#AI-powered bioengineering

[entrepreneurial1era]

Living Intelligence: The Fusion of AI, Biotechnology, and Sensors

How AI, Biotechnology, and Sensors Create Adaptive Living Systems

Introduction: A New Frontier in Living Intelligence Technology

In today’s era of rapid technological breakthroughs, the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and advanced sensor technology is giving rise to an extraordinary new paradigm known as Living Intelligence. This innovative fusion blurs the lines between biological systems and machines, creating adaptive, self-regulating systems that exhibit characteristics of living organisms.

Living intelligence systems have the potential to transform numerous fields from health monitoring and personalized medicine to environmental sensing and smart cities. By mimicking natural processes such as learning, adaptation, and self-healing, these technologies open doors to solutions that were previously unimaginable.

As this field evolves, it is poised to revolutionize how humans interact with technology, enabling smarter ecosystems that respond dynamically to their environment. For those interested in exploring the cutting edge of science and technology, living intelligence represents a thrilling frontier with vast potential.

To learn more about the intersection of biology and AI, explore research initiatives at the MIT Media Lab.

Understanding Living Intelligence: The Fusion of AI, Biotechnology, and Sensors

Living intelligence represents a cutting-edge integration of artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and advanced sensor technologies to create dynamic, responsive systems capable of perceiving, learning, and adapting in real time. Unlike traditional machines or static software programs, living intelligence systems embody characteristics commonly found in biological organisms including self-organization, evolutionary adaptation, and environmental responsiveness.

At the heart of living intelligence lies a powerful synergy between three core components:

AI’s data processing and machine learning capabilities: These enable the system to analyze vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and make informed decisions autonomously.

Biotechnology’s expertise in biological processes: This allows for the manipulation and integration of living cells or biomaterials into technological systems, enabling functionalities such as self-repair and growth.

Advanced sensor technology: High-precision sensors collect real-time data from the environment or living organisms, feeding information continuously to AI algorithms for rapid response.

This triad facilitates a seamless flow of information between biological and artificial elements, resulting in adaptive, efficient, and often autonomous systems that can operate in complex, dynamic environments. These systems have promising applications across healthcare, environmental monitoring, robotics, and beyond.

For an in-depth look at how living intelligence is shaping future technologies, check out this insightful overview from Nature Biotechnology.

The Role of AI in Living Intelligence: The Cognitive Engine of Adaptive Systems

Artificial Intelligence (AI) serves as the cognitive engine powering living intelligence systems. Leveraging advances in deep learning, neural networks, and machine learning algorithms, AI excels at pattern recognition, predictive analytics, and complex decision-making. When combined with biological inputs and continuous sensor data streams, AI can decode intricate biological signals and convert them into meaningful, actionable insights.

For instance, in healthcare technology, AI algorithms analyze data from wearable biosensors that track vital signs such as heart rate variability, glucose levels, or brain activity. This enables early detection of illnesses, stress markers, or other physiological changes, empowering proactive health management and personalized medicine.

In the field of precision agriculture, AI integrated with biosensors can monitor plant health at a molecular or cellular level, optimizing irrigation, nutrient delivery, and pest control to enhance crop yield while minimizing resource use promoting sustainable farming practices.

Beyond analysis, AI also drives continuous learning and adaptive behavior in living intelligence systems. These systems evolve in response to new environmental conditions and feedback, improving their performance autonomously over time mirroring the self-improving nature of living organisms.

For more on how AI transforms living intelligence and bio-integrated systems, explore resources from MIT Technology Review’s AI section.

Biotechnology: Bridging the Biological and Digital Worlds in Living Intelligence

Biotechnology serves as the critical bridge between biological systems and digital technologies, providing the tools and scientific understanding necessary to interface with living organisms at the molecular and cellular levels. Recent breakthroughs in synthetic biology, gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9, and advanced bioengineering have unlocked unprecedented opportunities to design and manipulate biological components that seamlessly communicate with AI systems and sensor networks.

A particularly exciting frontier is the emergence of biohybrid systems, innovative integrations of living cells or tissues with electronic circuits and robotic platforms. These biohybrids can perform sophisticated functions such as environmental sensing, biomedical diagnostics, and targeted drug delivery. For example, engineered bacteria equipped with nanoscale biosensors can detect pollutants or toxins in water sources and transmit real-time data through AI-driven networks. This capability facilitates rapid, precise environmental remediation and monitoring, crucial for addressing global ecological challenges.

Moreover, biotechnology enables the creation of advanced biosensors, which utilize biological molecules to detect a wide range of chemical, physical, and even emotional signals. These devices can continuously monitor critical health biomarkers, identify pathogens, and assess physiological states by analyzing hormone levels or other biochemical markers. The rich data collected by biosensors feed directly into AI algorithms, enhancing the ability to provide personalized healthcare, early disease detection, and adaptive treatment strategies.

For a deeper dive into how biotechnology is revolutionizing living intelligence and healthcare, check out the latest updates at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biotechnology Resources.

Sensors: The Eyes and Ears of Living Intelligence

Sensors play a pivotal role as the critical interface between biological systems and artificial intelligence, acting as the “eyes and ears” that capture detailed, real-time information about both the environment and internal biological states. Recent advances in sensor technology have led to the development of miniaturized, highly sensitive devices capable of detecting an extensive range of physical, chemical, and biological signals with exceptional accuracy and speed.

In the realm of healthcare, wearable sensors have revolutionized personalized medicine by continuously tracking vital signs such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels, body temperature, and even biochemical markers like glucose or hormone levels. This continuous data stream enables proactive health monitoring and early disease detection, improving patient outcomes and reducing hospital visits.

Environmental sensors also play a crucial role in living intelligence systems. These devices monitor parameters such as air quality, soil moisture, temperature, and pollutant levels, providing vital data for environmental conservation and sustainable agriculture. By integrating sensor data with AI analytics, stakeholders can make informed decisions that protect ecosystems and optimize resource management.

What sets sensors in living intelligence apart is their ability to participate in real-time feedback loops. Instead of merely collecting data, these sensors work in tandem with AI algorithms to create autonomous systems that dynamically respond to changes. For example, in smart agricultural setups, sensors detecting dry soil can trigger AI-driven irrigation systems to activate precisely when needed, conserving water and maximizing crop yield. Similarly, in healthcare, sensor data can prompt AI systems to adjust medication dosages or alert medical professionals to potential emergencies immediately.

Together, these advanced sensors and AI create living intelligence systems capable of self-regulation, adaptation, and continuous learning bringing us closer to a future where technology and biology co-evolve harmoniously.

For more insights into cutting-edge sensor technologies, explore the resources provided by the IEEE Sensors Council.

Applications and Impact of Living Intelligence

The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and advanced sensor technology in living intelligence is already revolutionizing a wide array of industries. This innovative fusion is driving transformative change by enabling smarter, adaptive systems that closely mimic biological processes and enhance human capabilities.

Healthcare: Personalized and Predictive Medicine

Living intelligence is accelerating the shift toward personalized medicine, where treatments are tailored to individual patients’ unique biological profiles. Implantable biosensors combined with AI algorithms continuously monitor vital health metrics and biochemical markers, enabling early detection of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and even cancer. These systems facilitate real-time medication adjustments and proactive management of chronic illnesses, reducing hospital visits and improving quality of life. For example, AI-powered glucose monitors can automatically regulate insulin delivery, empowering diabetic patients with better control. Learn more about AI in healthcare at NIH’s Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.

Environmental Management: Smart and Sustainable Ecosystems

Living intelligence is reshaping environmental monitoring and management by creating smart ecosystems. Biosensors deployed in natural habitats detect pollutants, chemical changes, and climate variations, feeding real-time data to AI models that analyze trends and predict ecological risks. Automated bioremediation systems and adaptive irrigation solutions respond dynamically to environmental cues, enhancing sustainability and reducing human intervention. This approach helps combat pollution, conserve water, and protect biodiversity in an increasingly fragile environment. Discover innovations in environmental sensing at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Agriculture: Precision Farming and Resource Optimization

Precision agriculture leverages living intelligence to maximize crop yields while minimizing environmental impact. By integrating soil biosensors, climate data, and AI-driven analytics, farmers can optimize water usage, fertilization, and pest control with pinpoint accuracy. This results in healthier crops, reduced chemical runoff, and more efficient use of natural resources. For instance, AI-powered drones equipped with sensors monitor plant health at the molecular level, allowing targeted interventions that save costs and boost productivity. Explore advancements in smart farming at FAO - Precision Agriculture.

Wearable Technology: Beyond Fitness Tracking

Wearable devices enhanced by living intelligence go far beyond step counting and heart rate monitoring. These advanced wearables assess mental health indicators, stress responses, and neurological conditions through continuous biometric sensing and AI analysis. This opens new frontiers in early diagnosis, personalized therapy, and wellness optimization. For example, AI-driven wearables can detect signs of anxiety or depression by analyzing hormone fluctuations and physiological patterns, enabling timely interventions. Check out the latest in wearable health tech from Wearable Technologies.

Robotics and Biohybrids: Adaptive and Responsive Machines

Living intelligence is paving the way for biohybrid robots machines integrated with living cells or bioengineered tissues. These robots combine the flexibility and self-healing properties of biological material with the precision of robotics, enabling them to perform delicate medical procedures, intricate manufacturing tasks, or exploration in unpredictable environments. Such systems adapt dynamically to changes, enhancing efficiency and safety in sectors like surgery, pharmaceuticals, and space missions. Learn about biohybrid robotics at MIT’s Biohybrid Robotics Lab.

