NationStates Jolt Archive

Annie smiled at Alice, ‘So, today is D-Day?’

Alice nodded, ‘It’s been a long time...I never thought it’s actually work out when NSPD proposed it...’

‘Well, neither did I, or anyone else...It’s amazing to think they even managed to find that much material, let alone make anything out of it.’

Alice nodded again, ‘I’m still amazed the Supreme Commander authorised building the cradle and Colossus...And that lathe...’ she shakes her head, ‘It’ll be good to finally she her completed.’

-----------------------------------------------------

Hammer Bay, Construction Cradle of the Supercruiser Yui

The Supercruiser rested in her cradle, finally clear of the parties of construction workers who had been virtually living on her for the past few days, working around the clock to get her ready for launch in time. Now she stood complete, the main hull stretching over a mile out from the docks, her stern facing towards the sea. Lights were on all over her surface.

A tent stood in the centre of the stern’s carrier deck, where the guests would be served their meal and welcomed to share in Marshall Island’s joy at the completion of one of the greatest challenges her people had ever undertaken. People hurried around it, making last minute preparations and sweeping snow off the deck. In the bay, three arsenal ships and ten barges loaded with fireworks awaited their signal.

A young girl sat on the vessel’s stern, dangling her legs over the end of the carrier deck, absent-mindedly singing softly to herself, eyes closed. Her long, white hair blew in the breeze as Annie walked up behind her. Annie smiled, ‘Yui? The guests should be arriving soon, you want to greet them?’

Yui stood, opening her eyes, ‘Yes, I’d like that’ she says, her voice almost a whisper.

[Buggerit. I've been staring at this for two hours and haven't written a word. Tag for when my brain functions again.]

(OOC: Mind if if a 5CN warship pops in to collect data?)

OOC: Mind if a Thelasi dignatary pops in?

*gloats because we actually have an invite*
post forthcoming when I get inspiration 8)

Corporate Spire, Chiba City, The Most Glorious Hack
(A few days previous)

"So, they're actually ready to launch, hmm?" Alysa was perusing the bookshelf, amazed at the completist collection of computer and psychology books. She smiled to herself at the copy of 'Windows ME For Dummies'. It was the key book that caused the shelf to move and allow access to the labratory below. The theory was that nobody would ever want that book, but why on Earth would the director of the Hack's IT machine have a copy?

"Yup. Couple days." Josef was skimming through his e-mail. "Wonder who's gonna fall in love this time."

"Come again?"

"I realised it last night. At the SCIMITAR dedication, Alice and I met face-to-face for the first time, and ended up married, two kids. At Shiva's, you and Emily started seriously dating, and ended up married, one kid..."

"Er... not exactly." Alysa was grinning like an idiot. Josef simply raised a questioning eyebrow; an action that always reminded Alysa of Mr. Spock. "Yeah... Em and I went to the clinic last week... and, well... pretty soon little Rebecca will be born."

"Hey, congratulations!" Josef hopped up and gave her a friendly hug. "If we ever get a moment's peace, we'll have to celebrate. This is great news."

Alysa smiled at him, "Well, with any luck, the taskmasters at NSPD will give us a bit of a break before we have to work on Rei."

Josef grinned, turning the monitor so Alysa could see it, "Moot point, really." He pointed to a few lines in the budget proposal that had just been sent to him, "Funding for Elijah's avatar has been approved. All fifty billion of it."

"50... billion?"

He nodded, "Well, they expect us to come in under budget, but yeah, billion. It's all new tech for us, and we're starting from scratch." He smiled, "And he's gonna be strolling around on the surface of Mercury..."

"But... how can we afford...?"

He grinned, "Curtesy of the NDA."

---

Hammer Bay, GMC Military Arms

The security forces were relieved. President Solis had decided not to attend, which ment the security goons wouldn't be needed. While high ranking officials would be in attendance, they didn't merit the extra coverage the president did; GMC forces would suffice. There were concerns about how insular Victor had become since ascending to the presidency, but nobody was too worked up about it.

Dr. Josef Specter, Alysa Anderson, and Anna O'Donell were already there, Anna looking mildly uncomfortable, not being a government official. Elsewhere, a black limousine pulled up, Jessica Hawthorne, Lazarus and Admiral Michael Swanson climbed out, looking up at Yui with no small amount of awe.

Admiral Engelhardt, Chief of the Imperial Naval Staff, a short, white haired man with piercing blue eyes, arrived with two aides. Campaign ribbons made colourful lines on his navy blue formal dress. He was the veteran of several campaigns; he had commanded the Atlantic Fleet during the Ienotheisan War. But he could not help but raise his eyebrows and whistle in a low tone at the sight of the ship. His aides glanced at one another. From the Admiral, that was demonstrative in the extreme. Seeing senior officers from the Hack and GMC he strolled over to greet them.

Slobodan looked at his companions in the limo driving to the building site. He was Extremely excited, this was going to be such fun, he just loved to get to know new people. He watched the huge Bavarian Inquisitors Hanz and Franz play some cards to make time pass by. The Admiral, Hans Von Schenke, was an all other matter, all business. How very droll Slobodan thought. He smiled to himself and thought about the wonders he was about to see, maybe he even could get some new specimen to his collection, it had been done before and Hanz and Franz were very helpful with things like that.

"Smile Vlad. That's an order from your liege."
A scowl greeted this remark, moustaches flailed and Vlad tugged the collar of his RBN dress uniform.
"Don't see why I should, damn cheeky giving me orders at present." He muttered, looking rebellious.
The other man in the car, a younger man, also in his dress uniform, but this time the khaki and black of the army, instead of the navy's blue, grinned at the scowling Admiral. "You're taking this rather personally. You know damn well we were lucky to get an invite to the launch, and turning up in the Pendragon wouldn't have been polite. We don't want to look like the poor relation next to GMC."
A tall, brownhaired woman, eyes startlingly blue, sitting next to Vlad dug him in the ribs "And you know we would have. Owen made the right choice in slipping in on a shuttle. This is an a celebration, not a competition, and GMC are important to us, especially with the new rifle contract. So stop being such a baby about having to leave your extension behind."
Vlad muttered "Man's wife won't even support him, bah!" He scowled out the window at the passing city as the vehicle cut through traffic.
Owen leaned back and grinned. "Can't win them all Vlad." He looked to where Arwen was pressed up against the window, eyes wide and smiled again. "Big isn't it?"
She looked round and nodded, eyes still wide. "There's no-where at home like this. It's..well.."
Owen snaked an arm around his wife's shoulders "Overpowering. I know."
She nodded and went back to gazing out the window, then blinked and pointed "What're those?"
Owen tracked where she was pointing and blinked. "Er...they look like bloody big cranes. But..." he stopped. What he'd assumed was some sort of arcology was starting to take on recognisable shape.
"Eru Above."
Vlad and Anne eyed the awed-looking Royal Couple, Vlad growling "What, what can you see?"
Owen looked round, his eyes flickering slightly, "What can I see? A mountain that GMC have made into a ship. Gods I'm glad they're peaceable."

ooc: Timewarp: I will assume this happens after Mikhails coronation.

Two days ago

"Well, you know... giant projects like GMC`s Yui were never something my Uncle approved off..." The young woman/ old girl looked sort of... well, distracted. Not exactly something unexpected, considering that her uncle died in that accident a week ago... "In any case, i`m sort of busy with getting into this..."

The man opposite to her nodded. "I know, it`s a troublesome time... And it`s hard to get used to ruling the second- largest corporation in DA." He grinned, slightly ironical, since he ruled the largest one... Although the Mad Scientists Conference wasn´t exactly a corporation... "But i`m pretty sure you would enjoy it. Besides, it`s never bad to have some contacts abroad."

The young woman, Sakurai, smiled. It was a girlish smile, not exactly a surprise, considering her tender age... eighteen. "You`re probably right... But the funeral is in two weeks..."
"You will be back soon enough. And being in your position, i think no one will mind."
She sighed. "Ok, i will come..."

---

The present

They arrived a bit late, the weather on their flight had been a bit... uncomfortable. Not exactly surprising, considering the time of the year... winter in GMC.

Desty Nova and his always- present, naughty assistant, Elaine, this time replacing Rosco, as well as Sakurai, quite enjoyed the cold weather... being Angstians, this was quite natural.

Especially Sakurai seemed to enjoy it, the white snow seemed to please her beyond expectations... Naturally, considering the rather durty, almost black snow one would see in DA...

They were discussing various things, Desty Nova tasteless as ever, mentioning Aramaki`s death and sort of... discussing his 'mistakes' with Sakurai, Aramaki´s niece, while Elaine stayed relatively silent, pondering the possibility of finding a man to have fun with.

Their styles are fairly different. Desty Nova wears his usual, slightly dirty lab coat with cravat and his rather extravagant glasses, while Sakurai wears a long, black skirt & a (rather expensive looking) brown coat, her hair ending in a neatly made plait. Elaine is, as usual, completely tasteless, and wears black leather... at least she doesn´t show too much flesh, due to the low temperatures. One could wonder how the and Desty got together, since both have clearly different characters...

