#or something about engineering of cyberpunk robots??

[cypress-punk]

Thinking about Eclipse Phase, a cyberpunk ttrpg with a focus on transhumanism and one of the ideas it brings up in the form of post humans.

So in the setting "transhuman" refers to three groups of beings. The first is humans, like you and me, but in this world basically everyone has a cyber brain and a genetically engineered body or inhabits some sort of fully synthetic robot body but their mind is that of a human. The second is AGI, artifical general intelligences, which are designed to remain at roughly human levels of intelligence and a are engineered to have human like perspectives because AIs allowed to become too smart nearly wiped out the human race fairly recently in the history of the setting. The third is uplifted animals, apes, cetaceans, corvids, parrots, octopi, and pigs which have been genetically engineered to have human like minds and intelligence along with modified bodies that make them more human in body plan (for the apes at least).

This broad and somewhat contradictory set of beings are what you can play as and make up most of the intelligent beings a player might encounter though there are some rather odd aliens and even a weird race of mantis shrimp murder creatures engineered by the bad AIs I mentioned earlier. There are all sorts of contradictions about the category of "transhuman" that the game positions you to explore and challenge in game. Its a very interesting setting in general and worth looking into though the actual rule set is rough (in the first edition, I haven't played the second edition and only skimmed the rules briefly when I read the book)

Anyway that really long preamble out of the way I want to talk about another category of being that exists in the world: post humans. That is to say, if the majority of intelligent beings in the world have become something more than human as it was once understood, these guys have abandoned it entirely. Post humans come in two major flavors from what I recall, Minds, which are people who engineered themselves into enormous brains with equivalently staggering, though alien, intelligence; and Predators, which have abandoned human nature to become pure hunters, highly versatile killing machines that target transhumans as prey, or in some cases have weird space habitats engineered as massive ecosystems over which they are the Apex predators.

Both of these are presented as the result of sort of egoist/objectivist approaches to evolution. In a world where the technology exists to basically engineer a whole viable organism these people have chosen to become something completely unlike what they were. The Minds can be taken as an attempt an organic super intelligence, a piece of meat that can rival the god like AIs that devastated the earth. The predators strike me as a very fascistic view of nature taken to the extreme, seeking to become machines that kill, bending all that you are toward being a weapon. Its almost in line with some Futurist ideas about the body in an industrial world. They also serve as basically stand in for some classic DND monsters. Minds are a lot like Beholders or Elder Brains, Predators can fill many "monster" roles depending on the type of body they've built for themselves.

Anyway I like the post humans because they express an interesting ethos within the setting. Theyre a believable fringe that adds something to the world and provides an interesting element for the players to interact with. But there is one other being in the setting that strikes me as very post human.

There's a description in one piece of fluff of colonies of "barnacles" on certain space ships or habitats. These are extremely stripped down synthetic bodies that are equipped with the tools to affix themselves securely to the hull of some man made object in space and then point a lens at the void of space. A body built for complete isolation and meditation upon the cosmos. A sort of ultimate asceticism. I like the barnacles a lot conceptually.

[wufflesvetinari]

i don’t think i’ve mentioned my latest SFF story publications, so here they are:

“Informed Consent Logs from the Soul Swap Clinic” in Clarkesworld. A short script-format piece that follows conversations between a bodyswap technician and two women (an actress and an ex-engineer) who have murky reasons for swapping with each other. i think i fleshed this idea out with some people in the Detroit: New ERA discord, actually? score one for the robots

“Ms. Höffern Stays Abreast of the News” in Dark Matter Magazine (you do have to pay to read this one, unfortunately). follows a cyberpunk phone psychic and a cyberpunk televangelist who are cyberpunk frenemies and have a lot to say to each other about the coming AI singularity. this one was shortlisted for the james white award for new writers but had not been published until now! i wrote it in 2015 and despaired of ever selling it

EDITED TO ADD: 

“Timecop Mojitos” in Diabolical Plots. while you were out, your flaky roommate took care of that sexy Viking timecop who keeps coming after you. don’t even worry about it! The problem is solved

“Shining Bursa and the Listening Post” in Clarkesworld. god, this story is absolutely the the most uhh…fanfiction-brain thing I have written? Space fantasy featuring hideous alien romance and a fearsome galactic warlord sulking about being forced to experience even the slightest emotion! If you’ve watched Wander Over Yonder and think you’re seeing something…….uh, no you’re not. you’re definitely not.

“Letters from Mt. Monroe Elementary, Third Grade” in Diabolical Plots. Kid voice and epistolary form. What if the whole world knows there’s an alien generation ship on the way, but it won’t arrive for a century, and nobody knows what will happen when it gets here, and you are just a humble third grade teacher trying to come up with a creative lesson plan. What then

And my website is here if you’d like to see more!

[sevdadilek]

"A compelling invitation to imagine the future we want"

How do we predict the date something will happen? Many works, whether scientific or not, point to a time with their own scales about the future. Blade Runner: 2049, Cyberpunk 2077 or 2062 is the time when artificial intelligence will reach the human level, as predicted by Toby Walsh.

So why 2062 ? Professor Toby Walsh says in an interview with Dr Waseem Akhtar that he has 3 answers to this question;

1. The average of the years predicted by 300 colleagues,

2. Choosing a name they can't refuse because the book publisher chose the title of their first book

3. In 2062, his daughter stated that she chose this year because she would be the age when he wrote the book.

Toby Walsh is a leading researcher in Artificial Intelligence. He is a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at UNSW Sydney, and he is also an adjunct fellow at CSIRO Data61. He was named by the Australian newspaper as a "rock star" of Australia's digital revolution. He has been elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, a fellow of the ACM, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence. He has won the prestigious Humboldt Prize as well as the NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Engineering and ICT, and the ACP Research Excellence award. He has previously held research positions in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Sweden. He has played a leading role at the UN and elsewhere on the campaign to ban lethal autonomous weapons (aka "killer robots"). His advocacy in this area has led to him being "banned indefinitely" from Russia.

In this fluent interview, which I listen to like watching a science fiction movie Professor Toby Walsh discusses his latest book ““2062: The World That AI Made”

Although the expressions "The End of Us", "The End of Work",”The End of Consciousness”, "The End of War", "The End of Human Values", "The End of Equality", "The End of Privacy" ,”The End of Politics”, “The End of  the West” in the book "2062: The World Made by Artificial Intelligence" reflect a pessimistic view, the professor's "The End is also the beginning of something" it is actually a beginning" gives hope for the future.

Although, morality and privacy in AI, how its effects on human anatomy and social life make some of us nervous about ethical issues, it is very clear that they will make our lives easier and add innovations.

In 2062, professor Toby Walsh touch on the impact AI will have on work, war, economics, politics, everyday life and even death. Will automation take away most jobs? Will robots become conscious and take over? Will we become immortal machines ourselves, uploading our brains to the cloud? How will politics adjust to the post-truth, post-privacy digitised world? When we have succeeded in building intelligent machines, how will life on this planet unfold?

Each question reminded me of a different Black Mirror episode:) the answers are like simulated.

If you are into science fiction movies like me, I recommend you to listen to this interview to learn and clarify the future of artificial intelligence based on scientific research.

[pagingdoctorbedlam]

And now, that cyberpunk AU I’ve been talking about the past few days...here’s the result from one of my potions for @quirkyseastone ‘s “Brew a Love Potion” event!

Characters: Kaku x Reader; cameos by Chopper, Franky, Kalifa (unnamed) and Rob Lucci (also unnamed).

Genre: Cyberpunk, Enemies to Lovers

TW/CW: Violence, guns and swords, cyborgs, partial memory loss

Word Count: ~4.2k words

...

You'd say it was fate, but really, it was no surprise that the Greatest Thief in Water 7 (that being you, of course) would attract the attention of assassins sooner or later.

The first time you met, you were running along rooftops in the world's first and only floating city, and you nearly ran into his sword. Not one of those laser-sabers or poseur chainsaw-blades, but an actual steel sword that tore your sleeve, would've torn your throat if you hadn't pivoted at the last minute.

"You'd best watch where you're going pal," the assassin said, his smile barely creeping past the high collar of his black uniform. His face was almost entirely hidden, save for large eyes and a long, square nose that jutted from his face like the barrel of a gun. "These rooftops get dangerous at night."

"I could say the same to you," was your response. And you shot him. Not the most romantic introduction ever, you admit, but he walked out of it fine. The bullet seemed to bounce off his torso. Bulletproof vest, you thought at first. You didn't get to consider beyond that because he swung a second blade and did a pretty good job of keeping you on your toes.

From this rooftop, you could see the whole city. Water 7, a marvel of engineering, floated over an ocean that seemed to glitter with starlight instead of all the neon signs. You could look across every district, including all the Docks that produced everything from marvelous flights of fancy to dangerous war machines. Down on the streets, market stalls offered every delight imaginable. Paradise for a thief. But sometimes, you needed a challenge, and a target to stick your ire to. You figured which one might've sent an assassin after you.

"Let me guess," you said between breaths and shots. "You're a government goon, aren't ya'? Mad I stole those weapon blueprints from your headquarters last week?"

The assassin had the gall to laugh. "You sure hit the nail on the head! We put a lot of work into acquiring those, and then you go on and walk right out with them. Got the whole place buzzing worse than a hornet's nest." Then he moved faster than any natural human you've ever met, and next thing you knew, the tip of his sword pressed up into your chin. "If you tell me who you sold those blueprints to, I can make a case for sparing your life. For being so darn cooperative and all."

You couldn't help but look into his wide, dark eyes. There was an earnestness in them you'd never seen in anyone else who'd tried to kill you. You also noticed the inner workings, that those weren't human eyes but cybernetic lenses. Ah. That made more sense.

"I didn't sell them. I was hired to snag and burn, and you know what? If I'd known what they were for before I got hired, I would've done the job for free. Did you know what those blueprints were for, or are you the kind of lackey they keep in the dark?"

The cyborg didn't answer right away. His blade lowered ever so slightly.

"I did. That's why we had to secure the blueprints, to make sure no one else makes use of them."

"That's what the previous owners tried to do. Now those blueprints have changed hands twice this month. You really think that if I hadn't destroyed them, some power-hungry idiot wouldn't have eventually grabbed hold of them and actually built the damn thing?" A war machine that could sink all of Water 7 toppling into the sea with a single shot. Nations would bow before it. Not something you'd want in anyone's hands, much less the government.

"Shame to hear you had such good reasons," The assassin said, an honest goodbye. "But orders are orders."

"Indeed they are." And it was time for you to make your escape. You angled your gun up and fired. The assassin was human enough to flinch when a bullet fired at his head, even though you only hit his baseball cap. You ran and flung yourself off the rooftop, using a grappling hook to swing over to the next skyscraper before you could see his reaction.

A small part of you wondered what the assassin's name was. The rest of you, more practical, decided to put that train of thought to rest at the station. No matter how charming an assassin might be, there was no point in wondering about someone who'd tried to kill you.

Next time you two ran into each other, you shot at him again from the opposite end of a mansion hallway.

"You must really hate my hat, huh?" He put his hands up and tried that bright smile on you once more. "Easy there, pal. I'm not here for you."

"Though I'm sure if you offed me as collateral, you'd get a pretty bonus on your paycheck, huh?"

"Depends. What're you after here?"

You debated telling him. Didn't want your goals used against you, but you really didn't have time to chase off an assassin while finishing your job. "Wapol killed my client's adopted father years ago, and hung onto some of the man's personal items as a trophy. I'm stealing them back."

"What a coincidence! I'm here for Mr. Wapol's head. Or at the very least, to threaten him to fall back in line. Someone's been selling supplies to foreign armies, and we'd rather he stop." The assassin slowly walked toward you, hands still up, until the two of you were only a few feet apart. He lowered one hand, offering it to shake. "Tell you what. I'd rather not fight you tonight and risk another hat. So say I deal with Wapol, you get in and grab what you need, and we both pretend we never saw each other. Deal?"

You glared at the offered hand. For all you knew, he could have all manner of weapons built into it. "I don't even know your name. Though I'm sure you know mine, what with being hired to kill me earlier."

"I do." Your name rolled off his tongue in a way that made your traitorous little heart flip in your chest. "And my name's Kaku. That better?"

You wondered if his skin was plastic, or flesh and blood. "You could have a gun built into your palm, or something."

Those camera-lens eyes widen. "You could tell...?"

"I deal with a lot of cyborgs. Some of them don't even try to kill me."

"Aha. Well, you may not believe me, but I try to stay honest, so I mean it when I say I have only one firearm built into me."

You smirked and shook his hand. "If that's a pickup line, you really need practice."

You learned two things that night before parting ways. One, that his hands were warm and calloused, and you felt a steady heartbeat under his skin that no robot could replicate. Two, he was human enough to blush and sputter at your innuendo, giving you enough time to run off into the depths of the mansion.

