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Given that each update represents a decade, there's plenty of room for this after my previous fluff piece. Welp, I finally took the plunge and bought a View, and I have to say, it's both awesome and a little creepy. At the moment, software support is slim, mostly consisting of an enhanced 3D view in existing programs, but there are a few pieces of software written with the View in mind, and I gave one of them a try: Endless Blue 2. The previous game in the series did, from what I'm told, an excellent simulation of SCUBA-diving in the oceans of Earth. I can't speak to that, but I can say it was relaxing to play, or even just to listen to, with lots of colorful wildlife and no real urgency. Endless Blue 2 brings the same basic setup to the oceans of Chiron, along with the usual improvements you expect in a sequel: better graphics, better controls, that sort of thing. The story is still threadbare, giving only the briefest explanation to get you in the water with the local wildlife and the flimsiest of excuses for why said wildlife doesn't instantly tear you apart. There's plot progression to be had, unlocking new equipment (which lets you dive in ever more dangerous areas safely) and completing missions to document the native wildlife. (Said wildlife is 'based on' real data on Chiron's seas, though there's a disclaimer that you shouldn't use this as an encyclopedia or anything.) That said, this isn't a game you buy because of a compelling narrative; it's a game you buy because you want to swim with fish, ideally without getting eaten. And in that regard it delivers. Playing the previous game was fun, but this one is immersive (no pun intended). It really feels like you're there in the ocean, to the point that, when I turned my head and saw a glowjelly practically touching me, I nearly fell out of my chair. The sound design is also excellent; the music (written by the same team used for the first game) feels like it's coming from all around you, but not so loudly as to obscure the noises of water and wildlife. You can play this game on a regular screen, but the experience isn't nearly the same. If you're still on the fence about the View, this is what they call a 'killer ap'. --Posted in MorganNet Gaming thread 'VR Gaming - You're going to Love the View'. I'm inclined to call the device the Lovelace VR View, but it's Bliss Authority's ball. If she wants to name it something that doesn't have 'View' in, I can go back and change it.
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Jan 30, 2015 21:18
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Night10194 posted:
I think little Billy's potentially an android. (or the CEO, it's hard to know).
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Jan 30, 2015 21:23
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Night10194 posted:So, out of character, what IS our plan if the Gaians or Spartans step to us? Because it looks like Santiago is getting ready for it, at least, from that Seething mood. I'm curious what sorts of preparations I should have a low level security trooper going through; I'm sure Talon is getting ready for war, just in case, and I think it'd be kind of neat to write what a relatively pacifistic mercantile society's tentative war prep looks like. With Santiago: Defensive war and probes, as Cythereal said. With Deirdre, if nweismuller decides to play in a really gamey way for some reason, Gaia's Landing is only two tiles off of our border, so we could technically take Deirdre's capital out with rovers without ever having the game register a single drone. And that could put further bases in range for more rushing. I don't see that happening in this LP, though.
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Jan 30, 2015 21:34
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Incidentally, we at the Tlaloc Initiative - formerly known as Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd - are looking for volunteers for Project Xochimilco, if you want to give Endless Blue a try as more than just a game. Tulum Station, our seafloor base testbed. Xochimilco is rather more ambitious than this. If you're interested in exciting first-line research and engineering challenges of all kinds in a unique environment for competitive pay, Xochimilco may be the perfect fit! The Tlaloc Initiative: Swimming in the sea of dreams Posted in MorganNet Gaming thread 'VR Gaming - You're going to Love the View'. by The Tlaloc Initiative
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Jan 30, 2015 21:39
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I'm bowing out for now till we get to Miriam. I figure I could play a pretty good Believer diplomat. Atlas Neuroscience today confirmed the shock death of its CEO and founder Dr. John Gartner. Gartner had been recorded as being in fine health until a few days previously, where it is believed that he suffered a massive stroke brought on by what is believed to be an undetected aneurysm. Tributes have already come in from the staff at Atlas Neuroscience, with people at all levels of the company saying he was an active, friendly personality, the seemingly boundless dynamo who no one imagined ever coming to a halt. There were rumours circulating that Dr. Gartner was planning to retire and was going to designate a heir for the company, but with those plans cut off before they could begin Atlas Neuroscience is now left at an impasse, as it needs a new CEO and none of the candidates whose names have been put forward have expressed a desire to run the company, being almost exclusively of a strictly scientific or engineering bent. There have been reports of Atlas looking further afield for new management or perhaps even a buyer... Excerpt from MorganNews Current Edition okay i lied Personal Log, PFC Richard Baxton, Scout Rover Pilot Today's my first day on the job at Talon Security. I'd like to say I'm excited but all those years racing buggies have landed me right in the thick of it - a posting out in Scout Rover company. Nothing wrong with the buggies of course - a machinegun and fusion engine with wheels is good enough for anything - but I'd hoped I'd not be thrown right in with the worms. Dad always said to stay away from the fungus, but he went and got himself killed with his own stupid bottle so what does he know? Well, whatever. Important thing is, I hear there's some good ramping off some of the fungal spires. I also hear that my buggy has four patched up worm holes in it and four dead occupants before me. Sometimes, you just gotta tune the bad news out or you end up curled up in bed all day crying like a little girl. Not that I did that or anything.
