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...*beep*...*wheeze*.........*beep*...*wheeze*.........*beep*...*wheeze*

These familiar sounds... You groggily open your eyes as you once again become aware of the uncomfortable sensation of the breathing mask. You pull the plastic off your face and flip the switch on the life support to get rid of its annoying sounds. Another night has passed. Honestly, you are a little surprised you woke up again. With effort you manage to push yourself upright in your bed and slightly lose your breath for your trouble. You feel cold and tired... which is, to be fair, pretty usual for your mornings. Rubbing your eyes you attempt to grab your glasses off the nightstand. The room is small and illuminated by a tiny night light plugged into the power outlet just above the night stand. It casts your shadow on the far wall of the room. You nod slightly and suddenly you are wide awake and really scared. No, you must not snooze! It is dangerous! A shiver passes through your spine causing you to wrap your hands around the body. They are pale and feel cold... Shower... you need to warm up. Metabolism can go screw itself. Well... to be fair it is pretty descriptive of its state.

You get out of your bed and waddle towards the bathroom grabbing a towel off the chair on your way. When you enter the bathroom you are greeted by your own reflection in the mirror. Messy unhealthy shoulder- long hair of a horrible rusty color, red lines from the breathing mask, numerous black spots and blemishes, irritated red spots on the face around the nose which have upper layers of skin peeling off, blue circles below pale eyes with clearly visible blood vessels on them. Looks like some even have managed to burst leaving large bloodied spots on your eyes. Damn, you need to really cut some more on your nerves. If not for appearance then for a lesser chance to catch a stroke. Eh, it is not like you are interested in other people's opinion about your looks anymore anyway. You frown, it is only half true. It must feel good to have someone to hang out with...

No, no, no, NO! Happy thoughts NOW, Ag, or at least neutral. "It is all hormones, all hormones..." you mumble and put some really shitty pop beats on your phone. Music is a tool to control the brain, you don't have to like it. You pull off your clothes and get into the shower tweaking it to be just bearably hot as you slowly warm up. This slowly changes you from exhausted and cold to somewhat warm and moderately tired. This sensation makes you remember an old wildlife TV show about snakes and how they warm up in the mornings. Funny how you are basically doing the same right now. After a long hot shower you get out and head to your room. It is about 7:30 and you need to take your meds soon. As you pass by a photo in a frame on the nightstand catches your attention. Your phone also buzzes with the sound of a new message and you seem to have forgotten to turn off your PC. What should you do first...
>>
>>2695720
>Meds. This stuff can't wait too much
>Photo. Thinking about it causes a strange sensation of anxiety
>Phone. Maybe the message is important?
>PC. Oh well, maybe it won't hurt to check what's going on in the world outside your little bubble
>>
>>2695721
>>Meds. This stuff can't wait too much
Phone can wait until we're not dying.
>>
>>2695721
>Meds. This stuff can't wait too much

Get stabilized. Then we can start reminiscing.
>>
>>2695721
>Meds. This stuff can't wait too much

Drugs? Yes please!
>>
>>2695736
>>2695733
>>2695732
>Meds x3
Vote closed, meds it is. Post incoming
>>
>>2695746

Well, time to get the prescription medicine. About seven of them. Inhaler, pills and even one daily injection spinning inside a tiny centrifuge in the fridge. After the injection you look on your arms covered in small hematomas and at the table filled with plastic packages and sigh. Only about two months of supplies left and you didn't get your paycheck yet. You really hate all of this. You have three chronic diseases that have been slowly getting worse since the childhood and medication is making about as many holes in you as it is plugging. It is slowly getting ridiculous and quite expensive. Half a year ago your stupid lungs started to forget how to breathe in your sleep and you had to buy a second hand life support to keep yourself going.

The worst part is that cure exists: full body nano-restoration. Unfortunately it is less than a year old and more expensive than all your property and you need to give out your whole wage every three months just to treat symptoms. You hope that it will become affordable before you slowly decay in your flat. Doctors gave you about five more years without counting suicide or stroke risks. The chance is pretty low...

"No, keep it together! I know you can't afford antidepressants, it is just the chemistry talking, you'll make it through!" you say to yourself to snap out. Your parents would not forgive you if you just gave up on your own life. You still have some hope on that experimental treatment papers you've sent last year. At least there is a chance and things are looking good, right?

You quickly swallow the rest of the pills before turning back to the room. There is still that photo in a frame with a small black ribbon sitting on the night stand as well as your phone which is no longer glowing with an unread message. There is also the computer screen still glowing nearby. What should you do now?