Wapol's death hit the news the next day. You'd half-expected the crime would be pinned on a break-in, and eventually on you. But no, the death was clean. Made to resemble a suicide. Nothing reported as missing, even the handful of extras you'd taken while Wapol had been distracted. You found yourself pleasantly surprised. Really, the night would've been perfect, if you could get that bastard's blushing face out of your head.

Over the next few months, you two kept ending up at the same places with different goals. The first times were coincidences. The rest were casually coordinated, notes left tucked into the windowsill of your cruddy apartment or texts from what you assumed were burner phones. Coordinates or articles about unique treasures. You once responded back "sounds like a date" and he responded with a flustered emoticon like a teenager from the early 2000's.

Either way, you two made a pretty good team, and no one had to know if he cleared out the security in your way or if you showed him a sneaky shortcut through a building. You finally saw his built-in firearm too; turns out, there was a reason his nose was so long.

And whenever these "accidental" meetings involved staking out the locale first, you'd make small talk. He'd ask about your plans for whatever treasure laid in wait. You decided not to ask him about his murder plans, instead opting for hobbies and whatever an assassin might do outside of work. Found out he liked vehicles of all sorts, especially ships, and that's part of how he'd ended up assigned to Water 7. You once admitted that you were born in Water 7, lived in the slums your whole life.

"I've never even seen a live animal, other than the birds that sometimes fly overhead. Sad, isn't it?"

Kaku perked up at that. "You know there's a zoo here, right? Most of the animals are electronic, but a few are the real deal. You can even feed some!"

"Yeah, but zoos are so expensive. Gotta' pay big bucks for authenticity, you know."

The conversation had drifted off after that. But the next time you got a text, the coordinates and timestamps also included a photo of two tickets.

The practical part of your brain warned you that this could be a trap. Surely, a trained assassin could find plenty of ways to murder someone in the emptier corners of the zoo, and then toss the body into a carnivore's mouth to be disposed of. Yet as was more common of late, you ignored your practical side and snuck off to the zoo like you were off for another big score.

You're sure the two of you stuck out. Sure, he was in more casual clothing (that still concealed most of his body), but the reflexes of a trained killer didn't reflect well in real life. Neither did a thief's. You both jumped at the wrong sounds and gave security a wide berth. There were nerves to you two that didn't settle on the shoulders of the easygoing crowd.

"We should hold hands," you whispered. He gave you a questioning look. "To blend in, right? No one thinks twice if a happy couple acts odd. Love makes people do weird things."

"So...pretend we're weird and in love, hmm?" He interlaced his warm, human fingers with yours. "Should I call you darling, then?"

"If you're that old fashioned, sure." The two of  you laughed as if you hadn't tried to kill each other only a few months before.

It was strange, seeing animals and being unsure which ones were full of blood and muscles instead of gears and electricity. For someone partially artificial himself, Kaku had a good eye for such things, and pointed each one out. There was a spark in the eyes of living, breathing animals and, an unpredictability to their actions that made them stand out no matter how lifelike their companions seemed.

"What about you?" you asked on a park bench. He'd treated the two of you to popsicles on that warm day, and you watched the giraffes as you talked. "Like, I know you've got a couple cybernetic enhancements, but this..." You shook his hand, still in your own. "This is real."

Kaku glanced around to make sure no one else was watching the two of you instead of the animals. He tore his fingers from yours and for the briefest moment tugged down the collar of his jacket. The letters CP-9 were emblazoned on the side of his neck with laser precision.

"Typical tragic orphan story. Family got into a terrible accident when I was a kid, parents passed, and I was broken up literally and figuratively. Government swooped in and rebuilt me, raised me with a bunch of other orphans to be secret agents. And here we are."

"So...your job is repayment because they saved you?"

"Pretty much. Rebuilding my face alone cost a pretty penny, to say nothing about the rest of me or the years of training. I'm saddled for life." He winked and added, "But I still squirrel away a little bit for myself. Like for this. Being around animals calms my nerves when things get too much. Especially the giraffes. Beauties, aren't they?"

You turned your attention back to the exhibit. They were strange and gangly things, that sort of weird that humans couldn't make up on their own. But they were kinda' cute, galloping around like that. (And if their dark eyes and long lashes reminded you of a certain someone sitting next to you, no one had to know.)

You pointed at one. "That one on the left's been licking the fence for like, fifteen minutes now. Robot?"

"Real. Stranger than fiction, I guess."

He ended up telling you about the giraffes, as if animal facts could bury the bits of backstory the two of you had revealed to each other. He accidentally got popsicle juice on his nose, and flushed the brightest red when you brushed it off. Sometime after that, you took his hand in yours again. You didn't want to part ways when you returned to the gate.

You didn't see him for another month after that.

Funny, how quickly another person could become a staple of your life, and how you came to miss those infrequent texts and adrenaline-fueled meetups. Every job you went on left you peering into shadows as if he'd emerge in his assassin blacks with a smile sharp as his swords. But Kaku was never there.

Despite yourself, you started seeking him out. Texted back every number he'd messaged you from, hoping one burner phone might still be active. Snuck into the zoo and lurked around the giraffe exhibit, hoping he'd show. You even broke into a couple government facilities without any goals beyond finding him. And you knew it was stupid, knew it was dangerous, you barely knew this man and every vulnerability he'd shown you could be part of an elaborate ruse to trap you...but you wanted to believe in him. That whatever had sprouted between you two was as real as your heartbeats syncing when you held hands.

You realized you'd hit paydirt when a new assassin came after you. Even if she hadn't tried to kick your head clean off your neck, you would've recognized her as one of Kaku's coworkers with her black uniform and the tattoo creeping out from under her jacket.

"Things must've gone sour if I've been reassigned," you said. Tried to keep it light as you had with Kaku, even as your mind spun with implications.

"This is entirely your fault, you know." Oh goody, this assassin had a spiked whip, and she got one end wrapped around your foot. "If you hadn't compromised my coworker, if you'd rolled over and died like you should've, we wouldn't be here."

Ah. You'd half-expected that. "Your bosses found out about the date." Your ruse had worked too well. But what else could it have been construed as? You'd even thought of it as a date yourself once he'd disappeared and you'd realized that more than any treasure, you wanted to go back there with him, wanted to go everywhere with him.

"They knew well before that. Did you really think they'd give him camera eyes without reviewing the footage?" The whip tightened around your ankle. "They let it slide for a time because you were useful, and they thought he could still capture you. And he did, but not in the way anyone wanted."

"Where is he?" You tried, and failed, to not sound desperate.

"It's already too late. They decided he was too human, and now he's being rebuilt. There isn't..." and here, she faltered.  Out of fear for her coworker or of such a fate befalling herself, you're not sure. "There isn't anything left of the Kaku you knew. So please, don't go after him. And die while you're at it."

The fight with her was more brutal by far than any of the brawls you'd had with Kaku. She actually scored a few hits on you, and once you finally gave her the slip and made it to one of your hideaways, your ribs and legs ached something fierce. You patched yourself up, and you began to plan.

You'd never stolen a human before. You hoped there was still one left to steal.

Breaking into a secret government laboratory was easier than expected. You built a crew, called in every favor you could, reviewed blueprints until you swore the building's layout had been tattooed on the back of your eyelids. The night of the heist, another crew of saboteurs known for their bombastic fights distracted the security guards, making it seem like they were the true culprits out for revenge.

You alone went underground. In stolen laboratory gear, you entered the cybernetics facility. Your breath fled from your lungs, and it wasn't from the shock of sharp antiseptic clinging to the air.

In a glass pillar full of fluids and wires, Kaku floated. Even from a distance, he looked more plastic and metal, like someone had crafted a lifesize doll replica of him. The monitors showcased diagnostics on a metal skeleton and the integration of circuitry in organs. You touched the cold glass, but he didn't respond.

You got to work. Following instructions you'd reviewed every waking hour, you hacked into the system and initiated the extraction procedure. You already had a gurney for transport, and a prepped lie that you'd be transporting the body of a failed cybernetics integration to be disposed of. The fluids behind the glass slowly drained, wires disconnecting. You held your breath.

Then you crumpled as a bullet hit your side.

You hissed, feeling your side for blood even though you had armor under your disguise. And looked up to see a black uniform, an assassin pointing at you, bullet shaped like a sharp fingernail loading into place.

You gasped, "Don't do this. I'm trying to save him."

"Far as we're concerned, you're stealing classified government property. He's one of our most expensive assets. Second to me, of course." The assassin wore a predator's smile, and the heels of his shoes clicked ominously on the floor as he strode toward you. "It'd be so easy to end this here. It wouldn't be the first time I've made a mess of the lab."

"Yet here you are, chatterbox. I get the feeling you don't want to kill me."

"How bold. As it happens, I like to play with my prey. But so did Kaku, and he got so wrapped up in the chase that he forgot what to do when he caught you."

"Stop talking about him in past tense like he's dead."

The assassin shrugged. "Isn't he? Not in body, but in spirit. They tore out most of his brain and replaced it with machinery. The process wipes most of one's personality and emotion. There isn't a person in there anymore."

"Then I'll find him again and bring him back. That's what a good thief does." The glass opened up, and Kaku nearly fell out. You stepped forward to grab him. First contact jolted your body; you didn't feel a heartbeat anymore. And when you angled him onto the gurney, his body felt cold and smooth. You glared up at your unwelcome guest, who'd watched the event in silence. "Now, are you going to finish the job, or get out of the way?"

"Unlike a certain someone, I'm not in the business of keeping fools alive."

The assassin's fingers sharpened into claws as he closed the distance between you. He swiped at you with those claws, and you barely dodged the first one while pulling the gurney back with you. Whatever happened, you couldn't let Kaku get hurt in this state. But to your surprise, when the next claw swung, you heard a gunshot that you didn't fire. And whoever fired it knew where this cyborg assassin was still flesh; he fell to his knees, surprised at his own blood.

Smoke rose from the gun built into Kaku's nose as he sat up. Camera eyes opened and refocused with faint clicking noises. For a long, quiet moment, he scanned the room. But then they settled on you.

"Darling." 

Your heart flipped in your chest again. "You remember me?"

"Of course. They did their best to wipe everything else, but I couldn't let them take you." He paused, unused to his new body, and the resulting smile looked more like a grimace. But he still said, "I love you."

"I love you too. And I'm going to get you out of here." You grabbed Kaku around the shoulders with one arm and grabbed your gun with another, now that you knew where to shoot your foe. You said to the other assassin, "Well? You were wrong about him."

"Was I?" The assassin lurched back to his feet, one hand over the bullet wound just above his clavicle. "Kaku, how much did you give up in order to keep the memory of one thief you failed to kill?" No answer. "Do you even remember who I am?"

"I made my choice," was all Kaku said. "Now let us go."

The assassin turned away before you could see if there was any hurt had broken across his cold face. "Killing you like this won't be any fun. Once you can be a challenge to me again, I'll come back for you. But for now? See if you can run." His heels clicked against the floor as he walked away. "I'll clear your path out of the facility. You're on your own after that."

Time stretched long as the other assassin left the room. You held tight to Kaku. When you held his hand, it was so smooth that he didn't even have fingerprints anymore. But he still intertwined his fingers in yours and squeezed.

"I'm still me," he whispered. "Even if I don't have a real heart or anything else left."

You forced yourself to shrug and smile. "Just means you're a little closer to some of the giraffes at the zoo." That earned you a quizzical look. "Uhmm...you know, because some of them were robots too?" Still blank. "...Did you even forget about giraffes so you could remember me?"

"Suppose I must have."

You resolved to take him back to the zoo once he'd recovered, bring him back a little of that wonder he'd showed you. But first, time for your masterful escape.

The following weeks were long and painful.

Soon as you broke out and got to one of your safehouses, you called in two last favors. One from Franky, cyborg engineer who'd hired you to retrieve and destroy the blueprints for that war machine that started this whole debacle. The other from Doctor Chopper, who'd been so grateful to have his mentor's things returned. The two of them came in and worked on your assassin-turned-lover tirelessly, fixing up what little flesh remained and making sure all the cybernetics were in-check. There was plenty of work to do, as you'd stolen Kaku before his procedures had been complete, and rewiring muscles and nerves turned out to be a long, painful process.

And while you'd rescued Kaku before they could completely erase his humanity, there were still gaping holes in his knowledge, and his smile didn't reach his eyes nearly as often. There was much you had to fill him in on. You spent many nights just talking to distract him from his painful recovery. You held his hand and tried to pretend he still had a heartbeat.

But now? Now you're back at your dingy old apartment, limbs entangled on the couch, staring out the window at the skyscrapers above.

"I think that one will be my next target," you say, pointing up at a gilded skyscraper that seems to pierce the clouds. "Heard the owner there hoards gold. Actual gold! Can you believe it? We'd be rich."

"Sounds like a challenge, though." Kaku's free hand twirls a dull blade between fingers, trying to familiarize himself with his new body. He's admitted a couple times to phantom limb syndrome, like his flesh and blood is just beyond reach. "Sure you'll be able to handle it, darling?"