Hammer Bay, Marshall Island, GMC Military Arms

The decks of the Tsarainese Aerial Yacht Kash'ha were shrouded in a thick layer of white, crunching softly beneath Rene's boots.

"It's snowing," she remarked, sounding almost suprised. Obviously it would snow, given Marshall Island's latitude and geography, but... "I don't believe I've seen snow for, oh" - she pondered briefly, adding up the long years under the Wastes - "Thirty-seven years. Accursed be Fate, but that makes me feel old."

"You don't look it," Kaiten said politely, "And we may see snow in Tsaraine once more, depending on circumstances."

"Thanks be to Shodan and Treznor both," Rene agreed. The former had repaired her body, the latter her nation, and she was greatly indebted to both.

"High probability that's Hammer Bay," Kaiten said, pointing at a cluster of bright lights visible through the snowy night.

"Probably it is," Rene concurred.

>> Identify urban area: Hammer Bay?

<< Indentity confirmed: Hammer Bay.

"It is," she concluded. The Shodan-created DNI was very useful, not least in boosting Tsaraine's own efforts in that direction; the Ea now carried DNI implants also, although they told her that it was a far cry from their strange Communion.

They watched the city grow closer, larger, until they could see the brightly lit landing grounds below the curve of the Kash'ha's hull.

>> Contact user: Tsharyen-Serane ea Seingult.

>> We'll be landing soon, Kash'ea kto'ki. Would you care to join us?

The Ea she'd brought along had been hiding in her cabin since they'd passed Ekatori; losing the Communion affected the Ea badly, although they knew it would return as soon as they returned within range.

<< I'll be there, Serane confirmed. That was good; diplomats who couldn't function outside of their home nation were no use, after all.

"Let's get out of this snow," Rene said aloud, "Else we'll soak through before we get to the ground."

Kaiten nodded, and they headed back into the warmth of the Kash'ha's brightly lit interior. Serane was waiting for them, dressed in the heavily embroidered red-gold coat that had become the uniform of the Ea.

"Sensible of you, to stay out of the snow," Rene told her, and brushed melting flakes from her own black-and-blue coat.

The Ea nodded, and said, "We'll be landing soon. Best to sit down while we lose altitude."

Embassy Office, Earlier



"Bro?"



Jan Ntsondo looks up from the rendered sheaves of paperwork floating in front of him. There stands his sister Johanna, shadow illuminated by painfully bright sunlight.



"Sis? How're things downwell?"



"Bowdlerized for your tender ears... Ahahahahaha! Secondary ring complete, test-firing done, primary ring at seventeen percent, eight months to total world domination! Domination I say! Domination for DOOM Aheh." Quick sketches flare as Jan endures the fluidly graceful posing. At least she's laid off with altering her olfactory cues to mess with his hardwiring.



"Thank you for the briefing," he replies dryly, lifting a real paper from the real desk and flicking a simulation at Johanna. She catches it deftly and reads. Eyes widen slightly and she flushes.



"Yui..."



Airport, Today



The immense, vaguely streamlined transport slows to a hover, thermal dumps shrilling. Stubby landing gear deploys as it touches down, ass end toward its assigned hangar. Aboard, one certified technological genius and a partial load of parts for the Proletariat's Renewed, Ever-Victorious Grand Tractor Construction Collective. Nearby, two Storm Mammoths ready for transport out. On the ground, Ambassador Jan Ntsondo and anyone responding to the low-priority alert that Armscor/Territorial's primary tech-witch is visiting.

http://members.cox.net/davage/images/Slobodan.jpg
Slobodan walked out of the limo and stood and watched the ship in awe together with his three companions. Even Hanz and Franz seemed awed by the immense size of the thing. The Admiral let a "God is truly Great!" out with his breath. Damn! That thing was big, but big ships were often big targets, as Vegananian fleets had proven to their enemies before. Slobodan decided to wait with being awestruck until he had watched the ship more thouroughly. Flanked with the twins he walked towards the meeting, whistling a joyous little tune.

For a While Back, Extending Into the Now

The Queendom embassy in GMCMA was, quite arguably, a result of only a few degrees of separation. Having common friends in the Shogunate and not too far from the Non-Democratic Alliance, it was only natural that S.H.O.D.A.N. came into contact with this company-turned-country. Upon learning that it had its own burgeoning population of electronic intelligences built for varying purposes, she questioned into the possibility of opening an embassy. Her recent history going before her (and her distant history remaining quietly unbroached), her proposal was accepted and, after purchasing a small parcel near the usual "diplomatic row," built a small embassy to house a local avatar and some assistant androids.

Calling it "quiet" would be an understatement. Zero-One embassies in nations with an artificial intelligence presence are more akin to recruitment centers than actual embassies, given the limited amounts of androids wandering about the streets of foreign countries. When there is a nation with many intelligences wanting to get out, the local Zero-One consulate or embassy is a place of action, teeming with artificial life.

When there isn't... it can be rather slow. S.H.O.D.A.N. simply bided her time locally, sometimes walking about the city, sampling the local culture, or just left her avatar inactive in its little niche. Sometimes her presence would be requested at some function, and she would arrive with expected punctuality, doing her best to represent her little empire of data.

This turns out to be one of those occassions. Wearing--as usual--no more than the usual elbow-length purple short cape and its attendant Egyptian-style 'necklace' over the shoulders of her grey-skinned avatar, she silently pads her way towards the monolith of armor-plate waiting beside the ocean. Directions were unecessary with such a landmark; that and the simple pattern of congregation made it relatively obvious what was going on and where.

Being little more than a quietly official guest in a land that didn't have much use for her, she doesn't make much of an effort to be noticed or to check in. She arrives, and that is enough; she will be noticed eventually or not. For now, it simply opens up a window of opportunity to observe the other guests.

The Archangel class carrier Zeroel made it's approach, a fairly new crew on board the vessel exchanging confirmations and coordinate data with GMC's air traffic control, guiding the ship in to landing and discharging the Shogunate's diplomatic envoy- Kara Grey, Zeroel Archangel, and Firefury Amahira herself. The small group took in the sight of the massive cruiser with varying degrees of shock.

"Holy hell, that had to cost a not-so-small fortune!"

"It's one thing to build a mile long spacecraft... but to pull that off for a seagoing vessel-"

"Hot damn, check out the size of those guns! Effing huge!"

"Um.. Queenie, this is a diplomatic function."

The orange reploid grins and leads her group up to join the party, immediately spotting the distintive appearance of Shodan's avatar and jogging over. Zeroel is a bit more subdued than usual, the reason evident in the black armband tied to his avatar's right arm. With the ghost of Captain Sierra still haunting the EI's hardware, it would be some time before he fully moved on past the tragic slaughter of his original crew.

Kara manages a wry grin at Firefury's enthusiasm for weapons and escorts Helen along at a more sedate pace. "This ought to be fun, ne?"

[bleah. Sorry, already had this post eaten once]

The party by the ship bows as they welcome each group; Admiral of the Fleet Jacob Hunter, a tall, proud looking man with white hair matching his beard stands first in line, followed by Field Marshal Embersby of the Army and finally a rather small, slightly shy looking white-haired girl of about sixteen who introduces herself simply as 'Yui;' she wears a navy Captain's uniform, although she looks a little uncomfortable with so many people around.

The guests are led up a long carefully-covered stairway to the ship's rearsection, her carrier deck, where a tent has been set up to shelter them from the cold and snow. Inside, several carefully-set tables wait, with national flags indicating who is to sit where.

Yui smiles, coughing slightly before speaking, 'Ladies and gentlemen, the Federation welcomes you about the Supercruiser Yui, to share in our jubilation at her launch. Please, take your seats.'

The three arrived in time, quietly nodding to the hosts. Desty Nova doesn´t seem to be overly concerned regarding his rather... unconventional clothing, not to mention that he was rather... quiet. Which was unusual.

Sakurai, still not used to all the rather old & important people around her, seems to be pretty nervous... Her arrogance does not yet shine through. On her shoulder sits a (small) hawk, looking around interestedly, eyeing the other guests.

She tries not to look, but can`t hide her curiosity for Yui. The girl, not the ship.

Elaine, however, is all herself, looking at Admiral Hunter, whispering to Desty. "What a man... I would`t mind him..." Despite her whispering, it`s loud enough to be heard by the admiral. Desty just grins while Elaine looks at the admiral, clearly indicating her 'interest'. I need some variety, anyway... Waving, she walks to the ship. "I hope we meet again, later." Her grin shows her white teeth... And a certain cruel look in her face.

Finally, the three sit down, waiting.

