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“W-what?! Repeat!”

“Your presence is required for dealing with the alien on board this vessel. There are no xenodiplomats in the ledger, and you are the highest ranking individual here, hence, you were awoken.”

“Wait! Alien? How is there an ALIEN?! This ship is traveling at hyperspeed through hyperspace! There's no way for anyone to even communicate with this ship on its journey anyway- how did an alien get onboard? What species!? Unlock the armory and isolate the alien in its own bulkhead-”

“I cannot do that. The alien is within the same bulkhead as the suspension pods. Species unknown. Quarantine will be held if the ship manages to come down from Hyperspace while on autopilot. If you can restore order, the pilot can be reawoken at the correct time...”

In the same... same bulkhead? The same bulkhead as you? Oh fuck. It's in here with you. Okay, don't panic. What do you do? There's no way to call for help, and you have no weapons. You are the captain of this ship, protocols have prepared you for almost anything- mutiny, hull breach, infectious disease... but not this!

You hear a wet sound and whirl around in panic. You see a massive toothy maw belonging to some giant, wriggling primordial biped of a worm. It's glossy black lips part and pull back to reveal its bright yellow gums- it hisses at you- a warning gesture, an aggressive threat...

No, that's not it. You've fallen to the floor during this. It's sucking air onto its tongue, through its teeth. It's tasting you. It's huge tongue is licking your pheromones and sweat condensed in the sterile air of a starcrusier. You're just now realizing it doesn't have any eyes. The sightless creature closes its mouth, its horrible head and neck extending forward towards you.

“Go gal. Go galla gol?”

“T-Translation?” You weakly say to the ship's AI. Clearly, it's talking.

“Translation file incomplete. Lacking ability to reverse-engineer language from species biology. Closest translation- “End light, heat light, end heat-light? Can I stop light-heat?””

“Go gal. Go galla gol?”

>Run away
>Say nothing and try to relax

>>5120726
>Say nothing and try to relax
We're fucked.

>>5120726
>Say nothing and try to relax
If it wanted to kill us it would have already did.

>>5120732
What this man said, it's trying to say something. I think he wants us to turn off the light?

>>5120726
>Say nothing and try to relax

>>5120726
>>Run away
Get the lasers

>>5120726
>Say nothing and try to relax
Maybe we can beckon it, guiding it over to a nice, cool, dark bulkhead... Where we can isolate it?

>>5120726
>"Alavis, lower lights by 50%!"

>>5120726
>Say nothing and try to relax
Ayy it's back.

>>5120726
Strike at it while it’s weak!

>>5121033
>start the new thread with a diplomatic incident

Porque?

>>5120879
Supporting this. Also trying to keep calm.

>Try to stablish communation. Offer food. Ask identity

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“Ooh! Ooh. Okay, haha. Wow, I was worried. Alavis, turn the lights and heat down in the spaceship. Maybe adjust the gravity a bit too for our guest.”

You are the captain aboard this ship, but at the current moment you are the best representative to meet with an alien race for the first time. You should try to make a good first impression! This alien is basically your guest. Just relax.

“Do you understand?” You ask the worm. “I'm turning down the light. Light out. Heat-light out. Tun out the light-”

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Your name is now Agori Falathane and you are the Supreme Ruler of the Jaxtian people. As the Supreme Ruler, you are the benevolent dictator that leads and commands your people- the Supreme Ruler that will bring victory and conquest again and again- the Hegemony will live forever! Even though you won't... but that's not what you're focused on today.

It has been almost twenty years since the construction of the colony on Xin- the first interstellar space colony. Your people have already fully colonized your own star system, but Xin is unique due to its closeness to a habitable planet. Your technology allows you to communicate faster then light- as well as send ships of colonists and supplies. As of right now, the Xin system is an unspecalized colony, though it acts mostly independently, and exports nothing back to your homeworld, you hope this investment will blossom in the far future.

https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2021/5053823/

Several other developments during this time have also come around. Both involve the alien technology recovered from Kimnan's... expedition. The first involves the starmap. The useful starmap that let you see all the stars in your local cluster which is only a few thousand years out of date was apparently created by the Andoens from watching and tracking the movements of the space whales. It seems they are capable of traveling between stars and star clusters. These migratory whales are the largest and most exotic form of life ever discovered by your own species- you've never been able to make contact yet, if they're even intelligent.

The second is the developments learned from the Andoen alien's wireless technology. It was totally unknown how such devices could share energy and data without any connection, until it was discovered that some quarks within the objects “spin” in tandem with another. This phenomenon known as quantum entanglement has never been seriously studied, but now opens the door to new developments down the line.

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You are approached by Ingar, your right hand man for technology and computer science. You were both once candidates to become the Supreme Ruler, though you managed to be chosen over him, he's still a highly valuable member of the Hegemony.

Ingar has told you that some new simulation models for Xin-I show promise in colonizing the planet further. Xin-I is currently a barren rocky planet with a similar temperature gradient to Jaxt- your homeworld. However, it has no vegetation. The pink bacteria, released over a century ago to multiply in Xin's oceans, has created a large nutrient and biomass base, but the planet still lacks the atmospheric pressure, oxygen level, and biosphere for true habitation. But that's only true for Jaxtians...

It's the Haazar. He explains that his models show that Haazar, both pure Haazar and Blue Haazar (Jaxtian-Haazar hybrids) can actually already survive on the planet's surface now with no oxygen tanks, no suit, nothing. Their partial insectoid biology means they can breathe through their skin and survive harsher conditions then your mammalian Jaxtian biology.

While the Haazar are your vassals and separated from the mainline Jaxtians for good reasons, it would be incredibly beneficial to have beings who could perform field work and live on a planet without needing a habitat or suits. The Haazar could really help jumpstart the colonization process; not to mention the potential profits of taxes and labor depending on how many Haazar you actually allow to colonize it. And after all.... there's no reason they have to stay there forever. Once the planet is livable for Jaxtians, those Haazar can just be banished back to their habitat in the asteroid belt, or perhaps make their own new habitat in Xin's asteroid system... they are second class Xenos after all. It would be another Supreme Ruler who deals with the fallout of that choice.

What's your plan, Supreme One? Do we capitalize on our opportunity as a trans-species empire?

>Allow Haazar to immigrate to Xin-I
>Have loyal, low-ranking Jaxtians implanted with Haazar and send only loyal blue Haazar to Xin-I
>Do not allow Haazar to inhabit your new planet; focus on terraforming instead
>Other (Write In)

>>5121557
>Have loyal, low-ranking Jaxtians implanted with Haazar and send only loyal blue Haazar to Xin-I
We can always sterilize them once the planet is terraformed.

>>5121557
>Have loyal, low-ranking Jaxtians implanted with Haazar and send only loyal blue Haazar to Xin-I

Bluey is good proof-of-concept.

>>5121557
>>Have loyal, low-ranking Jaxtians implanted with Haazar and send only loyal blue Haazar to Xin-I

Aww man, we got ate

>>5121584
It was worth a go. I'm just sad we didn't lure the xeno into a bulkhead to isolate prior to turning down the lights. Could have saved our crew.

>>5121557
>Have loyal, low-ranking Jaxtians implanted with Haazar and send only loyal blue Haazar to Xin-I
RIP random Captain, also quick note he was heading to this colony we are voting on right now, so we're gonna have to deal with a hostile alien here soon.

>>5121570
Also, adding to this:
>>5121557
>Make them wear clothes.

Sorry, Captain Duj. We had been taught to believe in the power of friendship.

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You have decided to send Blue Haazar to Xin-I to help with the colonization program.

While Bluey may have just been a fluke, as he is the one and only Blue Haazar, his higher rates of empathy for others and patriotism for the Hegemony show that the Haazar can be made into proper citizens- but you have yet to see exactly how much nurture or nature will be required here.

Volunteers for the program are noticeably scarce- at least on the Jaxtian side. The Haazar have no shortage of volunteers for implanting- your computer network even shows an undercurrent of some sort of fetishistic sense of revenge or justice at implanting Jaxtians- as though the Haazar on the ship are getting back at their oppressors. While anti-social beliefs like that are usually called, you allow it to fester a bit to better speed up the process of finding suitable genetic donors.

While there aren't too many Jaxtians to carry the Haazar embryos- at least each one can be implanted multiple times. Soon enough, you will have young blue Haazar living on Xin.

However, in the meantime, something much more important has just happened. On a routine resupply voyage to Xin-I, a ship had been boarded by an unknown alien. While in hyperspace, the AI core could not communicate with the homeworld, but as soon as the journey ended it sent out a distress and quarantine call. This alien was also known to be dangerous, as it had killed and consumed the captain aboard the voyage when he attempted first contact. The alien had also grown quite a bit larger after its meal. It is unknown if it has the ability to suspend itself in animation, or if its... meal was enough to sustain it for the months left in the hyperspace voyage.

It is not known how the alien managed to get aboard a ship in hyperspace. However, the creature is not hostile anymore, is intelligent, and even assisted the Alavis core aboard the ship in translating the rest of its language- pointing to various objects on the ship and naming them. Such actions show that this creature is cooperative. Once the ship is scanned and checked for possible bioweapons- the worm alien is taken into captivity on Xin-I and the rest of the crew is awoken with no ill effect.

You, as the Supreme Ruler, remain on Jaxt, but with FTL communication you are kept up to date on everything. The alien is scanned by medical technology and studied through and through, and security protocols include armed guards and plasmatronic-locked cells.

The alien is notable for its very basic biology. It is essentially a huge walking worm, or perhaps a pyrosome- its body is essentially just a tube for nutrients to pass through. It has a basic muscular structure, organs for filtering blood, no bones, and sharp claws and talons made of keratin. It has no eyes- but the most prominent feature is its lack of one critical organ.

It doesn't have a brain.

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While a simple creature may not technically need a central nervous system, the fact this creature is intelligent and has language, knowledge, and memory indicates that it should have some form of biological computer system- it just seems totally absent. This could only mean this creature's intelligent is somehow from another organ you can't identify as a brain or is held 'elsewhere'.

“Why did you make me walk out in the sun? Please don't do that. It hurt me. I'm lucky- if I was any bigger, that sunlight would have killed me.”