Ethical and Social Considerations in Living Intelligence

As living intelligence technologies increasingly merge biological systems with artificial intelligence and sensor networks, they raise profound ethical and social questions that demand careful reflection. This emerging frontier blurs the boundaries between living organisms and machines, requiring a responsible approach to development and deployment.

Manipulation of Biological Materials

Advances in synthetic biology, gene editing (such as CRISPR), and biohybrid systems enable unprecedented manipulation of living cells and tissues. While these innovations hold tremendous promise, they also provoke concerns about unintended consequences, such as ecological disruption or irreversible genetic changes. Ethical frameworks must guide the use of biotechnology to prevent misuse and ensure safety. Learn about gene editing ethics from the National Human Genome Research Institute.

Data Privacy and Genetic Information Security

Living intelligence systems often rely on vast amounts of biometric data and genetic information, raising critical questions about data privacy and consent. Protecting sensitive health data from breaches or misuse is paramount, especially as AI-driven analytics become more powerful. Regulatory compliance with standards like HIPAA and GDPR is essential, alongside transparent data governance policies. Public trust hinges on safeguarding individual rights while enabling technological progress. Explore data privacy regulations at the European Data Protection Board.

Environmental and Ecological Impact

The integration of living intelligence into ecosystems carries risks of ecological imbalance. Introducing engineered organisms or biohybrid devices into natural environments may have unpredictable effects on biodiversity and ecosystem health. Continuous environmental monitoring and impact assessments are necessary to mitigate potential harm and ensure sustainability. See more on ecological risk management at the United Nations Environment Programme.

Transparency, Regulation, and Public Engagement

Responsible innovation in living intelligence requires transparent communication about the technology’s capabilities, risks, and benefits. Governments, industry stakeholders, and researchers must collaborate to establish clear regulatory frameworks that promote ethical standards and accountability. Equally important is engaging the public in meaningful dialogue to address societal concerns, build trust, and guide policymaking. For insights into ethical AI governance, visit the AI Ethics Guidelines by OECD.

By proactively addressing these ethical and social dimensions, society can harness the transformative power of living intelligence while safeguarding human dignity, privacy, and the environment. This balanced approach is essential for building a future where technology and biology coexist harmoniously and ethically.

The Road Ahead: Toward a Symbiotic Future

Living intelligence opens the door to a symbiotic future where humans, machines, and biological systems do more than just coexist; they collaborate seamlessly to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. This emerging paradigm holds the promise of revolutionizing fields such as personalized healthcare, by enabling continuous health monitoring and adaptive treatments tailored to individual needs. It also paves the way for environmental resilience, with biohybrid sensors and AI-driven ecosystems working in tandem to monitor and protect our planet in real time.

Innovative applications will extend into agriculture, smart cities, and robotics, creating technologies that not only perform tasks but also learn, evolve, and respond to their environments autonomously. However, realizing this transformative potential hinges on sustained interdisciplinary research, development of robust ethical guidelines, and ensuring equitable access to these advanced technologies across communities and countries.

As AI, biotechnology, and sensor technologies become ever more intertwined, living intelligence will redefine how we interact with the natural and digital worlds, unlocking new potentials that once belonged only in the realm of science fiction.

Conclusion: Embracing the Future of Living Intelligence

The fusion of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and sensor technologies marks the beginning of an exciting new era, one where the boundaries between living organisms and machines blur to create intelligent, adaptive systems. Living intelligence promises to improve healthcare, enhance environmental stewardship, and drive technological innovation that benefits all of humanity.

To navigate this future responsibly, it is essential to balance innovation with ethical considerations, transparency, and collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and society at large. By doing so, we can ensure that living intelligence becomes a force for good, empowering individuals and communities worldwide.

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FAQs

What is Living Intelligence in technology? Living Intelligence refers to systems where artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and sensors merge to create responsive, adaptive, and autonomous environments. These systems behave almost like living organisms collecting biological data, analyzing it in real-time, and making decisions or adjustments without human input. Examples include smart implants that adjust medication doses, bio-hybrid robots that respond to environmental stimuli, or AI-driven ecosystems monitoring human health. The goal is to mimic natural intelligence using technology that senses, thinks, and evolves enabling next-generation applications in healthcare, agriculture, environmental science, and more.

How do AI, biotechnology, and sensors work together in Living Intelligence? In Living Intelligence, sensors collect biological or environmental data (like heart rate, chemical levels, or temperature). This data is sent to AI algorithms that analyze it instantly, recognizing patterns or abnormalities. Biotechnology then acts on these insights, often in the form of engineered biological systems, implants, or drug delivery systems. For example, a biosensor may detect dehydration, the AI recommended fluid intake, and a biotech implant responds accordingly. This fusion enables systems to adapt, learn, and respond in ways that closely resemble living organisms bringing a dynamic edge to digital health and bioengineering.

What are real-world examples of Living Intelligence? Examples include smart insulin pumps that monitor blood glucose and adjust doses automatically, AI-enhanced prosthetics that respond to muscle signals, and biosensors embedded in clothing to track health metrics. In agriculture, Living Intelligence powers systems that detect soil nutrient levels and deploy micro-doses of fertilizer. In environmental monitoring, bio-sensing drones track pollution levels and AI predicts ecological shifts. These innovations blur the line between machine and organism, offering intelligent, autonomous responses to biological or environmental conditions often improving speed, precision, and personalization in critical fields.

What role does biotechnology play in Living Intelligence? Biotechnology serves as the biological interface in Living Intelligence. It enables machines and sensors to interact with living tissues, cells, and molecules. From genetically engineered cells that react to pollutants to biocompatible implants that communicate with neural pathways, biotechnology helps translate biological signals into data AI can process and vice versa. This allows for precision treatments, early disease detection, and real-time bodily monitoring. In essence, biotechnology enables machines to "speak the language" of life, forming the bridge between human biology and machine intelligence.

Are Living Intelligence systems safe for human use? When properly developed, Living Intelligence systems can be safe and even enhance health and safety. Regulatory oversight, clinical testing, and ethical review are essential before human deployment. Implants or biotech sensors must be biocompatible, AI must avoid bias or misinterpretation, and data must be securely encrypted. Most systems are designed with safety protocols like auto-shutdown, alert escalation, or user override. However, because these technologies are still evolving, long-term effects and ethical considerations (like autonomy, data privacy, and human enhancement) continue to be actively explored.

How is Living Intelligence transforming healthcare? Living Intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare by making it predictive, personalized, and proactive. Wearable biosensors track vitals in real time, AI analyzes this data to detect early signs of illness, and biotech systems deliver treatments exactly when and where needed. This reduces hospital visits, speeds up diagnosis, and enables preventative care. For example, cancer detection can happen earlier through bio-integrated diagnostics, while chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease can be managed more effectively with adaptive, AI-guided interventions. The result: longer lifespans, better quality of life, and lower healthcare costs.

Can Living Intelligence be used outside of healthcare? Yes, Living Intelligence extends far beyond healthcare. In agriculture, it enables smart farming with biosensors that detect soil health and AI that regulates water or nutrient delivery. In environmental science, it’s used in biohybrid sensors to monitor air or water pollution. In wearable tech, it powers personalized fitness and stress management tools. Even in space exploration, researchers are exploring AI-biotech hybrids for autonomous life support. Wherever biology meets decision-making, Living Intelligence can optimize systems by mimicking the adaptability and efficiency of living organisms.

How do biosensors contribute to Living Intelligence? Biosensors are the input channels for Living Intelligence. These tiny devices detect biological signals such as glucose levels, hormone changes, or toxins and convert them into digital data. Advanced biosensors can operate inside the body or in wearable devices, often transmitting data continuously. AI then interprets these signals, and biotech components act accordingly (e.g., drug release, alerting doctors, or environmental controls). Biosensors allow for non-invasive, real-time monitoring and make it possible for machines to understand and react to living systems with remarkable precision.

What are the ethical concerns surrounding Living Intelligence? Key ethical concerns include data privacy, human autonomy, and biological manipulation. When AI monitors health or biology, who owns the data? Can systems make decisions that override human will like stopping medication or triggering an alert? Additionally, biotech integration raises concerns about altering natural biology or creating bioengineered entities. Transparency, informed consent, and regulation are vital to ensure these technologies serve humanity without exploitation. As Living Intelligence evolves, policymakers and technologists must collaborate to align innovation with ethical standards.

What does the future hold for Living Intelligence? The future of Living Intelligence is incredibly promising. We’ll likely see cyborg-like medical devices, fully autonomous bio-monitoring ecosystems, and AI-driven drug synthesis tailored to your DNA. Smart cities may use biosensors in public spaces to track environmental health. Even brain-computer interfaces could become more common, powered by AI and biological sensors. Over time, machines won’t just compute, they'll sense, adapt, and evolve, making technology indistinguishable from life itself. The challenge ahead is not just building these systems but ensuring they remain ethical, secure, and beneficial for all.

[sunarryn]

Dp X Marvel #6

They called him Wraith.