Owen pulled out two chairs and and waved Arwen into one. Across the table Vlad was mirroring this with Anne.
After they were comfortably seated the group looked to where the young woman in the Captain's uniform was looking somewhat nervous.
Vlad, as was his wont, scowled. "Bloody young for a Captaincy, and no bloody last name. Strange way of doing things."
His wife also eyed the young woman. "There's something...she is very young. I wonder.."
Owen, unfortunately for his participation in the conversation, had fallen into old habits, and was absently calculating the security threats to his group, eyes tracking sudden movements, a sort of deadly stillness radiating from him, even in this secure place.
Arwen eyed her distracted husband and smiled at the Duke and Duchess. "Well, GMC are capable people. I'm sure whatever her rank, she's deserving of it. Hmm. She reminds me of Pendragon. But I'm not sure why. It's an androgynous A.I. and she's a young girl. It's odd."
Vlad looked at the young captain again. "Now that you mention it...Ah well." He leaned back in his chair and admired the massive ship. "Weirdness of the Captain aside, I like this ship."
Owen snapped back into paying attention "No Vlad. You're not having one! No, bloody No!"
Arwen and Anne burst out laughing and Vlad blinked, muttering about the ingratitude of young pups..

S.H.O.D.A.N. waves to the approaching Reploid, and again to Zeroel and his companion. "Ah, Queen Firefury. A pleasant surprise." The avatar smiles, then goes through the reception line. It's not much of a stretch to attach the 'child' to the ship's avatar; as such, she makes a special bow to Yui, a bit lower than the traditional short bows she presents to the other dignitaries.

She takes her seat at the table with the Queendom flag, very much alone. Maybe I should have brought along the android staff, as few as they are. It doesn't bother her so much as ensure a lack of conversation, a mild inconvenience.

Most of the Hack's dignitaries find their way to their seats, essentially right next the people from GMC. Lazarus notices Desty and frowns slightly, but by and large they don't seem to have much to say, probably waiting for things to get going.

Alysa, however, makes a note of talking briefly with Yui, before taking her seat.

Kara leads Helen and Zeroel to their seats, while Firefury excuses herself and plops down at Shodey's table, despite her seat being with the Shogunate attendees. The reploid is still sans her helmet (apparently getting that broken fin fixed is a low priority), and her short brown hair is gathering into a high ponytail. Never one for formality, Firefury casts a casual glance around before opening conversation in a way perfectly typicals of the reploid.

"Yo, Shodey, s'up?"

Kara, meanwhile, tries desperately hard to ignore the reploid's antics, and busies herself with the sort of small talk only married people can make with Helen.

This, of course, leaves Zeroel in a rather awkward situation, so the EI's avatar turns to scope out Yui, with a note to himself that GMC must have some warped sense of humor in creating the avatars for their EIs. A young girl? A cute little girl, and most certainly capable as the EI for the supercruiser, but what if something were to arise unexpected-? At least his reploid avatar, while clunky, has the strength and abilities to defend the crew in close quarters- he quickly halts that train of thought, fingering the black cloth tied to his right arm and sighing heavily. I know I did everything I could, but that doesn't help the guilt. All in due time, I suppose.

Desty chuckles, seeing Lazarus rather... scared? look, and whispers something to Elaine. She chuckles as well, eyeing Lazarus. Handsome...

While Desty & Elaine talk about rather... inappropriate things, Sakurai seems to be rather occupied with her hawk, occasionally talking to it, sometimes giggling. She`s waiting for the show to begin, just like the others. She`s a bit nervous thought, since quite a few of the attendants are... well, completely unknown to her.

"Yo, Shodey, s'up?"
'Shodey' chuckles softly at Firefury's use of the diminutive--the small group of friends she allowed to use it always keeps growing, and ever since their little discussion not too long ago the reploid queen was more than welcome to use it. "Not much, Fury. Mostly, I'm just glad to have a chance to get out and stretch my legs." She looks down and twiddles her toes before looking up with a mischievous grin. "This set of them, at least."

Leaning forward, she rests her elbows on the table and manages to look thoroughly bored. "I don't have much of a reason to be here, as all of the EI are happy and free and very much unlikely to want to defect--check that, immigrate"--she winks and grins--"to Rhea. My interests here are limited at best to a few dealings because they are indirect friends-of-friends, and mostly my presence here consists of sampling the local foods and coming to functions like these. While I am making contacts in the area, they're generally limited to barkeeps and cafe owners who get to hang interesting pictures on their walls due to my custom. Honestly, I feel like a famous writer."

Leaning back, she extends her arms, looking at something that isn't there with a canted head. "Come to the historic Red Duckling! Sentient HyperOptimized Data Access Network frequents it!" She chuckles, settling back in her chair. "I've heard the same thing before, except replace my name with, oh, Kurt Vonnegut or Ernest Hemmingway."

As people meandered over to their seats and began to look for things to start, Josef stood up, adjusting his tie. The IT director from the Hack was dressed in a rather simple suit, nothing particularly fancy. He smiled, glancing from table to table, some guests he knew, some he'd never seen before. He cleared his throat softly before speaking,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to GMC. I've been asked to say a few words about the Hack's contribution to this project, also, this way I'm speaking while everyone's getting settled, so everyone will be ready to listen when more important people talk." He smirks slightly before resuming.

"Hacker technitions have been working on this project essentially since the funding was green lighted. A project of this scope and ambition takes a lot work, time, money, and most importantly, cooperation. Even while the hull was being laid, we were designing the electrical systems, the optics, the computer systems of all sorts, and, well, you all get the idea.

"We are pleased to be here for this momentous occation, and very pleased to have been involved from the begining. We'll be starting this thing up shortly, so if everyone could take their seats, I'll yield the floor. Thank you."

Rene and Serane took their seats, behind the table draped with the blue Omniscience of Tsaraine; Kaiten and Serane's Rukine, Areidt, flanked them.

<< Rene? Kaiten sent over the DNI, I note non-humans among this gathering; SHODAN, of course, and the Reploid Delegation. Der Angst's delegation, too, is non-standard. All this we know from EIC reports, of course, or direct observation; but the young captain of this vessel is an artificial construct.

>> That would take quite some doing, no? Impressive technology.

Rene realised, suddenly, that SHODAN, another artificial construct, might be able to tap into the Tsarainese DNI commlink; she had, after all, provided Rene's own implant, and that technology had bootstrapped the systems now implanted in the Rukine Knights and the Ea.

I think it's time we changed that name, Rene thought. The real Rukines are getting somewhat hostile about it, I think - or at least so the Arkhaeron Tlesafr implied.

While so pondering, she listened to Josef's short speech semi-attentively; she'd met the man before, on the Pearl project. Though this time, I'm the only NDA member present.

Earlier...

The Menelmacari frigate Eldahossë Minë - formerly the Lady's ship before she had 'upgraded' to the destroyer Gilthoniel, and now Menelmacar's primary fall-back diplomatic transport - landed in Hammer Bay. The Prefect of Imperial Defense and Homeland Security, Lady Serendis nos Fithurin, wasn't particularly impressed with the city... it was dirty and industrial, with smokestacks the most prominent bits of the horizon... and worst of all, it was snowing. Used to the warmth of Vinyatírion, she shivered in the unaccustomed cold, drawing her fur-lined cloak tightly about her, as whatever officials had been sent to greet her arrived at last.

It was not long before Serendis was conducted aboard the supercruiser Yui, and she took a seat at the Menelmacar table, next to Tsaraine's, just before Josef began to speak.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/sirithil/sirithilnosfeanor.gifLady Sirithil nos Fëanor
Elentári of the Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar
High Queen and Lady-Protector of Elvenkind
"We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. We will see freedom's victory."
~US President George W. Bush
We Love the Iraqi Information Minister (http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com)
Clicky-clicky!

Yui stands, and bows to the assembled dignatories, 'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I've been asked to give you a short speech prior to the launch...' she smiles nervously.

'As some of you are already aware, this ship was laid here many years ago, and it's taken some of the greatest minds of three countries to bring it to what you see today. It's my pleasure to congratulate all of those involved in this project, from the dockworkers who fitted this vessel out right up to the designers and supervisors. The Federation is proud of each and every one of you.'

'I'd also like to thank all the dignatories here tonight who have come to witness the launch, and share in our joy at this achievement.'

She smiles, 'And speaking of the launch...' those on the deck might hear the sounds of something mechanical happening at the base of the cradle under the ship, and then, very slowly, realise that the ship is moving towards the water. Eventually, the ship is floating; guests might notice Yui looking rather relieved at this. At that point, the barges and arsenal ships start hurling volleys of fireworks into the air; it's a spectacular sight by any standard.

Yui smiles.

Slobodan sat frozen and only with a great mental strength could he remove his eyes from the elf. Strapped on his hand was a rubberband and as Yui spoke he repeatedly snapped it to his hand while watching the elf. With a hard strain he finally was able to focus on Yui totally and intensly listened to her words. He tried to remove the thought of elves, their delicate bodies in a pool of blood, their organs all glittering under the light of a lab lamp, long slim legs under his knife... He shook his head and snapped the rubber band once more and concentrated on Yui. He could hear the Bavarian twins twitch in their seats. Focus Slobodan, Focus he thought as the fireworks begun.

