”My lord, I would like to share you our progress on the life machine.”
“Continue.”
”As you know, our primary goal was to learn everything we can about the machine's miraculous properties and, hopefully, reverse engineer it ourselves. Unfortunately, it is way too complicated and advanced for us to make any more them. The machine is essentially the absolute peak and end-point of an entire branch of science that we have zero background or understanding in- coming from a totally foreign culture and science base. It's a FOES- Feat of Extraordinary Science. Totally unrepeatable, at least for us. It'd be like dropping the Hegemony's most advanced AI cores on a pre-computer planet and expecting them to build functioning AIs out of it.”
“I see. But we can operate it?”
”On that front, I bring good news my Lord. The machine has two modes- a default mode where it heals and creatively “improves” on any living thing placed inside of the machine, restoring youth and healing damage. We already know of this mode from Jale Berax. Alavis predicts that the Aristocrats use this to heal and keep young their favorite pets and slaves- this way anything placed inside remains the same creature fundamentally, but is restored and rejuvenated. The second mode-”
“Brings the dead back to life?”
”Erhm, not exactly, my Rulership. Not that I would ever correct his Majesty...”
“But it can do that?”
”Yes. Cijan was a bit of a special case though. The machine's second ability allows it to transform one living thing into another, shifting biomass and energy and nervous system connections. It's a creative process. Before Tetak Kallas discovered the ability to interface with the machine using Starsight, we had no concept of how the Aristocrats could actually dictate what it was doing; now we do. If an Aristocrat enters the machine and interfaces with it, they could use it to transform themselves into something else. The significance of this cannot be understated. It could allow anything; not just restoring of youth, but turning a man into a woman, or a Mainlander into a Blonde, or a moron into a genius, or a weakling into an Alpha-Male, or the creation of an entirely new species. I mean, our eugenic program basically pales in comparison to this; all of our species efforts on that front basically mean nothing before the machine.”

It's quite a significant find, that you don't doubt. You think Maktana intentionally avoiding the topic of how this fundamentally changes what it means to be a Jaxtian in the presence of such knowledge. This could be because of what has happened over the past fifteen years. Maktana himself, working in close proximity to Xenos, may have developed a sense of affection or even estrangement- he does not value Jaxtian purity for its own sake.

“The science team has also mentioned limited uses. Why? Or our fusion generators not even to power the machine?”
”No my Lord, we produce more then enough energy to power it. But the machine uses a special form of fuel to create organic matter from “nothing”- the BAG substance. It is fed into the machine from a pressurized, almost-liquid form which requires advanced containment. This is how it can produce biomass and fresh elements with which to create protein chains and all other parts of a living being. It also uses the BAG as a form of radiation shielding- as the BAG can “catch” radioactive particles or other forms of energy and converts it directly into matter. Without using the BAG this way any living thing inside would be killed by how much heat and radiation the machine generates. The design is quite elegant, but very wasteful, which is perhaps to be expected from something designed by the Aristocrats.”
“We have an entire moonful of BAG- Talacenti! Is there any reason the machine hasn't been made fully operational?”
”Ah! P-Please forgive me, my Lord... The reason is the machine requires industrial quantities of BAG to work, and have a very high purity level. We have also created an entire industrial supply chain of the BAG on Talacenti to create Superheavy Materials and would cripple the economy to retrofit the entire orbital body just for one single life machine. We can only really meet the demand a constantly running life machine would need for its fuel supply by finding another source of BAG.”
“I thought that the Reconquista fleet used their BAG supply to fuel the machine when they arrived?”
”They did- their entire supply for just enough to kickstart the machine again. Running on fumes, as it were.”
“But it still contains enough for... one more use?”
”Yes, my Liege. The machine uses a variable amount of BAG based on whatever its doing- transforming living things or healing larger and older creatures takes more time and takes more fuel, but for any purpose we would have it has just about enough for one use left. We have no idea what would happen if it ran out of fuel midway through a transformation, so we're avoiding that outcome.”
“Since the Hegemony has found it, it has only been used twice now, and has enough juice for a third. It was so close to expended; how did the Hazaar not use it up ages ago?”
”That I do not know, sire. It is likely they forgot how to use it since the split off from the Aristocrat species. Moreso, it seems something about Hazaar brain chemistry is incapable of achieving Starsight- Red Hazaar, I should specify.”
“My last and most important question for you then; is it done yet? Has the machine given us immortality?”

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”We have the most concrete data on that at least. Our two current test subjects, Cijan Anak and Jale Berax, both reconstituted themselves in the life machine. They have been 'reset' to their fully grown, matured adult selves. In other words, the machine healed them to the part of their life span where they begin to age. The average life expectancy for a Jaxtian is 100 years of age, but this includes the 20 or so odd years of childhood and adolescence- the Hegemony's medical paradigm treats aging as a disease that needs to be corrected- and as such it is every year after this point in a person's life where they begin to age. Jale and Cijan both were reset to this point; so with no added changes they would both live on average another 80 years from this point on. However, the machine also improves upon the stock material and fixes microscopic damage accumulated in childhood or from radiation and so on- meaning that in reality they may live much longer then that.”
“But it can be used to restore an old person young again. This would mean that, as long as people keep revisiting the machine when they get old enough, every 80 years or so plus whatever extra, then they should theoretically become biological immortal.”
”Yes, my lord. It's the subject of scale. We have only one life machine and it takes time and resources to work. Jale's healing and de-aging process took about three hours; but he's an Alpha male so his body has more cells to deep clean. Older subjects also seem to take longer to undo the damage. Cijan took even longer but that is because he was dead. Women, blondes, or those with certain genetic traits may take significantly less time. On top of this, the machine creates a light dusting of heavy metals like lead and iron inside the containment unit from the radiation absorbed, meaning that needs to be cleaned occasionally before levels become toxic. Our scientists decided on a conservative 3 hours on average per restoration. With good efficiency and constant uptime the machine can therefore restore the youth of about eight people per day plus change. On average, we estimate that about three thousand people per year could be cured. If people are allowed to come back to the machine near the end of their natural life span to be restored again; then we can estimate that the machine can roughly support the permanent biological immortality of between two hundred thousand and three hundred thousand people at most. Out of 200 billion. That's nothing, my lord. Just on Jaxt alone, the planet of the Hegemony's elite, people could go their entire lives without ever even meeting one single person who was one of this exclusive club. It could only be for the most elite of the elite.”

It's true then, biological immortality may actually be within your grasp. For the first time ever, one of the main goals of the Hegemony's founding principles may actually be fulfilled.

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It wouldn't be true immortality, of course, even one who came from the life machine can simply be shot or stabbed and die from the injury- and they are still trapped in an ever-decaying universe which one day will be unable to support life in any form. Regardless, the promise of everlasting life is right there, calling to you and all others who have reigned Supreme.

But there is a secondary aspect of the machine that draws you. It can transform people, yes, and restore youth, yes, but it can also heal unseen wounds; wounds of the mind. Jale Berax is a death commando who has gunned down innocent sentient lives- though there is no true innocence to those that stand in the way of progress. Yet despite this, he is perfectly well adjusted. Your psychologists report that Cijan Anak's old foible of insecurity over his twin-tailed mutation has also been cured- though this is also because the machine removed it. It seems that the mind, which is a physical thing inextricably linked to the body, can also be “healed” by the machine.

Despite your incredible mental and physical training to be a potential Supreme Ruler, and your blonde heritage increasing your toughness, you are still... tired. You feel tired. The act of donning the Mask of the Unspeakable drained you of some vital element of your psyche. You are still the same person. You are not controlled by violent mood swings nor filled with a suicidal depression and ennui, yet despite this, things are just different for you now. You've seen and done things that lead you to sleeplessness and reservation for daily life. It doesn't impact your ability to rule, nor will it impact your ability to one day father children and lead the Val family forward into the circle of elite families. Yet despite this, you feel like you want a reprieve. The machine could fix that.

Truthfully, using the machine's last remaining charge on yourself at your current age and level of health would be extremely wasteful. But based on what Maktana is saying, all you have to do is find a new source of BAG to power the machine for upwards of thousands of uses per year- that's not only a massive amount of restoration but also transformations, science experiments, gene-clensing... you can only imagine the possibilities now. This single remaining charge will be a trifle in the long run. It may be selfishness, but after all, you are the Supreme Ruler.

What should you do with the last remaining charge of the life machine?
>Use it to make yourself whole again
>Try to transform yourself into a greater form (Chance of severe consequences)
>Restore the youth of a very old Hegemony official instead
>Save it for later

>>5476187
TURN BLUEY INTO A JAXTIAN
>TURN BLUEY INTO A JAXTIAN
TURN BLUEY INTO A JAXTIAN
>TURN BLUEY INTO A JAXTIAN

DO IT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

>>5476193
+1 He's been serving us for a long ass time

>>5476193
>Do it.