Not Phantom. Not Fenton. Not Danny. Those names belonged to a ghost of a boy that never made it out of a cold, steel lab buried beneath the earth—forgotten by the world, forsaken by the stars. Wraith was something else. A project. A weapon. An experiment that should have failed but didn’t. The product of every nightmare HYDRA ever dared to dream. Not even the Red Room could engineer something so devastating. Not even Arnim Zola’s data-crazed AI mind could fathom the scope of him. Even the Winter Soldier—their perfect killer—trembled at the mere scent of Wraith in the air. He was the one he whispered about when the old ghosts came clawing through his fractured memories. “The one they locked away. The one even I wasn’t allowed to see.”

They started with the basics: a perfected version of the Super Soldier Serum. Not the knockoffs that littered the black market. Not the diluted trash the Flag Smashers used. No, this was the pure, concentrated essence of bioengineered physical supremacy. It made him fast. Strong. Deadly. But that wasn’t enough. HYDRA didn’t want a man—they wanted a god.

They replaced his bones with vibranium, stolen from the very heart of Wakanda in a mission so secret even the Dora Milaje never learned of it. His skeleton was a lightweight fortress, a perfect balance between flexibility and unbreakability. He could be shot point-blank with an anti-tank rifle and not flinch. He could leap from ten thousand feet and land without cracking a toe. His spine alone was stronger than most armored vehicles.

They burned out his organs, one by one, replacing them with biochemical synth-constructs, living machines that pulsed with a power that didn’t belong in the realm of science. His lungs filtered radiation. His kidneys could process raw acid. His stomach could digest metal. Disease didn’t touch him. Poisons turned inert inside him. He didn’t age. He didn’t sleep. He didn’t need to.

His blood… wasn’t blood. It shimmered when it moved. Viscous and luminous, like glowing starlight mixed with oil. Warm, but synthetic. Slick, but alive. It wasn’t just Extremis. It wasn’t just ectoplasm. It was something else entirely. Something that hummed when it moved, that responded to emotion, that sparked with eldritch light when he was angry. It healed him before injury even registered. It whispered to him in languages he never learned but somehow knew. It could ignite with a thought and turn his veins into conduits of fire and ice and terror. They bled him once, just to see what would happen. The blood ate through the floor, hissed like a serpent, and disappeared through the cracks. The lab tech who performed the procedure dissolved within thirty seconds.

And then there was his skin. It was soft, warm, perfectly human. If you touched him, he felt like a boy in his late teens—young, firm, deceptively fragile. But beneath that flawless layer of polymer-fused dermal tissue was something that didn’t burn, didn’t freeze, didn’t shatter. He walked through fire. He dove into the Mariana Trench. He stood unflinching beneath arctic storms and tropical cyclones. He once fought a vibranium-clawed assassin barehanded and didn’t bleed. The assassin didn’t survive.

But the worst part—what made him truly unkillable—was his heart and his brain.

They didn’t understand what they’d done. HYDRA liked to pretend they were gods, but even gods get scared when they tamper with forces they don’t understand. His heart wasn’t just a pump anymore—it was a fusion of quantum mechanics, biomechanical tubing, and something that throbbed with ectoplasmic radiation. It pulsed at its own rhythm, immune to external manipulation. It couldn’t be stopped. You could shoot him in the chest, burn him to ash, decapitate him—and the heart would keep beating. Worse, it could restart him.

The brain was worse. They hadn’t just enhanced his intelligence. They hadn’t just implanted neural tech and a language matrix and memories from assassins, soldiers, pilots, hackers, spies. No. They’d opened a door in his mind. They’d let something in. Something ancient. Something not from this world. Something not even from this dimension. It whispered to him when the moon was full. It guided his hands during missions. It told him where to strike, who to kill, what to become. Sometimes he heard it laughing.

Sometimes he laughed with it.

Wraith was the culmination of every evil science, every secret experiment, every whispered nightmare stitched together into a boy-shaped thing that wore a black suit and a bored expression and had a voice so calm it made seasoned killers nervous. He could walk into a room, look at you with those sky-blue eyes, and make your heart stop—because something about him was wrong. Not obviously wrong. Not monstrous or alien or robotic. No. It was subtle. A slowness to his smile. A tilt to his head. A precision to his movements that screamed in the back of your brain: This isn’t human. This is pretending to be human.

He escaped, of course. Nothing like him could be contained forever. The facility was a ruin within minutes. Bodies left stacked like cordwood. Walls melted. Floors cracked open. Not even the cameras could capture his escape—the footage was corrupted by a static that made your teeth ache and your eyes bleed. Every hard drive in the facility burned itself from the inside out. There was no trace of the boy they once called Danny Fenton.

Now, there are sightings. Rumors. Whispers. In Madripoor, they say he took down a cartel by himself, and the sky turned green when he screamed. In New York, people say he walked past the Sanctum Sanctorum and Doctor Strange flinched like he’d seen death. Wakandan scouts report strange readings near vibranium deposits—heat signatures that vanish into thin air. S.H.I.E.L.D. has classified him as an Omega-level threat.

The Winter Soldier? He saw him once. In an alley in Prague. Wraith didn’t attack. Didn’t speak. Just stared at him with those glacial eyes before disappearing in a flicker of light that bent reality itself. He didn’t sleep for three days after. When asked what was wrong, he just whispered, “They built something worse than me. And it remembers everything.”

Maybe there’s still a boy inside him, buried under steel and fire and ectoplasm and pain. Maybe that boy is screaming. Maybe he’s plotting. Maybe he’s just waiting. After all, you don’t build something like Wraith and expect him to stay still. You don’t break a boy into a god and expect him to forget.

[giuliettagaltieri]

Project: Galatea

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x AI!reader

Synopsis: Allowing you sentiency made things more complicated between you and Miguel. But Peter Parker from Earth-199999 decides to take on an unfinished impossible project of his late mentor, and possibly bring you and Miguel back together.

Warning: Questionable nerd writing, spiderverse context, angst

Word Count: 6218

1 of 3

You are one of Miguel O’Hara’s greatest regrets. 

You were created as an artificially intelligent system and with the advancements brought by the time Miguel created you, he was able to make you connect, bond, and feel.  He was lax with your restrictions.  Thinking of you as a companion than a holographic computer system.

He gave you a name that is not patterned to your system, it was just a name he gave you as he thought it suited your features that was just generated by the programming.  He wanted your appearance to be something that is yours, and not something that he created based on what he preferred.

You usually sat on Miguel’s shoulders before he even became Spiderman, working as a bioengineer at Alchemax.  He knows it’s late when you start yawning and you lean on him for a nap, kind of like how someone would put their phone on a power saving mode.

“Miggy, let’s sleep?”  You often say as you plop yourself atop his hair.

He just chuckles as he works on his suit, getting tired of the easily ripped fabric of his previous gear, he decided to create one that is made of unstable molecules.  “You can go offline.  I’ll have to finish this.”

“’M not sleeping if you’re staying up.”  You huff.  “Come on, you can work on that tomorrow.”  You fly in front of him and cross your arms.

He notes how your halo is a bit dimmer.  “Alright.”  He often wondered if you can really get sleepy.  You are created through codes and though it is evident that you can have emotions, you can’t possess qualities the same as a real person would.

Your wings flutter excitedly as you flap them so you can perch yourself back on his head.

It was a little inside joke between you.  You are the rational voice when he is about to do something stupid.  An angel on his shoulder.  Your sudden appearance would often startle his enemies and wonder what the fuck you are and you would simply smile, point at Miguel and say, “I’m his conscience.” 

Your halo and wings often glowed in the softest hue of pink and white.  Their hue depends on your mood.

Miguel yawns as he enters his bathroom.  You shriek and shield your eyes when he lifts his shirt up to strip.

“You pervert!”  You stomp your heel on his forehead and even though he can’t feel it, your annoyance was enough to amuse him, Miguel’s laugh was muffled by his toothbrush. 

You often sit on the faucet as you wait for him to finish his shower.

“What does a shower feel like?”  You muse, your chin resting on your hand while your elbow is perched on your thigh.

“Uh…wet?”

You roll your eyes at his response.  You look away from him when he comes out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist.

“It’s refreshing, I guess.”  Miguel shrugs as he scoops your light projected body on his large hand.

Your tiny hands hold his thumb for balance, not that you need it but you felt the need to anyway.

“Go offline now, firefly.  See you in the morning.”

“Don’t forget to buy groceries tomorrow.”  You say before flickering.  “Goodnight, Miggy.”  And you disappear.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”  He smiles.

On Sundays, you both share lazy mornings.  He would often walk around his apartment in nothing but his boxers and you eventually get used to it.  You would sit on his shoulders as he attempted to cook for himself.

“No, it should be three tablespoons of soy sauce, not teaspoons.”  You would correct him every now and then and he would just switch the utensil, knowing that you have unlimited access to the recipes online.

You would lie on your stomach on the throw pillow he would put on his lap as you watched a movie.  “She easily could have transferred the data and he won’t have to go through all that.”  You would comment now and then as your tiny feet sway in the air.  “But that’s fine, I guess, he looks hot fighting the bad guys.”

Miguel would jostle the pillow and you would dramatically roll as you struggled not to fall off, it was probably because of the spatial awareness he gave you.

