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Anton McCormic - Dorm Room on the Campus of Acadia University Curious. Infinitely curious. Anton watched, an eyebrow quizzically raised as a tiny hexapod he had glued together from three staples vibrated in a coordinated fashion in such a way as to move forward. In itself, it would not have been anything even the least bit interesting. However, the fact that it had no readily discernible power source attached to it was, to put it bluntly, miraculous. As was the fact that when he had woken up that morning, he had the idea to do this stuck in his mind. He should've been shocked it worked at all. But somehow, it working felt so obvious now that he could not manifest those thoughts. Of course, there were philosophical implications too. Then again, Anton never really bothered that much with philosophy because he knew it to be vacuous bullshit for soft-minded morons who wanted to feel profound without actually ever contributing anything. He snorted in a very smug, highly unpleasant way. Perhaps the World had always been this way? Perhaps they lived in a simulation and someone was messing with the code? Whatever it was, none of it mattered. Regardless if this was dream or reality, that did not affect his plans in the slightest so why should he care? Those plans being the sculpting of he World into a far more sensible sort of place. With careful maneuvering it ought to be simple enough for a person like him. But before he could start to properly enforce said plans, he would have to start smaller. Build a base of operations, a foundation. And gather resources too, since those he could not summon from the ether, regrettably enough. He should probably start with gathering money, since that was rather ephemeral in nature when compared to physical materials. Easier to steal from bank accounts than to loot a scrapyard while avoiding notice. After he had monetary assets, it would be far easier to procure the resources he wanted for himself. It was a clever plan, but the plot did have a slight complication. Mainly that he was neither a thief or spy, and going around trying to pry people's info was just liable to get him busted. However... Anton's eyes drifted back to the small hexapod, as well as the strange, sigil decorated circle he had drawn on some graph paper to infuse said hexapod with the power it needed to move. Yes, he would not have to spy himself, now would he? He knew he could, with a variety of means, tap into strange forces he could imagine but that were yet unnamed (He really should document this all down and write a Grimoire of magical classifications one of theses days, Anton reflected) to infuse a variety of objects such as coils, crystals or chemical batteries with magical power, or thaumic energy as he had decided to call it. Thaumic energy, then, dependent on how it was stored, could be channeled via metaphysical constructs (he had dubbed these spells if performed by hand and enchantments if engraved upon substrates) to achieve different ends. Small drones required little power, small drones on quiet wings of cloth that could hide and stalk, creep into apartments and buildings and hide themselves. Equipped with glass lenses enchanted so as to become functioning cameras, and antennae to send that data right to his computer via a magitechnical adapter... Yes, in such a way he could gather loads of data, and make loads of money. And even if one of these creatures was found, they would not actually have any mechanical or electronic parts that would function with the incomplete knowledge the plebes had. They would seem like naught but scrap to everyone else. Brilliant. OOC: Schemer [+4] to steal a variety of personal and banking information (which will naturally be properly laundered and bounced around so as to not be caught) from a bunch of people with tiny flying, lens equipped robits built with Magitech Prodigy [+2]. Resource Dependent [-2] also likely applies since these are largely built from pluck and scrap, though perhaps Academy Access [+2] can be used to take/craft a bunch of office supplies and lenses and such. Theantero posted:Real name: Anton McCormick Theantero fucked around with this message at 08:30 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 21, 2018 08:26
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:23 |
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Anton McCormic - Dorm Room on the Campus of Acadia University BP - 1 It was about he had expected. A number of drones, silent but fairly clumsy, with good enough resolution to make spying actually worth his time. An astounding success, taken that he had very little to work with. Now all he had to do was to walk around the University on made-up business, and perhaps even some actual business, and plant the drones in the administrative facilities. Enough financial data went through the University coffers that he should be able to leech off quite a bit for himself. Hell, he could probably even pin the blame on some low-level plebe that worked there to hide the trail in case the embezzlement was ever found out. Anton went through his plot, and made a detailed plan for how to plant the drones for optimal data capture ratio. OOC: Schemer [+4] and Academy Access [+2] to plant the drones in the University administration to steal passwords and other sensitive data so that I can embezzle their funds
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May 23, 2018 00:32
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 Dorm Room on the Campus of Acadia University, 1/3 BP A waste of time. Of course, Anton knew that the dull drop-outs of the administration were utter wastes of both time and space, but the asininely slow pace they did anything interesting was infuriating to him regardless. Well, that's what you get when you rely on others to make your plans a reality, huh? Anton reflected on this thought a bit before continuing his work. He tapped his fingers against his desk in irritation. He would manually try out this one password, see if he could worm his way into something useful with it, but if he couldn't on a useful timescale? Well, that just meant he would need to get cracking on some automated information processing heuristics he had an inkling that magic was capable of. OOC: Schemer [+4] and Academy Access [+2] to continue with this plan with the password I got. It's Anton's hope that one he's actually in, even at an entry level, that he should be able to move his way upwards with progressive ease.