>>5476193
+1

>>5476193
Support.

Save my nigga from life as a Hazar.

>>5476193
+1

LET HIM BE WHAT HE ALWAYS DESERVED TO BE, if he's even still around.

Also, I'd like to state that I think biological immortality for the Supreme + his advisors is OOC lame and boring and I'll never support it for that reason. A huge amount of the appeal of this quest is going through new leaders and new characters who all have different perspectives and strengths, and sticking with one guy forever is going to lose my interest fast.

>>5476233
I agree, which is why we should focus on turning all life into perfect Jaxtian form.

>>5476234
I'm more okay with this, yeah. I don't think we should go smash the Life Machine or anything, I just don't want to use it for >le immortality.

For more IC reasoning, selecting 00.0000015% of the population to live forever is going to make the other 99.9999985% super pissed. The AI can probably hide it from the plebs, but the elites are going to find out and start infighting to an epic degree, and the pacifying effect of the Mask is not going to last forever.

>>5476233
You wouldn't think that way if we had the Wonderchild I bet. What kind of Omega Supreme would that have been like?

>>5476252
I think I'd feel that way even more strongly if we had the Wonderchild. The only thing more boring than staying with the same guy forever is staying with the same *perfect* guy forever.

But we're locked out of the Wonderchild in any case, so it's a moot point.

>>5476252
Eh, half of the appeal to this quest is seeing how new monkies have to deal with new issues. Kinda feels lame going from a long line of MCs to "oh yeah one dude lel"

>>5476187
>Turn Bluey into a Jaxtian

I actually think ti would be a really nice gesture and very kino if he offered usage of the machine to KIMA, and maybe even handed off leadership to her if she wanted it after getting out of the machine... But Bluey seems to be a more unifying figure. Harder to justify to Wrix in-character, BUT it has its own distinct narrative and scientific/philosophical advantages!

1. It allows us to test the limits of the machine, AND to discover if there is a a true essence of 'Jaxtian purity' which transcends the material in any way -- what our Jedi seer called a 'presence', perhaps

2. It rewards Bluey, securing his eternal loyalty to the Hegemony over the Merchantiles, while simultaneously making the leader of the HVS a monke rather than a bugboi

3. It could offer some symbolic moral closure to Wrix, since after all that genocide of innocent aliens, he gave something back to the most loyal among them

4. Hazaar in the HVS will see a path to full citizenship and a future beyond eventually being annihilated by a masked man in a few hundred years when we inevitably want to properly own and populate the HVS with Jaxtians

I would save the machine. We shouldn't blow it on a vanity project.

Sometime down the line we might have the need to make a Perfect Cell like designer organism for some purpose. Blowing it all for the equivalent of antidepressants is wasteful.

>>5476336
Man what the fuck is this cringe, why the fuck would we give it to Kima after everything that had happened. This would be the most insane OOC action for Wrix then anything else. Miss me with your yas kweening girl power shit.

>>5476369
While I agree it would be OOC for Wrix, I disagree with your read of Kima.

By my count she's the only MC we have access to that hasn't raped or genocided anyone.

Well, her and Maktana II and even he was down with forced abortions.

>>5476336
Kima isn't fit for the throne and she would be the first to agree.

>>5476373
So you want to switch back to controlling Kima so we can rape and genocide?
BASED!

>>5476187
>Use it to make yourself whole again
>>5476369
So it would be OOC for Wrix to give it to Kima, but it wouldn't be OOC for him to use it on Bluey after genociding billions of xenos.
lol
lmao, even

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>>5476336
>this guy unironically wants to turn the only female character in this quest into a FtM tranny

>>5476383
>tranny
Nah, just an ubermonke. Still female, I'd assume. We never received any indication she was trans.

>>5476369
>This would be the most insane OOC action for Wrix then anything else
She was his old friend and literally gave him the throne, so...

>>5476193
Can't we wait until he's near the end of his life to do this? What's the rush? We get more years out of him if we wait, we don't know when we'll find another source of BAG.

>>5476187
>Save it for later
Bluey still has more to live, don't waste this.

So far, that's 7 for Bluey, 1 for fixing Wrix, and 3 to save it for later.

>>5476382
Frankly it would be in character for Wrix to use the machine to cure his self induced mental health damages.

But I don't want to waste the machine on him.

A rare example of me picking gameplay over character work here.

Also fuck Wrix I hate that guy

>>5476187
Give it to Kima

>>5476187
>Save it for later
We could make this Wrix' new personal goal as a Supreme and only use it if we manage to secure more BAG.
>>5476336
>I actually think ti would be a really nice gesture and very kino if he offered usage of the machine to KIMA, and maybe even handed off leadership to her if she wanted it after getting out of the machine...
Gross fucking coomer

Actually now that I think of it Wrix did know Kima personally and if he is really burnt out being Supreme wanting to pass it off seems in character.

Though given his hard core anti-dissident vibe I don't think it's in character to give it to a Supreme slayer (although is the official history that Kima won a duel against Cijan then chose Wrix as successor or is it that Cijan returned from a assassination and chose Wrix as successor. I know what Threemind said but this is an important legal chain of succession detail.)

If Wrix considers the chain to be Cijan>Kima>Wrix it is in-character for him to offer it to her

If he considers it Cijan>Wrix it is out of character.

BQM what is the "official" Wrix approved legal source of Wrix's Supremacy?

>>5476181

>>5476187
>Save it for later
There's nothing we 'need' to use it on right now. Until we can use this thing freely, let's save it for an actual emergency. Or when we get more BAG.

>Take that isolated star in the midst of interstellar clusters between us and the Seekers, south of the HVS.
I think there should theoretically be more BAG outside of the stellar clusters, right? Let's see if this sort of star system holds a greater chance.

>>5476482
>>5476181

Actually. Could we make 'Obtain another source of BAG' a VOW for Wrix's reign? We haven't taken a true Vow since Eoba's.

>>5476492
Mate, this ain't exactly fuckin' easy, we have way bigger threats

We lost 15 years on purges when we should have been making up an gigantic navy to beat the esaal, the cyte and the consortium.

>>5476187
Create the Ubermonke to rule all monkes

>>5476187
>Save it for later

>>5476193
+1 because there hasn't been any other idea and saving it for later is kinda...pointless?

We're going to get the charges later. There's not really anything lese we can use it for.

>>5476692
Turning him into a jaxtian now is pointless when we can do it when he's near the end of his life. Saving it for now gives us more years out of Bluey's life in case we don't find more BAG in a timely manner.

>>5476698
>Turning him into a jaxtian now is pointless when we can do it when he's near the end of his life.
Do we even know when that is? It feels like pointless waiting, and we're already going to be having a war with the consortium and essaal soon. Bluey's already been working with us for ltieral centuries - he's literally bene around since the time of Talacent, back when we didn't even have FTL travel. If he can't find a single successor for the Hazaar Vassal State, it was never going to work anyway.

We murdered a whole species of perfectly loyal people, at least THIS one guy who's been serving us for centuries deserves to get rewarded instead of being shot in the back of the head, which i'm certain anons will eventually vote for, given the choice.

>>5476700
I already told you the point of waiting, it's so we get more years out of Bluey. If you're certain they'll eventually vote for it, it's pointless to do it now.

>>5476702
I said i was certain they'd eventually vote for shooting him in the back of the head.

>>5476187
>Use it to make yourself whole again
We need him in a healthy state of mind if we want to actually move on, otherwise we’ll be dealing with doubtful, traumatized Wrix being a whiny bitch about shit.

But I imagine no one is thinking about the benefit of this ‘waste’, so I’ll also bump
>Save it for later
so anons don’t waste it on Bluey yet. Like, he still has a long life ahead of him still, right? Change him when he’s old and lived a productive life.

>>5476237
>implying we care about the 99.9999985% as Wrix

Anyway, it should only be used for the smartest, experienced, and most useful people. As tradition though, Supremes must give up the throne and chose a successor before using the Life Machine. That, I think we can all agree on.

>>5476492
Can we not? We’re going to be fighting a two-front war for fucks sake.

>>5476700
Yes, Bluey will become a Jaxian eventually, but only after he’s old.

>>5476703
It’s more likely Bananas makes the executive decision to blow Bluey’s brains out from some vote that was intentionally obfuscated from the voting base.

>>5476715
>It’s more likely Bananas makes the executive decision to blow Bluey’s brains out from some vote that was intentionally obfuscated from the voting base.
Whichever happens, it WILL happen, so i'd rather turn him into a jaxtian BEFORE he gets killed by either stupidity or railroaiding, both of which this quest has in spades.

Leave the salt in the last thread.

>>5476193
>>5476382
I'll change my vote to save it for later because the only actually remotely IC choice has no chance of winning. It's funny how many anons think RP matters only when it suits them.