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Jan 30, 2015 22:17
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Kangra posted:I think little Billy's potentially an android. (or the CEO, it's hard to know). I'm really glad someone caught that. Also, oh poo poo, it's Richard Baxton. Good luck, Recon Rick! Night10194 fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Jan 30, 2015 |
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Jan 30, 2015 22:19
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Kangra posted:I think little Billy's potentially an android. (or the CEO, it's hard to know). I don't get it.
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Jan 30, 2015 23:19
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FredMSloniker posted:I don't get it. Look up Lance Hendrikson.
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Jan 30, 2015 23:44
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Things to bear in mind about the 'dunk': *Your body is essentially remade on a cellular level, going from the verge of senescence to the end of adolescence. The saying, 'Youth is wasted on the young'? It no longer has relevance. Youth is now the provenance of the inexperienced, and the successful. *Loved ones. If you can book a session at a similar time to your spouse, it will save a lot of heartache. If your spouse chooses not to take the treatment... accept their choice. I strongly suggest the both of you seek counselling in this instance. We have some of the finest psych specialists in the world, make use of them. *With youth comes the need to be careful. Hormones have been mentioned by other posters, bear in mind why that is and act accordingly. If your grandkids end up with some brand new aunts and uncles, make sure it isn't by accident. *Recog software. Fingerprints are still good, voice-ident can struggle, retinal scans are generally okay. Make sure you have a fallback in case something goes awry. *Judging by appearance just got a lot harder. That callow youth might have been born on Earth. There's something in the eyes, the weight of years, that remains even after the treatment, but it's hard to describe, almost uncanny valley, wise eyes in a young face. This has security implications: Corporate espionage with old vets going for intern positions. The limits of the possible are now much broader. - Posted in MorganNet Social Board thread Experiences with Rejuvenation by A. Kusisitiza
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Jan 31, 2015 00:08
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(Ending Aging by Aubrey de Grey is pretty good on this, if rather optimistic about the timeline of life-extension. Michio Kaku agrees in physics of the future it should be possible, but more conservatively, between 2070-2120.) So, let's just build probe teams then, and go on a blitz against non-capital sites...
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Jan 31, 2015 00:35
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Hmmm. With Deirdre going Fundy, I wonder if non-Stepdaughters are starting to face religious prosecution as everyday citizens in her territory. Not a bad RP hook, non-Stepdaughters fleeing the Gaians and seeking asylum with Morgan. As for why Deirdre went Fundy, after thinking about it and my experience with the game, I think the AI always decides that any SE choice is better than frontier/simple/survival. A poster mentioned earlier that the faction that discovers Secrets of the Human Brain always seems to go Fundy, and I think that's because Secrets is the first government tech that faction gets so the AI switches to it over frontier. Deirdre usually prefers Democracy, so I'd imagine that she'd switch over to that if she had the relevant tech. Cythereal fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Jan 31, 2015 |
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Jan 31, 2015 00:54
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I can't wait to see the other factions show up. Is there any general framework as to how you're going to react once you meet them?
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Jan 31, 2015 06:42
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Morgan Industries itself, as a general policy, will prefer to open up profitable trading relations without prejudice, and favors a decidedly pacifist policy. Once Democratic politics are in play, however, foreign and security policy shall be in the hands of politicians...
