NationStates Jolt Archive

The sun was setting above the graveyard on ancient Terra. The man was sitting on a tombstone, jotting down notes on a dataslab. Arcane symbols ran across the pages there, mathematical formulas that seemingly made no sense, especially due to the fact that the symbols ran along the space-warping shape of a Mobius strip. The man nodded, and looked up at the marker before him. Speaking in German, he chatted avidly with the stone.

"You sure that these are right?'

Of course, Max. Would I lie to you? I've been working on these equations for centuries, and I've tested all the numbers myself. Let me tell you, Alpha Centauri is beautiful this time of year.

Max smiled. "Well, I'll know soon enough. I can't thank you enough, Doctor."

Please, call me August. Most of my friends do... well, did. Anyway, the Great Majority is always happy to help you. There's never anyone interesting to talk to...

Laughing, Max concentrated on the formulas before him. With his unique mind, he visualized the space around him, the subtle bends and twists that exist beyond our notice. Mathematical descriptions of space began to spin in his head, and he deftly applied the formulas, and suddenly...

He was gone.

OOC: Well, that's it for now, I'll leave it to all of you to figure out what's happening for now. Oh, and I'll be posting as both Pale Rider Arms and Otagia, so don't bitch at me for calling shots for both sides...

Silence.

Around him was nothing. No ground, no sky, and interestingly, no air. Max supposed he should have been alarmed. But, since the place seemed to have no time either, he was good in that department...

His first thought was a simple, WOW, followed by a wince of pain. Damn, I need to think quieter here...

Of course, Max. With no space, even thoughts have mass by comparison. Enough to hurt, at least.

Ah, Doctor, you're here, then.

Of course I'm here. No where else for me to go! And it lets me keep up with my research now. Now only if I could publish...

Max smiled, and swept around with his mind, feeling the confines of this wierd new dimension. With no apparent space, he was everywhere at once...

Lovely view in the continuum, eh?

It's... amazing! Does it have a name, Doctor?

One of my previous pupils called it the Mobius Continuum. Well, I don't want to seem arrogant, so I just refer to it as the Continuum. Easier that way.

Another pupil?

Oh, just another one like you, probably one of your ancestors, seeing how your unique abilities seem to be hereditary. Long gone by now, down here with the rest of the Great Majority. Probably just a memory by now...

Ah. Well Doc, sorry for the short stay, but I really have to go. My bosses will be expecting me back with word on the results of the test.

Ah, no bother. I need to get back to my research anyway. There's this interesting species I discovered near the core of Jupiter...

Max grinned again as the doctor vanished, and again visualized the space (or lack therefor of) around him, watching the mathematical representation flow past his senses. He pressed with the formulas the good doctor had given him, and again...

The Continuum was empty.

((OOC: Tag for a good read))

Tag

Tag, though I feel you should've named your character 'Dave'...

Actually "Harry Keogh" would be sticking to the novels. Nestor, Nathan, or Alex could also be used without deviating too far from the novels.

OOC: The Keogh's would have been too derivative. Max seemed like a good name I haven't used yet, though I still need a last name. Meh.

Post inbound.

Things were busy as usual at Pale Rider Arms' research and development headquarters. New plasma beams to test, new QUETZAL implants to try out on... volunteers. And most importantly, the DoRD Frank Rathis was waiting on his resident Necroscope, Max Altair to return with news on his latest project, some new sort of FTL drive. Apparently, Max had found a lead through the Great Majority on a mathematician on Ancient Terra, who was known for his experiments. Experiments conducted, not just while he was alive, but beyond the final frontier itself. Max had taken the first flight to Terra, and should be back soon, unless something had tied him up...

Rathis paced back and forth, impatient for the important news that Max would be carrying. As he walked by the office of his Necroscope for the umpteenth time, he was shocked to hear the sound of typing inside! How in the blazes could an intruder have gotten into the R&D division, let alone the sealed office of one of PRA's most paranoid employees?! Frank reached for his pistol, and kicked open the door, only to see...

"MAX?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

The Necroscope looked up.

"Oh, hey Frank. Sorry for not telling you I was back, I need to work on this report."

"But Bill at the front desk had orders to tell me as soon as you got back! How did you get past him?!"

"Simple. I didn't go through the front door."

"But this building only has one entran- Oh..."

"Exactly!"

"So, I assume that your little project worked then?"

"Like a charm. My source was right, the Continuum can solve all our problems in the FTL department. Only thing is, Project Ourobouros here needs a Necroscope to work it. Without one of us, you're dead in the water."

"We'll see. First things first. I owe you a drink. Several dozen of them, in fact..."

tag for allaince purposes

tag

Tag

OOC: Sorry for the long break, faithful readers, but I had absolutely NO time to post yesterday or this morning/afternoon. The following is an official press release from Pale Rider Arms.

IC:
http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/pale_rider_arms.jpg

"For over a century, Pale Rider Arms has been YOUR quality defense contractor, supplying equipment from POWER ARMOR (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/blaesa/coalborg.jpg) to Planetary Landing Devices (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/blaesa/2000.jpg) to ARMORED TRANSPORT VEHICLES (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/blaesa/CargoHauler.jpg). We have become innovators in the fields of MECHA (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/blaesa/My%20work/Guilliman2.jpg) and ROBOTIC ARMOR (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/blaesa/gb2.gif). Now, Pale Rider Arms is bringing you the NEWEST in Faster Than Light travel. We now join film-crews in our research and development labs LIVE as we display our latest discovery!"

The holoscreen suddenly cuts to the inside of a large sealed room, with varied man-made obstacles and automated weapon systems around the area.

"Ladies, Gentlemen and Hermaphrodites, the footage we are about to show you will be LIVE and UNEDITED. We join our staff as they continue to make leaps and bounds in technological advancement. Now, lets watch the demonstration..."

A man walks out of a door on the side of the room, and waves at the camera. He signals that he is ready, and the room spins to life. Obstacles begin to move at random and the weapon systems activate, and spin towards the man, opening fire! Soon, they cease, and no trace of the volunteer is left...

"Well, um, that... didn't seem to go well... BUT WAIT! THERE HE IS!"

With that, the camera pans to the side, and the man can be seen waving at the camera. Again, weapons fire on him, but again, he disappears and reappears at the other side of the room. After a few more tries, he suddenly appears directly behind a gun, and vaporizes it with a plasma pistol. In a matter of seconds, he neutralizes all the turrets in this fashion.

"But that's not all! Now, we again go live, to cameras in orbit of Otagia Primus and in orbit of ONS-1412! "

On the ONS-1412 cam, clearly labeled as such at the bottom of the viewing screen, a small fleet of ships can be seen. Suddenly, they dissappear, only to reappear on the Otagia Primus cam at the same instant. They repeat the trick, making a return voyage.

"Ladies and gents, this concludes the demonstration of Pale Rider Arms' newest way to travel! Contact Pale Rider Arms NOW for details on how YOU can get your hands on this revolutionary method of travel!"

Text quickly scrolls by the bottom of the viewing screen, nearly too quick to see.

--We are sorry, but only governmental offices may currently acquire more information on this revolutionary technology. If you are not one such organization, please, contact your local senator/representative/dictator now. If you ARE such an organization, contact Pale Rider Arms at Q-Box # 317-261-383-6564 for more details.--

Shinra would be VERY interested in this, as well as a Possible pertner ship. While we are a Compony, we do like to keep all our best things for ourselves, and this is one of those. How much would it cost to gain acess to this?

Sephiroth, President of Shinra and Head of the United Nations of Ominrio.

OOC: Whoops. Time sure flies, doesn't it? Heh heh.... Sorry.

IC: Private message to Ominrio: While we are very pleased with your interest in Project Ourobouros, we are currently experiencing slight difficulties with the Necroscopic psykers that are the FTL transport method itself. They seem to have organized a private guild of their own in order to ensure that they are not exploited. We are currently in the final stages of negotiation with the so-called Mobius Guild. The Guild is expected to maintain a firm degree of independence, but will remain a subsidiary of Pale Rider Arms. You may contact the Guild through your local PRA office, or on the net inside the Pale Rider Arms node (OOC: In other words, at the International Mall inside of Pale Rider Arms). We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you.

--QUETZAL, Chairperson of PRA