"It'll be no problem for the Greatest Thief in Water 7. Stealing a bunch of gold will be a cakewalk, seeing as I already grabbed the greatest treasure this city had." You get a quizzical stare in response. "That'd be you, partner."

"Partner," Kaku echoes. This smile lights up his whole face. "I like the sound of that. So, what's the first step in your plan?"

You hum in thought and look deep into his eyes.

"I do believe our first step should be a visit to the zoo. We've got a lot to catch up on, after all."

[siren-dragon]

Do Androids Bleed Silver? (Ch.1) -- The Cat Returns fanfic

Hey everyone, I wrote another story and this time it isn’t a one-shot but a chaptered one. Yay! This is my first time doing a sci-fi story, so if it seems a little strange or odd, I apologize but I wanted to get something out before I go on vacation. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it! Also tagging @catsafarithewriter because they have been a wonderful support and inspiration.

Ao3 story link

Summary: Cyberpunk/Android AU

=============================================

‘Next stop; Shibuya Station. I repeat, next stop Shibuya Station.’ The automated voice sounded over the train intercom, ‘please wait until the train comes to a complete stop and stand away from the opening doors before disembarking.’

Looking down at the half-crumbled note in her hand, Haru took hold of her frayed but well-loved duffle bag and stood from her seat. “I guess this is my stop,” she muttered aloud before the exiting the train and out of the station.

In the year of 2207, the use of androids and cybernetics had advance to a level where their use was a common practice and the backbone of modern society; even in her much smaller hometown. But after entering Shibuya Crossing- Haru felt her backwater home was definitely not on the same level as Tokyo. The famed metropolis was well regarded as the forefront of robotics and cybernetics throughout the entire world but the invention of CREATIONS was the achievement that truly put the city into a category all of its own. Though technically possessing a robotics classification, many who’ve had the chance to see a CREATION regarded them as so life-like, it was almost as if their creator had conjured life itself….

And it was part of the reason why Haru wanted to study robotics in Tokyo; as the only robots that her hometown possessed were generic models of the Alpha and Beta-Classes. She wanted to see the daily technological wonders always taking place in Tokyo. But in truth, the real reason Haru wanted to go was because she loved to help others and repair problems. It was why she decided to study robotics and cybernetics in the first place- with the exception of her apparent talent in the field.

At first, many had viewed the cheery but ultimately clumsy brunette to be a bit of a hazard; and it wasn’t exactly a secret to Haru herself either. She could remember constantly stumbling on her impromptu runs to high school after having slept in- or when she once tripped cleaning the trash disposal unit in the classroom and ended up spilling the contents everywhere. But the moment she sat behind the small desk in her bedroom among the clutter of spare parts and tools, her once graceless movements sharpened and Haru would smile as she’d begin to skillfully repair whatever tech the residents of her hometown brought her. So, with the encouragement of Hiromi and Tsuge, she applied for various internships everywhere in Tokyo in the attempt to join someone’s Workshop team.

And it seemed that only one person was willing to give her a chance…

Walking further into the depths of Shibuya Haru gazed in amazement at the 3D holographic displays and looming skyscrapers that was a far cry from her small hometown. The streets were littered with people possessing a variety of enhancements the young woman had only seen before in adverts that managed to be broadcasted back home. Quickly shaking off her awe and hurryingly pulling out her note of directions once more, Haru began the walk away from the train station and towering skyscrapers while weaving her way through the small alleyways, the brunette teenager came to a halt once more on a rather isolated street. Glancing down once more at the paper in her hand, Haru glanced up at the sight before her with a bit of surprise.

“This… is the Bureau?” Haru spoke, looking at the old, neon green sign that flickered slightly with a smaller neon sign saying the Workshop was open beside an open doorway that was partially blocked by a dark noren curtain. Next to what was meant to be the entryway into the shop was a pair of roll-up garage doors- one of which was already lifted up to reveal the illuminated Workshop within. Tools ranging from chisels and wrenches of all sizes to a designated soldering station, making her maple-colored eyes glow with delight.

“If you don’t have any business Chicky, keep walking. This isn’t a museum.” A gruff voice sounded, causing her to jump slightly.

Standing up from beside what, to Haru’s surprise, was an AeroCycle on a hydraulic lift was probably the largest man the young woman had ever seen. He was tall and rather stout with ivory crew-cut hair and a dark stubble about his mouth and chin while dark brown eyes gave her an unimpressed stare as he crossed his arms; with the left being a robotic prosthesis baring a shade reminiscent of a dark coffee. As the man took in her short height, petite frame, and slightly disheveled ponytail; Haru only hoped he didn’t immediately send her back home based on looks alone- after all, she knew her appearance didn’t exactly scream ‘mechanic’.

“Well? Do you have business here or not Chicky?” He asked again, a hint of impatience coloring his tone.

“Sorry sir, my name is Haru Yoshioka… I’m the intern assistant you made the offer to.”

It was here a skeptical eyebrow lifted as his hands soon went to his hips. Haru mentally scrambled for a way to defend her skills should this man end up turning her away, but he only asked one question. “Can you cook?”

“…Yes?” Haru answered, still a little confused.

“Show me; head up there and make something then bring it over. We’ll talk after.” And with that said, the man returned to his work on the AeroCycle without another word.

Haru could only stare with a slightly dumbfounded expression before letting loose a soft sigh and followed his brief and general directions. Up a set of steel stairs lay a large viewing window, which oversaw the garage, and another door that lead into the living quarters that was surprisingly clean; if a bit cluttered. To the left lay a small kitchenette while the right had a simple living room and a corridor that led further into the flat. Turning to the kitchen and figuring not to keep the man who’d likely become her boss waiting, Haru was quick to fix a lunch from a hamburger steak with a fried egg on top and rice (it was either that or one of the instant ramen containers nestled in the pantry) and returned to see the stout man now talking to a customer while gesturing to the AeroCycle. “Next time learn to drive properly bird-brain.”

“And I told you before, lard-ball, it crashed during a chase!” The customer, who was dressed in a police officers’ uniform, snapped in response all the while glaring at the mechanic.

The mechanic merely grinned savagely, as if he was used to the explosive behavior from the officer. “While you were chasing what? A nearby bird.”

“As if you’re one to talk, you over-sized marshmallow. I’m surprised you can even climb the stairs to your flat without them snapping from the strain.”

“You say that again, you big chicken!”

“Umm… excuse me,” Haru spoke up, causing both men to swerve their heads to her immediately. “Is everything alright? I’ve got the lunch ready.”

“Thanks, Chicky, I’ll just take that off your hands.” The larger of the two men spoke, retrieving the succulent smelling meal with a gleam in his eyes, “and congratulations- you pass my test; welcome to The Bureau. The name’s Muta and this idiot here is Bird-Brain, a regular.”

“The name is Officer Toto Tsubame, nice to meet you and please, ignore this fatso.” Toto replied instead, bowing in greeting with a kind smile. “Are you new to the district? You are a bit young to be on your own…”

While Muta was large and hefty, Toto was his complete opposite with a slim frame and long, layered black locks tied into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck; reminding the brunette of a bird’s feathers. His skin was a tad darker than the larger mechanic and his clothes the standard dark navy-blue police uniform with the exception of knee-high shock absorption boots and a black carbon-fiber and titanium woven shirt that rested under the uniform with the cuffs rolled to his elbows. But what truly caught Haru’s attention was the unique dark-grey coloration of his eyes that she had only seen a few times before in holo-books or advertisements. “Oh wow, you have an optical upgrade on your eyes, I’ve never seen that before. That’s really cool…”

Here Toto gave a good-natured laugh, “you’re definitely new to Tokyo if this is your first time seeing something like that, but well spotted. My eyes have been altered with increased monocular vision and can see with UV and Infrared, alongside night vision. Plus, the color is a rather nice aesthetic as well- but that’s enough about me; what brings you here to the city Miss…”

“Haru. Haru Yoshioka, and it’s nice to meet you too.” She smiled, giving a bow of greeting in return. “I am here for an intern job at the Bureau. But, I’m not sure what cooking really has to do with robotics and engineering.”

Muta bit into the hamburger steak and sighed happily as he devoured the plate of food while Toto groaned at the mechanic’s table manners; or lack thereof. “I didn’t want some assistant who couldn’t take care of themselves, I’m not a babysitter. Besides, if you weren’t skilled enough to be here, I wouldn’t have offered you the job in the first place.”

“O-Oh, thank you.” Haru beamed, more than relieved that though he seemed to be rather rough and intimidating, Muta wasn’t that bad- arguing with Toto aside. “I promise I’ll do my best, and thank you for your help Moo-ta.” Haru quickly gasped, raising her hands to her mouth in horror as if attempting to prevent the words from being heard, but it was too late.

“What?! Did you just say Moo? Like I’m some kind of fat cow!”

“No, no, you’re just fat! Oh- um…”

Toto, meanwhile, had lost all pretense of professionalism and started laughing with tears of amusement threatening to spill from his eyes. “Bahahaha! Oh, you’re going to fit in here quite well with nicknames like that Haru. I’m definitely going to be using that one.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up bird-brain.” Muta grumbled, glaring at the still chuckling policeman, “and you Chicky- you got anything to say for yourself or to me, your boss?”

Haru gave a nervous smile, “I’m sorry Muta, it really did slip out. Would you accept an Insta-Pudding with my apology?”

The ivory-haired man stared down at her with an irritated look before sighing, “make it an Angel Cake from Osono’s bakery down the street, and we’re even.”

“Coming right up!” The young woman chimed before quickly making her way toward the aforementioned bakery.

Toto and Muta both watched her leave with the former giving a thoughtful hum, “Yoshioka huh? I don’t suppose she wouldn’t happen to be related to Hayata Yoshioka, would she?”

“His daughter apparently, if you’re that curious. And she’s only a few good years younger than you and me, idiot.” Muta answered, releasing the AeroCycle from the hydraulic lift while wiping the oil and grease from his hands. “I didn’t know he had a kid, and thought the name was just a coincidence till I saw the resume file Haru and her friends sent me. She was apparently fixing Alpha-class mechs at 11 years old.”

Toto gave an impressed whistle, “well, she’s certainly her father’s daughter if that’s the case.”

"I thought that too, but it was the fact that she has no personal cyber-enhancements that really sealed the deal." Muta added, that information causing the slim police officer to splutter in shock. "So I thought ‘why not?’ and decided to give her a shot; and it wasn’t like I was going to turn down the help- so here we are. But the fact that she can cook is a definite bonus.”

“Do you ever not think from your stomach?”

“Shut up, bird-brain!”

Toto sighed, “well, just try to keep an eye on her, alright? Not everything is exactly safe here, so if you ever need anything give me a call.”

“Thanks… you big chicken,” Muta answered before giving a devious grin and holding out his hand. “Now for the repairs, that’ll be 3,500 credits.”

“What?! That’s daylight robbery!”

“Is that so? And here I was giving you the ‘Friends and Family’ discount. But if you would rather pay full-price, who am I to deny you that.”

By the time Haru returned to the Workshop, she could hear Toto and Muta starting to argue once more and was glad she decided to buy two cakes in order to pacify both parties. Though slightly nervous about her new job, Haru couldn't help the feeling of joy at the upcoming work ahead of her.

[radramblog]

System Shock 2′s soundtrack

Yeah I’m talking about this game again.

One of the criticisms I’ve heard of System Shock 2 (most prominently in the Zero Punctuation review of it) is that the music doesn’t fit the game, or that its painfully of its era. And while the latter is probably to ones own taste, I’d argue that the former is anything but true.

System Shock 2’s soundtrack, composed by Josh Randall, Eric Brosius, and Ramin motherfucking Djawadi (better known for soundtracking TV series such as Game of Thrones, Westworld, and Prison Break) is made up entirely of techno/electronic bangers that well suit the dense cyberpunk horror mood the game is going for.

The first track the player is likely to hear is MedSci 1, an extremely energetic piece of music and the theme to the game’s first non-tutorial area. It plays the second you open the door to the hallway in which you first encounter real danger and the game truly begins. The energy well suits the tense nature of the player’s first experience with gameplay, as you’re left pretty vulnerable for a while as you continue figuring out game mechanics, dodging cameras, and fighting off crowbar Hybrids and turrets. The theme continues to be appropriate when returning to this area, as you are required to do, for when you’re blitzing through well-worn corridors to get to the newly unlocked operating theatre and maintenance access.

By contrast, the theme for the, well, medical part of MedSci deck is deep, mysterious, and slow. At this point the player has likely learned that slow progression is essential for survival, and it’s on this dark backdrop that horror elements not part of the initial setup start being woven in. Messages from Xerxes get eerier, you start encountering the Psionic Monkey enemies and find out why they’re around-combined with the developing mystery of what actually happened on the Von Braun, the potential discomfort the plot is going for ramps up significantly. It’s clear not only that this mission was a little fucked to begin with, but you get the idea that outside of the voice in your head you might truly be alone.