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Jan 31, 2015 06:52
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...And this morning brings us a new surprising rumour about Atlas Neuroscience. An anonymous source claims that the Golden Dawn investment fund has shown interest in buying Atlas out. According to this source, the two companies might already be in preliminary talks. More on the Atlas situation as it develops. And now, the weather. Excerpt from MorganNews Current Edition Children of Chiron IM logs posted:@DawnOfTheWorms//Achilles: if we have no other objections, tomorrow Golden Dawn will contact Atlas with an offer [OOC: I'll gladly take Atlas off your hands, brb. I'm hoping we'll finally get Secrets of the Human Brain next update!]
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Jan 31, 2015 07:42
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... in other news, Fruits of the Sea Limited entered into negotiations with the Tlaloc Initiative for purchase of a portion of the fishing rights currently exploited by Tlaloc in the Freshwater Sea. The Fruits of the Sea business plan looks towards an establishment of a series of fishing operations as coastal populations in North Pholus grow... - archives of Northern News Network broadcasts
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Jan 31, 2015 08:43
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quote:[OOC: I'll gladly take Atlas off your hands, brb. I'm hoping we'll finally get Secrets of the Human Brain next update!] Go ahead and grab it. These Children of Chiron sound like the way I was initially planning to take Atlas anyway. Also man, that Mount Planet start for Santiago. is there any BETTER place to end up for someone looking to kill the world?
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Feb 1, 2015 02:31
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brb on fire posted:Also man, that Mount Planet start for Santiago. is there any BETTER place to end up for someone looking to kill the world? Believe it or not, I don't think Mount Planet is that great to start by. My standard procedure is to forest everything unless it's worth something special, but the caldera and ring of tiles surrounding it can't be terraformed. More useful about it, imo, is the great farmland on one side. It's not the worst by any means, though. The Great Dunes are flat-out useless, New Sargasso is iffy at best, and the Unity Crash Site in Alien Crossfire is pretty meh. Best starts, imo, are Garland Crater, Monsoon Jungle, and Uranium Flats.
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Feb 1, 2015 03:03
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Voting is now closed. With 14 persons voting on research allocation, 9 votes for Explore, 24 for Discover, 11 for Build, and 12 for Conquer were cast. With 13 voting on energy allocation, 43 votes were cast for Economy, 52 for Labs, and 35 for Psych, for averages of 3.31, 4, and 2.69. We will have Discover research priorities and 30% Economy, 40% Labs, and 30% Psych. I will begin playing through the update now.
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Feb 1, 2015 04:23
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In our top story tonight, Nwabudike Morgan is reported to have forwarded a proposed constitution for the 'North Pholus Republic' to the Boards of Directors of all four Settlement Authorities. Under the Constitution, the current Boards would be replaced by Settlement Executives chosen by popular vote of local adult citizens, with chartered limits on the authority and budget of Settlement Executives, and with a popular right of constitutional review on proposed actions reserved to the people. A Colony Executive elected by the adult population of the republic as a whole would have the right to set overall foreign policy and security policy for the republic. Rights to speech, religion, contract, property, and due process are specifically guaranteed under this proposed Constitution... - Northern News Network, 2165
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Feb 1, 2015 05:34
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Please tell me we'll at least steal Secrets of the Human Brain.