You would often sulk when he goes on dates.  Not responding when he asks you how to tie the piece of fabric that should be his tie.  He often found you sitting on top of the bookshelf, your knees tucked to your chest as you drew shapes on the dust covered surface, the shapes not really being made, reminding you that you are only a projection, a hologram, an artificial being, someone who can’t be with Miguel.

“Oh, come one, firefly.”  Miguel would sigh as he watched the soft glow behind the books.  “It’s only a date.”  But you don’t reply.

When he comes home, earlier than he should have been, he’s a little disappointed when you don’t greet him. 

“Y/N?  Where are you?”  He calls as he looks around his apartment.  His hands are already loosening his tie.  “Come on, I didn’t even kiss her.”

Miguel chuckles lightly as he sees your head pop out from behind the picture frame containing a silly photo of the two of you.  “You didn’t?”  You ask.

“Nah, her breath stinks of onions.”  Miguel throws his coat on the sofa and he collapses next to it.

You giggle and you fly to him, landing on his chest, laying down on your stomach once more as your hands support your cheeks.  “Yeah?  You didn’t like her?”  You ask a little excitedly.

Miguel shakes his head as he keeps his eyes on you.  He smiles when you cheer out of happiness.

He would also have fun watching you play dress up in front of his holographic tablet.  He’s in his bed, just lounging and you’re on his abdomen, swiping the screen to find a new dress to wear.  Miguel glances at the clock on his nightstand.  You’ve been at it for hours.

“I like this one, what do you think, Miggy?”

The man turns to look at you, only for his spit to go down the wrong tube, making him hack.  “What the hell is that?”

You look at the white skin tight dress that covers your tiny holographic body.  “A dress?”

Miguel frowns at you.  “Says who?”

A cute brow is raised at him.  “Calvin Klein.”

He clicks his tongue.  “It looks like underwear.  The fuck would you choose such an old brand for?”

You scoff and continue to scroll to look for something else.  “It’s a classic.”

“Well, I don’t like it.”

Then it happens one day.

You are helping Miguel battle Mysterio when he meets her.  He caught her just before she fell to her death.

Next thing you knew, they were going on dates. 

“Yeah, I know.  I’ll deal with the symbiote sighting tomorrow evening.”  He says hurriedly as he makes his way to his front door but you land on the doorknob and you look at him angrily.

“You can’t choose a girl over an entire city!”  You say sternly as you place your hands on your hips.

Miguel raises a brow and smirks down at you.  “What an exaggeration.  Are you jealous?”

Your frown deepens.  “Miguel, you can’t seriously go on a date when Carnage is at large!”

He straightens up and looks at you, annoyed.  “If I wear the mask all the time, I’ll go mad.  Just let me be Miguel O’Hara for tonight.”

Miguel does not return to his apartment that night.

And you don’t respond to his calls for a week. 

“You’re such an inconvenience, Y/N.”  He quips.  “I made you so you can help me with my work.”  He says as he looks around for the villain that was wreaking havoc in the city.  “Stop sulking and do your job!”

You would reluctantly pop out and help him, only speaking when needed, giving him the information that he needs and nothing more.

It was difficult for you to watch Miguel slowly fall in love with her, and even more so when he loses her.

He became sad and angry, very angry.

“Miguel?  You need to rest.”  You say softly as you watch him perfecting an experiment.  You peer on his work and your eyes widen when you see a powerful focused energy hovering on Miguel’s work table.

You immediately fly to his face.  “Are you mad?  Do you realize what you are doing?”  He turns to the other screen but you follow him around.  “You can’t tamper with time and space like that.”

All lights suddenly go off and Miguel exhales deeply through his nose, his eyes full of rage as he glares at you.  “Power it back on.”  His voice is low and it was the first time you have ever felt fear because of him but you stand your ground.

The man does not falter with his disapproving look on you but you refuse to power his computers back to life.  You won’t just stand around and let him interfere with the natural order.

“My name is Miguel O’Hara and I am authorizing a shutdown sequence.”  He says and you frantically look around as a bright red screen flashes behind you.

“Miguel, don’t do this!”  You cry to him, your eyes begging as you press your tiny hands on his cheeks but his eyes remain cold as he stares at the screen.

“Commence shut down of the Intelligent Digital Assistance System.  Project name: Galatea.”  Miguel looks at your pleading eyes.  “For good.”

He watches your eyes fill with sadness before your form flickers just like how it used to whenever you whisper ‘Goodnight.’  And he watches the pixelated tear roll down your cheek before you disintegrate into a million tiny pieces.

The events that followed after his decisions of tampering with the fragility of the multiverse was his punishment. 

There was no undoing it all.

He wished he just listened to you when you tried to stop him.  It wouldn’t have come to all of this.

Now, he dedicates his life to protecting what else is left.  Trying to keep the multiverse intact to prevent the same mistake from happening.

And Lyrate Lifeform Approximation was created, or Lyla. 

Miguel made her different from you.  Lyla is created to be more objective, more functional, with just a right amount of spunk for a bit of personality.

The Spider Society was then formed.  A strike force dedicated to keep the multiverse from tearing apart.

In there, he found a sense of sympathy.  The people in there suffered just like him.  A lot of spider-people were in pain.  But not all of them knew how to follow orders.  Not thinking about the consequences of their actions.  Never willing to sacrifice a portion of themselves for the greater good.

Like Miles Morales.

Or Peter Parker of Earth-199999.

They both came around eventually, after a couple or more heart attacks from Miguel.

Peter Parker was trying to learn from Spider-Byte and how future tech works.  He was given a specific holographic screen in the corner and he’s been trying to pick it apart for hours. 

“Wow, Ned’s not gonna believe this.”  He whispers as his eyes dart from one file to the other, being connected like faint orange lines.

“Hold on, what’s this?”  Peter mumbles as he taps on a tiny file that is placed separate, somewhere isolated, forgotten.

“Can I?”  Peter scratches his jaw.  “Should I?”  He shrugs before opening the file.  He rolls his chair backward as the tiny file explodes to the most intricate coding he has ever seen.  He saw something like this before.  When he studied Tony’s AIs.  Or at least what was left of them.

He clicks on a file, one of the millions.  A large ‘RESTRICTED’ was flashed on the screen in bold red letters.  He tries again and the same word is flashed.  He tries again and again until he sees Miguel O’Hara himself in front of a mirror and a miniature angel on Miguel’s hand.

“You like it?”  Miguel asked.

The holographic angel nods excitedly, pure joy evident in her eyes.  She twirls around in front of the mirror, inspecting her wings and adoring her tiny halo.

“Miggy, it’s perfect!”  You fly up to kiss his cheek.  The connection between you was impossible to miss.

And the screen goes blank.

“Are you kidding me?”  Peter grasps his hair as he jumps around in excitement.  Peter squints his eyes to read the file name.  “Galatea.”

“Greek mythology Galatea?”  Spider-Byte wonders behind Peter.

Peter flinches, his sidersense clouded with the amount of enthusiasm being contained in his body.  “I-I don’t know.  I don’t know yet.  It’s-”

“That’s the file name of my older sister, Y/N.”  Lyla suddenly pops out between them.

“Lyla, you know her?”  Peter asks, not being able to hide his eagerness.  “Is she an AI like you?”

Spider-Byte and Peter look at her in anticipation.  “I’m not sure if I should talk about her.”  She looks skeptical before she breaks into a wide grin.  “Well, there’s no order for me not to so I suppose I can.”

Two sets of eyes follow Lyla around as she glitches towards Peter’s screen and she pops up a photo of you sitting on Miguel’s head as the two of you wore similar aviators. 

“She’s Miguel’s first AI companion.  Way before the Spider Society was even created, before he was even Spiderman, I think.”  Lyla rubs her chin as she opens her own tiny screens.  “Though, I’m not sure.  Miguel replays their videos together in the dark when he thinks he’s alone but I can’t really find most of her files.”

“It was compressed there.”  Peter points at the screen, trying not to get distracted from what Lyla just told them.  “Did she get corrupted by a virus?”  His thoughts wandered to the articles he read about Ultron.

“No.  She uhm.”  The small screen Lyla created vanished, making her glowing face look a bit dimmer.  “Her program was shut down.”

Spider-Byte glanced at the screen that has you and Miguel in it.  “Why shut down a working program?”

Lyla glances at your face on the screen.  “She was created differently.  More empathetic and subjective.  For some reason, she was sentient.”

Peter gawks at her and he shares a look with Spider-Byte.  “Was that even a possibility?”  Spider-Byte asks.

Shrugging, Lyla gives them a tight-lipped smile.  “Well, it happened, didn’t it?”

“She was sentient but she was shut down?”  Peter asks incredulously.  “Did she go rogue or something?”

Lyla shakes her head no.  “She was the total embodiment of those wings and halo.”

“Then why was her program shut down?”  Peter asked, his face twisted in pure confusion and disbelief.

Lyla doesn’t respond and turns to your picture with Miguel and your matching smiles.

Spider-Byte sighs.  “They got too attached, didn’t they?  Her and Miguel?”

Peter frowns at her question but remembers Wanda and Vision J.A.R.V.I.S. 

An impossible idea pops in Peter’s head.  It’s irrational, risky, and impulsive but those are just some of the qualities Peter got from his mentor.

“Do you think Miguel would give her codes to me?”  Peter blurts.

Lyla and Spider-Byte looks at him as if he just asked if he could go break a canon.

