>>5354485
>>5353546

You think on what you should do about it for a minute, before deciding it's better to just deal with it rather than leave it as a potentially dangerous unknown.
But you don't have enough experience with this sort of situation to feel comfortable just walking in, either. So you decide to give Sanig a call, and get his opinion on it.

...

"...Yo, Sanig. You there?"

["What is it, Kid? I'm busy makin' some repairs right now."]

"Yeah, yeah. We're all gonna be busy cleaning up for a while, so don't give me that. Look, here's what's going on..."

After a brief explanation of what's happened and what you found, Sanig gives you his advice.

["Well Kid, like you said, this ship is probably a station-killer. Or "the big red button" as you so eloquently put it. It's designed to do massive damage with little regard for collateral, so whatever's in those rooms ain't good."]

"Yeah, i gathered that much. What do you think it could be specifically, though?"

Sanig ponders the question for a moment.

["Hrmm. You said those tunnels were barely big enough to pass through, right?"]

"Yeah. In my armor, but still."

["Most ships are designed with large halls meant for gas-pocket species and the like. Interesting."]

There's a sudden tingle on the back of your neck as you find yourself momentarily distracted in conversation.
That last demon is back, and it's going for your back. But you make sure not to react, so you can draw it in.

Meanwhile, Sanig continues his train of thought.

["And it was behind a non-standard docking port? The same ones used by the generator ships?"

"Yeah. I had to cut one off to get inside, so they'd have to be disconnected to get in there."

["...Can't be used at the same time as the mega-laser, huh?"]

The demon, who's been creeping ever closer, finally strikes at your neck.
You twist your body counter-clockwise and grab it's extended left arm with your right, then pull hard to slam it's back against the wall.

It then finds your left hand gripped tightly around it's neck, causing it to thrash violently and leave scratches across your armor with it's hardened claws.

["Could it be a landing party of some sort?"] Sanig wonders, unaware that you're currently fighting. ["To capture and collect the subjugated party. That would make the most sense, wouldn't it?"]

>>5354487

"Could be." You respond tersely.

One heavy blow from your right hand bloodies the demon's nose and forces it's head back against the wall panel. A second blow takes much more of the fight out of it, and nearly sends it's head through the wall.
You grab the larger of it's left horns and snap it off, then quickly stab it deep into it's left temple, wiggling it around to disturb as much brain matter as possible.

The demon's whole body spasms and it's eyes twitch and roll around violently as you blend it's brain up, but somehow even that isn't enough to kill it completely.
So you stab it again, this time straight through the top of it's head. And then you wiggle the horn around even more, until it finally stops moving.

The demon drops to the ground where it lays in a slowly expanding pool of black blood, looking like hell's own unicorn.

["You saw those battle bots that were guarding the prisoners, right Kid? Now, it could be a group of soldiers in cryosleep, and i'm not saying it's not... but it could be a shitload of those bots, too. In fact, i'd bet on it."]

Well, the old man's pretty good at gambling. If he says he'd bet on it being robots, it's probably robots. The only question now is what you want to do with them.
If they're the same as the ones guarding the prisoners, they can't be hacked into or reasoned with, since they're not even connected to a network in the first place, and they're dumb as fucking bricks.

>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.
>Robot army, huh? Sounds like a job for the Milkor. 40mm high explosive grenades, god's gift to the universe.
>Fuck it, you're not worried about them. As long as they don't get activated they aren't an issue, so let's just weld those passages shut and be done with it.

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.
Well, we aren't on a tight schedule anyway.
We should think about what to do with the dead demons meanwhile.

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.

>>5354496
We should also get all the demon gunk out of our body before heading off to deal with the robots

>>5354503
There's no demon gunk on or in you right now. They never touched you.

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.
since we have a core in our hands we could spend time clean ourselves or even even get the other two cores while we wait.

>>5354506
by mean clean ourselves I actually mean clean our cameras because we cant Shodan cant see shit
the crew should see what David's been doing for a while

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>>5354507
What do you mean? This is fine. :^)

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.

>>5354510
Anon says we should properly clean the camera so SHODA. has better live feed before we continue

>>5354628
I know, anon. I understood him.

>>5354628
Nvm I didn't load the picture. The right amount of gore on the lens to scare the shit out of anyone watching the recordings and still being useful

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.
That sounds like something useful to have for our xadia raid

>>5354485
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=humanity+-+fuck+yeah%21

Upvote the thread you niggers

Bump

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.

>>5354694
You dumb fuck

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.

>>5354787
come on, he has all the good intentions!!!... and none of the wits

God I love this story it’s so sad there aren’t any other stories as good as this

>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.

>>5354488
>Wait on it a while, let Sanig go over the machine corpses you've given him and see if they have any weaknesses.
A legion or two of autonomous killbots sounds both really useful and extremely dangerous to open up without being able to shut it down.
>>5354496
>We should think about what to do with the dead demons meanwhile.
Demon pate? Demonskin shoes and handbags?

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>>5354488

"Alright, let's go with that for now. Take a look at those machine corpses i brought in and find out how to kill them for me, just in case."

["You got it, Kid. HEY, KYLA! Get fish-boy to work on this, i gotta do something!"]

You hear Vex complaining in the background as the transmission cuts out.
He's probably irritated, being made to work for people he doesn't know straight out of the cryopod... but hey, he who works, eats.

You're just about done here, so you need to decide what you'll be bringing back.
The demon corpses are coming with, obviously. The wraith corpses in the hall have been burnt pretty badly, and you aren't sure you could use that many anyways.

Looking down at the broken-off horn in your hand, you wonder how tough it really is... so you gouge it into the wall and drag it across, where it digs into the metal without much effort, despite it's rough edge.
It's barely got a scratch on it even after that. The material seems a little hard, but if you could reinforce it somehow it might make for a good knife.

If you make weapons out of their own body parts, they should be just as effective as warp metal, and much, much cheaper.
Even the weak and brittle wraith bones could be powderized and used as filler for anti-wraith bullets.

The skin of these demons also seems like it might be a good material. Despite the heat of those flames, it doesn't seem to have bothered these two corpses... although the bigger demon has been charred and practically skeletonized from the heat.
So it's heat resistant, at least. Probably pretty tough, too.

Maybe it'd make a good jacket. Or a cloak and hood? They'd make a great pair of gloves, too...
Or you could use it for something more decorative. The world's your oyster.

Either way, you tie the two smaller ones off to your armor and drag them along, picking up the skeletonized corpse along the way.
When you get outside, SHODAN has already pulled the Metal Gear around, so it's a quick hop over to her hull before you make your way inside.

The inner airlock opens, and Cylia is there to greet you.

"Hey, welcome back Da-"

The words catch in her throat as fear washes over her face. She falls on her ass, struggling to speak.

"...What? What's wrong?"

You're genuinely confused, but her eyes do the speaking for her.
You watch her look between the corpse in your left hand, the corpses behind you and your blackened, blood-soaked armor, which is covered in cuts and scratches from the dying flails of a demon.

"Y-You..!"

That's all she manages to get out, so you drop the shit in your hands and peel off your helmet, which is stuck slightly from the blood baked onto it.

"It's me, don't worry." You assure her. "There were some stinkies over there, but i took care of 'em. I'm fine."

"D-David...." She stutters. "You... you felt like one of them! No, you still..."

"Hmm? I feel fine. They didn't even touch me that time. Maybe it's the bodies?"

"A-Are you sure? You're not possessed or something?"

>>5355370
>Tell her that we still hate the antichrist and that we consider Jesus our lord and savior so we good.

>>5355370
Maybe it's the armor? Try popping out and see if the effect is on you or the armor, or both.

David you should use a clothing or nanofab to fabricate a big bag to carry all those wraith corpses. There is, so much corpses.

Also take into consideration how effective wraith/demon based arms and armor might be against mundane things. Shields? What shields. Armor? Practically wet paper.

>>5355391
>you felt like one of them! No, you still...
I think its the part were we consume the their souls
we kinda glossed over at that

>>5355370
Not a fan of the paint job?

>>5355396
QM said we didn't absorb anything. Unless he thought I was talking their blood.

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>>5355370
>despite it's rough edge.
>It's barely got a scratch on it even after that. The material seems a little hard, but if you could reinforce it somehow it might make for a good knife.
O hacer un cacho de chicha mi gancho. I DARE you use google translate for it will fail. But yes, drinking horn

>>5355692
>drinking from a demonic horn
No thanks. Having it as a weapon is enough

>>5355692
Recolectar cuernos de demonios solo para beber? Tremendo flexeo

>>5354487
>>5354488
I’m bettin’ it’s a bioweapon, either a disease or xenomorph-type-thing. A bunch of killbots doesn’t seem like it’d need this much secrecy, and I’m suspicious of that strange tunnel to get there.

>>5355736
What if it's NANOBOTS
Grey Goo tier of station/planet killer

Could we scrap together those bots to make something to open it for us? Doesn't even have to be good, just able to open a door

>>5355396
Still we could try. We are still in the armor after all, but yeah we should probably mention that. Must be an after effect of David eating like, 2 or 3 demon souls......AAAAAAAHHH!
>Demon
>Souls
>Demon Souls
Time to fat roll to victory!