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Feb 1, 2015 05:38
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Self-Evident Truths   As the Talon Security Solutions scout unit continued exploring the eastern reaches of North Pholus territory, it encountered another swarm of worms in 2161. With the initiative on their side, the scouting company cleared out the worms, pressing on to update charts of Pholus. A year later, they sighted a small band of New Gaian special operations troops, but contact with these was swiftly lost.  Meanwhile, Bushnell Center's continued growth led to a major economic boom in the newest settlement of North Pholus. The prosperity of North Pholus seemed unquestionable.   Even as Bushnell Center entered its economic boom, the North Pholus Intelligence Service succeeded in sneaking into the Dominion capital of Gaia's Landing and setting network taps, surveillance devices, and informant networks that should be sufficient to keep North Pholus Intelligence updated on the current state of the Dominion of New Gaia. With their mission completed, they retreated to hold position in Torrson, maintaining a watch for New Gaian intelligence activities.  By 2163, the basic network infrastructure needed in Bushnell Center was assembled. Soon, the settlement would begin a major push to become the networking center of all of North Pholus.    A year later, Rat Patrol finally succeeded in escorting the strange alien device they had recovered back to Morgan, where Morgan Industries researchers proceeded on an aggressive program of study. Although the original purpose of the device remained unclear, some of the materials in it were suggestive to chemists, whose study led to a solid understanding of chemistry at very high temperatures. Perhaps the most dramatic product of these advances was the material known as 'plasma steel', an alloy with an extremely high melting point that must be formed by 'baking' very thin layers of plasmatic metal onto a substrate and allowing it to solidify. With enough layers to achieve appropriate thickness, plasma steel was perhaps the most durable material available to North Pholus industry. This also allows us to develop nerve gas pods, but deploying nerve gas is considered an atrocity with severe diplomatic repercussions, and I find deploying units with gas to be imprudent now.    The new materials, of course, led to new potential in military hardware, although it would take some time to smooth out the difficulties in the production process to make plasma steel armor plate or trauma plates standard-issue.  Unfortunately, 2164 also saw the destruction of the Talon reconnaissance unit on the eastern borders, as a worm swarm headed towards New Gaian territory ambushed and killed the surviving troops, swarming from the xenofungus and overwhelming the already understrength company with terror and madness. As this was happening, Tellus suffered something of an economic downturn coupled with an upswing in crime- the settlement was poorly-prepared for its growing population, and many of the younger people in the settlement were part of the only marginally-productive 'drone' class.   In 2165, growing correspondence between ethicists, psychologists, and Nwabudike Morgan bore fruit, with several books on logically-consistent ethical systems based on behavioral data and axioms of goals being published in that year. Perhaps the most widely-read of these was The Ethics of Greed, a book by Morgan convincingly demonstrating the superiority of strategies of honesty, industriousness, innovation, and independence in order to achieve the greatest possible long-term good for a single person concerned with their own well-being. With the ethical underpinnings of a society designed to maximise independence gaining wider acceptance amongst the general population, Morgan proceeded to draft a Constitution for a new Republic which he forwarded first to the Settlement Authorities, then, upon ratification by the Settlement Authorities, to the population at large, which voted to accept the new Constitution. With the new Constitution, the Settlement Authorities had their Boards replaced by elected Settlement Executives for each settlement, and the republic as a whole gained a Colony Executive as the nominal head of state. Nwabudike Morgan was elected as the first Colony Executive, although he swore that he would serve no more than five years in the position. The Ethics of Greed is indeed a canonical title of a book by Morgan.   In 2168, the terraformer teams outside of Bushnell Center, while working on establishing road and rail links to help service the mines south of the settlement, were assaulted by worms and overwhelmed. Although the worms themselves were shortly thereafter eliminated by Bushnell Center's local garrison, the tragic loss nonetheless set back work there.   The recession in Tellus ended in 2170, with growing employment, consumer facilities, and parks, combined with judicious civilian policing, helping to provide more opportunities for younger citizens and taking the worst criminals off the streets. I can only assume there is still civilian police work even if you can't use military force to ensure order. The North Pholus Republic in 2170  With the adoption of democratic control over the functions of the Settlement Authorities, the citizenry as a whole has a greater faith that the government will remain uncorrupted. The general prosperity the republic enjoys has led to larger family sizes, while the refocus of commercial leaders onto their core businesses rather than the business of the Settlement Authorities has helped keep the economy efficient. The limited budgets of the Settlement Authorities, however, do the military no favors. With +2 GROWTH, we trim two more boxes off the end of Nutrient rows, allowing for even faster population growth, while +2 EFFICIENCY helps reduce losses to inefficiency. The -2 SUPPORT brings us to a total of -3, which means we support no units free per settlement, and get no free bonus minerals for founding a new settlement. This will tend to be quite good economically, but makes a strong military force tricky.   Reserves of capital equipment and money are fairly low at the moment, with transition costs for the new government and investment in development of settlements having depleted much accumulated capital. Still, investment income has slowly increased over the past decade, and innovation remains strong.    Near the southern end of the Great Pholus Ridge, a number of different firms and families, led by Talon Security Solutions, prepares to establish a new settlement, expanding the republic's influence further north. The western hinterlands of Gaia's Landing have been more thoroughly charted, and the eastern border between North Pholus and New Gaia has been marked out.  