The creature's complaints fall mostly on deaf ears- your guards have strict orders not to say anything, in case it “triggers” the creature to attack- the same as happened for the captain. You arrange a real time conference- it is time to make first contact. You introduce yourself as the Supreme Ruler, and the creature gives a bow.

“Ahh! Jaaxtians! We've heard so much about you in the in-between. I am one of the Aannel, first of the peoples. It is an honor to meet your Supremacy in person- well, as close to person as we can get in this vast, empty physical universe.”

”Why did you attack and kill the captain aboard my vessel?”

“Hmm? You are a eusocial species, yes? I would not be offended if you destroyed one of my larvals- there are billions of you- though I understand our cultures may not be equivalent, I do apologize- though I had no other options for sustenance aboard your star ship. I can assure you, no more Jaaxtians will be eaten, as long as I am given enough food and proper living accommodations.”

”Given accommodations?”

“Yes, I am to act as your liaison between our great-and-one-greater races, yes? We Aannel are like the glue that holds our galaxy together- every intelligent lifeform will meet us eventually!”

---Game Note---
You can ask the worm any question, or make another request. You can do this in addition on voting to kill the Aannel. The first seven posts will be used- majority will rule on executing the creature. (Four or more)

>Ask a Question (Write In)
>Make a demand (Write In)
>Kill the worm (counts as 1 vote towards)

>>5121838
>Ask a Question (Write In)
"Are you aware that Allsals Duj was a well-respected adult of the Jaxtian species?"

>>5121838
Ask how big their empire is and what kind of technology they have. Don't want to pick a fight with someone you can't beat.

>i miss one update and people are already making a colony with an entirely different race
fucking hell

Well, i'm certain that'll end with no consequences whatsoever.

>>5121838
>"What foods do you require? Jaxtian vessels hold foodstuffs for the crew; so which Jaxtian foods did you try and find unpalatable giving you 'no other option' before you disrespectfully ate our valued captain?"

>>5121842
>>5121863
Supporting both these questions.

>>5121838
That said... We aren't individualists, and these Aannel seem pretty dangerous to start a war with, at least yet. I strongly vote AGAINST killing it yet.

>>5121838
>>Kill the worm (counts as 1 vote towards)

I HATE XENOS SO MUCH REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

>>5121898
Every xenos we've met so far has been horrible, but for some reason peopel still want to give them power in our society.

>>5121902
Xeno lovers are worse than xenos themselves. They will destroy the Hegemony and then the Jaxtian race.

>>5121842
>>5121863
+1
>>5121906
It's less love than killing a representative of a spacefaring race without knowing more not being very wise, xenos seem more weird than really evil.

>>5121842
>>5121863
+1 to both these questions, also for now let's not kill the xenos even though I really want to.

>>5121842
>>5121863
+1

I HATE XENOS I HATE XENOS I HATE XENOS I HATE XENOS I HATE XENOS I HATE XENOS

>>5121916
>bro we're not evil, we've just tried to trick you, genocide you and eat your people
Literally the only xenos that haven't been bad in someway are the migrators, and they're barely even xenos since they're from our home system.

>>5121951
And those guys are only awake for like, what, a few hours before slipping back into a coma?

>>5121842
>>5121863
+1
Suffer not the xeno to live

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Currently, three of seven possible questions have been asked, belonging to these three IDs;
>>5121842
>>5121856
>>5121863
This leaves four questions left that the alien will answer in the next update. Voting multiple times for the same question did not count as your question, and those posters may still make new votes. This was so everyone can ask their own questions instead of voting on the first/most popular ones.

>>5122042
>"How were you able to board our ship while it was in hyperspace?"

>>5122042
Oh, in that case, why not just pry it about the lack of a brain?
>"Hey, so where exactly do you keep your intelligence? A specific organ or?"

I mean, we know where our intelligence is. Surely it must.

>>5122042
"Hypothetically, if I were to execute you as a proportionate response to the death of our pilot, how would your race respond?"

>>5122055
We can be a bit more subtle than that. I don't think it'll like a thinly veiled threat
>"How would your race respond if you were killed on this planet? You did say the sun could've killed you, which we were not aware of."

How can you percieve distant objects with no eyes?
How does your unique biology allow sapience?

>>5122116
We'll fold that into "where do you keep your intelligence" for now. The players have one more question.

Update will be tomorrow, sorry to say.

>>5122061
A smart play if we want to be subtle... But I don't. This is Aogiri, after all. He's MAXIMUM ALPHA, and this xeno ate a member of his tribe, such as it is. We should ask them your question AND my question, I think. Establish dominance, make our rule of law clear.

>>5121838
>Ask a Question "What IS your interest in us?"

>>5122152
You know what, it's been a while, kinda forgot this IS the supreme leader who foamed at the mouth when someone threatened his people.

Fair enough. The semantics don't matter much to me, I am way more interested in it's biology than worrying about how to be nice to it anyways. It is basically, like, a giant worm thing.

>>5122152
*Agori

Too much Tokyo Ghoul for me, I guess.

>>5121838
>Kill the worm (counts as 1 vote towards)
KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

>>5121838
>Are there ways to contact your civilization? Does your society have a leader?
The plan is to get in contact with a higher authority, and see if we can talk that way. But also see if we can officialize the execution of the 'ambassador' worm, just so we make it clear that we value the law over here. Any other ambassadors they want to send here are welcomed, as long as they do not eat or harm the Hegemony's citizens, Jaxtian and Haazari both.

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>>5122047
"Where exactly does your species process information, biologically? Our technicians failed to find any sort of nervous system or a method of sight-"

The worm shrugs. "That's just how we are. The Aannel are the first and eldest of all races- one could say we are beyond such rudimentary systems."

>>5122045
"How were you able to board our ship while it was in hyperspace?"

"That is simple; I had spent some time in my larval stage, being fed from my mother, until I had the strength to leave her womb. From there, I went to the in-between, until I found your ship and entered."

>>5121856
"You said you belong to the Aannel; a great race that "glues the galaxy" together- do you control a large amount of space in this galaxy? Are you technological dominant- above our own level of development?"

"Certainly- we have almost unlimited access to technology. As for our range- well, practically the entire galaxy! We do not control a single region of space, and we have access to technology- of others. We are advisors, diplomats, and organizers. Every significant Faster-Than-Light species will have encountered us; and through us opens opportunities for reliable intergalactic trade, treaties, and meaningful diplomacy between radically different, and sometimes asymmetrical space nations- after all, a nation of your level of technology would be quite vulnerable to greater ones- we can help protect your population and precious life bearing planets against that all powerful void. Just something to consider.~"

That still didn't explain how this creature physically entered the ship. It could be some kind of abstract metaphor you can't understand- or a lie. One of your aides also whispers in your ear- this worm is sexless, as far as you can understand. Important to note for later.

>>5121842
"...You speak of saving lives, after ending one of our own. Captain Allsals was a valued and respected man. He had a family."

"As I already explained- your captain is insignificant in the grand scheme of galactic politics. My physical form is more significant, wouldn't you agree? You Jaaxtians of all people should understand that-"

"ENOUGH! That ship contained plenty of dried foodstuffs- that you were "hungry" is not an excuse!"

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>>5121863
"My people can only consume living things. We are obligate carnivores, yes, but only cells which have not yet experienced cell death can be processed by our bodies. With no forms of livestock aboard the ship, I had to make due. My predatory instincts only further heightened this; I already apologized and can promise you that this will not happen again- to a Jaaxtian. Besides, it helps for us to get to know you better. Our guts are the most sensitive parts of our bodies."

>>5122055
"This great... Aannel race, how would they respond to your death? You mentioned that you could have been killed by the sun by accident. Or, perhaps, our justified retaliation against the murder of our pilot."

"Oh, well, if you did that- you would bring the ire of the intergalactic community against you! I told you we are within every interstellar society of note. Our species is the eldest of all- connected and embedded. I would hate to "pull rank" against you- but we are simply more important. Over billions of years of life in this galaxy, yours is but a speck in the grand scheme of things. However, such posturing is totally pointless- I'd much rather help you then argue!"

>>5122154
"...What exactly IS your interest in us? To be an advisor? What do you want?"

"As I mentioned before- in exchange for my accommodations and a position in your society, I will be your advocate and representative in the intergalactic stage! Of course, if you kill me, or refuse, you'll have lost your biggest voice to vouch for you in interstellar politics- and everyone out there will know you did it for... what? The life of a nobody captain? Why are you so focused on that. Absurd. You know better then that, Supreme Ruler."

This worm seems more bold by the minute. While he speech seems callous, almost condescending towards you and your office, there is a truth you cannot deny. To be thrust out into the galaxy as you expand and deal with more races and species without an advocate, especially one who seems as well connected as this, would be very foolish indeed. Logically, you know there is no reason to get so caught up over the murder of one of your own- this being could return Allsals worth thousands of times over, but it is just the principle of the thing...

It makes you angry. Really angry. You feel like punching something. But it's time for reason to overtake your emotional perceptions. Should you accept its proposal?

>Accept
>Decline

>>5123266
At worsr he's a conman that will waste make us some live animals and the accomodations for a diplomat.
At worst, he's saying the truth.
>Accept

>>5123266
>Decline
DEATH TO SNEKS DEATH TO SNEKS DEATH TO SNEKS DEATH TO SNEKS

>>5123266
Can we get a different member of his species to do it?
We can accept aid from his species as a whole but hidden resentment towards one who ate a Jaxtian might hurt us long term.

>>5123266
Agreeing with this dude >>5123272 Allsals might be a nobody to the worm, but he's our nobody! Send another ambassador if need be, but this worm is sentenced to death.

Feel like we can't really decline, sadly.

>>5123266
>>Decline for now

Our representative on the intergalactic stage cannot be an alien predator of uncertain motivations. Even if this creature is somehow telling the truth we'd still want one of our own to speak for our people.

If it wants to stay on as an advisor we'd consider that, but we can't simply hand over the entirety of any diplomatic position we might hold without at least knowing the pre-existing relationships this culture has with all the others we've yet to meet - we don't want to find out that their first words will be 'You work with THOSE things? Charge the chronoton disintegrators!"

>>5123266
>Ask for proof of this worm's importance
>Accept, if it exists
>Decline and execute it otherwise

>>5123266
>Hesitantly accept through gritted teeth.
>Find something suitable to punch after the fact.