The game’s second deck, and effective third level, has a theme that reminds a lot of MedSci 1, though Engineering takes longer to get going and is dominated by this rapid percussion. The callback to the player’s frantic scarpering around the early rooms is intentional, as this level does require a lot of running around- between the radiation hazard you’re forced to go through rather than around and the onslaught of self-destructing robots coming for your head in the cargo bays.

Hydroponics deck’s first theme is in much the same vein, though with a darker undercurrent as the extent of the Many’s corruption of the ship becomes evident. By this point the player is getting confident- they’re becoming more and more adept with the game’s mechanics, and they’ve survived the absolute onslaught that is Engineering Deck (seriously that area is way too hard imo), and the music reflects this.

Much like MedSci 2, Hydro 2 flips this on its head. This theme plays while you’re carrying out the grim task of poisoning and purging the flesh from the deck and the elevator shaft, listening to the audio logs of the ship’s command being corrupted by the Annelids, and start encountering big fucking robots more frequently. It’s also here where the player is likely to start doubting Polito, her voicemail harassment starting to grate, her cyber module rewards more like breadcrumbs than something she herself is scrounging for. This is also where her “Why do you move so slowly? Do you think this is some kind of game?” line is, which is always fun to point out during speedruns.

For the sake of spoilers, I won’t keep going, because Operations deck is the site of one of the game’s big reveals. However, the music in this area reflects the lingering confusion and mistrust from that scene quite well, between all 3 of the deck’s themes. In fact, it seems like the devs liked Ops 2 so much that they made it the credits theme as well, its slightly depressive but still uptempo theme fitting the surreal mood of both this part of the game and its ending.

I am once again asking for you to play SS2. It’s like 15 dollarydoos on both Steam and GOG but goes on special for like, 5 dollars every month and a half on one or the other site. Actually, it’s due for a sale again. It’s worth the time!

[talesfromgringolandia]

Underwing Challenge Day 4 - What’s the world of your WIP like?

So first of all, the world of Bo and Shen is incomplete. There’s a lot of gaps that I haven’t gotten to yet, mostly names and stuff.

For example, there’s this big blur of the history of the early years of the Venus colony. Essentially, Earth colonized the entire solar system, including Venus. Then there was a massive war, and Earth lost, leaving Venus completely stranded, without communication to the outside world.

Some basic info on Venus: The air pressure at the surface is equal to 90 earth atmospheres, making it completely uninhabitable. But it was also rich in minerals, so colonists would use gas to drill out the valuables. The gas ended up trapped in the rocks, which floated up to the height where the pressure equals earth pressure. This is my explanation for the floating islands. Also, the people doing the mining tended to belong to the same families, who became very isolated in their wealth. After some time, they ended up permanently deformed by their delves into the abyss, becoming the dwarves.

Before the war, people lived on artificial floating islands, powered by electricity and stuff. The “natural” islands were decorated with plants and animals and made great vacation spots, but no one lived there. But after the end of the war, or maybe during it, Venus experienced its first abyssian storm.

Near the surface of Venus, it's constantly storming, and in those storms live dragons. Please don’t ask how they weren’t noticed during the mining phase. These dragons are pure black, have no legs because they can almost swim in the thick air down below, and can breathe lightning. Sometimes, storms from the Abyss will overflow into the upper atmosphere, and rarely, those storms contain hordes of dragons.

During the first dragon storm, the artificial islands were completely destroyed. The citizens were unprepared. The small portion who survived fled to the natural floating islands, where they struggled to survive. It was essentially the apocalypse. It only took a few generations for these people, who were reduced to stone age equipment without electricity, to forget a lot of their history.

Soon, the Titans appeared. I don’t know where they came from. They introduced the people to the Aether, and taught them how to use it.

After a long time, sky ships were invented, and people could finally travel to other isles, establish nations and such. And that's how the current situation came to be.

Here’s something to understand about the technology in the Sky Isles. They can’t mine metal from the islands, because they risk destroying the very ground they stand on. But luckily, alchemists, people who use aether to control organic things, came up with a solution. They genetically engineered plants which can be spun into a fiber, which is a pretty good substitution.. It's still not quite as good as actual metal, or True Metal, so the few scraps of true metal that remain are incredibly valuable.

All sky ships, weapons, large buildings, et cetera, use some metal fiber. There are various kinds of metal fiber plants. Iron oak is by far the most powerful, but also a little rare because it's very difficult to cut down the tree. The most common is copper-root, which are like onions. There’s also silver-leaf,(not sturdy, but pretty), and probably something for gold? Still not finished with that bit. But copper-root tools and buildings are everywhere, while sky ships are most likely made of iron oak.

Most technology is developed in Galras, where Tinkerers can use the aether to cause massive clockwork machines to move. So most sky-ships are built there, although they need to cooperate with the dwarves to finish them.

What's the Aether? In-world, not many people know, with the exception of some individuals who specifically study its nature. It's something people use to do cool things. The aether is actually the manifestation of people’s souls in the real world. You use your spiritual soul to effectuate physical change, and these interactions are called aether. The more aether you use, the more you attach your soul to those activities. This is why tinkerers are known to be mad scientists, and why many alchemists grow so attached to their craft as to start experimenting on people. The Titans know how to effectively and safely use the aether to not only avoid negative effects, but create positive ones. Felenor and the other good titan use this knowledge for the good of humanity, while Ildra and Lralso use it to turn people against each other.

I must also mention the clockwork sentients - clockwork robots, powered by aether, who have minds of their own. More on them later.

There are four main nations, each composed of one main isle and those isles surrounding the main one. These isles, in order of settlement, are the Dwarven Isles, where the dwarves live underground in labyrinths; Destra, where the paladins originated; Galras, a technological power, and the origin of Tinkering; Endora, covered in a dangerous swamp, and only has one city, also called Endora; and Minvir, a mountainous, snowy isle where the sparse tribes are at constant war with each other.

I’ll talk more about the specific isles below the cut, because this post is long enough.

So remember the dwarves? Their ancestral profession changed their appearance significantly. Their skin appears permanently burned, and is ebony black. Not like dark brown. Pitch black. They’re also short. They’re excellent engineers, and can see in the dark better than humans can.

During the dragon storms that caused the apocalypse, they managed to flee separately from everybody else, ending up on an isle that was already full of holes because it was home to an insect hive. They’ve tamed these insects, which range from the size of dogs to the size of elephants, and they harvest the insects honey, which can be spun into a steel fiber that needs a better name. The honey can also be burnt to produce the gas that goes into the balloons on Sky-Ships, which means that dwarves are obscenely rich. They are also very secretive, to the point that a lot of people don’t know the actual name of the Dwarven Isles. Coincidentally, neither do I.

Occasionally the dwarves will venture into the Abyss to recover true metal from the wreckage. I’m not sure how they do this yet.

The first isle to be settled, besides the Dwarven Isles, was Destra, which you might recall is the origin of many paladin orders. There is a lot of history in Destra, it's kind of like visiting Rome, its really ancient. At the moment, it's completely conquered by the paladins of Ildra, Titan of suffering and despair, who let paladins of Lralso(deception, dishonor) run free. Paladins of Felenor(justice, honor) and of placeholder name(love, charity) have to flee or are killed. Some fought back, but most of those were killed.

Before the conquest of Ildra, however, Destra was mostly run by paladins of Felenor. Their law was just and honorable, which doesn’t mean there weren’t some bad eggs in the system, but the system was good. But some people didn’t enjoy being ruled by a law they had no choice in, and began a revolution on the south side of the isle. During this, they discovered tinkering, and turned the tide of the war with the construction of clockwork robots. Once they had conquered half the island though, the paladins began to learn how to easily deal with the automotons, who were pretty stupid being simply robots. So the Tinkerers ended the war by building massive drills which cut the island in half. The Tinkerers' side became Galras. The northern isle, which is still called Destra, was weak after the war, which opened them to Ildra’s conquest. Those drills still line the northern coast of Galras.

More about Galras! Their capital city is Kellenth, which is like one giant skyscraper many stories tall. Towards the top is where the elite live, while the bottom extends deep into the ground. The bottom floor is full of criminals and evil, where the light doesn’t shine. It's like cyberpunk, but it's clockwork. The city is supported by four massive True Metal pillars, which are a statement to how rich Galras has become.

Shortly after the war with Destra, Galras created a Clockwork Sentient, a clockwork AI. It soon went rogue and fled to an unknown isle, where it has constructed a factory of clockwork sentients. These ones are not nearly as powerful as the first, which is now called the Master Sentient. These minions are known as clockwork sentients, or just sentients, and sometimes they defect and come to live alongside humanity. Understandably, many people are… reluctant to accept them. The Master Sentient frequently conducts raids on Galras, and has recently conquered a small corner of the isle. They are rapidly becoming a significant threat, and the war against them is affecting the entire nation. The Master Sentient is not actually the first sentient, but there are some left over after the war with Destra, who are now ancient and live in the corners of Galras.

Don’t forget the Sentries! Sentries are soldiers who use clockwork armor and weapons, which they control by their aether, in combat. They compose the higher ranks of the army and protect city streets. They also make great mercenaries. Each suit of armor is unique, since soldiers will customize it with their own gizmos and setup. Think of each gamer in reality having their own setup.

Also the Storm Guard! There’s a fleet of ships specifically dedicated to preventing dragon attacks. This was created after a particularly bad battle with the Master Sentient, during which a surprise storm turned the tide, allowing the humans to win but at a much higher cost.

Next is Endora! It was originally established way back when Destra wasn’t split in half, as a rest stop for passing sky ships. That was hundreds of years ago, and now Endora has grown significantly. It has developed a reputation as a land of freedom, where there is neither the arm of the Galrian government nor the chaos of Ildrian Destra. There are farms right outside the city, and some small villages as well. Don’t forget the hordes of monsters that live in the swamp just beyond civilization; they frequently come out and attack settlers.

Endora has also become a safe haven for alchemists, who fled from Galras after people reacted to the image of alchemists as mad scientists who experimented on people. Many alchemists in Endora still perform these experiments, creating the chimeras, human-animals hybrids who often flee society to live in the swamp. There is a large hidden community of chimeras living there now, and many have adapted alchemy to the purposes of protecting nature, rather than exploiting it. These call themselves druids, rather than alchemists. Don’t take too kindly though - they can put the well-being of nature over human lives. These are two extremes though. Most alchemists are well-meaning doctors, and most druids are guardians of their people.

Recently, the Felenor Academy for Guardians was founded by Ambrose, where young men and women are trained to protect the city from monsters, and their families from crime. The city is mostly run by the people in charge of the ports, so at the city border with the swamp, not much is done. The Academy is changing that by empowering people to protect themselves.

Endora is also a major exporter of fish, which, since there’s no ocean, are rare pretty much everywhere else.

[quarktrinity]

Alright, Hemmingway, what's the plot? (Seriously tho I am interested in Earth, 2068 pls tell me more about it)

SO GLAD YOU ASKED

earth 2068 is a hybrid speculative-fiction/science-fiction narrative that takes place in, you guessed it, the year 2068. the surface of the earth has been rendered inhabitable by a run-of-the-mill nuclear fallout that took place twenty years prior to the story. luckily, seattle-based megacorporation LION robotics, and CEO phil gacutan, has our back, encasing a few thousand square miles of land in a giant radiation-proof dome, and pushing that dome off the mainland, sinking to the floor of the pacific ocean, where humanity can recuperate and continue society, sans federal government and 99% of the world, leaving them in a cyberpunk anarcho-capitalist faux-utopia.

but thats not really whats important!

enter protagonist flynn valakos, whos lived his entire life in this submarine environment, and likes dinosaurs. flynn, through his risk-taking competence, gets roped into a small group of STEM-field prodigies, led by vermillion gacutan, engineer and offspring of phil gacutan. vermillions group is kind of not a fan of the way whats left of humanity has become dependent on LION robotics, and plans on Doing Something About It. specifically, piercing the fabric of spacetime and preventing the nuclear fallout from ever happening.

expect explicit criticisms of capitalism and the cyberpunk setting, more robots than you can count, time travel shenanigans, and acronyms up the wazoo.

[oneshotprincess]

Detroit become human AU!!!! Tododeku!!!

Sorry again for being late! Also I’m not very familiar with DBH, I’ve never played the game but someone else also asked for a Tododeku cyberpunk AU so I hope this general andrioid AU suffices for you both?

                                                          ---

“They were very amused, you know,” are the words Midoriya greets him with as soon as Shouto pushes the door open. The hospital room is the same as any other—Shouto’s been to quite a few by now, interviewing witnesses. The only distinguishing feature is the array of gears and tools and oils lining the right side of the bed. And of course, Midoriya’s right arm, split open down the middle, exposing the wires inside. 

“They were very amused,” Midoriya repeats again and Shouto drags his eyes away from the mess of tangled wires and metal. “Until they started talking to me. Then I’m not sure how they felt...I think they like me though.” He sounds very cheery. 