>Photo. ...I miss them...
>Phone. Maybe it's the customer?
>PC. News time!
>>
>>2695750
>>Photo. ...I miss them...
We dying just a tad slower, so we can take a moment to reminisce about probably less shitty times.
>>
>>2695750
>>Photo. ...I miss them...
>>
>>2695750
>>Photo. ...I miss them...
>>
>>2695777
>>2695773
>>2695761
>Photo x3
Vote closed. Writing
>>
>>2695750
Photo
>>
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>>2695785
Looking at the photo from the other end of the room makes your heart slowly sink into your feet. You slowly approach it, sitting at the edge of the bed. It's been almost six years now since you've lost your parents. You can barely remember their voices now... Your mother, Carina, used to be a doctor before she had you. She later became a housewife while your father, David, was a programmer. He received an economic second education and found an enterprise in pursuing startups. They were loving parents. A smile crosses your face as you remember how happy they were on your graduation ceremony, and the party that took place later that day. The taste of those homemade cupcakes still lingers on the tip of your tongue, conjured alongside memories of a warmer, better time. You pick up the picture frame and hold it in your hands, even as your vision blurs with tears. It's hard to raise a child with chronic condition, and it seemed to strain the relationship between the two of them. And then it all fell apart when your dad confessed that he had been raising another child with another woman for eight years.

Your mother couldn't handle the stress and died from a stroke shortly after the divorce. Just two months later, your father perished in a lethal car accident. His body was not even cold and, in spite of all of your misgivings, you had not even finished grieving when his family sued for his wealth. They had won most of it, leaving you only with a small flat, barely a quarter of what he had. You have not spoken to them since, nor do you have any desire to. Is it hatred and for those greedy bastards, or an apathy born out of despair that compels you to silence? In the end, it doesn't matter. What's done is done. Before you even know it, the picture became obscured with tears, and the faces captured in that single moment become completely obscured. Maybe if you were more observant, you would have seen it, how quickly your family just fell apart. But no, you were too busy with fucking university. You manage a sob, blowing your nose with a nearby tissue. "H...Hello... again." you mumble to the photo. God, your voice is pathetically shaky. "I hope you guys are doing well, wherever you are.. Your...little girl is still...holding up. It's just a little tight right now, but...I'll probably pull through. But just in case... save a seat for me up there, okay?" ...you're definitely going to need a couple more minutes before you're anywhere near composed. Or, as composed as you could possibly be given your circumstances.

>Phone. This is directly related to your salary, you might want to check up on it. You are pretty sure you completed the task for the next month though.
>PC. What's the chance that a cheaper medicine is discovered? From one point of view it's 50/50 so let's check and see!
>>
>>2695791
Phone
>>
>>2695816
30 minutes passed, oh well. Phone it is. Posting
>>
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>>2695841
There are few people who could have messaged you on the phone, and your employer is one of them. You work as a freelance automation engineer and your job is to teach neural networks and bots for menial tasks for various firms. It is not really stable and it is pretty competitive but you feel like you are pretty good at it. Messenger bots are not much more difficult than power point presentations: you just make a tree of options in accordance to the needs of the employer. Neural networks are a bit trickier though. You need to feed it a ton of information for prolonged periods of time and it is impossible to bugtrack. It's kind of funny how your job includes tampering with something on the very edge of human knowability.

In any case, let's take a look at the messages. You have quite a few missed. Let's see... bank notification with long awaited salary... which is about twice what you expected. There is the one from the boss. It arrived just before you woke up at 5 am. This guy really likes to work late. <<Dear miss Agatha, our company is changing its direction and we have decided to vertically integrate our IT department. We are satisfied with your performance, but our restructured IT is capable of performing the further development of the neural network. We regretfully inform you that your contract has been terminated. Compensation funds of two months worth of income have been transmitted to your bank account according to the agreement. We hope you best luck with your next assignment>>.

You sit still for a moment and then you quietly curse. This job was supposed to feed you and provide you with meds for the next year! Yu have almost no golden parachute with exception of the tiny treatment fund you've been trying to save up. Well, time to try to find a job in a world where half of the population is structurally unemployed. Fuck my life.
>>
>>2695844
You get a ring on your door and you scramble to put your shirt on to hide the injection hematomas before opening the door. A delivery guy passes you a sealed orange envelope and takes your signature before promptly leaving. The package was delivered through express mail as an important document and you struggle with opening it as it is in layers and layers of plastic film. In the end you pull out a document which says the following:

<< Dear miss Krasnikova,
Thank you for your application. You have been chosen to participate in H+ "Chrononaut" nanostasis project. Your psychological and medical profile indicates that you will be an invaluable member of the experimental group. Please visit our installation at the following address to finalize the documentation. Please note that you are still capable of refusing the offer, although we urge you to still visit us to make a more informed decision...>>

Huh, you don't remember signing up for any nanostasis projects. From what you remember from a news article it is one of the technologies to replace cryogenic preservation. A person is not frozen but instead suspended in a coma like state while nanomachines provide life support and prevent aging. It is supposed to be way less lethal to occupants in comparison to being ripped apart at cellular level by ice crystals.

You make a call and manage to get an appointment later today. In good spirits you quickly wrap up with your daily routine and set off to the research institute about half a city away. The day was bleak and rainy but the trip was uneventful and you arrived to a huge white building of the research institute. After a short chat with the reception and a short wait you were met personally by your uncle Dan. He changed quite a bit since you've last seen him. He lost his carefree look on his face and now he somehow managed to have even more red and tired eyes than you have. Bloody hell, when was the last time he slept?