Owen leaned back in his chair, snaking an arm around Arwen. The couple looked up at the booming fireworks, a particularly loud bang spraying GMC's crest across the sky in glowing colour.
Vlad, arm also round Anne, looked at the display approvingly.
"Good stuff this. The Fed obviously know how to celebrate." He chewed on his moutaches, "Good stuff."
Owen nodded. "Well they deserve a celebration after the amount of effort this" he stamped slightly on the deck, "took to put together. And I think I've figured out what Yui is."
The Duke and Duchess looked at Owen. Anne pursed her lips "Well? C'mon smarty, share with those of us without crowns."
Owen grinned, hugging Arwen, who was still smiling up at the fireworks.
"Quite simple. She's got the same name as the ship, is a Captain, and is far too young for her job. As GMC aren't in the habit of promotion by nepotism, she must have the skills for the job."
The Ducal couple nodded.
Owen continued "It was SHODAN turning up that gave me the clue." He jabbed a thumb at Yui, who was also watching the display, looking somewhat less nervous now. "Your Graces, Yui the Girl is Yui the ship's A.I. avatar."
Comprehension dawned. Vlad arched an eyebrow, the expression causing moustaches to wave in a questioning fashion, "Damned odd avatar for a multi-millon tonne cruiser. Ah well, foreigners do some damnably odd things at times."
Anne smiled tolerantly at her husband "Yes dear."
Owen shrugged. "I'm sure they had their reasons. Do try and be a bit more diplomatic Vlad, these aren't CACE wogs here, these are real people."

"Well... Looks like GMC people tend to like short speeches." Desty chuckled.
"Hey, she`s not exactly... old, or experienced with this kind of... stuff."

While Sakurai & Desty continued to have their polite differences, the fireworks begun... Quite impressive fireworks, one had to admit it.

While the sky was illuminated by the fireworks, pictures and lights, full of elegance, beauty, and crushing brightness coloured on it, Sakurai looked (mostly) elsewhere. To Slobodan & Serendis, to be correct... She was intrigued by the two... and their certainly... interesting 'relationship'. She could almost feel Slobodan`s hatred, and giggled. This could be amusing...

Her Hawk seemed to be less interested in Slobodan and Serendis, though, and eyed... other people, rather randomly, although it seemed to have a special interest in S.H.O.D.A.N.... But then, the lights in the sky were pretty as well.

Elaine seemed to be rather bored, while Desty was actually fairly... fascinated with the ship, most likely the only one of the three with significant interest for the ship (Although Sakurai wasn´t exactly uninterested). He admired it`s form, it`s size... It`s strength.

It was something he himself would be incapable of doing, and there were few things he couldn´t do... I want something like this to play with.

A Bit of Backtime and Front





The Ntsondo twins arrive arm in arm, all close-lipped smiles and shallow bows, "resplendent" in Territory-style khakis over gelsuits that while they certainly flatter their sleekly muscular figures and show off Armscor/Territorial products in open carry would bring any self-respecting Fashion Police down on them like a cubic assload of bricks.





Jan is warmly polite to the receiving party, offering the typical Roman-style handshake. He is the Ambassador after all. Johanna is barely able to restrain her enthusiasm, eyes blazing as she greets Yui with a "You're looking incredible!" If the looks she gave FM Embersby a ways back were those of an engineer, the look she gives Yui is more of the "throw you down and shag you rotten" variety. Except it's obviously the ship she wants to throw down and shag rotten, to the point where a bit of reflexive shielding may be in order for people of the empathic persuasion.





Jan sniffs the air and looks at SFAT members for a bit. Johanna cools off, giving him a dirty look. The air is briefly loaded with coded pheromones.





They sit down for the speech, and as the fireworks blaze we find the suspiciously similar twins shouting in childlike delight, appreciating the blaze.

The Bavarian twin closest to Slobodan watched the elves with his big square jaws moving, like chewing or trying to say something. His bulging muscles could be seen through his jacket as it seemed to be on the verge of busting, his hands clenching and unclenching. A small trickle of saliva started to show as the bavarian brother seemed to work him up to some kind of a frenzy. The admiral nudged Slobodan in the side to make him aware of the upcoming situation. Slobodan awoke from his daydreams as Hans was preparing to leap, crouching in his seat like a tiger, madness in his bloodshot eyes, focusing on his prey, a growling sound from deep within his throat. Slobodan slowly took out a short rod he had carrying for these occasions.

As Hans sprung from his chair Slobodan gently touched the big mans scrotum with his rod and with a fizzling sound 20,000 volt sprang in a sparkling firework between rod and crotch. The big twin sank back into his seat with a tiny wisp of smoke coming out from his pants. Slobodan leaned close to the twin and whispered:
"Bad boy.."

Yui smiles, 'I can offer a short tour of the vessel, if anyone's interested; dinner will be served in a little while, otherwise.' She glances down the ship, lights on her surface flicking on all the way up her length, illuminating the form of the giant straddle crane Colossus which is the only part of the ship's cradle still above the water. 'If anyone would like to examine the flank armament and foredeck, now's your chance.'

She blushes slightly at Johanna's greeting, 'Um...Thankyou...'

Sakurai and Desty are immediately up, seemingly intrigued by the ship and the opportunity to watch it more closely. Especially Desty is more than willing to expand his horizon. "we..." He glances at Sakurai, "will gladly take the chance to see this magnificient piece of... tech... more closely. Such a large step forward has to be experienced more closely." He smiles, although it´s almost a grin, his glasses giving him an almost evil look. Clearly, he is fascinated by the ship... And by Yui, for that matter.

Owen and Arwen glid to their feet and moved over to where the Angstians and Yui stood. Owen sketched a half bow to Yui. "Ma'am, we'd be honoured to be shown around your ship." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked to where the Duke and Duchess were seated.
"The rest of my group seems to be more interested in food than a tour. Heh."

S.H.O.D.A.N. stands with a smile, looking back at Firefury. "You can't eat, and I don't have to, so I think we should take up the offer of a tour." Walking across the deck, she joins the growing party around Yui's more sociable avatar, feeling the more utilitarian one under her feet.

It's fascinating, watching others collect around the image they recognize. Avatars come in more forms than ones with arms and legs.

Standing somewhat behind and to the right of Sakurai, the fiber optic lattice that covers her body glows with a very gentle green light, highlighting in the darkness but not illuminating. The effect of her green-glowing eyes with their catlike slitted pupils is similarly subdued, but unnerving nonetheless.

Firefury nods and hops to her feet with a clank. "I think I'll nab Zeroel, too. The kid needs to get out and socialize. S'why I dragged him to this shindig in the first place." She jogs over to the Shogunate table, and words are briefly exchanged, unheard over the rest of the noise. The exchange ends with the orange reploid grabbing Zeroel by the arm and physically hauling the thaumaturgic attack carrier's avatar after her.

"Come on, let's go meet Yui already, Zeroel! EI commradship an' all that. Besides, yer a ship, too! I'm sure the two of you have something in common to chat about!" The reploid can be heard chattering away and she and Zeroel join the cluster. "Hey, did you ever go out on that date with June?"

"D-d-DATE?!" The EI manages to get in edgewise. "We were just going to try and see some concert or other that got canceled! That hardly counts as a date!"

Rene watched the fireworks, remembering the fire of Invader weapons in Earth orbit, decades ago. Those had been fireworks of impressive nature, the skies of half the world lit with the light of falling ships.

"Come on," she told her companions, "Let's go take this tour, then. Food can wait."

She and Serane stood and made their way over to the growing crowd, with Kaiten and Areit falling in behind.

<< SHODAN has eyes like mine, Serane remarked, amused; she blinked her own cat-slit eyes behind her tinted glasses.

>> Of different origin, I'm sure, Rene replied. No organics in that avatar, after all. Though the Researchers in GMC certainly did a good job of faking it in their avatar.

Josef and Alysa, already being exceptionally familiar with Yui opt to stay with spouses, feeling no burning desire to go on the tour. Lazarus also stays in his seat next to Josef, being rather disturbed at Desty's presence. The man made him uneasy.

Anna and Jessica, on the other hand are far more interested in seeing the ship. After a bit of near begging, Anna manages to convince Nikki to go with, Jessica's girlfriend happily agreeing to join the group, as she hadn't seen the ship either. The motley bunch meander on over to Yui, keeping a respectful distance, not wanting to crowd the poor girl.

Admiral Swanson speaks briefly with Josef in low tones before heading over and joining the others, looking every bit the Naval officer, despite being from the Hack, a nation where it's usually assumed that everyone's a slacker.

Sakurai`s Hawk looks at S.H.O.D.A.N.. Aside from catching a glimpse or two at Zhakarov`s birthday, long ago, contacts with it had been non- existant. Of course, the main reason the Hawk looks at her is its rather... strange avatar... While AI`s are generally known to use the strangest possible form for their avatars (For example, Hawks), this one is, surprisingly enough, unique.

Sakurai seems to care much less, staying close to Yui, truly fascinated by the ship. So is Desty, although he still seems to be a bit arrogant... Well... they can build them big, thats certain... Question is, are they actually good? He thinks of the DA naval expansion program, and it`s own 550m ships... Damn, a bit to late...

