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>>37876553

Voting periods will be 10 minutes usually, with votes during high-stakes, "react fast!" events taking 5 minutes. I will wait 10 minutes here, initially, so that people can show up.

Write-ins are always welcome and, actually, I try to reward them when possible. Creativity, flexibility, thoughtfulness... All important things to consider when you're in the middle of guiding Grey through this quest.

If you have any questions or concerns at any point in the quest, please feel free to voice them. That said, let's try not to shitstorm in thread. That hasn't been a problem with this quest and that's because you guys, the playerbase, are the shit. Keep up the good work.

Useful shit:
Twitter: @TheHeraldQM
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=herald
Document link: http://pastebin.com/wPmrDbds (embed)

Here's some strawpolls. Please vote:
http://strawpoll.me/3341184 (embed)
http://strawpoll.me/3391511/r (embed)

>>37876553
>Call out to the Hooded One. Ask what's going on.

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>>37876582

You're the Captain this time, anon.
ALL ABOARD!

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>>37876655
I'll put my in-charge-hat on then!

>>37876553


You call out to the Hooded One. Your voice echoes against the silent, ominously empty walls of this chamber. You look to your right and left: where are Erwin and Ness? Where are you? More importantly: how did you get here? All you can see outside the windows is overwhelming darkness. Black as far as you can see, with motes of light hanging in the stillness just outside the chamber.

Wait a second.

Are those... stars?

"VEDA!" Your voice is louder, now. More urgent and panicked. "WHERE AM I!?"

A pulse of green light washes over the room. You sharply turn and look at the three orbs of light still in their place against the far wall, but now glowing green. You take a step forward but stop as a chorus of voices in harmony touches your mind.

"You are in the ARC, Grey. It is time for your choice to me made. Please approach." And you understand "approach" to mean the lights ahead of you. You feel drawn, but also afraid in the pit of your essence.

"What's going on? Explain. Where are my friends?"

Once more, you are given comprehension: You were transported in a manner similar to sophisticated digitization. Your friends are safe. Your team at the time of the tower's destruction is available to you. You are made to understand that you are not in danger. But can you trust the ARC?

>Approach
>Demand answers (what are your questions?)
>write-in

>>37876771
>"Where is this? Are we in orbit around the planet? Is this place real or a construct of the mind?"

>>37876771
>Approach

>>37876771
>>Demand answers (what are your questions?)
What choice must I make?

>>37876771

Waiting for the possibility of votes….

“The ARC?” You look around with both greater apprehension and appreciation. “But… What is the ARC? Are we in orbit around the planet? You take a step towards the windows on the left and grit your teeth. “Is this my mind? Reality? Are we in space…?”

Silence, and so you turn back to the orbs and yell once more: “Answer me!” Again, though, there is no response.

You walk forward with determination and frustration driving you like twin motors.

“Yes.” The hollow chorus touches you again like molten metal suddenly driven to frost: furious and yet at once calm, strong and yet immaterial. The brittle words break off in ringing series and then roll over your mind. “You are currently orbiting 349.81572 kilometers above the Earth’s general surface. No, this is not a construct of your mind. This is reality, Grey, and you must now make a choice for humankind.”

You sigh and stop. You stare at the orbs which continue to pulse with a dim light. “Choice, choice, choice…” You run your hand over your weary head and mash the heel of your palm around your eyes. “You keep saying I have to choose, but you haven’t told me what choice I must make!”

“You must choose,” the weight of a hundred lifetimes weighs on these words. The fate of a hundred souls. “To forever remove the monster population from the planet, to change the nature of monsters and humans forever, or to discontinue the calming signal once and for all.”

“You must choose.”

>Remove Pokemon from the planet
>Change Pokemon and humans
>Discont-
>Wait a second, what? What does all that mean? How?
>What?!
>Write-in

>>37877015
>"Change? Change in what way?!"

>>37877015
>>Change Pokemon and humans
"Humans can't expect pokemon to become something they're not any more than they can themselves without one or the other losing something important. The only way things will ever change, is for pokemon and humans to change together."