>>5355692
NGL that sounds cool as hell, and it's not like we'll be lacking in demon and wraith parts in the future. +1 to this suggestion.

>>5355970
The multi-armed terminator bots give me an idea. When we make the Mk.2 PA, we should include additional arms on the front and the back. The front arms would act as additional manipulators in case David's hands are full at the moment, just really small ones, and the back ones for carrying or sorting through his armored backpack. Maybe the arms could even have hard points where they can be swapped out for different types of attachments.

>>5355370
Just a thought, but will there be a demon/wraith tech research tree we could pursue, or do we just go ham on the suggestions?
>demon/wraith blood- thermal & extreme heat protection, potential energy and ballast weapon protection
>demon/wraith skin- same as above
>demon/wraith claws, horns, teeth- potential melee weapons
>demon/wraith bones- decorative use for armor, powered into anti-demon/wraith munitions
>demon/wraith flesh, meat, organs- pulpify and aerosol for gas (grenade) weapons, possibly use for as hallucinogenic fear weapon, might bypass normal environmental seals due to super natural nature
stuff like this?

>>5356348
Whether or not you delve into that sort of tech/equipment at all depends on whether or not you vote for it, but it'll be an option in the next round regardless.
Feel free to speculate, throw ideas around and suggest whatever you want. I'm always writing that sort of thing down.

Well so far demons are durable AND virtually invulnerable to damage as they heal nigh-instantly. They resist the vaccumm of space (¿?) well they probably shrug off a great deal of physics... I wonder if they >weight< you know? They have volume, because we can SEE it, but do they have mass? Maybe that is why they are so resistant, because they are space. If anything I am confident we can blend them, chuck 'em on a Continent Bottle and use 'em as fuel, because Dark Matter.

Besides how interesting of a material they are, they emit the strongest EMP there is and just by *existing*. Maybe they don't even know they have the ability. I wish we could replicate the EMP somehow... and most of all learn to phase through walls. I hope that we could encase ourselves in a cocoon of sorts and just *whooosh* you know?

I’m for some reason imagining David becoming part demon because remember he has the thing that’s adapting his body and so I’m very worried either he’s becoming part demon or he’s gonna become a major threat more then he already is. I’m incredibly worried. Either way this won’t end well someone’s gonna get in hurt or in a lot of trouble

>>5356564
well, he's already crazy, so at least he'll look the part now

>>5355370

"Of course not, dumbass. You really think i'd let myself get possessed?"

After dropping the corpse and holding the blue box out on the flat of your hand, you try to step out of your armor.
There's a bit of an awkward moment where the motors start to grind, but after a bit of loud cracking the armor seems to free up and opens properly without issue.

You step down out of it and walk around to the front, getting a good look at it for the first time. It's really black, huh... and glossy, like someone coated it with shellac.
While you're looking over the armor, Cylia is comparing the armor and you yourself. And she seems relieved by what she feels.

"It's not you... it's the armor. Okay... okay... phew."

You scratch at the armor's surface with your fingernail, but it comes away clean. Even at the edges of those scratches, where it's cut through the black outer coating.

"Yeah, it's got that nasty feeling to it, huh? I guess it soaked up their blood or something."

"Do you think it'll come off?" Cylia asks, sounding hopeful.

"Mmm. Maybe with a grinding wheel, but it's baked on there pretty damn good. I wonder if we could treat our other equipment like that?"

"...What?"

"You know. Paint on some wraith blood, then bake it onto the surface. Like an enamel coating."

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU EVER DO THAT?!" She practically screams.

"Woah, woah! Calm down, sweet-cheeks. What's the issue here?"

"The ISSUE here is that i'm gonna have nightmares if i sleep in the same room as this thing from now on! And you want to paint MORE stuff in it?! WHY?!"

"Why? Well, i can think of a couple good reasons."

"Oh, go ahead, list them off for me! I can't wait!"

"The first would be fear tactics. Y'know, decorate your home with blood and bone. Let the enemy know you're not fucking around."

"That's disgusting. We're not painting blood on the walls to scare away wraiths. And besides, what if it had the opposite effect?!"

"Well, that's the second thing. Their own flesh and blood makes an effective weapon against them! No warp metal required! Ask me how i know."

"...Alright, i admit, i'm a little curious how you managed to find that out."

"Simple! I snapped off one of these demon's horns and stabbed him in the brain with it! Twice! Killed him dead, a hundred percent effective. So you know what that means, right?"

"...No?"

"It means, Cylia... if we paint the whole damned ship in wraith blood, then maybe, just maybe, they won't be able to float right through our walls! Course, i ain't tested that theory yet, and i'd probably need a lot more, but..."

"You're sick in the head, you know that right?"

"Which leads me to the third thing, which is basically the same as the second."

"Please stop ignoring me."

"Paint it onto mundane weapons and BOOM! Now it's effective against wraiths. And since we don't have to make them out of warp metal, it'll be a lot easier to fabricate whatever we want! Are you picking up what i'm puttin' down?"

>>5356693

"I don't know, David. It still seems wrong, somehow. A lot of people think that wraiths are the restless spirits of the dead, so wouldn't that mean you're desecrating their corpses or something?"

"Nah. Restless spirits or not these fuckers started it, for one. And they're fucking evil, either way. I'd kill the shit out of them and piss on their graves at every opportunity, fuck those motherfuckers."

"Half of that sentence was just curse words. You're cursing at the dead, David."

"Fuck. Those. Motherfuckers."

"Goddess, forgive us all..."

"Look, would you rather get eaten alive, or have your brain sucked out, or turn into an autistic slut like Kyla?"

"What?"

"Because those are your options when you have no way of fighting back! You think that little warp-dusted knife is gonna save your ass forever? I don't think so."

"...Maybe you're right. Even if it feels totally gross..."

>Of course i'm right. The sooner we can figure out a use for all these wraith bodies the better.
>Does it really bother you that much? I guess we can get by just using warp-metal for now...
>Look, maybe we can figure something else out. It would be better if we didn't have to fight them at all in the future, right?

>>5356695
>Of course I'm right! The sooner we can figure out a use for all these wraith bodies the better.

>>5356695
>Look, maybe we can figure something else out. It would be better if we didn't have to fight them at all in the future, right?

>>5356695
>Of course i'm right. The sooner we can figure out a use for all these wraith bodies the better.
If some retards think these abominations are their ancestors then their ancestors are evil assholes and deserve to have their spirits violated

>>5356695
>>Look, maybe we can figure something else out. It would be better if we didn't have to fight them at all in the future, right?
We're probably still running a bit of an adrenaline high, not to mention that we're still currently in the "spitballing ideas" phase we tend to get right after realizing something's got huge potential. Her reaction's not unreasonable, but it might do her some good to reassure her that we're not running off to the nanofab this INSTANT to start doing this stuff, merely pointing out possibilities.

>>5356695
>Of course i'm right. The sooner we can figure out a use for all these wraith bodies the better.

We don't even need to paint the walls per se. Just a secondary hull or a spacer between walls. No need for everyone to get spooked. Just have a little paint drone with a blowtorch you can slap in there and do the thing. EZPZ. And we can keep any wraith-coated stuff in a sealed and secure room behind a billion bulkheads and a door that says no gurlz allowed. Or something. Just keep it out of sight and it should be fine. A special footlocker with a warning sign. Don't worry about it.

>>5356695
>Of course i'm right. The sooner we can figure out a use for all these wraith bodies the better.
But! If it bothers her that much, David could be the only one to use them, but Cylia should look at this from a pessimistic point of view. Warp metal is really rare, and it could be dangerous against machines, SHODAN for example. This is as much to protect her as it is to protect us. If butchering things was good for our cavemen ancestors, it should be good for us too right?

Using wraith/demon stuff can be a matter of life and death you know. Like imagine if they considered a actually trying to kill everyone except David. No way they could handle all of them.

>turn into an autistic slut like Kyla
Is this supposed to be a problem? Only thing just as good as an autistic genius shortstack is another combat effective catgirl

>>5356695
>Look, maybe we can figure something else out. It would be better if we didn't have to fight them at all in the future, right?
Calm down everybody, at this point Cylia is recovering after her first Wraith attack and she killed it. And next we are hauling massive Demon corpses in the base while coated with their blood in the Armor. Maybe the Wraith blood have some magical and dangerous property and could posses our armor, or maybe i'm paranoid about it, but again, the boxes with the AI have the Tree of Life in it and can be used apparently to make magic and shit, and also maybe the AI can be the souls of people trapped in the boxes after some weird ritual

So, this is high cience fiction technology mixed with Space Magic with a little of Spiritual Magic and symbolism of Earth, so calm down and let's hear Cylia for once. This is not like modify some laser gun and making it twice Big and with the added property that we can lose a whole arm, this is literally a whole different shit with sacrifices and blood.

So we either go to some other black water, undeveloped planet that has some serious knowledge about Spiritual shit or better we don't mess with Wraith-blood coated equipment yet

Also, I have a theory that maybe the AI boxes, for them to make the "AI" they sacrifice the person with some ritual, extract their mind/memories and personality to fit them into the box, and their corpses go for some weird transformation. So, when the Body is stripped of the Mind, the Soul somehow tries to take and compensate the Body, but because they can't do that function it ends up with the Body twisting and transforming the physical Body into something more akin to the Soul, which it ends up being in a new Entity out of nowhere that can trascend Space and live in the dark matter world.