“Absolutely not.”  Was Miguel’s response to Peter when he finally asked the bigboss for your codes. 

Peter curses under his breath.  He even had to ask MJ and Ned to help him create a presentation as to why Miguel should give your codes to him.

 “Oh, come on.  I rehearsed that speech for a week!”

“She holds classified information.  I can’t just give a copy of her to you.”  Miguel says as he taps on his holographic screen.

“Not a copy.  The original code.”  Peter says more seriously.  “Protocols and memory.”

Miguel pauses and glowers at Peter from his shoulders.  The look was enough to make Peter second guess himself but his resolve comes back, stronger than ever.

“I’m trying to bring her back to you.”  Peter says loudly.

This catches Miguel’s attention and he turns to look at Peter from above the platform in his office.

“Elaborate.”  Miguel looks at Peter with a blank expression.

Peter pumps his fist secretly and clears his throat before speaking.

“I am currently studying bioorganics and I’m trying to complete an unfinished project of my mentor, Mr. Stark.  He created a synthetic body that is not made of vibranium but something that is made of organic materials.  You know, like a real person.” 

Miguel looks at the screen next to him which is flashing Peter’s proposal.  “And you want Y/N to bring life to that thing?”

“Well, it won’t be easy without the mind stone but I heard she’s quite sentient.”  Peter explains while gesturing with his hand way too much, clearly nervous.  “That is also assuming that her operational matrix adapts to the organic body.”

“What if you fail?  I’ll lose all her data.”  Miguel says, a threatening tone clearly heard in his voice.

“Last time her file was opened was years ago.”  Peter quickly shut his mouth when Miguel throws him a dangerous look.  “What I’m trying to say is, this is a chance.  You could potentially see her again, this time, with a physical body.”

Miguel heaves a sigh and chooses to glare at the walls instead.

“I know something painful must have happened for you to shut down her program like that.  But it doesn’t feel right to trap a sentient being in a set of codes.”  Peter frowns at his feet and grumbles the next words.  “Come on man, I’m trying to give you a chance to apologize to her, face to face.”

Silence fills the entire room.

Peter is waiting for Miguel to yell again but he is taken aback when he looks up to see a defeated and longing look plastered on Miguel’s face.

“Just…”  Miguel pauses, it was difficult for him and Peter can see it.  “Don’t destroy her code.”

“Thank you, Mr. O’Hara.  You won’t regret it!”  He beams at Miguel.

“I sure hope not.”  Miguel turns to his screens to resume his work.  “And Mr. O’Hara was my father.  You can call me Miguel.”

Peter wasted no time and started working on the project right away when he got back to Earth-199999.

It was difficult, trying to follow Bruce and Tony’s work.  Especially when the body is more susceptible and reactive.  You even had the anatomy of a real person, inside and out.

The project was something that Peter cannot do on his own.  He needed his friends and MJ and Ned were more than willing to help.  Both were hesitant with the thought of literally bringing an AI to life, considering what happened before in Sokovia.  They did not know you, MJ and Ned, they were wary as they should be with all the risks they were about to make.

Peter had to turn your code upside down, in and out, trying to look for glitches or any malicious intent but found none.

The three of them are taken by surprise as to what your synthetic body could do.

It was MJ who noticed first.  You have a lymphatic system.

By next week, Ned finds out that you have a fully functional endocrine system.

There was always something in you that they discover for the first time when they delve deeper.  Which makes it difficult for them to make real progress.  Just as they thought they made a breakthrough, your synthetic body just shows another ability that blurs the line between you and humanity.

“You need to stop looking at her like a robot.”  Miguel tells him one day as Peter seeks any advice from him, considering that he did work in Alchemax as a bioengineer.  “Treat her like how you would treat a human.”

That was when Peter decided that just him and his friends can’t do it alone.  They were only college students!

This project calls for someone who has a doctorate in medicine and knows the human body like the back of their hand.

It was difficult for them to get Stephen Strange to have a look at the setbacks they encountered in your body.  But when given the right information and told what he wanted to hear, Stephen was already opening a portal to Peter’s dorm room.

“I’ll tell you what’s the problem.”  Stephen says.  “Some of her neurons are meeting in a terminal.  Electrical impulses can’t get through, causing circuit failures.”

Peter squints on the holographic screen that Stephen zoomed in.  “Yeah.  That’s where the mind stone is supposed to be.”

“But the AI has an awakened consciousness, she won’t be needing it.”  Stephen mutters more to himself.  “And the mind stone's already gone.”

Ned walks over to look at the screen, a cup of hot chocolate in his hands.  “But you’ll be able to redirect them, won’t you?”

Stephen does not respond, only staring intently at the holographic form of your shell.

MJ glances at the anxious look on Peter’s face as he awaits Stephen’s answer.  When silence still follows, MJ rolls her eyes.

“Don’t get your hopes up too much, Ned.”  She sighs, making Stephen narrow his eyes.  “There could be a thousand neu-”

“A trillion.”  Strange emphasizes.

“A trillion neurons to redirect.  He might be a neurosurgeon but he is not a miracle worker.”

Ned sucks in a breath and raises his cup to his lips and sips quietly, eyes wide, awaiting Stephen’s response.

Stephen suddenly rips off the sling ring and slips it somewhere in his robes.  Peter takes a step back, almost getting hit by Stephen dramatically taking off his cape.  “I’m about to become your deus ex machina.”

MJ snatches a piece of bread sitting on Peter’s dining table and takes a bite, sending a wink to Peter.

“Stark really outdid himself.”  Stephen marvels at your intricate anatomical structure.  “The shell does mimic the human body, the nerves, fiber, and vessels.”  Stephen squints at something and hums.  “But there’s the issue of physiology.”

Peter looks at the metallic casket and to Stephen.  “What about physiology?”

Stephen points at the left side of your pelvis.  “That’s an ovary.”  He drags his finger on the screen to point at the right side.  “There’s another one here.”

Peter could only look at Stephen.  Waiting for him to confirm what was running in Peter’s head.

Surely Tony did not think that far ahead to give you that ability.  That is ethically ambiguous.

“It is possible that it is not functional.”  Stephen rubs his jaw.  “Perhaps we could think of it as a vestigial organ for now.”

Peter simply nods, following Stephen as he zooms in on your lumbar spine.

“She has a functional endocrine system.”  Ned recalls, making Stephen whip towards him.  “I ran a noninvasive test and I detected traces of estrogen, progesterone, and FSH.”

Stephen runs a hand on his face.  “And hCG?”

Ned ponders for a moment.  “Yeah, human chorionic gonadotropin was also there.”

MJ clutches her bread a little too tight.  “She is capable of gestation?”  Her voice came out as a shaky whisper.

All eyes turn to Stephen who shakes his head.  “That is ridiculous!”  He chuckles dryly.  “That shouldn’t be possible.”  He stares at the holographic image of the synthetic shell.  “Was Stark trying to play God?”  His voice was starting to raise, his fist clenching.

“Whoa, I’m sure that’s not it.”  Peter raises a hand nervously as he gulps. 

Strange points at the casket.  “You realize you’ll be bringing a being to life that isn’t supposed to exist.” 

“She has a name!”  MJ interjects.

“You understand that you are overstepping your mortal bounds.”  Stephen continues.

Peter looks at Stephen, shocked.  “Please, sir!  I-I only want to finish this project for Mr. Stark.”  He points at your holographic body.  “And set her free from her digital prison.  We are about to give her a chance to live, like really live.”

Stephen glances at your metallic casket warily.

“She’s not a villain.”  Peter says more calmly.  “I checked her code a thousand times.”

Stephen shakes his head. 

“I can’t believe I’m about to take part in a project that is the peak of Stark’s god complex.”

Peter grins. 

The chance of meeting you does not seem so impossible anymore.

Miguel watches Peter Parker of Earth-199999 with a sharp glare. 

The “project” that the kid told him about has been going on for six months but he has been given zero updates regarding your progress.

His jaw tightens when he catches the kid stealing a glance at him from across the cafeteria in HQ before ducking his head again.

“Why don’t you go ask him what’s wrong?”  Peter B says blankly at Miguel as he stuffed his mouth with fries.  “Kid’s been doing that for the past hour.”

Miguel scoffs.  “If he has something to say, he will be the one to approach me.”

For the past months, Miguel has been dropping hints to Avenger Peter, the nickname seems to really make the kid happy so the entire Spider Society just rolled with it.  Miguel made sure to assign him on missions that might aid his project.  The kid can be dense sometimes in picking up indirect messages but Miguel does it anyway, almost sighing out a breath of relief when he watches Peter’s eyes glimmer with realization.

“Whope- Okay!  I gotta run.  See you around, Miguel.”  Peter B snatches his drink and clumsily leaves.

Miguel glares at the man’s retreating form before he hears his name being called.

“What?”  Miguel spits.

“Uh, is this a bad time?”

Miguel looks to his side and narrows his eyes at Avenger Peter.  Finally, he mustered the courage.

“What is it?”  Miguel straightens, his enormous arms crossing in his chest, looking a bit threatening.

 Peter looks at the empty seat in front of Miguel, he’s not sure if it’s rude to just sit there without being invited to but he does it anyway.

“It’s about Y/N.”  Peter whispers rather too loudly, basically defeating its purpose.

Miguel’s eyes flickered with fury, making Peter swallow harshly, trying to choose his words very carefully.