>>5476724
RP doesn't matter literally ever, it never has.

IF we won't get the choices that are always coherent, i'd rather just get the choices that are nice.

>>5476720
Fair point, but Bluey survived all the autist nonsense since Talacent committed the original sin of sparing the Huzzar. I think he’ll survive until old age.

>>5476721
K sempai.

>>5476724
Wrix genocided all the Blue Huzzar in the Hegemony, regardless of loyalty. I am not putting Bluey’s life in his hands.

>>5476725
>it never has.
So no supreme has ever done something contrary to what we voted for because it was against his personality?
lol
lmao, even

>>5476726
>I am not putting Bluey’s life in his hands.
It IS in his hands. He's the Supreme. Or he's supposed to be, and voting to give it to Bluey really feels like one of the votes that are going to be overwritten because of how wildly OOC it is for Space Hitler 2.0.

Also, Bananas, what happened to Wrix changing his colors to Akule's?

>>5476729
Why would he change his colors to Akule?

He's primarily inspired by Agori and Kinja, as the players voted. The Unspeakable Mask is something that any Supreme Leader could or would use given the circumstances; it would have been an option in thread #5 if Eoba had agitated the Swall into nuking the Hegemony or setting up a secret colony- provoking a genocide in response.

>>5476726
>Bluey survived all the autist nonsense since Talacent committed the original sin of sparing the Huzzar.
Our previous actions shows literally everything can die, i'd rather not take the chance.
>>5476727
>So no supreme has ever done something contrary to what we voted for because it was against his personality?
Anons have voted for retarded stuff all the time, so choosing 'what is IC' is hardly an constraint. At least letting Bluey become a Hazaar would give him a good reward.

>>5476731
>He's primarily inspired by Agori and Kinja, as the players voted
Really? It feels as if the murder mask overwrote that. You admitted in the last thread that you thought Akule would win that vote anyway, it's not a big stretch to have Wrix wear his colors after wearing his mask for more than a decade.

>>5476734
>At least letting Bluey become a Hazaar would give him a good reward.
Why are you still assuming Space Hitler 2.0 would let Bluey become a Hazaar just because we want him to?

>>5476737
>Why are you still assuming Space Hitler 2.0 would let Bluey become a Hazaar just because we want him to?
Mate, for some retarded reason, he allowed the literal traitors to survive completely unharmed in hazaar space for FIFTEEN YEARS. Literal, actual traitors. Not even just the hazaar, but the entire mercantilist rebellion who basically told the hegemony to fuck off.

If he cared about killing someone like bluey, he would have done it already.

>>5476731
To be fair, Wrix did steal the title of Unspeakable from him. Might as well ape him fully.

>>5476737
>>5476741
Guys, I refer you to >>5476721. Please and thank you.

Hey, Bananas, are we slloeed to vote for transforming Bluey? Is that going to be veto'd?

>>5476741
>>5476737
Just ask him directly you weirdos.

>>5476746
You can't just 'leave' the literal previous action that is impacting our current state of the game

>>5476748
Hey, it ain’t my post

>>5476747
Bananas doesn't tend to answer stuff like that

He usuually waits until the votes over, and then says
>actually no you cant do this, here's my own option

>>5476747
Of course, but I'm pretty sure it's tied now so I'm just going to go to bed.

>>5476754
Yes to being allowed to vote, or yes to being veto'd?

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>>5476756
Shut up.

>>5476756
If he meant the veto, he wouldn't care that it was tied.

Also, kek, BTFO

>>5476758
That does not clear up the question.

>>5476759
Or it could mean that it didn't matter because it was tied, and thus, wouldn't need to be vetoed anyway.

>>5476761
Anon, just assume it won’t be vetoed and leave it at that.

Wait, quick question here, what happened to Hwat's anti nuclear project? Did it just get dropped?

>>5476766
It died with him. Move on.

>>5476768
Did no one record any of his stuff? He had already had a prototype, it clearly wasn't just in the papers.

>>5476770
Maybe it's been shelved? We know very little about what happened on those 15 years other than death, death and more death.

>>5476770
Yes, his most loyal men… the Mercantilists.

It’s effectively gone. Move on.

>>5476773
Well that's great, now we just gotta wait for someone to nuke us and suddenly the mask comes up again

Whatever, i suppose. Here's my vote.
>Turn bluey into a jaxtian

>>5476770
Wrix was busy with more important stuff, like killing the Vetuckinas.

>>5476187
>Save it for later

>>5476187
>>5476193
Support

>>5476750
I have to agree. You reap what you sow. You can't expect players to just not show feelings about the votes of a previous thread , especially when they impact the current one.
I could see a blanket "be polite" rule but memory holing past disliked events seems to be dodging .

>Save the machine for later

>>5476838
>I could see a blanket "be polite" rule but memory holing past disliked events seems to be dodging .
Yeah. Should've just retconned the event if we're not supposed to even mention it.

>>5476185
>Save it for later.

>>5476187
>TURN BLUEY INTO A JAXTIAN

>>5476185
>Save it for later.

Y'know, no one actually ever changes their vote in any meaningful manner, but what's the point of saving it for later?

This is going to be like in every RPG game where we 'Save things for later' and end up never using them at all. If we find the new material without having used it, that's a waste. If Bluey ends up getting killed, well, i really doubt we'd be able to put him back like we did Cijan, given that his long lifetime means there's no one who's known him for a considerable part of his life like Jale knew Cijan.

The reason why is because people in this quest never take a risk when it matters.

>>5476838
>>5476840
He just said to not be salty, not to memory-hole events. This was in response to >>5476720 (bitching about "stupidity and railroading") and >>5476715 (accusing the QM of "intentionally obfuscat[ing] the voting base").

Frankly, I think the only way we're getting out of this trap it to just no respond to the folks who continue to be rude and bitter about the QMing style.

>>5476193
>TURN BLUEY INTO A JAXTIAN

Supporting this

There are a range of IC reasons which we’d do it, outlined by this anon >>5476336

Also, it’s cool

>>5476187
>TURN BLUEY INTO A JAXTIAN
No one else deserves to be uplifted as he does

Do we have genetic samples of both Kima and Cijan? we could create a 50%/50% indigo clone (basically a child).

>>5477044
Nah, Wrix/Kima. Secure the Val bloodline!

>>5477044
The only chance is if they got it from her before everything went to hell

Even if they went, she's probably way older now and not as 'genetically perfect'

>>5477054
Genetics don't really hange, do they? She's just less fertile and hormonally-stable now, which is irrelevant if she's not incubating it in her womb.

>>5477057
I'm pretty sure it does, it means the eggs aren't as high-quality as they would have been when she was in her prime, no? IF She still has them.

>>5477057
DNA does change. Both from external sources (chemicals, radiation), and the fact that the cells simply fail to copy the sequence perfectly which amounts to small changes over time. Why do you think it's better to have children before 30?

>>5477070
Hormonal levels and general health, primarily. Also, yeah, quality of eggs and amount of viable eggs... Wuite possibly irrelevent when dealing with blood samples and futuristic cloning. We cloned Maktana after hundreds of years, Eoba after decades.

>>5477104
Yes, but in this situation, they'd probably need an egg from kima because of her special genetic quality.

If we managed to get one, though, we'd probably manage to get an even better wonderchild now that Cijan is super-charged.

>>5476965
To be fair, he was trying to set it up for a narrative twist.

Also, good luck with that. Anons are still bitching that the Red Huzzar are alive, the only positive development seems to be the majority of the playerbase actually liking Agori enough to vote for him.

>>5477050
Will actively vote to abort btw.

>>5476336
I mean...Kima is actually the best option to determine the full effects of the device on the monke genes as she would offer the female data and her genes were so lit that she was considered Supreme material despite being a woman. She even turned it down after assassinating a Supreme also becoming the first female who successfully could have claimed the position of supreme but refused. Not to mention the current Supreme owes her everything. What would we have to learn from it though.

By the way, i've gone and counted every post, and the current vote, i believe, is

14 for Bluey
11 for Saving
1 for Kima? 2 if >>5477161 is a vote?

If i missed someone, do say, but i do believe it's right, since i went through all of them by hand.

I wonder if Bluey will even accept? He might not feel worthy or willing to trade lifespan(being so dutiful an overseer to his race) to use the machine.

>>5477263
Bluey is dutiful, but he's not completely depersonalized. There's no way in hell he wouldn't take any opportunity to become a monkey when he hates hazaar so much

Actually, if he does get turned, he'll probably need an actual family n ame, right? Will he get the name of that one security guard who is was his progenitor, or Talacent who basically adopted him?

>>5477266
Talacent was an Inari, right? Seems appropriate.

>>5477288
Intari, yes.

I wonder which would be better, telling him beforehand or making it a surprise. The latter feels like it would have a really damn fun reaction, just thinking about it makes me grin.