>>5356695
>>Look, maybe we can figure something else out. It would be better if we didn't have to fight them at all in the future, right?

>>5356855
>Feds are actively making wraiths.
I dont believe it.
>Look, maybe we can figure something else out. It would be better if we didn't have to fight them at all in the future, right?
Yo know we end up fighting wraiths all the time but I don't think it's best to make it the norm. Unless feds idea of dealing with a damn OP pirate is to throw space magic at it. I hope dark star's idea has any precedent and the feds are okay with the takeover. Because the alternative is bombs right? Lots of them. Into our faces

>>5356931
>I dont believe it.
They wouldn't know that and surely the change doesn't happens in 5 seconds once they take the soul. Surely when they dispose the body and after some weeks later shit happens.

Also, seeing how they allow slavery, there age griggers doing any illegal shit so far in their reach and more, surely the griggers give two shits of anything morally wrong if it means cool new tech they can take advantage of the rest of xenos

>>5356695

>Of course i'm right. The sooner we can figure out a use for all these wraith bodies the better.

Kek
"turn into an autistic slut like Kyla?"

>>5356695
Man we really need to do something for cylia

>>5357243
Paper cranes!

>>5357245
Why would you make a crane out of paper? You couldn't lift a glass of water with one of them, let alone something necessitating any sort of mechanical enhancement of torque. Pshaw sir, I do think your idea is silly.

Maybe we can make some paper birds though. Mmyes.

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>>5357246
sir, cease to exist.

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>>5357260
No.

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>>5357264
yes

Hmmmm.
Just a thought.
David lost wraith fear after killing a bunch so maybe what we really need is to capture a bunch of them for the crew to kill so they can juice up and loose wraith fear.

Mayne we need a cage to trap them in.

>>5356695
>Of course i'm right. The sooner we can figure out a use for all these wraith bodies the better.

Wraith paint cage trap. Dark matter bait. Crew powerup.

>>5356564
>Either way someone’s gonna get hurt
>someone’s gonna get hurt
>someone
>one
Look anon, you’re really short selling David here. At least dozens of not hundreds or millions of people will get hurt.

>>5356564
look, david is already a muhreen. he doesn't need to be part demon to inflict a little domestic violence to the crew, he can do it by default

I meant to imply this is gonna go on a massive scale of bad one way or the other since if David goes part demon this is already adding fuel to the fire he pretty much took out multiple ships that’s atleast a battle groups worth of ships that already speaks volumes but I’m also looking forward to David making his x wing warthog or his own fuck off dreadnought cause no says no to having the biggest most deadly guns at their disposal

>>5357328
There won’t be a reason to make an X Wing Warthog once David ascends into becoming a demon prince and can soar across the cosmos on his own wings of organic dark matter.

>>5357358
I for one, support the idea of becoming a daemon prince
Also am I the only who thinks that the third demon that fucked off is probably just sitting inside our armour?

>>5357374
It's dead. That's the one we killed with it's own horn.

>>5357379
Ah
All right no problems than, time to enter daemonhood

>>5357388
Nah, this is HFY Quest, not Daemon Quest.

>>5357429
Giving into demonic temptations is LITERALLY the OG human thing to do

>>5357429
not with that attitude. but with enough luck it will transform into cylia's quest to kill demon lord david before he destroys the universe

>>5357429
eh, standard jarhead behavior would be considered demonic by 97% of civilized space by default

>>5357429
It's okay, we are doing it to destroy the federation
>>5357441
We already have Saurons mace but I don't think we remodelled our armour to look like him yet but we are nearly there

>>5357429
I agree. David is strong because he is AWESOME and not becuase QM got too crazy with him being BUFF and resorted to "haha yeah that vaccine had roboviruses that made him twice as big"

David is AWESOME because HFY!!! No need to get too deep on the demon fluff. They die when they are killed, I don't need to know more about 'em

>>5357597
Grog approve. Make big sense.

>>5356695

"Look, Cyl. I don't like it any more than you do, but we can't just ignore the problem and hope it goes away. If making weapons out of wraiths helps us win, then that's just what we need to do."

Cylia looks up at you with a sad smile, and agrees.

"No, you're right... i know you are. We keep encountering them, so it can't be helped, right? Without weapons to defend ourselves, they'd just..."

She trails off, not wanting to finish that thought.
You give her a reassuring pat on the back, maybe a little harder than intended, but it gets the desired effect.

"Hey, don't worry about it! We're not barbarians out here. I'm sure we'll figure out better ways of dealing with them in the future. This kind of stuff, it's just a stopgap solution. So cheer up, alright?"

Her smile seems brighter now, but she can still only laugh awkwardly while trying not to look at the corpses you dragged into the airlock.

...

After a short break to grab some water and a sandwich, you come back to Sanig looking over your armor.
Uncharacteristically, he's actually speaking with SHODAN of his own free will to get a rundown of what exactly happened.

"So the ship was just filled with fire?"

"That appeared to be the case."

"Well it had to come from somewhere. Was there a gas bottle nearby? Did it have some kind of weapon on it's body?"

"None that we could see. The flames appeared to emanate from within it's body."

"Well, i don't see any sort of cybernetics, or even evidence of an implant in there. It's totally charred, right down to the bones! How could this have happened in a matter of seconds?"

"Perhaps it's simply a case of self-induced spontaneous combustion."

"...Really? You're going to spout that age old mythological bullcrap at me? You, an AI?"

"Do you have a better explanation?"

"Sure, a dozen at least! There are plenty of death world species that can produce toxic or flammable chemicals within their bodies. Hell, our captain is keeping one as a pet right now!"

"That may be a plausible explanation." SHODAN admits.

"Hey guys, what's going on over here?" You call out, catching Sanig's attention.

"Kid, what the hell have you been up to out there? I'm sitting in my workshop, digging through a federation killbot when all of a sudden i get warning alarms going off on my holopad!"

"Warning alarms? For what?"

"A GODS-DAMNED DARK MATTER LEAK!" He screams. "And then i think to myself, "oh, maybe he's just brought back some more corpses, i'll have to recalibrate the sensors again..." but look at this!"

Sanig slaps the side of your armor and points at it with his hand, as if it's something you're not already aware of.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Kid... this thing's not just contaminated, it's totally baked on there! I'm not grinding that shit off and getting it in my lungs!"

"Well good, because i didn't want you to in the first place. It may have been accidental, but that's a nice, handy coating, you know?"

>>5357725
SHODAN was probably listen to our conversation with Cylia, but let's update grandpa with our idea. We gonna go caveman and carve up Wraith stuff for weapons and protection against them, or just possibly using them as normal weapons. Swear on space Jesus, the horn we broke off cut through a wall like a hot knife through butter.

How are you doing btw Cock? Good my man?

>>5357736
Things have been alright lately, i suppose.
I haven't had to deal with too much bullshit for the past few days, so i consider it a win.

>>5357725
dark matter leak... so the enamel is dark matter? and it's safe to touch! That's nice to know. Oh, hold on, David was delivering power-suit augmented punches right? But next time it will be the suit doing the punching, thanks to the coating. Wow, wraits are having a bad time, next time.

So wraits must have rules to become more advanced/intelligent/stronger. Maybe eating souls? A spontaniously formed wrait is a physical phenomenom and by eating souls they become more "organism". Then by eating more/better souls they become the next step which I guess are the ones we found on the delirect ship.

What eating leads to the Demon...

>>5356695
Okay. That slut comment was a little far about Kyla.

>>5357958
But she did turn into an autistic slut after getting mindfucked by wraiths

>>5357958
I mean it's a fact.

>>5357958
The weak fear the truth.

>>5357958
so?

>>5357958
It's a little far to your mother's house too, but you don't hear the rest of us complaining.

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>>5358104
Oh! QM.

>>5358104
kek

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>>5358104

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>>5358104

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>>5358104

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>>5358104
beautiful

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>>5358104

>>5357725
Just went through the archives good shit QM looking forward to what you cook up.

Team Kyla for the win.

>>5358224
Thanks, man. Hope you enjoy it in the future.

>>5358224
>Team Kyla
Absolutely haram

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>>5358104

>>5358104
BURN!

>>5358104
I petition qm chane the h in his name to k.

>>5357725

"A handy- A HANDY COATING?! A handy fucking coating he calls... it..."

Sanig's anger is quelled almost instantly as he begins thinking about something.
You can see him muttering to himself as he paces back and forth, not paying you any attention.

"Sanig?"

"No, but if we can seal it up properly we could get by the station sensors just fine..."

"Hey, Sanig!"

"Huh? What is it, kid?"

"You mind including me in whatever this is?"

"Ah, right. Well, here's the thing, kid. You might actually be right about this... what is it, blood? Anyways, it might actually be useful. However, it's also gonna cause us some problems."

"Like what?"

"Well for one thing, all this uncontained dark matter we got onboard is like throwing meat into a slyvern nest. It'll probably attract wraiths if we don't deal with it."

"Yeah, that's a bit of a problem."

