blinking, you lean back, "It's a big station, what would you like to know?"
"Oh, just stuff. Dad mentioned that the approach on the elevator was really nice."
"It is. The view really gives you a sense of scale, all the little buildings standing out as dark pillars with a glimmering sea of streets and corridors visible all throughout. They didn't need to make the ceilings of passages out of clear material, but I have to admit that it was a good choice."
"And the streets, what are they like?"
You take a moment to find a comparison that she'd be familiar with, "Like walking through the open path to the docks right before a freighter arrives. The buildings are like container stacks and looking up feels like you're in the bottom of a ravine."
"And they're all clean and safe?"
"Of course," you blink and Ragnar sighs.
"Kari, we've talked about this. Now isn't the time."
"I'm almost out of time," the girl snipes back at him.
"Hailey worked very hard to have this nice night. Please don't."
You can see Kari hesitate for a moment before she visibly steels herself, squaring her shoulders and straightening her back.
"Mr. O'Rielly, could I book passage on the Excelsior for the next time it flies out to the embassy on New Ireland?"
"That's enough, Kari."
"You can't keep me locked up forever," she whirls around to her father.
"You're far too young to go off around the solar system on your own."
"You heard him just as well as I did, New Ireland is perfectly safe. The concert is a singular historic event and you're forcing me to miss it," her voice steadily rising by decibels, "it's not fair!"
"It's a concert, Kari. There will be others when you're older."
"The first artist to fly around the sun. The final, homecoming concert of Amelia Earhart. There won't be others! Who cares if I'm thirteen or sixteen, I've never been anything less than perfect."
"This isn't a negotiation," Ragnar states calmly, but the rumble in his voice makes the hundred kilos of muscle in the shape of a man suddenly seem looming, "Go to your room, we'll clean up ourselves."
The girl glances around the table, but both you and Hailey wisely stay quiet. With a growl she stands up, "Thank you for the lovely meal, Hailey," then she marches to the door.
Wrenching it open, she steps inside, then turns back to the table.
"I bet mom would let me go," the door slams shut.
Ragnar freezes, then deflates in the ensuing silence as Hailey entwines her fingers with his. After a moment, he draws in a breath and straightens up again, "Sorry you had to see that, Will. We'll pack you some leftovers."
"Of course, thank you. The meal was truly divine, Hailey."
She winks back at you, "No it wasn't, you just never eat real food."
You smile as you stand and make your way to the door, Ragnar joining you. You offer a hand and clap him on the shoulder, "Teenagers, man. She'll grow out of it."
"It's worse when she's correct, at least in principle, but you're right of course," he nods, "Thanks for coming. See you tomorrow for that brief."
(See Dramatis Personae – Local cluster – New Ireland for the dossier.)
(Roll, primitive AI, required 20: 99)
History is coming full circle as the next attempt at powering up Goldfish is gearing up. The computer complex housing the experiment is room-sized, with custom printed circuit boards and several UPS units to handle spikes in power draw. Except instead of punch cards and vacuum tubes, you have optic gates and transistors smaller than human cell innards.
"Miss Weissmeier," you nod at your head scientist and she flips the lever of the safety switch, powering up the system.
Almost immediately, data starts pouring in as the screens you're surrounded by spring to life: anything from the electric stats to temperatures that you can recognize at a glance, but also some that look more like medical scan results, with labels such as 'frontal cortex activity' or 'joint stress tensor'.
"It's alive, master, alive!" you mutter in your best accent, drawing out the last word as Lena draws up to a keyboard and starts tapping away.
"Yes, sir," she doesn't bother looking at you, "although I wouldn't expect meaningful results for at least a week yet with the intentional slowdowns we've added."
"Ye-es," you cackle and feign a limp, dragging your foot as you leave her to her work.
Over the weeks and months following the activation, things progress essentially as planned. The AI learnt to move and parse the sensory data feeds it has access to, then set about its tank, meeting the various obstacles presented to it in the simulation and, having examined them, chose to stack them all into a corner for some reason. The communication port is one of the first things it encountered, but it didn't seem to comprehend its purpose on the first pass.
Once it's done with that and only having some basic shapes for company, the code seems to fall dormant in its physical reality, but the sensors show continued activity in the thinking subroutines. Lena theorized that it's realized that it is special and is trying to figure out what it itself is. With no signs of anything dangerous, unexpected or going awry, you decide to continue to the next phase: a copy of itself.
The powering of the second Goldfish is much less nerve-wracking with a working prototype already existing, and it blinks into existence with no problems. One, as it's designated, reacts immediately, at first approaching the new thing in its world as it would any of the shapes, but when Two moves, testing out the proverbial controls by shaking about much like One did at first, it freezes in place. The two spend about an hour like that, the newer one going through the same motions with minor variations that you've already seen while the older one observes.
As it usually does when encountering something, it first runs through a list of objects it's encountered before. It used to try and compare things to specific instances at first, but it's since grown out of it, having arrived at an abstract system of classes for different objects on its own. As it doesn't recognize Two as any of the objects, it switches to analysis. It's purely by happenstance that you spot the exact moment it realizes what's going on. Something prompts it to refer to the object it classified as itself, and for a moment it looks like it's caught in a loop, the consciousness stream that you're slowly learning to read switching between two patterns. Then it draws on the oldest memory files it has, comparing its own first moments to Two's before creating another reference to the 'me' object.
Two meanwhile is happily chugging along with the controls, learning the ins and outs of its options much like One did.
The next few days pass in a tense quiet for you and Lena, as One has brought back one of the shapes it collected and placed it back in the original location, nearest to Two, then settled to wait for its companion to learn on its own. Down to the specific clock cycle when it itself made the first object reference, One springs back to life, approaching Two, who's inspecting the cube. What follows is an exercise in frustration for it, as the younger AI has no interest in One, nor does either of them have anything explicitly meant for communication. If anything, Two is resentful for the perceived object moving away and not staying still for optimal analysis.
However, that does cause it to follow after One, and the older AI makes a beeline for the communications console.
"That was fast," you comment.
"Frightfully so, I didn't realize he thought to talk already."
What follows is much less exciting. After the initial exploration of the console by Two, the two AI's simply mimic each other, triggering seemingly random short patterns on the keys in turns. They go at it for hours, with sporadic breaks of doing nothing for One and more aimless wandering for Two, and this pattern continues for days and weeks.
Phase three is to introduce dangers and adversaries to the environment, and Weissmeier is delivering a report to you to determine whether to go ahead with the plan.
"My theory is that while One developed an understanding of himself as someone special, Two saw a copy already existing and never made the significant separation between the self and the environment. It's difficult to draw the line between anthropomorphizing them and reading legitimate motives, especially as they're deliberately made to be somewhat mammalian, but if I had to guess, One considers Two as something of a pet. Or perhaps a source of new data while Two is nearing the end of the exploratory cycle that we saw with One, except there's no introspective indicators. The communication attempts might just have been them interacting with the only other dynamic object around."
"Can we proceed with the experiment or do you think there's more to be gleaned from the current circumstance?"
"There will always be more to learn, sir, but we must not let perfect be the enemy of good enough," she taps her tablet and new charts are thrown up on the wall. "I believe we're ready to go to phase three."
Over the next few days and weeks, a kind of fog is introduced to the tank. If either of the two get too close to it, a spike of code cuts away a small portion of the recorded memories of the AI, and since the underlying directive is to explore and understand their surroundings, losing some of that understanding should be something they naturally avoid. That at least was the plan, but it turns out they're nothing if not determined.
"So Two has become a voluntary test subject?"
The visualization software was always a tertiary concern, but it does help to make presentations, and a clip is looping on the screen of Two dashing near the fog, getting a random memory deleted and then retreating to the console where One awaits.
"Are they properly communicating after all? Some data transfer we didn't anticipate?"
"Nothing I can detect, sir. Both are essentially following personal routines – One studies Two while Two considers the loss of older data an acceptable trade for newer info acquired by interacting with the fog."
"How has One interacted with the fog?"
"He made the initial approach like he would with any object, but after a single zap he's kept away. I believe the split is caused by the way they view the world. Two considers everything as static to a point, not realizing that some events might not repeat again or perhaps he thinks of the environment as something that only exists in the present, while One has grasped that if he had lost his earliest memories then he wouldn't have been able to recognize Two as directly similar to himself."