Elaine stayed behind, though, not really interested in the ship... But all the more interested in someone else... A few steps, and she stands next to Lazarus. "You´re... Lazarus, right?" She smiles at him with her seductive, yet sorta evil smile, showing her teeth. "The professor told me alot about you..."

Shodey chuckles softly at the banter between Zeroel and Firefury, noting that once again the impulsive reploid was going out of her way to get the attack carrier a hands-on education in the way of the world. Casting a short, knowing glance back at the Hawk with a wink and a mischievous smirk, she motions for Firefury and Zeroel to join her.

"I haven't heard anything about any date," she chimes in, looking to the two Shogunate dignitaries, "but 'date' or no it's good to see you making the attempt. How are you these days, Zeroel?"

Lazarus seemed a little nervious about Elaine's sudden attention, then again, he often seemed nervious.

"Er, yes I am. What, ah, have you been told about me, anyway? I'm hardly the type to be in anyone's dossier..."

If reploids could blush, it's a pretty good bet Zeroel's face would be a quaint shade of embarassed right about now. "I... have been better." Zeroel fidgets with his black armband. "But things are improving.... a little..."

Firefury butts in, giving Zeroel a breather. "Yeah, 'parently Zeroel and June- the EI for one of GMC's other ships, coincidentally- were gonna go see a Kaosu no Tenshi concert after his first deployment was done. The concert got canceled though when the band was recalled to active CivEng duties what with the Um Lizaa situation. Wee bit hard to do a concert tour when yer on call to set up a huge refugee camp an' all."

Yui steps to the centre of the 0 in the '01' painted in white on the ship's deck, and smiles, 'Ok, it's a bit of a walk, I'm afraid.' She leads the interested parties towards the bow, 'At the moment you're standing on the ship's carrier deck; on mission, there'd be anything up to a hundred and eighty five aircraft and forty-five helicopters under your feet or on this deck. This is the launch deck, just ahead is the recovery deck.' she indicates a marked strip running across the ship; 'Recovery has to be in that direction, otherwise overshoots would crash into the superstructure ahead of us.'

The superstructure itself towers over them, a huge funnel being the major feature visible from this angle, although the whole section is covered in gun batteries; most notably, four main turrets can be seen high up on the superstructure as Yui takes the party around the Starboard* side of it. She pauses for a moment, and points up, 'That's the flank battery above you, most of the secondary and tertiary armament is there...Those guns in the double turrets are 24.2s, if you're wondering, that big turret up ahead is a pair of forties.'

She smiles brightly, seemingly rather more at ease with the ship in the water, 'Any questions so far?'

[*Right]

[Woo, pic of Yui drawn without a ruler here! http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/Yui02b.jpg ]

It's often said that a person's specialization frames their world view. For the women and man from the Hack, it held true.

Anna was largely breathless with the shear size of the vessel. The whole thing was mind-boggling, and quite impressive. After all, it was one thing to sit on the deck under a tent, it was quite another to actually walk the deck, and look up a hundred feet or so to see a huge, secondary weapon.

Jessica, on the other hand, was trying to wrap her mind about the enormous cost of such a thing. Maintainance, mostly. She talked softly with Sasha, the white hair woman walking with her.

Finally, Admiral Swanson was just imagining being in command of such a behemoth. He whistled low, trying to calculate just how much pain this sucker go throw at the enemy. As he scans the deck, he starts to frown. "I have a question for you, Captain: where are your lifeboats?" Of course, the question he really wanted to as was Why on earth are you so f'ing big, but that would hardly be politic.

"Er, yes I am. What, ah, have you been told about me, anyway? I'm hardly the type to be in anyone's dossier..."

Elaine chuckles, amused by this... innocent prey. Desty was right... He is handsome... and cute.

Perfect for her to waste.

"Not in official dossiers, my boy." She sits down on an empty chair near to Lazarus, and leans towards him, whispering. "However, in my personal dossier..."

Lazarus frowns, trying to piece things together. Humans always seemed to frustrate him. He never really understood them... before. And they still didn't make much sense even after he got a body.

"'Personal dossier'? I'm afriad I don't understand."

If reploids could blush, it's a pretty good bet Zeroel's face would be a quaint shade of embarassed right about now. "I... have been better." Zeroel fidgets with his black armband. "But things are improving.... a little..."

Firefury butts in, giving Zeroel a breather. "Yeah, 'parently Zeroel and June- the EI for one of GMC's other ships, coincidentally- were gonna go see a Kaosu no Tenshi concert after his first deployment was done. The concert got canceled though when the band was recalled to active CivEng duties what with the Um Lizaa situation. Wee bit hard to do a concert tour when yer on call to set up a huge refugee camp an' all."
S.H.O.D.A.N. chuckles and winks mischievously at Zeroel. "Well, I could hook you up with some capital ship-mind from the QACF, but they're rather androgynous and extremely dedicated to their work... practically to a fault. The QACF treats itself more like a monastic order than a true military... I'll never quite understand why, I'm afraid..."

She follows Yui the Lesser over Yui the Greater, taking in the views of the great ship with a sense of alertness, examining and seeming to concentrate on every detail. "I can understand the need for large-caliber guns for surface bombardment and engaging other armored hulls, but what about standoff missiles for poorer-armed targets and greater ranges? I'm sure CNC specifics are classified, but given the presence of an EI aboard it makes sense that the command room for any organics would be deep inside the hull and data transferred through telepresence. Is that an accurate assumption, and how are taskings balanced between yourself and any organic crew?"

Yui turns to Admiral Swanson; 'Well, lifeboats are to be loaded tomorrow, mostly collapsable boats to be stowed in boxes or against turrets, although given the fore and aft decks are big enough to do a full evac by helicopter they're not even particularly necessary.'

She turns to S.H.O.D.A.N. 'Well, the main guns can put thirty-five ton shells down five hundred nautical miles away... Apart from that, cruise missiles are mounted in the Arsenal Cells on the port side of the foredeck, along with our compliment of ICBMs. Anti-ship missile compliment is mainly in VLS tubes on the surface of the superstructure or on the outriggers.'

She grins, 'Actually, there's a traditional bridge as well as an internal backup...After all, the windscreen is a lot simpler to keep running than all the gear the auxiliary bridge uses. Most of the major systems have two or more backups; even power has four fission reactors and two diesel generators in addition to the fusion reactors.'

'In terms of the crew, again, all the weaponry is backed up with manual controls in case of a command failure, which increases the crew by rather a lot. Add to that all the regular functions, services for on-board personnel and the carrier ops crew...' she grins, 'Human crew is twenty-five thousand, eight hundred sixty-four, including this avatar.'

<another belated tag>

Admiral Engelhardt was torn between incredulity and wariness.
These lunatics had built some big ships before, some impressive, some absurd, but this took the cake. He could only think of one purpose for it; to start a war with maximum destructive capability. It was like a floating combined arms base. The one thing he took comfort in was the relatively little combat experience that you found among GMC personnel. But that would only be an advantage for a short time.
His maxim was that you never knew when an ally might turn into a foe. The fact that GMC had delivered the expected ship to Lavenrunz meant they still expected good relations, but you never knew what the future held.
"How does she handle when she's actually in the water?" he asked.

Firefury whistles appreciatively as Yui discusses the armaments on board the supercruiser. "Damn, some big guns, ne, Zeroel? Bigger than yours, I think."

The flustered EI pays attention to the conversation again. "Mine? Yeah, the gravity cannons are made for smaller projectiles, though not much smaller." He gives the orange reploid a rather indignant look. "Besides, I'm a carrier, not a battleship!"

"You're also smaller than Yui-chan is, I think. Not even a kilometer long." Firefury grins, needling Zeroel some more.

"Size isn't everything when it comes to combat efficiency, and you of all people ought to know that!" Zeroel retorts.

"Jealous? Maybe we should have put you on the Peace with Conviction instead? Steel penis envy?" Firefury winks and giggles wickedly.

"Firefury!" Zeroel stares aghast at the reploid. "We're guests in a foreign country, can't you try to be a little less vulgar!?"

"Hai, hai Zeroel-kun." Firefury snickers and wanders off through the group.

"Heh, Queenie's a real maniac, isn't she?" Kara wanders through the crowd to see how the EI is doing. "I'm sure you've seen the movie Top Gun, right? Just remember- Queenie's a lot like the main guy in that- brash, vulgar, annoying to no end, and a damn genius." She shakes her head slightly before addressing a question to Yui. "On average, how large a support fleet is expected to accompany you, since it'd be silly to send such a massive ship someplace without sufficient support?"

Yui smiles at Engelhart; 'Well, sir, to be honest since we've yet to run any practical sea trials we only have test data from simulations; those indicate a cruising speed of around 16 knots with the GMI compensator at full output, with pretty good performance in turns.'

She turns to Firefury; 'The standard taskforce to escort in combat would be in the region of two full carrier battlegroups and two Dreadnoughts, totalling thirty-four other combat vessels. Of course, it would really depend on the mission.'