Shouto snorts. “I’m sure they do,” he replies, throat dry. Because how could they not? How could they not be absolutely amazed by this android who somehow managed to have more humanity in him than many actual people Shouto knows?

The doctors were incredulous, then indignant, when Shouto insisted on getting a private room for a robot. Even throwing around the considerable weight of his family’s money almost hadn’t managed to get it done. But then the doctors met Midoriya. Meek, soft-spoken, inquisitive, eyes bright with something unmistakably human behind them.   

They’d seen his point of view then. 

(They’d still taken his money though.)

“How are you feeling?” Shouto asks softly, inching closer to the bed. It’s childish but he feels afraid, as if his mere presence alone could devastate Midoriya further. He can still see, in his mind’s eye, Midoriya throwing himself in front of Dabi to protect Shouto.

The first law of robotics says that a robot must never, through inaction, allow a human to come to harm. That could be what prompted Midoriya to do what he did...but Shouto knows better. 

“I couldn’t let him hurt you,” is what Midoriya had said, voice feeble and quivering, body broken on the pavement. Midoriya simply isn’t something science can explain.

Shouto watches as Midoriya wriggles the fingers on his broken arm, the movements stilted and jerky in a way he usually never is. “I’m not sure,” he confesses. “It doesn’t hurt if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t think Father made me that way.”

He can’t help but frown at the mention of Midoriya’s ‘Father.’ Midoriya Hisashi, a brilliant scientist, a pioneer in engineering, and someone who had apparently disappeared off the face of the planet. His disappearance is the whole reason Shouto came to know Izuku at all. Wherever his ‘Father’ had disappeared off to, he made sure to wipe Izuku’s memory drives first. Except, somehow inexplicably, the wipe hadn’t been able to fully stick. Somehow, despite having no clear memories, Izuku remembered enough to seek out Shouto’s help.

He could have been a prosecutor, he thinks ruefully. He could have been the district attorney by now. Or he could have been a partner already at a big shot law firm. Instead he’s chasing the ghosts of mad inventors down alleyways with an android in tow.

Shouto thinks of what his own father must think of him now and his lips curl into a satisfied smile.

They haven’t made much headway in Hisashi’s case but, if nothing else, Dabi’s attack in the auto shop proves one thing: Midoriya Hisashi was into some shady shit. Not for the first time, Shouto has to wonder about this man, who’d been at the top of the tech world only to retire suddenly and turn into a recluse, ostensibly to work on creating an android that could completely pass as a person.  

Not pass, Shouto hastily amends himself, as he gazes at Midoriya. The android’s rambling again, talking about the nurses and the mechanics he’s met and how interesting they all are and how he hopes he can see them more often. He’s not sure what the definition of human is currently, but Midoriya Izuku definitely qualifies.  

Midoriya cuts himself off suddenly, blinking at Shouto, and that’s when he realizes that he’s been staring. Despite himself, he flushes and looks away.

“Are you okay?” Midoriya asks, sounding bewildered. “Todoroki-san?’”

Shouto bites his bottom lip for a fraction of a second and then, before he can’t think better of himself, blurts out, “Shouto!”

“Huh?” 

“Shouto,” he repeats, voice dry. “Please call me Shouto. You saved my life. I think this much familiarity is warranted, don’t you?”

“O—oh,” he still looks stunned but then a bright smile overtakes his face. Shouto’s chest feels tight.  “Well, in that case, you should call me Izuku!” And then he sticks out his left hand awkwardly.

Shouto blinks in surprise. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Midoriya would have a first name. Technically, he knew: Mi-do-ri-ya I-zu-ku. But the fact that he'd give his first name the same weight of familiarity that Shouto does, he hadn't considered that. The realization makes him feel strangely ashamed. Gingerly, he grabs Midoriya—Izuku’s—left hand. The wrong hand but given the state of his right one, Shouto can hardly blame him. And again, before he can stop himself, he strokes his thumb along Izuku’s wrist. He feels warm, real, but if you lingered just a little bit too long you could tell that the skin was too smooth, that were no veins underneath.

Shouto doesn’t care. He’s spent a long, long time feeling like he wasn’t human. That he doesn’t belong. That he shouldn’t have been born. It’s strange and ridiculous but in these past two weeks, he’s felt more alive than he’s ever done before, holed up in his dingy office as a means to escape his father. And it’s all thanks to him.

“Izuku,” Shouto says and smiles.

[leina-reads-homestuck]

In a parallel universe...

...Beforus has never ceased to exist. :v

Welcome to my Alternate Universe #2, the session in which the Beforan trolls discovered what was awaiting them in the game, and managed to get rid of Sgrub, rewind time, and come back to their reality. How ? I have no idea 

Now they’re adults, living in a world that’s strongly inspired from the cyberpunk/vaporwave aesthetics because that’s what I’m into right now.

This story focuses on Aranea and Cronus, but all the other trolls are there :U

-Porrim is the owner of a burlesque-style strip club and gambling club combo (which is where Aranea spends her nights)

-Latula is a g4m3r g1rl and makes tons of money with her streams (she doesn’t sell her bath water though). Sometimes she’s seen playing with Mituna (also a gamer)

-Meenah is... busy being a punk. 

Actually, she's starting to think about taking upon the role of heiress, since that the Empress’s health is declining, but she isn’t happy about it. She wants to open a bakery. A bakery owned by a punk fish troll in a studded jacket. 

-Rufioh is rufioh-ing around, as in, making videos about the troll anime and games he prefers (and why he thinks some of it sucks).

-Damara is a dancer (employed by Porrim)

-Kankri owns a social justice blog, of course, and is probably giving conferences

-Horuss is studying mechanics and is promised a bright future in both robotic engineering and surgery. He accidentally let one of his mechanical ponies run in the city once.

-Cronus... uh... has a motorcycle. 

I’m not sure about what he does, probably something related to the equivalent of the Orphaner role on Beforus. Except it doesn’t involve orphaning anyone. His relationship with Aranea is stuck somewhere between flushed and pale (they’re close to each other, that’s all I can say.) He played a big role in the discovery of the way to escape Sgrub and had a hard time convincing Aranea to join.

-Aranea earns a living thanks to gam8ling (she rarely loses). She also helps Porrim with the club’s organization and watches her and her girls dance. 

She’s also often feeling conflicted, melancholic, and vaguely guilty. In order to be able to live her life to the fullest instead of remaining trapped in the dream bubbles, she accepted to live in an universe where Mindfang doesn’t exist. Despite being told that Mindfang and her descendance do exist in countless other sessions, she still wonders, at times, if she has made the right choice, and if it wouldn’t have been better for her to remain in the obscurity and allow her beloved alternate self to have everything. 

She still owns a copy of her journal, that she treasures dearly.

-As for Kurloz and Meulin...Kurloz is still as sinister and Meulin still cute. She is thinking about writing a book based on her post-scratch self’s adventures. 

I have a design in mind for Aranea already...

[direquail]

An NB reading of Grace in Terminator: Dark Fate

Disclaimer:

Before I start, just want to get this out here: I’m in no way insisting that Grace *has* to be non-binary, that we’re *supposed* to read her as non-binary, or that that’s in any way what she’s “meant to be”. This is just some stuff I’ve noticed that, as someone who sits on the genderqueer/non-binary/transmasc side of things, really resonated with me. Again--read her as entirely woman-identified if that’s what you want to do or feels right to you. I am ecstatic that lesbians and wlw-identified folks have someone that they feel represented in, too. I wish I’d had more characters like her when I was growing up and felt so out of place because of my gender non-conformity. 


But I, for one, would love a non-binary or even trans reading of Grace.

So what I’d like to do instead is just lay out a couple ways someone who is NB-identified *might* connect with Grace as a nonbinary character. Starting with the obvious.

Androgyny Now, I do want to be clear that I know that gender presentation =\= gender identity. And again, obviously, people will latch onto things that they relate to in characters, and I really do believe that there’s no “one right way” to read a character. The character of Grace isn’t a real person; she’s part of a story, told by people, who had something specific to say, and her character reflects that. But from the perspective of the people who watch her, who internalize and connect with her character, there can be points of connection that have nothing to do with the author’s/creator’s intent, and so, Grace-the-character can be many things to many people. The only real way to know how a person IDs is to ask them. That’s it, that’s all. You can’t assume. But also, sometimes, people do “ping” a certain way. They give off a sort of “energy”, and for me, Grace’s energy isn’t the sort of “diaphanous femininity” that even visibly-gender-nonconforming AFAB characters are often framed to exude. Grace’s energy isn’t masculine, either. Her mannerisms don’t seem intended to read that way; rather, they seem intended to read as soldier. I’m not very skilled at breaking down movements, especially when it comes to how actors move and what it all means. It’s totally possible that a lot of what’s unique about how Grace moves is because Mackenzie Davis is, self-admittedly, not the most athletically-inclined person. Grace is long-limbed and rangy and sometimes very stiff/poised, but never stiff through the hips like a Straight Dude(TM), or heavy through the shoulders like a musclebound meathead. She takes up space, too; she’s taller than Dani and Sarah both, and the only recurring characters who are “bigger” than her throughout most of the film are Carl and the Rev-9.

To be clear: Women can be tall, and rangy, and androgynous, and take up space, and that doesn’t make them less women--unless they don’t identify that way. My point with all of the above is just observing that Grace doesn’t move like a “male action hero”—but she also doesn’t seem over-the-top feminine in the way that mainstream-y media will “compensate” for perceived unfemininity, and that’s kind of wonderful. Her stature, her physique, all of that, seem to be chosen and calibrated towards an end goal that isn’t gendered: Combat, efficacy as a warrior. Whether you want to read her as a woman or as nonbinary is largely going to be about your personal preference. This also has the effect of giving the impression that Grace is absolutely unselfconscious about her body and how it looks—and she has no reason to be, not because she looks good or bad, but because what she can do with her body is just so vastly more important, and because she’s so willing to put her body and everything it can do on the line in order to fulfill her mission (and protect Dani). If Grace has a gender, it’d be “Protector” or “Warrior”. And in a way, what makes Grace so appealing to female-identified lesbians is the same thing that makes her appealing to NB people—Her character was explicitly designed not to cater to “the male gaze”, and therefore, she also exists outside the typical gendered confines reserved for “female characters” in media. The emphasis is just slightly different: Instead of a different way of being female, NB!Grace has little to no use for those categories at all. Again, it’s all in how you want to read her. Grace comes from a future where survival and fighting take first priority, and you could project the same tired “Gender isn’t a ~problem~ in the future/after the world ends” approach that a lot of cis and hetero men take to sci-fi--but also, why? It’s tired. Give me a Grace who is preoccupied with survival, yes, who maybe doesn’t have time to think too much about this gender shit--but also, a Grace who finds that this “androgyny” (although she might not call it that) suits her, who takes to this way of moving and being in the world, this way of using her body, and identifies more with that than with being a “man” or a “woman”. 


(Sidenote: as someone who took a fair amount of Queer Studies classes, it does irk me a bit that discussions of mainstream-y speculative media seem permanently suspended between this sort of “genderblind” futurism where “identities” just don’t exist because they’re apparently not needed anymore, or copy-pasting our contemporary discourses about identity into a future that is materially very different than ours. The point of these identities is, in part, to describe our experiences, the good as well as the bad, and those experiences of gender and sexuality don’t exist in a vacuum. So, the words we use will necessarily change to accommodate that—especially in the post-apocalypse. BUT, everything that comes after us will also bear the stamp of what came before it; it’s just a matter of what the creator means to emphasize.) Augments & Body Mods This is a little dicey, because there’s some clear tension in the movie between the idea of robots = inhuman/unfeeling = bad, and humans = good/feeling. And in that light, it’s potentially problematic to (even incidentally) imply that nonbinary/gender-nonconforming = not human.

But I’d like to point out that the film does deliberately challenge any neat separation of “human” and “machine” with Carl’s evolution as a person. 
And based on what I’ve read from James Cameron and Tim Miller interviews, there is some “blurring” intended between human and machine in the franchise.

In fact, Carl and Grace are foils for each other, somewhat, in the sense that they’re on opposite ends of a spectrum where human and machine become blurred, and I love that. As a genderqueer person with a very fluid experience, it appeals to me on a deep level because you could spend literally forever breaking down where does one “gender” end and another begin--emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically.  


So the fact that there’s (1) no hard binary between human and machine (it’s explicitly subverted), and (2) we’re given multiple points of inflection, especially if you count Sarah and the Rev-9--alleviates a lot of the tension I’d feel otherwise in mentioning this. But I don’t think this is something that should be allegorical or a direct comparison; I think that it operates best on a metaphorical or theoretical level. 


And just, it’s the whole vaguely-cyberpunk idea of modifying your own body, not in a mass-produced or manufactured sense, but in this organic and highly individual sense, born out of contingency and necessity, that makes Grace’s Augments so meaningful. It’s one of the things that makes her read as human, too, because it feels more in line with our tendency to stick ink, steel, bone, what have you, through our skins whenever we get the chance--as opposed to some kind of symbolic dehumanization by “becoming a machine”.