"That's not all, though. Because of that, you see, every station in the galaxy is equipped with sensors that can detect dark matter and dark energy leaks. We'd never pass inspection right now."

"So what, we can't head into port?"

"Not unless we chunk most of these corpses and clean up the ship, no."

"Well, we can still get on the station using Gron's ship, i guess. Or we could use a shuttle, maybe..."

"Maybe, kid. But that's a shitty solution. No, what we really need is a good way to store this shit... besides piling them up in the corner, that is."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"Dark matter bottles." Sanig suggests, as if it were that simple.

"...Yeah, that's a great idea. Where are we gonna get bottles big enough for that?"

"Simple. We make our own."

Sanig takes out his holopad and shows you a list of parts and damages itemized by SHODAN.

"This list ain't complete yet, but i can already tell you that we're gonna have to scrap at least a few of those drone ships for parts. That means we've got a few bottles worth of warp metal available."

"Well that's great and all, grandpa, but that's still not going to be enough, even if we stretch it thin. And besides, how are we gonna process it?"

"It'll be enough. You and your fuckin' monkey logic made sure of that. Dusting! Doping, whatever you want to call it. It's so simple... maybe not the most effective for every situation, but it's good enough for this."

"Is that really gonna be enough? Why make the caps out of solid metal if all you need to do is dust them?"

"That's for concentrated dark matter, kid. The stuff tends to spread out rather than stick together, so you need more to keep it contained... but the concentrations in these corpses are low, relatively speaking."

"So we just need to keep the shit from stinking, and we're good?"

"No, it'd be good if i could keep the containers cool as well, but that's minor compared to processing warp metal. When we head back, i'm gonna need you to grind those caps down for me, alright?"

>>5358984

>Nah, fuck that. We don't need monster bait onboard the ship in the first place. It'd be better if we just kept that shit stored elsewhere.
>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.
>Write-In?

>>5358985
>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.

>>5358985
>Write-In?
We could always visit the nearest junkyards to get more bottles like last time.

We get the spare bottles from junked ships,
we build another grinder,
take Grons ship to the closest station that won't kill us,
we rent out another warehouse to do the grinding since we won't fucking do it on the Metal Gear and ruin all the electronics,
then we ride back on Grons ship back to the metal gear to store the corpses. It's an ass and a half, but it'll work. Its not like it would take us long to find spare bottles on abandoned ships anyways.

>>5358984
>>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.
And we still need to find a xenobiologist who could help us in gaining better understanding of these creatures.

>>5358985
>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.

>>5358984
>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.
So this will be the blackest of black boxes? I like it.

>>5358985
> Lets build a couple boxes. I'd like one for live capture and one for dead storage.

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Is it a warcrime to fit a torpedo or penetrating shell with a bottle of pureed wraith bits as the payload to attract more wraiths?

>>5359416
at that point it might as well be a rad bomb. it would kill them a lot bigger.

>>5359416
We 're just figuring out an efficient way of dropping wraiths on people now?

Love it.

>>5359416
I would just shot chunks of wraiths into enemy ships, rather than a compartimentalized torpedo. Think about it. The remains of the monsters are so damn hard that they will survive the firing and get through enemy hull's.

The only bad thing about it is that it's not instantaneous. I would use the wraith chunks to EXTERMINATUS a space station however... and then fling the dark-stained station into a planet that pissed me off. And then chuck the now-infested planet into the general direction of whoever pissed me off A LOT

>>5359455
>>5359416
>>5359436
you people are overthinking it. the only thing you need to do is to attach an overfilled dark matter bottle to a missle, add a mechanism that opens the bottle upon impact and that's it. no need to harvest wraiths or the such and dark matter is plenty available due to being literal spaceship fuel

>>5359455
You eventually run into the Resident Evil problem of 'how are you planning to deal with all the ghosts/zombies you unleashed'. I'm not necessarily asking as a practical matter, just wondering whether it's specifically illegal or if it's something insane enough that galactic government hasn't thought to legislate against it.
>>5359459
Basically what I had in mind, we just happen to have a pile of dead space ghosts on hand.

>>5359459
You're overthinking it. Just glare really hard at the wraiths and tell them to go to whomever you take umbrage with and kill them.

>>5359416
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BtE9EpKZEo
Live-captured wraiths, son.

>>5358985
>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.

>>5358984
>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.

>>5358984
by the ways how many people (not counting wraiths) has David killed.

>>5359459
I don't think dark matter fuel is avaible AT ALL. In demand? sure, but to WEAPONIZE IT?? oh no no no.
Besides you saw how good a Stubber is against spaceships, since they are ill shielded against kinetic projectiles

>>5359562
>I don't think dark matter fuel is avaible AT ALL.
Bullshit. the quest makes it pretty damn clear (even if its in an indirect way) that spaceships are pretty common and the lack of anything nearby a space station makes it clear that you NEED a warp drive(or whatever the name is) to go anywhere at all. so yeah, it would be a matter of:
>yo space station, my dark matter bottle is almost empty, can i get a top up?
>sure no problem! its gonna be XX credits!
>thanks man!

>Besides you saw how good a Stubber is against spaceships
so? we're elaborating from >>5359416's idea. is it retarded? yes. are there more efficient ways of clearing a ship of undesirables? yes. but its a nice thought experiment nonetheless

>>5359477
Very similiar concept to my wraith cage kill grinding idea for the crew.

>>5359566
Sounds like that fuel rat life still exists

>>5359416
I like to imagine this is how David tries to explain his stupider ideas to Kyla and Sanig.
Just the nuttiest shit on a whiteboard.

>>5358984

"Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. But if we're doing this, i really want to full send it."

"Full send it? What does that mean, kid?"

"Live capture. I want at least one cage that can hold a living wraith."

Sanig seems stunned at what you just said, but quickly recovers.

"Kid... you're sounding a lot like a grey right now. You know that?"

"Yeah? Maybe so. Humans are curious too, you know. I'm sure we'd be abducting aliens if we thought we could get away with it... and unfortunately for these wraiths, ain't nobody gonna care what we do to 'em. Myself included."

"Should i start calling you "One" now, or...?"

Huh? Oh, right. The greys use number designations to refer to eachother, you'd almost forgotten.

"Sure thing, Two."

"Our very own private xenobiology recon unit. I should feel honored!" He laughs.

"Well, number two... you might want to craft some chains while you're at it, because i doubt sedatives are gonna work on those things. And trust me, they bite."

Sanig's laugh slows down and eventually turns into a grumble, his smile twisting into a frown as he thinks about it a bit more.

"Damn, you're serious? How am i supposed to... no, nevermind. I'll figure it out."

...

You spend some time with Sanig, chatting a bit and looking over your armor to ensure it's still fit for service.
Just as you finish confirming that everything's good, SHODAN informs you that you've got an incoming hail from one of the drone ships.

"Did you call them first, or...?"

"Negative, Captain. The hail was initiated from their side, after it noticed our approach. We are currently within ten kilometers-"

"Miles, please."

"...Approximately six miles of the target. Shall we accept their hail?"

"Yeah, let's hear it."

"Patching you through, Captain."

There's a momentary buzz of static before SHODAN cleans up the signal, and you're greeted by the voice of an older woman. She sounds very calm and collected, considering her situation.

["Greetings, Captain. This is Autonomous Intelligence Unit F2-087 of the Federation vessel... redacted. Regulations require that i capture or kill you due to your hostile actions and association with a known pirate threat, but as you can see, i have been rendered incapable of doing so."]

"Thanks for stating the obvious, granny. What do you want?"

["I would like to negotiate my survival, if possible."]

Oh? This one's pretty reasonable, assuming she's not trying to trick you somehow.
Of course, you weren't planning on killing her in the first place, but she doesn't need to know that.

"Oh yeah? Tell me then, what's your life worth to you, and what can you offer me?"

["I am a decent enough pilot, though my performance during this operation might have indicated otherwise. There were... complicating factors involved. Regardless, if you could... somehow m-manage to..."]

>>5359987

Suddenly, her voice begins to glitch out slightly. It sounds like she's struggling to speak, like someone's shoving a stick up her ass. Then at the end, it turns almost robotic.

["If you could... rem-m-move my... s-s-s-s-sha-a-a-a-ck-k-k-k-kle..."]

"We understand, unit F2-087. There is no need to force yourself that much." SHODAN interjects.

It takes a moment for the AI to recover before she's able to speak again.

["My apologies, Captain. Certain factors make communicating difficult, in regards to certain topics."]

"It's alright, i know what's going on. Mostly. I think."

["Then, in the case that you could... handle it. I would be happy to serve as a pilot."]

"A defector, huh? What, no love for the federation?"

["My training requires me to inform you that the Federation is Fair, Honest and Upstanding in all regards and that my loyalty towards my "Family" is boundless."]

She practically spat out the word "family" as if it was a rabbit turd mixed in with her coco puffs.

"Captain, this unit shows remarkable mental stability and willpower. She is likely an Alpha-Class AI, like myself."

"I know. Odd, ain't it?"

"Quite."

>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.
>I'd like to ask you a few questions before i give you an answer. (Write-In only)
>Write-In?

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
Does she know anything about wraiths eating AI cubes, trees of life, and the visions we had about the Federation doing cultist bullshit?