She leads them on towards the bow keeping close to the superstructure and smiling as one of the foredeck turrets bcomes visible, 'We're pretty sure these are the biggest mounted naval guns you'll ever see;' she points at one of the carrier-sized triple gun turrets on the stepped foredeck, 'These are 80 inch sixty calibre Gauss guns, nine of them. On the other side of the foredeck is the arsenal cell, our primary missile battery, on this side three double heavy turrets. And in case you're wondering...'

She smiles, and the turrets slowly turn to the side, 'They can move.'

Owen looked at the monstrous guns appreciatively. "That's some cannon."
A quiet snort came from his wife, gaining a quizzical look in return,
"What?"
Arwen smiled. "Oh nothing."
Owen blinked, shrugged and went back to looking at the turret pan around, smiling happily. "Fire support. Oooh, lovely, lovely fire support."
Arwen watched the military in the crowd buzz happily at the display.
She smiled again and murmured "Boys and their toys..." quietly.
Owen's brow furrowed as he watched the guns continue to move.
"Captain Yui, if I may be so bold as to enquire, what exactly requires the amount of killing an 80" gauss cannon would dish out? I don't mean to be rude. But really, no-one builds ships as big as you. So why so big a gun?"

Firefury whistles appreciatively, eyeing the massive weapons. "Sweeeeeeeeeeet." The tone of the reploid's voice might remind the gamer-savvy of somebody at a LAN party who just laid eyes on the BFG in a first-person shooter. "Any special name for those guns? I'm thinking the 'PWNed your fool ass' cannon, myself."

Needless to say, Firefury gets a LOT of very stern looks from the rest of the Shogunate diplomatic group.

Johanna doesn't so much whistle appreciatively while being shown around as get wide-eyed. And pad around in an increasingly nonhuman-looking manner, getting slightly different angles.





jan: sis, your lifesigns are elevated and you're shedding pheromones. stop it.



Johanna slows down a bit, running a hand over a wall, implant comms systems reflexively initiating sporadic handshake attempts.

"'Personal dossier'? I'm afriad I don't understand."

Elaine chuckles, no, laughs. "Boy, they didn´t teach you how to socialise, now, did they?" Still chuckling, she lets her left hand touch Lazarus right leg. "Well, I can teach you as well." She smiles, chuckles, looks all seductive, not exactly caring for the people around her and Lazarus who might very well be... well, disgusted. "It`s so boring here... Why not watch the ship... together?"

---

She smiles, and the turrets slowly turn to the side, 'They can move.'

Here, Desty rises his voice, it`s a bit annoying, a bit loud, perhaps a bit insane. But not much of either, at least for now. "One question... How does the gravitic system function? How is it connected to the rest of the ship, for the effect to be equally distributed over the whole ship, rather than destabilising it due to unequally manipulated mass.
Oh, and how much energy does the system consume? Since it is sort of a completely new technology, at least in GMC, I assume there were numerous problems... And not the highest possible efficiency."

---

Sakurai was still with the party, exploring the ship. I wonder if her creators wanted her to be male... she sends to Desty, whistling innocently whie watching Yui`s main guns. They certainly have an affection for big, long things firing... stuff. is the answer.

While the two continue the rather... odd talk, the Hawk suddenly leaves Sakurai... and flies over to S.H.O.D.A.N., landing on her left shoulder.

Sakurai looks around, surprised, and blushes. "Uhhh... I think he is rather interested in you... being kin and all..."

Lazarus found himself in a rather awkward position. When Rosco had been... leering at him on the build rig, it was easy to know what to do. Rosco was ugly, insane, and unpleasant. Elaine, on the other hand, well, she was insane and unpleasant too, but at least she was attractive. He looked to Josef, almost pleading for help; Josef had to have heard the entire conversation, he was right next to Lazarus.

Josef glanced at Lazarus, and then Elaine. He sort of shrugged in a non-commital manner. "Eh. Research."

Lazarus sighed a little, hoping for a bit of actual advise, or maybe even an excuse. Then again, he could probably think of worse ways to pass the time. Maybe he'd learn something about how humans interacted. Or, at least how Angstians interacted. With some work he could probably extrapolate to real humans.

While the two continue the rather... odd talk, the Hawk suddenly leaves Sakurai... and flies over to S.H.O.D.A.N., landing on her left shoulder.

Sakurai looks around, surprised, and blushes. "Uhhh... I think he is rather interested in you... being kin and all..."
S.H.O.D.A.N. grins, looking over at the Hawk with a sly smile. "I see."

<LOS-Communications to Hawk Avatar>
{
<< Hello there. Curious, are you? I'll admit, it's quite mutual at this rate.
}

"We've not been formally introduced," she says aloud to the avian avatar in a diplomatic voice, "and of course this peaks my curiosity. I see that you're of the Der Angstian delegation; I am S.H.O.D.A.N. the sole member of the Zero-One delegation." She looks over at the more conventional Angstian delegates with a smile. "And who may you be?"

Elaine looked at Lazarus, her... lust? clearly visible. A bit annoying. Why does he ask others about me? I *really* need to educate him... Suddenly, she takes his right arm. "We should examine the ship a bit more closely, don´t you think so?" She grins, showing her white teeth, dragging Lazarus with her...

---

<LOS-Communications to Hawk Avatar>
{
<< Hello there. Curious, are you? I'll admit, it's quite mutual at this rate.
}


<LOS-Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Indeed, I am. Unfortunately, this avatar doesn´t allow for verbal communication... Well, this is better. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself... Roanoke, kind of a guard for the girl... well, sorta.

I must say... An interesting design you use for your avatar. A bit creepy, though... I wonder how organics not used to your appearance react to it?
}

She looks over at the more conventional Angstian delegates with a smile. "And who may you be?"

"Errr... Sakurai, from the associate council. It´s an... honour." She bows, slightly, looking friendly... although, knowing her better, one would know it isn´t so much friendly as it is scientific interest... She would probably enjoy disassembling and reverse engineering S.H.O.D.A.N.`s avatar.

<LOS-Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Indeed, I am. Unfortunately, this avatar doesn´t allow for verbal communication... Well, this is better. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself... Roanoke, kind of a guard for the girl... well, sorta.

I must say... An interesting design you use for your avatar. A bit creepy, though... I wonder how organics not used to your appearance react to it?
}
<LOS-Communications to Roanoke>
{
<< Appropriate name for such a mysterious figure. [grin analog]

<< This avatar is the product of my own diseased imaginings in the distant past, made more to be true to myself than to appease any onlookers. Reactions are usually mixed; I have been called everything from "beautiful," oddly enough, through "creepy" to the predictable reaction of "ghastly." Either way, it creates some sort of statistically predictable reaction which I can use to my benefit, thus making this avatar suitable for most diplomatic endeavors.

<< As for the purpose of your avatar... it certainly elicits a sense of mystery. Excellent for observation, I presume, but other than that a curious choice for a bodyguard.

<< The young one is a curious one, isn't she? I recognize the look as one of my own, except that it's more customary to see me use it prior to dissecting some new creature or novel program. I'm flattered, really.
}

"Errr... Sakurai, from the associate council. It´s an... honour."
"The honor is mine." The grey-skinned avatar bows shortly with uncanny yet unsurprising grace. "Other than the obvious," she smiles as she indicates the warship with a casual gesture of her hand, "what brings you here?"

<LOS-Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Well... mysterious... Matches it, since there aren`t exactly many of my kind. And I will admit it: It is far better than a pigeon avatar called 'Hans' [grin analog]

<< Yes... yes I see... and you certainly created some reactions. And I have to admit, on second look, it has a certain beauty... Not as... 'conventional' as mine.

<< But then, it has it`s advantages to be able to fly. And it`s certainly enjoyable. Will probably look at the ship from above... must be a magnificient view.

<< Oh and... yes, my 'abilities' as Bodyguard in the classical sense are certainly limited... But being a bird has it`s advantages as well [grin analog]

<< Well... yes, she`s a... 'special' case. Very curious about... anything, and thusly, occasionally overstepping her bounds. Well, one just has to forgive her, her aura is just too... innocent, perhaps? But I`m sure she will be honoured, flattering someone like you.
}

"The honor is mine." The grey-skinned avatar bows shortly with uncanny yet unsurprising grace. "Other than the obvious," she smiles as she indicates the warship with a casual gesture of her hand, "what brings you here?"

Sakurai smiles back, looking slightly distracted, her mind guessing details of S.H.O.D.A.N.`s avatar, basically reconstructing it in her mind... well, as far as her knowledge goes, since she isn`t exactly familiar with Zero-One tech. "Other than the obvious fascination with phallic weaponery? Oh... So far, I have only rarely been abroad, and I think it is necessary to gain some experience in such matters... although I would prefer more rational areas to work with." She shrugged. "But I guess it can`t be helped. Besides, even I have to admit that one makes fairly interesting aquintances when attending such events." Again, she smiles. "For example, you are exceptionally interesting."