Bluey is the one person who has pretty much never fucked up on this quest. No retarded railroaded decisions, no vote induced stupidity, no dumb chimpouts...

Truly, he is /ourguy/

>>5477297
His abusive attitude towards other Hazaar probably contibuted to who Yuan became, and he made Yellow Hazaar without anyone's permission and in violation of an agreement his Supreme made.

>>5477304
>His abusive attitude towards other Hazaar probably contibuted to who Yuan became,
That is a complete lie

Yuan was raised by a Jaxtian in an elite family (Scholiander). Bluey wasn't even in any position of power when Yuan started seething. Yuan was literally an rich brat. He literally got to pick his job out of three extremely important options. Basically got handed life on a silver platter.

>>5477308
The Scholianders aren't elite. Qet was their only significant member. The rest of it has been rehashed to death. If you don't think being segregated, taught your biological and intellectual inferiority, and being held back from your full potential because of racism is abusive, I can't convince you and won't bother trying.

>>5477304
>spoiler
No, anons contributed more to who Yuan would become, and Yuan would probably have been as based as Bluey had anons not moralfagged themselves into a catastrophe.

Same with the Yellow Huzzar, we would’ve got some narrative development on them had anons decided to be more harsh instead of nice about it.

>>5477315
The Scholianders are elite, Qet wouldn’t have become Supreme if they weren’t.

>>5477322
Reread the thread where we chose him. Qet was unusually elite for a mundane lineage.

>>5477315
They had good enough genes to have multiple supreme candidates, elite doesn't mean "great noble lines". You don't see people like that AI testing schmuck getting offered to pick between scientist or philosopher educations.
>taught your biological and intellectual inferiority, a
He has absolutely no right to say that when his ideology was literally to give everyone eternal orgasms. Lmao, "smartest hazaar" and he's still just a degenerate retard with reddit tier understanding of philosophy.

>>5477326
Not everyone, just create a race of Coomers to become the Ubermensch of the Hegemony.

>>5477341
It's dumb and it proves all the stuff said about the hazaar right.

>>5477344
That's just, like, your opinion maaaan

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You have decided to use the last remaining charge of the life machine to...turn a Hazaar into a Jaxtian.

It's strange, especially given how you treated the Blue-Hazaars earlier during your reign. But in a way, it makes sense. Bluey is the Ruler of the HVS, essentially the Supreme Ruler of your closest neighboring political entity. To put a Jaxtian in charge would broadcast to the world, “this is ours too!”.

Though it will set a strange precedent. Bluey has been loyal to the Hegemony and the Supreme Ruler for many Jaxtian lifetimes now. He helped crack down on dissidents and even helped turn in many of his own people on Xin who tried to put in special requests to flee. Only the original group of Mercantiles, banishing themselves under Kima's flower of peace, were allowed to go into the HVS willingly. The rest? They were Hegemony subjects. Whatever you, and the mask, wanted to do to them was fair game. Bluey's never questioned any orders of that nature, at all. This is a reward for loyalty.

You want to make sure this is done right, so you have to invite Tetak Kallas, disgraced by the previous Supreme, but now a powerful Star Seer, in order to work the machine. Bluey travels all the way from the HVS to your invitation.

”I mean... is it really true? Can it really do this?”
“It can, and we will. We would like Jaxtian blood to rule the HVS, and there is no better candidate to test the machines transformative properties. If, of course, you are willing to take the risks.”
”Yes! Yes! Please get me out of this body forever!”
“Even though it could reduce your maximum lifespan? For a Hazaar, turning into a Jaxtian is like catching a terminal illness.”
”I do not know how much longer I would live anyway. My ganglions are heavy. I do not wish for a knife between my legs any more. Please, change me!”
“Step inside the machine, and we shall.”

Your thoughts briefly drift to Bluey. He's a Blue Hazaar. You killed all of his kind. You wonder, how does that make him feel?

Based on all known Hegemonic records and personal logs between Bluey and his constituents; the genocide barely affected him. He always supports the actions of the current Supreme Ruler. Could he be delirious or stuck in a pattern of thought because of his advanced age? Or did he truly not care that the Blue Hazaar, his own people, a mix between the “dirty” Hazaar and the “glorious” Jaxtians, was a failed experiment? An aborted race, strangled in the crib?

Bluey has always been a Jaxtian supremacist. Even though he wasn't a Jaxtian- against his own people. You are fairly certain that if you ordered him to carry out the rest of the genocide in the HVS, he would have done so without question before turning the knife on himself. But somehow you feel this was always his intention. Sharing and growing the knowledge of the Hegemony, hoping to be reborn out of his filthy alien self and into his true self underneath.

The machine is finished.

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Bluey steps out of the machine; now a Jaxtian. He is fully complete.

”Wow... This is... so different! My body is so strong and fluffy now- and I'm finally the right shade of blue. Thank you, Wrix, my Lord.”

DNA samples, pictures, and all forms of bio-data are collected. Finally, he is allowed to leave and return to the HVS as your loyal vassal. Many centuries of service, finally rewarded. For the third time the machine has been used; more of its mysteries have been revealed.

You speak to Maktana II after the data is all collected. He explains to you how strange and uncanny it really is.

“He is a Jaxtian now, all the way through. From his DNA to his body cells and structures. His tissues and brain are all Jaxtian. I would never question you decision, my Lord, but I am still filled with doubt this could be true. Bluey is hundreds upon hundreds of years old; somehow all of that information in his physical brain tissues and electro-chemical connections are now stored in a single Jaxtian brain, who only naturally live to be about sixty or so? And his DNA... His DNA is exactly as a Jaxtian should be. He has no parents, but he has “fake” familial connections, going back to common ancestors for all Mainlanders. The machine created a viable, single, unique organism of a species, somehow perfectly fitting into an existing species without any of the direct connections or lineage that make a organism what it is. He looks, acts, will breed as a Jaxtian does. Any scientist who digs up his bones hundreds of years from now or studies his DNA samples would have zero indication to believe he was ever anything but a Jaxtian.”
”Then that means the machine worked, did it not?”
“It did, my lord. I just don't know how the aliens could accomplish this. Improving and restoring youth, perhaps, but working backwards and creating new life of a kind that doesn't even exist... how can it do this? The machine worked- but perhaps it works a little too well.”

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While the deeper philosophical meanings of what the life machine can do may be lost on you- you have more practical concerns.

Eoba Garastra II began the tradition of Overseers- high ranking officials just under the Supreme Ruler in terms of influence and authority. The idea behind these is to help run a multi-faceted and sprawling space empire- something that only the most neurotic and controlling of men could attempt before. Overseers may be a way to divide up your power- but they are a fundamental part of any administration.

There were always two Overseers. The Overseer of Science and the Overseer of Xeno-Integration. That was Bluey's job originally; to find ways to incorporate the talent and citizenship of alien beings into the Hegemony. But after your reign... there will be no more aliens in the Hegemony. It is an outdated position. Bluey's importance as the Ruler of the HVS cannot be understated; but he is no longer an Overseer in the Hegemony. You've decided to create a new class of Overseer- the Overseer of Infrastructure, to deal with logistics, space shipping, large scale construction and terraforming projects, resource and population management, and all other things that make up the core industries of the empire. It's the most natural Overseer you can elect; after all, the military, enforcers, and propaganda departments should remain under your direct control.

Now, you must select one candidate to take up the role. You tell the computer network to select your three highest ranking candidates for the job, and it does so. Whichever you choose will have a great deal of influence on the Hegemony's economy, and building back stronger.

>Clok Garastra
>Mann Yum
>Telaan Val

>>5477481
>Mann Yum
Sometimes you just need a boring guy to get things done.

>>5477481
>Clok Garastra
Gifted, and a Monke Resources buff? This is my pick.

But Telaan Val would be pretty neat as well (just for the lolz).

Also, Bluey’s lifespan just shortened. ;_;

>>5477481
>Mann Yum
He seems decent enough and I don't want to deal with fear nor arrogance. Just someone who does their job and does it well.

>>5477481
Those +/- are hilarious
>Mann Yum
He doesn't have to burn with passion to supervise logistics, construction and population management. If anything, autism is very welcome.
>>5477480
We should appoint Bluey a therapist to talk to so we can get a better understanding of his memory after his brain was transformed.

>>5477481
>Mann Yum

>>5477481
Well, that change worked well.

It’s interesting how one could reconcile a species supremacist mindset with the fact that one race can be utterly changed into another by a simple machine… anyway

>Mann Yum

>>5477502
>appoint Bluey a therapist

Supporting

Would be interesting to get his thoughts over the next several years

>>5477481
>Clok Garastra
Get our population SWOLE for the war!

>>5477478
>He even helped turn in many of his own people on Xin who tried to put in special requests to flee.
I really don't like Bluey.

Turning back innocent refugees trying to escape a holocaust is evil.