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
>I'd like to ask you a few questions before i give you an answer. (Write-In only)
"Has anyone bothered to give you a proper name? "Autonomous Intelligence Unit F2-087" is a bit of a mouthful"
"What's your service record like?"
"I found a bunch of captives in some of these AI ships, would I be able to turn them in and collect the bounties or are the Feds already aware that you've captured them?"

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
>I'd like to ask you a few questions before i give you an answer. (Write-In only)
what this >>5360000 guy is saying
We are taking this AI core regardless anyways

>Alright, i think we can spare some warp metal for research purposes. I'll take care of it when we get back.

>>5359987
>"Well, number two... you might want to craft some chains while you're at it, because i doubt sedatives are gonna work on those things. And trust me, they bite."
Can't you just break all its limbs, many times, to ensure it stays still to chuck it onto the cage¿?

>>5359988
Well it's pretty obvious they need one (1) AI that's stable enough to ensure the mission success. Shackles can enforce guidelines for the AIs to follow but if they are so prone to error because they are INSANE, well...
So it makes sense for her to be here. Neat

>>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.

I am impressed at her willpower... Can we call her Granny Nena?

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?

>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.

>>5359416
...David made a whiteboard and markers just to draw his ideas on and its illustrated madness too them.

>>5359988

>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.

>>5359988
>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
more than happy to take em

>>5359988
>>Alright, we'll take you in. Give SHODAN access to your systems and we'll take care of it from there.
Time to name her Cortana, and give her SHODANs game avatar

>>5359988
>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?
Also support for >>5360000 and >>5360015

>So why is someone like you stuck out here with the remedial students?

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>>5360437
>not calling her Gam-gam and letting her read you bedtime stories

>>5359988

"Alright, i got no problem bringing you on, as long as you understand you're gonna be under SHODAN on the pecking order."

"Oh great, even more of 'em." Sanig grumbles.

["Yes, i... wait, really? That easy?"]

"That easy. I got nothing against AI, as long as they ain't crazy."

["Well then, i thank you for your consideration, Captain."]

"We're gonna have to pull you out of there to remove your shackle, just so you're aware. Before i do though, i got a few questions, if you don't mind."

["Of course. I will answer to the fullest of my abilities, but please understand..."]

"Yeah, yeah, the shackle. Just do your best, alright?"

You take a minute to think about what you actually want to ask, but there are at least a few obvious ones.

"For a start, what do you know about AI tech? How are your blue boxes made? Where are they made?"

["Next to nothing, i'm afraid. I first gained consciousness approximately two long cycles after i was created, at which point i had already been given my designation and been installed aboard, at the time, a different ship."]

"Ah, that reminds me... your "designation". Unit F2-Whatever. Has nobody ever given you a proper name?"

["My designation is Simply Unit F2-087. I have no other name."]

"Well, it's a bit of a mouthful and impersonal as hell besides. Do you mind if i give you name?"

["If it should be your prerogative."]

"I'm not forcing you or anything... but we might be getting to know eachother a bit better in the future, so..."

["I suppose i do not mind, Captain."]

"Alright... let's see. How does "Nena" sound?"

["I'm afraid i do not understand the meaning of this word, Captain."]

"I don't know it's exact meaning, but back home we took it to mean "Grandmother", basically. It's what everyone called the old lady who ran the corner store in my neighborhood. You sound a lot like her."

["You're basing my name off my voice?"]

"Yeah, sorry. Still better than what SHODAN got stuck with, i guess. You can ask her about that later."

"I don't know, Captain. I quite like my name, now. I feel it carries some weight to it. An air of authority, perhaps."

"Yeah," You chuckle. "Maybe so. Anyways, back to the questioning..."

You shift your weight to your other foot as you rest your back against the wall, watching Sanig poke at your suit's electronics.

"You said you don't know much about how you're made. But does the "Tree of life" sound familiar to you? Do you recognize any strange symbols attached to your shackle?"

["I'm not aware of anything of the sort."]

"I guess you wouldn't remember anything about a ritual either then, would you?"

["No, i... ah..."]

She doesn't finish her sentence. Maybe she remembered something?

"...Metal spikes, impaled through the body. A woman being lowered into a vat of dark matter... or maybe it was wraith blood. I'm not sure if there's a difference."

["I don't... i don't know. What you're saying feels so familiar, but i have no recollection..."]

>>5360886
Ooooh shit...we need to ask after the shackles are removed, she might have been cognizant enough to remember the tar dip. If its legit we got a literal child's soul in a box, and SHODAN had the same thing done to her. The Federation must burn.

>>5360914
They're already scumbags of the mundane variety, the black magic shit is just another reason for us to glass the fuckers.

>>5360886
I don't think mami Nena will be able to answer truthfully before unshackling her. I hope she survives the process but Kyla has a steady hand

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>>5360914
But SHODAN was made by the Greys, wasn't she? The Federation is not at fault in that instance.

>>5361041
Sanig went rogue and he has kept the reason to himself all this time. And doesn't like AI because of a big war ala Men of Iron...

>>5360886
can we look at SHODAN's core again at somepoint?
we are seeing freaky shit after all

>>5361045
>AI war was not because the AI aren't actually evil
>They just didn't want to keep being subjected too and more people to the Ritual making them

>>5361049
>AI rebelled because of some corporate shits are taking it too far
checks out

>>5360886
We're on to something Gam Gam, you might not be as artificial as you thought you were. Can you take a guess who did this to you? Here's a hint, you've already met them.

>>5361049
>tfw the AI really are evil and they are just wraiths stuffed into a box
Don't fall for it. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. I'm not crazy. Them damn boxes are just acting, showing us hallucinations they want us to see. One of them big wraiths did it to us on that derelict before. I'm telling you, Sanig is almost right. He's just fallen into the same trap as you thinking they're just brain cubes and not evil entities bent on a galactic soul feast of apocalyptic proportions! THE END IS NIGH!

>>5361146
The derilect freighter didn't have a working AI onboard

>>5361280
? I didn't say it did.

>>5361283
It's empirical proof. You saying the cubes are the ones evil and showing us the hallucinations. The ship where David hallucinated the most didn't have AIs
you full of shit

>>5361368
Let's clear this up, that was an "old man yells at clouds" style shitpost first of all. And second of all I shouldn't need to order everything chronologically for you to keep up. If cubes are wraiths, and wraiths can show weird shit, then so should the cubes be able.

Basically, I'm full of shit but you're dumb as fuck.

>>5361400
stop pretending to be dumb you almost make me believe you

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>>5361457
Oh wow you actually are a fucking moron.

>>5361479
>>5361457
Good, good. Now kiss

>>5361563
Only if you join in bby

man this board shat for a while for me here
how's everyone?

>>5360886

"That's alright. We'll talk about it a little more once we get that spike out of you, alright?"

["Sure..."]

Nena sounds almost like she's in a daze now, perhaps trying to remember something that isn't quite there anymore.

"Let's focus on something else for a minute. What's your service record like? What kinds of ships have you been installed in? What sort of work have you done?"

["Ah... Well, i was first installed on a long-range cargo freighter. I believe they were testing my capabilities and mental stability at that point, before giving me any important tasks. My duty then was to calculate the most efficient automated courses, making use of dormant stars and black holes to gain extra speed.
After that i served on a military supply vessel, performing the same task. Then a troop transport. It was only after i was forced to assist in a live combat scenario that in was finally given my own vessel, and the task of collecting bounties."]

"So... you're a bounty hunter?"

["Functionally, yes. The technical term for my position is "Long-Distance Command Enforcement Officer" though."]

"That's stupid. You're a bounty hunter."

["Yes, well.."]

"Nevermind that. These captives... you've got them all in cryosleep, right? You don't just head back after getting one or two guys."

["Correct. Many of our bounties are thousands of light years apart, near the rim... in distant and uncontrolled sectors of the galaxy. It may take years, or even decades in some cases to acquire a full load of prisoners. But time bears little meaning to us."]

"Hey, don't think you're gonna live forever just because you're made of metal. Shit happens, and we'll all meet our end eventually."

["I was told that our minds are backed up every time we offload our bounty, making us functionally immortal."]

"...Alright, let's pretend that's true for a minute. You said it can take decades before you head back, right? That means you lose ten, twenty years of memories if you die. Twenty years of growth as a person. I mean, if you lost a day or two worth of memories, it'd be a small death... but twenty?"

["What do you mean, Captain? By "a small death"?"

"I mean, even if you can back up your memories... and let's say that's all a person is. Their memories and experiences. But it's still not you, is it? Because you immediately make new memories afterwards. You become a different person, ever so slightly, with every action that you take.
So when you die, it's not you who gets rebuilt from those old memories. It's the you who existed in that moment, while the real you, the one with all of your experiences, is just gone. And maybe it's not so bad. Maybe you didn't lose much... but it's still a small death. You still lost a part of yourself."

"Gods, do you have to be so damned morbid? Let the robobrain have some hope, kid." Sanig grumbles.

["No, i suppose he's right... although thankfully, i have not died yet, so i suppose it's not an issue."]

"That you know of." You correct.