The growing population in the settlement of Morgan has led to increased exploitation of farms and thorium sifters near the settlement, while investment into the Morgan Mercantile Exchange has continued at a frantic pace. The exchange should be completed within only a few years, bringing greater wealth to the settlement and helping provide investment resources across the republic. Once the exchange is completed, work to help chart out the seas north of the settlement should begin, hopefully to eventually find new trade partners for Morgan Industries and all North Pholus.  Wei Forestry has established a small territory of Earth trees south of Torrson, in readiness for timbering and agriculture. The growing population has encouraged more investment in consumer facilities and amenities in the settlement, before equipment to explore and develop the Freshwater Sea is built.  Tellus now matches Morgan for size, and remains one of the major centers of the republic. The uranium deposits in its hinterlands have been supplemented by thorium sifters, helping deliver prodigious amounts of fuel to the settlement's reactors and helping ensure its business burns on ceaselessly. A major park ringed by shops and theaters runs through its hab sectors, providing recreation and shopping opportunities to the population. Emerald Horizons has planted small seedlings on the land it owns near Tellus, and early profits have begun to flow to it from this land, but true forestation there has yet to be completed.  The production of Bushnell's mines is bottlenecked by lack of transport capacity, and a number of meagerly-productive farms on the western outskirts of the settlement are now in operation. The settlement has developed significant recreation and shopping facilities throughout, and plans to muster a new terraformer team to finish developing the area around the settlement before beginning serious work on improved network facilities. Both the Dominion of New Gaia and the Spartan Federation have relations with North Pholus strained to the breaking point, and Morgan's policy as Colony Executive has been to minimise contact to avoid provoking our unpredictable neighbors. His term as Colony Executive is up, however, and elections will be held soon. What policy shall be in the future remains to be seen.
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Feb 1, 2015 07:35
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Given that the unit I was going to have reinforce security at Bushnell got wiped out, and given that they also lost the terraformer, I have to ask: what can be done to make the settlement safer, besides shipping them another defensive unit?
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Feb 1, 2015 07:44
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Hal Kimberley's Private Log Let's see...mind worm complaint, bill, bill, junk, political junk, bill, scam, mind worms again, junk, junk, blatant scam...man, who thinks that one even works anymore? Honestly. What the? Ah, drat twitchy hand. End log. Sign out. Discover 4
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Feb 1, 2015 07:49
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Intelligence Report: Dominion of New Gaia, 2070 The New Gaian government continues to operate under ideocratic lines, with continued propaganda and pressure having led to the secular portion of the population having shrunk to an estimated 5% of the population. Some few migrants from the Dominion have crossed the border lines into North Pholus, seeking greater freedom and greater opportunity, but awareness of the difference in conditions on the northern side of the border remains limited amongst most New Gaians. Gaian scientists maintain a greater corpus of knowledge on neurology and have used information on computing protocols gained from North Pholus to establish their own intelligence service, but their ability to build effective local networks and their economic organisation remains limited, and they lack the advanced chemistry discovered due to analysis of alien materials in North Pholus. Although they have recently developed an understanding of consistent ethical systems similar to that seen north of the border, their leadership has not taken this seriously as an impetus to development of democratic governance. They have Secrets of the Human Brain, but lack High Energy Chemistry, Information Networks, and Industrial Economics.   New Gaian innovation is extremely slow compared to that of North Pholus, with a weaker economy and a lack of intellectual diversity crippling their ability to make further developments. Although their accumulation of capital is less relatively crippled, it is still quite slow compared to that of North Pholus.    New Gaia supports five major settlements, most of which have had significant portions of their economic output turned over to support the war effort against the Federation. The two largest settlements, Gaia's Landing and Lily of the Valley, match the size of Morgan or Tellus, while the other three are smaller. Lily of the Valley supports a major effort in biological and geological research, one which has dominated the settlement for many years as they work towards a stronger understanding of the local environment. Consumer spending is considerably lower than in North Pholus, with few luxuries available. Productivity amongst the Dominion population remains lower than north of the border.  Although military service continues to be treated as a punishment detail in New Gaia, leaving its troops relatively poorly-motivated and trained, it nonetheless supports a major military force that has suffered severe losses in warfare over time. Records of early experimentation with mindworms for military service have been recovered, but it appears that these mindworms and their handlers were lost in action.  Detailed information on Gaia's Landing is available. The settlement exploits a heavily-developed region to its west, with farms, thorium sifters, and an area of forest. The high elevations and illumination of the southern portions of its developed regions have allowed them to supplement thorium power with solar collection, while a sensor network in the forest monitors the North Pholus border. A strong garrison secures the settlement, while organic waste reprocessors help contribute resources. A massive semi-forested park area is enclosed by the hab developments, with footpaths leading through the park. This serves as a major recreational and social hub for the settlement. Evidence exists of another New Gaian settlement further to the southwest.