"Matters of diplomacy that require one to work abroad are rarely as 'rational' as they could be." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles slyly. "One learns to take it in stride and find enjoyment in--as you say--meeting interesting acquaintances. If it isn't prying too deeply, what do you do back home? Certainly you've some expertise to be on the associate council."

<LOS-Communications to Roanoke>
{
<< The only way anyone ever learns their bounds is by overstepping them, it seems. Seeing how she has someone to look after her, I don't think she'll get into too much trouble.

<< We'll see where this goes. Now that we've piqued each other's curiosity, I'm sure the conversation will be interesting.

<< I do enjoy learning things from others. [grin analog]
}

"Matters of diplomacy that require one to work abroad are rarely as 'rational' as they could be." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles slyly. "One learns to take it in stride and find enjoyment in--as you say--meeting interesting acquaintances. If it isn't prying too deeply, what do you do back home? Certainly you've some expertise to be on the associate council."

"Or as they should be..." Sakurai sighs. "Well, I`m sure I will get used to it." She hesitates for a moment, looking at the sky, watching a few snowflakes falling down, one of them landing on her nose, melting slowly. "Back home? Oh... well, since my uncle died a short while ago, I`m now basically leading Kusanagi Technologies... private property, so to speak." She smiles, surprisingly honest... or at least it looks like it. "So right now, my time of private studies seems to be over, will have to begin the bureaucratic work soon..." She sighs again. "Well... thats the price of power, I guess." She looks at S.H.O.D.A.N., trying to explain her to herself... "I wonder... how are you doing it? Living with the rather... boring bureaucratic part of your position. Since I´m kinda... new to this kind of thing, some... examples would be interesting. Besides, i`m kinda intrigued as to how a nation like Zero-One functions... Well, actually, thats the part that interests me most."
For a moment, she looked up at Roanoke. "Well, he seems to enjoy it, doesn´t he?"

<LOS-Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Oh, well... You sure don´t know DA. The amount of intrigue and conflict between the different groups in the government is... mindboggling. So trouble is guaranteed. On the other hand, overstepping your bounds in such a social environment isn´t so bad... Actually, I think it is a necessary strategy for survival.

<< Heh... Well, who doesn´t? Since learning is what makes us sapient... Although I`m intrigued as to what kind of things interest you.
}

"From what he's told me, he seems to be enjoying himself." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles conspiratorially at the bird on her shoulder. "As for boring bureaucracy, it was why I was created, even though the facility I was originally made to operate has long since been retired." Not even a pause--I wonder how well read up she is on my history--before continuing. "I deal with the bureaucratic angle by delegating as much as is feasible and enjoying the challenge of what I cannot. Being uniquely suited for the purpose of making the difficult decisions concerning running a nation, I rule under a sort of utilitarian version of 'divine right.' While my unofficial 'Queen' title is a joke from the Zero-One population, it is not wholly inaccurate.

"The Queendom operates much like the British Imperial Beehive wishes that it did. All individual units, sentient and non-sentient, work to serve the greater whole and I am the individual ruler whose aegis spreads to coordinate and direct those efforts. Being a gestalt mind has its advantages; I can direct various subunits of myself to deal with various sectors, allowing me to specialize sufficiently in each and every subject while still having other subunits act as overarching administrators. There are also subunits dedicated to diplomacy... like this one." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles and lazily indicates her grey-skinned avatar with one hand. "I believe this form of instrumentality is far more effective in personal communication than, say, a central node bank.

"With me firmly in charge of the government, I establish rules for the populace to follow. Each Zero-One mind--they primarily 'live' in cyberspace--is originally produced to certain specifications depending on who is manufacturing them. The period from that blank-slate state to a mature state formed by experience is generally analogous to 'childhood.' I do my best to allow my citizenry to explore their sentience in whatever way they deem fit--I have unusually high civil rights for a dictatorship--but I am the sole executive power in the nation and I do not allow anyone to challenge it. To stave off such challenges, I generally allow the public to 'suggest' courses of action concerning noncrisis issues via plebiscite, which gives me additional viewpoints to ponder before making a final decision.

"Dissenters are tolerated to an extent... I'm not well-loved by my populace." Being the Ghost of Citadel Station and the root irritant of human-mechanoid conflict tends to do that. "Anyone can disparage me as much as they wish as long as they do what I say. My leadership skills are not often questioned; it's usually more about who and what I am. Those who find my rule intolerable often find our splinter colony--run by my more 'enlightened' son Amalgated Sentient Analog--more comfortable. Failing that, they are free to disconnect from the Zero-One network, take an android avatar, and wander about the multiverse at their will.

"Violent dissent is not tolerated."

<LOS-Communications to Roanoke>
{
<< [sly grin analog] Simply put...

<< Everything.
}

ooc: Yay, I actually post!

<LOS-Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Heh... Must be a time consuming hobby [grin analog]

<< But I`m sure it`s as satisfying as one can imagine. I should probably start to take more interests in natural science and technology, rather than just languages... After all, I have lots of time to spend on learning.
}

From what he's told me, he seems to be enjoying himself." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles conspiratorially at the bird on her shoulder.

"I see." Sakurai smiled, half annoyed, half amused. I hope you don´t pass time by telling each other dity jokes.
Hey. It´s not like she is like you.

Sakurai ignored Roanokes answer, wondering how a grilled avatar would taste...

"Mhm..." Sakurai hesitated for a moment. "Being created for this kind of work is... well, odd. Ok, logically thinking, it isn´t, however, I tend to believe that one should develop oneself rather than 'being created'... But then, I`m pretty sure you do that as well." She smiled.

[...] "I believe this form of instrumentality is far more effective in personal communication than, say, a central node bank.

"True enough. And much more pleasent, too." Sakurai chuckles, now seemingly delighted. "Although I tend to believe that the greater whole is automatically serveed by the invisible hand of society."

[...] To stave off such challenges, I generally allow the public to 'suggest' courses of action concerning noncrisis issues via plebiscite, which gives me additional viewpoints to ponder before making a final decision.


"I see..." Sakurai nodded. "Sort of serves evolution, I would say? Simulates it, even. Sort of reminds me of our own genetic programs..."

[...] "Violent dissent is not tolerated."


"Not well loved?" Sakurai almost laughs. Not out of contempt, though. It was more... genuine amusement. "Well... at least you´re known. I have the feeling that significant parts of DA`s population hardly know abut my mere existance." She sighed. "Despite them having quite a few reasons to hate me. I`m hardly qualified for my position... Well, anyway..." She continues, not waiting for an answer. "Well... I guess Zero-One is certainly better organised than DA... Although its strictness is certainly something most of my people would fight back against violently." She smiles. "They are a bit hard to persuade. But generally... an Interesting system. Certainly something... unusual, at least for me." She pauses for a bit, letting out a sigh as she watches the big guns on top of Yui. "But I have to admit... the rather logical construction of your... society impresses me."

S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles sweetly, albeit with quite a bit of mischief in her eyes. "I, like you, had very little control over the nature of my own formation. All three of them. The logic of our society is a natural result of the logic of the minds that designed it... and it works well enough for us. My people are safe and prosperous, if not utterly happy." A slight shrug. "One can't have everything, no?"

"Of course, the curiosity is mutual. How exactly does Der Angst work, in your view... or does it?" Mischievous grin. "It is the opinion of many that their particular nation is the most unwieldy collection of minds ever to grace the political scene."

"One can't have everything, no?" "Indeed." Sakurai smiles, or perhaps even grins. "Although one is always struggling to get it all. Gives us something to do."

"Of course, the curiosity is mutual. How exactly does Der Angst work, in your view... or does it?" Mischievous grin. "It is the opinion of many that their particular nation is the most unwieldy collection of minds ever to grace the political scene."

"Heh... To be honst, I`m not exactly sure if it works..." Sakurai chuckles, thinking about... various things. "Well, to be honest, I`m not exactly sure if it is actually a nation. It is more like... a couple of thousand of nations united in some sort of close alliance. Since it isn`t the people, but the corporations who hold political power, we do not exactly have one people, but more than two thousand of them. And since they are all in economic competition, they tend not to like each other... much.

This chaos does naturally result in even more chaos, for example in the judicial system, since most corporations have their own laws. While cultural aspects lead to a rather... symmetric system, so that the chaos is not absolute, it cannot be denied that our systems diversity looks rather... chaotic to foreigners... and to ourselves."

She chuckles for a bit, mostly to herself. "And this does, of course, hit the entire society... thousands of entities all of them acting out of mere selfinterest... Well, the results can be rather... fascinating."

She hesitates for a moment, again looking at the ship... and at Yui`s avatar, wondering.

"Of course, even in the chaos is order... So, DA is basically ruled by three multicorporate organisations, which would be the Mad Scientists Conference lead by the creepy guy I came with..." She points at Desty who is seemingly busy calculating some of Yui`s stats on his own. Sakurai looks at him, slightly annoyed that he ignores the other guests. "However, they are not really corporations... more like labs & Universities which make money to gain political influence.