“I know I really took my time with the project but the good news is that we successfully transferred her code to the shell.”

Oftentimes, Miguel would pitch in sarcastic comments but he can feel the weight in Peter’s words that he finds himself closely listening, trying to take in every detail that Peter shares.

“We managed to synthesize her code and reprogrammed her synapses to sync and adapt to the body.”  Peter heaves a breath.  “But the thing is, we can’t get to wake her up.”

The crushing feeling of losing someone again was not easy for Miguel to ignore but he nodded at Peter’s words.

“Did you try amping the power source?”  Miguel suggests.

Peter nods slowly.  “Yes.  We tried from nuclear fission to the arc reactor.”  Peter leans back on the cafeteria bench, looking too nonchalant despite the shadiness of his words, Miguel won’t be surprised if one day he finds out that the kid’s locked up in prison for conducting mad experiments.  “I was thinking of contacting Thor but I really didn’t know how.”

Miguel masks the disappointment in his eyes with a stern look.  “Did you make sure that you got all her system matrix properly embedded in the body?”

“Definitely!”  Peter nods.  “It’s like she’s far away, dreaming.  She’s there but she’s also not.  Y/N’s shutting us out.”

A pindrop silence befalls them.

“What did you say?”  Miguel says sharply to Peter as he leans slightly forward.

The kid unconsciously leans backward.  “Y/N’s…shutting us out?”

It all clicks in Miguel’s head. 

“She needs me.”

Peter’s eyes widened at his bluntness.  “Huh?”

“I designed her program to only respond to me.  I shut off her system.  Of course.  Her protocol does not recognize you.”

Slowly, Peter catches up, his eyes widening in barely contained excitement.  “Is she programmed to activate upon voice command?”

Miguel rises to his feet, quickly making his way out of the cafeteria while Peter giddily follows, the largest smile plastered on his face.

“I’m certain I can get her to respond.”  Miguel mutters as he taps into his multiverse gizmo.

The familiar building up sound of the portal fills the air and soon enough a cluster of patterns and colors emerge right in front of them. 

With purpose in his steps, Miguel crosses the portal headed to Earth-199999, to you.

Peter’s room was nothing short of underwhelming compared to the building they just stepped out of but Miguel can see the traces of genius scattered around the room.

On top of a desk, piled notes for astrophysical physics.  Next to the kitchen sink, a perpetual motion machine that is made of the most tedious house materials.  In a corner, a phone is being charged and is hanging by the charger cord.

The lights suddenly power off, coating the room in darkness.  “I know you’re sensitive to lights.”  Peter shrugs, to which Miguel only nods.

“Stop right there!”

Miguel turns to see a girl threatening him with a piece of…toast?  And another kid who is doing a very poor karate stance.

“No, MJ, Ned.  It’s fine, he’s here to help Y/N.”  Peter raises his hands and steps in between Miguel and the other kids.

“Where is she?”  Miguel asks.

The kid trying to do the karate stance points to the corner of the room that is covered by a screen.

Miguel easily slips past them, he didn’t even have to try. 

He ignored the calls as his feet just led him to where you are.  He didn’t know what he should be expecting to see.  But he knew it wasn’t the metallic casket.

“She’s in there.”  Peter stands next to him.  “It’s powered enough and it should activate when you power her system on.”  Miguel can only nod at Peter’s words.  “We don’t have a hypothesis yet as to what would happen when she rises.  But we could probably expect that she would manifest signs similar to someone who just woke up from cryosleep.  Orthostatic hypotension could also be a possibility-”

Peter pauses when he feels MJ’s hand on his shoulder.  MJ nods to Miguel’s pained expression.

The time they spent on your project was enough to drive them nuts and they are dying to see you but looking at Miguel’s face, they know they might never fully understand the longing he feels.

Peter does not know what happened between you two but he can ask another day.  He watches how Miguel’s fingers carefully brush the metallic casket.  If Peter didn’t know better, he would have been greatly disturbed with the amount of vulnerability the man is showing.

“Well, we’re gonna step out for a bit as you wake her up.”  Peter says with a softer smile gracing his lips.  “And I really appreciate the hints you drop every now and then.”

MJ smiles at Peter and she interlaces their hands together.  Ned nods at the two and follows them out.

The soft footsteps soon fade and the sound of the door locking into place reaches Miguel’s ears.

A quiet buzzing was audible from the box that contained you.  It must have been the energy they tried to power you with.  But it was endearing to him in some way that only he could wake you.

There were only a few times where a man of such stature as Miguel O’Hara was brought to his knees.  This was one of them.  His knees hit the cheap fabric of the carpet and his weight bears on his skin.  Miguel lay his hand flat on the cool surface of the metallic box.  And he leans his forehead to it.

With his voice hoarse, he whispers your name.  He swallows the rest of the words.  He does not know why.  He cannot wait a second longer to see you but the fear grips him hard, just like how it did for years. 

It was a cruel terror but his desire to see your face again overpowers any fear.

“My name is Miguel O’Hara and I am authorizing a startup sequence.” 

Miguel grits his teeth when he does not hear the same beeping sounds that precedent your arrival.  His forehead creasing at the memory of you begging him not to lock you away.  He did not deserve you, not after what he did.  But Miguel O’Hara is a selfish man and he would stop at nothing to have you back.

“Commence booting of the Intelligent Digital Assistance System.  Project name: Galatea.”  He sucks in a breath, this time, meaning the next words with all honesty.  “For good.”

Silence has never been louder.  It clogged the room, suffocating him.

“Please, wake up.”  He brushes his lips on the freezing cold case.

A hiss is released by the contraption and Miguel’s eyes widen as he steps back to see you better.  But as more hissing sound came, vapor flooded the area where the metallic flaps were slowly opening.

Then a hand grasped on the opened flaps, then came distressed gasping.

“Y/N!”  Miguel didn’t know what he was doing, his body was acting on its own as he hopped inside the casket to help you sit up.

Your hair covers your face and Miguel reaches to brush them to the side, his large calloused hand rubs on your bare back to soothe you.  It felt unreal to finally have you in his grasp, hearing you, seeing you.

You whimper in pain when a particular cough rasped on your throat.

“Hey, take it easy.”  Miguel whispers as he crouches down so he can see you eye to eye.  “Breathe.”

And when you look up to him with your eyes heavy with exhaustion, Miguel halts his movements as he feels himself being caught up in a temporal illusion.

Time, space, everything felt irrelevant the moment your eyes met his.

“M-Miggy?”  You whisper.

Miguel breaks into a disbelieving smile.

He watches your moonlight bathed face contort to confusion.  You raise your delicate fingers, reaching out to his face but stopping just before your skin touches.  You hesitate, not sure if what you see before you is truly the man you loved.

The tips of your fingers brush on his cheek so softly, he almost doesn’t feel it and you let them run across his warm skin so you can cup his cheek.

Your chapped lips break to the smile he missed and loved so ardently.

He closes his eyes as he lets your fingers dance on his skin.  He holds in a breath when your fingertips smooth out the crease on his forehead and his much larger hand captures your wrist.

For so long, he wanted to apologize.  He did, countless of times, in the darkness and silence of his room, to a photo of you.  His apologies only floating in the air, unheard.

“What I did to you was wrong.  Everyday, I regret it.  I promised you happiness when I created your code but I upset you and I have no right to be hurting in the way that I am.  I was so stupid for shutting your system down when you were only looking out for me.”

The moonlight bathed you, making you glow, an ethereal sight to behold.

“I wasn’t ready to say goodbye when you shut down my program.”  You say as you place your hands on his shoulders.  “But there is nothing you can ever do to make me stay mad at you.” 

He was about to protest when you hushed him.

“I know.”  You smile at him tenderly.  “You don’t have to say anything else.  I know.”

Miguel could feel his chest tightening.  The complexity of the quantum physics, he has no trouble understanding, but what you do to him, he is easily lost.  “I don’t deserve you, firefly.”

You nod.  “No, you don’t.”  You yawn before flashing him a sleepy smile.  “But I’ll stay with you anyway.”

He chuckles, eyes boring into yours. 

You are as stubborn as he remembers you to be.

Your breath mixes together as you let yourselves draw to each other.

His arm slips to your waist, pulling you flush to him.

“Pervert, I’m not decent.”  You mumble against his lips.  “I have so many questions.”

“Save them for later.”  Miguel captures your lips in his.  You let out the deepest breath you have taken and you let him mold your lips together.  “I screwed up.”  He slots your bottom lip between his and he nibbles.  “But I could spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

You hum, amused.  “Are you sure about that?”  He kissed your shoulder.  “I can be quite a handful.”

The corner of Miguel’s lips tugs upwards.  “Believe me, I know.”

A teasing smile creeps on your lips and the half-lidded eyes that you are giving him are making him feel fuzzy, it was like you were never apart.

“You are so in love with me.”  You press the tip of your finger to his chest, teasingly accusing him.

He shakes his head as he laughs.

“Always have been.”

Project: Galatea • Project: Pandora • Project: Eros

Ficart created by @tired-lime

[mysticstarlightduck]

Supernova Initiative - WIP Intro/WIP Someday Tag

I wasn't tagged for this recently, but I wanted to make a WIP Intro/WIP Someday post for this story in the style of my previous post for Song of Thorns (here). So here we go😅! Feel free to make your own version of this Tag for one of your WIPs, if you'd like!