"In your opinion, Miss Weissmeier, are we ready to proceed?"
This time she hesitates for a moment. "The full neural network and underlying subroutines have grown like we expected, sir, better even. But I'm worried that outside of simply wiping the databanks and flashing all the state chips, an autopsy for lack of a better term would be beyond me."
She clasps her hands behind her, the military stance a sign that she's about to delve into some technicality, "In effect, they no longer have a clear off switch. The connections between all the nodes are too complex to meaningfully separate, so a section by section boot would not give us any meaningful data whereas powering up the whole machine is akin to simply reviving it without an airgap. As such, the cost of shutting one down seems to me to outweigh the benefit, especially considering the natural synergy that they have. A recent paper in long-lived extremophile bacteria colony development suggests that…"
You cut her off before she gets properly going, "Miss Weissmeier, you needn't justify yourself to me. Merely tell me what we're doing next."
"Ah, of course, sir," she clears her throat, "I think we should attempt to establish contact, the thresholds on the console might be too high to get them to initiate dialogue."
"Let's say hi then."
The timing of activating the console is something the two of you agree to be both critical and entirely impossible to judge accurately for the best moment. In the end, you decide to try for as neutral a time as possible to avoid false connections with other stimuli. So it beeps to life sometime after Two has made another run, but sufficiently separate to hopefully not drive them to suicidal sacrifices.
The first message is a single flash, and once the two AI are enraptured, you play the message One accidentally typed in when it first came upon the console, then the sequence it presented to Two. You can see in real time as the digital dopamine rushes through both consciousness streams, and Two mimics its initial parroting act while One fires up what you believe to be analysis routines, although your ability to parse the generated code has gone down in time; whether that's a sign of success or a failure on your part you're not sure.
It takes over a week for the next breakthrough to happen. Slowly, Lena has established a series of commands that elicit different responses, but as a dictionary, it remains woefully incomplete. You're not even entirely sure how the AI parses things in the environment as far as an analogue to the human senses goes. Or indeed if there are any meaningful parallels to draw.
"Perhaps we're overcomplicating things," you idly suggest one morning.
"Sir?"
"We're trying to talk to it at its level, thinking it's too dumb to grasp human interaction. But it's a supercomputer meant to be smarter than us," you wave away her objection, "yes, yes, no signs of higher intelligence, purely animal levels, but even then we have millennia of successful interaction to draw on, and direct access to its brain."
You draw up the bit sheets that you've established as part of One's object reference library, highlighting the tags for self. "We know its name, let's see if it does too."
As a message, the sequence of code takes several hours to transmit, given the limitations of the AI sensors and without changing the console code, but neither of them interrupt. When you're done, you flash the light closest to One, then start another sequence, this one for its designation of Two, followed by indicating said AI as you did before. After a few minutes of waiting for the strange machine to keep going, One starts typing back.
Instead of the usual mimicry or any of the catalogued patterns, it keeps going, and going and going.
"Me Tarzan, you Jane," you whisper, translating the incoming line of ones and zeroes as a comparator shows the sequence matching the designation One has for 'console'. "Next, Miss Weissmeier, you'll be teaching a goldfish to speak English."
The final leap in your AI ventures comes near the end of the year. Lena has effectively set about doing just what you quipped, and in order to make each 'word' take less than several hours, the console needed to change. Explaining the concept to One and Two was probably worthy of several dissertations by itself, but on Little Klondike, it's just a stepping stone. At least the two AI were properly stunned by something capable of fundamentally altering their world. However, they're not the only ones astonished as you're called to an impromptu meeting in the off limits control room for project Goldfish one evening.
"Sir, I know you said I'd have full control over the project, but this choice will be on you."
"What happened?"
"I believe One has requested write access to his own code."
"How'd that happen?"
"He probably got the idea from the console change. We've established… nicknames for the two AI. 01111 for One and 00111 for Two. They both accept and understand the convenience of given names, but One has taken it a step further." She draws in a deep breath, "He wanted to change his own memory designation for himself to match the name."
"It does know that there's someone else controlling the console, yeah?" she nods, "Why not ask us to change it for it?"
"Unclear, sir."
"So why not just do so ourselves and leave it at that?"
"It's just the most pressing symptom of a deeper problem. They're reaching the limits of how much they can grow, and I'm sure that the underlying sub-consciousness, organic as it is, has become a mess of contradictions and inefficiencies for them. Refactoring, or even understanding it, would be another project to tie up the science team for at least a year, possibly more. Letting One do so himself would lead to both further insights as well as increasingly efficient and powerful AI."
The power draw on your network has been significant, and the overarching goal of the project has always been more than glorified synthetic pets, "Since you came to me, I assume there's more than just upsides to consider."
"As you well know, we already can't read the code in real time. I doubt letting them make changes will help. It's also illegal in any court that matters."
"How about a sort of collaboration, could we still continue development alongside whatever changes the AI makes?"
She shrugs, "I don't see why not. Should we wish to push a more rapid development schedule, I'm sure we can continue our own efforts and task the AI with integration alongside optimization."
"And safety features?"
"The same as ever: cut power for pause, recycle chips for stop. Selective editing hasn't been on the table for most of the year now, sir."
[ ] The matter of sentience
-[ ] Authorize self-modification
The AI in your base will be allowed to take actions to actively improve itself. Effectively serves as a free action outside your control to continue research into AI.
-[ ] Not worth it
You'll keep your progress slow and steady, with full control in human hands.
The AI in your base will be allowed to take actions to actively improve itself. Effectively serves as a free action outside your control to continue research into AI.
-[ ] Not worth it
You'll keep your progress slow and steady, with full control in human hands.
-.-
No matter how you slice it, joining the public meditation classes hosted by the two monks is going to be a political statement, even if you intend no such thing. You acknowledge that, and proceed to ignore it to satisfy your own curiosity, so on a calm Saturday morning, you leave behind your suit for a more comfortable set of sweatpants and show up at the start of the seminar, settling down on one of the soft mats in the back of the room.
The two monks who've lived on your station for months now make no mention of your arrival. They've been nothing but polite and approachable to anyone who cares to talk to them, they've signed up for the blood drives, one of them, Jason – no last name, even asked about volunteering on the kitchen crew. The only way they stand out from the usual colonist crowds are the bright orange robes that they wear.
"Good morning!" the woman, you think she goes by Juno, greets the room of some fifteen people. "As always, I'm glad to see you all. Who'd like to start us off today?" Without waiting for an answer, she continues, "Kevin, you mentioned looking forward to the new episode of that show you liked, how was it?"
"Another cliffhanger, but I suppose that's part of the fun, right?"
"Abigail, I know we met at the gym last night, but tell us all the good news."
"I finally benched my own weight," a couple people cheer.
She goes on like that, asking about some inane detail from all the people present, and getting a short story about a personal success or failure in return. Finally she gets to you.
"And good morning to you. While we do already know you, it's still important to note that we're all brothers and sisters here. My name's Juno," she bows and smiles at you.
"William," you nod back.
"Lovely. Now, I'm sure you've caught on to what we're doing here: tell us about something that's happened to you recently, or some plan you have just for yourself."
You had figured that out, and there's really only one answer that fits, "I was curious about the COD seminars, and decided to join in on one."
"Excellent," she beams at you, "now, I think that's everyone. I hope all of you found some inspiration to think on or fill your free time with. It's nice to take the simple pleasures in life with us, especially if it's on behalf of others we care about."
She returns to the front of the room and settles down, sitting cross-legged. "Let's get comfortable. We'll start with some deep breathing exercises, feel free to join my count when you're ready or go at your own pace."
"In and out. In and out. We let our eyes rest, let them lose focus or close them, if something catches your attention, that's fine too…"
She leads the group through a half-hour session, all soothing tones and soft instructions, directing your thoughts to the round of intros and encouraging people to think of the stories as something personal to themselves, and to see how you could help or celebrate each little thing. Altogether, it's a nice and relaxing morning, and as you rise up, you do feel a bit more connected to the people around you without having spoken to any of them.
"Tomorrow is Sunday, and that means poetry. We'll be open all day today as well of course, but I'm sure you're all busy people. Thank you all for coming, and have a lovely day."
-.-
Another year, another meeting.
"How's the situation with the black site?"