The easy solution is to change humans so that all living creatures are feral, no..?

>>37877015
...is this the ending to mass effect 3?
>Change Pokemon and humans

>>37877261
No. Fuck that shit and punch the little kid in the face.

If you guys don't try to go off the tracks I will be very disappointed.

>>37877015
>What?!
>No way! What right do I have to make a choice like that?!

>>37877280
I want to ask for an explanation of how pokemon and humans would be changed

>>37877015
>>37877040
This seems good...we need more information...my trust for these guys is really starting to disperse...
Who are they how can they change people or pokemon, why should they...and why do we get to decide...
I don't believe in forcing my opinions on others...what is such the big problem...people fight, pokemon fight, everyone disagrees sometimes that doesn't mean we should up and rewrite everything...what is really at stake here...
Answers...

>>37877015

Remove. Change. Unleash. R e m ov e C h a n g e U n l e a s h

Your mind races as you go over the connotations and explanations given to you by the ARC: You can systematically wipe out Pokemon, yes. A genetic killswitch would be flipped by the ARC, killing off Pokemon as you know it. That wouldn’t stop people from recreating them, right?

You can change Pokemon and humans. A virus would be unleashed, slightly altering humans to be more resilient. You can best understand it as replacing small bits of every human with stronger stuff: like replacing an old hip with an artificial one, you suppose. Still… Every human? What right do you have to make that decision? And the ARC has given you the touch of an idea that the Pokemon-variant of the virus may have unintentional side effects in addition to permanently making them more docile towards humans. Mass-sterility, for example. Apaprently, like the killswitch the original intention of the virus was to cause most Pokemon to go extinct by sterilizing them. The ARC has, over time, adjusted the virus to instead make Pokemon more docile…. But that risk.

And then there’s the final option: Stop the signal and effectively unleash Pokemon on the world forever. Continue the current state of affairs as it is. The ARC would be destroyed in the process, to never risk further control or harm to people or Pokemon… But Pokemon would forever be bloodthirsty and feral. More dangerous. Destructive.

“Options.” You mutter, going over your connection with the ARC…. “There are other options. There have to be. I can feel them through you, I think.” You look at the orbs. You walk forward and place your hands against the wall, leaning into the array of lights. “I need to know everything. What are you? Why me? What about the signal? Can’t we just stop TITAN?"

The lights begin flickering wildly in a variety of staccato beats and long crescendos, each orb having its own unique rhythm. Each orb vying for attention.

>cont.

>>37877520

Finally, the largest and central orb erupts into light. You shield your eyes and back away from the blinding light.

When you open your eyes a man stands before you. You’ve seen him in a few pictures. They weren’t usually displayed around the house openly but you found them while digging through your mother’s possessions. You’ve never known him to be alive.

Why is this man, supposedly your father, in front of you now? Is this some kind of sick joke?

“Grey…” His voice is soft, tired. You can hear genuine amazement and disbelief in his voice. “I can’t believe you were chosen. I was hoping…” He scoffs and begins runnings his fingers over his eyes. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be you. Dammit…!”

You note the pitch of his voice, the callouses on his hands. He’s wearing glasses. He’s wearing the robes you have come to expect from the Hooded Ones. His hood has been drawn down. He has a beard. You think you have his eyes.

He moves towards you: it's a small, slow movement. You move backwards out of his reach. This must be a dream; surely, this is a dream? A sick joke on the ARC's part. They're trying to fool you...?

>Why are you here
>Who are you
>No. No no no. Deny this farce.
>Touch his hand.
>write-in

>>37877550
Where have you been all these years? I thought you died in the war

>>37877550
>Why are you here
>Touch his hand.
We obviously know who he is...and if it's fake...eh...

>>37877550
>Why are you here?
> What are you?

>>37877550
>Bitter laugh
>"Of course, who else would be behind this but my own father..."
>"Yeah, FUCK YOU TOO, UNIVERSE."