>>5477481
>>Clok Garastra

>>5477481
>Mann Yum
A boring bureaucrat makes sense for the job.

>>5477481
>Cijan Anak, with Telaan in support.

Clok isn't even an engineer. Either Mann or Telaan would work. If we want to build up our fleet, then I think that we should go with the ship builder. No one would question our nepotism at this stage. Cijan has actually seen battleships though. I think that the two of them working together should be able to figure something out. Maybe let Mr. Moviestar help design the interior, to assist in repelling boarders.

If we wanted other overseers, appointing Maktana our Overseer of Health and Population Management. He's not busy right now.

>>5477481
>Mann Yum

Clok Garastra will totally try to duel us for the title of Supreme Ruler.

A disease if that is age perhaps cure it become something new a nice detailed edit bluey but not haazar it could fit so much inside that brain skipping past the memory limit of the brain.
Why treat the symptoms endlessly when you can have the cure

>>5477481
>Telaan Val
Considate Val power!
maybe not a wise idea, but an interesting one and in-character

>>5477536
Perfect for a servant of the (in D&D terms) lawful evil Hegemony.

>>5477651
I think Matakana is still busy, there's still a Science Overseer and I think it's him?

>>5477481
>Telaan Val
He may be our Dad, but he unironically looks most suitable for the role - his past experience means he only lacks the 'Terraforming Projects' knowledge and none of the candidates have that.

Clok - he's brilliant, but this seems the wrong field for him. If we still had Xeno-integration he'd be an obvious candidate for that post. Since he's trained in Psychology - let's make him a Therapist for us, I think we could use one.

>>5477779
>Let's make him a Therapist for us
Therapists can't be personally involved with their patients for a reason.

>>5477481
>Telaan Val
Nepotism? What's that.

I feel that Bluey actually turning into a Jaxtian is the first unambiguously good thing to happen in the quest in a long, long time. I wonder what the next awful surprise is going to be.

>>5477779
>let's make him a Therapist for us, I think we could use one.
You want to make the intelligent power-hungry Supreme candidate our therapist?

Lol. Lmao.

>>5477481
>>Telaan Val

>>5477481
I woulda thought his reaction would be a bit stronger...but that was nice, he deserved it.

Either way...
>Mann Yum
Seems like the perfect fit. Clok Garastra is too cool for Infrastructure, and we all know Garastras love to fake their deaths.

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>>5477893
This man needs therapy

It's understandable, i suppose. There are no female hazaar. Just gotta give him some help.

>>5477481
>Telaan Val
Massive shipyards are what we need for spacewarfare, he has the experience necessary to pave the way to us outgunning our opponents.

>>5477898
Actually...do we have therapists in the hegemony? You'd think there'd be some manner of mental aid, given that even the supreme candidates would often be pretty psychotic.

To help bluey, i reckon, he needs some uh...treatment. The Life Machine changed his body, sure, but his mind is still his, which includes century of being a hazaar (who don't have women)

He needs to learn how to be a Jaxtian.

>>5477893
>>5477898
I think that the Machine doesn't think that homosexuality is a defect, the Aristocrats probably wouldn't, it's still something that happen in Jaxtians so not actually abnormal and "gay jaxtian" is the most literal interpretation for the conversion of a member of a pretty male-like species that we know is attracted to male jaxtians.

>>5477801
>I wonder what the next awful surprise is going to be.
That we’re going to be facing overwhelming battleship fleets made from Azurium with nothing but our ferret normal cruiser variants. And that’s only the Esaal.

But hey, I’m sure that boring safety bureaucrat will make lovely cities before the Blitz, right?

>>5477918
>fewer* normal cruisers

>>5477916
I would think it's mroe due to the fact that the machine didn't erase all his memories, which would mean he'd have like two centuries worth of 'memories' from when he was an hazaar, who didn't really have females.

Like i said, someone's gotta teach him how to be a monke.

>>5477921
Honestly? Just have Cijan and Jale take Bluey out on a boys night, get him a ‘nice’ girl, and let nature take its course. No need for fucking therapy when Jale had his fucking PTSD removed by the Machine.

I found the webcomic that I was talking about last thread thanks to an anon on /v/ delivering.
I'm not sure if this counts as "clogging the thread" or derailing it but I just wanted to post it since I was reminded of it. This isn't meant to be a derail and I'm going back to just lurking after this.
>>>/v/619350390
>>5477481
clok garastra, I guess

>>5477928
It'll take more than a simple night out, the way i see it, to deal with two centuries worth of 'experience'

Up until this point, there wasn't, to him, really a difference between a male and female jaxtian.

>>5477931
Bet you it’ll take five minutes to set him straight

>>5477933
Possibly, but it'll probably take more than that to cure him of his hazaar mindset. The issue at hand here is his long memories - if this was done on a normal hazaar while it was small and it was raised jaxtian, it would certainly have grown up normally.

>>5477937
Wrong, the issue is he never had any time to develop as a Jaxian before letting his libido take over. Cijan and Jale will teach him da way.

>>5477942
Ehh....it depends on whether we see any continuation. It could just be a quick fix and he just hasn't gotten the chance, or it could take some more effort to get him to go past those two hundred years of being a hazaar.

>>5477929
I remembered the exact comic you were talking about when you mentioned it in the previous. Pretty in-line with this quest honestly.

>>5477944
I think it’ll be a quick fix. The Life Machine is a medical miracle, it can cure and prevent mental illness, it seems silly that it can’t ‘fix’ previous experience with a bit of natural instinct. It fixed Jale’s PTSD after all.

Tbh, I’m sorta of wondering how the other Val is doing.

>>5477949
>s, it seems silly that it can’t ‘fix’ previous experience with a bit of natural instinct
The question is more so whether or not his natural instincts can override his personal memories, given the sheer amount of them he has.
>Tbh, I’m sorta of wondering how the other Val is doing.
If he's not chosen, probably relieved he won't have to work as an overseer with his psycho son.

>>5477951
Only one way to find out.

Also, I meant Captain Val. This brings up an interesting point though, considering the Val family seems to be a Navy-focused one. Maybe if we give Father Val the Overseer positions, would that be enough to unlock the Battleships construction?

>>5477893
Ah, right... Yeah, that makes sense. Dude had a massive crush on Eoba II.

>>5477957
Good point....
>>5477869
Changing to Telaan Val so we can get more cruisers. Mann Yum feels like he'd be pretty good as an general infrastructure guy, though...it would be a shame to waste an logistic autist on a menial job. Maybe have him assisst Telaan Val.

>>5477481
>>Clok Garastra

>>5477497
>>5477957

Then why vote for Clok?

>>5477893
He needs shock therapy

>>5477893
Should have made Bluey into a 'Her', as a Haazar there was no set sex so we could have gone either way with the machine.

>>5478097
That would have fucked him up even more

Hazaar are pretty much male, in nature. That's why we call them all like that.

Bluey's issue is he forced himself on someone without consent, not being gay.

Also, why didn't the machine cure Bluey's several mental health issues if it cured Jerax's PTSD?

>>5478132
>Bluey's issue is he forced himself on someone without consent, not being gay.
I don't think that it's super forbidden or illegal but it's definitely socially unacceptable in the Hegemony.

>>5478149
It is illegal, i'm prettt sure, since its basically takimg you away from being an normal reproductive member of society and fostering degeneracy.

>>5478149
>>5478153
If it's not illegal, we should make it.

>>5478132
Pretty sure actual rape is more acceptable than homosexuality in the Hegemony.

>>5478163
Rape is only acceptable when it's state ordained, pretty sure.

>>5478168
But does the state EVER order homosexuality? And "Rapist" is among the titles borne by an Unspeakable, but "Gaylord" sure isn't.

>>5478175
What are you talking about?

'Only when state ordained' is more acceptable than 'Never'

>>5478177
Exactly. Sorry, I'm agreeing: rape is more acceptable. I'm saying Bluey being a bit pushy isn't the problem, as >>5478132 implied: from a Hegemony perspective, it's the gayness.

>>5478153
Kima's grandmother was afraid of men and she was only raped because of a very special gene, people are pushed out of reproduction often but they're generally not really forced into it.

>>5478193
She was afraid of men, not an active faggot. There's a difference.

Either way, its pointless, the end is that Bluey doesnt know how to be a jaxtian, and someone needs to teach him.

>>5478193
What >>5478236 said. I don't hate gay people, but Akule did (so much so that he killed his adoptive brother and best friend, who he otherwise seemed to like, and mocked his memory). What Akule hated, the Hegemony hates by default.

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>People have such poor reading comprehension they actually think Akule killed Brun "because he was gay".

I share a board with these people.

>>5478545
One guy does

I was in the thread, he killed him for several reasons but he still hates gay people.