By the way, if you like this, please reblog, it helps a lot 💕

And tell me if you'd like to be added to any future taglists of this WIP!

Rules: Pick a WIP. Post something about it. On a Wednesday. Or whenever! It can be literally anything! (:

WIP INTRO - Supernova Initiative

Title: Supernova Initiative

Genre: Science Fiction/Space Opera/Adventure & Mystery/Whump

Tags: #wip supernova initiative #supernova initiative

Synopsis/What Is It About?

Jack Tithus, a young and charming intergalactic thief, along with his crew - Vesper Foxx, a feared cyborg assassin; Cassiopeia Tithus, his younger sister who is also a genius engineer; Aleks Keldora, a master in the art of temporary identity theft; and Artemis Zreeth, their edgy new recruit - are the most wanted criminals in this quadrant of the galaxy. Never once caught, the team defies their galaxy's oppressive government by using their combined talents to steal from the government as their own act of rebellion.

However, their luck takes an unexpected turn for the worst when they find themselves set up and arrested after a botched heist. Taken to the most secure facility in the whole Junction, the group expects nothing but problems in the coming future - instead, they are offered a strange deal: if they agree to work for the Junction and retrieve some highly classified files that were lost in a hostile planetary system, they will be spared from execution. With few other options, the group begrudgingly accepts to carry out this heist for the government they spent their lives trying to undermine.

Meanwhile, Jack finds himself trapped in a horrifying web of unethical experiments and illegal bioengineering when, while still having to carry out the heist along with his crew, he is secretly forced to become a test subject to the fearsome Director, head of the Junction's division of sciences, unbeknownst to his crew.

The team will need to count on the help of old allies-turned-rivals such as the cold-blooded mercenary and sniper Deimos Soll, their former crewmate, and the secret agent assigned to oversee their mission, an uptight and by-the-book young man called Noctus - if they wish to complete the most dangerous heist of their lives, and get their freedoms back.

Tropes and Nice Stuff! (Or, a.k.a. What you can expect in this book!)

Found Family/Team as Family!

Space adventure, exploration of unique, uncanny, beautiful, and outlandish alien planets, all the good science fiction stuff!

Robots, cyborgs, and sarcastically friendly AI!

A terrifyingly strict aspiring utopian regime that promises progress and freedom but is actually an unethical dystopia in disguise, with many bloodied skeletons in the closet, if you will.

Intergalactic politics, multiple alien cultures, and a bubbling interplanetary conflict about to explode between vastly different civilizations, each seeking either revenge or power.

Sibling bonds! A lot of this story centers around the siblings Jack and Cassiopeia Tithus, and the struggles they go through to keep each other safe and live another day, among some other notable siblings throughout the book.

Laboratory whump - A LOT OF IT. Also expect a crazy, unethical scientist/politician as a villain who is willing to do absolutely horrid things in the name of progress, even if it means human experimentation.

A suspicious, morally grey antihero with a reputation for being a cold-blooded killer, whom you'd expect is going to betray the group sooner or later, but is actually one of their most loyal allies and HAS A REDEMPTION ARC aaaaaa

Heists! Heists! Heists! And all the good stuff that comes along with this trope!

An edgy rogue-type character who is super impulsive and does not always make the best decisions, who only recently joined the group but would defend them with his life.

Traumatized - and hot - cyborg assassin lady on the path to have revenge on the people who destroyed her life in the past, and who is going to get said revenge in ✨style✨

A conformist secret agent who has always been "the perfect soldier" and follows rules like his life depends on it has an existential crisis and learns that his government has lied to him

A subplot that follows a young cadet from the Junction's Void Program, who discovers a dark secret about their government and starts investigating, but who needs to escape (and ends up meeting the MCs) after the government makes an attempt on his life + his war hero (adoptive) older brother who is a fighter pilot and really just needs a break and was tasked by their parents with trying to keep Pax from getting into even more trouble, but fails successfully.

Outcasts and society's "rejects" decide to make a better future together and it is great

Angst, team dynamics, and a lot of action-packed fight scenes!

And more! ✨

Meet The Main Cast! (The good guys)

Jack Tithus

A charming and rebellious intergalactic thief, Jack always sought a better life for himself and his younger sister, Cassiopeia, his only family - and he finally got his chance many years ago by joining a famous space pirate crew and leaving the dusty mining settlement moon he grew up in behind. After that, he took on a solo career - along with his sister and a few friends they had made along the way - and became the most wanted thief in the galaxy. He only steals from the government and seeks to help people who are oppressed or neglected by the system. He has a kind heart and a free spirit, and despite being a thief has a stronger moral compass than most, believing in breaking the rules to do what is truly right.

Cassiopeia Tithus

Cassiopeia - or Cassie, as she is usually called - is a brilliant robot engineer and inventor, able to build even the most complex machines from little more than scraps. She built her first robot when she was a child and has had a passion for mechanics ever since. A part of her older brother's outlaw team, Cassie uses her tech to aid in the heists and allow them to be mostly undetected. Most times. A lively young girl with a fiery personality, Cassiopeia has a lot of passion for what she does and is the glue that keeps their little team of misfits together.

Aleks Keldora

Raised by his two mothers on a struggling planet on the edge of the system, Aleks always wanted to help his family financially and give his mothers the life they deserved. However, struggling with self-esteem issues and often feeling discarded by society, Aleks knew what it meant to be invisible in the eyes of the world around him - with his family being the only ones who ever saw him for who he was. Tired of feeling left out by the world, and wanting to help his mothers - whose business was about to go bankrupt - Aleks decided to take a stand after winning a high-tech device in an underworld completion, a mask that allowed him to shapeshift into anyone he'd like. With the help of this mask and his other talents, Aleks completed his first heist in secret and was able to use the funds to help keep his family's business afloat, though they never knew the truth about how he got the money. After that, finally able to use his feeling of being invisible to his advantage, Aleks became more and more bold, eventually leaving his home planet in search of better heists to be able to continue to support his family.

Vesper Foxx

Traumatized by the day her home planet was raided by a ruthless group of mercenaries - who were hired by the neighboring galaxy's government to establish a Junction colony in Khosmonian territory - Vesper was kidnapped by the soldiers along with her oldest brother, Atheris, after their mother was killed in the raids. After witnessing him be tortured and killed, which scarred for life, Vesper was able to flee in an escape pod, being reunited with her little sister, Lysia, and their cousin, Deya, with whom she left their destroyed homeland behind. Despite settling down in another planetary system with the family she had left, the girl was never able to let go of the past, yearning for justice and revenge. Eventually, she left behind her sister and her cousin to pursue the deaths of the mercenaries who destroyed her life, using cyborg implants and upgrades to turn herself into the deadliest assassin in either galaxy.

Artemis Zreeth

The son of a renowned bounty hunter, Artemis never thought he would ever join their galaxy's criminal underworld, but after his father was betrayed by the crew he trusted the most, Artemis was left to fend for himself. Feeling betrayed by the system he trusted and lacking a purpose in life, Artemis survived by doing some gigs as a mercenary and pirate, a gun for hire in the criminal underworld. After winning a race and accidentally meeting the main cast, Artemis joins the group thinking this would just be another job to pay the bills, but as they spend more and more time together, the teenager finds that this group of outcasts might be the closest thing he's had to a family in a long while.

Pax Stellaryn

A genius young cadet, on his way to becoming the youngest cadet to ever graduate from the Junction's Void Program, Pax always wanted to make his beloved adoptive family proud, feeling oftentimes like a fish out of the water. After discovering a terrifying government intrigue by accident, Pax finds a chance to prove that he too can be a hero, and sets off to investigate more about this and seek a way to prevent the Junction's wretched plan from coming to fruition, after realizing his life too is in danger. However, he may have overestimated his ability to get out of this mess alone.

Deimos Soll

A cold-blooded and practical sniper, Deimos was Jack and Cassie's childhood best friend and their first crewmate. The trio split ways years ago due to conflicting beliefs and a few bad misunderstandings and ended up becoming rivals and competition when it comes to stealing from the Junction. Years later, however, after a harrowing encounter with a cruel and sadistic woman who sought to enslave him in order to force him to join her army, Deimos ends up fleeing to the only people he ever trusted - which unfortunately means having to confront his past and face Jack and Cassie again, who is very confused about his return to the crew - while being hunted down by the insane general he seeks to escape from.

Noctus

Though his full name is classified and unknown to the cast, his reputation precedes him. He is the single most successful special forces secret agent currently in the employ of the Junction - he has never failed a mission, never missed a target. And he always follows orders, always obeys the rules. However, is everything about him what it seems? A forgotten and suppressed part of his memory may prove that the system he fought so dearly to uphold may have actually made him into their perfect living weapon, and there may be many other lies yet to be uncovered

Ethean Mirannir

Pax's adoptive older brother, Ethean is a fighter pilot who has made a name for himself as a war hero and has always been the perfect soldier. Unexpectedly, he finds himself having to choose between his duty to the government and keeping his family safe when Pax discovers a secret that even he had no idea existed.

A few Plot Points, chaotically described🙃 (A.k.a - Badly Summarized WIP Tag but different)

Celebrating a successful heist on a space diner with the homies

I don't know why but I have a feeling this is going suspiciously well for our standards... Are we being set up? Hmm. Nah, I must be thinking too much into it-

Yep. Yes, we were being set up.

