NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok, this is my second try, after the first one got erased. God damn the forum gods.

This is an OOC thread to gauge the interest in this idea I've been rolling over in my mind for a while. Anyone who has ever read Issac Asimov's "The Final Question" will see in influence it has had on this idea. By the way, it's a great story, so go read it now.

First off, about the setting. Chances are most of the story will take place in an underground lab, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. My nation is situated there, and the island has been transformed into a city that sprawls over the entire island by the year 2099. Please, ask me any further in depth questions and I will try my best to answer.

I am thinking a master computer engineer with a government grant to be working on a new automated system for the military will take the research and money and begin clandestinely putting it to use creating the first EI in the history of my nation, one that would be utilized to store the entire history of the universe and all of it's possible future situations...in a 15 centimeter by 15 centimeter square which will act as a jack into hyperspace where an infinite amount of information could be stored. It would be named, aptly, the Infinity Archive. The exact process of this will be revealed throughout the story, and I realize it is most likely completely bunk to most people, but I care more about the concepts rather than their accuracy, so long as it's fun.

Here are the character ideas I have thusfar, but none are concrete, and there's still room for more. I will be playing the computer engineer, controlling the environment, and any other random NPCs. I also reserve the right to eject or reprimand any player who is pissing off myself or the other players through godmodding or being an ass OOC (it's ok to be an ass IC, it's more fun that way!).

Engineer's Assistiant (could be supportive or scornful of the plan, and could wind up ratting out the engineer) - AmandaTheGreat

Government Official(s) (would be trying to find out what the hell was really going on and cut off the engineer's funding) - The WIck

Forgien Individual(s) or Corporation (could know about the plan, possibly through the assistiant, or also be trying to figure out what was going on, with the hope to steal/buy the Infinity Archive) - Fodmodmadtol

I'm always open to suggestions for anything, so pipe up if you have an idea. And please tell me if I've forgotten any crucial bit of information.

*shades eyes* The disinterest is blinding...

Yes, please. I'll take one. Don't have any idea whom I might use in this, but it's a spiffy techy idea, and I love me some tech. I'd like a spot in it if I may.

[/Expression of Interest]

Yes, you're very welcome to join. Do you have an idea of what character you'd want?

A Note: I'm perfectly ok with non-human characters, so don't let that discourage you. I'd just prefer that the magic be left out, since this RP is going to focuse more on tech.

Hey there toots of course I will be taggin' this one.

Hehehehehehe. Toots is a good word. Just in advance, I'm sorry all, I'm a tad delirius over here because of my cold.

Do I get to kill anyone? Ahem ahem. I'd think either the Engineers assistant or the Third party.. Or the Government.. Ack, they all have the potential to blow things up! Hum. The Government can blow things up, right? Not like a huge arse missle coming flying down, but sort of like a raid. And a corrupt Random Government Official.. Mmm.. Corruption..

Things can get explody, can't they? If so, Government! If not, the Third Party Corporation.

Mmm...corruption is tasty, but since you'll be playing as my government officials, the possibility for that is very rare. I've done all I can to obliterate corruption. I want this to be a slower-paced RP with more tension than something with a lot of guns. If you're the corporation, I might let you do a raid if all your other means fail (and there are so many more things to do than the typical night raid).

In short, it will be far into the RP before things get explody, I hope. Shall I put you down for the Corporation? Keep in mind that it could be a corporation from anywhere you want, as Cyberutopia has none.

I think I'll use the one that I've been thinking of for a bit. Its name is.. Well, Haven't though of a name yet but I've known about it for a while, which irks me. Eh. Run out of Fadmadmodtal, the little Capitalist moshfest the Fodian Federa hacked up.

Point- I'll play the Corporate.

Yay! I will put you down as the Corporation pronto.

How bout the assistant for me?

Perfect. The assistiant can be flexible, they can take any side they want.

Anybody got questions? I'll probably have to tell both of you about some bits of Cyberutopian culture later, but for now I think all we really need is one more person, two at most.

Id be happy to RP the government offical

That'd be awesome, Wick. I'll bump this one more time in case anyone has any questions, comments, ideas especially, and then give a quick culture primer before contriving a way to start us off! I figure there's room for one more if there's anyone else interested, but that's my max.

Ok, quick primer on miscellanious Cyberutopian things you all might need to know.

First of all, the supercity that comprises Cyberutopia is a "green city," meaning that there is not the usual environmental desolation that accompanies a cityscape. Fusion reactors and personal hydroponic pods are common, as are sprawling forests that wind through the city.

New Sapporo has occupied all but a small portion of Hokkaido – somewhat miraculous, as Hokkaido was a desolate little island at the turn of the 21st century. Now over 3 billion people have squashed themselves into it. The completely uninhabitable parts of Hokkaido – parts of the mountain ranges in the southeast – are referred to as the Crags. Few live there, and rumors whisper of creatures twisted by dark magic that brood there. Only the Hunt Marshal, Roy Black, dares to live near there, and only with a massive arsenal at his side.

Cyberutopian culture resembles Japanese culture in many ways, but perhaps a bit more lax. Cyberutopians are very casual people, and have done away with the highest level of Japanese language, masu, instead opting to use the much laxer "dictionary form." Japanese is the language of the people, Syechelon of the government, and English of science. Syechelon, usually referred to as "eche" or "ache" after the pain most first-time speakers experience, is a complex language combining Old Cyberutopian, Russian and German. Old Cyberutopian itself is a combination of Sindarian, Mordorian, Angelic, and Japanese. It was said a massive library was placed on Hokkaido by angels for the safekeeping of the "ultimate binding language" – whose actual name has been long forgotten – and was found and tainted by humans, but that is mere speculation told by old men eager for an audience. Old Cyberutopian actually isn't very old, as it's name might imply, the name merely refers to the fact it has already been phased out after only 75 years or so of active service, though it is thought the language is much older than that.

For the sake of convienience – and also because this is a science RP – English is going to be used pretty much all the time, though I will be throwing Japanese elements into the common world "just for the hell of it."

I'll be typing more later.

Furthermore...as if you all hadn't tuned out already.

The number four has three Japanese translations, yon, yo and shi. Shi also means death, so it is considered vertiable social suicide to give someone four of something. The same goes for one of the forms of nine, kyuu, which means suffering.

Paper has been phased out, instead flexible holograms are beamed between two lightweight tubular projectors, which are held together by simple magnets when not in use. By bringing the projectors closer together, the hologram will warp, magnifying the image or text, and vice versa for bringing them further apart. Moving the projectors in opposite directions from your body will scroll the projection. There are a series of buttons for wireless reciving, transferring, and other common PDA-like functions. These personal projectors are used for everything from business reports to video games to pornographic movies.

Another common device is the ENIT (electronic nerve impulse translator) which is plugged into a port on a person's body, usually the wrist. This port is specially designed to allow the ENIT access to a single nerve on the person's body. When the ENIT is plugged in, it copies the nerve into cyberspace, where it is replicated until there is a cybernetic spinal cord linking the person's conciousness and the electronic device the ENIT is connected to on the other end. This entire process takes approximately .003 milliseconds, and gives the person a command transfer speed of several million T3 lines. These devices are used for everything from driving to ordering a cup of coffee from several miles away.

I think that's a good deal of information to be weighted down with for now, don't you all think? I'm still waiting to see if one more person will show interest.