But in all seriousness this game isn't really fun anymore. It's become less Sid Meir 4X and more about RPing as increasingly unpleasant people. I go to /qst/ for fun, not to play "rape/kill minorites/conversion therapy sim 3000."

I really hope we move away from this direction this thread

>>5478036
Cause I think Driven and Gifted would be more useful overall desu.

>>5478545
He killed him for a couple reasons. While dueling him Akule had an inenr monologue including an aside about "deviant homosexual revisionists". He then mocked Brun to his father after killing him for being a 'faggot", though, which was rather cruel. The rich and hypocritical liberal caricature Akule assassinated was also a "champion of homosexual rights."

As early as Thread 2, it was indicated that homosexual ideas weren't mainstream, and we drove them further to the fringes to increase population growth (this was before the Hegemony was characterized as being as brutal as it is now, presumably because of all the liberalization which had snuck in since Akule's era, and which Wrix just reset).

I am willing to bet homosexuality is a criminal deviance in Wrix's Hegemony, if for no other reason than it fails to serve the state and provides an escape from standard male duties and female duties without producing anything of value for the state.

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You've decided that Mann Yumm should take up the position. He's a bit of a bore, but you figure safe and predictable is what you need for an infrastructural and ecology minded Overseer.

“Wow, thank you my Lord! I never expected to be promoted to such a high position.”
“I demand excellence. You can provide it.”
”And I shall. I will build you the greatest cities- especially on the newly conquered worlds!”
“We could be thrusted into war any second, Mann. Civic planning during a war...?”
”An army marches on its finances!”

While it is true that the past 15 years have taken up a majority of your time as the Supreme Ruler on your genocide crusade; it is not true that everything else has been stagnant. The Nan shipyards are a megastructural feat of engineering that Cijan accomplished during his reign. Using Azurium to create giant starship construction platforms, as well as Baalathi who are “conscripted” to work with different gas concentrations, this single system has produced all of your empires most powerful ships; every cruiser was made here. Your father even oversaw the Bite of Batool, your current most powerful ship. Part of the reason Cijan was so criticized was because he took all of the most powerful Hegemony ships on his vanity mission...

Over these past few years, new cruisers have been produced to fill out your fleet. Your space force is now quite powerful, though you still don't have any battleships, only minor armor improvements, and no special weapons that put you a cut above the standardized PEW weapons that most empires in space will likely employ in the future. Your ships are practically immune to boarding parties however, with your highly advanced and decked out infantry forces...

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Halfway across the Hegemony, you are now Hojin Ampa, and you have a very important job.

Your family was never especially highly regarded in the Hegemony. Most of your fathers and his fathers talents were making good “gut” choices, examining data and seeing trends others don't, and taking big risks that eventually pay off. It lacks the high level thinking and physical excellence that the Hegemony craves for its leadership and actually high status positions; meaning you've always been pretty middle of the road. Not that you're complaining, all according to what one has earned, right?

You current live on Andoen. The tomb-world of a race of giants. The gravity here is lower then the Hegemonic standard; leading to a feeling of weightlessness when climbing and walking. It's nice- and helps explain why there are so many Alpha males here. Though you know that isn't the real reason. In the rest of the Hegemony, about one in every eight to ten men are Alpha males, but here? It's closer to half! That's because this plant is the closest in the Hegemony to the Esaal, the current biggest threat to your collective. All these alpha males are soldiers, training with weapons and Wrix's new scary black armor. They're all deadly killers. But you have a job more important then all of them.

You are the Space Monitor for this entire planet. You only have one job; study what approaches the planet and make sure it looks right. If you see a ships or weapons approaching; you can only do one thing- sound the alarm. All has been quiet for the past several years on this job- until today. Your AI assistant alerts your attention.

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“Monitor. Action needed.”
”What is it?”
“Anomaly detected. Approaching at sub-light speeds.”
”What is it?”
“Currently unknown. Relaying data now. Object mass is within known ranges of spaceships, but no ship signal is being emitted. No communications devices, nor computer systems that can be pinged to confirm identity.”
”Other likely possibilities?”
“Asteroid or grouping of gas. These will burn up harmlessly in atmosphere at this size. Caution. Momentum is not congruent with gravity pull of planet, hence why this is an anomaly.”
”Okay, so what is it then?! Visual data?!”
“Unknown. No visual contact. Sound alarm?”

The computer here is asking for your imput now. It has no more useful information to give you. So if it doesn't seem to be a starship, then it has to be space junk, but its space junk that acts strangely. It has the gravity of an object with mass but isn't obeying normal gravity rules. No wonder the AI is asking you for advice here. You need to go with your gut.

Truth be told, you've been thankful every day you haven't had to make a decision like this. The truth is that sounding the alarm willy-nilly sounds easy for this job, but it isn't. You are the space monitor for the entire planet. If you sound the alarm, the citizens on this planet, including your own wife and child, will run to cover in the nearest bombardment shelter. It's what you were put here to do. Naturally, you could save so many people by giving them a warning in advance. But it isn't that simple; sounding an alarm when it isn't needed is going to fuck everything up. Imagine how many people that would impact; billions of people having their daily schedule interrupted. All those soldiers in training, all those business people and factory workers and AI managers doing things; any disruption from a false alarm will cost billions of DM to the government. And very likely, a harsh punishment or replacement to the monitor who falsely sounded the alert!

Wrix is no longer the Unspeakable. You wouldn't fear for your life the same way if you made a single mistake in your position now, but that doesn't make a mistake any less costly. You don't want to screw up, but even the AI can't make a call here. What's the right call? Is there any reason to believe the Esaal are behind this? What should you do?

>Sound Alarm
>Give All-Clear

>>5478611
>Sound Alarm
Lives are worth more than convenience or danbomarks.

>>5478611
>Sound Alarm
Better safe than sorry.

>>5478610
>Sound the alarm
Gotta be ready to take one for the team if we're wrong, but that is a risk we're willing to take.
After all, a temporary pause in production is preferred to a permanent halt in production because your colony got razed.

>>5478611
>Sound Alarm
doesn't have to be the Esaal, it could be someone else, and this is a very explainable situation

You guys seriously didn't learn from the Akule thread?

>>5478611
>Give All-Clear

This is another of BQM's puzzles. We have a picture and there isn't a write in option. That leads me to believe some clue is teing us if it is danger or not.

Let us study the image for the right answer.

>>5478611
>>Sound Alarm

>>5478644
I bumped up the brightness and didn't find anything hidden in the sky. Not sure how to interpret the pink cloudy things. Also not sure how to conclusively *disprove* there being anything.

>>5478648
I see Gas. Gas was one of the false alarm options.

My best guess is

>Don't sound the alarm
But I am open to more intel

>>5478611
>Sound the alarm

Sounds like space whales to me. There is a single pink star amidst all the yellow stars if that matters to anyone. I don't have my Jaxtian cosmology charts to hand to know if there's a reason for it. The pink star is above the white clouds hovering above the right edge of the planet. That said, we don't have visuals on this object, and we aren't going to see something with our eyes that Friend Computer and our presumed visual spotters can't see with their instruments. A jedi Hojin is not, despite knowing how to trust his instincts.

If it's gas, then it's probably our pink gassy space virus friends.

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>>5478611
>Sound Alarm

>>5478677
Fug, you're totally right. Here's the stars colorpicked for anybody not seeing it-- definitely something sketchy.

>>5478611
>>Sound Alarm

>>5478611
>Sound alarm

>>5478611
>Sound Alarm

Could be BAG pocket in an asteroid or a weapon with an unusual payload. Sus.

>>5478689
It's fucking wild that BQM felt a clue that subtle was solvable and fucking wilder than you solved it anyway.

>Sound the alarm

>>5478722
I can't take the credit, >>5478677 solved it. But yeah, crazy stuff.

>>5478689

FUUUGGG MY PISS POOR EYES MISSED THAT ONE AAAaaaaAAAHHHH

>>5478611
>Sound Alarm

>>5478611
>Sound Alarm

Whatever this is, it is weird. And weird definitely merits an alarm on the front lines. It may perhaps end up as an inaccurate one, but this definitely won't be a false alarm.

>>5478611
>>5478689
>>5478722
If it is the Space Whales, what even is the answer here? They've visited Andoen before, indeed we first saw one here. Are they a situation that merits an alarm, or not? They're massive, and won't obey shipping lanes - so orbital traffic will still need to be alerted at the very least.

>>5478860
And it may need help (if we're still wont to render it in our current super-xenophobic state), so letting people know to clear the way and be ready to make contact isn't a bad idea.

>>5478557
Man, remember when we befriended whales?

>>5478611
>>Give All-Clear

>>5478609
>Part of the reason Cijan was so criticized was because he took all of the most powerful Hegemony ships on his vanity mission...
Compared to your vanity project Wrix? lol

>Your space force is now quite powerful, though you still don't have any battleships, only minor armor improvements, and no special weapons that put you a cut above the standardized PEW weapons that most empires in space will likely employ in the future
So quite literally garbage? This is like saying the wooden sailing ships are totally powerful when compared to fucking battleship-sized ironclads.