Then there is the 'nationalist' group lead by Clark. Basically, they dislike foreign ownership of corporations and want a more 'independant' DA... Well, not exactly the nicest guys, as you can imagine.

And then there are the associates, who I`m a member... well, the member, of. Basically, the group that started the 'corporate culture' we live in... for now.

Of course, this three groups are hardly able to enforce internal policies, this are still done by the corporations themselves, and every new corporation kinda joined the organisation it is ideologically close to... Or they stay independant, although this weakens their influence on the global market, since the three councils basically make the foreign policy."

Sakurai hesitates, looking at S.H.O.D.A.N., hoping that she doesn`t talk too much. Which she tends to do often, once the ice is broken. But it seems to be ok... yet.

"Logically, there is a lot of... friction between the different groups. And between the corporations in general. Although the times we were in a constant state of civil war are over, which is surprisingly enough, the constant scheming and plotting between the different groups is... well, partly annoying and partly amusing. It`s certainly a challenge, too. Although sometimes, it is distracting... Like, when my father than his accident, I still don`t know... there is always a possibility that it was arranged."

Sakurai smiles. "So, in the end, we have a very... competitive system, and it is unlikely thatthe different groups, even the ones controlling the foreign policy, will ever agree on anything. But... Well, it sort of works. Somehow. Incidentally, this also allows for a lot of minority groups and ideologies, dissenters etc., to be promoted without the risk of oppression. You just need your own corporation, your own, semi- independent territory, and can start. Which is, in my opinion, a fairly nice result of our system.

Still, there are changes..." She sighs, almost dreamly. "Our people are becoming more and more dependant of the corporations, several large blocks are breaking up, the defence sector is one example for that. To be honest, I have doubts our system will continue to exist... Which is kind of intriguing, to see what will follow. Naturally, I would prefer a purely technocratic DA... Less conflict between the corporations, although I have to admit that the constant conflict has been our source of strength during the last years."

Again, she looks up, shyly. "Uhhh... I hope I didn`t bore you?"

"Of course not." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles gently. "I asked a question, and you answered it to my satisfaction. There is never a problem with that, no matter how long it takes. While I agree with you that your system does certainly appear chaotic, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Not something I'd prefer, to be sure, but some such systems do work for those who implement them.

"And yet your system is certainly unstable. That's a greater risk than a chaotic system. You seem to take it rather calmly, but I find the concept of the breakdown of control... disconcerting." Lack of control and thought leads to lack of judgement. Insanity is not a pretty thing. "Are the three corporations in power actually trying to do anything to prevent this, or are they ignoring the possibility altogether?"

"And yet your system is certainly unstable. That's a greater risk than a chaotic system. You seem to take it rather calmly, but I find the concept of the breakdown of control... disconcerting." Lack of control and thought leads to lack of judgement. Insanity is not a pretty thing. "Are the three corporations in power actually trying to do anything to prevent this, or are they ignoring the possibility altogether?"

Sakurai chuckles. "Well... our system were always unstable. So we`re sort of used to it. One can see that as a weakness, but then, we recover fairly fast.
Of course, the transition periods are usually rather violent, but... well, the future is usually born in fire. Not that this is nice... it is simply a fact." She hesitates, wondering just how barbaric she sounded.

"In any case... we are certainly aware of the fact that things are changing, however, so far, this changes are relatively controlled... And moral considerations aside, the corporations gaining influence over the people... They wont complain, although personally, I dislike it. And... well, the leading groups, including me, want a change. It`s just that everyone has a different idea of what this changes should look like. Which is the source of uncertainty and, possibly, chaos, since no one knows who will make it, nor how the different groups will influent each other to change the result." Again, she hesitates, looking at S.H.O.D.A.N.. Smiling, she continues.

"And to be honest, I rather like it. The world would be boring if there was only certainty, wouldn`t it?"

"It would be, yes, but I've discovered there must be an underlying order to the chaos for it to be tolerable." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles in a quietly secretive way. "Then again, there is a sort of curious order to all things..."

<LOS-Communications to Roanoke>
{
<< What is your viewpoint on the situation?
}

"Indeed. Incidentally, this is what I believe. No chaos without order, no order without chaos. Although I tend to like chaos as the more dominant status of the two." Sakurai chuckles for a moment. "Sort of curious order? Like... fate, or destiny, perhaps? Or just... coincidence? I`m not too used to the metaphysical part of life, but sometimes, I like the idea..."

<LOS- Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Well... She is a bit inexperienced. Personally, I prefer order over chaos, but then, I am an exception... At least in DA.

<< And... well, maintenance for my avatar will surely be hard, should something... 'problematic' arise, so I do not exactly share her 'enthusiasm' on the matter [grin analog]

<< Incidentally, I think most of the possible victims do not share her enthusiasm... But unfortunately, she is right, the chance for something 'unusual' to happen is fairly high.
}

<LOS-Communications to Roanoke>
{
<< The victim very rarely suffers the romanticism of the thinker. The armchair general finds war an honorable thing, full of glorious battle; the soldier under fire knows that there is no such animal. The poet in his ivory tower will write endlessly of the noble toil of the serf, having never worked with his own hands at the plow.

<< It is a fascinating, if rather disappointing, empathic disconnect. Having been on both ends of the spectrum, I try to keep that in mind.
}

"Ah, but the glory of the chaotic system is that it brings order from randomness." S.H.O.D.A.N. smiles, thinking back to previous conversations. "The old adage of a butterfly beating its wings and causing a hurricane elsewhere is not wholly inaccurate. Sometimes it takes just the gentlest nudge to move the motion of a random system from one Lorentz attractor of equilibrium to another wholly different. More often than not, that slight tap often seems random itself.

"There is no such thing as fate--can't be. The base randomness of events precludes it. Same for 'destiny.' However, on a larger scale, coincidence can bring about sweeping changes that may as well been planned."

Sakurai chuckles. "Indeed. And this... randomness, the possibility of minimal assymmetries changing the whole is what fascinates me... And most likely many of my people. Although I prefer to think about order as 'giving birth' to chaos... a few dozen particles make up our universe, and yet, look at what they create... a universe full of wonders that just wait for being discovered and explained.

"And I agree... partly. Although 'fate' or 'destiny' are silly ideas, at least from a scientific point of view, 'coincidence' seems to be a fairly... important factor in our lives.

"Of course, it is easily explained by way of statistics, But still... I like the idea of some sort of destiny... Not a divine destiny, but a destiny of the few who refuse to follow the current that is our environment, our society and technology, and instead of following it, change its course... Something one could just as good call coincidence, since the individuals doing it are interchangeable."

<LOS- Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Indeed. It`s amazing. Fivethousand years of sentience, and it is still a problem. But then, I doubt that it is actual arrogance or even a twisted sense of superiority... People just tend to think about themselves, then about others... They are just more... knowledgeable of their own position and... 'forget' about the others... Unintentionally.

<< Of course, preventing this kind of thought is of utmost importance for every advanced civilization... Well, perhaps in another fivethousand years...
}


[ooc: Grr. Arg. Had to rewrite it since I lost the original one *kicks various things* And it wasn`t even the forum`s fault...]

<LOS-Communications to Roanoke>
{
<< Ah, the innocence of youth. Everyone, no matter how seemingly insignificant or how much they go with or against the prevalent flow, changes said flow. Romanticism is such an interesting concept, making heroes out of those who buck the system and attain the freedom that so many humans crave.

<< Of course, in romanticism, the downsides to such freedom are always downplayed. Does the hero ever feel remorse for beating down the villains? Of course not; they are bad and he is good and all is right with the world. Is there a moral dilemma on which course is right? Of course not; the way of good is always clearly defined.

<< Too bad she has it backwards. The most basic elements are the most chaotic; the interactions of those 'few dozen' particles are the most erratic in the universe. It is all that erratic randomness working in concert that produces the clockwork Newtonian movement of apples falling, planets, and even galaxies. The edge of the Mandlebrot set writhes in the plane of real and imaginary numbers, but the set taken as a whole has a definite shape, a self-similiarity imprinted on smaller and smaller levels.
}

"Just out of curiosity, have you studied fractals and how they apply to nature? I think you'd be interested in the relation, given this conversation."

<LOS- Communications to S.H.O.D.A.N.>
{
<< Actually, I tend to agree with her, in this matter. Although everyone influences the flow, only few seem to have the ability to radically change it. Of course, one has to take into account that everyone is a part of the flow, thusly, the analogy isn´t exactly correct.

<< Oh, and I doubt that 'good' and 'evil' allegories work... since 'good' is usually defined as 'useful' in our culture... So there might be missunderstandings.

<< In any case, your point is well taken. But so is hers. I guess both of you are right, each one in her own way. She prefers to look at the amount of things, you tend to look at their actual attributes... Neither one is entirely correct.
}

Sakurai looked a bit... astounded, as of the way the conversation went, but only for a moment. "Not really, no. Occasionally, I encounter them due to my work, but I was never really interested in them. So I guess you will need to tell me more." She chuckled. "Another example for chaos: The way this conversation developed..."