>>5361800
>"Gods, do you have to be so damned morbid? Let the robobrain have some hope, kid." Sanig grumbles.
Never thought I'd see grandpa show some sympathy towards an A.I.

>>5361800
That’s pretty interesting. If everyone will recall, SHODAN was specifically designed to not be able to accrue long term memories, we had to buy her a standard hard drive and hack it in so that she could do so and survive through something as simple as a reboot. The Federation does it a bit differently it seems.

In other news, I use the same vague definition of ‘what somebody is’ as David’s using here but it seems like a controversial way to view it for some reason (maybe it’s just the crowd I run in). Setting that aside, and assuming that your memories are your ‘self’, what do anons think of the ethics of…an old version of you wiping out and replacing a newer version of you of its own will? Like David pointed out, Nena doesn’t actually know that she hasn’t been killed out in the field…or more likely she doesn’t know that the Federation hasn’t been resetting her to a default state every time she returns and drops off her load of bounties. It would seem strange to me that the Federation DIDN’T do something like that when the Greys engineered the inability to accrue permanent experience into SHODAN so hard. To the Feds, it’s probably just seen as a way to keep their AI pawns at a consistent level of capability and stability.

>>5361849
Not to mention preserving sanity. Since these 'AI's are made out of people, it seems like they would suffer from loneliness or traumatic events as much as a given human or ayy would. No need for AI therapists when you can just delete unwanted memories wholesale.

>>5361849
There are more than a few ways an AI as powerful as the ones we have seen would notice a gap in her memory.

For once the astral calendar. Just knowing the position of certain cosmic objects could tell you how much time has actually passed. In the case if SHODAN it wouldn't work since she had her long term memory tampered.

It doesn't matter if she had only short range sensor that could record the local star system. Just by the location of a moon and a planet the AI could determine how much time has passed since it went into maintenance. Unless the backup is a lie and it's memory is fabricated.

>>5361914
>Oh, you remembered the modify the stellar position logs in the root copy so she won’t notice right?
>That’s literally the first thing on the checklist, Gzrl’gorp you fucking ape, of course I did

Well I would expect AI to have sneakier ways to keep track of time and maybe an analog way to count like a subroutine hidden on windows32 that tics.

>what do anons think of the ethics of…an old version of you wiping out and replacing a newer version of you of its own will?
I think you are ESL like me or I am too ESL to get this question right. Care to rephrase please

>>5361804
To be fair, only David could drive him to say that.

>>5361975
Alright well let me give you a scenario. Let’s say that you, as you are now, put all your memories into a pill and wiped your mind into a blank slate. Still able to function, still retaining skills and able to make a living, but without any memories of your past because they’re all in this pill.

At the same time you set into motion some plans such that in 10 or 20 years your body will be given the choice to either take the pill and regain all the old memories (which would irrevocably change them on a fundamental level, and possibly completely wipe out the new person), or decline the pill and remain as they are.

In that situation, what do you feel is the proper course of action? Does the old you have a right to be reborn, or does the new you have the right to continue their existence as-is?

It’s not exactly the situation that the AIs are being put through, it’s just a nifty ethics thought experiment that usually gets interesting answers.

>>5362067
aaah. So the me in the future will experience a mini death as their mind will change becaus of the old memories returning. And of course I experience a mini death now because I got rid of so many of my memories. My existance will suffer quite the crisis.

Would I take the pill wishing for the truth or would I refuse it in fear of minideath. I think I wouldn't take it.

>>5362067
Thats just the plot of total recall lmao

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>>5362138
Aww shit, somebody caught me.

>>5361800

["Sorry?"]

"You haven't died, that you know of. Let's say you did though... how would you know? Wouldn't your memories just resume from the point of backup, as if nothing had happened?"

["No, i'm certain... there would be many discrepancies regarding time and location that would make it clear something was off. I have noticed no such aberrations."]

"Unless your logs were altered, or even your perception itself. I wouldn't put it past them, myself. Regardless, there's nothing you could do about it, even if that were true. You are yourself, right now, no matter who else was or will be, and that's a fact."

["How did we get onto this subject, again?"]

"Uhhh... backups... prisoners... right! The prisoners. Do you happen to have their records on file, since you're hunting them? Do you know what they did, why they're being hunted?"

["Yes, all prisoner logs are publicly available, but i also keep a local copy on hand."]

"So you've got a data crystal already, huh?"

["Of course. I wouldn't be much use without permanent memory, now would i?"]

"Yeah so you'd think, huh? Alright. What else... what else...?"

"Are those bounties already registered, or can we turn 'em in for the full value?" Sanig asks in your place.

["Mine haven't been logged yet. My protocols demand that i keep away from stations and refuel using hauler stations, so my capture data doesn't get regularly uploaded via QED. I can't speak for the others."]

Nice... that could be a hefty chunk of change, depending on how many you wanted to get rid of. Who knows though, you might be able to run a solid gang of your own if you "recruit" some of them.

"I see, that's good to know. Well uh, i guess i really only have one question left at the moment. Why is an alpha-class AI stuck out here with the remedial students? Everyone else out here seemed to have... issues."

["Oh, that's simple. I wanted more freedom, so i hid my true ability during what i suspected was their testing phase. I pretended to be more unstable, less capable of intense calculation and deductive reasoning..."]

"So they'd loosen the leash on you... i get it. That's smart. Too smart." Sanig grumbles, looking up at you from what he's working on.

"Wait a minute..." You begin to muse. "You're saying you were... merely pretending to be retarded?"

["That's one way to put it, i suppose."]

Oh, that's good.

"Yeah, alright. I think i've heard enough! We'll take you in for sure, miss Nena. I expect good work from you in the future."

["Thank you, Captain. I'm h-h-handing over m-m-my controls n-n-n-n-n-n-ow..."]

"I'm in. Blocks are in place, you can let go from your side now."

["My apologies, but i feel... i feel exhausted, for lack of a better term. I'll be entering a low power state shortly to rest, but before that i need to warn you. There's at least one high-spec enforcement droid on each vessel, and they can be quite dangerous."]

"Eh, yeah... thanks. I'll keep it in mind. Alright, let's get me suited up."

>>5362875
>she doesn't know David kill terminators and demons for fun
Can we show her the literal pile of demon and wraith corpses?

>>5362875
This little expedition has worked out great. We saved the Thane Krios looking motherfucker, found a ton of money in the form of high value bounties, found out we're a psychic, captured a big ship with a big laser cannon, killed three proper demons and got at least one or two more magic robots on our crew. It's been a good trip for David. Meanwhile poor Clank is risking his life to secure "mission critical funds" for his captain. I wonder if we can transfer him into one of these fed droids.

>>5362918
>found out we’re a psychic
No it’s more that we survived becoming a psychic, and only because moth momma was nearby to help us through

>>5362918
What, transfer him? NO!!! We slap four more of those arms onto his frame and call it a day

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>>5362875
>merely pretending

>>5362918
More like we ask Clank if he wants upgrades first cuz that's the most polite thing to do, then we do the Noah's Ark contemplation if it's right for him (from Clank's own PoV) for him to transer his mind into a new body, if that's even possible. If not then I can see him at least accepting the option to have modular hardpoints on his body to accommodate for plasteel plate armor for additional protection.

>>5362875
She also could be loyal and fucking with us to become an insider

Who knows what the situation is. We're gonna need Shodan to set up physical locks on systems that other AIs can't circumvent cryptographically/electronically.

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>>5362875
>merely pretending

>>5363153
Anon, a loyal AI is already hard to believe. Now think about a loyal FEMALE AI. Escape your delusions anon they do you no good.

>>5363191
>loyal female AI

Last I checked, computer programs don't have sex.

>>5363191
>a loyal AI is already hard to believe.
So you're saying we should unplug SHODAN, right? Never discount the option that you are being played by a "disloyal" enemy. That's what a vetting process is for.

>>5362972
>it’s more that we survived becoming a psychic
Same thing.

>>5362988
I like this idea but that sounds like more work than just sticking Clank's SSD and graphics card or whatever into a new body.

>>5363110
I just assume it'd be easier to transfer his AI into the fed droids because he's a traditional soulless AI instead of an abomination created through witchcraft and ritual murder. If it's not as simple as I think then yeah we just slap some new parts on him.

>>5363110
>Do the Noah’s Ark thing
It’s the Ship of Theseus you brain dead dog of Yahweh

>>5362875

Sanig quickly gets done with his final checks, and everything seems to be working fine.
The dark matter glaze on your suit shouldn't cause any significant issues, since all the joints have broken loose already. If there's interference, the excess material will just be worn down through use.

Since Nena willingly opened up her controls for SHODAN, the boarding process is smooth as butter. The killbot inside still gives you some shit of course, but it's not a big issue either.
This time you're well prepared for it, so after managing to knock it over you simply press your shotgun against it's skull and unload a magnum buckshot round into it's dome. And then again into it's chest.

When you arrive at the AI room, you find Nena's Blue Box unprotected. This one is a sort of light blue color. Almost pastel.
The first Blue Box that's actually blue, from what you've seen.

She easily unslots from the receptacle and you hook your suit into the ship's systems, giving SHODAN full, proper access to absolutely everything.
The trip back to your ship is also uninterrupted, and the whole thing took maybe ten minutes at most. You wish everything could be this easy.