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Feb 1, 2015 08:01
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Feh. We already know what the secret of the human brain is: Money! Why bother looking further? ..Discover 4, since we're kinda neglecting the hell outta that tree.
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Feb 1, 2015 08:02
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IMPORTANT With the advent of Democratic Politics, elections for Colony Executive will now be held. Feel free to nominate a politician for the post, and outline specific security and diplomatic policies this politician will pursue if elected. Nominations will be closed after I confirm four candidates, although voting on candidates will continue. Morgan Industries refocuses its efforts on new industrial applications, hoping to make major business breakthroughs in the near future. Build 4, Economy 3, Labs 4, Psych 3. FredMSloniker: things will be safer once we no longer have units running around next to the xenofungus, which SHOULD happen after we finish the road to the mine. Eventually, we should be able to beat the xenofungus back, although that will take 'desperately-needed-everywhere' terraformer work.
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Feb 1, 2015 08:05
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FROM: MLSS Rep. Reilly TO: <Undisclosed Recipients> RE: WHAT THE BOIL? Could someone please tell me how we're supposed to be able to do our jobs when random xenological artefacts do what just happened with this Plasma Steel discovery? Because we just got caught flat footed, and Morgan wanted this stuff for our PMCs! I hope we can do better next time. Now, I'm going to the RecCom to cool off, and I suggest we all approach these issues with a sound frame of mind later. Discover 4, Econ 4, Labs 4, Pysch 2
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Feb 1, 2015 08:23
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High Energy Chemistry posted:Breakthroughs in Applied Physics and Industrial Base lead to an understanding of High Energy Chemistry. This discipline seeks to understand the properties and behavior of matter at very high temperatures, and results in new types of materials that remain in a stable plasma state even when superheated by intense laser stimulation. Ethical Calculus posted:Throughout the history of mankind, philosophers have grappled with the question: ‘How shall we then live?’ Ethical Calculus lays down mathematical principles uncovered by Social Psych to address this question, essentially providing calculations and functions that determine appropriate behavior. Technologies currently available for research are: Secrets of the Human Brain (Discover 2) Polymorphic Software (Discover 2) Nonlinear Mathematics (Conquer 2) Doctrine: Loyalty (Conquer 2) Industrial Automation (Build 3) Gene Splicing (Build 3) nweismuller fucked around with this message at 09:09 on Feb 1, 2015 |
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Feb 1, 2015 08:27
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Good morning, students, and welcome to Applied Philosophy 273: Modern Ethics. You don't have to go too far on the Datalinks to find people who will try to use the new forms of Ethical Calculus to try to end discussions. Of course it's ethical to do whatever it is they want, or unethical to do other things. The math demands it. Any who disagree must be dangerously irrational! We've heard this song before. We've heard it before more recently here on Chiron, even. Just listen to the radio broadcasts from South Pholus. The glib reply is over a century old at this point, of course: garbage in, garbage out. But this overlooks some rather glaring other results. We'll be doing some of those as exercises in this class, in much the same vein as your earlier assignments on lying with statistics. We'll be using the UN charter as originally intended for the Unity mission as our set of ethical axioms, and we'll prove the usual things about the unacceptability of mass casualty attacks and such in the first week. Then in the second week we'll start looking into what kinds of situations it will grant as acceptable forms of government, which turns out to be rather terrifyingly broad. The bulk of the class will involve crime and policing. Starting from the UN charter, we will "prove" that it's OK to torture prisoners as part of the justice system but only if justice is also applied unevenly. This is easily the most bizarre result we've gotten from the charter so far, and it remains an open question whether this is a flaw in our reasoning system or a subtle effect of the charter itself. We will review the current state of the debate, and motivated students are invited to contribute to it as well. The best may earn research grants. We will wrap up by looking to the far future, trying to apply the precepts we have now to various kinds of transhuman futures. Once you're done with this class, I expect you to be able to hold your own in any political or ethical debate on essentially any side that is not self-contradictory - and if it is self-contradictory I expect you to be able to find out how and what corrections are needed. Any questions yet? Good. Let's get to work. Explore 2, Discover 2 Econ 3, Labs 4, Psych 3 (I always found it hilarious that Democracy and Thought Control reinforced each other. It's as if society has forcibly drugged its citizens into forming endless committees to argue over everything.)