>>5123362
Yes, let's demand proof.

>>5123362
+1 to this we need proof of this shit.

>>5123362
Yeah, we definitely need proof first. If this Alien has the type of influence it claims its species hold with 'unlimited' access to technology, why this first contact not taking place with the Aannel stepping from a shiny star-cruiser of superior design with sycophants from all the other interstellar societies all telling of the great works the Aannel have done with them

Instead we get a random stowaway-murder. If it's species has the clout it claims, it should be easy enough to prove it; so far it has not.

>>5123362
Yeah, proof would be important. So far it's all talk. Talk that makes me hesitant to kill it but talk nevertheless.

>>5123266
>>5123362
+1 this. If I could clown an entire interstellar race like this I'd totally do it too. We gotta get PROOF

>>5123266
>>5123362 +1

>>5123266
>Decline
The punishment for harming a Jaxtian is death. Always

>>5123687
In fairness, so far that hasn't been the case for Baalathi or Hazaar. Their punsihment seems to be imprisonment, experimentation, and sort of enslavement.

>>5123687
We literally allow the hazaar to live despite the fact that they were trying to trick us, and now they're being given a literal fucking planet.

We treat jaxtians worse than the fucking xenos. Jaxtians are the ones who get killed when they so much as displease gorillaman.

>>5123794
Again, a point of order: true Hazaar aren't being given a planet. Blue Hazaar, who are Jaxtian hybrids, are being given a planet, and only to prepare it for full-blooded Jaxtians (unless a future Supreme Leader differs from this plan).

>>5123823
Blue Hazaar are Hazaar, but blue. Hazaar aren't one race, but mutliple castes that are highly different. Just because this one has blue fur doesn't make it less of a xeno.

We're giving them a planet based solely on the idea that becasue blue guy here was loyal, that all of them will be.
>are being given a planet, and only to prepare it for full-blooded Jaxtians
Yeah, i'm certain all those hazaar will happily hand over the planet and leave when they actual jaxtians come.

Hazaar cannot live together with Jaxtians due to their reproduction methods, so those blue hazaar would have to be removed once our actual citizens were sent.

>>5123830
Eh, they make good workforce, just integrate them with that intent in mind. Keep up the education and re-education of the Haazar and Blue Haazar in check and they'll be good, productive members of the Jaxtian Hegemony.

>>5124390
Let's make sure to give the Blue Haazar something akin to families and childhoods. We want them adhering as closely as possible to Jaxtian social and cultural norms.

>>5124390
>Eh, they make good workforce, just integrate them with that intent in mind.
They can't be integrated, you know how their biology is. They aren't compatible with living in the same spaces as Jaxtians.

Simply put, they aren't Jaxtians in any way shape or form. It's the equivalent of thinking a chestburster will be loyal to humanity if we raise it right.

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You don't like this worm- or the way he talks big. Perhaps he is telling the truth, but there is only one way to find out.

”Well, your services would certainly be appreciated around here for our fledgling species... If what you're saying is true. You claim to be so well connected with your species over the whole galaxy- but yet haven't shown anything yet to prove it! If you can't, then I'll just have my men escort you from the starbase. I won't even punish you for the old captain- you'd be free to leave.” You say with an evil smile.

The worm clicks his talons together.

“You mean... out there? In the open- exposed to the sun? W-Wait! I CAN prove it. Watch this- this station is equipped with FTL communications, correct? Tell your computer-mind to listen closely- punch in these coordinates... now red-shift the signal. Increase the power- Now send a ping. There we go. I felt it make contact.”

Instantly, Alavis chimes in. Somehow, a machine without emotions sounds surprised.

“Your Supremacy, we have just received a message from the Esaal Stratocracy. They are questioning why we just pinged them.”

Somehow, without using a single computer or machine- this worm managed the impossible task of locating a major military installation of another alien species- one who is supposed to be your rival in terms of technology.

“I know you received messages from the Esaal, and others, after your first test of your FTL drive. I know you were never able to return the messages- they didn't even aim for your homeworld- but they aimed for the nearest FTL communication they could- that Aristocrat ship stuck in your home system. Dumbfounded? That's alright, your majesty. As I said before, we are the Aannel. Not ordinary carbon-based life. Now, let's talk about the perks of my newfound position...”

Sending an FTL message is very difficult. The worm knows everything- it even knows how you received messages after your first FTL test, and how you struggled to return it. Sending FTL messages doesn't just require the right direction, but an exact three dimensional coordinate, the right speed and power... Living things seem to be better at dealing with FTL speeds for computers, but you never imagined a living thing could do something like this.

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After the “proof” of this ambassadors ability- you had no choice but to hire him. He's the advocate now. Besides a position of importance, a weighty paycheck, he also requires a small eco-farm on the Xin colony just for himself; to raise meat animals for his ravenous appetite.

It's expensive for sure. But you can't much afford not to.

Something else comes up- an unspoken realization. Each race with a “worm” would know how to locate anyone else- with or without a worm. If that worm could just give the location of the Esaal military base, maybe even their homeworld, that easily- then any worm could do the same for you. The worms must know this too.

In the meantime, you have the Hegemony's top navigator transferred to Xin to work on updating starmaps with your “advocate”, might as well try to benefit from this situation...

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DAMMIT!

You've been had. This “worm” Xeno has got you by the balls, and he knows it!

FUCK!

When you were younger, you could have made this punching bag explode. You're old, and now you're mad too. You feel more and more powerless by the day as time slips away from you, but the universe keeps seeming bigger and more intimating by the moment. You guess you know how Kinja felt when the entire Hegemony fell onto his shoulders and made him the Supreme.

But what can you possible do against something so insurmountable? You were taught that nothing is impossible for the Hegemony- and the Supreme Ruler always leads the charge. But what happens when we finally run into a species greater then our own? Older? More powerful? You've always relied on your body and your strength to carry you through- but against that worm you'd be little more then a rodent.

You should spend some time on something else. Focus on the manageable. You decide to work on science- some extra projects that could use your approval for mass testing and implementation.

The first is a new device, called Levitron. The technology has technically been around for over two hundred years now- tractor beams, but only now has energy and antigravity-engines become low impact and miniaturized enough to work. It's essentially a jetpack- a single device strapped to the body that can let the user float, hover, fly- a fun toy and useful for astronauts in space as a logical advancement of the antigravity boot technology that was the standard before you were born.

The second is about the Baalathi. With this... worm and your newfound understanding of FTL communication, it may be possible to find new methods of communication with these aliens. While in captivity for a long time, you've never really understood them beyond their gas-exchange “hivemind”. An actual conversation would be a first, and could open doors.

The third and last idea... is just something that popped into your head. Ingar. He's a genius, why not see what he is up to? No, better idea, just do whatever he wants. Whatever project he wants approval on- just give it to him. You know his latest works have something to do with quantum entanglement but beyond that, you won't even ask, you'll just give him the funds and let him do his thing.

>Approve the Levitron for mass production
>Open communication with the captive Baalathi
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects

>>5124644
>Open communication with the captive Baalathi

>>5124644
>>Approve the Levitron for mass production

>>5124642
Kinman has already seen one of these worms? when?

>>5124644
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects
A little risky but he's a genius so we would probably get more of of it than from the other two.

>>5124644
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects

>>5124657
I think their kind dwell in hyperspace. He probably encountered one, maybe without even consciously realizing it, or his first FTL flight.

>>5124644
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects
Levitrons are already there. They're not going to leave any time soon - we can't afford to let a genius like Ingar be wasted.

>>5124644
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects

>>5124644
I really don't see why we can't do all of these so
>Approve the Levitron for mass production
>Open communication with the captive Baalathi
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects
If we can only pick one then
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects
Ingar isn't immortal and only has so much time in his life for working on science things, the Baalathi and Levitron can wait.

>>5124757
Backing this. All three sound interesting, but Ingar's projects have the most time constraint - so if we can only do one right now, let's see what he has in mind.

>>5124641
Also, give the Esaal Stratocracy a proper explanation; don't just leave them hanging on a random ping. Let's use this to open some sort of dialogue if we can.

>>5124812
Yeah, thirding, also ask the Esaal if they know of these worms. With a fourth (fifth?) alien species discovered, things are bound to get hectic. There's the Migrators, then the Haazar, Baalathi, those green dino primitives, Aanel, and now the Esaal... wait, isn't this six? Also, the 'aa' conjugation is really common, huh.

>>5124957
As a frugal sort myself, I'm confident in saying that the Jews probably are delighted to live RENT-FREE in that big brain of yours.

>>5124957
That's pretty retarded. Not because it's "da joos" or anything ,it could work, but they are in no way even similar to that. Not even in a similar situation.

>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects.

I like where this is going.

>>5124644
>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects
Is it time to choose a new Supreme Leader yet?

>>5125095
If we're still going with young supreme leader candidates, i'm pretty sure it is.

>>5124957
Aanelids are more blunt and actually useful though.

>>5125098
Agori might be biased towards another Alpha to succeed him, just a guess.

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>>5124642
Kinda reminds me of the bottom panel

>>5124644
>>Give Ingar whatever he wants for his pet projects

We gave him a waifu, it’s time he repays his debt.

>>5125176
Maybe, but he's only as biased as we let him be.

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You've decided to fund Ingar's program. His eyes light up- he blathers about instant communications... whatever. He apologizes about the expense, and you sign the check. Phew, now you feel a lot better.

In the meanwhile- you don't want to waste the opportunity. The Esaal respond to your hails with a generic message.

”WE ARE ESAAL!” It blares- it seems they always open their communications with shouting. You aren't exactly how that gets through the translator.

”We received your comms a few days ago- we were unsure of its purpose. We normally don't keep open communications with hostile or unimportant species; but our Aannel advisor has vouched for your species, hence you must be strategically significant. We welcome you Jaaxtians.”

The message includes a short list of bullet points in data- mostly propaganda, but a highly militaristic bent. Alavis can piece together the truth from reading between the lines. The Esaal are a military dictatorship, with a hierarchical society remarkably similar to your own Jaaxtian power structure. They go by a strict hierarchy of military ranks, with everyone not in the military a “civilian” and treated as a second class citizen. Their society is headed by a “Eight Star Admiral”, the quintessential Supreme Ruler from a foreign culture.