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>>37877550

“Where have you been…? Dad?” You can’t believe it. Is… Is your dad part of the ARC? Is he real? “Are you…? Dad…?” You can’t compute this. It’s too much. You squint and shake your head, as if this is some dream or something in your eyes you can just blink away. Some sort of memory you can bury with all the others. He remains, and no matter how hard you try to disbelieve him into nonexistence he remains.

You reach out. You touch his hand; it feels cold, but it’s there.

“You died in a war,” your voice is a delicate whisper. “They always said you died in a war.”

He smiles and shrugs a bit. “Not exactly what you’d think, but… Damn.” He sighs out the sadness from his voice and shakes his head. “I can’t believe it’s you. Can’t believe you got picked! I was watching you this whole time, you know! I’m so proud of you.”

He moves forward and wraps you up in his arms in one smooth motion. You let it happen. You’re feeling so many different emotions: bitterness, frustration, confusion, happiness…

“Of course, though,” you mutter past the fabric of his robe. “It’d be my own father behind this. You’re the bad guy, right? Right?” You cough out a weary laugh. “Fuck you, universe…”

You feel him deflate at that.

“Yeah. I am the bad guy, Grey.” He gives you a hard pat on the back as his other hand rubs small circles. It’s everything you’d ever imagine a fatherly hug to be. “I’m the worst guy, and I took away a child’s - my child’s, I know you’re not… Mine, but you’re my child. I took away your future to give something for everyone else.”

“I’m sorry, Grey.”

“So, what…” You begin, gently pushing away from him. “What is this? What am I, and what are you? I still don’t understand.”

He clears his throat. “I’m… here, yes, but I’m a part of the ARC. I was one of its main developers in the international collaborative effort to construct it. The ARC was meant to store and protect resources aimed to restart humanity should we all die.

>cont.

>>37877947

It was like a genetic bank. A failsafe. That, and… A weapon. A weapon we could use to wipe out Pokemon.”

You emotionally flinch at that.

“Yes, but we changed that goal in secret. We, the… The ARC-shards, you understand? We’re the scientists. I was one of the scientists working on it, along with, uh… I guess you call them Veda and Testament?”

You nod.

“Long story short, we had to integrate our consciousnesses into the ARC in order to run and protect it. AIs are amazing, but sometimes you need humanity to do what shouldn’t be done. Humanity is inefficient, broken, weak in many ways. So are Pokemon, I suppose. The AI of the ARC knows this and would have sacrificed one for the other. We didn’t want this, and so we developed the signal and keep the AI confined within our minds, if you will.”

“Okay… So where do I come in?”

“Imagine it as… A system restore, yeah? You’re… I don’t think you want to know, but as my child you’re able to interact with the ARC. Your key fits its lock. It’s like a genetic lock, yeah? And there was one for each scientist for each major developed area.”

“But,...” You begin, wondering why you specifically play such an important role.

“But the ARC had to choose a prime candidate as time went on. You were chosen: You’re empathetic enough, you’re strong and capable, you’re smart… Part of the reason Jim and Mom trained you so hard, I suppose.”

You shrug to that.

Still, you have questions…

>You said I “am” something. I was designed, I’ve been told. What am I?
>Why did you die? I don’t understand.
>Can we restore the signal?
>What are all my options? What if I don’t choose?
>write-in

>>37877969
>What are all my options? What if I don’t choose?

>>37877969
>You said I “am” something. I was designed, I’ve been told. What am I?

>>37877969
>You said I “am” something. I was designed, I’ve been told. What am I?

>>37877969
>What are all my options? What if I don’t choose?

>>37877969

You look down to the floor. “Designed.” The word rolls off your tongue like acid. It tastes bitter just saying it.

“Hm?”

“I was told I was designed. You said I ‘am’ something. What? What am I? How did this all work out?” You meet your father’s eyes. “I’m not your child, am I.”