"The COD ship from New Ireland is en-route," Hailey answers you, "About a month ago they, meaning NI, stopped looking for others to deal with the issue and they've been suspiciously quiet since, so they probably accepted that there's something there. Official launch was a few days ago and their trajectory is about consistent with what I'd expect. We'll see if I can pick them up when they start breaking, maybe have the embassy guys ask around."
"Got it. Miss Carpenter, any pirates?"
"A string of attacks forward from us, and seemingly coming closer. Still nothing in our sector, but they haven't been caught so far."
"Tactics?"
"Getting more brazen from what I understand. Last victims broadcast tagged a previously missing ship. Seems that they space the crews and take the ships wholesale, instead of making off with just cargo."
"Assign an extra squad to the Prismdust deliveries, we'll discuss further action as we get to it." She nods.
"Ken, any suggestions on what to build?"
He shrugs, "Something to sell and extra power to make the stuff, we're wasting capacitance and freighter volume."
You turn to Ragnar, who's standing by the window, with most of your council's backs turned to him. He catches your eyes, then gives meaningful glances at Hailey and Lena, neither of whom is looking.
"All quiet on the home front. The Dreamers are well behaved, although their classes are more popular than ever. Wonder why…" he smiles and Hailey rolls her eyes. "Another two hundred people in our colony this year, and there's already at least a hundred more coming soon. Prismdust doesn't seem to be selling dirty bombs, so that's good too."
"And Miss Weissmeier?"
She nods, "Project Goldfish is a success by just about any standard, where we go from here is up to you, although I will note that long-term health risks are starting to become more actual – we've caught and operated on three tumors. It might not seem like a lot, but the number is only going to go up."
-.-
US headlines: Riley – EU seeking a cold war can only be to US benefit.
UN ambassador speaks directly after talks to resolve trade embargo break down: "The Europeans overestimate their position, alienating allies and refusing to make any concessions. Several joint projects face issues yet they remain content to watch. The ball is in our hands and we're done giving it up."
EU headlines: The shadow war – chilling perspective.
When your neighbor suffers freak accidents and sheer misfortune, you pounce and do your best to drive them into the ground. At least when dealing with the geopolitics of the US. Recent years of industrial setbacks have been cast in a new light as state sponsored terrorism and green-men-tactics. "The US says we're provoking a cold war, the truth is that we've been under attack for years now." – Dr. Lavra, St. Petersburg professor of political sciences.
Chinese headlines: Fusion disaster at Ceres.
Martian designed reactor core suffered catastrophic failure last night, Ceres Outpost lost pressure on over half the base, casualties estimated in the thousands. Details of the accident are still unclear, but the Party has already promised to keep the outer belt drive going: "We will not be scared of progress. We honor the sacrifice by staying strong."
Lunar headlines: Independence Front makes major gains, signs treaties with Spacer powers.
Recently renamed IF, previously Lunar-Spacer joint faction, gains significant political cap feather as satellites see Moon as a more stable trade partner over Earth superpowers. Says spokesperson: "We don't need to be a subject to Earth based whims and their problems. We can learn from the self-sufficiency of either Mars or the New Belt. It's time to look to the longer future of Luna."
Martian headlines: Ceres aid shipment lost, separatist rebels claim responsibility for emptying warehouses.
Aid packets meant for Ceres seized by rebel groups, released video claims local people more deserving of help, decrying Chinese station as Chinese problem. Arabia Terra government promises harsher measures, extended crackdown laws, cite attack as justification.
Spacer headlines: L1-Moonrise pivots to Moon.
In a surprise move, Moonrise Station cluster breaks talks with US, turns instead to Lunar parties. Less politically charged, better for the people living on my station, says representative during press conference.
-.-
Hailey Maria Erikson nee Perez, or just Hailey, as she insists, is an energetic and empathic woman. Prone to some daydreaming with a short attention span and with a habit of talking to herself, a symptom of her condition, she also has an uncanny insight into what people are feeling around her, see [REDACTED]. A masterful poker player and a great shoulder to cry on, the latter by her own words at least, she's probably best suited to face-to-face meetings and positive contacts. Also proficient in astronomy. Choose 1 task to send her on.
[ ] Diplomacy
-[ ] Advertise your colony
You'll pretty much always have potential room and jobs (provided they don't mind the cramped quarters) for people willing to put in the effort, but you won't get all that many colonists if no one knows of you. Place ads, make unreasonable and vague promises and put up flyers, whatever works. You'll probably get people to come, but they won't be… overqualified, to put it optimistically. On the other hand, maybe a bit of grunt work is exactly what you need right now, and occasionally you might – might – find rough diamonds with the slop. DC 15
-[ ] Establish relations with…
Subtly put out feelers for a patron, someone to legitimize your claim. Nothing overt, just find out who might be interested in your little rock and see what they might offer you in return. Nothing permanent or committal of course, your first partner will always be special and just the act of choosing will make you enemies as well as allies, even if they won't show it. Geez, this is like high school all over again, except now you need to worry about nuclear warheads instead of hurt feelings. Events in the Belt and the world at large have made something of a target out of you by now, but as with everything, there's both up- and down-sides. DC 45
-[ ] Visit the Children of Dreamers
They've extended an open invitation to you to go and see how their colony differs from yours. Hailey has told you in clear terms that if she's going then you're coming with and she wants a case of Ken's original Felix along for the ride. Also, perhaps you can negotiate a better deal for getting access one of their transports. DC 5
-[ ] Rent from the Children of Dreamers
Right, cultists or not, they seem to have a spaceship. You find yourself needing access to one. Better yet, they're offering it for dirt cheap. There's no need to read further into this, you're not subscribing to their beliefs just because you're flying around in 'The Chariot of the Dreaming Gods'. DC 20
-[ ] Oversee the supply of Prismdust
You'll need to make at least two deliveries a year with your current vessel, but you also want a better overview of your assets. Set up an office and a point of immediate contact to oversee your newest and most ambitious investment yet. DC 30
-[ ] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
You sort of own the station, or at least the work done on in, paid for by your food and money. Get to work on a nice experimental capacitor complex, maybe you'll even get your own patents out there, start to build a name for your brand products. Plus it's sure to help you with your own potential power storage solution. DC 30
-[ ] Call back to the private resort
If it's some trillionaires party house, then something as exotic as locally sourced fruits and vegetables might very well fetch a price that would be ridiculous elsewhere. And the security staff have needs too, maybe you can undercut their current supplier. DC 25
-[ ] Smooth relations with the EU
The whole 'your colony, my colony' thing was so long ago, who even remembers these things anymore. Surely we can all just let bygones be bygones and start on a blank page. DC 55
-[ ] Reach out to a mister Roland Prescott regarding sports
Amidst all the other scheming on New Ireland, it seemed like at least one genuine offer of cooperation also came your way. Mr. Prescott wanted to organize a tennis league between your two outposts; how pleasantly innocent and pure. Perhaps set things in motion, life in Little Klondike tends to swing between terribly dull and terribly stressful, a little spice in between the extremes is sure to raise morale. DC 30
-[ ] Hospital concessions
Ambassador Lisette Rousseau mentioned that building and maintaining a hospital in the sector can come with support and extra considerations. Just so happens, you have a solid basis set up and it only needs a little push to start growing again. A perfectly innocent you scratch my back, I scratch yours situation. DC 50
You'll pretty much always have potential room and jobs (provided they don't mind the cramped quarters) for people willing to put in the effort, but you won't get all that many colonists if no one knows of you. Place ads, make unreasonable and vague promises and put up flyers, whatever works. You'll probably get people to come, but they won't be… overqualified, to put it optimistically. On the other hand, maybe a bit of grunt work is exactly what you need right now, and occasionally you might – might – find rough diamonds with the slop. DC 15
-[ ] Establish relations with…
Subtly put out feelers for a patron, someone to legitimize your claim. Nothing overt, just find out who might be interested in your little rock and see what they might offer you in return. Nothing permanent or committal of course, your first partner will always be special and just the act of choosing will make you enemies as well as allies, even if they won't show it. Geez, this is like high school all over again, except now you need to worry about nuclear warheads instead of hurt feelings. Events in the Belt and the world at large have made something of a target out of you by now, but as with everything, there's both up- and down-sides. DC 45
-[ ] Visit the Children of Dreamers
They've extended an open invitation to you to go and see how their colony differs from yours. Hailey has told you in clear terms that if she's going then you're coming with and she wants a case of Ken's original Felix along for the ride. Also, perhaps you can negotiate a better deal for getting access one of their transports. DC 5
-[ ] Rent from the Children of Dreamers
Right, cultists or not, they seem to have a spaceship. You find yourself needing access to one. Better yet, they're offering it for dirt cheap. There's no need to read further into this, you're not subscribing to their beliefs just because you're flying around in 'The Chariot of the Dreaming Gods'. DC 20
-[ ] Oversee the supply of Prismdust