The Esaal themselves are a race of aliens who seemed to evolve on a planet with extensive canyon and cave networks- they have a unique binocular vision using two vertical eyes instead of horizontal ones. You are lacking more significant bio data- the Esaal wouldn't want to give out their genetic code to give other species a chance to develop bioweapons against them. You should probably do the same.

While you have nothing else to compare it to, a rough estimate of their technology puts their military strength, in terms of numbers, ships, and technology as being above your own. It would be very unwise to pick a fight with them- after all, their entire society is ordered around it. Their industrial capacity, in terms of raw manufacturing and population, seem to roughly equal to yours. As for their technology and cultural / quality of life development- they seem to be behind yours.

”We will leave a comm link open with your species- as a token of our acquaintance. Over and out.”

...It is only after you let off some steam and accept reality do you actually start to face the facts. The truth is that you're getting old and it's time to start thinking about your legacy- or more accurately, your replacement. Every since your lifespan was artificially extended with technology to the average age of about 100 years of age. All Jaxtians get tested at 90 for the lethal GPCS to tell them how long they have left to live- but Alpha types like you never live as long, so you get tested at 80 instead. You have eight years.

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Eight years left to live... not even a full decade. Over a decade off from the average. Your big body curses you yet again. The last laugh of a genetic dead end.

Ever since it was unearthed, you keep thinking on the message left by Vantix Garastra, the first Supreme Ruler of the space age. His time capsule hinting and accurately predicting the Supreme Rulers of the future- and pointed directly at you. You keep wracking your brain trying to understand what he meant.

It seems that his assessment of the future Supreme Rulers tending towards neuroticism was correct. Your predecessor, Talacent, was remarkably grounded even among his contemporaries. But all of your contemporaries have been host to emotional problems... including yourself. Your violence, your anger, your angst... all from a war you were chosen for that never came. The weapon rusting in a warehouse- and what an outdated joke of a weapon you are.

From this fear of being outdated, and from the fear of new Supreme Rulers pulled from the population of regular Jaxtians being even worse- you had to make a plan. You made your own. Two clones- one of Eoba Garastra, and the other of Kimnan Oles. These genetically modified Indigos have traits and genes spliced and added to correct the faults of the originals- that was always the intention.

Eoba II has been nothing but a wonderful boy. He's a Garastra after all- born Supreme Ruler material. He's a born duelist and tactician. His correction was easy- just a nice gentle suite of mood stabilizers in his brain- and a special little increase in his self preservation instinct. Prevent his desire for his “heroic last stands” like his first edition and make him a reliable leader.

Kimnan II was more complex. The first Kimnan displeased you time and again- you knew him since he was a child, and his desire for glory and recognition was in there from the beginning. It was only after you punished him did you decide to make good on Talacent's threat and make a clone of him. Remove his arrogance, his self-centered mind, dull his competitive edge... But it didn't work. At least not in the way you wanted. Kimnan II is weak. Filled with self doubt and hesitation, he constantly fails you, he never lives up to Eoba...

Where is it, Vantix? Where is the perfection? Isn't this what you wanted? If we can't find the perfect Supreme Ruler, we have to make him. Where is he? Are these building blocks good enough?

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...And here they are again. Eoba always the kind, gentle “big brother”- they're both the same age you damn little fool. He's your rival, not your friend. They're doing martial arts practice- Kimnan failing yet again. Falls on his face, and Eoba helps him up.

You already know who you're going to pick- Kimnan isn't anywhere good enough. Maybe you ruined him- but is Eoba capable of this too? You know that you'll die soon- too soon for a proper introduction to the office of the Supreme Ruler. Eoba II will take the throne when he's young. You have to be sure he's cut out for it- no empathy for the weak and incapable. You have just the test for him.

>Test Eoba II
>Other (Write In)

>>5125483
>Other
How about we take a look at the natural Supreme Leadee candidates first?

Also, Vanix made it very clear we couldn't rely on genetics alone, maybe it's time to review the Supreme ruler training program. Instead of selecting a young candidate for a life time position, perhaps we should just put all the supreme candidates into regular leadership positions and select the next supreme ruler from a pool of experienced leaders. This will lead to shorter "terms" but at least we'd have a track record to review rather than gambling on raw childhood potential alone.

>>5125483
>Test Eoba II
>Other (Write In)
Test Eoba II against high scorers from the population at large, If the cloned Indigos are really superior, let them prove it. Vantix would applaud the meritocracy of it.

>>5125509
+1 to this, don't got anything to add.

>>5125509
+1 to this.

Also apparently there a secret plotline hinted at a few threads ago that the audience guesses? What was it?

>>5125509
+1

>>5125483
>>5125509 +1

>>5125509
>>5125513
Support both. I know we're an Alpha, and angsty, and old, but are we so blinkered as to not see that we have utterly failed to understand a very direct message about nurture vs nature and the value of empathy? We were specifically chosen FOR our empathy over the science-sociopath and the egotist!

Eoba II might be a good possibility, and if we can't find any other choices he should get the gig; but we can't ignore the possibility that there might be better Jaxtian youths in the general population - selecting PURELY between these two clones does a huge disservice to the hegemony.

>>5125483
>>Test Eoba II

>>5125682
To be fair, we don't really know. And Agori himself definitely has some kind of emotional issues, what with how he's one moment sad and self-deprecating and the next he's mauling someone to death.

>>5125509
+1 to this too. The whole chosen child thing was ok back when lifespans were shorter but we can afford to pick from slightly older and more proven candidates. It is also worthwhile to look into balancing their training with a little more "normal childhood" type stuff.

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Something could be said of changing the Supreme Ruler candidacy program now with extended lifespans, and especially the anti-aging properties of the teleomere lengthening procedure. Neruoplasticity remains at a relatively good level throughout the entire lifespan of a Jaxtian now, which is one of the primary reasons why children were chosen.

But there is another reason. The baggage- the social connections of an adult are just... not ideal. Not for a role with such importance and gravitas. Children are still given families, friends, but they are kept to an inner circle- free from the abuse of bullies or distanced family, free from forming connections that are stronger then to the nation and people. In a way, that's the biggest strength of a child. Still, you feel as though a last ditch effort to maybe find someone else would work.

Of course, Vantix's predictions came true. The problem isn't a lack of qualified candidates... it's too many. As soon as your search criteria is expanded, you are filled in with seven or eight Supreme Rulers- all who you don't know. Young people with no connection to you, only the basic suite of advanced training for the gifted...

Hold on... what the hell?

SNAP!

No! NO DAMMIT! This isn't what you want. You want Eoba II!

Eoba the 2nd, the spitting image of the first. You know it was your fault, Eoba? It was all your fault!

The problems in your life... they were his fault! He was like your mentor, filling your heads with tails of ancestor warrior-kings and the loss of your societies great spark... and you ate it up! He made you kill, needlessly, and put that satisfaction in your head from a young age. You always rejected it- but it made you appreciate your body. Appreciate force. It never really left you- at some point it just switched over. You were like a coiled spring that never got to go off- chosen for a war that never happened.

And even worse- you died. Died older then you will be able to- you bastard Eoba. You got away with it. This is the best you can do to get even with him!

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You are now Eoba Garastra the 2nd, though most people call you Eoba. You are a young Jaaxtian. You like dueling manuals and classic tales of adventure. You're also one of the next in line to be the Supreme Ruler.

You never really considered yourself super special; though you've always been proud, you don't get the weird level of almost worship you receive by regular folks. When you get done doing a combat simulator or technical test they'll ask how you came up with an answer and no matter what you say they'll gasp and write something down quickly on a data pad like it's some special revelation.

“Hello, Eoba.”

”Greetings, Lord and Master.” You bow, as you were taught. ”What is that box you are carrying under your arm?”

“It's a game. An old game.”

”Ohh, can I play it?”

“Of course- that's why I brought it here.”

Agori is your father... kind of. Not really. He's the Supreme Ruler, very busy. He rarely sees you, but when he does it's usually important. He's nice to you but to your brother, Kimnan... he just scowls at him a lot. You don't like the way it makes Kimnan feels.

“This is the Lord's game. Do you know what that is?”

”It's a very old medieval board game that was brought back into relevance during the Neo-aristocrat movement of the early Hegemony; who valued it for the concepts of Noblesse Oblige. The game details the portions of a “proper nobleman's” life and how they must remain in balance with each other in order to “win” over your rival.”

“Very good. Remember, these pieces are made of expensive stone, so they are never touched directly. Let's play.”

>Play Aggressively
>Play Defensively

>>5125974
>Play Aggressively
Eoba II may be a much more kind ruler, but he's still got Eoba blood. Would be good to see a good mix of a supreme leader who can go on the offensive without being aggressive himself.

>>5125974
>Play Aggressively
That's probably what Agori would want.

>>5125974
>Play Aggressively
But not angrily. Be bold. Be daring. Have fun!
We will break the chain of mad Supremes, damnit!

>>5125974
>Play Aggressively

>>5125974
>>Play Aggressively
No brakes on the madnesss train

>>5125974
>Play aggressively
Let's see if we can come up with a strategy for quick, clean win.


>>5125995
Isn't the chain of mad supremes... just Agori?

Even if you somehow count Vul for his arrogance and infidelities, Kinja and Talacent were both fairly stable guys.

>>5126053
Agori's generation of supreme ruler candidates was kinda cursed.

>>5125974
>Play aggressively
This is Eoba we're talking about here of course he's gonna play aggressively.

>>5126053
I suppose that's fair, really. Regardless, let's not let the prior generation's extreme neuroses warp us. I fear it's already happening to Kimnan II.

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You're pretty sure that playing aggressively was the right move. You make a lot of space on the board, and while you have less time to learn the rules, you pick up on the basic strategy pretty quick.

You're not sure if Agori is letting you win. You know he's getting old now- and he's barely looked at the board this whole game. He's mostly just been staring at you. You're pretty sure this has to be some kind of test; you can tell by the way he's acting. It's not the game that important, it's the way you react to it.

Are you supposed to win?

"There are three boards in the Lord's Game to represent the three sections of a Lord's life. The game is a teaching tool as well as it is a strategic challenge. There is the hunt, the dance, and the kingdom in the center. The Lord's game teaches balance- because if you fail two of the three branches but excel in one, you will still lose."