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May 27, 2018 12:11
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Dorm Room on the Campus of Acadia University, 1/3 BP Trivial. Anton would've almost laughed at the ease his genius had penetrated the University's coffers, if it weren't a task too meaningless to register as an actual accomplishment to him. Thus, a smug smirk would have to suffice. Now that he had access to means, the rest of his plans would soon follow. All he needed now was the initial workspace and resources to start his planned operations. And then, after he had the means of production in place, he could finally start working on the variety of ideas that had invaded his mind in earnest. Oh, he could hardly wait! OOC: Schemer [+4] to rent a van, some out of the way warehouse/workshop space, simple metalworking tools and assorted junkyard scrap with as much money as I think I can get away with without immediate issue. Schemer includes using pseudonyms and cash and a variety of other such measures that ought to help disguise my trail.
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May 29, 2018 22:59
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A rented warehouse, 1/3 BP Anton raised an eyebrow at the strange message he had received. It was... odd to say the least, but he had no time to waste on such trivial matters. No, he had his legacy and grand plans to consider. And first issue on the line was hiding his work from plain sight. He couldn't just stash all his work in some warehouse and risk it being stumbled upon by nosy morons. The second issue on line was that he couldn't exactly rely on scrap forever. Of course, in his infinite genius, Anton had already figured out a way to solve both at the same time. He had designs for machines he called Automatic Excavation and Construction Units (AECUs!), made to be modular, but in their basic configuration taking the shape of a robust tetrapod with a boxy central unit that hid a variety of tools and sensors within itself to perform its chosen duties admirably, efficiently and without much unnecessary oversight being necessary. With his new tools their frames ought to be easy enough to make from scrap, and with the right Enchantments of Animation and Hardening they ought to be serviceable. The second issue was the location of his lair. He would have to pick a spot that would not be easily found, but also one that held mineral deposits that he could later utilize to make his own materials instead of having to scavenge off of scrap. Of course, any economically viable deposits would already be either tapped or under scrutiny, but he had his magic. He did not need to heed the constraints of the dreadfully inferior mundane technologies. Indeed, his head was already filling up with plans and designs for alchemical forges and transmutation crucibles that could efficiently utilize trace deposits or even minerals mundane tech couldn't turn into anything useful. Yes, yes, he had such grand plans. But for now, he had to start with this. Anton got to work, cackling to himself ever so softly. OOC: Magitech Prodigy [+2] to construct a few Automatic Excavation and Construction Units in my newly rented warehouse space. Then I will use my van to discreetly ship said AECUs into a proper space for a LAIR. Schemer [+4] for Anton to figure out a good spot as per being unlikely to be found, and Academy Access [+2] to dig into geology reports and such to figure out where metals could likely be found with enough digging (he is confident he can utilize deposits and metal-bearing minerals mundane tech cannot properly or economically refine). He will use these considerations to pick a LAIR location. Theantero fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Jun 3, 2018 |
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Jun 3, 2018 17:24
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A rented warehouse, 1/3 BP Well, this was to be expected. Anton's planning had revealed the poor suitability of local areas for his plans, but as much was largely to be expected. No matter, he'd just have to expand his search for a bit. For now he just needed a safe lair, his AECUs wouls be largely autonomous after all, that was the whole point, and he needed to learn how to operate bases remotely anyway. That said, he probably should invest in runic dampening arrays that actively counteracted the sound of his operations, or perhaps some sort of arcanely tethered alchemical plating that could shunt the vast majority of energy directed at it into the aether... Actually, that was a pretty good idea, and had potential for far more than just stealth. But for now, all he needed was his lair. OOC: Schemer [+4] and Academy Access [+2] to expand the area of search for my LAIR with the same qualifiers for a good LAIR spot as during my last action.