"Hi, Ag. Thanks for visiting. Sorry for putting you in the roster but I figured you needed some help." he greets you. You have quite a few questions, but first and foremost is:

> Where has he been for seven years? You had no way to contact him and he hasn't even been on his sister's funeral!
> What is this project? You have never heard of H+ initiative before.
> Let's cut it straight to the chase: can this thing cure you?
>>
>>2695849
Where have you been.


It would be impolite to not ask since we don't see him for so long.

After that we ask abou the H+
>>
>>2695849
>>2695869
this
>>
>>2695897
>>2695869
Very well, post inccoming.
>>
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>>2695910

"Where have you been for the last seven years?" you say as you are quite a bit angry at him.

He awkwardly scratches his neck and replies: "There was a bit of a crisis with the project. My co- worker decided to freeze herself and a bunch of other people when we bumped into some bureaucracy and a few governmental blocks. I had to dig myself and the entire project from a mile long hole of investigations, courts and paperwork. I really wanted to help you, but I was preoccupied with saving my ass and the work of my life. Don't worry, I'll make up for that and more. That's why I sent you the invitation"

You are still a little salty but this makes some sense. If he was fighting courts not to get sent to jail it made sense that he would not want to get you involved. All his messages were probably checked for connections so he was trying to keep you safe. You then ask him about what H+ initiative.

"Well, basically we are testing some equipment. You will be placed inside a state of the art nanostasis pod designed to survive for thousands of years and simultaneously you would gain access to a variety of physiological augmentations while all your illnesses get treated by the machine. Don't worry though, we will pull you out of the pod when nanotech gets a bit better. If I had to guess, it would be in 50 years or so. The process is already perfectly safe and tested but we need actual cases."

That sounds pretty good. You liked certain notions of transhumanism, but you are a bit creeped out by the more radical ideas like uploading or full body prosthesis. Although 50 years is quite a bit... but even then it is not like you have many people who would miss you.
>>
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>>2695914
Dan leads you to his office as he starts explaining what the project is about and what you should expect. Well, at least as a highly compressed version:

"So, in short you will be placed in a nanostasis pod and during your stay you will be augmented pretty heavily. Certain things are on house but you will have to choose four aug packages out of twelve. Augment specifications are huge and tedious so I will provide you with short descriptions and you can ask for more information if you get interested in something specific."

You look at the paper that Dan has just passed to you. It is a list of bullet points with a place for a tick for things that you'd like to apply. It consists of the following entries:

Physiological:
> Body package: general bio- augmentation of the body. Faster, stronger, more endurance, easier survival. Synergizes well with basically everything.
> Mind package: an injection of various skills and information as well as better and faster memory and problem solving
> Senses package: an array of new sensory organs plus augmented reflexes, reaction time and decision making

Psi:
> Energy manipulation: Generate heat, light and electric charge at will
> Space manipulation: Mainly telekinesis. Has numerous other hard to master applications
> Biological manipulation: Versatile, from healing to genetic modification. Heavily conceptual
> Subspace sense: Limited probability precognition, not infallible. Perception of subspace

Posthuman:
> Synthetic: full body mechanical augmentation. Highly durable but requires weird diet. Looks human unless damaged
> Nano: full body nano augmentation. Allows quick shapeshifting but difficult to master. Vulnerable to prolonged extreme heat
> Subspace: body replaced by 4 dimensional construct that "grows" into real space. Effective immortality but unpredictable physiological alteration

Interesting. There are many choices and you are eager to start. However, you are vary of signing up for things you don't know enough about. Before you choose you should probably inquire about:

>A certain package. You need more for an informed decision
>Standard package. It would be nice to know what you are going to start with
>Psionics? Subspace? Is this real life? How is that even supposed to work?
>Augmentation process. How such radical body modification even safe?
>The project. What are the goals? How many are involved?
>Other. You are curious about...

This is the only post with that many options in the quest. Choose 4 options and/or ask a question. All questions and concerns voiced here will be answered IC immediately. Questionnaire ends in 20 minutes after questions are depleted
>>
>>2695920
Body to finally not be a frail thing
Space manipulation
Senses and.....

I dont know about the last one

Ask about this subspace
>>
>>2695920
>you said twelve I only count 10
>Standard package. It would be nice to know what you are going to start with
>Psionics? Subspace? Is this real life? How is that even supposed to work?
>Augmentation process. How such radical body modification even safe?
>The project. What are the goals? How many are involved?

Questions before picking.
>>
>>2695938
I can get behind this too, we can pick after quastions
>>
>>2695931
"Subspace Augment is a pretty unusual one. We have recently discovered a parallel universe of sorts that has 4 spatial dimensions. It is strange and governed by complicated forces, but it seems that it is inhabited only by primitive autotrophic creatures that feed on gravitational tidal waves. Four dimensional huge bacteria, basically.