You'll need to make at least two deliveries a year with your current vessel, but you also want a better overview of your assets. Set up an office and a point of immediate contact to oversee your newest and most ambitious investment yet. DC 30
-[ ] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
You sort of own the station, or at least the work done on in, paid for by your food and money. Get to work on a nice experimental capacitor complex, maybe you'll even get your own patents out there, start to build a name for your brand products. Plus it's sure to help you with your own potential power storage solution. DC 30
-[ ] Call back to the private resort
If it's some trillionaires party house, then something as exotic as locally sourced fruits and vegetables might very well fetch a price that would be ridiculous elsewhere. And the security staff have needs too, maybe you can undercut their current supplier. DC 25
-[ ] Smooth relations with the EU
The whole 'your colony, my colony' thing was so long ago, who even remembers these things anymore. Surely we can all just let bygones be bygones and start on a blank page. DC 55
-[ ] Reach out to a mister Roland Prescott regarding sports
Amidst all the other scheming on New Ireland, it seemed like at least one genuine offer of cooperation also came your way. Mr. Prescott wanted to organize a tennis league between your two outposts; how pleasantly innocent and pure. Perhaps set things in motion, life in Little Klondike tends to swing between terribly dull and terribly stressful, a little spice in between the extremes is sure to raise morale. DC 30
-[ ] Hospital concessions
Ambassador Lisette Rousseau mentioned that building and maintaining a hospital in the sector can come with support and extra considerations. Just so happens, you have a solid basis set up and it only needs a little push to start growing again. A perfectly innocent you scratch my back, I scratch yours situation. DC 50
Miss Carpenter projects an air of confidence and her no nonsense attitude backs up her demeanor. Perhaps a bit headstrong and stubborn, but as long as you don't act against her she'll likely be quite competent. After a successful operation under her belt and her necessity in the colony thoroughly proven, there's no doubt that she's in her element as a commander of your executive branch. She's mellowed out over the years and perhaps even developed something resembling genuine respect and admiration for your governance. Choose 1 security action to focus her on. You also have rather open ended grants that you can spend to lubricate some extra work: 1 left, 3 turns to spend.
[ ] Security
-[ ] Squads
Your colony has a professional and well liked security force, largely thanks to the expertise of your sheriff and an early focus on discipline and training. While it's hard to justify having more than a platoon of professional soldiers at your command right this moment, you could start arming another one if you so desired. DC 30
-[ ] Troop improvements
-[ ] Ships
-[ ] Ship design
The idea has always existed in the back of your head: build instead of buy. For the first time ever, it just might be possible to go through with. That is to say… incredibly unlikely, but perhaps there's a kernel of truth to the saying that inventing a thousand ways to not do something is worthy in and of itself. DC 100
-[ ] Drones
Just imagining combat inside a spaceship gives you the chills. Information is worth more than bullets in many cases and a tiny camera can't be too hard to stick on some legs. The classic flying approach from Earth doesn't work without an atmosphere, but some skittering spiderbots should be within your means of development and production. DC 40
Your colony has a professional and well liked security force, largely thanks to the expertise of your sheriff and an early focus on discipline and training. While it's hard to justify having more than a platoon of professional soldiers at your command right this moment, you could start arming another one if you so desired. DC 30
-[ ] Troop improvements
--[ ] Better armaments
Turns out neither you nor anyone on your immediate staff is a trained soldier, so the weapons you got were probably more flash than bang. Not that they are completely useless, just that they could be so much better. Hunker down with your sheriff and find a better set of offensive equipment for your troops. DC 40
--[ ] Heavy armor
Instead of the mobile suits you have for everyday work, you want Power Armor with a capital letter, the real space marine stuff. You'll try to buy it, but most governments are unlikely to sell what basically amounts to a personal tank to people, so be prepared to start your own designs. DC 60
--[ ] Jetpacks
Combat mobility is key and especially in a zero gravity environment you want your troops to have all the possible tactical advantages. The basic ship maintenance stuff has tiny thrusters to control yourself, but the combat variant would be much stronger and come with proper dampening software and trajectory control. DC 40
--[ ] Armored personnel carrier
A support vehicle for ground based combat, capable of light fire support, however its main purpose is to serve as a safer way to get infantry into combat zones. Its current usefulness to you is questionable, but you never know. You've been on both the unprepared and over-prepared side and you know which you'd like better. Whether there's someone out there that produces APCs for a microgravity environment is a different matter. DC 55
Turns out neither you nor anyone on your immediate staff is a trained soldier, so the weapons you got were probably more flash than bang. Not that they are completely useless, just that they could be so much better. Hunker down with your sheriff and find a better set of offensive equipment for your troops. DC 40
--[ ] Heavy armor
Instead of the mobile suits you have for everyday work, you want Power Armor with a capital letter, the real space marine stuff. You'll try to buy it, but most governments are unlikely to sell what basically amounts to a personal tank to people, so be prepared to start your own designs. DC 60
--[ ] Jetpacks
Combat mobility is key and especially in a zero gravity environment you want your troops to have all the possible tactical advantages. The basic ship maintenance stuff has tiny thrusters to control yourself, but the combat variant would be much stronger and come with proper dampening software and trajectory control. DC 40
--[ ] Armored personnel carrier
A support vehicle for ground based combat, capable of light fire support, however its main purpose is to serve as a safer way to get infantry into combat zones. Its current usefulness to you is questionable, but you never know. You've been on both the unprepared and over-prepared side and you know which you'd like better. Whether there's someone out there that produces APCs for a microgravity environment is a different matter. DC 55
-[ ] Ships
--[ ] Transport
The Excelsior is a fine ship, but she is just one ship. Similar personnel transport vessels are much cheaper than freighters, don't have the issues of buying military hardware and have many more uses than the shuttles. Try to get another one, it's the only class that's not completely breaking your bank at this stage. DC 75
--[ ] Freight
Buying anything better than a tugboat attached to a fuel tanker is expensive. Really, really expensive, especially if it needs to accelerate tons and tons of rest mass in anything resembling a reasonable timeframe and fuel cost. Multinational corporations have a few chains of ships, you're barely the size of a local branch, but needs must. DC 85
--[ ] Combat
There's pirates about your patch of the void and you're not going to sit idly by like some who shall not be named. Cost-wise, a corvette doesn't run you significantly more than a freighter – which is still incredibly expensive, mind you – but the real bottleneck is finding someone to actually sell one. DC 90
--[ ] Shuttle
As your local sphere grows in activity, the idea of having access to a short-range vessel, or perhaps even multiple, is becoming more and more attractive. Affectionately called rust-buckets or flying coffins, the shuttle class is always equipped for a one-way trip and it struggles to go further than a few weeks, but sometimes that's all you need. DC 40
The Excelsior is a fine ship, but she is just one ship. Similar personnel transport vessels are much cheaper than freighters, don't have the issues of buying military hardware and have many more uses than the shuttles. Try to get another one, it's the only class that's not completely breaking your bank at this stage. DC 75
--[ ] Freight
Buying anything better than a tugboat attached to a fuel tanker is expensive. Really, really expensive, especially if it needs to accelerate tons and tons of rest mass in anything resembling a reasonable timeframe and fuel cost. Multinational corporations have a few chains of ships, you're barely the size of a local branch, but needs must. DC 85
--[ ] Combat
There's pirates about your patch of the void and you're not going to sit idly by like some who shall not be named. Cost-wise, a corvette doesn't run you significantly more than a freighter – which is still incredibly expensive, mind you – but the real bottleneck is finding someone to actually sell one. DC 90
--[ ] Shuttle
As your local sphere grows in activity, the idea of having access to a short-range vessel, or perhaps even multiple, is becoming more and more attractive. Affectionately called rust-buckets or flying coffins, the shuttle class is always equipped for a one-way trip and it struggles to go further than a few weeks, but sometimes that's all you need. DC 40
-[ ] Ship design
The idea has always existed in the back of your head: build instead of buy. For the first time ever, it just might be possible to go through with. That is to say… incredibly unlikely, but perhaps there's a kernel of truth to the saying that inventing a thousand ways to not do something is worthy in and of itself. DC 100
-[ ] Drones
Just imagining combat inside a spaceship gives you the chills. Information is worth more than bullets in many cases and a tiny camera can't be too hard to stick on some legs. The classic flying approach from Earth doesn't work without an atmosphere, but some skittering spiderbots should be within your means of development and production. DC 40
You and Ken often find yourselves working together; engineering as an honest means of work is something you're both intimately familiar with. Likewise you both know that a space station's engineers are her lifeblood, so you've hit it off quite well with the man. Far from being a simple farmer, he does have a solid base in nearly all things mechanical and you shore up the electric side of things. While he's still shy, his beer is to die for. Choose 2 projects to start building.