“You are. You are my child and also like… A clone.” You tense a bit at that. “You needed to have a special genetic marker, genes similar or identical to mine, and also certain mental phenotypes…”

“So I was designed for the ARC.”

“Yes.”

You shake your head. Another weight on your shoulders.

“What are my options? Why did I need to be designed? How do I… fix things? I don’t want to kill or change everyone. I want things back to the way they are.”

The orbs on the wall flash wildly at that again. Your father tenses up. You sense sadness in his gaze.

“You could restore the ARC, or perhaps better said ‘restore the mental checks on it,’ yes. But you would die. You could restore the signal… But you would have to die for that to happen, your mind locked within the ARC in order to repair it.”

You balk at that. There’s no way: die? To fix it? What a shitty plan! Die… You’d have to die. What?

"Otherwise? We could..." Your father rolls his shoulders about and closes his eyes. "The viral infection, destruction of the ARC, flip the killswitch,..." He lists the possibilities off slowly. They slip out of his mouth like daggers. ".. Or. Sacrifice yourself to repair the ARC and restore the signal." He shakes his head sadly. "Nothing else. We're out of time."

"Why?"

"The ARC is eating itself from the inside out. The Shards, we, are falling apart. Our minds can't take it."

>Response?
>You guys can discuss this with me. This is an important decisions, so let's see some discussion up in here.

>>37878557
I think the virus option sounds best but that's just because I don't want grey to die

>>37878557
Changing everyone seems like the best option if we have to choose...we can't just kill them off, they're here now because of us and they coexist with the world...we made them for war but now they are part of life on earth so we can't just make them killing machines again...both of those options are cruel and something we don't deserve to choose...
But maybe changing together like >>37877212
mentioned is the right thing to do...I don't like further imposing our will on them and the sterile thing...but since we created them this may be the only way...seeing as how dieing isn't very nice...and seems like it might eventually come to this again even if we do...

Question...If we did choose to die for this would there still be a chance of another "failure" or something...

>>37878557
It's either the virus or suicide.

Humanity has no hope of taming the pokemon if they go feral.

>>37878557
>"Ok let's do it. What do I have to do to fix this? I was designed to do this after all."
I hate to say it but from how we've played Grey so far he's likely to pick the suicide option, even if it means the end of the quest/everything so I'm picking that.

>>37878557

You blink a few times. Your blood goes cold. Your voice is small and tired. “I’m… I’m going to sit down. You’re serious, aren’t you? About dying?”

He nods.

You sit on the cold metal flooring. You dwell in your thoughts.

“Grey…?” You look up to him. “You have someone that wants to talk to you.”

“... Who?”

“Seline.” You shake your head slightly at that and then give a tilted, confused look. “Seline has been communicating with another Shard. She wants to talk to you. She’s… insistent. There’s no need for her to be brought here if you don’t want it, however.”

>I… Maybe I should talk to everyone one by one?
>Yeah. Bring her in.
>Write-in

>>37878884
>Yeah. Bring her in

>>37878884
>I… Maybe I should talk to everyone one by one?
Seline is our mom, yeah?

>>37878884
>Yeah. Bring her in.
Definitely, let's hear from her...

>>37878930
Ness

>>37878930
Nah. He's referring to Ness (Ness: NS: Not Seline) who used to be Seline but you call her Ness now...

He's referring to Ness. Confusing, I know.

>>37878884
>I… Maybe I should talk to everyone one by one?

>>37878941
>>37878942
Ah. I still stand by my decision. She'll get her chance though.

>>37878954
I like this but I wouldn't assume that we could...or that we have the time...

>>37878974
Oh wait shit sorry I passed right over that option...carry on...

>>37878884

“I’d like to talk to her. Her and everyone else.”

Your father seems a little surprised at first, then sad, and then… Accepting? Understanding?

“Final goodbyes?” He puts a hand on your shoulder. “I don’t want you to do that. I really don’t. This isn’t fair to you.”

“This isn’t fair to anyone.”