Grace routinely refuses to categorize herself in anything other than the most general terms, or explain the details of her Augments, and she seems very protective of them. Rather than seeming ashamed, this refusal reads a lot like the popular queer identity explanation “not gay as in happy, but queer as in “fuck you’”. Her Augments are part of her, and part of her humanity; she volunteered for them, she owns them, and is even protective of them, viewing CBP’s invasive examination of her Augments as a kind of violation of her bodily autonomy. They’re clearly complicated for her, but they’re anything but depersonalized.

And going even further, the reason why she volunteered for them is so that she can defend humanity--and also someone she loves (Dani). They’re an extension of her sense of family, loyalty, love, and willingness to sacrifice.

And I don’t know for sure, but I imagine that Grace is basically one-of-a-kind, even among other Augments, if only because those Augmentations seem to be performed with the tech that’s on hand--salvaged Legion tech, by the sound of it, at least to start with. So the outcome depends on the parts available, the complexity and maturity of the Augmentation technology and process, and the skill & experience of the surgeons, all of which would vary over time. 


And honestly? If that doesn’t qualify as “beyond the binary”, I don’t know what does.

Some other general observations:

- Grace’s short hair is a constant throughout the post-Judgement Day scenes. As someone who started wearing their hair short as a preteen and hasn’t had hair to my shoulders since age 12, that does seem significant.

- Grace only introduces herself by name after Diego shouts “HEY LADY” in the factory before dropping an engine block on the Rev-9. Granted, most women don’t like to be addressed as “HEY LADY”, either, but it stood out to me, especially because she refused to give her name only a couple of minutes before that. Either way you read it, the line feels like it expresses some level of discomfort with or objection to that gendered statement. Maybe she finds that particular reference annoying or even offensive, but also, maybe she doesn’t really identify as a woman. She’s just... Grace.

- there were multiple times I mistook the back of her tank top for the back of a binder, even though she clearly was not binding.

- she constantly steals mens’ clothes--partly because she’s too tall for a lot of womens’ clothes around her, partly out of utility (like at the factory and CBP, where a lot of the guards are men). But also, it pleases the genderfucking queer in me quite a bit. And, I should note, when she had the option to take a female guard’s clothes at the CBP facility... she didn’t.

But ultimately, when I look at Grace, I see someone whose gender is “Warrior” or “Soldier”. And it’s so wonderful to see that so purely represented on a character we’re meant to perceive as female. So, please believe me when I say I don’t want to “take away” what Grace means for other people. 
And, for the record, I do mostly default to using she/her pronouns for Grace, because that’s how she’s canonically referred to. But just for fun--try this on for size: Using “they/them” pronouns for Grace. They (Grace) came back in time to protect Dani. It rolls off the tongue, right? It feels nice. Let’s re-try a couple of sentences from above: 


- “multiple times I mistook the back of their tank top for the back of a binder, even though they clearly weren’t binding” 


- “Grace’s Augments are about their ability to be a soldier. They were Augmented in order to hunt Terminators... Everything else is secondary to that, and their mission to protect Dani”

- “Grace only introduces themself by name after Diego shouts “HEY LADY” in the factory before dropping an engine block on the Rev-9 ... Maybe they find that particular reference annoying or even offensive, but also, maybe they don’t really identify as a woman. They’re just... Grace.”

And finally: 


Can you imagine the poor sod who tried to make fun of Grace for having a “girly” name? lmao rip

[mothfishing]

Could you tell us more about Raspberry Cookie?

i am so sorry that this has been sitting in my inbox for 2 weeks, i wrote a few answers but they kept getting deleted =‘D and since my answers were all pretty long i kept getting discouraged. but! time to actually use the drafts feature and save often

readmore:

so raspberry cookie is my first cookie run oc - i initially made them sometime in maybe…october or november 2018? but they were just a vague concept. i knew i wanted a cookie with a cyberpunk aesthetic, but their design changed a LOT and i didn’t nail down their personality for a long time as well. 

(in fact their original original design looked kind of similar to aloe (and cyborg to a lesser extent), which is still funny to me bc this was before cyborg menace even happened…devsis reads my mind /j)

their flavor also changed a lot - i always thought of raspberry as being the best choice for reasons i’ll say in a bit, but i avoided it initially bc i wasn’t sure at first how to mix raspberries and the kind of aesthetic i had in mind. originally their name was just hacker cookie, then they became caramel cookie bc i was thinking of the drizzled bits on top of caramel cookies and thought that can be like, circuit patterns or something. but i found out hero was a caramel cookie, so i changed it to marble cookie. but i was dissatisfied with that and decided to just stop being a coward and go for the obvious choice, raspberry cookie

i say raspberry cookie is the obvious choice bc raspberry pi - they’re a raspberry pi cookie! this is their pet:

you get three guesses what its name is but the first two don’t count

BUT YEAH about raspberry

they’re not from the cookie present, if that makes sense - they’re from a future AU me and a few friends made, where it’s a little more common to get augments and stuff. raspberry’s super into transcookieism and replaced several of their body parts with robotic parts, most noticeably their arm and part of their face. they also have a lot of their internal systems modified, though - stuff like reinforcing their bones, improving their reaction times, etc. to contrast, while i see cyborg cookie as being entirely or nearly entirely metal, raspberry is pretty solidly a mix of metal and organic through and through.

the thing on their chest was inspired by the raspberry pi logo, and i gave it to them bc i was thinking of how raspberry cookies (at least ones ive seen) have this kinda dip in the center:

so it’s kind of like a power core 

their braid is also fake

they just use it to store a hacking kit + make the charging port on their neck less conspicuous. 

they can’t close the eye on the robotic “pie slice” of their face, nor does it have an eyebrow, nor can it emote much - they can close it in the sense of, cut the feed from it for a moment, but to an outsider their eye will appear to remain open

in both of these, their eyes are closed, it’s just that closing their eyes is indistinguishable from winking for anyone looking at them

i was thinking their ability might be that they hold a laptop while running and they can “hack” into obstacles to change them to high points jellies, and their magic candy ability is using the taser in their robotic hand to destroy an obstacle - kind of similar to lime’s spike?

raspberry is kind of a peppy and eccentric person. they’re not a shut-in or anything, they like talking to people, it’s just that they’re not very good at it. 

they’re pals with ponchohuman’s oc ramune cookie robot. something that’s the duo’s deal is raspberry’s better at the actual like...technology half of hacking while ramune is better at the social engineering part, which is funny bc it’s the AI who’s better at social stuff while it’s the organic who’s better at the technical side of things. together they’re gonna change everything

[enigmaticjblake]

Best Video Games of the last decade

The last decade was sensational, a lot of stuff happened, there were dramatic changes all across, especially in videogames. Technological advancements in computer hardware pushed graphical limits and the visual fidelity in gaming kept evolving. Games got more immersive and believable.

The videogame industry saw major changes like the rise of digital gaming platforms such as Steam, Origin, Epic Games Store and so on.

Even the Consoles saw dramatic changes. The PS4 was a major player in the market but Steam on the other hand dominated the PC landscape. Epic Games Store also got a lot of attention.

Even VR stepped out of the shadows and major companies like Microsoft, Google, HTC, Samsung, Facebook and many others discovered the potential of the medium and embarked on the ultimate quest of making the best VR headset in the market. Even Sony made a VR headset for the PS4.

Technological advancements are fine but it is important for us to understand that Videogames cannot just solely depend on technology to be an immersive and unforgettable experience.

They have to have an engaging story, solid and balanced game play mechanics, immersive sound design, perfect balance between narrative and pacing and a few other major factors are what determine a good game and a great game. Ultimately they have to deliver an unforgettable experience.

So after all the trials and tribulations, a few games have emerged to show the world how powerful the medium can be.

So without any further ado, lets jump into the list of best games of the last decade.

  Read Dead Redemption 2

The critically acclaimed open world wild west adventure game comes straight from Rockstar Games, the same team that has made the GTA Series. RDR2 is considered as one of the most successful titles of the last decade as it gives you a vast sprawling open world with staggering amount of detail. This is one of the most detailed games of the decade, coming somewhere close the end of the current generation of consoles; it utilizes the fullest potential of modern day hardware and delivers a stunning dynamic open world experience like never before.

 CS:GO

Yes, you might be wondering why is CS:GO on this list, well it is there for a good reason. Not only this online classic tactical shooter still among the largest and most played games of all time, it is fun to play even in this age and day. CS:GO manages to bring back an old formula and still keeps it relevant at this age. Countless events and tournaments are centered around CS:GO. Back in the day CS was mod out of another legendary game which we will definitely discuss some day. CS single handedly showed the world what mods are capable of achieving and gave birth to the mod culture. There are quite many games which were mods of the past and apart from that, the game is still fun as hell and me and my friends still play it.

 Fortnite

Fortine has a very strange history, it was originally a defense game like minecraft where you build during the day and protect during the night but it wasn’t that successful. People had already seen the idea before, so when Battle Royale was gaining popularity, Fortnite decided to mix its defense formula with BR. The ratings for Fortnite just went off the charts and many people played it as it was released as a free to play title. It had a cosmetic market though which got Epic tons of revenue and that’s how Epic Games Store came into picture. So if a game can do so much for a company, you can definitely process the impact it had on the industry overall.

DOTA 2

Talk about mods again, DOTA was originally a genre defining mod of War Craft 3 but someone else saw its potential. DOTA was more of an underground thing, it was never so popular in the mainstream and very few knew a genre like MOBA even existed. It was around 2009 when I first saw DOTA in a cyber café where some young kids were playing it on LAN. At first, it looked like War Craft 3 but the mechanics were totally different. Soon I learnt it had a cult underground following and Valve made the smart move of acquiring the talent behind this mod and decided to make this thing into a fully blown sequel. DOTA 2 which pushed MOBA into the mainstream. Obviously there were others who joined the bandwagon of MOBA and tried to distinguish themselves. League of Legends is also another MOBA game which is popular but DOTA 2 is still considered as the king and despite of its age is still among the top played games on steam world wide. There are people who have played the game for a staggering 10000 hours and still find new and interesting things. It’s a game which is easy to learn but difficult to master.

Batman Arkham City

Batman needs no introduction, for those who do not know, Batman is a fully ripped grown man who wears Egyptian cotton underwear over a grey suit and is passionate about jumping from building to building during the night and saves the city from bad peeps. He is THE Superhero.

If you haven’t played any of the Batman games of the Arkham trilogy, stop reading this list right away and immediately go and play it! Its really good.

It is debatable which one of the trilogy is the best and its very difficult to make that choice. I personally like all the games but Arkham City is amazing for several reasons as it is an ultimate battle between Batman and Joker, the game goes open world and Gotham City is such well crafted. The Unreal Engine does a marvelous job of putting it all together and the game runs so well AND this is why I could not chose Arkham Knight over Arkham City. Arkham Knight is miles ahead of Arkham City but I made the ultimate mistake of playing it on the PC which was a bad experience. Infact the game was such a mess, Steam had to pull it off and give out refunds to the buyers. It was a great experience on consoles but this misstep was the sole reason why I did not chose it for this list.

BUT now the game has been patched extensively and is in good shape. So if you are a PC gamer and want to be like Batman, this has to be the Ultimate Batman Experience.

Bloodborne

Ever heard of souls like titles? These are considered to be difficult as combat in them is of a different nature. These are not your ordinary action games where you go in front of your enemy and start spamming attacks on them. Souls like titles have be played tactically, timing and accuracy are the name of the game. When to strike, when to dodge and parry are crucial for every encounter and even the most basic enemy can strike you down if you are not paying attention.

Bloodborne is an Action RPG title developed by From Software exclusively for the PS4, set in a dark Victorian world we are tasked to hunt down to take down perils of an odd strange world. Blood Bourne stands out for its unique art style, game play mechanics and an engaging narrative, atmospheric and immersive world design and ruthless difficulty. This game has a deep and interesting lore so a lot of content awaits.

Be warned, this game can crush your soul.

Neir Automata

Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future where sprawling urban scapes are retaken my mother nature, humanity is wiped out by what was considered as their best creation.

Take role of an enhanced cybernetic warrior who is deadly and beautiful at the same time and hack N slash your way through hoards of deadly AI constructs as you make your way to the answers of all the questions that surround the collapse of civilization.

The stunning art style, the graphics, the immersive world and level design blended with fast paced combat makes Neir Automata an unforgettable experience.

INSIDE

Inside is developed by Playdead, the same studio who made Limbo. Inside is a staggering achievement in the 2D side scroller category of games. You take role of an unknown kid who just appears in this strange dystopian world where society has changed. The world is hostile and humanity is engulfed into some kind of a strange social experiment where a few selected individuals of the upper echelon are on the verge of creating something far beyond anything we can possibly imagine.