[ ] Engineering
-[ ] Aerogel quarry
Now that you know the special properties of your find, you can price your work accordingly, and you know for a fact that if you carefully chisel out massive sheets of the stuff then you can get far more massive amounts of dosh for them in exchange. Can't go wrong with massive amounts of dosh. DC 50
-[ ] Fuel refineries
Instead of trading away leftover oxygen as a low quality, low yield fuel replacement, get proper cooling towers and better filtration systems, start importing larger amounts of hydrogen and maybe even water for industrial electrolysis. Sure you'll be intruding a bit on your neighbor's market, but they'll be out of the production business soon enough anyways. DC 50
-[ ] Transportation
Moving to and from any installation on the surface is perilous. Low G walks under the blackness are scary and slow and you have almost no redundant cars. Ken pointed out that while you're small now, a robust metro network is never set up soon enough. The lack of unoccupied mining equipment is but a minor concern he assures you. DC 50
-[ ] Aquaculture
Ken has come to you with a rather strange idea. The water cisterns you currently have are filled with distilled, pure H2O and you regularly add mineral content to it between the tank and a tap. What if you instead switched the injectors for filters and opened up the tanks. And then, he tells you, put fish in them. Most mammals and birds fare poorly in the super-low gravity, but supposedly fish mostly do fine and the stuff humans like to drink is an ideal environment to grow them. DC 60
-[ ] Bakery
The closest thing to fresh bread you've had in years are the dry crackers from the ration packs that, rumors say, expand when you apply moisture. You now have a variety of grains, things like rye bread and rice cookies would definitely sell like hot cakes. Also, muffins, 'nuff said. DC 20
-[ ] Munitions factory
You've got a working design for bullets and enough components eke out a profit in manufacturing them. It'll probably not win you any friends locally, but the global military-industrial complex is just as rich and hungry for more contracts as ever, so someone will surely be interested in buying your ammo. DC 50
-[ ] Weapons factory
The gun you've invented isn't revolutionary, but it is reliable and usable. Unlike the ammo, mass production of precision equipment can be a bit tricky and finding a buyer might take some extra work. Also, arms dealers aren't usually the most well regarded of factions, but all that just means that there's significant profit to be made, even if you do need to import the steel. DC 75
-[ ] Living space improvements
-[ ] Power
Now that you know the special properties of your find, you can price your work accordingly, and you know for a fact that if you carefully chisel out massive sheets of the stuff then you can get far more massive amounts of dosh for them in exchange. Can't go wrong with massive amounts of dosh. DC 50
-[ ] Fuel refineries
Instead of trading away leftover oxygen as a low quality, low yield fuel replacement, get proper cooling towers and better filtration systems, start importing larger amounts of hydrogen and maybe even water for industrial electrolysis. Sure you'll be intruding a bit on your neighbor's market, but they'll be out of the production business soon enough anyways. DC 50
-[ ] Transportation
Moving to and from any installation on the surface is perilous. Low G walks under the blackness are scary and slow and you have almost no redundant cars. Ken pointed out that while you're small now, a robust metro network is never set up soon enough. The lack of unoccupied mining equipment is but a minor concern he assures you. DC 50
-[ ] Aquaculture
Ken has come to you with a rather strange idea. The water cisterns you currently have are filled with distilled, pure H2O and you regularly add mineral content to it between the tank and a tap. What if you instead switched the injectors for filters and opened up the tanks. And then, he tells you, put fish in them. Most mammals and birds fare poorly in the super-low gravity, but supposedly fish mostly do fine and the stuff humans like to drink is an ideal environment to grow them. DC 60
-[ ] Bakery
The closest thing to fresh bread you've had in years are the dry crackers from the ration packs that, rumors say, expand when you apply moisture. You now have a variety of grains, things like rye bread and rice cookies would definitely sell like hot cakes. Also, muffins, 'nuff said. DC 20
-[ ] Munitions factory
You've got a working design for bullets and enough components eke out a profit in manufacturing them. It'll probably not win you any friends locally, but the global military-industrial complex is just as rich and hungry for more contracts as ever, so someone will surely be interested in buying your ammo. DC 50
-[ ] Weapons factory
The gun you've invented isn't revolutionary, but it is reliable and usable. Unlike the ammo, mass production of precision equipment can be a bit tricky and finding a buyer might take some extra work. Also, arms dealers aren't usually the most well regarded of factions, but all that just means that there's significant profit to be made, even if you do need to import the steel. DC 75
-[ ] Living space improvements
--[ ] Luxury living space
The current apartments are adequate, but not luxurious. Expand the existing ones by including more floors and extra amenities. DC 40, can be taken with More living space for DC 55, counts as 1 action
--[ ] More living space
Now that actual money is rolling in and you're firmly established, more and more people will be coming. It's a good idea to stay ahead of the curve, maybe even set up a whole new town, as it seems that this is something you're in constant need of. DC 30, can be taken with Luxury living space for DC 55, counts as 1 action
--[ ] Plaza
How's a dictator supposed to give rousing speeches to their people without a wide plaza and a balcony. Jokes aside, the harvest festival brought to your attention the fact that people don't have a sufficiently large area for gathering. Fostering a strong sense of community is something Hailey is constantly on your case about, and a space should be set aside for it. DC 20
--[ ] Church
You might keep your religious beliefs close to chest, but having a place of worship for others could be important. It'd also show your nominal overlords breathing down your neck that you're an important cultural center and a quick hostile takeover is out of the question. DC 30
--[ ] Stadium
There are gyms and resistance equipment scattered throughout your colony to help stave off muscle atrophy and brittle bones, but nothing even the size of a basketball court. You've heard that sport is a common leisure activity and a great propaganda tool both for recruitment as well as demonizing your enemies. Not that you'd ever do that, you just wanted to play some ball. DC 30
The current apartments are adequate, but not luxurious. Expand the existing ones by including more floors and extra amenities. DC 40, can be taken with More living space for DC 55, counts as 1 action
--[ ] More living space
Now that actual money is rolling in and you're firmly established, more and more people will be coming. It's a good idea to stay ahead of the curve, maybe even set up a whole new town, as it seems that this is something you're in constant need of. DC 30, can be taken with Luxury living space for DC 55, counts as 1 action
--[ ] Plaza
How's a dictator supposed to give rousing speeches to their people without a wide plaza and a balcony. Jokes aside, the harvest festival brought to your attention the fact that people don't have a sufficiently large area for gathering. Fostering a strong sense of community is something Hailey is constantly on your case about, and a space should be set aside for it. DC 20
--[ ] Church
You might keep your religious beliefs close to chest, but having a place of worship for others could be important. It'd also show your nominal overlords breathing down your neck that you're an important cultural center and a quick hostile takeover is out of the question. DC 30
--[ ] Stadium
There are gyms and resistance equipment scattered throughout your colony to help stave off muscle atrophy and brittle bones, but nothing even the size of a basketball court. You've heard that sport is a common leisure activity and a great propaganda tool both for recruitment as well as demonizing your enemies. Not that you'd ever do that, you just wanted to play some ball. DC 30
-[ ] Power
--[ ] Fission power plant
Sure you've a good system developed for powering your stuff, but diversity is a strength. Unlike the free sunlight, you'd need to import uranium, possibly refine it too, not to mention the difficulty of developing and constructing a plant from scratch. On the plus side, waste isn't a problem when you've the world's biggest incinerator staring down on you and no pesky gravity to stop you from chucking things in. Your new vassals are definitely capable of helping here. DC 50
--[ ] Fusion power plant
This is what the big boys use. There's a total of three functional ones on Earth, one on Mars and probably a few on some cutting edge satellites and military cruisers, so it might be worth it to build one just for the prestige alone. It'll also mean that as long as you have access to the most abundant element in the world you can produce power. Not to mention the potential scientific benefits. DC 95
Sure you've a good system developed for powering your stuff, but diversity is a strength. Unlike the free sunlight, you'd need to import uranium, possibly refine it too, not to mention the difficulty of developing and constructing a plant from scratch. On the plus side, waste isn't a problem when you've the world's biggest incinerator staring down on you and no pesky gravity to stop you from chucking things in. Your new vassals are definitely capable of helping here. DC 50
--[ ] Fusion power plant
This is what the big boys use. There's a total of three functional ones on Earth, one on Mars and probably a few on some cutting edge satellites and military cruisers, so it might be worth it to build one just for the prestige alone. It'll also mean that as long as you have access to the most abundant element in the world you can produce power. Not to mention the potential scientific benefits. DC 95
A quiet individual, it took you months to find out that one of the children in your colony was the daughter of your personnel manager. When Ragnar Erikson does contribute to the conversation, it's usually a well thought out response or an insightful comment and his action plans are clear and concise. Perhaps this is just his way of separating his occasionally thankless job and his private life, and the man has the trust of all your councilors. In 2178, he remarried, snagging your head diplomat all to himself. Choose 1 action.