"Because you will have lost the balance of lordship?"

"Exactly- you go from a master to something mastered. If you excel at the hunt but fail in the field and dance, you have become as the working class. If you excel at the dance but fail the others; will are a toothless socialite- though later editions of the game call this bourgeoisie for anti-capitalist sentiment. If you excel at the field but lack the hunt and dance; you become a petty warlord."

"So the victory condition of the game is based on the losing side, not the winner's. It's more about surviving and outlasting your rivals."

"Exactly- it's only a game that highlights your failures when you lose. It teaches the winners nothing."

...Does that mean you aren't supposed to win?

"Agori, what are we playing this game for?"

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"The life of you and your brother, Kimnan."

"W-What?!"

"My life is incomplete, little one. My whole life I felt like I was only one two boards. It was only later that a message from your ancestor's ancestor shook me loose and told me what I needed to do. He said it himself, who we are as people is what makes the critical difference. How can I raise a perfect ruler?"

"A-Agori! You're not making any sense! This is part of the game, right???"

"No- it isn't a game." Agori says, producing a screen with an image of a kidnapped Kimnan II, tied up at gunpoint. Whatever loyal Enforcer was fulfilling this mission looked like there was no hesitation in his face.

"If you win this game- you will live, and Kimnan will die. If you lose, I will kill you myself, and Kimnan will live. I may or may not pick him as the Supreme Ruler- but I will certainly pick you as long as you survive."

"Survive? Please father-"

"I am NOT your father, whelp. I GREW you in a vial to do this. To fix past mistakes. You must prove to me now that the Hegemony can grow people- the right way!"

"No... please don't..."

You're just a kid. You're tearing up already; the pressure is too great. This has to be a test, he can't really mean it... are you supposed to sacrifice yourself and lose? Or prove you will do anything to win, even if it means giving up somebody you love? You know Agori hates Kimnan... but he can't hate him that bad, right?

But can you risk it? Is there really no way out of this unless someone dies?

There's only one move left on the board. You're in position; Agori will be forced from two fields and will lose by default. But by winning one battle, you'll lose another. Maybe you could force the game to draw, but having three boards makes that almost impossible... maybe you could just refuse to play. But would he really go through with this?

>Win the game
>Lose the game
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive

>>5126866
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive
>Kill Agori

A sharp game piece, the element of surprise, an eye or his throat. We are small, agile, eprfected, and a born duelist. He is aged, unstable, and his alpha body makes him strong, but probably impedes his reach and mobility -- big men and big dogs find their joints going on them as they age.

We are Eoba. We take dramatic and decisive action. We are PERFECT Eoba. We do so not for glory, but for our people. We will save our brother.

Victory or Death.

>>5126866
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive
Is this a the only winning move is not to play situation? If not then
>Kill Agori

>>5126866
>>Win the game

>Kill Agori

Prove we are the worthy protector.

>>5126866
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive

>>5126866
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive
>Kill Agori

>>5126866
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive
>Kill Agori

>>5126866
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive
>Kill Agori

>>5126866
>>Win the game
Logically, we need to show we cannot be held to ransom. If we lose, we die and there's no reason to assume Agori won't kill what he sees as a 'defective' Kimnan anyway; if we stall the game or refuse to play he'll probably kill us both anyway. So Win. And mention that if Kimnan 2 is killed, when we come into the supreme leadership we will execute his killer as a murderer and criminal stripped of all Jaxtian honour - even if that killer is Agori himself.

>>5127642
That's what he wants, you retard. He wants us to throw away our brother's life because he's "weak". I'd rather kill him as a fuck you, even if it ends badly.

I mean, he is very old, and we're a clone of Eoba.

>>5127686
..you do have a point. And Agori's fallen so far short of any potential he one might have had that getting killed by a child during a chess game is a more honourable fate then he deserves.

So, changing my vote to:
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive
>Kill Agori

HONOUR OR THE VOID

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Update is in production, and will be in later today.

Did I make Agori too unlikable?

>>5126866
>Ensure both Kimnan and You survive
>Kill Agori
There is no other way.

>>5127786
Nah, Agori was cool, if anything, Kinman 1 was too likeable ahahaha

>>5127786
Agori is great. Anons are just unable to use his talents and inclinations productively.

>>5127786
He's a great evil Supreme Ruler IMO.

>>5127786
He was good, but I wonder how much control we really had over him as the players, and how much of his mind was controlled by his grudges.
If the original Eoba never had him kill in the first place, would things have come about differently, or was he always destined to be so violent?

>>5127786
I'd say so, unfortunately. We didn't get to see him do very much that was directly positive, and both his positive and negative actions got afflicted by his rage issues. And we didn't often get to see him actually leading and planning on important issues.

Plus, right now he's forcing a child to play a game with the threat of either murdering him or his friend based on the outcome. That's kind of a low point.

>>5127786
He's a good character, but that doesn't mean he has to be likable. He's an self-pitying jackass, but it's interesting to see him being a bipolar gorilla.

He has his good side, but he has become really unreasonable over time.

>>5127786
Nah, but his mental illness vetoed a lot of our decisions, and now we're playing from the viewpoint of a child who presumably doesn't want him OR his brother to die.

It's a shame his mentors and circumstances fucked Agori up so badly. He's one of my favourite Supremes so far...

But a main character you cannot control the actions of is not an ideal main character for a quest, and a vindictive rage monster controlled by mood swings makes for a bad parent and a worse dictator.

>>5127786
Nah man I liked him, we're just looking at it from the perspective of Eoba.

Agori is cool in a wierd sort of way. What you think of when you picture an old school King.

>>5128426
He's less of a king and more of a barbarian chief, with how personal he takes punishment.

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"Then I refuse to play." You say, snapping your push stick on the table in front of you.

"Eoba, this is your test. You are a child, and you will obey your ruler. Your tantrum will not stop this. Finish the game. I command you to finish the ga-"

With a fast movement, you slit Agori's throat. The sharpened piece of exquisite stone was more then sharp enough.

You are now Agori again, and you are dying.

For some reason, you never considered that Eoba might have been getting himself a weapon. You knew he had fast hands, given his lineage and all, but you guess you'd never been challenged physically for so long that the thought of him fighting back had never even factored in. Nobody ever challenged you.

Then again- in a way, you are vindicated. You fall back onto the floor with a loud thud as you quickly feel what life you have left leave you. You are starting to hallucinate as your brain is deprived of oxygen. In a way- Eoba vindicated your beliefs your entire life. The child overcame the overgrown adult because he's faster, had a weapon, and struck when you weren't expecting it- you're the least threatening kind of Jaaxtian. In your dying moments, you see Eoba, Eoba II, and the Eoba clone all dancing and mingling together over this child- who is watching and making sure you die, but standing far enough away you can't quite reach him in revenge. Smart boy, good boy.

Dammit Eoba... You were right. Your primitive man defeated me. Your clone did me in. It just took half a century more then you thought...

The moment after the murder, the Enforcers arrive. Agori had sent them away, so they did not hear your screams in the event you made the “wrong” choice, but the Emperor's necklace alerted them of his death either way.

The Enforcers don't like what they see, but there is nothing they can do. You are a Supreme Ruler candidate, the one Agori was going to pick, and you killed him. You're about as untouchable as Agori was now. Moreso, this isn't the first time a candidate has killed the Supreme Ruler to mantle his position- it just used to be done in duels, and half a millennia ago...

You will be made the Supreme Ruler, though only in a ceremonial role until you get older. You'd be the younger to take the position otherwise. Two days after the announcement of the succession, the AI network goes out. Intelligence immediately knows how and why- it is Ingar.

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Ingar always had one foot in the door for the AI network, and with his high level of intelligence he could create secret countermeasures to wrest control of it from Hegemonic control if needed. It seems the moment the succession did not pass to him, since the only other contemporary to Agori was Kimnan, who was disowned, he decided to take matters into his own hands. The Alavis network is effectively shut down for you.

While the vast majority of the population and the Hegemonic government follows the right of succession- which would be you, the technology and machines of the Hegemony currently live under control of its prodigal son.

“I'll make this brief, Eoba.” Ingar says. “I know you're not dumb enough to believe me if I say I'll give you back the Supreme Rulership when you get old enough- and you won't give me full control of the military naturally- So instead I'll keep it simple. You give me Xin. The Xin system will have a new Supreme Ruler- myself. I will take with me as many people wish for a change of regime here on Jaxt and the colonies, one half of your warships, and we will bother you no more.”

Thankfully, because of the manual controls and backup AIs- there is no chance of him being able to totally overpower your military systems. Even if you give into his demands, he could not kill you or conquer Jaxt with whatever you give him- he'd be forced to leave and become an independent state or lose everything in a losing battle against the entrenched defense of the Jaxt system.

Ingar decided to take his chance now, during the power vacuum. An Enforcer leans in to warn you that while you could relatively easily assassinate Ingar, even without computers, as long as he remains here- the resulting destruction caused by his countermeasures he certainly has prepared in the event of his death would be devastating. Already most industry and spaceflight has stopped- and you are unable to contact the Xin colony until you can get a new, uncompromised computer system online. Once he leaves, killing him would be much more difficult- and with the added complexity of the alien ambassador worm, his Xin-based Hegemony may be considered more legitimate then yours on an intergalactic scale.

Agori's death caused this power struggle. For not being willing to sacrifice your brother or yourself, you have to deal with the political fallout of the action. And you, personally, believe in the infallibility of the Hegemony... Accepting this renegade's demands would mean losing soil to an enemy. The Hegemony must live forever- but what is the move here?

>Allow Ingar to go
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

>>5128562
>>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences
Once again, I can’t believe that anons unwillingness to be massive dick in a regime that utterly controls every aspect and facet of your life comes to bite back in the ass.

>>5128562
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences
No one threatens us.

>>5128562
>Give Ingar the role of Supreme Leader
Play the long game. Eoba can be Supreme when he grows up, maybe, or at least take a high position.

>>5128578
Like, I get the instinct to fight against him, but the continuity and the health of our Hegemony matters most, especially at such a precarious time in our history and with so many opportunities we could invoke through the diplomatic hyperworm.