He swallows down a bitter pill of reality; he’s part of the cause of this, yeah, but he was just trying to do the world right. You tell yourself that as he mutters “I’m sorry.” You think you believe him.

“Who would you like me to bring up?”

>Ness
>Dani
>Erwin
>Mittens
>Erica
>Nick
>Your mother
>Write-in

>>37879098
>Erwin
I think he'll give us the best, most unbiased advice at the moment.

>>37879098
>Erwin
>Nick and Erica
>Ness
>Dani
>Mittens
In that order.

>>37879098
Ness and dani

>>37879098
Just make sure it ends Dani then Mittens...other than that I'm fine with the order...

>>37879098
>Ness
>Dani
>Erwin
>Mittens
>Erica
>Nick
>Your mother

>>37879098
>Mittens
I just wanna talk to Mittens again...

>>37879098
We should also consider talking to Professor Pine if at all possible. He has been researching the pacification signal, maybe he could help us find a better option.

>>37879408
This is a fantastic idea.

We also haven't really talked to him since the beginning of the quest.

>>37879408
Oh shit well look at this guy...do this...hopefully he's not in charge of TITAN...

>>37879098

“I’d like to talk to Ness, yeah, but… Erwin first. Erwin, Nick, Erica…”

“Grey, I…” He looks unsure of something.

“What?”

“Hold on. I can bring them up, but the interference signal is still running in their location. I’m going to have to remove it before I can get them up here…”

“You mean knock the tower down? What? If it’s blocking the ARC’s influence, how can you…?”

“The ARC has limited abilities to change the mental structures of Pokemon; in short, I’m going to use monsters in the area that you freed and brainwash them into attacking the second tour. Rinse and repeat until it’s finished worldwide.”

“Interesting. Okay, and… how long will that take?”

“Quite a while. Once the area your friends are in is freed from interference you can speak with them.”

“Do we have a tight time constraint?”

“Not that I foresee. There’s no time to do anything drastic regarding the ARC, but two hours shouldn't be an issue. I think the world owes you that much.”

“Right. Alright, well… Erwin and Ness in the meantime, right?”

“Sure. I can have them brought up momentarily.”

“Erwin first, though. Please.”

“Understood.”

There is a few moments of silence before… Erwin appears in a flash of light. You imagine it’s identical to how you first appeared in the ARC. You can’t help but hurry over to him. He looks tired but immensely relieved and happy to see you.

>Give the man a hug?
>Say something (what?)
>Say goodbye
>Ask for advice?
>write-in

>>37879825
>Ask for advice?
I guess. I'm not really sure why everyone wanted to talk to him

>>37879825
>Give the man a hug?
>Ask for advice?

>>37879825
>Ask for advice
But end with
>Say goodbye

>>37879825
>Give the man a hug?

>>37879825
>Give the man a hug?
>Say something (what?)
We need to thank him for what he's done for us and ask if he would help look after Mittens I suppose...if it were me I would ask to here a story from him...something, I don't know...reminds me of my grandfather...but this is different not sure he'd be in the mood...
>Say goodbye

>>37879825

You give Erwin a hug. He’s got a lot of questions, and you field as many as you can while he pats you on the back, his arms tightly wrapped around your shoulders and voice a coarse, soothing bass to your somber melody of concern and confusion.

He takes it all in well enough, and then you ask him what you should do. You ask him if you should sacrifice yourself: a part of you thinks that you should. You don’t know what’s for the best, though.

Erwin gives you another firm pat before pushing you off and then rounding on your father. He starts yelling, about how this is “ridiculous!” and how selfish it is to put a child in this situation since birth. He and your father trade words, with your father agreeing on all points but arguing that it was for the good of the world, and no one can choose the circumstances of their birth.

“But you can choos’n his now?” Offers Erwin.

“And he chooses the fates of millions after him” Replies your father, the shard.

Erwin sighs and turns back to you. He says that he can’t say what’s best, but… Sacrificing yourself for the signal doesn’t seem wise: what if the ARC deteriorates again? Better to adapt to this new world with Pokemon or implement the virus. You add that you’re concerned about the side effects of the virus, and Erwin takes that into his mind for a moment.