Inside is ruthless, deadly and hostile but the art style, presentation, pacing and its subtle yet effective gameplay pulls out the unimaginable out of a genre that is so old. It redefines the side scroller genre.

Inside manages to pull you in right from the get go and as you play further, you are just lost in it.

Its depressing, dark, bold and ambitious.

Don’t miss this one out.

Horizon Zero Dawn

A PS4 exclusive developed by Guerrilla games, HZD is an open world action RPG where civilization has moved beyond its post apocalyptic phase and mankind has once again emerged out of the darkness of this cataclysmic event and is facing a whole new world.

Civilization is rebooted but is engraved on the remnants of a past civilization. It is still unknown what cause the wiping of the earlier race.

What is known are the strange metallic beasts which roam around the waste lands of earth.

Imagine fighting a giant robotic T-Rex with a bow and arrow.

That’s HZD in one line.

Metal Gear Solid 5

You wake up in a hospital one day and the doc informs you that you were in comma for 9 years, how will you feel?

Well, Snake doesn’t feel bad at all. Only few hours after waking up you are hunted down by an unknown mercenary group who simply wants you dead for reasons unknown and weird things happen that night. You still manage to make an escape, thanks to your buddy who was undercover as a patient and was protecting you all these years. Soon you embark into a Journey into the heart of Afghanistan to find the answers.

MGS5 is developed my Konami, this is when the legendary Hideo Kojima was part of the team.

MGS5 had a rough development cycle but it turned out to be a great game.

It’s a sandbox stealth action title where you can approach your target or objective anyhow you like or find it convenient. There is a lot of freedom in this game.

You can even hide in a cardboard box and turn it into a makeshift stealth device.

There is base building, you recruit captured soldiers and make them a part of your team.

It’s a damn fine game and the story sometimes just catches you by surprise.

Portal 2

Portal 2 is a first person puzzle platformer developed by Valve. These guys are magical, whatever they touch becomes gold. Portal 2 puts you in the shoes of a test subject who is a part of a scientific experiment where they are testing teleportation technology, you get hands on a portable teleportation device or simply put, a portal gun. It shoots portals of walls.

You solve puzzles by shooting portals and make use of physics. Stuff such as gravity, momentum, reflection and so on come into the picture. Thanks to the Source engine. The story is also engaging and characters are really deep and well written.

You teleport your way out of these test chambers only to discover all is not what it seems.

Portal 2 is definitely one of the finest games of this decade.

GTA 5

Seriously? Wondering why this is on the list. Go play it!

Elders Scroll 5 Skyrim

Its not everyday that you bump into a fellow adventurer who has stopped adventuring cause one fine day he took an arrow in his knee.

Skyrim is open world action RPG that is bold, ambitious and probably the best game made by Bethesda Game Studios.

Skyrim takes place in an enigmatic fantasy world which is engulfed in a political conflict and suddenly an old prophesied threat emerges and is bent on destroying the world.

You take role of an unknown traveler who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but as events unfold. Turns out you are not an ordinary person, you are THE dragon born. The only thing that stands between the dragons and the destruction of Skyrim is you.

Skyrim has a lot of content, side quests and the story is deep. You can keep playing Skrym for hours and hours and get lost in a different dimension.

The last of Us

Naughty Dogs knows what it does. They are the masters of their craft when it comes to developing breathtaking narrative driven experiences. The sheer amount of attention to detail which was earlier observed in the Uncharted games successfully transcends into The Last Of Us.

Exclusive to the PS4, The Last Of Us puts you into the shoes of a man who has lost many things. The world has collapsed and strange mutants ravage the world. As the man of a family it is upto you to protect your loved ones from the perils of the new dangerous world.

The production quality of the game is what sets it apart. A dark and mature story backed by well choreographed cinematics, well acted characters and a blend of stealth horror action gameplay totally set this game apart from anything on this list.

You should get a PS4 only to play this game. Its that good!

Battlefield 1

This in my opinion is the best battlefield game in recent years, obviously there are other battlefield games and I was thinking of voting for BFBC2, this one won for many reasons.

BF1 is a fast paced action multiplayer experience with a solid punch of World War 1.

The originality and the attention to detail BF1 offers is insane, right from the vast deserts in the middle east to conquests in various parts of Europe, Dice has made the perfect formula for World War 1. Its frantic combat is better than ever, tweaking a few mechanics the game is now more enjoyable and fast paced. Its like the perfect spot between fast paced combat and quick general perception of reaction to things.

The game looks beautiful and environments, animations weapon and character models are so well detailed, they all scream authenticity.

64 vs 64 players never gets dull. Also EA was less greedy about this one, I still feel bad for the Star Wars Battlefront games.

Black Mesa

This one is not a game, it’s a mod but it has to be on the list because it’s a Half-Life fan remake on the source engine, if you are unaware of Half-Life, you are dead to me.

Black Mesa is a masterpiece and it totally reimagines the original Half-Life in a way just like Valve would have. Seeing new areas in Source Engine is a visual delight, its hard to believe Wwhat limits can be Source pushed to, considering its such an old engine. Valve was truly thinking long term when they made the source engine.

Basically Half-Life puts you into the shoes of the theoretical physicist who works at a the Black Mesa Research Facility. One day an experiment goes horribly wrong and you rip open a dimension into an alien world and now its upto you to fix things.

Half-Life 1 was revolutionary and helped defined the FPS genre. SO YOU HAVE TO PLAY THIS.

The Xen levels are out now and the game has left early access, so now is the perfect time to play this timeless masterpiece.

Crowbar Collective has done a neat job.

Overwatch

This one is my eyes is the true spiritual successor to Team Fortress 2. Made ground up by Blizzard, this one was a very different thing from them.

Overwatch borrows heavy inspiration from TF2 and manages to fuse it with MOBA perfectly.

On the surface I’ve seen many people complaining this is a TF2 ripoff and its rich dudes Paladin, tbh it is like Paladin but both games have different dynamics.TF2 is more of an old school class based shooter at this point and OW is more fast and streamlined.

The wide variety of characters in OW may seem unnecessary but believe me, each one of them is well made and balanced. Its like Blizzard has a secret recipe of game balance and it becomes very clear how important it is to nail that balance in this hybrid genre when you get your hands on similar titles who achieve this perfection.

The art style is spot on and meant to age well. The graphics will never go old, such is the art style.

Jump into a few games and you wont even realize how the hours pass.

Resident Evil 2

Later this decade a legendary face re-emerged from the mythical shadows of mystery. Resident Evil is Capcoms that comes into everyones mind when we speak of survival horror games, this was the title that created the genre back in the day.

The remake is very faithful to the original, it successfully captures the tense atmosphere and the struggle of managing resources while scavenging the same old corridors of Racoon City Police Station.

While graphics and other things are aligned with 2019 standards, what is more surprising is the fact that the game is so perfectly transferred from those pre rendered 3D environmental backgrounds with fixed cameras into true 3D yet it manages to retain the whole essence of the thing. Its is big achievement and the game does its own thing in a great way.

Animations, Models, Textures, Sounds, Gunplay and the Zombie AI are perfect and the all new Mr. X is totally rad!

Resident Evil 2 being a new comer in this decade has made a solid spot on this list.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

The game that saved Star Wars, honestly there were not that many good Star Wars titles in the recent years, both Battlefront games had their issues, while the 2nd one had a good production value, it stirred up the hive with its surprise mechanics. It was basically a Star Wars themed Casino and was brutally P2W. They have patched it now and is pretty playable but whats gone is gone.

Jedi The Fallen Order takes places after order 66 is executed. The Jedi order has fallen and the remnants are forced into exile. The empire has gripped the galaxy with its iron fist and the game puts you into the shoes of a young jedi who is accidently discovered by a high ranking Sith Inquisitor, the event propels the young Jedi into an epic journey of self discovery.

You travel across various planets in the galaxy and learn stuff about the lore which gives the series a fresh angle. It is clear that Respawn entertainment has put a lot of heart and soul into this game, it shows deep respect to the source material.  Star Wars needed that. Also, the combat is fresh. It borrows the best of all the successful mechanics introduced in various games of the generation like platforming, souls like combat give a realistic sense to saber battles. It feels like a true Star Wars game.

Overall, this one just came out at the end of the decade and took all of us by surprise.

The Legend of Zelda Breath Of The Wild

Zelda always hands over the torch to the next generation of Nintendo Consoles. BOTW is a fresh take on the long running Zelda series. The series departs from its previous gameplay styles and throws Link into an open world filled with perils. But unlike most games, Zelda is a very relaxing game, the art style is soothing and the game is fun.

You can play this one at your own pace and follow your objectives the way you like. The game looks simple on the surface but whatever goes down the hood is very complex as the game takes interactivity to a whole new level. Climb huge rock faces, cut trees, cook food, find rare loot, craft rare stuff and do all this at your own pace.

DOOM

Rip and Tear baby! Doom 2016 is simply awesome, its fast, brutal, frantic and fluid. Story is classic as ever, where the UAC accidentally opens a portal to hell and now all the demons are pouring in from everywhere. The key difference between the previous Doom games and this one is, earlier you were stuck in a room with demons, now the demons are stuck in a room with you.

Doom gives you a huge arsenal of weapons at your disposal and heaps of demons to kill, kill them the way you see fit.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

OOF…..Witcher 3….what can I say…..

CDPR has dethroned Valve in terms of game design, this is what has happened this decade. There was a time when Valve used to make the best games, now its these guys.

You step into the shoes of Geralt, a professional monster slayer who has embarked on a journey to find his missing daughters in a land that is engulfed in conflict.

Witcher 3 takes place on a vast open world which is stunningly detailed, every 45 seconds you bump into something fresh and exciting. The world of Witcher 3 is well crafted, every section of this world feels vivid. The main story line is engaging but even the side quests are meaningful which is not commonly seen in most games.

The game lets you make choices and the story branches out as per the choices you make which drastically alter the outcome of the game which also gives it a high replay value.

If you call yourself a gamer, you have to play this.

[translightyagami]

💡 uuuh, what about a lawlight android/cyberpunk AU?

oh you mean the AU that’s been bubbling in my head for ages but i can never get right when i sit down to type it?

L is the former head software engineer of Yagami Industries, a leader in humanoid and assistive robotics, who left the company after a difficult and notably non-mutual break up with the company founder’s son, Light. His program is implemented in every android created by the company which provides them the ability to adapt emotive responses to their human owners. Since he made it for the company, the software stays and gets used in the products they release after his departure. Light tells him that this is better, for both of their careers, if the separation is clean. He didn’t have to tell L twice.

As anyone does during a break-up, L wraps himself up in other projects and luckily he still has connections through his adoptive father, Wammy, to a few space missions. He’s chosen to work aboard the Titan 13, a scouting vessel being used to find new hospitable worlds for humanity. It’s good to get away from Earth, he thinks, and all the press coverage of Light’s upcoming marriage to prestige journalist, Kiyomi Takada. His crew is made up of co-workers who all bring their own strangeness--Mello, an environmental biologist, Matt, an organic chemist and man-of-many-talents, and Near, the ship’s designer and personal engineer of its energy core. As required for any mission, they have to bring an android assistant who can operate the ship while the crew sleeps or handle dangerous situations for humans.

Wammy insists on no expense spared so of course they have the latest in humanoid technology from Yagami Industries: the Kira. With the same software L created upgraded now with improved memory retention and learning capabilities, the Kira is quick, emotionally intelligent and unnervingly good at whatever job it’s assigned. The Kira also has an improved physical model as Soichiro Yagami had its design based on the most capable person he knows--his wonderful, straight as a ruler son Light.

L protests, he’s ignored and they set off into space. Because Kira isn’t just a clueless little android, he picks up on L’s disgruntled reactions and researches the engineer while the crew sleeps. Later, Kira comes to L’s room and says there’s some wires loose in his chest cavity, asks that L attempt to fix it.

“Interesting,” L says while wrist deep in Kira’s split open torso. 

“What seems to be the issue?” Kira lays across L’s work bench, his fingers so close to pens and discarded parts. “Can you fix it?”

“The cut on this wire is very precise,” L says. “Almost like it was hand cut by a very steady hand.” He raises an eyebrow. Kira’s faked repair has been caught.

“I’m sorry,” Kira says. “I knew if i affected vulnerabiliy, you’d talk to me. Otherwise, you refuse to engage.”

“I don’t see the problem with that. You’re just a robot.”

“Do you see him when you look at me?” Kira lifts his head, fixes a wide eyed stare at L, who doesn’t look up from where he’s reconnecting Kira’s inner tech. “I watched a few videos. I saw that you loved him. Does it make you sad to see me?”

“Why would that make me sad?” L says, gently pressing the synth skin back in place and collecting some sealant to cover the cuts, almost like Kira was never touched. “You’re not him. You’re something different.”

Although L didn’t know it and would perhaps never have known had certain terrible events unfolded afterward, that moment was when Kira understood attraction and focused it on L above anyone else. No one called him different before. And if that Light, his original image, couldn’t love L correctly, then Kira would do it.