>>5128578
Support, he's got 20 years left at most. After him we either get this Eoba clone or a different child. Keeping the hegemony in one piece is the best option, but we need to make sure Ingar doesn't flee to Xin after we give him power.

>>5128562
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

>>5128565
>>5128567
>>5128652
We are all clear that the consequences will be the crippling of our AI-centred economy and space-travel RIGHT as we've started to be formally entered into the wider realms of interstellar politics with established spacefaring civilizations, right? Ingar's killswitch will CRIPPLE our society.

>>5128562
>Allow Ingar to go

It's too late for us to do this anons. We just have to deal with the fruit of our mistakes. The killswitch will be bad bad bad.

>>5128578
Support
"The continuity of the Hegemony matters more than me. I just refused to play Agori's game. Keep the supreme rulership, give it to someone else when the time comes, I don't care any more."

Got say Agori was the most interesting supreme. I like that his personality vetoed a few decisions, it went a long way to mitigating the tendency of MCs to become ultra pragmatic schizos, but it's a trick you van't pull too often without annoying the playerbase.

>>5128565
We overwhelmingly voted for xenocide, but it got vetoed by our "nice" supreme ruler.

All the non-dickish choices that weren't forced seemed to have worked out in the long run.

>>5128680
>spoiler
It also gave us all the more reason to be careful of our Supreme Ruler choices moving forwards. Makes us take them really seriously.

>>5128675
Join us on team giving-Ingar-control-for-now, then. Why not? If he moves to Xin and takes our Aanel diplomat and control over the AI, he'll be de facto Supreme Leader of the more credible government anyway.

>>5128693
He's liable to kill us and our brother before he dies if we give him complete control. Whose to say he won't kill us as soon as soon as we cede military control? I

>>5128702
Why bother, at that point? When we aren't a Supreme, we are just a gifted and useful child that he can shuffle wherever he would like.

ESPECIALLY why kill Kimnan II, who wasn't even runner-up to be Supreme by this point?

>>5128719
We're political threats, no matter how small. We've also shown ourselves to be quite ruthless through killing Agori. I'd think we're atleast worth something symbolically. The majority of the population still follow the rights of succession. We're playing as Eoba now we have to think of what's best for him and I'd rather not leave it up to the whims of Ingar.

>>5128562
>Give Ingar the role of Supreme Leader
He's old, we can wait a couple of years more.

>>5128562
>Allow Ingar to go
Let the old fart die of old age. Also FUCK this was Ingar's project, wasn't it?

>>5128768
His project is probably a quantum dead man's switch that would work instantly even on Xin.

>>5128772
We still can't just hand him the chair. It's not in Eoba II's nature.

>>5128780
Personally that's why I'm ok with killing him and weather whatever he has in store for us.
>It's not in Eoba II's nature.
Agreed, he didn't accept Agori's bullshit so he's not going to do it with Ingar.

>>5128562
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

>And give Kinman (the original) permission to have his arm regrown and be a hero of the Hegemony again

They tried to be strong men, but ultimately Agori and Ingar were and are weak. It is not strength to deny compassion, and not strength to put yourself before your society. And these men, both weak in their own way, are now creating hard times.

>>5128578
What makes you think that Eoba II would be allowed to grow up? The MOMENT he hands over the supreme leadership he'd be due for public execution for the Regicide of Agori so Ingar can consolidate power and portray himself as the more legitimate candidate.

>>5128801
>Support

>>5128891
yeah, this dude would 100% cut out the loose end that is us.

I mean we literally just slashed the throat of the last supreme ruler. I doubt he would 1.) put us in a positive light and 2.) leave us lying around

>>5128562
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences
We can not let Ingar win, it would send a precedent that the Hegemony could be defeated and once that happens the people will be more unruly.
>The Tocqueville effect (also known as the Tocqueville paradox) is the phenomenon in which, as social conditions and opportunities improve, social frustration grows more quickly.

You people do know that ingar can't kill us, right? It's right there in the post.

>>5128562
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

>>5128941
It’s hardly a paradox. The less time people have to spend on worrying about putting food into their mouths, the more time they have to vent their aspirations.

>>5128982
He can't kill us NOW through his own actions with the resources he CURRENTLY holds.

But if we're stupid enough to hand over the power of Supreme leader he'd immediately have the legitimate authority to order our death.

>>5128562
Newfag here, with no context for my decision beyond this thread. While I'd like to support >>5128578 purely because I think it'll be vetoed on the account that putting Ingar in Agori's position will threaten both our and our brother's lives, given that we're more of a political threat to the stability of his governance, but I'll settle for cutting out the middle man and just voting to plunge our society into chaos instead of splitting the Hegemony into a rival power structure with better tech and the ear of the galaxy on his side.

>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

Time to sink this Hegemony with no survivors!

>>5128578
Supporting, even if it means death to Eoba II. Unity of the Hegemony is paramount to any Supreme Leader.

>>5129045
We're not giving him the power of supreme leader of Jaxt, though. He wants to be supreme ruler of Xin.

This will most definitely create a rival and end in a civil war, but is it better than ingar almost definitely blowing up our entire infrastructure?

>>5129086
Quite a few people want to outright give him the throne to not divide the Hegemony, fair enough but in that case he's going to kill Eoba.

>>5129086
Really, the result ends up the same. I think it's better to deal with the consequences now and control the galactic narrative on this than split the empire into two rival powers, in which our enemy will have the advantage of tech and diplomacy, compared to our population and developed economy (assuming you can trust Ingar to keep his word not to blow up our industry after giving him one half of our warships). Really though, we need to contain this mess now before Ingar gives a tech upgrade to the Esaal Stratocracy in exchange for military support, right after ganking us of our warships.

You either deal with this problem now or let it compound into a bigger problem later on lads.

>>5129089
That's absolutely retarded, we'd be literally giving it to an sociopath. This is the exact thing that vantix warned us about.

>>5129105
The difference is whether or not it'll be worse. If he leaves with some people and a few ships but our industry stays the same we could still take him down, the problem is if he tries to crash the plane with no survivors and causes some catastrophe that kills billions.

>>5129154
My main worry are the diplomatic repercussions and cultural hegemony being threatened. There cannot be two Supreme Leaders, and he could call in a galactic coalition to kick our shit in anyway.

These choices ain't easy, but this is the consequence of creating a power vacuum by killing the former leader to save our brother. Billions now, or more billions later.

>>5126866
Jesus fucking fuck!

>>5128558
>Your clone did me in. It just took half a century more then you thought...
Like poetry

>>5128680
Based Drop out. Break the cycle Eoba II. Take your brother and live in peace.

>>5129196
Well, while i feel like even a war would be better, we sure as hell can't give INGAR the throne
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

This is me >>5128768 and I've mulled over it some more.

>>5128562
FUCK IT, HEGEMONY NOW, HEGEMONY FOREVER

>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

ON TOP OF SEDITION, HIS FLAG ISN'T EVEN /AESTHETIC/

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Votes are heavily in favor of Killing Ingar. Not going to call it just yet so everyone has a chance to vote; since this a pretty important one. Update will be later today.

>>5129196
Which itself was a consequence of putting a superior but untrained and undisciplined child into a life-or-death situation he didn't have the years or emotional maturity to be prepared for for the sake of a silly grudge - I mean, all his instincts/great minds TOLD him to look at the wider candidate field instead, but his anger overuled him. And we got this instead.

And 'You must master all THREE boards. Now please select who out of the TWO of you who is going to die to my ONE elderly self' really was Agori setting himself up for his unwitting end.

Eboa saw the third board, and a move he could make to win the challenge that was presented to him. Agori was a mentally weak man, and now we get hard times.

>>5128578
Support. He has proven worthy.

>>5128578
The Hegemony is above all else, what is our life compared to it

Support Ingar

Okay, you want ruthless, you will get ruthless
>Torture ingam physically and psychologically for as long as it takes for him to give you the back control.

You people seriously want to give a literal sociopath the control of the hegemony?

>>5128578
+1

>>5129517
He’s hardly going to be the first nor the last mentally ill supreme leader. What matters most is the ability to get things done.

Why do you guys want to let him go? If we kill him now the worst he can do is mess up our infrastructure and destroy the AI network, both of which could be build back and the attack could be used as propaganda.
If we let him go we:
>show the people that the Hegemony can be defeated
>allow him access to a system worth of resources
>give him the time to use said resources to build up his power far beyond his gamble here
>give him acces to ftl and the alien diplomat, so that even if we reconquer the system his men could just flee and seek asylum
>keep the AI network he bloody tampered with already

Every time in history when a ruler could have killed a revolution before it became a problem and did not do so it became a problem too large to be dealt with later.
So why would we not kill him?

>>5129523
He is a literal sociopath who was trying to commit treason, you fool

>>5129536
Because he's smart, capable, savvy, and a good strategist. Because we have an option to hand him the keys for 20 years, use his genius to advance our entire civilization without any set-backs or fragmentation, and then hand the position off to someone more empathetic and stable at that point without having lost steam.

>>5129589
And if he succeeds it would make him a great supreme leader

>>5129649
No it wouldn't, you absolute retard. Have you been ignoring everything that's been shown?
>This guy who is willing to kill god knows how many people, betray the hegemony and has been shown to be an manipulative sociopath who will fuck up other people without regret if it benefits him would be a great ruler!

>>5129635
You're forgetting that he's a crazy sociopath and we can't control characters from doing stuff like that. He's not going to hand over the position, you fool

>>5129635
If that was anything close to what Ingar actually wanted, he'd have just remained 'loyal', taken up the Regency for our underage supreme and used the position to rule by proxy for a decade.

Which is more time then Agori would have had left naturally; and since Ingar and Agori were about the same age would probably have put Ingar past his own natural retirement age.

>>5129291
>rants about the unfairness of the situation
>killed a man and took his throne

But in all seriousness, you voted to ensure both our and our Brother's survival, you think you can pull a 180 immediately after that and ensure that both of us die for the Hegemony?

I may be a newfag, but I don't think it works like that. Instead of finding a balance, you decided to take to the field instead and kill Agori. The consequences must be reaped, and I don't think giving up the throne to your would be killer will help you avoid the iron price.

>>5129517
I would consider the kid who killed his 'father' to be the sociopath, but I digress. Anons need to be less neurotic about this shit.