Then he comes back with “Well… If Pokemon’n threatened, we can seal’em up until’n we fix it.”

You ask him what he means. He explains that people could seal Pokemon in pokeballs - rendering them safe but in eternal hiberation - while scientists work out the kinks of the virus. It also would keep the ARC around for now but remove it as a potential avenue of problems later on.

“I see,...” you nod. “But what if we can’t fix the side effects? What if the changes to humanity go wrong? It’s a lot of risk.”

Erwin nods. “I suppose’n we’ve gone through worse’n… yeah?” He gives you another hug. “I believe’n you, and nobody ca’judge you, ‘stand?”

>cont.

>>37880050

You thank him for his advice, his help… Everything. You tell him he’s a good man, and you wish you had more time for his stories. He laughs and says none of his stories were half as good as yours: saving the world.

You give a bitter laugh.

>If you have something else for Erwin, let me see it. Ask away.
>Otherwise, vote on if you want to skip to Ness.

So.. what exactly are the changes made to humanity with this virus and why exactly are they required anyway?

>>37880095
Could humanity survive if we shut off the ARC?

>>37880113
Because the virus is specially made and unlike anything ever seen. Humanity has to be adapted to survive the virus, as it can and most likely effect them. The virus will then mutate (as viruses do) and it's hard to say what it will do after that. The ARC has made models, but... That's chance for you.

Humanity has to be made to withstand the virus, as it'll effect them as well as Pokemon. Toughening them up a bit is just a necessary side effect of protecting them.

>>37880095
Skip to Ness

>>37880138
That's a good question, but you have no way of knowing that.

Humanity could still capture Pokemon, but Pokemon are going to be actively hunting them and overall just feral.

>>37880189
Hm, given that, I'd say we should sustain the arc for a given amount of time, and allow humanity to prepare, then shut the thing off.

Could we sustain the arc for a year, then shut it off and return?

>>37880050
Damn this guy is just...He's too great...

>>37880239
I really don't think it's a good thing to resign the 'mons to being forces of death and destruction again, they've become good for the world...this isn't just about people we are responsible for the 'mons as well...

>>37880280
I see it more as a choice of what humanity's future is going to be. Shutting off the arc would lead to a smaller future for humanity, as we defend against predators.

Changing humanity and pokemon would allow for more industrialization, and perhaps a return to the past, as we'd once again be indisputably the apex species.

What do you guys want to do?

Skip to Ness or ask Erwin something? Reminisce with Erwin?

As a warning, I'll be stopping in a bit, but I'll probably be running tomorrow. I hope we can get a nice finale-esque thread in tomorrow.

>>37880432
Skip to Ness

>>37880432
Skip he hit hard in that short time no need to linger...

>>37880412
Wait I'm confused which are you for?...cus I was for change...not shutting off the ARC...

>>37880095

You and Erwin sit and chat for a while. You can tell he tries to steer clear of the subject for much of the conversation, but finally Erwin breaks and asks you what you’re going to do. You say you don’t know. Not yet. He says that’s fine and you go back to talking about the time he wandered into an Onix nest, or the time he broke a smuggling ring by wandering into in on accident. They had been operating out of a casino, and…

Time flows past you. You settle into a comfortable silence for a bit; you’re honestly very grateful towards Erwin. You tell him you want to talk with some of your other friends and bid him farewell for now. He wishes you well.

A flash of light. He’s gone.

Another flash of light. Ness is here now, in his place. You’re standing about ten paces away from her, and she doesn’t look happy: you can see it past her impassiveness, she looks upset. Angry, sad, concerned… All of it bubbling beneath a thin cover of chilly quiet.

>”Welcome to the ARC, dumbass.”
>”Hey! So, turns out you were right! I have to save the world or something…”
>Give her a hug.
>Don’t say anything?
>Twerk
>Don’t pick that option. Come on.
>Write-in

>>37880617
>Twerk
>Give her a hug.