The augment would place your consciousness inside a body which exists mainly in that dimension. Your current body would become something of a biological puppet controlled from the subspace. If your actual body dies you'd be able to regrow it from the fourth dimension given some time. You also become free from the need to eat, drink and sleep. However, there is a catch. Your physical body would change in a way we can't predict beyond 'it would look humanoid'.

Also, you might want to look at the body aug again. Top performance body is on the house while this augmentation is a couple steps beyond human."
>>
>>2695938
I had two options in the draft that I removed but I forgot to update that part. You can choose 4 out of 10. I will go ahead and answer to these questions in the following posts
>>
>>2695920
> Body package: general bio- augmentation of the body. Faster, stronger, more endurance, easier survival. Synergizes well with basically everything.
> Senses package: an array of new sensory organs plus augmented reflexes, reaction time and decision making
> Biological manipulation: Versatile, from healing to genetic modification. Heavily conceptual
> Subspace sense: Limited probability precognition, not infallible. Perception of subspace
>>
>>2695920
> Mind package: an injection of various skills and information as well as better and faster memory and problem solving
> Space manipulation: Mainly telekinesis. Has numerous other hard to master applications
> Subspace: body replaced by 4 dimensional construct that "grows" into real space. Effective immortality but unpredictable physiological alteration
>Augmentation process. How such radical body modification even safe?
>>
>>2695938

"Standard package includes a wide variety of tweaks to the baseline human body. You will be cured of all diseases. You would be fitter than Olympic athlete and there would also be a cleanup to your general appearance. You will also be biologically immortal. You will be in your prime until you die from unnatural causes
The package also includes increased ability to study new languages, massively beefed up immune system and a dissertation worth of minor tweaks.

Regarding of the more... fantasy sounding augments, we had two major discoveries: we discovered a parallel universe and we unlocked psionics. The former is a four dimensional mostly empty space inhabited only by primitive local analogues of bacteria and is required in three augments related to spacetime while the latter is a sort of reality bending ability that humans can possess. You can trade mental strain for causing a partially physical law defying effect to the world. This scales with range, precision and strength of the desired effect.

The safety of the augmentation is ensured by the way it is done. The body gets replaced at exactly the same rate as normal metabolic processes in a human body. So don't worry, identity is preserved. Also we had a huge opportunity to bugtrack it from the data my co- worker caused by sealing herself and a bunch of other people in pod prototypes. Let's just say it is several orders of magnitude safer now.

The H+ goal is to facilitate the next stage of human condition. This particular project mainly just tests equipment for interstellar stasis pods and a proof of concept for radical human augmentation. The modern project has around 300 people of various backgrounds with the only requirement being the lack of legal issues and relative mental stability. My assistant's project, however, has an unknown amount of participants. She went full conspiracy and seeded them all across the world for some reason like a damn bond villain, but that shouldn't be a problem"
>>
>>2695997
>>2695959
Do you guys vote for choosing an option or want an explanation of how those work?
>>
>>2696004
choosing for me
>>
>>2696004
Choosing for me too since you said choose.
>>
>>2696019
>>2696008
Very well, if your opinion was not changed, the options will be calculated 20 minutes after the last question
>>
>>2696004
Choose
>>
>>2695931
>>2695959
>>2695997
2 for body
2 for senses
2 for space manipulation
1 for subspace
1 for bio manip
1 for subspace sense

I would caution about Subspace how it would fundamentally alter our viewpoint and make us look at things even less human.
>>
>>2695920
Current vote result:

Body augmentaion- 2 votes
Space manipulation- 2 votes
Senses augmentation- 2 votes

These augments are now choice locked.
You can vote for the last augmentation. Remember that synergies are a thing. You have 30 minutes. :

>Supspace senses
>Subspace body
>Bio manipulaton
>Mind augmentation
>>
>>2696061
>subspace
>Sense package
>Subspace sense
I want these three.
>>
>>2696036
Quest MC are usually better and more fun when they are less human or sane.
>>
>>2696061
>Mind augmentation
>>
>>2696084
Like how HQR made the mc a total nutcase and everyone hated it?

>>2696061
>Bio manipulaton
>>
>>2696093
>>2696092
>>2696084
>>2696078
>everyone chose one of each
>>
>>2696098
lol
>>
>>2696061
>>Mind augmentation
Hope im not to late
>>
>>2696093
I'm talking about Shadow Quest, Banished quest, and Ogre civ quest where part of the fun was how inhuman and insane the MCs were. I always thought Azureearth was a hack so I never followed him.
>>
>female protagonist
ehhh
>>
>>2696136
There are options that make the sex of the MC irrelevant.
>>
>>2696061
And the vote is closed. Mind augmentation wins by one vote. Time to get on with the story
>>
>>2696061
Bio manip
>>
>>2696138
thats somehow worse
>>
>>2696148
After several days of checkups and verifications you are placed inside a pod. It looks kind of weird, not at all how you imagined it. This pod has almost half a meter thick walls and no glass, instead it is just a huge smooth white cylinder with rounded ends suspended in some less high tech looking metal bracings. You were allowed to take a few items with you, so you decided to take a heavily laminated photo of your parents and a reinforced memory card with basically all the contents of your computer and cloud storage. When you wake up you will be provided with some funds anyway and not like you have much in terms of stuff.