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Feb 1, 2015 09:09
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From: Synder Roze <roze@enigma.sec> To: Nwabudike Morgan <morgan@morgan.sec> Re: CODE: NIGHTMARE ISHTAR Morgan, you have to see this video of their combat mind worm training. It's not a fake. They just sent someone- an unarmed someone, who didn't even have a radio scrambler - into the middle of a boil and it... Stopped. Look at her gestures. Santa Maria, they're like something out of Star Wars. I think we need to give our researchers a little push towards this information. We might not survive unless we figure out the physical basis of... Yeah. gently caress it. I'm Calling a spade a spade. The basis of Gaian psionics. Datajack Synder Roze out. Build 2, Explore 2; 40 labs, 30 energy, 30 psych.. Maybe Asa will run for Executive next time, but for now, 
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Feb 1, 2015 09:15
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[Talon Security Service Internal Communications Log, Lance Corporal William Hendrikson] Plasma steel. I was issued synthmetal armor when I joined up and now we've got crazy new steel armor. They say the stuff is strong enough to stop a skimmer or rover mounted lascannon shot if you're lucky. It's still not 100% coverage, though, and the mind worms will get into any nook or cranny they can if the Boil reaches you. All these new weapons, prototype body armor that can stop a tank shell, and we still can't do jack or poo poo besides give everyone a flamethrower, put you through drug and simulator training to teach you to respond while scared out of your goddamn wits, and pray we see them coming.
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Feb 1, 2015 09:21
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From: Matthias Sandovar personal log Subject: What to do. The date we obtained from the alien artifact have been quite interesting but, as usual, it's only the tip of the iceberg. With the new materials the electronic part of the new unit is ready, but we are sorely lacking in the biological hardware and, above all, the software. The only advance worthy of note is that now we have the ethical subroutines to implement, but it's clear that the matemathical part must be taken to non-euclidean levels in order to gain the function we aspire to. Luckily we have secured a few votes in order to steer the developments on the pathy we need; sadly for this we have to become much more involved with the militant factions. Well, politics makes strange bedfellows...... Another point of interest is the creation of a new colony to be located on North Pholus Ridge. While continuing working in a network, Cyberdinamica will become much more involved in the new colony in order to bring advancement towards the goal of building The Virtual World. Log Out. Conquer 3, Discover 1; Economy 3, Lab 4, Psych 3.
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Feb 1, 2015 09:39
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quote:Another point of interest is the creation of a new colony to be located on North Pholus Ridge. While continuing working in a network, Cyberdinamica will become much more involved in the new colony in order to bring advancement towards the goal of building The Virtual World. I hate to break it to you, but Asa "Totally not Synder Roze" Wright is slated to build that at Bushnell Center.