>>37880636

You drop your booty to the floor and leave’em wanting more, you shake and you roll like you’re out on patrol. You got your good jeans on so you work it like you should; mm, Ness can’t take her eyes off your swinging hips and your bouncing ass…

No. No! You know what? No. Not again! I swore I’d never write another twerking scene.

>>37880617
>Twerk on over
Haha try to get her to laugh...break some of the tension...
>Give her a hug.
>Don’t say anything?
>Let her speak

>>37880711
Geezus Herald you definitely seem like you have some experience in the field haha...

>>37880617
>”Hey! So, turns out you were right! I have to save the world or something…”
>Give her a hug

>>37880744
Did we doubt her...

>>37880617
>”Hey! So, turns out you were right! I have to save the world or something…”
>Give her a hug.

fucking hell school computes are slow

>>37880617

You walk on over, throwing a stupid smile on your face that grows with each step. Ness continues to impassively pout-glare at you.

“So… Ness?” Quiet. You frown and rub her shoulder. “I guess you were right: time to save the world! Have to make a choice and all that…!”

She doesn’t laugh, she doesn’t smile. She puts a hand to your cheek and then walks around and past you. You turn around, confused. “Ness?”

“ARC-Shard! I shall take his place. Use me for as the replacement shard!”

Your father knits his brow together. “What?”

You react similarly: “What?”

Ness just crosses her arms and sighs. “I understand the process, yes? Grey shall grant access to the core, and my consciousness can be assimilated. You do not need Grey, the mental fingerprints I sustain from my contact with his consciousness should be sufficient for the acceptance of my consciousness.”

Your father sighs and shakes his head. You’re at Ness’s side, now. “What does she mean? What are you talking about, Ness? You can’t do this: we could use the virus, or just hope for the best…! How, how…. How can you even help? I thought it was just me?”

“She’s right, Grey.”

You turn to your father. “How? What’s in my head that even did this…?”

“You’ve had it since birth: a mental block that resonated with your contact with the Shards. It’s allowed for the ARC to better keep watch and protect you, and also served a protection from those that would try to harm or convert you through mental force… It’s like a psychic immunity, in some senses, and also a beacon.”

“So…? What about Ness?”

“Seline’s interaction with your mind caused the mental fragment to activate and, through a desperate miracle, her own mind was converted in order to help you escape and succeed in reaching the ARC.”

“And so now she can fix the ARC?”

“She could take your place, yes.”

"I WILL take your place, Grey. That is what I am here f-"

You silence her with a hug.

>”Fuck that.”
>”Is that what you want, Ness?”
>write-in

>>37880953
>”Fuck that.”
>perhaps we could use both? Would it be possible to have our minds and that of the ARCs linked remotely?

>>37880953
>”Is that what you want, Ness?”
Don't much care for her.

>>37880953
>”Fuck that.”
No matter what I do, that was never your purpose.

>>37880953
>”Is that what you want, Ness?”

>>37880953
>"Fuck that."

No, Ness. You will not take our place. You are best girl.

>"If you even try, I'll kill myself."

>>37880988
>>37880953
expanding on the remote linkage

>"If we could have our minds linked remotely, then having multiple people would be important, on the off chance the signal was interrupted. If anything it'd be better with more than two people. This would prevent anyone from dying and help prevent mental stagnation from being trapped in a machine forever."

>"It would also give us more time to test the virus, which is the best choice for a permanent solution. As far as we know anyway."

>>37880953
>”Fuck that.”

>>37880953
seconding
>>37880988
>>37881063

>>37881063
I'll say at least ask about this...Having Ness May give us more options...

>>37880953

“Fuck that.” You squeeze her and then let go. “I wouldn’t ask or demand that of you; I’m not letting you just ‘sacrifice’ yourself, okay? Not for me, not for the world… No. Alright?”