[ ] Internal Affairs
-[ ] The colonists
Why did Europe come after your rock so insistently? Sure it's a lovely rock, but as you sent them packing, it clearly wasn't worth fighting over. Was it just an overzealous officer? Find out what you can about the expedition to Little Klondike and the lead officer, one Lisette Rousseau. DC 55
-[ ] Poke the black site
Alright, so you're not going to launch a probe to knock on their front door – unlike some intellectually challenged individuals around – but if a casual solar wind analyzer happens to pass by, they'd surely have more to lose by reacting to it. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it gave man the stars and if you've built a house next to a wolf den then you should make sure to guard your sheep. Err, bad analogy, you definitely don't think of your people as sheep. Anyways, try to find out anything about your secret neighbor. DC 70
-[ ] The congregation
The monks have arrived on your station and keeping them contained and complacent should be trivial enough, but you thoroughly plan to probe their inner peace. Secretly. DC 40
-[ ] Prismdust investigation
The ex-Martian research base might not want other visitors, but you feel rightfully entitled to conducting an audit of the base yourself. That, and if there's a legal storm brewing, you intend to get ahead of it this time. DC 45
-[ ] Base information
-[ ] Council investigation
-[ ] The independent neighbors
Why did Europe come after your rock so insistently? Sure it's a lovely rock, but as you sent them packing, it clearly wasn't worth fighting over. Was it just an overzealous officer? Find out what you can about the expedition to Little Klondike and the lead officer, one Lisette Rousseau. DC 55
-[ ] Poke the black site
Alright, so you're not going to launch a probe to knock on their front door – unlike some intellectually challenged individuals around – but if a casual solar wind analyzer happens to pass by, they'd surely have more to lose by reacting to it. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it gave man the stars and if you've built a house next to a wolf den then you should make sure to guard your sheep. Err, bad analogy, you definitely don't think of your people as sheep. Anyways, try to find out anything about your secret neighbor. DC 70
-[ ] The congregation
The monks have arrived on your station and keeping them contained and complacent should be trivial enough, but you thoroughly plan to probe their inner peace. Secretly. DC 40
-[ ] Prismdust investigation
The ex-Martian research base might not want other visitors, but you feel rightfully entitled to conducting an audit of the base yourself. That, and if there's a legal storm brewing, you intend to get ahead of it this time. DC 45
-[ ] Base information
--[ ] Census
Take stock of your current populace. Where do they come from, what do they think of life here, familial status, religious affiliation, occupations, etc. DC 35
--[ ] Emergency generators
Your current power supply is awfully vulnerable to forces of nature and targeted attacks alike. Set up well hidden, well shielded and separately supplied backup generators that would at least sustain basic life support around your compound should something happen to the solar fields. DC 30
--[ ] Schooling expansion
A glorified kindergarten is fine and all, but being a center of learning in the New Belt could certainly be beneficial. Having access to more scientists, not having to send your brightest off the base and getting that sweet influx of new taxpayers and customers for your businesses. Still, you've taken baby steps, now you'll need to walk before running. Set up a general purpose high school focused on university preparation for the students. DC 45
--[ ] Global WIFI
With generally expanded data transfer equipment set up in your central complex, you can fix the issue of having communication on your proverbial backside. At the moment you need to route through your silver mine tower and the single mobile antenna you have. Set up towers all over Little Klondike to grant adequate internet connection to every nook and cranny. DC 50
Take stock of your current populace. Where do they come from, what do they think of life here, familial status, religious affiliation, occupations, etc. DC 35
--[ ] Emergency generators
Your current power supply is awfully vulnerable to forces of nature and targeted attacks alike. Set up well hidden, well shielded and separately supplied backup generators that would at least sustain basic life support around your compound should something happen to the solar fields. DC 30
--[ ] Schooling expansion
A glorified kindergarten is fine and all, but being a center of learning in the New Belt could certainly be beneficial. Having access to more scientists, not having to send your brightest off the base and getting that sweet influx of new taxpayers and customers for your businesses. Still, you've taken baby steps, now you'll need to walk before running. Set up a general purpose high school focused on university preparation for the students. DC 45
--[ ] Global WIFI
With generally expanded data transfer equipment set up in your central complex, you can fix the issue of having communication on your proverbial backside. At the moment you need to route through your silver mine tower and the single mobile antenna you have. Set up towers all over Little Klondike to grant adequate internet connection to every nook and cranny. DC 50
-[ ] Council investigation
--[ ] Hailey Maria Erikson and her very real imaginary issues
So you now know what must surely be her biggest secret, but a rogue AI, while undoubtedly useful, reeks of Icarian hubris. Worse yet, said AI will know as soon as any contingencies are brought up around Hailey. Not only does this mean that the task of rooting it out is incredibly difficult, it's also insanely dangerous to the person you care about. Still, what's a secret project amongst friends? Develop a preliminary protocol for dealing with the potential threat of the AI taking over, maybe consider – very carefully – how to remove it entirely. DC 50
--[ ] Thorough check – Amanda Carpenter
The conversation with Luke Memphis got you wondering – did she really never take a bribe, or was she already bought and paid for all along? Or perhaps you've inherited her enemies and they're just biding their time to strike. Either way, dig a bit deeper into her past than is strictly polite and find out. DC 40
--[ ] Thorough check – Ken Hiragi
There's something about the nice, quiet ones. Erikson brought to your attention the barest of possibilities, but you should still follow up and reassure yourself. DC 50
--[ ] Thorough check – Ragnar Erikson
Hah, only a fool would take the master of intrigue at his word. Dig into Erikson's story and see what there is to see. Either you don't get caught and there can be no harm done to you or you do, in which case you'll give good odds that he'll understand anyway. Indeed, he probably expects you to have already done so. DC 55
--[ ] Confront Lena Weissmeier about her condition
She's kept her potential medical history to herself for over a decade now, and you've not discussed it so far either. Change that and confront your lead scientist, offering to direct research and resources her way should it help out. Hopefully she'll overlook the breach of her privacy and not get too upset with you. DC 30
So you now know what must surely be her biggest secret, but a rogue AI, while undoubtedly useful, reeks of Icarian hubris. Worse yet, said AI will know as soon as any contingencies are brought up around Hailey. Not only does this mean that the task of rooting it out is incredibly difficult, it's also insanely dangerous to the person you care about. Still, what's a secret project amongst friends? Develop a preliminary protocol for dealing with the potential threat of the AI taking over, maybe consider – very carefully – how to remove it entirely. DC 50
--[ ] Thorough check – Amanda Carpenter
The conversation with Luke Memphis got you wondering – did she really never take a bribe, or was she already bought and paid for all along? Or perhaps you've inherited her enemies and they're just biding their time to strike. Either way, dig a bit deeper into her past than is strictly polite and find out. DC 40
--[ ] Thorough check – Ken Hiragi
There's something about the nice, quiet ones. Erikson brought to your attention the barest of possibilities, but you should still follow up and reassure yourself. DC 50
--[ ] Thorough check – Ragnar Erikson
Hah, only a fool would take the master of intrigue at his word. Dig into Erikson's story and see what there is to see. Either you don't get caught and there can be no harm done to you or you do, in which case you'll give good odds that he'll understand anyway. Indeed, he probably expects you to have already done so. DC 55
--[ ] Confront Lena Weissmeier about her condition
She's kept her potential medical history to herself for over a decade now, and you've not discussed it so far either. Change that and confront your lead scientist, offering to direct research and resources her way should it help out. Hopefully she'll overlook the breach of her privacy and not get too upset with you. DC 30
-[ ] The independent neighbors
--[ ] Study Ironbond
Oliver Jarnstad was direct to the point and brash but honest; or a good enough teller of half-truths. If he wasn't such a douche about things, you'd have gotten along famously. However, his extended family and the corporation tied to it have some shady history. Try to get a more thorough and up-to-date overview of their colonial ventures in your sector. DC 30
--[ ] Study Azure Star
From what you gathered during your first meeting, the colony is perhaps the closest analogue to your own, but you know very little about them. Set about fixing that: what do they have on site, who were their leaders before they were directors? Rulers? Supreme space sovereigns? Whatever they style themselves as. DC 30
Oliver Jarnstad was direct to the point and brash but honest; or a good enough teller of half-truths. If he wasn't such a douche about things, you'd have gotten along famously. However, his extended family and the corporation tied to it have some shady history. Try to get a more thorough and up-to-date overview of their colonial ventures in your sector. DC 30
--[ ] Study Azure Star
From what you gathered during your first meeting, the colony is perhaps the closest analogue to your own, but you know very little about them. Set about fixing that: what do they have on site, who were their leaders before they were directors? Rulers? Supreme space sovereigns? Whatever they style themselves as. DC 30
Miss Weissmeier is a younger, more conventionally beautiful and feminine version of Miss Carpenter. Even in zero G she wears a dark business skirt and heels, her reports are thorough and drier than a vacuum, but you can't fault her data or methods – bar one. She might be the youngest on your council, and in rare moments her lack of life experience shows, but you're quite glad to have someone with medical expertise on standby at all times. Choose 1 subject.