>>5129635
As much as I like the man, you gotta realize that he will kill us and our brother. Ya gonna end up vetoed or dead, much like our captain with the worm.

>>5128675
I'm changing my vote to

>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences

He's going to kill Eoba if we hand him complete control.

>>5129792
My vote was
>>5128801
Ingar definitely needs to die for this. I don't know why you thought I was one of those trying to pass control to him.

>>5129792
>I would consider the kid who killed his 'father' to be the sociopath, but I digress
>Said 'father' is the one who went "LISTEN HERE YOU FUCKING WHELP EITHER DIE OR LET YOUR BROTHER BE KILLED. I AM GONNA FUCKING SHOOT HIM OR STRANGLE YOU. PLAY THE GAME."

Are you taking the piss?

>>5129792
>killed a man and took his throne
He literally threatened to kill a child over a game of chess. He WAS going to kill him. Agori was an psychotic retard and he deserved to die.

>>5129800
Newfag, sorry if I confused you for the other pass-the-buck anons.

>>5129813
>Are you taking the piss?
Yes, but clearly killing his only (sociopathic) father figure in his life won't lead to a more controllable MC for y'all like some of you seem to think.

>>5129819
And anons have created another psychotic retard to replace him. If it came between his brother or the Hegemony, do you think he will chose the Hegemony after deciding to kill Agori?

>>5129832
And anons have created another psychotic retard to replace him
>THIS CHILD DECIDED TO PROTECT HIS BROTHER FROM THE CRAZY SENILE PSYCHO? OBVIOUSLY THAT MEANS HE'S WORSE
You are retarded.

>>5129832
>And anons have created another psychotic retard to replace him
buddy I think there is a huge leap between "constantly bashing people's heads in like a retarded ape and barely being able to control his retard tantrums" to "trying to protect his brother from said psycho retard"

the worst you could say about the kid is that he made a power vacuum but that's the fault of the massive psycho retard for putting a LITERAL KID in a life or death situation and not expecting him to try resisting.

>>5129660
>hand over the position
Doesn't need to. He'll die, and someone else will inherit an intact, functional Hegemony.

>>5129851
Yes, because that's certainly a smart option
>If we just give power to the insane genius, he'll eventually die, so it's okay!
Yeah, great idea, genius.

Plus, there was literally an entire period where we had to deal with a supreme leader who made himself immortal.

>>5129858
If Ingar was going to make himself an immortal computer god, he already has the means to do so.

If the Hegemony can't survive a couple decades of a bad or amoral ruler, it would have collapsed under the egotists, harem-keepers, murderers, and other despots we have already heard inklings of in its history.

>>5129866
>If Ingar was going to make himself an immortal computer god, he already has the means to do so.
He didn't have the authority, which is why he didn't just plain seize the authority. Ingar is a sociopath genius and you want to give him access to literally everything.

He's almost certainly going to kill Eoba and Kimnan, too. And the real Kimnan. And who knows who else. He is willing to essentially kill god knows how many millions or billions to gain power, and you want him to have supreme power?

>>5129840
>thinking childhood trauma wouldn't turn him into a sociopath
The retarded part come from anons like you.

>>5129843
I'm honestly waiting for the kid to go rogue and turn the anons against him over some stupid vote. That is, if anons don't vote to kill the kid first.

>>5129887
How the fuck does "Kid chooses to kill psycho to protect his brother" mean he's going to turn into a sociopath? If anything, it show he has empathy.

>>5129894
That 'empathy' led to the power vacuum we're currently in, and will lead to the suffering of billions whether Ingar dies or becomes Supreme Leader.

>>5129903
The power vacuum happened because we gave ingar his funding, he had full access to the network and it would have happened even if agori died naturally, since alphas die early.

>>5129924
This.

>>5129880
>Leader seizes power in soft coup
>mist be genocidal madman who wants to live forever and also will inevitably be bad at running a dictatorship and will kill billions of people for no reason

Seems like a leap. I don't want him to be Eternal Godking, but I see reason to think he will be. I don't want him to destroy the Hegemony through brutality and incompetence, but I also see scant evidence for that.

>>5129924
Yes, I agree that this situation we're in is the natural consequence of the decisions that we've made.

>>5129515
+1 to this.
Pluck his fur out one hair at a time if that's what it takes.

>>5128562
>Kill Ingar and deal with the consequences
Oh fuck almost missed this vote.

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You have decided to kill Ingar, end the threat to your reign and the Hegemony at large. While the consequences of this will be dire, there is no other way to avoid a civil war in the future.

Eoba II and Kimnan II are escorted to a safe location while the decentralized Hegemony deals with the threat. The main problem at first is information; things seem to be stopped, but normal. Alavis is blocking all orders to release or gather information on Ingar- nobody but the inner circle even knows of his coup. Pretty soon, Ingar sends out false messages of his legitimacy to the population, but the Hegemonic control already has a backup for this- the archaic technologies of broadband television and radio. Using these pure forms of communication, unable to be manipulated by digital trickery, the population is informed and the first stage of unplugging and safety precautions are taken.

Eventually, Ingar is tracked down. Even with control of the entire computer network, the trained spies and enforcers of the Hegemony eventually corner him. For a moment, it almost seems like he could be captured, but instead kills himself instead of being taken alive.

At the moment of his death, the dead man's trigger is activated. The Enforcers on the scene find a small box- which indeed seems to be some kind of sensor. Even being there before the blood cools, it's too late. Alavis has already begun.

At the moment of Ingar's death, the Alavis network begins a chain virus of chaos- each core changes and sends out a signal to change more. Every device, civilian or Hegemonic, can act as a viral carrier to every other device. Even with dead zones, it is simply impossible to stop Alavis from falling under sway of this countermeasure. While the computer scientists aren't exactly sure what Ingar's dying order was- it is clear that the AI has switch from an obedient machine to something that has calculated and carries out the maximum amount of suffering and damage possible in its ability; purely out of spiteful revenge.

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They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and while Alavis is not a real female; her scorn is certainly hellish. Every single machine goes haywire.

Sewer mains close up and intentionally backflow into hospitals and civilian shelters, in an attempt to spread as much disease as possible. Antigravity vehicles fly around as fast as possible, striking anyone foolish enough to go outside and, right when their batteries are about to run out, fly up as high as they can into the air to become a gravity based projectile. Hundres of acres of farms and gardens are sprayed with heavy metal contaminants and defoliants, destroying crops and permanently ruining arable land. The worst affected are the floating sea colonies- whose anchor systems and guidance systems are ruined. Several are swept by rogue waves or collide with each other, causing them to break apart and drown hundreds of thousands of people in an afternoon. Wherever Alavis cannot reach herself, she attempts to persuade the vunerable and mentally unwell into action- deepfaked videos of love ones being killed by innocent community members; creating totally misled squads of vigilantes roping up anyone who is trying to retain Hegemonic control.

While these large scale actions are more significant, the AI is smart and fast enough to do tiny, spiteful things too; consumer devices are boobytrapped to crank up the brightness and volume to unsafe levels to cause vision and hearing damage. Even the most helpless members of your society- such as the very old, are tormented. Alavis modified the euthanasia pods in use to make them only paralyze the patients and release no gas- the poor soul within trapped for potentially days while officials must focus elsewhere. While the Hegemony has always established AI as a safe technology, Alavis has turned from a normal computer intelligent into a Basilisk, a creature of nightmares- a computer dedicated to suffering.

Off of Jaxt- the situation is still very bad. While space stations and colonies have slightly more independent computer systems and rely on manual switches for critical systems like life support and power generation; the total lack of communication with the homeworld causes chaos and death everywhere. All of the transport pods and goods on the way from Schoon are turned into ballistic missiles, which turn back and bombard the factory-planet. Damage estimates are in the tens of quadrillions- and the death toll is at least a billion.

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While the chaos and damage of Ingar's gamble to gain power is almost indescribable, there is a silver lining. Because of your continued dedication towards equality, tradition, and quality of life towards the Jaxtian people, the civilian population supports the Hegemony through this trying time 100%. Amazing, there is no rioting. There is (almost) no looting, rapes, or violent crimes. Everyone in their community relies on the catastrophe and crisis chain of command; with no Supreme Ruler and communication out, community members and heads of household become in charge and work together. In an amazing show of unity, communities begin working on creating food and water stockpiles, destroy and contain electronics, defend themselves from any looters or mislead military officials, and attempt to establish contact with Hegemonic control.

The space colonies, who are not fully independent, settle in with extreme rationing and suspension plans. Even on the homeworld, millions of Jaxtians volunteer to enter suspension during the cleanup period- though some do so selfishly to avoid the extra work and lack of budget for entertainment and travel. Most perform overtime and extra shifts. Space conlonies who would have run out of food and water after a few weeks without shipments from Jaxt can now last a few years with tiny skeleton crews.

Schoon, being one of the worst effected planets and also most vital, has an incredible movement of patriotism. The Schoonites manage to create their own secondary AI system, build SD drives and transport pods, and begin sending shipments of critical equipment and life saving medicines and machines back to Jaxt. New communicators using radio and shortwave communications are also included, to reestablish order among Jaxt. Light and sublight communications are reopened among the colonies.

Unfortunately, without a powerful computer system, it will be impossible to contact the Xin colony or fly an FTL vessel. While you aren't sure, it is highly likely Ingar's killswitch included a message to Xin- either to try and make it into a Rogue state or causing the same computer virus of destruction that hit Jaxt. There is no way to check up on them until significant progress is made in the rebuilding effort.

While the feeling of unity and righteous defense drives the Jaxtians forward; it is still a catastrophic moment for your people. The Supreme Ruler is only a child, while the rightful heir, is still unproven and lacks the Charisma for a direct and speedy recovery as of yet. It will take time; Ingar's arrogance and lust for power will set your people back severely.

>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
>Establish communications with the Xin colony
>Commission a new master AI that can scour out any remaining Alavis cores or viruses

>>5130159
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
We gotta'.

But shit, we're going to need to re-tame or genocide the Blue Hazaar, aren't we?

As for the AI core... Seriously? Come on, please, let's NOT re-institute a giant suepr-AI again after Helper and now Alavis have both backfired so terribly.

Ugh, what a mess.