When you were lying in the pod telling goodbyes to your uncle he tells you: "Hey, one more thing. If I am not around for this and you by some chance manage to meet Elspeth, my old co- worker, smack her for me, ok?" You show a thumbs up to him and finish the farewell before you are sealed in the pod.

And that's when hell begins.

It started to feel a little bit like going up an elevator. But the cabin is full of blue fire and you are convinced that no one ever loved you and you can't remember HOW TO FUCIKNG BREATHE. Yeah, it was like that really. You realize that you no longer have dexterity to move, so you made the best of it and just laid back into whatever was going to happen. To the gentle sound of the machine you attempted to recede into yourself, to that spot at the heart of the psyche where all the Buddhists and Hindus tell us all our inner contemptment springs from.

The quest took you down a river curtained by glass vines and geometries from other universes, where circumference is nowhere and center is everywhere. And there it was, finally. A peace of mind. Waiting in the distance. And when you came to your peace of mind at last there was a note there, instead. And the note read: <<buckle up, motherfucker>>. Speech, motor control, memory, it all went out the window.

And as your mind fell apart like soggy bits of cake, you stopped trying to stay sane and just simply...gave in. Dead relatives appeared before you, desperately trying to say something but unable to speak. You saw yourself as an older woman, then an old woman and then a dead woman. You desperately looked for an "I" or "me" on the inside and found none. Nothing to hold on to, just atoms pretending to be a person. And then finally, you were just a mind floating in space.

There was no history, no future. It has always been like that, you knew. You had only been dreaming of being a human this whole time, something you did occasionally to stop yourself from going mad. And now you were alone, again. Back in the real universe, where the only physical constants were unrelenting horror and infinite nothing in all directions. It had no beginning, it had no end.

You would spend an eternity like this...
>>
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>>2696164
After an unknowable time you start feeling a warm sensation spreading through your... legs? You have limbs?! Wait, it was all a dream?! You are not alone in the void! This immediately improves your mood and you manage to open your eyes to see a white glossy underside of the pod's lid. A soft and somewhat robotic female voice announces:

<<Autonomous reanimation procedure complete. Augmentation status: nominal. Pod status: structural integrity- 100%, power supply- CRITICAL . You have been in stasis for... 2068 years. Warning! Delay cause: insufficient atmospheric oxygen concentration, risk of carbon dioxide toxicity. Current atmospheric conditions- nominal. Warning! Last contact with external control unit: 2059 years. Emergency survival supplies dispensed. H+ Institute apologizes for this event. Disengaging seal bolts...>>

Wait, there was no breathable air outside for almost 70 years? What could have caused that? You hope that surface is not a charred radioactive wasteland or something. With a loud clang sealing bolts retract somewhere inside the lid and it slowly swings open to the side revealing a scene of devastation that was probably a basement room before.

The room is rectangular in shape. It seems to have a former workplace with a plastic IKEA table and chair standing in the far left corner across the room from the pod as well as a husk of what seems to be an empty wending machine. That general area is covered with a thick layer of dust. All paint and coating has long peeled off from the ceiling and walls leaving a layer of dust and small rubble across the whole floor with naked and slightly cracked brick walls.

There is a large metal door with a rusty wheel handle in the middle of the wall to the left. The far right area of the room is not well lit as it is blocked from the pod by a structural column. It doesn't seem as if it has any noticeable objects there.

>Investigate self. What are the survival supplies and why do you feel so weird?
>Investigate the door. It is the only obvious way out
>Investigate the rubble pile near the table. You are pretty sure you can see something in there
>>
>>2696173

>Investigate self. What are the survival supplies and why do you feel so weird?
>>
>>2696173
>Investigate self
Everything still there?
>>
>>2696173
>Investigate the rubble pile near the table. You are pretty sure you can see something in there
>>
>>2696173
>Investigate self. What are the survival supplies and why do you feel so weird?
>>
>>2696148
God that was close, missed it by t secs
>>
>>2696179
>>2696190
>>2696214
Vote closed, writing. I have officially ran out of prepared texts so it will probably take a little bit longer.
>>
>>2696268
As you get out of the pod you stumble but manage to awkwardly catch yourself from falling. The floor seems further away than you remember. You look back at the pod that appears a little bit smaller in confusion.

Judging by the relative size of the pod you are almost a head and a half taller than you were before the procedure. You also can't find your glasses, but you can see better than ever. The nagging feeling of constant exhaustion is gone as well.

You look down on yourself to see if there are any other changes. Well, you are not flat as a board anymore that's for sure, but good news have to wait until you are safe.

You are currently wearing a quite comfortable blue jumpsuit. To the right you have some kind of gasmask with a tiny flashlight attached to your belt while on the left you have a knife inside a holster, a small plastic bottle filled with water and a bag which contains a silver container with a dozen pills for water disinfection, a bunch of protein cubes, what appears to be a container filled with vitamins and a picture of your parents with a memory crystal in a separate waterproof container. Well, at least in the short term you are set.