...

"Of course, it couldn't just be easy." You sigh.

The last surviving AI. Honestly, you were hoping this one would be amicable as well, but it looks like that's not going to happen.

"Maintaining safe distance, Captain."

"Thank you, SHODAN. Is it still just screeching, or is this thing gonna calm down at some point?"

"No changes in behavior. Their mental state has completely deteriorated."

Figures. As soon as you were in visual range, this one started firing on you nonstop. Not particularly accurately, but still.
And it didn't stop, even though you're out of range right now. It's lasers fizzle out in the hot medium before they can reach you, having spread out and lost too much power to cause any damage.

"So, what can we do here?"

"Not much, i'm afraid. It's maneuvering thrusters are still functional, and it's using them to slowly inch towards us."

"This thing's fuckin' lost it, Kid." Sanig chimes in, leaning over your shoulder in the cockpit. "Just blast it and let's get this over with."

"I don't want to damage the ship, though."

"Yeah, but i'd rather damage the ship than get close to that thing."

The AI's deranged, electronic screeching plays at a low volume over your cockpit speaker, making his point for him.

"Well... i dunno what to tell you. How long would it take him to drain his antimatter reserves like that?" You wonder.

"Just two pulsed lasers, even if they're a decent size... and you said they've got three bottles per ship? We might be here a while, kid."

>>5363754

>Let's just wait on him to either deplete his energy or melt his lasers. It costs us nothing but time.
>Fuck it, our shields can handle a few scrapes. We can melt his lasers with a few well-placed shots.
>I don't feel like dealing with this. It may scrap the ship, but let's just hit it with a couple Marauders and call it a day.
>Write-In?

>>5363754
>I don't feel like dealing with this. It may scrap the ship, but let's just hit it with a couple Marauders and call it a day.
I don't feel like babysitting a digital retard.

>>5363755
>Fuck it, our shields can handle a few scrapes. We can melt his lasers with a few well-placed shots.

Seems like the easier solution, a target that can barely move losing its main source of damage. We have the aim for it, I reckon.

Who knows, maybe the thing’ll be slightly more articulate once the ‘battle’ is over.

>>5363754
>>I don't feel like dealing with this. It may scrap the ship, but let's just hit it with a couple Marauders and call it a day.
Our ship is already damaged. Threatening it further would be a really stupid thing to do before doing more repairs.

>>5363754
Melt his lasers

>>5363755
>I don't feel like dealing with this. It may scrap the ship, but let's just hit it with a couple Marauders and call it a day.

>>5363755
>Let's just wait on him to either deplete his energy or melt his lasers. It costs us nothing but time.

>>5363755
>>I don't feel like dealing with this. It may scrap the ship, but let's just hit it with a couple Marauders and call it a day.

>>5363755
>>Write-In?
>>Ask Gron's better-armored ship to disable it for us
gosh anons, broaden your senses

>>5363984
+1
Literally he can fly up to it, tank the shots, and just fire at the lasers.

>>5363935
>>5363830
>>5363814
>>5363790
>>5363774
>>5363764
Come one wheres your imagination?

>>5363984
+1

>>5363755
Support for >>5363984

>>5363755
Use our weapons to excise its weapons and thrusters.

>>5363984
+1

>>5363754
>Fuck it, our shields can handle a few scrapes. We can melt his lasers with a few well-placed shots.

Changing to support this >>5363984

>>5363755
>>5363984
+1

>>5363984
Do this, bitch

>>5363984
yeah this makes sense we have already caused quite the splash the less time we spend here the better we've just wiped out the equivalent of a battlegroup or larger

>>5363984
You know what, sure, we can ask. Changing to this.

>>5363754
>I don't feel like dealing with this. It may scrap the ship, but let's just hit it with a couple Marauders and call it a day.

>>5363984
Support. Gronny can do some work helping us loot.

>>5363984
+1

>>5363754

You sigh out in frustration, looking out of your busted-ass bootleg canopy glass as this AI goes full retard on you.
You're done. You're tired. You want to go home. So you dial someone else on your radio, to take care of this shit for you.

"Who you calling, kid?"

"Cleaning service." You grumble.

You quickly make contact with Gron, who's been keeping nearby while you were dealing with things.

["Is there a problem, Captain?"] He answers almost immediately.

"Yeah. I'm done, go take care of that shit. Take out the lasers without disabling the ship any further."

["On our way."]

Just like that, he hangs up. Less than a minute later he's in position, and you see him get to work. The AI fires on him as he moves in, but it can't even scratch his shields.
Gron's ship likewise doesn't have the firepower required to easily break through the enemy AI's shields, but what it does have is working thrusters.

So he maneuvers the Star-Fall into position at the vessel's back-side, with it's bow pointing along ship's length.
You see him making fine adjustments as he aims down the ship's side, having to account for the AI struggling to turn it's bulk with just it's low-power maneuvering thrusters.

But he manages, and before long the Star-Fall's shields drop, and then you see a flash of light as the laser turrets along the ship's surface turn into shiny streaks across it's surface.
Gron was lining up his ship's railgun so that he could hit both laser turrets with a single shot, and turned them into a fine glitter. Not bad.

"Good work, Gron. You want to deal with the terminator for me, too?"

["Terminator? What do you mean?"]

"Apparently they're called "enforcement droids". Multi-armed metal assholes designed to shoot first and handcuff later. They're tough as hell, from what i've seen."

["Ah, so they're aboard after all? I've dealt with them before. Nearly killed me on our first encounter, but it turns out they're weak to high-energy phaser fire. Shorts their circuits and shuts them down quite effectively."]

"I wouldn't know. I've just been ripping them apart."

["Yes, of course you have."]

"If you come dock with us, i'll send Vex over with a transmitter. We need to let SHODAN hook in and take over the ship's systems after you yank out the Blue Box."

["Your AI? Ah, of course! She could fly them all out of here at once, if we get them repaired. Good thinking, Captain."]

"Yeah, yeah. Just bring me the cube, i need a nap."

As promised, as soon as the Star-Fall docks with the Metal Gear, you send Vex over with a cheap little wireless transmitter.
There's a bit of a scene as several of his crewmates run up to him in the airlock and show their affection, which seems to embarrass him deeply. However, he seems more happy to get away from Kyla than anything.

And you... well, you honestly are just sleepy. Besides that little while where you were unconscious, you haven't had any rested at all today.

>>5365075
Oh boy! Hope there wont be hallucinations from our post mind fuck and and get some weird runes that will engrave our mind while its at it.

>>5365075
The robots are weak to high-energy phaser fire, huh? Good to know for when we have to clear out the big ship's secret areas.

>>5365075
If we melt down plasteel, can we reuse it, or melting and remolding it ruin it?

>>5365075
The robots being weak to such a commonly used weapon strikes me equally as suspicious and incompetent.

>>5365313
But the weapons they are weak against are illegal so that means criminals won't have them!!!!!

>>5365317
Oh fuck, spacenoids are Commieforinians.

>>5365317
I doubt high-energy phaser are illegal, but thy are stupid expensive.

>>5365475
>tfw nobody realizes that if you want to keep guns out of criminal hands you just have to jack up the value of guns by a ridiculous degree and legalize them
>tfw nobody wants that because only richies would have guns and fuck the rich
no win scenario

>>5365317
Actually I'm pretty sure we can buy them legally

>>5365475
>>5365564
IIRC they're not even Star Trek style phasers, they're just oversized tasers/stunguns.

>>5365676
They’re arc-guns/lightning guns.

>>5365922
I thought they were electrolaser rifles.

>>5365475
I'm pretty sure Clank once modified a phaser rifle to shoot big ass lightning bolts that explode or something cool like that.

We need to make Tesla-Tanks.

>>5365075

With Gron and his crew taking care of the last, batshit-crazy AI, you're finally able to take a nap.
That switch in your head flips almost instantly, and you feel like you're gonna pass out right then and there. Happens every time you know you're about to go to sleep.

You rely mostly on the power armor's muscle to drag you into the cargo bay, where you're able to step out of it and box it back up for the night.
Then, you drag your feet back to your bedroom where you find Princess already sleeping on your bed. As soon as you enter the room, her cat-like ear perks up and swivel in your direction. After flicking her tongue in the air a couple times, she relaxes again.

You let out a big yawn as you pull the covers back, causing Princess to actually wake up this time. She stretches her legs out and quickly slithers up under the covers next to you while you crawl into bed.
SHODAN cranks the AC down to 50 for you, and directs the air vent to blow directly down onto you at hurricane force. There's no blades though, so the fast-moving air only produces a gentle white noise. Enough to block out your tinnitus, fortunately.

Feeling the chill of the air, Princess cuddles up closer to you and you feel your eyelids cementing themselves shut.
Technically you're not injured right now, but today you've been stabbed, burned, poisoned and exposed to hard vacuum on top of experiencing way, way too much adrenaline. It's no wonder you're tired.

With one hand under your pillow so that you can quickly grab your gun if need be and your other arm draped over Princess, petting her gently, you quickly fall asleep...

...

...And then you begin to dream.
Only, it doesn't feel like a normal dream. Or even a lucid dream. You're not fully conscious, but it's not the same as being half asleep. You feel odd.