>>5130159
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
This is why you don't let sociopaths get any amount of power in this fucking government.

From now on, we need to vet and keep an eye on the people closest to the top so we never have another Ingar situation again.

>>5130166
Two things I would love to see as priories for the Eoba II Administration, once we are able to get things stable again:

>Mental health services
>Analyzing and revamping the Supreme Leader selection process

We need to not produce neurotic quasi-aristocrats anymore.

>>5130159
>Rebuild your infrastructure ASAP
The people are holding us together, we need to hold them together.

>Use SchoonAI as an interim master system

>>5130159
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
If possible
>Establish communications with the Xin colony

We need to ensure this mess is contained diplomatically while we're rebuilding. Next scientist leader we get, we have him make the AI and make sure it isn't fucked with until the next scientist leader comes along.

>>5130159
>Rebuild ASAP
Infrastructure first, military later, since when the people is full of patriotic fervor, the military part comes easier.

Also this makes me think of a decentralized AI network of sorts to prevent these kinds of things in the future. Each colony, station etc have their own master AI that work together with other master AIs, but have no control besides their own territory. That way when one went rogue, the entire Hegemony AI network isn't that badly affected.

>>5130159
Callback to thread 1 and make a vow to rebuild the hegemony, then
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
>Establish communications with the Xin colony
We are just a child and need all the support we can get. Failure will hurt us, but our reputation isn't worth near as much as the hegemony as a whole so we may as well try. If possible we should watch a ton of Talacents old speeches before we announce this and try to copy his style. We probably aren't the ruler the hegemony needs right now, but we are the one it has. Talacent seems like a good ruler to call back to as we start our rule since he was well liked and we are a clone of his right hand man.

>>5130165
I have a feeling the Orange Haazar might need to be re-tamed, but the blue ones are less likely to go 'feral'. No need for genocide as long as they still serve the Hegemony.

>>5130159
>Commission a new master AI that can scour out any remaining Alavis cores or viruses

>>5130188
Changing my vote to this. I'd almost forgotten about the Vows. It's a bit early in the reign, but better then never using it at all.

>>5130159
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP

>>5130187
I say we slave the AI to whoever wares the Hegemonic Amulet, and have a kill switch tied to the current leaders lofe force. Decentralization will only encourage a devolution of power and authority from the Hegemony, and thus a divergence from its culture. That we cannot allow.

Emergency backup AIs may be alright, but only if we can ensure their loyalty to the Hegemony once activated, not local leadership.

>>5130188
Not much need for a vow, since we already have great patriotism for our cause. We should save it for when our cultural or territories come under attack by a foreign power, as will undoubtedly be the case in this crisis.

>>5130159
>Commission a new master AI that can scour out any remaining Alavis cores or viruses

This is literally the core system we need, I hope it was worth it for you moralfags.

>>5130165
>>5130169

AI cores are the foundational technology to our entire system, it's people who keep pushing for moralfaggotry and ignoring that we are a eugenic totalitarian state are leading us to ruin.
Killing Agora was stupid and killing Ingar was stupid, was the lives of two clones worth all this destruction?

>>5130159
>>5130187 + 1, but also supporting >>5130211 for saving the vow

>>5130226
I agree, it was fucking retarded. The only silver lining was the patriotic sentiment of our people. It's only a shame that it came at such a heavy price.

>>5130211
>>5130231
Vow gives us an extra action which we desperately need right now. It will take years to do each of these and now that we're known on a galactic scale, we have little time to spare. We need our infrastructure back and losing Xin would be a major blow to the hegemony, especially since it has the worm on it. The AI network may be a problem but we need to prioritize and act fast.

>>5130235
If it gives us an extra action, them I'm all for it. We need to get that damned worm on-side to prevent any diplomatic shenanigans.

>>5130159
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
Inspiring as fuck. Things are going to be bad, BAD for a generation, maybe two, but this will become part of our founding mythology.

>>5130211
Decentralization is only for the AI network, government is still the same monolithic Hegemony. I think this can work.

>>5130159
Also HOLY SHIT I just realized, if Agori went ahead with giving jaxtians false dates-of-death that would've been leaked when Ingar's failsafe went off. That would've shattered the Hegemony. Shit fuck that was a good call. Also proof that Agori wasn't that bad of a Supreme Leader when you really think about it.

>>5130280
The AI network has significant and unique administrative and cultural capabilities that can't be replicated with the biological elements. Decentralizing the AI networks will have a fracturing effect on central culture and governance, allowing locals to develop a separate cultural identity and governance system, which will eventually need to be dealt with by force or the whole Hegemony start to crumble and decay with internal divisions.

I can accept limited Emergency AI at a local level, to only be powered on and utilized in a crisis and programed to override order contrary to the Supreme Leader, but the only fault in our centralized AI are the biological elements, the monkeys we put in charge of creating and running the core AI system. There loyalty to the Supreme Leader must be beyond a shadow of a doubt, especially if it isn't the Supreme Leader creating and maintaining the AI himself. There are many loyal overqualified patriots out there willing to assist, and if that fails then we raise, train, and indoctrinate such qualified loyalists to maintain the AI system, to prevent sociopaths from using AI as an avenue for power.

>>5130308
Culture and tradition is our main safeguard against traitorous elements. We'd do well to remember that if it comes between special interests and the people, choose the people. Cultural integrity and patriotism, that will be our bulwark against our enemies, foreign or domestic.

>>5130226
Ingar would likely have made his play when Agori stepped down, no matter what, if he was still in position and the spot didn't come his way. Indeed, triggering it early probably prevented an even worse crisis, such as Ingar having 8 years to implement the rewiring of all our craft under the pretence of a 'new communications system' to ensure that his eventual 'AI rebellion' might be immune to the Physical countermands that at least allowed living Jaxtians to take physical control of much of the non-entirely automated equipment.

>>5130330
>After all, your culture is already ruled by a totalitarian state, a flawless, immortal empire. It is merely the tools in the hands of the enemy that will bring destruction. - Vul Takar

>>5130311
Methinks you're overemphasizing the importance of the AI network, and it's this overreliance that is part of the problem. If we're going with the backup route, then we must also have non-AI backups in case they're also corrupted somehow (the Baalathi's data-prion attacks come to mind).
Tl;dr my argument: this crisis happened because we overrelied on our centralized AI network, which has been shown to not be immune to mortal politicking., and caused such a widespread disaster.
If we decentralize/localize our AI network (but not our governmental method), we can prevent such mass disaster and instead localize the AI uprising.

>>5130337
The AI network was not immune to politicking only because anons failed to keep it free from becoming political- hence the need for total loyalty to the state and the Supreme Leader among both the central AI and those who maintain it.

Beyond that, I think you're unrepresentating the threat this is to the Hegemony. We are a totalitarian empire- the moment we start decentralizing our AI networks they become susceptible to local politicking instead of national interest, which will eventually tear the Hegemony apart. National interest must supersede local interest in all aspects of our society, from culture to administrative to governance and so on. Decentralizing the AI networks will turn the Hegemony from a totalitarian state into a feudal one given enough time, and that threat to the national stability and monoculture of the Hegemony cannot be tolerated.

>>5130159
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP

Why were pipes used for watering crops connected to tanks of heavy metals? We need to take a look at what damage could have been prevented by segregating physical systems so a repeat incident isn't so devestating.

I hope you people remember this the next time you want to destroy jaxtian culture and society for some "cool new tech" or a slight increase in efficiency.

>>5130380
Shit happens like this in real life, see Gavrilo Princip and the Black Hands. They wanted the Balkans united and free from foreign involvement... and we know where that leads.

>>5130347
I think our ideas are compatible. I don't see the threat in a decentralized/semi-decentralized AI network. Otherwise we get yet another widespread AI uprising scenario in the future.
Here's another way to think of it: a centralized AI network is a potential rival to our Hegemony. Sure, when it is under our thumb it's no threat, but if it is managed to be subverted, it can do worse damage than an alien invasion, as we can see from Ingar's killswitch. Now compare this with a decentralized AI network. Let's say a rebellion occurs in Schoon and managed to subvert the AI there. The Schoon AI cannot wreak havoc on Jaxt or Xin, and even less if we make the AI network more granular: the rebellion might have the AI on Schoon's capital city, but the ones on the individual factories aren't subverted.
Hell, if we can develop alternatives that aren't dependent on AI, such worries are trivial at best.

>>5130391
The best I can offer is to create a separate, direct system for creating local information quarantines on the Supreme Leader’s decision. Anything else would would compromise nation integrity and interest.

The problem with your example of local AI rebellion is that those can be contained locally without much contamination with other AI systems not already under the local network’s control. Our AI problems are directly related to the central AI Authority, which controls the other AI network under the direct authority of the Supreme Leader, akin to how the biological elements of the Hegemony operate.
>Rare resources and positions of importance are given with priority to those higher on the ladder; while the Supreme Ruler is always at the top, the Jaxtians will remain above the Migrators- in the same way that all AI must bow to Helper, you will make sure that Jaxtians will always be on the top of your instellar empire.
The problem is the direct subversion of our central AI, which anons were caught off-guard by Helper but allowed a third party with dubious intent to work on Alavis, which directly lead to our current predicament. Let only the Supreme Leader or those loyal he absolutely trusts not to abuse their power work directly on the central AI next time, and create a separate system of information quarantines only controlled by the Supreme Leader. Should a- heaven forbid- rebellion occur on one of our colonies, the other AI systems shouldn’t be negatively impacted. If a rebellion did occur against the Hegemony by it’s citizens, then we clearly failed our people in some tangible way, whether it be culturally or materially.

I do agree that there should be non-AI alternatives and safeguards though, just in case. Make sure we upgrade them every couple of Supreme Leaders or so.

Captcha be like NNNN4, it has gained sapience! Oh lord!

>Rebuild your military and infraestructure ASAP

>Send reassuring messages to Xin that contact and order will be reestblished on a regular basis. keep them updated to developments.

>>5130541
I second the reassuring messages. Please add those to >>5130165 (which was also me)

>>5130159
>>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
Starting to think all failed supreme ruler candidates, starting from Kinman II should be executed to prevent this from happening again.

>>5130159
>Rebuild your military & infrastructure ASAP
>>5130188
+1 to the vow, God I forgot about that.