>>5478611
>Give All-Clear
Probably a space whale then. Send out the ships, but don’t cause a scare. If this was an invasion there would be literal fleets of them.

>>5478677
If you really want a puzzle, there’s an abnormal star that doesn’t look circular. Have find finding which one that is.

>>5478689
Half the battle done, now contrast the color with known spaceship/space whale colors and see what come out of it. Remember, color coding could mean the difference of billions here.

>>5478860
Does the space whales have weapons? It isn’t in danger of attacking the planet, so the alarm shouldn’t be raised- just notify the local naval detachment to de-worm the whale before exporting it to greener pastures.

>>5478611
>Sound the alarm
Pink star gay

>>5478611
>>Sound Alarm
WOOOOOOP WOOOOOOP

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”Hold on, I don't buy this... Computer, end all other monitoring processes and give me the computer cycles. I need more information on this object.”
“This monitoring station is also tasked with monitoring weather patterns and asteroid impacts, as well as other celestial objects and anomalies in the system. Commandeering the computer system may cause these other systems harm. I will not withhold this command from your superior in the event something goes wrong.”
”Just do it! Zoom in on the object; is this it? This red thing?”
“Affirmative.”
”So it isn't moving away from us? It's not red shifting?”
“No, color correction has already been applied.”
”Oh shi- NO WAY! That is RED! The Esaal have red battleships! This is an Esaal warship for sure! Computer, sound the alarm!”

While the computer wasn't quite ready to make a positive ID on the approaching object, your gut went with Esaal. You decide to sound the alert. All over the entire planet of Andoen, billions of Jaxtians have their normal lives and schedules interrupted by blaring alerts and calls for immediate evacuations. People in cities, military bases, and the country are packed into the nearest shelters. These places are designed up to the worst possible catastrophe- a nuclear strike. They await in silence at the emergency alert- only to be shown confirmation.

It WAS an Esaal ship! Somehow, a spaceship that totally avoided any of the tell-tale signs of detection. No radiation from emissions, no computer signals or networking signals- nothing! It was like a rock floating through space. Yet somehow this craft didn't pick up at all on your detection systems. It's some kind of stealth vessel!

”ATTENTION!” The voice rings out over the largest city on Andoen, built among the ruins of the alien civilization that once lived here. The ship itself is broadcasting the sound waves directly; as though for dramatic effect.

”This is Flight-Commander Twopunch- In charge of the Esaal Dark-Ship 919-J. I bring an important message from Ess, our homeworld.”

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”FUCK YOU! FIRE ALL WEAPONS! DEPLOY CANNISTERS!”

With that, the Dark-Ship, a Crusier-Class vessel, begins to unleash a firestorm of plasma down on the city- blowing up buildings and scorching nearby fields and orchards with its hot plasma cannons. At the same time; dull metal canisters begin to fire out from the ship and launch themselves like missile payloads all over the planet. The AI scrambles to interrupt their flight paths to steer them away from civilian areas and towards the still-active static defense turrets on Andoen to hopefully shoot them down. Your own static defense weapons take a few potshots at the enemy ship- but its tough Azurium-enriched armor does very little.

Because of your actions of sounding the alarm, everyone had enough warning to get to shelter, including Jale Berax and his squad of Death Commandos- who were training just outside the city before the alert went off.

Once it has finished destroying a decent amount of the city, and all of the big crusiers canisters have been launched, it quickly turns tail and runs. The Hegemony's vessels are supposed to be faster then the Esaal, so your nearby cruisers move to intercept- but once the ship slips away from the planet and reengages its stealth ability- the targeting computers and pilots quickly lose track of them. The Migrators are pushed to find the fleeing vessel, but cannot use Starsight quick enough to locate the fleeing ship- it gets away.

Worse yet are the payloads. All around Anoden, the canisters are shot down or break open on their own; unfortunately that does not stop what is within them. Each cannister was packed full of some kind of powdered metal substance. Later, the Hegemony's scientists figure out how it works. It's a metal that is very light and can be carried by the wind, but once it touches water it polarizes very strongly. This causes it turn into deadly microscopic spikes- the main danger being if it is breathed in or worse yet exposed to any open wounds or cuts. The metal reacts so strongly to water it can actually shatter or shoot off little splines that can pierce blood vessels- causing further internal damage. And once it dries out? It turns soft again, letting it travel and infect new people. It can even be carried by the bloodstream into the heart or other organs. Its a brutal and deadly contaminant to any large-bodied animal... including a Jaxtian.

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“...For your actions, Hojin Ampa, I award you with a Golden Band on your right arm, to signify your wisdom and success in defense of the homeland.”
”T-Thank you, your Majesty! But I was only doing my job.”
“No no. Ever since I put on the Mask of the Unspeakable, this empire has been too full of spineless cowards to afraid to make a decision. I want this man treated to a housing class upgrade. And buy his wife some of the most exotic fabrics and spices from the HVS- sponged from my account, of course.”

Wow, a Golden Band! Nobody in the Ampa family has ever earned one of these before. You thought it was too far above your “station”, but looks like you got a chance to prove yourself...

You are back to being Wrix Val again, and you are currently dealing with the fallout of the Andoen attack.

The planet was attacked by a “Dark Ship”, some sort of Esaal stealth cruiser. Their original attack against the city was designed to take as many lives and do as much damage to the Hegemony's control center and administration there, but because of the early warning, almost no Jaxtian lives were lost. Andoen is your current staging-ground in your preparation for war against the Esaal, so if they got a good bombing run they could have killed hundreds, if not thousands of troops and civilians vital to the war effort.

But worst yet was the anti-personnel nature of this attack. The ship alone could only do so much damage- The real threat were the canisters and their payloads; which would kill any Jaxtian outside and destroy any native wildlife- if this planet had any. This attack was meant to kill as many people as possible, indiscriminately. This weird metal weapon the Esaal use is being cautiously named “Water Barbs” and is a new terror weapon that you have to be on the lookout for. Even a light dusting of the stuff can kill, and it can spread into water- both the ocean and rivers on Andoen are now polluted with microscopic barbs everywhere. Cleanup is going to be a real headache. The Esaal have just dropped this, and the surprise attack, directly on the doorstep of your empire.

What are you going to do about it?
>Prepare for an immediate counterattack
>Spend time and resources deep-cleaning Andoen from the containment (Expensive)
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Make a Vow (Specify)
>Other? (Write In)

Ok Write-In means there is a secret menu option.

>Name Hojin as your successor and retire.

Wrix is tired of leading and I like this new Hojin character.

Give Hojin a few a years as a second in command before transferring power.

>>5479092
>>5479104
Support this wholeheartedly!

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal

>>5479104
>>5479107

That isn't how this works at all....

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Replace the City Planner with our Ship-building father
>Fake weakness, make it look like the attack was hyper effective and that the time to strike Andoen is now
The plan is to make them overextend into our space, and get them bogged down in a ground battle where we can win effectively against them. Trap them with their own pig-headed ego and pride.

Maybe the Baal and Father Val can combine forces to create something a tad more useful for naval warfare?

Also, obligatory write in section. Make sure there isn’t a secret we can exploit.

>>5479104
>>5479113
Not everything in this game is a secret or a puzzle. Sometimes it's just a choice you can make.

>>5479118
Yea, but having a trigger will make us more alert for when there are secrets to find. Chances are that this only improves our odds of secret-finding up to 35-40%, which mean we have a small chance instead of a snowball’s chance in hell.

>>5479118

BQM said explicitly in the last thread that if they give us a Write-In that means there is a secret hidden option
>>5479120

>>5479118
A choice like Wrix choosing a successor and retiring?

>>5479122
Most observant Space Monke player

Looking at the last thread it seems BQM didn't actually write the
Write-in=hint post

No matter then. I still support playing as Supreme Hojin.

>>5479104
>>5479107
Not to shut down your little meme rebellion here, but it’s never going to happen.

It’ll be a Garastra, in the library, with a candle stick.

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>>5479104
Hojin is cool but wildly underqualified.

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
We need to get more fuckin ships, we are WILDLY underprepared

Also, while Hojin is a horrible choice we SHOULD begin looking for an successor

Wrix is clearly tired. We need someone young and energetic.

>>5479164
Support.

>>5479092
>Make a Vow (Specify)

"The Esaal use their bases in the Baalathi cluster to strike against Jaxtian worlds and the Hegemony itself. This is unforgivable. I hereby VOW that before my reign is complete I will drive them back from the Baalathi worlds and secure them as the new borders of the Hegemony!"