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Jun 9, 2018 10:25
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A rented warehouse, 1/3 BP Anton pondered his options for a while, but eventually set on the hard to discover spot in the woods. It was the one least likely to be found, and had likely the best potential for his materials as well. It's lesser accessibility was an issue, certainly, but Anton felt that such concerns he would find an easier time engineering solutions for. Besides, he likely wouldn't be moving mass amounts of material for a while yet, making the logistical ease of the other locations less of a benefit. Hm, yes, that seemed reasonable. All he needed now was to finish up his AECUs and get them on site. OOC: Magitech Prodigy [+2] to design the Automated Excavation and Construction units, as detailed in more depth in this post. Basically variable purpose magitech tetrapods with a modular central body capable of housing the tools necessary for their task of being my basic 'builder unit'. Also spending my BP on this for another +2 since these things are pretty central for Anton to get Stuff Done.
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Jun 18, 2018 15:37
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A rented warehouse, 0/3 BP Anton inspected his work. The AECUs responded to commands adequately, the servos seemed functional. A degree of thaumic inefficiency in the enchantments relating to the circles of actuation presented themselves, but that was largely because he was working on idiosyncratic and non-uniform models made out of incidental scrap. Later on, with more uniform materials, better mass production protocols and higher performance precision tools he ought to be able to siginificantly improve on the design on all relevant aspects. And he certainly would do that, after a while. But for now? All he needed was something that worked. And these designs certainly did. Far better than anything that mere mundane tech was even close to achieving, in fact. As was only natural. Anton gave one last look to the blueprint schematics for his vase of operations he had been working on, before starting to load his creations in the van. OOC: Loading my AECUs in the van and getting on the site of my LAIR, where I'll Schemer [+4] to start excavating as per my villainous LAIR blueprints that Anton has been working on.
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Jun 25, 2018 14:10
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A rented warehouse, 0/3 BP Anton snorted to himself. This was what you got for relying on the works of others. Now let's see. Command-warded gating signets inscribed upon the engine within the constraints of its resonant thaumic geometries ought to allow him to leech power from the engine to open controlled tears through the veil to tap onto the most abundant magical substrate he had found thus far he had decided to dub Aether. With Aether injected in the engine, enchantments of thaumic ignition ought to be able to burn it into thaumic energies. Then, with properly inscribed runic circuit, he should be able to collect and divert said thaumic energies, and divert them to Enchantment Circles of Actuation, Fortitude or Emboldening as deemed necessary by their loci-sensitive guidance enchantment. Yes, perfect. He had not really done much with Aether before, having preferred directly leeching Thaumic Energies from the myriad magical forces and interactions instead. But an internal combustion engine was an ideal way to experiment with more energy dense sources of Thaumic Energy. And it would even solve his mobility issues! Two flies, one stone. As was natural. Sure, since the engine itself had to both extract AND then utilize the Aether, his overall efficiency and speed in rough terrain where the system had to be used would likely suffer. But currently that would be no real issue and really, all it meant was that he'd have to build refineries later on, no biggie. OOC: Magitech Prodigy [+2] to make the Van an All Terrain Van via an experimental Aether Combustion Engine. As for the AECUs, they will start with standard storage, living and workshop space, maybe start with mining tunnels too if they have the time.