“But Grey I-”

“No, okay? We’ll figure something else out, like…” You twist your face about, searching your mind for any ideas. A solution, a way to break this puzzle. You’ll cheat if you have to; you’re not letting fate win. “What if we remotely link to the ARC? Can I just hook up to it and keep on going? Ness and I can keep it going until we figure out the vir-”

Your father gives a small laugh. “You’re just like me: I’ve been throwing that idea around for years, but… It’s just not how the ARC is designed. It’s designed to eliminate any shards that it finds duplicates of within the ARC or elsewhere.”

“What…? What do you mean?”

“It was a safety precaution. If I just uploaded a copy of my mind to the ARC years ago and went along on my way, a government or terrorist group like TITAN could abduct the living me and use my consciousness to either reverse-engineer a way to control the ARC in part or use me directly to get into its core. The ARC won’t accept a copy-transfer. It has to be in-full and then death. Otherwise you’re a liability.”

“But, what, that’s…” You throw your hands to your head. “That’s so stupid! I mean, what about… What about temporary, then?”

Your father gives you a strange look at this.

“You didn’t move my physical mass at near-speeds of light: you vaporized me and rebuilt me, didn’t you? Digitized up a different or new version of my body, right?”

“Yes, we did but-”

“Then you can do it again.”

Your father shrugs at this. “Yes, but as soon as you returned to your body we’d be in the same predicament as before-”

“It would buy us time. I could come back after the virus is completed, right? Isn’t that a choice? Or Ness and I could keep changing places?”

Your father starts nodding, and the lights begin buzzing and blinking wildly.

>cont.

>>37881324

“If the system is adjusted, perhaps… Yes. You could assimilate and then leave once the virus has been worked on or slowly integrated. Or, alternatively, you could alternate with Ness. Her inclusion in all of this adds a completely new dimension…”

You get a sense of hope, or perhaps even victory.

"With TITAN on the move, awareness of the issue has already been spread. We can introduce the virus or come up with something... We'll have resources, and you've given us time with your assimilation, Grey...!"

There’s a flash of light behind you.

"That's odd." You think as you turn around. You weren’t expecting anybody else… Is it Dani? Mittens? Erica and Nick?

No.

“Hello, Gray. Weston.” The voice is cold. Dead. Years of pain, struggle, and smoke give it the feel and sound of charred leather. “How nice to see my old colleague and my young adversary reunited at last. We…” He laughs.

He laughs. It's bitter and malicious. It sends a chill up your spine and a scowl over your features.

You recognize that voice. That face. That dark, woolen suit and half-armor.

Konstatin Basorovich.

“We have so much to catch up on.”

>END OF THREAD

That was a lame sequence of events.

>>37881473
Thanks for running. Shady scientists as far as the eye can see...

>>37881473
really? really....

quest dropped. that was so cliche and how did he even get up here really herald this is all like a bad video game

>>37881508
>>37881514
I figure we're overdue for a shitstorm. This is okay.

But in all seriousness, if you'd like to talk about specific details or complaints you have I'm all ears. I don't think I've ever stonewalled or worked against you guys other than being generally shitty.

Thanks for playing today, guys. I hope it was interesting and entertaining for you all.

>>37881682
See you tomorrow Herald. I hope I get to post at least a little, even though it'll have to be from my phone at work.

>>37881712

See you tomorrow, Anon. Thanks for playing and here's hoping I see you around.

>>37881682
>>37881712
>>37881724
Wait is there gonna be a thread tomorrow/...anyway thanks for runnin' Herald can't wait to see what you got planned...

>>37881772

Yes, I really hope so. I'll update on Twitter.

>>37881784
I'll keep an eye out...

>>37881473
Well this is a shit sandwich of ME3 standards. Hope we cana ctually take a better option unlike Shepherd. Thanks for running Herald. I caught up on this thread while you were running for once. For the last few weeks you've been running while I was at work.

>>37881682
Just wanna say, awesome thread Herald. We've got a way out and provided we can deal with this guy we should be alright. Though really it is strange how he got up there.