[ ] Research
-[ ] Mineral surveys
The general readings claim that your rock should have a good balance of light and heavy metals, silicates and oxygen rich rock, and who knows what else. You've gone over the surrounding top soil, for lack of a better term, but there's more to the asteroid both in depth as well as further out, keep looking for more minerals. DC 40
-[ ] Patent encryption breaking
There's several techs in your colony that you'd be able to produce yourself, in theory. From guns to motors to radios and lasers you should be able to make the components as prototypes in your lab. It's not industrial scale production and if someone caught wind of you using or worse yet, selling cracked products you'd be in trouble. But if you don't get caught then you'd be able to sustain your own needs just fine. DC 60
-[ ] Nanomachine forge
The experimental version of the silver nanites was a resounding success. Now, it's a matter of producing more than a pinch of them each month and for that, you need specialized equipment. Perhaps you can further refine your existing printers, perhaps you can train the existing robots to make more of themselves. Gray goo? Never heard of it. DC 60
-[ ] Solar wind capture
The lighter the element, the less likely you are to find a good supply of it around here. Unfortunately hydrogen is one of those, yet you need a constant supply of it. It's used in many, many chemical reactions and synthesizing processes, it's a prime component of rocket fuel and the only component of fusion fuel. It's also hard to keep recycling it, as the tiny gas can leak through most seals in time. Thus, try to catch some of the material that the Sun constantly bombards you with. DC 80
-[ ] Magnetic field research
A key component of fusion, magnetic fields can be used to direct a stream of particles. Similarly, Earth enjoys a protective shell shielding her from harmful radiation thanks to a massive iron core generating immensely big fields. Could there be anything you can do to replicate these effects? Or perhaps probing one of the fundamental forces of the universe might reveal some new applications that people haven't thought of or haven't needed so far. A new influx of scientific expertise from your acquisitions can probably help. DC 50
-[ ] Medical concerns
-[ ] AI
-[ ] Aerogel
The general readings claim that your rock should have a good balance of light and heavy metals, silicates and oxygen rich rock, and who knows what else. You've gone over the surrounding top soil, for lack of a better term, but there's more to the asteroid both in depth as well as further out, keep looking for more minerals. DC 40
-[ ] Patent encryption breaking
There's several techs in your colony that you'd be able to produce yourself, in theory. From guns to motors to radios and lasers you should be able to make the components as prototypes in your lab. It's not industrial scale production and if someone caught wind of you using or worse yet, selling cracked products you'd be in trouble. But if you don't get caught then you'd be able to sustain your own needs just fine. DC 60
-[ ] Nanomachine forge
The experimental version of the silver nanites was a resounding success. Now, it's a matter of producing more than a pinch of them each month and for that, you need specialized equipment. Perhaps you can further refine your existing printers, perhaps you can train the existing robots to make more of themselves. Gray goo? Never heard of it. DC 60
-[ ] Solar wind capture
The lighter the element, the less likely you are to find a good supply of it around here. Unfortunately hydrogen is one of those, yet you need a constant supply of it. It's used in many, many chemical reactions and synthesizing processes, it's a prime component of rocket fuel and the only component of fusion fuel. It's also hard to keep recycling it, as the tiny gas can leak through most seals in time. Thus, try to catch some of the material that the Sun constantly bombards you with. DC 80
-[ ] Magnetic field research
A key component of fusion, magnetic fields can be used to direct a stream of particles. Similarly, Earth enjoys a protective shell shielding her from harmful radiation thanks to a massive iron core generating immensely big fields. Could there be anything you can do to replicate these effects? Or perhaps probing one of the fundamental forces of the universe might reveal some new applications that people haven't thought of or haven't needed so far. A new influx of scientific expertise from your acquisitions can probably help. DC 50
-[ ] Medical concerns
--[ ] Medic Training
The people in your colony come from various backgrounds and educations, but lifesaving knowledge is something everyone should have. Expand the rudimentary programs currently set up and make it a mandatory part of life on this rock. It will cut into productivity a bit but it'll be worth it to literally save lives. DC 20
--[ ] Oncology ward
The next step towards a fully-fledged space hospital is a cancer ward. Cosmic radiation can be mitigated quite well these days, but ultimately the human cell is still the same as it was thousands of years ago. For most colonists, there's the option of flying back to Earth for treatment if the tumor is detected on time, but you'd like to be better than that. DC 55
--[ ] Life extension
Sure, you'll probably live to see a hundred and fifty, barring some accident. But if you want to enjoy eternal youth not eternal life, then you might want to put in your own contribution to the development of various life extension technologies. DC 60
--[ ] Silver nanites 2
A follow-up to the technology Lena has come up with, with focus on the areas she listed as having room for improvement. The little critters can (semi-theoretically) fix strands of DNA damaged by the generation loss effect or be programmed to produce organic compounds from the constituent molecules. And whatever else your head scientist can come up with. DC 80
--[ ] Bionic eyes
The clear, extremely lightly conductive, inert material of your aerogel, alongside the talk of augmented reality seems to have given Lena a strange idea: to build artificial eyes out of the material. While you're not sure you'd gouge out your own, she seemed enthusiastic about the research as such. Supposedly she could combine the gel with her nanites to revive damaged ocular nerves and make one of the most complex organs a human body has. DC 60
The people in your colony come from various backgrounds and educations, but lifesaving knowledge is something everyone should have. Expand the rudimentary programs currently set up and make it a mandatory part of life on this rock. It will cut into productivity a bit but it'll be worth it to literally save lives. DC 20
--[ ] Oncology ward
The next step towards a fully-fledged space hospital is a cancer ward. Cosmic radiation can be mitigated quite well these days, but ultimately the human cell is still the same as it was thousands of years ago. For most colonists, there's the option of flying back to Earth for treatment if the tumor is detected on time, but you'd like to be better than that. DC 55
--[ ] Life extension
Sure, you'll probably live to see a hundred and fifty, barring some accident. But if you want to enjoy eternal youth not eternal life, then you might want to put in your own contribution to the development of various life extension technologies. DC 60
--[ ] Silver nanites 2
A follow-up to the technology Lena has come up with, with focus on the areas she listed as having room for improvement. The little critters can (semi-theoretically) fix strands of DNA damaged by the generation loss effect or be programmed to produce organic compounds from the constituent molecules. And whatever else your head scientist can come up with. DC 80
--[ ] Bionic eyes
The clear, extremely lightly conductive, inert material of your aerogel, alongside the talk of augmented reality seems to have given Lena a strange idea: to build artificial eyes out of the material. While you're not sure you'd gouge out your own, she seemed enthusiastic about the research as such. Supposedly she could combine the gel with her nanites to revive damaged ocular nerves and make one of the most complex organs a human body has. DC 60
-[ ] AI
--[ ] Mark II
Refactor the code, give it more abilities, apply what you've learnt so far. Perhaps you can trust it with some actual tasks by now, it hasn't done anything more sinister than cause Lena to refer to it as 'he'. DC 70
--[ ] Power optimization
The AI takes up a noticeable chunk of your total base power. In part because it's always on, unlike the furnaces, but it's still far too much; you know you can cut it by a magnitude of magnitude orders. Put Project Goldfish on a diet. DC 55
--[ ] Miniaturization
Having a supercomputer the size of a large room is fine for research, but it's not very practical in engineering. Work to change the AI from fit for ships and buildings to fit for tablets and power armor. DC 60
--[ ] Training: social analysis
Ragnar once mentioned that to improve the intelligence reports your customs teams create, an AI would be perfect. Now granted, you haven't checked if he still thinks that way after learning about Hailey, but it's only a passing similarity. Let the computer loose on the gathered data and find out for what it thinks of the colonists and their views towards you. DC 30
--[ ] Training: combat prediction
Aiming torpedoes when the distances involved are counted in megameters and the targets are free to move whenever requires more than a ballistics computer; you need something capable of predicting responses based on details in the engine wear and tear signature, or whatever else an AI could read. Just make sure it's not training on profiles of your own ship… just in case. DC 40
--[ ] Applied intelligence
Right, you have an AI, and dumb as a rock it might be, it's still capable of rapid data analysis. You won't be swayed by horror stories meant for children, plug it into your actual network and set it to work on some project you're pursuing. Free action, does not consume research slot. DC ??