Wait, you are supposed to have the amazing powers, right? You don't seem to feel much more different and you don't feel much smarter either. You have good vision but you can't seem to see stuff in ultraviolet or use echolocation or something. Your uncle would not just lie to you, so probably you need to somehow activate them. However, this doesn't seem like a good place to test them. You have no idea how to access the powers, much less control them. It would be embarrassing to die from a self- inflicted cave-in minutes after waking up from millennia long slumber.

>Investigate the pile of rubble near to the table. You are pretty sure you can see some kind of metal box there as well as something white...
>Investigate the door. You need to get out of this place and this is the only obvious way out.
>>
>>2696308
>Investigate the pile of rubble near to the table. You are pretty sure you can see some kind of metal box there as well as something white...
>>
>>2696308
>Investigate the pile of rubble near to the table. You are pretty sure you can see some kind of metal box there as well as something white...
>>
>>2696173
elseph......is this that CYOA thing on TG?
>>
>>2696370
Yes and no, the setting is widely different but she gets a cameo along with her gang modified to make more sense and be less two dimensional.
>>
>>2696380
eh, as long as you get around to killing them i shall return to lurking. good hunting
>>
>>2696383
This will depend on the choices you guys make
>>
>>2696355
>>2696328
Vote over, writing
>>
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>>2696397

You approach the pile of rubble and you are taken aback. There is a skeleton in tattered remains of a lab uniform, the ID card too faded to identify who that was. You get back to your senses surprisingly easily and note that there is also an aluminum box lying a few meters away from the corpse. You approach and open it. The box is filled with packing peas and contains a sealed glass bottle with a letter inside. It is an improvised time capsule! You open the bottle and start reading the message:

<<Hello, miss Agatha. I don't know if you will ever read this, but I feel like I should leave some kind of message for you. I'm Sam, one of scientists who was collecting data from your pod for bio research. But I guess it doesn't matter anymore. You'll probably find what's left of me somewhere around here.

It is Saturday and the world has just ended. I am not sure what exactly has happened. I was about to leave for the weekend when I saw a news report of some major ecological disaster in Europe. Something big suddenly blew up and killed almost everyone between Paris and Kiev in moments. Right after that EAS overrode the news report. It claimed that a massive nuclear strike has been launched from the territory of Russian State towards US and Europe. I barely managed to get into this room and seal the door before everything shook and power went off. It seems that ventilation has melted. I will probably suffocate in several hours. I won't endanger you by opening the door before the radiation subsides.

I have a lot of regrets. I regret not taking better care of myself, I regret not spending enough time with my parents, I regret never being in a relationship. But at least I hope that this message ends up helpful to you as the last good thing I do in this life.

Your case is unique among the project participants. Your augmentations have unprecedented level of synergy and fluidity while remaining remarkably stable and safe. You practically have no upper limit to your potential. While you will be comparable to other participants in power at the start, you should eventually outgrow everyone else. Please note that you are not invincible so try to stay safe.
(cont)
>>
>>2696429

There are around 300 other people who participated in the project, but there has been another similar but illegal endeavor before us with unknown amount of participants. Augment choices depend on individual psychology and physiology, so they might have abilities you are not familiar with. Don't forget that they are just people. They can make mistakes and, let's be honest, they just acquired a lot of power and power corrupts. Please don't let this happen to you.

I have no idea if anyone survived on the surface, but in case they did please don't forget that they are no less than you are, even if they are a bit more mortal and weak. Maybe you could help them reach for the stars, or not. It is up to you.

I am sorry that we couldn't wake you up in a utopian society like we planned, but I hope you would be able to live to your fullest. This was Sam, signing off.>>

So, this guy's name was Sam. Thank you, wherever you are. Maybe you should bury him later, but now you need to figure out how to unbury yourself! There is this door you could open. However, a thought crosses through your head: if this room is airtight, how did it change the air composition?

>Attempt to open the door, roll 1d20
>Search the room once again
>>
>>2696432
>Attempt to open the door, roll 1d20
Ventilation melted and the door is closed. Time to look for wherever that air is coming from.
>>
>>2696443
>Search the room once again
And I voted for the wrong thing because I'm a fucking idiot.
>>
>>2696432
>Search the room once again
>>
>>2696432
>Search the room once again
can never be too sure
>>
>>2696505
>>2696469
>>2696446
Very well, writing
>>
>>2696521
After what feels like an hour of searching you have checked the walls, the floor and the ceiling for clues about where the breathable air came from and finally you have found it. Or at least you assume you did. There is a section of the wall that almost missed your efforts by being in the darkest corner of the room. It has more cracks than any other wall and it seems to be spreading from one point.
Something is probably pushing from the other side of the wall. You could try to open it up, but you can't do that with your bare hands. You need some kind of a tool...