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Jul 7, 2018 13:28
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Out in the wilds, 0/3 BP Hah. It was telling that the very first iterations of his prototypes on something he nor nobody else had ever attempted was still more functional and groundbreaking than what most people would ever accomplish during their entire lives. Telling, but not surprising. Now. He had secured his way out of the woods, but there was no real need to actually leave just yet. Instead what he should do, was use this time to plan ahead a bit. On how to get his very first proper manufacturing plant going. A variety of assembly lines and automatic runic scribes would be necessary, but those ought to be trivial enough in practice as long as he had the materials he needed. But getting the materials he needed? That might be a short term hassle. It was time to think. He would need an Alchemical Crucible to actually extract material from the relatively poor quality ore his AECUs were mining. The essence of alchemy still eluded him to some degree, probably because he had not really given it proper thought. But the magical intuition inside told him that it ought to be possible. Perhaps he needed rare metals or other catalysts for it to work, hmm... Then there was also the Transmutation Forge. Anton was not a huge fan of mundane material. It was functional, but often tricky to get and also of inferior thaumic characteristic. He was confident that with a right sort of machine he could transform the majority of his extracted metals into Alchemical Brass or Alchemical Steel or other, uniform styles of thaumically malleable metals. Of course, he had not actually made any of those materials, and his current understanding was a bunch of magical formulae he had doodled on a notebook to disseminate their theoretical possibility. The again, Anton was supremely confident in his doodles. And last, an Aether Extractor-Refiner would be needed. Smaller constructs could be powered with enchantment that could leech ambient thaumic energies to run for extended periods, almost for perpetuity, like his standard AECUs or the small spy-drones he had made. But heavier machinery would likely need heavier sources of thaumic energy. He already knew the Veil could be pierced, and aether leeched due to his experiments with the van. But the effect was spotty, mainly because he had to rely on the measly output of a simple car engine to repeatedly stab tiny holes into the veil, that then immediately fixed themselves. No, for an industrial operation, he would need some sort of construct that could safely maintain a stable hole in the veil for extended periods, so that Aether could be properly harvested from therein. It was a lot of work. But Anton was confident it was all doable for someone as brilliant as him. OOC: Magitech Prodigy [+2] and Schemer [+4] to do some theorycrafting, mainly Anton trying to figure out roughly what he would require for his first Mid Term Goal, the establishment of his first true Manufactorium.
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Jul 13, 2018 14:54
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Out in the wilds, 0/3 BP Anton took one final look at his arcane diagrams and nodded to himself. The plans seemed workable. The only thing that remained now was to put them to action. He'd leave the AECUs to their work for now, and retreat back to the city to plan his first heist. The diamonds seemed like an ideal first target. They took the least space after all, and logistics still posed an issue for him. But even large diamonds were still comparatively small, and he might be able to sneak them out with a fairly limited amount of drones. But where exactly to get them in the first place? That required some thought. OOC: Schemer [+4] to figure out where to get the diamonds.
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Jul 17, 2018 21:15
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Back on Campus, 0/3 BP Well, not much to do here except getting to work. Mulling his options, Anton decided on Empire City as the more reasonable target. OOC: Schemer [+4] to plot a diamond heist on the Empire City diamond district. Any weaknesses in there that drones would find it easy to overcome?
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Aug 1, 2018 11:59
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Empire City, 0/3 BP Sturdy defenses, certainly. Of course, they were build to the standards of inferior minds. Cooperative and effective drone swarms were still a fantasy to mundane technology after all, as was magic and all the things it was capable of. All he really needed was a swarm capable of taking advantage of the building's structural weak points, as well as a getaway vehicle of some sort to whisk away the diamonds after the heist. Simple. Simple, but brilliant. OOC: What I will need: a small swarm of flying drones, a number equipped with magical breaching charges (read: rune-inscribed capacitors overloaded with a whole bunch of Thaumic Energy to be released in a directed, explosive blast), others with grabbers and such, to fly through various weak points in the building and nab the diamonds. I will also need a high speed rocket of some sort that is hard to track to carry those diamonds out of Empire City to some meet-up location where I can meet up with it. Schemer [+4] and Magitech Prodigy [+2] to ponder on the construction of these forces. Self-destruct mechanisms on the drones also, to keep people from realizing their construction is impossible. Theantero fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Aug 8, 2018 |
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Aug 8, 2018 13:12
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:23 |
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Empire City, 0/3 BP Anton nodded to himself. The security here, in one of the best secured placed in the nation, might actually pose a challenge. Well, an easy challenge, but even easy was better than completely trivial. Nevertheless, even easy could not be done without tools, and for tools he needed materials. So might as well start looking for some. OOC: Schemer [+4] to scout out locations of relevant parts for my drones.
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Aug 24, 2018 18:37
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