---[ ] Write-in project, adds +10 to roll
--[ ] Pull the plug
You have other, more pressing concerns, and while the AI could passively truck along in the background, a few of Lena's more trusted scientists keeping an eye on it and studying it passively, you don't want to take any risks or spend the power. Turn the servers off and let the machine intelligence lay dormant. Free action, does not consume research slot. DC 2
Refactor the code, give it more abilities, apply what you've learnt so far. Perhaps you can trust it with some actual tasks by now, it hasn't done anything more sinister than cause Lena to refer to it as 'he'. DC 70
--[ ] Power optimization
The AI takes up a noticeable chunk of your total base power. In part because it's always on, unlike the furnaces, but it's still far too much; you know you can cut it by a magnitude of magnitude orders. Put Project Goldfish on a diet. DC 55
--[ ] Miniaturization
Having a supercomputer the size of a large room is fine for research, but it's not very practical in engineering. Work to change the AI from fit for ships and buildings to fit for tablets and power armor. DC 60
--[ ] Training: social analysis
Ragnar once mentioned that to improve the intelligence reports your customs teams create, an AI would be perfect. Now granted, you haven't checked if he still thinks that way after learning about Hailey, but it's only a passing similarity. Let the computer loose on the gathered data and find out for what it thinks of the colonists and their views towards you. DC 30
--[ ] Training: combat prediction
Aiming torpedoes when the distances involved are counted in megameters and the targets are free to move whenever requires more than a ballistics computer; you need something capable of predicting responses based on details in the engine wear and tear signature, or whatever else an AI could read. Just make sure it's not training on profiles of your own ship… just in case. DC 40
--[ ] Applied intelligence
Right, you have an AI, and dumb as a rock it might be, it's still capable of rapid data analysis. You won't be swayed by horror stories meant for children, plug it into your actual network and set it to work on some project you're pursuing. Free action, does not consume research slot. DC ??
---[ ] Write-in project, adds +10 to roll
--[ ] Pull the plug
You have other, more pressing concerns, and while the AI could passively truck along in the background, a few of Lena's more trusted scientists keeping an eye on it and studying it passively, you don't want to take any risks or spend the power. Turn the servers off and let the machine intelligence lay dormant. Free action, does not consume research slot. DC 2
-[ ] Aerogel
--[ ] Aerogel production
Surely you must be able to figure out a way to manufacture the stuff wholesale. You have all the materials needed in abundance. Plus it'll let you patent the process, so your deposit truly will remain the only source in the world. Or if it turns out to require some cosmic process not replicable by humans, at least you'll have a prestigious paper to publish. DC 80
--[ ] Aerogel structures
See-through? Paint it. Light enough to float in Earth winds? No weather in space. You've survived one steel shortage, but this stuff could be your solution for the foreseeable future. Work with Lena to figure out a way to make use of aerogel for construction purposes, perhaps even sell your own habitat modules. Also, you'd expect that similar techniques can be used to construct spaceship chassis'. DC 60
--[ ] Aerogel armor
Those ceramics in your light power armor you wanted to upgrade? Well, this could be it. The gel doesn't shatter on impact like normal silicates do, it's probably possible to make it bendy by doping it with normal fibers, it's not air-permeable and can totally withstand the pressures. And it's lighter than any other armor, or clothing for that matter, so you might even be able to sell it to planetary markets. DC 60
--[ ] Aerogel classics
Sometimes you don't need to come up with something new, just do the old thing better than anyone else. The usual aerogel markets are trivially easy to break into with your new edge; start a test run of optics for telescopes or weapon sights, make heatshields for ground to orbit craft or exhaust cones, produce sports gear. DC 40
Surely you must be able to figure out a way to manufacture the stuff wholesale. You have all the materials needed in abundance. Plus it'll let you patent the process, so your deposit truly will remain the only source in the world. Or if it turns out to require some cosmic process not replicable by humans, at least you'll have a prestigious paper to publish. DC 80
--[ ] Aerogel structures
See-through? Paint it. Light enough to float in Earth winds? No weather in space. You've survived one steel shortage, but this stuff could be your solution for the foreseeable future. Work with Lena to figure out a way to make use of aerogel for construction purposes, perhaps even sell your own habitat modules. Also, you'd expect that similar techniques can be used to construct spaceship chassis'. DC 60
--[ ] Aerogel armor
Those ceramics in your light power armor you wanted to upgrade? Well, this could be it. The gel doesn't shatter on impact like normal silicates do, it's probably possible to make it bendy by doping it with normal fibers, it's not air-permeable and can totally withstand the pressures. And it's lighter than any other armor, or clothing for that matter, so you might even be able to sell it to planetary markets. DC 60
--[ ] Aerogel classics
Sometimes you don't need to come up with something new, just do the old thing better than anyone else. The usual aerogel markets are trivially easy to break into with your new edge; start a test run of optics for telescopes or weapon sights, make heatshields for ground to orbit craft or exhaust cones, produce sports gear. DC 40
[ ] Personal action
-[ ] Write-in
Is there something you'd like to do outside of work? Not mandatory.
Is there something you'd like to do outside of work? Not mandatory.
-.-
Amazing how taking even a short break (two weeks counts as short, right?) can throw me off. On the other hand, another new record for chapter length, and this time it's not actually the choices that make up the bulk of the wordcount. Sorry for the delay.
Also a little remainder to not miss the two choice prompts (The matter of sentience and Prismdust project). As usual, any questions and comments/criticisms are welcome.
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
So many research topics...
Guys, I'm not really feeling AI to be honest? I'd like medical nanos 2 and solar wind capture. Medi-nanos because I think our scientist needs them to not die, and solar wind capture because hydrogen --> water, and water supply is our single biggest liability against self sufficiency.
Guys, I'm not really feeling AI to be honest? I'd like medical nanos 2 and solar wind capture. Medi-nanos because I think our scientist needs them to not die, and solar wind capture because hydrogen --> water, and water supply is our single biggest liability against self sufficiency.
Last edited: