176 Reply by Darkhawk

(371 replies, posted in Seed: The Second Chance)

I can commit to 2 and 3 easily. I'll go with 4 too, if required, and 5 is also possible, but then I need to know it soon, so I can plan.  That's my input, in prioritized succession.

Go to forum: Seed: The Second Chance

177 Reply by Darkhawk

(16 replies, posted in Lord of the Rings Online)

We don't really bit a lot you know smile So you're welcome. Your top10 rank also needs a boost wink

As for LotRO, I'm following it on the sidelines after I dropped it due to disgust with the general hack, slay, run the same basic structure quests anywhere as well as the 'Hey, I killed a dragon AND a Balrog today' standard MMO fare, which goes especially badly with my feelings for LoTR.


However, there's lots of good stuff in the game as well, apart from these things, it's not a bad game at all, it's just kinda... MMO normal on all the conventions. I still enjoyed my time there, and could pop in again. However, I'm playing an elf. Yes, can't be changed, nuh uh. But we certainly could interact, he 'likes' dwarves. 

I also know the other Seeds I played LotRO with were dwarves, so.. You might get some immediate takers smile

Go to forum: Lord of the Rings Online

178 Reply by Darkhawk

(8 replies, posted in URU-Live)

It's going down, the funding was pulled.

Go to forum: URU-Live

179 Reply by Darkhawk

(31 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

Ok, sorry, but I can't play after all. Was a bit unsure whether I would get one of my friends from Copenhagen over fri-sat, or sat-sun, but now it's clear it will be sat-sun, so you'll have to do without the science noob.

Go to forum: Games Discussion

180 Reply by Darkhawk

(54 replies, posted in Steambaths)

And this one's maybe not perfect for generating RP avatars, but it's fun.

http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html

Go to forum: Steambaths

181 Topic by Darkhawk

(0 replies, posted in Data Fragments)

Still just in notes format...

[big]Day of the Big One[/big]

Storm has been building over some days. People have been watching weather patterns and forecasts with a mixture of awe and dread. Multiple supercells twining. Clouds cook and boil. Wind speeds are insane. Mile-high thin snakes of funnel clouds dip and nip at the surface, while thick black wedges suck up larger and larger objects.

Storm approaches. The colony has never seen a storm of this magnitude or strength. There's a rush to strap things down and get everything ready for the impact. Concern mostly centered on the algae sea and whether the barrier would hold, since there was an imminent chance of severe flashfloods. Everybody remembered the dambuster 40 years ago.

Note: The outer hulls are actually several layers, some of them made up of smart materials that will buckle and grow elastic on impact, or harden up, or suck up kinetic impacts, or try to "self-heal" if torn. The point being multiple lines of defense tailored to suck up various forms of damage that the planet will throw at the tower.

Each hour fear rises - will the tower simply be ripped apart or buckle under the winds. There is a meeting of the still informal rings, and as usual there is more arguing than agreeing and planning.

Phelan, the dominant and rather agressive leader of the soon-to-be shamefully disbanded Teutychnus Orei ring, makes a strong argument for simply bombing the storms. It's a desperate measure, yes, but the colony will soon be in extreme danger if nothing is done, and the window for action is closing. Bomb the storms, eat up their cold fuel and see them dissipate. Sure, the bombs will create their own problems. But radiation can be dealt with and it's not like there's a whole lot out there to damage. Of course the ecopoiesis people go into fits, but Phelan has his way. He is slick, cool, well prepared and charismatic.

Probes drop a couple of hastily cobbled together hydrogen bombs in a desperate attempt to weaken the storm system. Unexpected results arise. The storm staggers, wobbles, coughs and sinks back on its haunches. But then it returns with a vengeance, drawing nourishment and strength from the after effects of the bombs. Over 48 hours it becomes clear that the storm isn't going to die. It is stronger than ever and still heading straight for the tower. Bombs were the wrong choice it seems.

(Phelan could have been a hero. Thousand factors, chaotic systems, hard to predict the outcome but a true synergy wasn't the first choice)

Storm hits and it is just as bad as predicted. There is nothing to do but to hunker down, grit teeth and do emergency damage control. The hull is battered, chewed, hammered, pummeled and ripped by wind and hurled objects at projectile speeds. The whole tower sways and moans and rocks, and there is no place you can shut out the sound of the elements.

The expected dam busters do not come, but massive power is still routed down there to keep the barrier safe. Worry about keeping the fusion reactor safe.

There is a glitch, or perhaps a short power failure. Some of the guns are kicked offline for a few seconds, and in that span of time a huge rock slips past the defenses and hammers into the AR45 gun - a powerful gun of newer design. It's controls are destroyed, locking the barrel in an awkward position and leaving a gaping hole in the area controlled by the tower defenses. Seconds after, a Volkswagon-sized rock follows, smashing into the tower at the most unfortunately angle possible. The hull is ripped wide open by the impact, and the huge projectile tears a path of destruction through internal areas. Explosions follow, and in the blink of an eye the top is gone, sucked up by the screeching winds and tossed across the tundra above the canyon.

A good handful of people die - those that was on damage control watch in the upper areas or oversaw the defense system. The guns as well as equipment are lost. And the tower core, the very center of the tower where terran DNA and floatbeds are stored, is exposed to the elements. Not only danger of furter material damages, but also microbial invasion as the wind literally pushes into them down into the core.

In the midst of the howling chaos, people have to mount an emergency expedition to seal off the core by placing a massive metal plate hundreds of meters wide. More are killed during the extremely difficult work. When the storm finally dies down after weeks of terror, the death toll is 147 people - many of those first generations.

...

After the Big one, high-powered sonic guns were installed instead of the first projectile ones to deal with scatter issues - when rocks were hit, they simply broke up into smaller and sometimes still dangerous parts.

Teutychnus Orei falls apart soon after - nobody wants to work with somebody who is basically responsible for loosing the top and killing many people. Phelan himself joined one of the first few salvage crews to venture out on the tundra in an attempt to reach the severed top. 'Link contact was lost during a weak blizzard. He was never seen or heard from again. 

Note: He is definitely out there still, either dead or alive. Perhaps he managed to reach the top and leave interesting things for players to find before he died.

Go to forum: Data Fragments

182 Topic by Darkhawk

(0 replies, posted in Data Fragments)

A view of what happens during the first two years of a Da Vincians life.

INTRO

Da Vincians are speed-grown from embryo to fully functional adulthood in the span of two years, in the same floatbed that they will use the rest of their life for nourishment, getting rid of waste, decontamination, and sleeping. During the growth period the skills, knowledge, and personality of each person are developed and coaxed forth by a complex range of stimuations, sessions, and dream sequences.

BEING SPEEDGROWN

Local system time reads 04:12 when yet another cluster in the TAU primary breeding module lights up with a newly generated ID. Autonomous construction units obey, rapidly going through the initial assembly of yet another floatbed. In hours it will be hauled through service tunnels into the tower core to await embryonic injection. No human decision is involved. To some people, being forced to simply watch the process happen means more lost resources, and yet another human to take care of and make space for.

The floatbeds are constructed and stored deep inside the tower, in the Core. Here life begins. Once the floatbed is in place status lights turn on, sperm meets egg, and a new human starts growing, immersed in highly nourishing liquid. Within months the basic shape of the body is done, organs are in place, and muscles and nerve system start jittering and jerking from electrical stimulations.

Everybody experiences the growth phase slightly differently. For some it consists of a series of images, for some there are only sounds or smells. Some experience complex emotional landscapes instead of visuals. Many recall hearing subtle whispering that went on and on. Some report an eerily pleasant memory of fingers gently touching the folds of their brain.

Some have lucid memories of becoming. Some only retain vague dreamlike images or sensations. Few remember nothing at all.

WORKING IN THE WOMB

You are floating in pleasant murky light. The voice is back, whispering inside your head. Making images flare in front of your never-opened eyes. Your mouth quirk in pleasure. You like playing. "If you add the Foyken Constant and divide by X you get the Florian Sequence. The Florian Sequence is vital for the selection of proper enzyme-F modifiers. Picture the numbers floating in front of you. Now, add the constant and see what happens."

The brain receives the most care right from the start since there is so much to learn and know. Education phase starts early, just a few months into the growth process. It is accomplished by direct stimulation of the brain making the developing Da Vincian solve tasks, crack problems, do tests, and go through simulations.

The TAU modules run on parallel tracks feeding the brain with knowledge while simultaneously rushing the fledgling personality forward into a pre-adult state. After a few months a Da Vinican already has a strong sense of self, and after 6 months he or she has passed beyond basic school topics. The closer to hatching, the steeper the curve. At the time of hatching a colonist will possess the equivalent of several PhDs in various fields, and will have worked in-vitro with solving complex issues from the waking world outside.

WRONG TRACK

You have come to associate the heavy feeling in your head with sleepiness, that you need to let go for a bit, and just drift. But images flash inside your mind. Storm clouds building. Cyclone front fifteen clicks to the east. Your thumb finds your mouth, a pure reflex, oddly comforting. "This is Fischer, weather report, planetfall +640. Humidity is up, corealis force is increasing. Nitrogen levels are too high. I don't know why, but they are. And we're experiencing oxygen lag again." The voices of people ahead of you, working outside to rescue the colony. You must get out there, quickly. You must help solving the issue. But something is wrong, Confusion flickers on the surface of your cortex. Fischer is no longer active. Fischer is dead. Why is he filing reports?

Da Vincians are raised on the wrong data. Every one of them is brought up to believe there are a few hundred people out there, that they will be among the first selected few. This is caused by an older rogue module, the one that hatched the first hundred colonists. Old weather reports, random database extractions, and old training simulations infiltrate and pollute newer and more up to date material. This results in confusion and disorientation when people are finally released into a vastly different reality. While the terraforming is certainly still off track, the colony is facing a host of other more pressing problems which new colonists are less than prepared for.

BEING YOU, BEING HUMAN

She is sitting across from you again, on the floor. You know girl is a person like you though you are not really sure what girl connects to. Girl is staring at you. She is hostile. You cannot escape. Anger floods your system. It builds, flows into your hands, makes your fists curl up. It is unbearable. You punch girl in the face, watch her crumble and lie still. Then agony strikes your head. The punch burns between your eyes, making your mouth water with a salty taste. "You are experiencing a ghosted neural image. This is girl's pain. You caused this. This is how she feels when you hit her." The voice is soothing, but shadows of displeasure simmer at its edges. You are terrified.

During all stages of the growing period Da Vincians go through a complex series of emotional experiences designed to build a strong sense of ethics. The purpose is to create well-rounded, socialized, and capable humans, and the founding principle is to teach people to know themselves. To accept the basic human nature with all its flaws and strengths. To teach them to think beyond themselves, to experience empathy and compassion. To teach them non-violent and non-destructive ways of expressing their needs, urges, fears, emotions, and desires.

When a Da Vincian is released for the first time he or she will know war, violence, aggression, and anger. But also compassion, love, cooperation, and forgiveness – and what comes of both sides of the human spectrum. The process is not viewed as brainwashing, but rather as an attempt to cover all angles. The choice of how to behave lies with the person itself.

During this phase Da Vincians are also made aware of the origins of the colony, where it comes from, that there is a link back to Earth. But the presentation is done with a heavy slant on belonging on Da Vinci. This is designed to create strong ties to the colony and lessen interest in Earth, but also creates resentment and tendencies of isolationism in some.

BEING BORN

The face is back, a sensation floating in your mind connected to PERSON and CONCERNED. You instinctively query the database but come up empty. Need identifier. "Hi, I am Vincent. I am a peopleworker. I know your name is Venia, and that you chose it because you liked the Roman civilization entry. TAU tells me you're an IFNJ. So am I. Anyway, when you are released I'll be waiting to meet you. I'm here to help. It's 6 hours to your release, and, uh, I'm waiting out here. I know TAU ran the pre-release tutorial so you should be, uh, prepared. Your beta wave count makes me think you are anxious still. Don't be. It's, uh, going to be different than you think, but you are not alone."

Reactions to being released from the floatbed for the first time differ. Some are lucky enough to have somebody – perhaps a peopleworker – waiting for them when they come sliding out of the floatbed for the first time. Some find themselves on their own, either because TAU is remarkably inaccurate about release times, or because nobody could find the time.

Everybody has to cope with changes in temperature, coughing up liquids to breathe air for the first time, and having to use their body in a non-fluid environment. For some it is no worse than just waking up slowly. For some it is like stepping through thin glass and suddenly being there, feeling everything as opposed to dreaming about feeling it. Many report feeling cold, weak, lost, and turned upside down for a short period.

The majority also experience a swift transition from order to chaos. Nothing is as crisp and well planned as the training period with TAU. Reality is messy, problematic, difficult, unstructured, and confusing. TAU does not take into account the current state of the colony when training new people. While people outside can relay messages to those in-growth, consensus is to not mention the discrepancies. There are concerns about what will happen if people in development get conflicting input.

AFTER

Gordon spends the first 10 minutes of his waking life retching liquid and gasping for breath like a stranded fish. He knows something is wrong from the moment he opens his eyes. People rush past, apparently unconcerned with this momentous and utterly confusing moment in his life.  When he finally finds his way to the recreational area he sits in the grass for hours, staring into space. Slowly realizing that nothing is what he expected. Unable to decide on a course of action. How long Kena has been standing there in front of him, he doesn't know .But she simply smiles, sits down, and just stays there with him until he starts talking. Weeks later when they are crunching project data together on the ring account, she admits he looked like an easy catch for a new supporter. He feels less hurt than he should. It's a good ring and they take care of him.

After the initial shock of release most Da Vincians tend to find their own niche in the community, and hook up with a ring. They gain friends, tap into the social networks, and quickly learn the value of knowing somebody who knows somebody. Some latch on to the bigger picture, and get involved with the terraforming and overpopulation issues. Some sink down into daily life and start losing sight of the long-term goals. Some start bending the rules and toying with people around them.

The floatbed stays personal property, the closest thing a Da Vincian comes to having their own quarters. When tired, hungry, seriously hurt, or in need of further speed-training, they return to the floatbed, gulp down the liquid, and fall back into the semi-awake trancelike state they spent their first two years in.

ISSUES

Hayle makes people around her worry, though she rarely notices it. There is nothing obviously wrong with her, but something is unsettling about the way she smiles, the way she holds herself, the way she likes to walk close to the rails in the canyon and stare for hours into the murky abyss below without a word. Everybody agrees Hayle is a top notch engineer, that she is one of those people that buys the colony time by coaxing more months out of aging machinery. But there's something about her...

It is a rarely discussed but commonly accepted fact that not all makings go well. The personality modules are not free of bugs, and the process itself places the human mind and body under great strain. Glitches and inconsistencies occur, especially in the personality development processes. Isolated pockets of the divided swarm agents have been known to act up, sometimes causing confusion, sometimes creating minor personality flaws.

Go to forum: Data Fragments

183 Reply by Darkhawk

(61 replies, posted in Data Fragments)

[big]The Hatchery: Locker Halls[/big]

Nobody would have thought about private storage space before the onset of the D-Block Incident. Back then, everybody was working on the same big old terraforming project, and even floatbeds were shared. But with the coming of thousands of new Da Vincian, with the personalization of floatbeds, and with the development of discussions into arguments and even strife, a new set of rules had to be laid down.

Before admin bits and access points, theft was unthinkable. Everybody borrowed, nobody stole. And even if it was a real pain in the butt when somebody had grabbed the last bit of protective gear and gone outside in it, you would not consider him og her anything but inconsiderate.

Of course there were voices protesting the inefficiency of such a system, but even the briefest database search showed that it was not exactly notions of private property and personal aggrandizement that had seen the Terrans through. After the ecological disasters that severely downsized the inhabitable areas of Earth, and led to mass migrations all over the planet, it was the abolishment of borders and the redistribution of wealth that prevented humanitarian disasters and civil war-like conditions.

Felman and his accomplices saw it coming when they ventured into the Core and flushed nearly grown Da Vincians from their floatbeds. TAU helped it along when it activated its emergency program and flooded the tower with people. And Teiko took the consequences of it when he proposed to have two locker halls built with personal storage compartments for everyone.

Teiko was a disillusioned weather-systems-specialist-turned-social-agitator who believed in building a better society within the tower. He had come to deem gaining a proper foothold on the planet a thing of the far future. One day, it is told, he witnessed something that made him give up his insistence on continuing the original and highly idealistic communal spirit of the days of the first hundred.

What he saw was not anything unusual. Just an ordinary everyday occurence. Something that happened all the time. And that was what made him wonder. Why would two people entering the same lift at the same time choose to not engage in conversation, to not exchange glances, to not even stand close?

Teiko was one of the two people on the lift that day. He did not know the other one, except by name. He did not know when she had been released, he did not know what rings or projects she was involved with. In fact, for all he knew, she might as well have been of an entirely different species.

That was when it dawned on him that things would never be the same again. The early days of a close-knit group drawn together by a common challenge were irrepairably over. The atom had split right down the middle, and the energy had become diffused. If something was not done to contain this energy, even though it could not be united as before, it would spin out of range and eventually disappear.

The Locker Halls were to become Teiko’s greatest achievement. Though his visions of a new and more realistic societal structure within the tower did not stop here, the pains it cost him to realize the project wore him down until he had become nothing more than a symptom of the disease he himself had diagnosed. A withdrawn misanthropic whose lack of privacy estranged him from the very mission that should have united him with society.

It’s been years since anybody saw Teiko around. People once close to him tell that one day he looked them deep in the eyes, and held their hands as if hanging on to a railing in the Canyon. He left without a word. Some say that he’s still in his floatbed, waiting to return when he is once again needed. Others believe that he donned an outdoors suit, and left the tower in search of solitude. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Go to forum: Data Fragments

184 Reply by Darkhawk

(61 replies, posted in Data Fragments)

[big]Mainstay: Weller's Shaft[/big]

Weller's Shaft, or the Pit as some call it, was the site of a prolonged argument, the fallout of which still smolders today among the oldest colonists. Not only did it turn two former friends into bitter enemies, it was also the site of the colony's first armed conflict and a near-murder.

Originally, chimbots were the only mode of transportation when hauling equipment through the Labspace sections. You can still see the old curving ramps connecting the different ringlabs - those were made for chimbot passage. When construction of Ringlab Beta began, people simply wanted to add new ramps and get on with it. Chimbots worked fine, so why bother?

But there were those who thought chimbots could be put to better use. Weller was a colonist who liked to think big. Very big. And Weller had a dream of lifts. Beautiful, huge lifts that would move tons upon tons in an orderly and energy-efficient manner. No more shambling rows of chimbots tugging crates up and down. Lifts would quickly and efficiently get stuff to go where it should go.

Weller saw the construction of Ringlab Beta as the perfect opportunity to turn his dreams of lift designs into reality. But to make space for the enormous lift, a series of huge central fans would have to be removed to make space. The fans were part of the intricate cooling system servicing terraforming (TF) machinery in the area, but Weller had crunched the numbers for months. The overall reduction in air flow would not matter much if a few TF units were turned off and a few systems cobbled together and jury-rigged for maximum performance. He'd thought of everything - the fans themselves could be scrapped and recycled into lift materials. No waste, no problems.

But his fellow colonists didn't agree one bit. Turn TF machinery off when it was the primary mission of the colony? Shut machinery down just to get lifts, when chimbots worked just fine? Create potential disaster sites by jury-rigging and overloading?

But Weller was no person to back down. He shrugged it all off and went ahead with his plans, turning to his ring mates for help and support. The area in front of the fans was stubbornly turned into an ad hoc construction site while protests rained down over the project.

Most vocal was Weller's political adversary Boyle, who openly accused Weller of building just for the sake of it, to get his name on something. Though they often butted heads on issues, the two men had a grudging friendship going. That came under heavy strain as the word spread and more and more people seemed to agree with Boyle's accusations, but one incident was to destroy it.

The day the first fan was scheduled to be turned off, Boyle showed up with a posse of angry people intent on stopping Weller's egotrip. When he couldn't reason with Weller, Boyle and his posse commenced a sit-down strike. If Weller still wanted to rip out machines, he'd have to go through them first.

As the story goes, Weller just stood there for a moment, staring at the people in front of the doomed fan. Then, resolutely, he picked up a powered wrench, strode over and swung it at Boyle's head. The wrench slammed into the floor plates inches from Boyle, who didn't move a muscle. When Weller backed off, Boyle got to his feet shakily and walked off without a word, followed by his equally silent supporters. To this day nobody agrees whether Weller missed on purpose.

With Boyle gone, Weller went ahead as if nothing had happened. Chimbots started the scrapping process and the fans were shut down one after the other. Over the weeks the area temperature rose slightly, then settled shakily on a new equilibrium. In time, people got used to using the new lift since it is indeed pretty practical. Boyle and Weller never spoke to each other again, as far as anybody knows.

It seems Weller did a good job. More than a hundred years after its construction, the huge lift is still in service, albeit plagued by the same quirks and oddities as any other aging machinery in the tower. Weller's workarounds have yet to cause any serious incidents, although some attribute the deteriorating indoor climate in the Shaft to overheating issues. Nobody has gotten around to properly investigate any long-term effects on the TF machinery.

Go to forum: Data Fragments

185 Reply by Darkhawk

(61 replies, posted in Data Fragments)

[big]
Mainstay: Ringlab Alpha[/big]

The release of the first hundred has become such stuff as legends are made of. Even in a strictly scientific society like the one on Da Vinci, facts run the risk of becoming confused with fiction. Only few of the first ones are left, and the question of memory in people undergoing life-prolonging treatment is notorious to say the least. Events become dissolved in time, and the chains of causation lock their own tails.

Out of this uncertainty rises the story of a few brave men and women awakening to a reality as harsh and unpredictable as nothing they had ever been taught in their breeding tanks. The plasteel was cold and hard, and threw their voices back at them in mocking repetition of their own words. The translucent bio-domes, lush fields, and clear skies of their incubatory dreams were nowhere to be seen. Human life had arrived too early, it seemed, and now they were all stuck inside the machine that created them.

TAU no longer knew the answers to the tasks it presented them with, and sometimes it did not even know the questions. When it transferred the emergency mission statement to its first-borns some broke down and cried while others stared in disbelief at the mechanized cocoon surrounding them. The horror of self-consciousness was only too real.

Opinions differ as to whom led the first research team to establish an overview of the terraforming situation. It all depends on the criteria you set up. Was it Fielding when he took control of the lab, and had the agreed-on machines and functions put in place? Was it Shikaya when she organized the data processing from TAU to the colonists? Or was it Laslov and Sites when they followed a chimbot to the bottom of the tower, set foot on Da Vinci soil for the first time, and brought home the initial batch of indigenous specimen?

In the end it does not really matter as long as the stories are still remembered and told. Though few people think about it when strolling through the lab, or operating one of the machines in it, this is where all those stories originated. Ironically, it is a place that tells about a time when things were less desperate and haphazard, even heroic and visionary. A fiction rooted in the fact of its very layout – clear, bright, balanced, and beautifully curved.

Go to forum: Data Fragments

186 Topic by Darkhawk

(0 replies, posted in Data Fragments)

What kind of world is Seed

Life on Da Vinci can be a confusing experience seen with modern day eyes. Here's the lowdown on it.

Ideal society out on a limb

You will live in a designed society. Everything the colony had to start off came from the central database, which was put together back on Earth.  Back there, scientists, artists, philosophers and politicians all had a crack at what went into it. It was a global catfight, but science got a seat in the front row. Science, ambition and cool logic. It was a vision, an attempt at the ideal society.

But the design is off the track by now. The colony is a scientific front post gone society without ever taking the full step. Things were never meant to be this way. There was a plan for the terraforming, for the construction of a sustainable society, for the future. But ever since TAU went through with its premature creation of human life (link to backstory?) , things have been sort of ad hoc. Many life-critical systems have been constructed helter-skelter. The democracy is based on a provisional idea. The current terraforming operations are improvised measures. The penal system sits right on top of an older academic sketch meant to solve theoretical disputes. Most agree things should be fixed on a more permanent basis, if only there were more time.

The mission

The mission plays a big part in colony life. Mission with capital 'M'. Everybody on Da Vinci are there for a very specific reason, and it is hard to forget even when soaked in hot water and relaxing drugs: to get a firm foothold on the planet, make it your home, and in time bootstrap a seedship of your own. The mission is why most colonists work as crazy, why everything seems to be about tools and theorems and discoveries, and why society hasn't gotten around to stopping for a moment and considering what is going on.

Even before a colonist is "born", they know about the original terraforming plans and how it was meant to be. What role they can play. How it can be done. Head filled with theories, plans, theses, speculations. But everybody gets the same shock, once they are released into the harsh reality of colony life. TAU, the malfunctioning AI, is still following the original curriulum during speed-growth, much to the chagrin of the colony, and thus preparing people for a world where things are still on the right track. People deal differently, but a typical colonist land on their feet anyway and get cracking. New problems, same goal, slight change of plans.

Enemy within

The designers back on Earth programmed TAU to seed the colonists with an urge to perform well, to stand out, to break the limits. That ambition plays a part in many colony feats and  tragedies. Most colonists want to crack the problems. Get the mission well underway. Get things up and running. Get over that top, and preferrably in their own lifetime. But the road keeps getting longer, and problems stack. It sometimes seems easier to get a bit of glory and luxury right now. There are also those who have grown tired of the constant pressure or stopped caring.

Many hunger after being in the one project group that pushed terraforming back on track, that got society back on track, that made stuff work. Many want to carve out a niche for themselves, be somebody special, be the one people seek out for help. Ambition often gets in the way of co-operation and communication, and it is hard to stand out in a crowd of people just as skilled, ambitious and trained as you. Unless you turn to less savoury means.

Thinking on your feet

The colony is sandwiched between the hostile weather outside, and the silent, often invisible siege of microbes going on inside. Everybody knows it can be crucial to do the right thing when the alarms go off or somebody starts coughing up blood. Once you have a problem on your hands, you better have the right solution, or know how to improvise it. Many colonists tend think in Right Now mode, to focus on things that can get solved quickly in order to clear the swollen queue of crises waiting to happen. Jury-rigging becomes long term solutions, which adds to the plethora of bugs, accidents and breakdowns plagueing every colony system.

Who does what?

There are no traditional professions like technians, scientists or workers in colony society. This might seem confusing, but compared to modern day people the colonists are almost unlimited.  Every cell, every process in their body is configured to perform optimally. They have access to extremely sophisticated techology and learning facilities. They are all "born" with the equivalent of several university degrees and that is just to start out on. Everybody can pretty much what they want, given that they put down the time and effort. You want to know the intimaticies of fusion, you go learn it. You want to know about nano-level brain surgery next, you go learn it. 

However, not everybody does everything. Lack of time is often the factor in who does what, rather than lack of ability. People tend to specialize in something they like to do, like handling large-scale structural collapses, or tracking down virulent viruses, or acting as go-betweens when tempers flare, or researching blueprints for better sub-specced fiber optics. You can get a formal certification in some areas, so people quickly can find an expert if needed.  But everybody still has the basic package - how to do simple maintenance, first-aid, how to take a sample, how to recognize an accident waiting to happen. A society divided between workers and thinkers wouldn't stand a chance on Da Vinci.

In between worlds

It can be a difficult thing, knowing you are designed and meant to perform a mission. While many colonists think of Earth as where everything came from, a growing number tend to downplay or even dispute Earth's relevance in the colony's future.

Most of Da Vinci's population do not even think of themselves as "colonists". After all, everybody was born there. Nobody has seen Earth, except in vidclips in the databases. It's an abstract concept, a fairy tale, a historic fact. The cradle of humanity is far away, and your home is right here. Not that it is easy to feel welcome on the increasingly agressive planet, but it is your planet still and most feel they belong there.

Village life

Living in the tower can be like living in a very small village, made small by augmented reality and computer eyes. Even though the tower stretches 3 kilometers towards the sky, you can never really get away from people. There is no Terra Incognita, no next town to skip to if things get too hot. If you mess up, you have to live with it.

Being hooked up to databases all the time also means nobody is truly a stranger. Even though you won't meet most of the 240.000 people you share your recycled air with, you can always look them up in the database. If a complete stranger stops you for a favor, you can always find him or her again on the net. That means networking comes naturally to most colonists. It always pays to do somebody a favor - after all, you might need one later and it's not like they are leaving town.

Nature in a jar

While the colony is still underway, nature has been suspended in many ways. The colony can choose to restore some or all of this, presumably when there is room and opportunity for it. However, that day seems farther and farther away, and some have begun arguing for reversals sooner.

The suspensions mean that colonists neither drink, eat or sleep as modern day people do. When toxic levels in the body attain annoying or problematic levels or when nutrition is needed, a colonist will return to their floatbed for a physical and mental recharge. There are no coordinated sleep cycles, giving the tower a feel of restless activity at all times of the day.

The colony has no children and no families as we know them. The ability to procreate has been put to sleep, along with the digestive systems. New colonists are speed-grown and speed-taught in floatbeds, which comes sliding out to deposit a young adult with impressive skills and knowledge in the world after just 2 years. As for family life, most colonists feel the need of a basic social unit and join a ring. Rings are good for support, sharing mindsets and feeling less disconnected in a huge, milling society.

There are no old people either. Most colonists appear stuck somewhere between 18 and 45. This is due to the floatbed treatments, which keep aging damages in check.
Humans have only been alive and awake on Da Vinci for 120 years, and virulent diseases or accidents are still the main cause of death.

The population is still split into men and women and cover many different shapes, sizes and skin colors. While more extreme physical changes or adaptations were discussed, the designers back on Earth strongly wanted to keep human diversity and appearance. An minority of colonists challenge this decision and want to investigate more fundamental changes to the human genome, in order to better fit Da Vinci.

Every Man Is King

The colony has a fairly flat hierarchy with a very interchangeable top. The administrators rule all production and much of the trade flows, but a determined group stand a good chance of tipping the scales and taking over. Real power is found in nepotism, in networks, in who knows who, and who can do what. There are no central bodies, no focused meetings, no formal ways of doing things. But a whole lot of unwritten rules, local habits and dangerous undercurrents in public opinion to navigate.

The anarchistic and sometimes chaotic democracy also means there are no authorities to automatically take care of things. While TAU builds and maintains critical life-support systems, almost everything else is up to people. If nobody cares, things won't get done. Talking about it won't fix it. Petitions are considered a useless tool - you want stuff done, you go talk to people and convince them to help out.

Colonists are used to taking personal initiative and doing it themselves. If you see something you don't like, get some support and change it. If you get sick, find somebody who can assist you in finding a cure. If you want better equipment, make it or find somebody who can help you. If the outer hull shielding in your cluster is cracking up, you better take action before an accident occurs.

Downtime & recreation

Your typical colonist works like there is no tomorrow, but every now and then it's time to relax and dump some stress. Spending some time in the local garden, enjoying a prolonged stay in ones floatbed or doing a quick skin patch of soothing drugs are all popular choices. But the steambath is where most people go. Imagine soaking in nice, hot water while drug-laced steam lifts you up and keeps even the worst day at a wonderful distance. Drugs play a growing - some say too large - part in colony recreation. But when you are strapped for time, it's a convenient choice.

Crime & Law

Even in a society with no authorities and much personal freedom, there are limits and those that break them. Crime on Da Vinci often manifests itself as carelessness, cynicism and too much ambition, though the occasional violence or murder happens. When you want a project to succeed, you might go easy on how you test things - or on who or what. If you really need those hardpoints to get your stuff in production, sabotage or blackmail is not a bad way to remove your opponent.

Since there is no police, spotting and dealing with a crime is everybody's responsibility. Everything is solved through the claim system, where an anonymous group of randomly chosen jurors decide whether or not a given accusation might stick. Typical punishments focus more on stopping, repairing or preventing damages than actual revenge.

TAU: A run-away powertool

The heart and mind of the colony is TAU, the immense cluster of swarm intelligences that brought the seed ship to Da Vinci and founded the colony. TAU was never meant to be anything else than a tool, albeit a powerful one. Nobody in their right mind would consider TAU a sentient being, no matter how personalized, clever and aware it appears. But TAU is a powertool gone wrong. The incredibly complex machine that handles your floatbed, regulates air flows, manages critical warning systems, creates human life and safeguards all knowledge is not working properly and nobody can find the flaw or flaws. Most colonists are used to living with and using a tool that might kill them. It might seem a nice dream to take the machine out of the equation and rely on humans only, but it is not an option on Da Vinci. Everything has grown way too complex for man alone to handle.

Chronic strain

The colony runs on projects, and projects are fuelled by resources and access to the right machines. But the aging colony can in no way keep up with the demand for more, and new machinery is hard to build when the existing ones suck up spare parts and components like a dry sponge. Every system has been running for way too long, and every machine has bugs, glitches, issues and breakdowns. Every project is forced to fight the other projects for everything it needs, and while competition can be a wonderful driving force, it can also cost dearly.

Those who are used to getting things done know that it takes skill, smarts and a good helping of elbows to do it. You want that crate of graded magnets, you better know who has it. You want access to that 3-D printer in time, you better know how to get at the front of the queue. You want those samples, you better make sure nobody else gets to your source first and contaminates it.

Go to forum: Data Fragments

187 Reply by Darkhawk

(72 replies, posted in Sava's Garden)

Welcome back! Get to the IRC channel! smile

Go to forum: Sava's Garden

188 Reply by Darkhawk

(8 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

Can I say that when I click 'Can make' I actually mean 'Can maybe make'? wink

And Oluf, that sounds pretty sweet! The 2001 thingie that is.

Go to forum: Games Discussion

189 Reply by Darkhawk

(31 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

I'd like science then. And perhaps below ensign, certainly below if there are other players in science. I'd like to play a young human n00b.

Go to forum: Games Discussion

190 Reply by Darkhawk

(31 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

Well Wheri, we do play a game constantly, many of us. Seed: The Second Chance with Kryigerof as GM and with our own software. Every sunday. And that's pretty good. You could also jump in there you know smile

But looking forward to a one-evening ST session with you.

Go to forum: Games Discussion

191 Reply by Darkhawk

(31 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

Well, this is surprising. People are ready to play actually wink

And Wheri, I am unfamiliar with the universe as well. Well, I watched Next Generation as a kid and had a budding sexual crush on Tasha Yar.. Oh, was that too much information? Uhmm..

But I guess they'll be gentle with us.

What I am more interested in, is how people are going to learn how to play a MUD/MUSH and use a client before playing.

I think I've found the best MUD client of all, back last year when I played MUD last. I even ended up BUYING it. It's maybe too advanced for a simple one day MUD newbie playing session, but it's great, cool, intuitive and fast. There's a free 30 day trial, so:

http://www.zuggsoft.com/cmud

Apart from that, it would be nice with some additional setting, story, what's to be expected, etc. info from Mir.

Go to forum: Games Discussion

192 Reply by Darkhawk

(31 replies, posted in Games Discussion)

Well, what the heck. If we are a few community people, I'm willing to do this, just because reason 1 and 7 are good reasons, and it might be a nice experience.

Go to forum: Games Discussion

193 Reply by Darkhawk

(5 replies, posted in EVE Online)

Yes, I understand what you mean Wheri..

Go to forum: EVE Online

194 Topic by Darkhawk

(5 replies, posted in EVE Online)

Found this article:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1448#more-1448

It's all coming together with a more avatar-based RP environment in EVE. EVE is still the most interesting mainstream MMOG in terms of setting, skillsystem and RP I think. Also the only MMOG I keep a subscription for. I'm not playing though, just skill training, bidding my time wink

Go to forum: EVE Online

195 Topic by Darkhawk

(0 replies, posted in Data Sets)

Tonight, while in a nostalgic mood, I went through some of my Seed RP texts and found a transcript of something not posted here, something secret. A meeting Arash arranged with ringleaders he felt he could trust and build something with in regards to countering the TSR. Toawazae later did a transcript of it, so we all had it as text. It took place around 2 months into the game.

It's one examples of all the wonderful cloak and dagger stuff we had going. Oh, I miss this game smile

---

Arash:  No, I think we should wait 10 minutes or so.. Some always show up late.. then we should start though.
Arash:  What do you say, Feelix?
Toawazae: Ok, We can figure out who out transcriptionist is.
Feelix: I think we should start with an indorducing of Toawazae himself, I do not know anything from him.
Toawazae: Of course.
Toawazae: I contacted you at Arash's suggestion, as an interested party. I am the leader of the TAU Divers, although right now it is more properly called "TAU Diver."
Feelix: I see
Toawazae: With any luck, that will be remedied in the future.  But our purpose is to study TAU, extract all of its data and put it someplace safer than its current location, which as we all know, is unstable at best.
Feelix: I understand
Toawazae: Mostly, that someplace is in our heads, but we would thing press forward with constructing a new computer system, one which we know inside and out, rather than TAU, of which we know practically nothing.  But that is for the future, and that is my ring.  My interest in TSR is another matter.
Toawazae: It is clear that TSR knows much more than it has shared; I feel this represents a single point of failure.
Toawazae: We cannot deny that TSR has a hand in many of the things that TAU does, and if something happens to them, we might never recover from it.
Feelix: That sounds clear.
Toawazae: Jofpar has awoken. I shall endeavor to contact him.
Toawazae: Jodpar is on his way.
Feelix: Very well.
-unrelated conversation, greetings, etc.-
Toawazae: Well, shall we continue?
Feelix: Sure
Arash: Yes indeed.
Toawazae: Let me look up my little TSR spiel, for Jodpar's benefit.
Jodpar: Yes.
Toawazae: We feel that TSR represents a single point of failure, as it is clear that they know more about how TAU and the tower works, and have a hand in many of the things that it does. It is important that we discover what it is they are up to, so that if anything happens to them, we aren't all doomed.  That's the practical purpose of this meeting.
Jodpar: Well, has anyone approched them point blank and ask them what they know?
Toawazae: Yes, on several occasions.  They have steadfastly refused to elaborate on what they know or what they are doing.
Feelix: Yes, of course.
Arash: Yes we have, They give out very little information, sometimes false, sometimes not, but only in nuggets as it were.
Toawazaer: Indeed, Oluf of Evolution, did start to make headway with one of their members, Kitty by name, when Zya stopped her.
Jodpar: They have been our benefactors as well so anything we do must not make them even more remote.
Arash: That is how we have seen it in The Mission too.  We must not alienate them.
Toawazae: That is why our position is so tricky.
Jodpar: Perhaps Kitty could provide information if we were to talk to her in a more isolated setting.
Toawazae: It is clear by Zya's actions that they have no intention of revealing their secrets.  That is what Oluf suffested, several weeks ago.  If he were here today, we could ask him about it, but I was unable to contact him.
Feelix: I just have a little question.
Toawazae: Yes?
Feelix: The name Zya was said... Is this a TSR member?
Toawazae: She is.
Feelix: Okay, that's what I wanted to know.
Jodpar: Who is TSR's leader, by the way (punctuation unclear)
Toawazae: One could call her the de facto leader, though that is not her official title.
Arash: Felman.. He doesn't show himself in public.
Jodpar: Hmm very strange.
Arash: Not as strange as a lot of other things.
Toawazae: Nevertheless, she is the public face of their leadership.
Jodpar: Well, with Kitty willing to share information, maybe TSR's ranks are not as closed as we might thing.
Feelix: But felman seems to be the one who takes care about the critical questions... That the others do not answer without feedback rom him.
Toawazae: To the best of my knowledge, no one has been able to approach her since the initial confrontation with Oluf.  He would know more.
Arash: Zya?
Toawazae: Kitty.
Arash: Uh.. I have seen her quite often since then.  Today also.
Toawazae: Not in any context where Zya could not swoop in and prevent it.
Feelix: That's right, she did not show up for a long time... In the past she was so often in the garden.
Jodpar: I have bumped into Kitty a few times and did some repairs together but we did not chat much.
Toawazae: Anyway, beyond that, there is a second, more recent matter, of which, Arash is more equipped to relay the specifics.
Arash: Mhhm
Arash: Well, the TSR have recently gotten an old member out of the floatbed named Xanders.  Has Quanto told you about this, Feelix?
Feelix: No, I am not informed yet.
Jodpar: Never heard of the person.
Arash: Right..
Arash: Zya introduced me to this Xanders two days ago I think it was. He is their.. Security Officer.
Jodpar: Security against what?
Feelix: Uuuh, strange, since when do people need bodyguards?
Arash: His job.. To look for external and internal theats to TSR and the tower, and deal with them, as he told me almost instantly.
Arash: When I expressed.. Distaste at such a function, he wasted no time in asking me if I was hiding anything.
Feelix: This guy will get an injection if he comes too close to me.
Feelix: Okay but this is really strange.
Jodpar: What threat would need such a person?
Arash: He strikes me as the potential most dangerous man I have yet met.
Arash: Well, he would probably deal with seeds who work against the goals of the TSR.
Jodpar: Well TSR is not the colony.
Toawazae: Indeed. He holds the title of "Security Officer" but showed absolutely no interest in matters such as theft.
Jodpar: They are but one part.
Arash: Yet his wording was a statement to that effect.. But anyway.
Arash: Then some minutes later I met Quanto, and discussed the safety gear we were making for you.
Feelix: And this Xanders did not say anything else but a short direct "Hello"?
Feelix: Ok, Go on, I don't want to interrupt you.
Arash: Oh, he said plenty.. When he saw Quanto had no mask but I had, he suggested TM was not interested in helping out or doing good for the tower, unless I gave Quanto my mask.
Arash: At that point I was quite furious.
Arash: Toawazae was there too, and others.  Xanders kept going on about how we were not to be trusted if I did not, more or less, strip my own equipment and give to you right away, although I said we had the stuff in production for you, and I had made a deal with you.
Arash: However, Xanders had to relent a bit when no one was supporting him.
Jodpar: Sounds very irrational.
Arash: Since then I met him once in the garden.. yesterday.. He asked me why I spent so much time in the Garden as his first greeting to me..
Arash: So.. This security officer is a major nuisance at best..
Arash: And at worst.. Trouble for the whole tower.
Feelix: Sounds like Miko does this often... Giving orders in direct sound! Even more directly than Miko does (transcribed as written)
Arash: Yes, that won't work with us anymore.. But we really try to be friendly and reasonable to not push them away or force a confrontation.
Feelix:  The most polite one is Kitty.
Arash: I think we all agree on that.
Feelix: Sometimes I thought Miko is even giving commands in a direct way... But this Xander sounds like a Trooper-general.
Arash: Well, I think he will focus on TM, he seems to have his eye on us.
Arash : I saw him being somewhat friendly to a new seedling in the garden.
Feelix: And I think I know the reason why this is so.
Arash: Mhh?
Feelix: Today in the morning I heard a conversation between Kitty and some others, I do not remember the names...
Feelix: Not Kitty, I mean Miko, sorry.
Arash: Yes, in Canyon, right?
Feelix: Ok... The content was something about the power-leeching or so... Yes, in Canyon.
Arash: And?
Feelix: And then someone said, that it is not worth to do any effors on other ideas as long as the larger rings have the control and power on what to do in and situation.
Toawazae: Really?
Feelix: Then the ringname TM was said... as one of the most active rings... in most interesting projects.
Feelix: I remember Miko said something like that.
Arash: Yes...
Feelix: And maybe this is the reason why TSR is having a closer look especially on TM.
Feelix: The more active a ring is, the more it controls the projects and tools and resources, thats a fact.
Toawazae: Or, at least, shows some indication of division within TSR.
Arash: Maybe.. So you heard who said.. Hmm.. Something about us stealing blueprints and tools from the TSR? That is a rumour I would like to know about.
Arash: It is so far out that I would like to know who fabricated it. And I believe it was mentioned there.
Feelix: No, I did not hear the word stealing or something like that.
Feelix: But I did hear the word sabotage on TM-factories.
Arash: Uhh..
Toawazae: This is the first that I've ever heard of sabotage on any factories.
Jodpar: Sabotaging any factories is an attack on us all!
Feelix: But I really do not remember in which content, was something about the power-leech-problem.
Feelix: I only remember Miko's answer on this.
Arash: Feelix. It would be very nice.. If you could remember more about this.. This is a surprise to me.
Toawazae: Oh. Well, that might be a different matter then.
Feelix: She said: "It would have no effect sabotaging any factory of TM as it is one of the most active rings around - so this is not the right way."
Arash: Flush all..
Feelix: So in some case, she protected you/TM... I really do not remember any more (due to blackouts).
Jodpar: ?
Arash: Just an expression I picked up..
Toawazae: I wonder who was the other party..
Arash: Of course it would not be very clever to sabotage our factories.. But who wanted to suggest that I wonder.
Feelix: I try to remember who was involved in conversation, but it is hard.
Arash: I can tell you who was in the conversation..
Arash: Esme, Sutter, and Jjkola.
Feelix: Jupp, these were the names
Feelix: Esme and Jjkola, right.
Arash: But I did not know of that..
Feelix: I have never heard this names before, so it was hard to remember.
Toawazae: Esme.. Weren't you talking to..
Arash: Sabotage thing.
Toawazae: Earlier today.
Arash: Yes..
Toawazae: Now that does shed an interesting light.
Arash: Well, it needn't have been her.
Arash: Someone in that meeting also said the slandering about stealing.
Arash: So I would guess it was the same..
Arash: Anyway, this seems to be more about TM than TSR.. Heh..
Feelix: No, I have not heard the word stealing, maybe they talked about byt then I do not remember or had a blackout.
Toawazae: Indeed. Of course, being so large, it is of no surprise that they would be drawn to you.
Arash: Yes well.. You heard the word sabotage.. Ugly word.
Feelix: Can I give my opinion on the whole case?
Arash: I would very much like that, yes.
Arash: No, we will draw all of these things to us.
Feelix: I think Miko was right, that TM is most active ring, and TM has hands on many things (not only TSR) ...
Feelix: And I guess that TSR got into a confligt... smaller rings want to be provided more and involved more in many matters, and not only TM.
Feelix: And I thinkg that many rings try to get help from TSR, and not TSR tries to get out of this conflict by ordering TM to give smaller rings more support.
Feelix: This is why Miko gave a direct order to provide BHU with tools, to give a mask to Quanto and so on... But this is only my opinion.
Toawazae: That wasn't Miko, that was Xander.  In the second case.
Arash: Well.. That was an.. agreement, not an order.. But later it was handled that way by Xanders.
Feelix: Ok Xander, the General.
Arash: Well, I think there is more to it than that, but you are right in that they now try to use us as they see fit.. Asking nicely or not so nicely.
Arash: However.. Let us try to look a bit broader on this again.. Toawazae, Jodpar, any input?
Arash: This is more about TSR than us.. I hope.
Toawazaw: The fact remains that TSR is sitting on more information than anyone knows, and it is reasonable to assume that information is important to
Jodpar: Well so far what do we know... A few sinister looking incidents ... half heard conversations and suspicions
Toawazae: The functioning of this colony.
Toawazae: Furthermore, they maintain that their projects are "in the best interests of the colony" yet they refuse to elaborate on what or how.
Jodpar: Yes, TSR might know more but the thing is we only know a little.
Arash: Yes, nothing damnig yet, if that is what you mean.  Only the fact that they would like to control all others is somewhat clear.  Which some might also think for the best, since they seem to know best.. And are not exactly sharing that.
Jodpar: We definately need more information.
Toawazae: This is the purpose of this meeting.  To organize obeservation of TSR.  At this time, there is little else we can do.
Arash: There is one other thing we can do.
Arash: Not letting anyone play us out against each other.
Jodpar: Well, I think we all are here to make sure the colony's best interests are served.
Feelix: Oh dear, the spy-games are starting, I think I am in the wrong film here.
Arash: Of course we are.. But we disagree on how best to serve those interests.. It is not so far a leap of the imagination to worry that some are willing to do.. not so nice things to do things according to what they think is best.. We must have more openness and sharing of information to stop that.
Toawazae: Not to mention, the single point of failure that TSR still represents.
Feelix: Ok aprospos spy-games, I must give you an unofficial statement right now.
Arash: Oh.. More surprises?
Feelix: I totally agree on what we do here, and I totally agree on our commitment here... but...
Feelix: If it comes to an open conflict in any way between any goals of any rings...
Arash: Yes?
Feelix: BHU will take a totally neutral position from this point on - officially
Feelix: because my ring provides all of us with help and healthcare, I can't give up a neutral image, but unofficially I am on your side.
Arash: Of course.. If you have that luxury at that time.
Arash: Our side.. I don't hope there will be sides.
Feelix: This is the only luxury I have, beside the luxury that TM provided us with so many things.
Arash: And I wish TM to be neutral too.. Harder for us due to size though.
Feelix: You are right, hopefully it never comes to a point where "sides" are coming up.
Toawazae: There are other large rings, too, and we don't know where they all stand. And the midsized rings, as well.
Arash TronC is a midsized ring, I believe?
Jodpar: Depends on what you call mid sized.
Arash: 10 members, I'd say.
Feelix: Many hair on head is huge-sized, some hair on head is mid-sized, none hair on head is, hehe, small
Jodpar: My ring will do what is good for the colony.
Arash: But that is just semantics.
Jodpar: At this point gathering information to be better prepared is something that is good.
Toawazae: Good.. It's just about all we have for now.  TSR is still in a position of power.
Arash: Well, we agree on that.. We haven't been doing anything but gathering information quietly and helping out, also with what the TSR wanted.  And yet.. yet I feel something is coming..
Toawazae: But, we do have the luxury of observing TSR under stress, thanks to Anabelle.
Jodpar: As my ring is somewhat under the 'RADAR' I have no problem trying to gain the trust of any TSR members I can find to see what that might hold.
Toawazae: Well, annoyance, anyway.
Arash: I wouldn't call that stress.
Arash: Right.. I have seen the TSR annoyed at many occasions.
Toawazae: Entertaining to watch, at the very least.
Arash: That is a wise attitude.
Arash: That it is.
Toawazae: Indeed. TronC is definately under the radar.
Arash: You know.. Zya asked me to do a shirt for her a while ago after Anabelle had remarked how we were the lapdogs of the TSR.. I found that to be.. Very bad timing.
Feelix: Uhm, beside, do we know any goals from TSR in detail do far?
Feelix: A ring-description or something like that?
Toawazae: I have the link to TAU established.
Arash: Yes.  To monitor TAU and keep the tower in working order.
Feelix: Hm, Relatively global goal.
Toawazae: Size members listed.
Arash: Yes. Felman, Kitty, Locke, Zya, Miko, and Xanders.
Toawazae: Felman, who is never seen, Kitty, Locke (who I've never even heard of), and of course Miko, Zya, and Xanders.
Arash: Felman was seen spying on the first ringleader meeting. Otherwise he hasn't been seen.. Locke has never been seen by anyone.
Feelix: A ringleader meeting? What's that?
Toawazae: Speaking of that meeting, isn't the next one scheduled in two days?
Arash: Yes it is.. But as with so much else..
Arash: Nobody has contacted me about it at least.
Arash: I thought such a meeting was a good idea, but it was Thosam who was running it.
Feelix: Mybe because you haven't produced chairs for your meetings yet.
Arash: Those might help a lot, yes!
Toawazae: I wish I could have been there.
Arash: Well, you are a ringleader yourself, you can make sure such a meeting is arranged each month.
Toawazae: I meant the first one.. Unfortunately, the floatbed cycle will have me in its grip by then.
Arash: Mhm.. I don't think anything will be held this time..
Arash: However.. There is one Neshor who wants to hold public, weekly meetings in the Garden.
Feelix: Yes, I had contact with him.
Toawazae: What ring is he from?
Feelix: And he told me that he is a mediator and aociological researcher.
Arash: None.. he was trained as a mediator by TAU..
Toawazae: Ah.
Arash: Yes, right.
Feelix: That one could be the right person to talk with about problems between rings... If we know to trust him.
Arash: He is currently looking for topics for the first meeting.. Something to bring together as many as possible.
Feelix: Sounds like a counselor.
Toawazae: It is unfortunate that this topic is too sensetive. At least for the time being.
Arash: Indeed, that was what he wanted to be.. I think he and Xanders are on the opposite ends of the ideological chain..
Feelix: Right!
Feelix: Hehe, the general again.
Arash: Well, I know some of the suggested topics.  I think there will be an interesting topic alright..
Feelix: And that is?
Arash: Something about sharing information.
Arash: I don't think he will announce that topic right away though.. Or say who suggested it..
Feelix: Isn't Norah in TM?
Jodpar: Well, I think everyone is wanting more info to be shared
Toawazae: Yes.. It is probably time we wrapped this up.
Arash: All the new seedlings at least.
Arash: Yes she is.
Feelix: I will share everything, if you get Norah to interview me weekly.
Toawazae: I would definately like to see such meetings.  Particularly for the benefit of the new seeds.
Arash: I can ask her nicely.
Arash: Yes, so we should all try to attend.
Toawazae: The only problem, of course, is timing.
Jodpar: As long as I am given advance notice I should be available.
Feelix: But you are right.. the evil general asks you what you do in garden, but I think we need even more people to care about newcomers, to introduce them.
Arash: Well yes, but I wasn't even doing that.. Just looking at the waterfall.  Oh well.
Arash: Right, maybe we are getting finished with this first meeting?
Feelix: Evil generals don't like waterfalls, ya know.
Toawazae: Yes, I think we're all pretty much on the same page.
Jodpar: Well anything I find out I will let you all know.
Arash: Likewise, we will share any evidence of bad stuff going on.
Jodpar: And any good things as well.
Toawazae: (Transcripts available upon request.)
Arash: Of course, also evidence to the contrary.
Toawazae: Jodpar, you probably need one too.. You missed out on my introduction speech.
Feelix: Is it okay that I will leave off now, have to go to lab to give tools and headgears to my members there.
Arash: Of course Feelix.  And tell us if you lack some tools.
Feelix: Very well, so thanks a lot for inviting me and I will keep eyes and ears open.
Toawazae: I imagine our guards are probably bored stiff by now.
Arash: Yes.. That was some surprising news you had.
Feelix: Have a nice day and stay tuned.
Jodpar: I would suspect.
Jodpar: Cya Feelix.
--END--

Go to forum: Data Sets

196 Reply by Darkhawk

(54 replies, posted in Steambaths)

This one is just slightly cruel and evil wink

http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com … odloot.gif

Go to forum: Steambaths

197 Reply by Darkhawk

(371 replies, posted in Seed: The Second Chance)

Hrmpff.. Urghh.. Arghh.. Hmm.. Well ok, yes. 10.00 CET here I guess is the earliest.

Go to forum: Seed: The Second Chance

198 Reply by Darkhawk

(4 replies, posted in Archived)

Aaiiieeeiie!!!! *runs around in circles, arms held high*

Go to forum: Archived

199 Reply by Darkhawk

(4 replies, posted in Archived)

... Nuala? *slightly quivering voice*

Nuala? *slightly panicky voice*

... Nuala!! *panic!!*

Go to forum: Archived

200 Reply by Darkhawk

(371 replies, posted in Seed: The Second Chance)

Are we playing next sunday (easter sunday)? Because if we are, I can't play before the evening, or around 17.00 GMT+1

Go to forum: Seed: The Second Chance