>use a knife
>break off and use aluminum leg from a former table

Roll 1d20 in addition to your choice
>>
Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>2696561
>>break off and use aluminum leg from a former table
>>
Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>2696561
>break off and use aluminum leg from a former table
>>
Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>2696561
>break off and use aluminum leg from a former table
>>
>>2696575
>>2696587
>>2696611
>best one- 13. Minor success. Writing
>>
>>2696644
You manage to break off a metal leg from the table relatively easily and with a bit of effort you bent it into a crude digging tool. The digging turned out to be more difficult than you thought. You had to disassemble a large section of the damaged wall to reveal a layer of rubbery insulation material followed by another layer of bricks. But you have finally found the culprit: it was a root of a tree which poked through the rubber insulation and allowed enough air to trickle through.

The finishing line is so close you can practically taste it! But you still have to dig through several meters of dirt that separate you from the surface. Well, time to take this body to a test.

The digging is tedious but relatively simple and you don't feel as tired as you expected. However you felt lightheaded a couple times and had to take a break. It seems that the air trickling through the soil is not enough to sustain your active work routine.

In the end your improvised shovel manages to break through the thin layer of dirt and fresh air rushes in along with the sound of birds and the unbelievably sweet smell of forest. You are finally out, and it is not a scorched wasteland! The forest seems to be temperate and it includes both pine and deciduous trees similar to European forests you've read about.

You pull yourself out of the hole and stretch while breathing in the fresh air. The sensation is almost intoxicating. Your jumpsuit is covered in some dirt, yes, but you are finally free. Brave new world here I come!

Suddenly you hear a commotion nearby. It sounds like there are humans talking but you can't recognize the language or distinguish the individual words. It feels like it is really close but you understand they are almost half a mile away from you. Wait, you DO have superpowers! Your hearing is incredible! But no time for celebration, there might be humans around here. How should you approach this...

>Go in the opposite direction. Yes, this is an unknown world with unknown dangers but you don't want to risk encountering anyone unprepared
>Just approach the people. How bad can it be? Yes, they probably don't speak any language that you understand but no one said that you can't improvise a way to communicate with them
>Sneak up and try to see what is going on. As good as meeting new people is, the way they are speaking tells you this is not a happy endeavor. You can approach them after you find out what is happening
>>
>>2696721
>>Sneak up and try to see what is going on. As good as meeting new people is, the way they are speaking tells you this is not a happy endeavor. You can approach them after you find out what is happening
>>
>>2696721
>Sneak up and try to see what is going on. As good as meeting new people is, the way they are speaking tells you this is not a happy endeavor. You can approach them after you find out what is happening
>>
>>2696721
>Sneak up and try to see what is going on. As good as meeting new people is, the way they are speaking tells you this is not a happy endeavor. You can approach them after you find out what is happening
>>
>>2696819
>>2696747
>>2696728
Writing
>>
>>2696873
The procession is heading towards a small clearing in a forest with a lone tree trunk in the middle. The bark seems to be heavily scratched like if it was a scratch post for a cat the size of a small elephant. Nearby area has obvious spills of dark red liquid and you can feel a potent smell of blood and decay. This is a goddamn sacrifice! The girl gets bound to the scratched tree through some kind of rope, one of the elderly participants falls to the knees and mumbles something for a minute, which you presume is a prayer. One of the peasant women starts crying and hugs the tied up girl one last time before everyone leaves in a hurried manner.

The girl appears to attempt holding herself stoically, but you can practically smell her fear as she tries to keep herself from crying. Suddenly you hear a loud growl from deep inside the forest. This instantly shifts the girl into panic as she starts desperately trying to get out of her ropes with little success. You can hear branches breaking, whatever that is, it is coming here and FAST. You need to decide quickly!

>Leave the girl to die. As sad as it is, you can't risk your life. You have no idea how your powers work so how can you even try to take on some huge monster?
>Run up and attempt to cut her free. This will allow her to run away and not get in the way of you if you decide to run or fight
>Continue sneaking. You might be able to surprise whatever that is. These powers should count for something, right?
>>
>>2696924
>Continue sneaking. You might be able to surprise whatever that is. These powers should count for something, right?
>>
>>2696924
>Continue sneaking. You might be able to surprise whatever that is. These powers should count for something, right?
>>
>>2696993
>>2696926
Writing
>>
>>2697001
You decide to wait and see. This will allow you to interfere at the best moment or flee if the creature is too powerful.

Less than a minute after the first roar, a horrifying monstrosity has appeared from the woods. It looks like some kind of heavily deformed oversized naga of sorts: it has a humanlike face filled with sharp teeth, the body contains numerous arms which grow from various positions and it has a long tail with thick scales and spikes. The creature still has a mauled and half eaten human corpse in its claws. The poor bastard is barely alive and is far beyond saving as he is missing everything below the ribcage and is bleeding heavily. This is truly a piece of nightmare.

The monster slithers towards the captive girl who freezes like a deer in the headlight. She is scared out of her mind and can't move anymore. You are in an optimal position behind the back of the creature. This is now or never!