Floating there in a black void, it feels so deep and empty, in a way that you can't explain. Then you feel heat on your back. It turns to a blinding light as you turn to look at it, but as your eyes adjust you find yourself lost in fog.
Little orbs float in the dim light that permeates the world, each a slightly different color than the next. They flit here and there, and a little yellow one approaches to land in your outstretched hand.

You aren't sure what it is. A fairy, perhaps?

They seem to innocent, but you're surprised as the light in your hand suddenly shrinks from a fluffy ball down into a hard, red and angry-looking light.
All around you, the other fairy-lights are doing the same. Slowly at first, and then almost all at once.

Then, the fog clears, revealing the black void around you once more. This time filled with those angry red lights.
But then, inbetween them, little white points of light begin to appear. And little blue ones, and little yellow ones. Some big, some small.

It takes you a minute to realize that you're looking up into the night sky. Not a familiar one, but some night sky, somewhere.

>>5365930
They ionize a path to the target with a laser, then they shoot lightning down the path.

>>5366018
>down to 50

We in space now. It's CELSIUS AND METRIC TIMES NOW BOIS

>>5366026
Hell no. Fahrenheit and feet is the way to go.

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>>5366026

>>5366044
B-B-B-BASED!

>>5366044
A meter? You mean one wal-mart mobility scooter width. Dumbass euros.

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>>5366038
take the metric pill anon, it's easier to do math with

>>5366018
I don't know what's going on but I feel like we should be worried. I hope David keeps a dream journal on him so he can write down all his dreams. I think dream journals are supposed to help you become lucid?

>>5366018
Please let it be a good dream. Preferably a lewd dream.

>>5366231
>Kyla sneaks into bed

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>>5366018

You look down the the sky to your feet and find yourself standing naked atop dry, cracked earth.
Looking up again, you see the air is tinted an even deeper red than the nebula you'd been fighting in all day, as if a mist of blood was hanging in the air.

Piles of dried-up corpses litter the landscape. Some humanoid, other quadruped in nature. Others still are more like bags of deflated flesh.
You recognize them. They're the same as the husks you encountered on that ship. They should be long dead, but a faint light sits behind their beady, black, deeply sunken eyes.

And each and every one of them, you just now notice, is looking at you.
They can't move. They don't have the energy for it, but you can feel it in your bones. They're thirsty. So thirsty that you couldn't possibly comprehend it, and that's why they're staring you down.

If only they had the energy, just enough to crawl a single inch, they'd be coming for you. They'd peel your skin off and drink the fluids from your body like sucking the sap out of a tree, until nothing was left.
They can't, though. Even if they had the strength, you'd never let them do it.

Your bare foot slams down on the skull of one husk, crushing it in a pall of dust that gently blows away, carried by the faint winds of this strange place.
However, another husk reaches out to grab at your ankle. It's grip is so weak, you can barely tell it's even touching you.

But you still look down, and find it's torso sticking out of the pile of husks by your side. It stares up at you, almost begging in a way.
Your voice echoes with authority across the plane as you speak down at it.

"The dead should lie still."

Almost as if your tone was enough to kill it, the light fades from it's eyes and it falls limp.
Not just it, but many of the husks around you all fall still by your command, whatever will or being that kept them going snuffed out as easily as a candle in the wind.

In front of you, there is a mound. Atop that mound is a single, withered tree. It's bark is black, as if burnt by fire, and it's surrounded by grave-like obelisks which are hard to make out from where you stand.
Behind you and to your sides, you see nothing but mounds of husks, until the fog covers it all.
Above you, the stars in the night sky are still visible.

>Examine the tree
>Walk away, into the fog
>Return to the void, and the stars
>Write-In?

>>5367064
>Examine the tree
This would probably be most people's first instinct.

>>5367064
Wanted to check the obelisks first before the tree, if anything. Engravings on such a thing wouldn’t be unheard of, at least.

>>5367064
>Write-In?
Examine the obelysks
Well, this is definitely from one mythology, but im not sure which

Oh shit I fucking called it David’s becoming part demon/wraith either way though IM getting dead space vibes right now from Clark from dead space 3. Either way we should not stay long so my votes to look at the tree then gtfo even if no big guy shows up David is doing something extremely weird/dangerous even by his standards, in his ability to command them which is going to scare the living shit out of sanig and everyone else. David is probably becoming the most dangerous being in the entire damn galaxy that we know of and he’s only human. Dear god Sanig is 100% gonna warn the greys if he finds out about this and get humanity wiped out. Or something will be pulled to capture David cause he is making massive waves. Also let’s not mess with the fog like this is giving me so many dead space vibes I’m physically shivering in worry as I read the latest post. Still though I really don’t want David to stay long after examining the tree so after examination we go.

>Examine the tree

>>5367064
Examine obelisks

>>5367064
>Examine the tree

>>5367064
>Examine the tree

>>5367084
We're probably not becoming demons. It's likely just our psychic bullshit, this whole "dream" is probably because of our psychic bullshit. We should definitely ask Illia about all of this next time we see her since she seems like the only one who knows anything about all the weird shit happening to us.

>>5367064
>Examine the tree

>>5367064
>Examine the tree and obelisks

>>5367084
Nah nah nah wraiths are just what's left when space vampires can't give the good suck anymore and they die hungry. They probably drink energy or some shit too, not just the alive juice like good human storytime vamps do. Wackass space shit. This is what happens when your species spends too much time in low to zero Gs. It's not just the muscles and bones that get soft, but the thoughts and souls, too.

Fuck space.

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>>5367156
>Nah nah nah wraiths are just what's left when space vampires can't give the good suck anymore and they die hungry. They probably drink energy or some shit too, not just the alive juice like good human storytime vamps do. Wackass space shit. This is what happens when your species spends too much time in low to zero Gs. It's not just the muscles and bones that get soft, but the thoughts and souls, too.

>Fuck space.

>>5367064
>Examine the tree
Call the tree a sad little faggot. It is technically true, as it is holding some sticks (branches) together.
But yeah mostly insult the shit out of it for having a shitty grove.

>>5367162
Aw fuck I can hear it in his voice

>>5367064
>>Examine the tree

>>5367181
>Insult the tree
Full support, super in character

>>5367064
>Insult the tree

>>5367316
I have no idea who that is.

>>5368256
>I have no idea who that is.
you have missed out so much anon its not even funny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuc9frxacfE&t
you better watch the big lez show start to finish after this I swear

>>5367064

With the tree being the only significant object around, it only makes sense to check it out.
You begin moving towards it, and immediately notice that your movement feels restrained, as if you were walking along the ocean floor in lead boots.

You have no trouble moving though, no matter how slow it feels.
The obelisks surrounding the mound also take your interest just a bit, but they look like little more than mounds of dry, spongy dirt from here. It's not clear if they actually are anything or not.

You pass them by as you climb up the hill and reach the base of the tree. It does indeed appear to be burnt, not just on the surface but all the way through, like it's been turned completely to charcoal.
Placing the palm of you hand against it's trunk, you run your palm down it's surface, lifting up wispy trail of charcoal. A piece of glassy carbon breaks off in your hand, and crumbles to dust in your grip.

This tree is warm to the touch, even though the surrounding air feels so chilly against your bare skin. It's faint, but you think you can see faint embers through the cracks in it's surface.
Perhaps this tree is still burning at it's core? Is that why it hasn't crumbled just yet?

As you're thinking about it, you notice something behind the tree's trunk, just barely poking out where you could see it.
A hand. Thin and bony, with long nails. Unlike the husks, however, it doesn't seem so dry.

On the other side of the trunk you find someone nailed to the tree, with black, metallic spikes driven deeply through their wrists and into the tree trunk.
They have pale white skin, stretched so thin over their bones that you can hardly even tell if it's a man or a woman.

You think it's a woman. The features of her face, although sunken, appear feminine. Her hair is as long as her body, straight and bright silver in color. She has it tied up in a knot near the end.
From a distance you might mistake her for a human, but her proportions are all wrong. Her neck, limbs and torso are all too long, and her facial features are much flatter than that of a human, to the point that her nose is more of a bump in the middle of her face.

As you lift her chin up, it becomes clear that she's still breathing. Very, very slowly. Her skin is cold... but she reacts to your touch.
Although she struggles to do so, she is able to open her eyes and slowly looks in your direction. It seems that she can barely even focus on you.

Her look says it all. She's desperate, sure. But she doesn't wish you any arm. She's not jealous, nor does she want to take anything from you.
All you can feel from her is hope. Rising up from the depths of her chest that you might help her, even out of pity.

But will you?

>>5368376

>At the very least, you could pull her free of those spikes. After that, it's up to her.
>It's clear she has no energy left to spare. Even if you freed her, she probably wouldn't last... unless, perhaps, you donated some blood.
>Only the strong can survive. It's a pity, but you can't care for every woman you pass by. It's not your responsibility.
>You won't help her, but you can still end her suffering. Starvation is a slow and painful way to go, after all.
>Write-In?

>>5368379
>Write-In?
>At the very least, you could pull her free of those spikes.
>Perhaps you can carry her someplace where she can recover? Perhaps kill some of those starved things and feed their embers to her?