And nothing, not even a safe mission, would get in his way.

[bnhafantasybigbang]

Wolf’s Fantasy Notes: Punk Fantasy

Hello all! I am back again with Punk fantasy. This one has a decent wealth of subcultures. So I decided to focus on some of the more popular ones that I know of! If anyone knows of others, please let us know in the comments!

Punk Fantasy

This is another fascinating category! Part of what makes it interesting is the same thing that makes it interesting is the same thing that makes it hard to define. Punk is usually created through what if scenarios that focus on a point in history, the present, or even the future that later lead to alternate universes shaped by the changes. In general terms, Punk often refers to the myriad of subculture genres that pop up in literature. This covers all forms of literature from action to romance to horror, even!

So some of the Punk types I wanna talk about today are: Steam, Cyber, and Diesel!

So first up on my list of potential fic fodder: Steampunk

Steampunk is probably one of of the punk genres that most people are familiar with. Usually carrying either a Victorian or Wild West flair there are airships running on steam instead of planes alongside cog and steam cyborgs/robots. Metallic prosthetic limbs made of gears! Top hats and feathers and brooches made of clock parts! Also, don’t leave your aviator googles at home! 

In simple terms, Steampunk is basically a what if scenario that joins the bridge between fantasy and sci fi (I will do a post on sci fi-fantasy as well). What if steam powered technology had flourished rather than being outrun by coal and electricity? What would the world look like and how would it run?

There are several examples of this, some blatant and some not so blatant.

Anime: Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle

While both definitely incorporate heaps of magic and mystery, the background tells a bit of a different story.

In Spirited Away, the bath house Chihiro becomes trapped in relies on magic as well as the water and steam that Kamaji provides. Pulley systems and the moving parts of the building rely on it the most.

In Howl’s Moving Castle, again the background has airships and some robotics, but it is far more subtle.

Television: Firefly

This short lived but well loved show featured a crew on an airship and is flagship when discussing steampunk.

Western Animation: Hullabaloo

Is an upcoming animated series about the daughter of an inventor that is set in a steampunk universe! Their website has more info.

Literature:

Works by Gail Carriger

For adults there is her Soulless series about a female assassin traversing a Victorian steampunk landscape that is not only inhabited by humans but vampires, werewolves, and other paranormal creatures.

For the younger crowd, there is her Finishing School series set in the same universe as Soulless. It focuses on a flagship school that trains female assassins like the main character in Soulless!

The Vampire Empire series by Clay and Susan Griffith

A princess has to team up with a vampire to save her people from their mortal enemies the vampires. It is based in a steampunk environment.

Next on the list: Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk can be thought of as the opposite of Steampunk. Where the inspiration for steam is taken from the past, cyberpunk heralds from the future. Steampunk is usually full of exploration and adventure, and a dash of hope for the future. Cyberpunk is usually bleak, bad end future dystopias. Steampunk usually encompasses vast worlds that are remakes of our own. Cyber usually takes place in the future with virtual reality being the setting rather than the real world. Although there are several that do take place beyond it.

Some popular examples are The Matrix series, The Fifth Element, Looper, and Blade Runner for movies. Ender’s Game, Time Cop, and Ready Player One for literature, although all three have film versions.

A recent serial example, would be Altered Carbon. It was a novel that was recently developed as a series for Netflix! It is wonderful series that explores what happens to humanity when they become practically immortal by being recorded onto discs that can be changed from one body to another. It is made for a mature audience, so viewer discretion is advisable.

Lastly: Dieselpunk

Dieselpunk can be thought of as the offspring of steam and cyberpunk if it had fuel running in its veins. This aesthetic is grungy and brutal like cyberpunk usually existing during a dystopic time period as well. However, it focuses on the real world and the environment created by it. Technology itself maybe dying out or still in its infancy during these stories. So, virtual reality and space settings are usually not present. Dieselpunk is also very present as in tied to the present time. They usually take place in dire circumstances like a war.

A couple of examples would be Mad Maxx and Death Race in terms of movies. Snowpiercer would be another.   

Again, please let us know of any other good examples to include in these categories if you know of any!

Functioning as an aesthetic and/or a genre

Another interesting thing about most punk cultures is that they are often considered sub-genres. This often means they can function as an aesthetic rather than a stand alone universe or story type like we typically think of with genres. They often serve to spice up a narrative rather than support it. But they can be used to support one, too.

What do I mean?

Let’s take Spirited Away as an example of punk as an aesthetic.

In Spirited Away, the story is about Chihiro having to save her parents after they stumble into the spirit realm and get turned into pigs. It is a standard hero’s journey story set in a fantasy world with its own ecosystems, politics, etc, etc.  If we want to classify it, we would call it a pseudo-iseikai of the high fantasy variety. See my post on high fantasy for more info.

Steam comes into play only when the story reaches the bathhouse. It is necessary there as a distinguishing element. It is meant to show how human’s modern industrialization is vastly different from the nature harmonious steam and simple physics driven bath house that the spirits have.

Outside of that, steampunk is not important… that idea is no longer important.

How can this be applied to your story?

-Distinguishing cultures or kingdoms

Perhaps give your dragon kingdom a diesel/iron punk feel while your fairy kingdom is more steampunkish in line with their connection to nature

-Use them as a basis for creating other kinds of power sources or culture

-Use them as obstacles to your character’s goals

They find an abandoned ship but it runs on a special fuel that only the dieselpunk dragon race you made can make

Now for a punk genre example.

In Altered Carbon, mentioned in my blurb about cyberpunk, the main character is a newly “spun up” prisoner (they took his chip and put it in a new body after he was “detained” for 200 years in chip form). He was released to investigate a murder. While he does so, we are given glimpses into his original life. Now this story is clearly a sci-fi murder mystery with a hint of romance and other messy human pathos. But it can easily be called a cyberpunk murder mystery, too!

Now what makes this different than Spirited Away? The cyberpunk elements are tightly woven into not only the setting but the culture and the people… and that makes all the difference.

They have their own terminology that is clearly linked to the cyberpunk nature of the story. Spun up is one such term. Another is sleeves. Sleeves, like sleeves on clothing? What makes this so special? In this universe human bodies are referred to as sleeves! This is because when a body dies the “human consciousness” is not lost it is literally backed up on a chip. This chip is located between two vertebrae in the neck and can be reinserted into another sleeve (body)! There is a whole industry built on creating all kinds of sleeves!

In other words, it shapes the very fabric of your story as a whole.

Let’s take the dragon example from before. Instead of your characters just needing the fuel to power a wrecked ship… the ship is theirs and they are actually water transport personnel that move water across a barren wasteland that has been stripped of all its natural resources. There are few places that have electricity or clean water. Your MC has to get this water to their hometown, a shanty village that is in dire straits, their final stop after a few months of running routes. The Dragon kingdom is one of the few kingdoms that can provide fuel and other necessities in this area. Dragons and humans don’t get along. But it is a confrontation that has to be had.

In this scenario, the crumbling society and scarceness that comes with dieselpunk is woven into your character’s and universe’s story. The Dragons have the upper hand because they have what other characters don’t but need. You can play with terminology and how things are made. Perhaps the fuel is made from their blood and scales diluted in some simple oil that the few tree species in the area give off in huge amounts. The ships are cobbled together shells running on simple combustion engines that work with that special fuel.   

Long story short, if you want to use the different punk genres as aesthetics sprinkle it in every now and again. But if you want this to be the backbone of your story… your story’s genre then make sure you treat it like a character. Or at least make it intrinsic to the story you are telling.

Have any questions about making use of punk genres or something you would like me to answer about fantasy in general? Hit me up in my ask box here!

See you soon and sorry for being late (again)! Next time we start talking about some of the more broad yet niche sections of fantasy starting with Dark Fantasy!

~Admin Wolf

[superchartisland]

Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution/Virgin, Amiga, 1994)

[Throughout this project, I will be handing over this space to the viewpoints of others for guest posts. The idea for a project like this was a joint one between me and my brother Martin, and the idea for the name AAA was his. It was writing guest posts for his currently-dormant and less chart-based version that got me going on writing and convinced me to do the one you’re reading now. In a reversal of roles, here is a guest post from Martin.]

In the high-octane thrill-a-minute world of adventure game production studios, the big names, the Blur and Oasis, are LucasArts and Sierra. LucasArts, we have talked about in some detail before. Sierra, meanwhile, are best known for their King’s Quest series, which did the same kind of genre pastiche as LucasArts, only replete with multitudes of arbitrary death traps, usually accompanied by groan-worthy puns. Indeed, LucasArts pointedly made their first Monkey Island game as a direct reaction against elements of Sierra’s philosophy that they (correctly) deemed to be anti-fun, including a moment fairly late in the game where stepping on a certain patch of ground causes main character Guybrush to fall down a cliff and plummet seemingly to his death, accompanied by a pitch-perfect parody of the typical Sierra death scene, only for him to bounce back up and simply declare the immortal words “Rubber tree.”

But, like Blur/Oasis, like Commodore 64/ZX Spectrum, the Sierra/LucasArts divide is a false dichotomy, and other possibilities exist - like Simon the Sorcerer, Discworld, and Broken Sword, all fondly remembered series with their own spin on the genre. The last of those, in particular, while not wholly lacking a sense of humour, stood out from the crowd by taking itself a little more seriously than any of the others. At times it came across a little melodramatic, and I was never as fully engrossed in the adventures of George Broussard as I had been by those of Guybrush Threepwood, but I enjoyed them enough to finish both of the first two games in the series. Anyway, before they got to Broken Sword, the company behind it - Revolution Games - released a little game by the name of Beneath a Steel Sky for the Amiga, receiving considerable acclaim at the time.

I’d never played it before I started playing through old popular games, in a similar way to Syndicate, with which it shares a dystopian cyberpunk aesthetic and little else. Beneath a Steel Sky, as it turns out, is something of a minor classic. And humour is certainly a key component - like Broken Sword, the game doesn’t have the kind of self-referential knowing winks that characterise the likes of Monkey Island, but that doesn’t stop it from having moments of hilarity.

There is a specific moment in the game that I think best exemplifies this - a moment where I literally threw a literal spanner into the works of one of the machines that power the all-powerful and evil corporation that governs the world of Beneath a Steel Sky, halting a conveyor belt transporting pipes through a factory. See, there’s a man named Potts in this factory, whose job it is to inspect the pipes that come past on the production line and ensure that they are up to standard, and his response to this obvious act of sabotage is to pretend he hasn’t noticed. His job, he reasons, is to inspect the pipes that come past, nothing more. If the pipes suddenly stop coming past, it’s not his job to investigate why, so he will simply stand and wait for pipes, thus, technically, continuing to fulfill his duty to inspect every pipe that comes past him.

Douglas Adams was an influence on LucasArts and even worked with them on Labyrinth, but Beneath a Steel Sky nails its colours even more squarely to the mast of his style of humour, making petty and small-minded bureaucracy the butt of all its best jokes. This comparison is helped along even further on the CD version by the rather idiosyncratic choice to have all of its characters save protagonist Robert Foster and his robot sidekick Joey talk in a variety of regional British accents, despite the game being explicitly set in a future Australia. But it’s the biting cynicism and quiet fury at utterly pointless injustices that Beneath a Steel Sky really shares with his work.

The lovely moment I described comes shortly after you meet Potts’ boss, Gilbert Lamb, a pompous, self-important bully who dresses like a football manager and unironically says things like “Don’t you know who I am?”. Lamb is introduced in a scene where he berates another employee, Anita, for the crime of making conversation with Foster instead of conducting her tedious and seemingly pointless work in dead silence, and punishes her by making her work around radioactive materials without wearing any kind of protective equipment, because she is a ‘D-Linc’ and therefore has no rights in this world. Which, in its needlessly cruel and callous disregard for her well-being… hardly even feels like satire right now. Just the other day I was reading about how there is no safety warning tape on Tesla factory floors, because Elon Musk “doesn’t like the color yellow”. That’s the thing about the hypothetical futures of the cyberpunk dystopias of this era. There’s no way for any of them to be more horrifying than the actual future we are living in now.

The thing that Beneath a Steel Sky reiterates, time and time again, is that people living in cyberpunk dystopias are all too willing to look the other way as the grinding engines of oppression continue to crush lives into dust, so long as they personally aren’t the ones being crushed. Potts isn’t some hero of the people. He isn’t pretending not to notice the halt in the production line as an act of defiant rebellion. He just doesn’t care. And, more to the point, he is in the privileged position of being able to not care; he knows that as a white male (or ‘non D-Linc’ if you prefer) he can totally slack off with little more than a slap on the wrist. And it’s not just Potts - almost every character you meet throughout the game displays incredible indifference to the fact that they live in a nightmarish dystopia - not a lack of awareness, just a lack of resistance. Everyone you meet in the game, save for Anita - the one person directly in the firing line - is the same, with even Foster, your player avatar, not exempt. That’s the point. We are all complicit.

Gallup Amiga chart, Amiga Format, June 1994