You guess that the only ability you have that can cause heavy damage to the monster without putting you at risk is your space manipulation. It is supposed to be like telekinesis, right? You have no idea what you are doing but your body is almost acting on its own!

>You scan the area for something small...
>You scan the area for something heavy...
>You focus on the monster with anger...
>You focus on yourself and pull out your knife...
>>
>>2697004
>>You focus on the monster with anger...
>>
>>2697004
I forgot to attach the artwork, dang it
>>
>>2697004
>>You focus on the monster with anger..
>>
>>2697093
>>2697011
Wow, okay then. Writing
>>
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>>2697110

This thing has killed enough people! And it is about to kill that little girl! This makes you angrier than you've ever been. You focus on the creature as you are bubbling from fury. You want to break every bone it its body...

Suddenly you feel a slight ringing sensation in your head as you imagine the creature's ribs squeezed and the monster suddenly wails in pain, which almost deafens you for a moment. The whole left side of the creature's chest cavity implodes upon itself with a sickening crunching sound and a splatter of bone shards, flesh and blood. The arm which grew from that general area is completely ripped off while the nearest two arms are horribly mangled with bones sticking out of bleeding wounds.

Did... did you just do that? You feel sick. It is some kind of man- eating monster but it was so painful you almost felt it from here. You collect yourself at the same moment the monster discovers your location and accelerates towards you. You feel scared, but this somehow doesn't cloud your judgment. This is time to act!

>Attempt to dodge with your own effort. Hopefully your newfound agility would save you in close quarters combat with this thing that looks as dangerous as knives strapped to a ceiling fan
>Focus at yourself and attempt to dodge with your psychic abilities. You have just displayed that you can control them somewhat and flinging your own body across the field should not be too hard, you hope
>Focus on the monster again! Maybe you could stun it enough to finish it off with this one.
>>
>>2697174

>Attempt to dodge with your own effort. Hopefully your newfound agility would save you in close quarters combat with this thing that looks as dangerous as knives strapped to a ceiling fan
>>
>>2697174
Ah also, roll 1d20
>>
Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>2697188
>>
Rolled 10, 2 = 12 (2d20)

>>2697188
two more rolls
>>
>>2697272
>>2697203
Post incoming
>>
>>2697315
Looks like the beginner's luck has finally ran out. You manage to just barely dodge the creature taking a deep scraping wound to your back. But after you have set up for combat it seems that you lack sufficient control of your augment. Time perception slowed down but then it went back to normal without any warning allowing the creature to claw at your stomach. You were almost gutted but your jumpsuit's material saved you.

This, however, gave you the opening to cut off one of the arms of the creature leaving it with a bleeding stump instead of a claw. The monster attempted to retreat from close range as its arms are less agile as yours, but you were faster and managed to cause several deep wounds. Unfortunately this thing is built like a brick in a safe and it is still trying to kill you. It is currently trying to smack you with its spiked tail. You decide to:

>Dodge and go for some kind of vital. That opening to the spine looks like a perfect place to remove this threat
>Go full attack! If you manage to hit it in the head or neck you might cause enough damage to disable it enough to land a finishing blow
>Crush it with your mind! It is close enough so that you could target its head and end it once and for all. Psi ops approves.
>write in
>>
>>2697320
>Crush it with your mind! It is close enough so that you could target its head and end it once and for all. Psi ops approves.
>>
>>2697334
writing
>>
>>2697418
You are forced to block with your right arm earning you a couple of deep lacerations but you manage to focus just long enough to enact your power once again. The monster cries in pain and grabs its head with the claws but this is futile. Mere moments later it implodes showering you and surrounding area in blood and brain bits. Monster's headless body collapses on the ground with a deaf sound and you can finally rest.

Surprisingly you don't feel physically tired. You feel pretty bad from the wounds though, who knows what that thing touched with its claws. There is also an uncomfortable sensation in your head reminiscent to the days you had to study too much for the exams. This is probably a side effect of using psi abilities. You know, that is not too bad. You expected much more intense strain, this you can handle.

With a surprise you note that you are no longer bleeding out of your stomach wounds. However, the jumpsuit is probably ruined beyond what people of this place can repair.
In any case, victory! You just need a couple minutes to take a breather and you'll be able to deal with the rest of it...
>>
>>2697436
Thank you all for participating in this quest. Unfortunately we need to stop for today.

You can find me on /qst/ discord or on Twitter through the following link: https://twitter.com/Hivemind_Chan

I can't wait to continue with this adventure. See you guys next time.
>>
>>2697450
Thanks for running
>>
>>2697450
Sorry had to bail for plans. Thanks for running and catch you next time!
>>
>>2697450
will be here when you resume, I'm liking this a lot.
>>
I would like to apologize.

There will be no thread this week. I initially planned to run on Saturday but I misjudged my preparation and I am currently performing a cram course for exam on Tuesday.

Synthetic Gods Quest will resume weekly on Saturdays starting next week.
>>
>>2705602
Thanks for the warning, see ya
>>
>>2695720
Quest has been archived:

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2695720/

Next thread will start this Saturday.




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