Using this Vow:
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Spend time and resources deep-cleaning Andoen from the containment (Expensive)

>>5479092
We clearly are unprepared for the esaal if they have stealth technology that we can’t counter. We need ways to deal with it and more information on any other fancy toys they have.

>>5479092
>>5479183
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Look into options for successors
Hojin does not have Supreme-level genetics or training, he's a cool guy but a dumb pick. There's nothing stopping us from looking at our actual options, though.

>>5479092
"That was an impressive bit of work, getting computing power from other systems to enable you to zoom in and confirm your suspicions."
> Have Hojin Ampa work with experts to upgrade Space Monitor systems all over the Hegemony so other Planet Monotors can easily do the same... and more. The next time we'll see the Essal coming and attack before they enter the atmosphere.

>>5479092
>>Make a Vow (Specify)
Swear retribution on the Esaal

>>5479215
I think vows need to be specific, measurable, and suitably-grandiose in objective. Like "push back the Esaal from all adjacent star-clusters and take their planets for ourselves" or "kill 10 billion Esaal" or something that we can demonstrably succeed or fail at by the end of Wrix's rule.

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Look into options for successors

We can’t go in blind - especially if they have stealth tech

I also like the idea of ensuring the succession is steady

who gave the esaal their stealth tech? Somehow, I doubt they made it on their own

>>5479092
>>5479107
I'll change my vote to
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Look into options for successors

>>5479092
>>5479179
support

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Look into options for successors

>>5479314
The Worms, probably

The Esaal and the Consortium are 'worm puppets' in the sense that they, much like us before we discovered starsight, rely on worms and their psychic abilities.

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal

>>5479309
That’s simple- either Clok or Cijan

>Gather intelligence on the Esaal.

Also, Hojin and his family have an amazing track record dependent on "hunches." And given this is a universe where starsight is a thing....

>Gather genetic samples and brain scanners of the Ampa family line, to see if this "gut feeling" has a scientific and hereditary explanation.

And also,
>See if there is any of extinct alien technology that can help clean the enviroment faster.

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Are these microspheres magnetic? If so, it shouldn't be that hard to clean them up. Just sweep with magnets. Make the young alphas wear magnetic diving suits when out training.

On that note Azurium is magnetic, so a magneto scanner should be able to detect these stealth ships, and magneto-tractor beams should be able to hold them so that we can board. Embrace the miracle of magnets.

>>5479488
Nah senpai, it’ll be an expensive, time consuming process that we may never get started on. It’s just the way of things in this quest.

>>5479496
Or a dedicated Starsight monke looking for the Esaal.

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>>5479499
Friend Computer loves you and will carry your magneto burden for you. Rest your weary eyes star-man and enjoy the wonders of the sky.

>>5479092
>>5479179
+1 to this Voew
t.>>5478926

>>5479179
Anon, doing the Expensive option is likely to cuck our research efforts in a time of war. What we need to do is get the Essal bogged down on Andoen while the environment is hostile.

It turns out, a nation that hasn’t spend a decade and change treating itself to shreds can develop some extremely impressive armaments.

>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
>Look into options for successors

>>5479092
>Gather intelligence on the Esaal
On the one hand I wouldn't put it padt the Essal to do this as a "proportionate" response to our attack on their civilian base during the crusade.

On the other hand it feels almost too sneaky for the Essal and could be a Consortium false flag operation.

On yet another hand, it's not like either side needs to be duped into going to war. The Essal already hate us, they could already be in bed with the Consortium in regards to screwing us over.

The only real question here is whether we're gonna have a cold war or a hot war. And to answer that we need to know more.

>>5479799
I thought Esaal didn't believe in the concept of civilians or noncombatants?

>>5479829
They don't but that doesn't really change much. We hit them so now they've hit us back.

>>5479179
+1
It took a couple days, but I'm finally caught up. I'd say some stuff but I'm sure people don't want some random newfag clogging up the thread.

QM got jannied and will be unable to update for a little while.

>>5479974
Fucking jannies. I wish you the best Bananas.

>>5479974
Damn

Can't someone update it for him?

>>5479974
...why?

>>5479925
You could probably condense it to one or two posts.

Seems like we'll be waiting a while, anyway.

>>5479986
+1

>>5479925
I'm interested, Anon. I sometimes wonder if there are people who read this quest with a literary background and if so if there is some super deep themes that Bananas is hiding in the threads the unenlightened normies wouldn't get.

Wait a second. That guy who kept claiming he had a whole essay stored up about Bananas misreading the players never posted the essay. I'm waiting!!!!!

Also F for Bananas.

>>5480129
I'll just make it as short as I can while getting the main points across. Overall, I enjoyed the quest. Everybody's come a long way since then, though I mostly only read the QM's posts and skipped Akule's sidestory since I wasn't into it. The tailor was right about something being rotten in the Hegemony, but maybe not what we think. The early rulers were more about game-like advancement in a simple fun way. Then the first sidestory hit and I think that's where everything changed for both better and worse. Some bits I really enjoyed despite there being flaws, like Kima, and others seemed like pointless philosophical identical rants, ie. the vetuck genetic abortion ministory. Even if some choices always end up in the death of some either way, like the mother and her unborn child, I feel like there's a bigger problem. While Wrix is kind of resetting things to the way they used to be I also realize there was something wrong with what we were. The Hegemony will never be a true facist dictatorship like most people may want. Ironically, the Hegemony is more democratic then any other civ there will be in the story. Decisions are made not by one man, but a majority vote authorized by someone who tries to make the story enjoyable for multiple people. Maybe the best explanation would be the seat of 500 voices or whatever there name was, (they were basically only mentioned once eith Vantin in thread 1.) controls the Supreme one or Government. Because otherwise random people will be making decisions which seem inconsistent. Some may try to just purely min-max, go for what's most in character, or vote purely for whatever would fuck with everyone the most. I'd say more but this post is already long as it is.

>>5480350
>true facist dictatorship like most people may want
[X]

>>5480350
Write more, I want to read in-depth analysis of this autism. And it might help Bananas get some insight too. He can't object now.

>>5480367
Seconded. Write more, it's interesting to see a new perspective.

>>5480367
>>5480369
Please no. If we fill the thread with shittalking and debate again, BQM may just decide not to come back.

>>5480391
LMAO
Not everyone is as fragile as you

>>5480391
But there's no shittalking or debate, for once. Just a new guy giving his impressions. Bananas seems to like writing the quest despite the autistic fights that break out all the time, he'll be back.

Yes, let us use this break to have a book club-style discussion of the quest from an artistic point of view.

Talks like that are actually what got me into 4chan in the first place. (/co/ hypercrisis threads.)

>>5480367
>>5480369
>>5480391
It's been a bit so I post track of where I was going but I'll try to go more into the player base for this post. Even as a newfag who's only binged the QM's posts I can tell that there is a lot of discussion both good and bad. Some genuine arguing about which decisions we should pick while others sperg out more. QM really shouldn't let a couple of people dictate his motivation for storytelling solely because they don't like a couple parts (whether it be for justified reasons or not). It comes with the territory that not everyone is going to like it. Even I can tell that there is a genuine fanbase that wants a good story, whether it be the civ-side or more character driven stuff. I think it may be best to pick one, but it is interesting to see side-content spill into the main story, but it shouldn't overtake it. Also feels like we haven't gotten a lot of wins lately and every alien is out to get us. (The Seers probably being neutral at best.) Since I lost track I'm not sure what I should talk about, and I'm definitely trying to keep senseless arguing to a minimum, but if you want to ask me something about the perspective of a new guy I can answer.

>>5480433
>Some may try to just purely min-max, go for what's most in character, or vote purely for whatever would fuck with everyone the most.
I thought you were going to expand on this and the sort of ludonarrative dissonance in dictatorship being driven by vote democracy that you mentioned. I like looking at this type of stuff, although it's a bit disappointing we can't have nice things because fair voting will always lead to chaos. Not sure ludonarrative is correct heere, but you get the point.

>>5480454
On my PC now so it's a different IP. Yeah I can expand on that but there wouldn't be too much to talk about. Realistically, we can't do much to change the format of it because it's a quest on an anonymous forum where one sane voice is as equally powerful as one who wants to cause mayhem. And even between these same "sane" voices they all have differing values, world views, goals etc. It's pretty much like every quest has its own protag inflicted with schizophrenia. The only way to stay consistent would be for anons to unanimously agree on how they should control the ruler, which is basically impossible. The only way to mitigate this is to have each ruler's personality come out a bit more, like with Talacent refusing genocide and Agori not giving mercy. But then it's also like we have no control at all so why even bother with a quest format?
I thought about making a quest with schizo protag, with each anon canonically being a different voice in their head. But then I thought it would be too meta and gay.

>>5480472
>with each anon canonically being a different voice in their head
Believe it or not this has been done before

>>5480472
>>5480476
It's been done before but I would find it meta and gay, yeah.