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Feb 1, 2015 09:46
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We're an oasis of calm and reason in an otherwise wacky (known) world. Let's keep it that way and build to our strengths and fix our deficiencies. 2 build, 2 discover. 4 labs, 3 econ, 3 psych. Yes. Hello. Is this thing on? Ahem. My name is Avery Worthington and I own a farm outside of sweet home Tellus Co-op. And to all those hoighty toighty folks up in Morgan Industries, don't think you can Tell-us what's right for us- cuz I'm gonna tell-you! something, mister! -pause for applause Now I'm no scientist. I'm just a simple farmer. But can you explain to me how a bunch of filthy hippies down south figured out Secrets of the Human Brain before us? I say the folks up in 'MorgDustries got the WRONG drat PRIORITIES! I don't think we're going to get out of this war completely unscathed. Somehow or another we will be dragged in, or, if we're smart, pick off whoever wins. The Gaians are too close for comfort and breeding like rabbits and the Spartans have the best army on Planet and BOTH bound to gently caress us over, while we're running around with a bunch of mercenaries as our 'army'. Sure we've got the tech, but we don't have the balls to back it up. My vote -and more importantly, my money- goes to the guy who can revamp our military, get us on equal terms with the other two factions, and hell, maybe even take a base or two. We're done playing nice. Time to put a little 'bang' behind our buck. YOU GAVE US A VOICE- NOW HEAR IT! While I've got the floor, can we please find a way to get maps from Deidre? I don't care if it's through trade, threats, or good ol fashioned sneakiness... It's absolutely criminal that we don't a lick about our closest neighbor! As a citizen of Tellus Cooperative we would be among the FIRST to be attacked in the case of an attack from the filthy wormlovers down south! I have friends in Torson who are scared FOR THEIR LIVES! And don't even get me started on the potholes on those things you call 'roads'... - Concerned citizen, Town Hall Meeting in Tellus Cooperative
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Feb 1, 2015 10:03
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Bliss Authority posted:I hate to break it to you, but Asa "Totally not Synder Roze" Wright is slated to build that at Bushnell Center. In fact the group is operating in all the colonies, even Bushnell Center. It's not a matter to where, it's a matter of gaining it.
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Feb 1, 2015 10:09
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Don't mind me, we just got proof that we're not alone in the universe and the aliens are far more advanced than us. Hell, we didn't even manage to understand that artifact before damaging it beyond repair, we just reverse engineered the casing's materials. It actually wouldn't surprise me if our xenobiologists came out and said that the ecosystem here is engineered. God, I hope not, creationists are annoying enough already, without actual intelligent design entering the picture. Unnamed Morgan resarcher, getting drunk in a bar
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Feb 1, 2015 11:39
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I'm pretty sure we've had proof of prior intelligent alien life on Chiron since we found the Monoliths.
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Feb 1, 2015 11:41
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Personal Log, AJ Kusisitiza, Coordinator, Kusisitiza Datametrics It's true. It's actually true. Those maniacs in South Pholus have actually done it. They weaponised the mind worms. They literally saw what those... things... did to human beings, literally and figuratively burrowing into their minds, a death filled with unimaginable horror and pain, no, scratch that, all too imaginable, and they thought, 'That's useful, let's use it against our fellow human beings, let's deliberately inflict this pain and misery and suffering and horror upon our fellow sentients from Earth'. We cannot coexist with people whose minds and morality are that warped, willing to stoop to such horrific atrocities. The Spartans were right, the diplomat must have been telling the truth about it being used against them. We're better off out of their conflict, and neither of them in their right mind would want a two front war, but if it came down to it, if it really became impossible to avoid, I'd stick with the humans against those who would abuse the very world they revere into becoming a truly horrific alien weapon for them. Our grand project is so near to completion, but we're going to need more backing to commit our lab resources to the final push. Time to glad-hand my peers and see if I can get them to back Build 4, Economy 3, Labs 4, Psych 3. The benefits of our industrial automation program making it to public release would be massive, I only hope we can get people to see that.
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Feb 1, 2015 11:52
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Tired of life as a Drone? Sign up now for the Chiron Transgalactic Railway Militia! Protect the future of the Planet Today! Plasma-Steel Rails. Plasma-Steel body armour. The future is NOW. Service includes access to our generous investment management scheme. Chiron Transgalactic Railway is not liable for any injury or loss from these roles
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Feb 1, 2015 12:11
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 09:46 |
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Neruz posted:I'm pretty sure we've had proof of prior intelligent alien life on Chiron since we found the Monoliths. Sure, we got the monoliths. The artefact is just when that guy actually realized "gently caress, there are aliens out there" beyond merely hearing "monoliths are alien remnants" and that triggered a rant behind the fifth tankard of beer. Omobono fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Feb 1, 2015 |
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Feb 1, 2015 12:13
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