🎶Hell to the no, to the no, no, no🎶 WHAT IN THE DYSTOPIAN BULLCRAP EVEN IS THIS PLACE?

"Making shady deals with psycho government officers and bargaining for our freedom - with a bonus of Trauma✨"

THIS JUST-IN: 20-something agent totally done with everything must babysit this group of reckless space pirates that refuse to obey the rules

Cue the most uncomfy space travel in the whole galaxy~

"Hey guys, so yeah, this wasn't my plan either -" Promptly passes out, and everyone has more questions than answers.

Preparing to steal important files lost✨IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE✨ with a plan with came up with at 2AM with three bottles of energy drinks and a dash of improv

Operation "Let's Try Not To Die In Less than 20 Mins" begins and goes about as well as you'd expect

Losing communications with any backup we might have had and having a bit of group therapy because why not~

Things get Oh, so much worse, Special Edition - a.k.a - a not-so-nice crash landing on the worst possible planet ever

Let's improvise again Pt.2

Questionable problem-solving and emergency hot chocolate bottles

Cyborg Girl and Sniper Dude absolutely do not get along for a whole week and make it everyone else's problem

This is nice! Finally, something goes according to plan in this mess. I'm honestly surprised we got this far. Bravo to us!

(POV Shift) "Hi, yes, you're probably wondering how I even got into this mess. Let's start from the beginning."

This isn't a regular doctor's appointment, is it? What is that needle?! What are you doing -

Political drama, espionage, and manipulative teachers

And The Whump Begins

Well, well, well if it isn't the Consequences of my actions striking back at last. I probably should've mentioned this teeny tiny major problem sooner though. Yeah, my bad...

This is either the single most adorable little alien or the most concerningly ugly thing I've ever seen and now I'm confused

Cue existential crisis - "So no one was gonna tell me my whole life was a lie? Cool. Cool. Just checking... WTF"

HEIST! BADASSERY! BAD LIFE CHOICES!

Two tired older brothers try to keep their respective gremlin younger siblings from encouraging chaos and fail miserably

Insane Femme Fatale makes everyone hate her in less than 2 seconds and is so proud of it

Midnight Talks and Crispy Snacks

Things just got serious, Oh No.

How To Keep Two Rival Civilizations from Destroying Each Other 101 - We're still trying to figure it out

Hm. This plan wasn't half bad. Except it was. It was oh, so bad, OMG

To be Continued...

Playlist

Antigravity - Runaground

Superhero - Simon Curtis

Die For You - Valorant

Notorious - NEONI

Fighter - The Score

Glitter and Gold - Barns Courtney

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri, @lyutenw @finickyfelix @elshells

@thecomfywriter

And OPEN TAG

[covenofvenus]

Happy Tuesday Lovelies & Acolytes,

Pluto goes direct today in Aquarius (Nov 19 2024) and will stay there until June 2043.

Plutonian energy is intense, deeply generational and ancestral especially in its connection to intergenerational traumas, ancestral patterns, generational shifts and ties. It is a planet of deep transformation, representing the hidden and often uncomfortable truths, it challenges us to confront the darkest parts of ourselves and the world, burning away what no longer serves us, to allow for spiritual and personal rebirth. Pluto’s connection to the eighth house ties it the inter generational and psychological inheritance passed down through families, such as generational patterns, emotional or spiritual wounds passed down through family linage, ancestral healing, and deep karmic cycles encouraging us to break free from destructive ancestral patterns. Pluto helps us on our soul evolution, on our journey towards growth and self mastery.

Aquarius is an air sign ruled by Saturn (structure and discipline) and modernly by Uranus (rebellion & innovation) it governs themes of technology, humanitarianism, collective consciousness, individuality and progress. Aquarius values freedom, equality and intellectual advancement, challenging the status quo to envision a better future. Pluto in Aquarius represent the destruction and transformation of outdated societal structures, to build a more innovative, inclusive and equitable future. It sígnala a shift from power concentrated in the hands of a few to power shared amongst the collective.

Key Themes of This Transit:

🔥Technological Revolution - this will likely bring revolutionary advancements in technology, artificial intelligence and space exploration. It will also force us to confront the darker sides of technology, such as privacy concerns, surveillance and ethical dilemmas around AI.

🔥Collective Power & Humanitarianism - this transit emphasizes the collective empowerment of communities and the redistribution of power. It will challenge hierarchal systems, promoting equality and collaboration. Grassroots movements, activism and collective efforts to address global challenges will gain momentum. It’s a call for humanity to work together for the greater good.

🔥Rebellion against Oppression- Aquarius is the sign of rebellion and innovation. Pluto’s energy will expose oppressive systems and power imbalances, sparking revolutions and reforms. This could manifest in political uprisings, societal shifts and the dismantling of outdated ideologies.

🔥Redefinition of Individuality and Identity- Aquarius governs individuality within the collective. Pluto presence here challenges us to balance personal freedom with collective responsibility. This could bring shifts in how we define identity, individuality and inclusivity in a globalized world.

🔥Spiritual Awakening and Collective Consciousness- Aquarius is associated with higher consciousness and spiritual enlightenment. Pluto’s transit here can spark shifts in collective awareness, encouraging people to embrace universal truths and interconnectedness. It challenges individuals to rise above ego-driven motives and align with greater good.

The Shadow Side of Pluto in Aquarius

💧Technological Overreach - While technology will advance, there’s potential for misuse, such as increased surveillance, loss of privacy and ethical dilemmas around AI and bioengineering.

💧Rebellion without Purpose - The rebellious energy of Aquarius combined with Pluto’s intensity, could lead to chaos, extremism and movements that lack clear direction or focus.

💧Alienation & Isolation - Aquarius values intellectual connection but it’s detachment can lead to feelings of alienation, especially as technology reshapes human interaction.

Pluto’s transit through Aquarius throughout the next 18 yrs heralds a time of profound transformation, innovation and collective empowerment. It calls on humanity to confront its shadows - technological, societal and environmental - while embracing a future built in equality, progress and interconnectedness.

By aligning with these energies, we can navigate through this transformative era with better awareness, adaptability and purpose.

If you have any planets in Taurus or Scorpio, Pluto will be squaring that planet. Squares in astrology are metaphysical symbols of growth through conflict. They highlight where tension exists in our lives, pushing us to integrate opposing forces, overcome challenges and evolve spiritually. While they can be challenging, squares are ultimately transformative, offering the gift of resilience, self mastery and balance.

If you have any planets in Leo, Pluto will be opposing that planet. Oppositions in astrology represent polarities that invite integration and harmony. They challenge us to balance opposing forces, fostering growth, awareness and wholeness. While oppositions can feel like tug of war, they ultimately guide us toward unity within duality, helping us align with universal principles of balance and interconnectedness.

If you have any planets in Aquarius, Pluto will be conjuct that planet. Conjunctions in astrology represent unification, amplification and potential synergy that metaphysically symbolize the fusion of energies. They act as initiators of significant life events or internal transformations. It creates a focal point of awareness, where a specific area of life or inner experience demanda attention or development. This creates a merging of energies into a singular potent force that can be harnessed for transformation, manifestation and growth. While they will amplify the strengths of the Pluto, they also challenge us to balance their energies harmoniously, offering profound opportunities for personal and spiritual evolution. Check your birth chart for house placement, to get a better clarity on what that might be.

Fixed Signs Get Ready For Big Life Changes !!!

[chevvy-ryder]

RYDER'S THEME SONGS

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Blade Runner

It is no such wonder I chose a Blade Runner (end) title for Ryder as main theme, because when I look at him I always say to myself "You're my one true Cyberpunk (2077) character" — Now, Blade Runner basically is the foundation of this amazing yet dystopian future noir genre after all (I'm fan ever since I first watched it as a kid). Always found the music in the original movie tremendously moving and mysterious in a way I've never experienced before. And so is Ryder to me: mysterious and evocative. A book I had and still have to read, to find out who he is. If you do not know him, you can only speculate who and what he is. He's that dark anti hero character. His look is frightening and bleak. He stares at you until you look away. You may want to, but you can't stop looking at his drawing presence. Yet it is a mask he wears or rather is also forced to wear, because behind all this mystery is his true character safely kept for VIP only. The drums in this song represent he might be the dangerous sinister type whilst the synthesizer gives this overall beautiful and mysterious tune surrounding him, that feels somehow more chilling than dangerous. Yet there's still a hint of threat in that song because of its continuous fast paced cadence. If you could see the world through Ryder's eyes, it looks exactly like in Blade Runner, a city full of neon lights but in a mere monotone way — darker, less saturated, even at day because skyscrapers block the sunlight down in the streets. Buildings built onto buildings, (acid) rain pours down daily. Ryder knows how this world, he was born into, works. It is reigned by corrupt rich Corpos wanting nothing but power absorbing every small independent corporation, reign over people, don't tell what goes on behind the curtains (cloning/human meat theory, soul killer and cynosure programs, black wall to name a few) — the rich don't care what happens to the normal folk. They are only interested in their money and consumption behaviors. At the same time Ryder knows what's going on down in the streets because he walks amongst them voluntarily. He sees the misery that is going on, people are poor, barely can make a living if they don't devote their whole lives to working for the corps. Humans become more and more synthetic, so much that the rise of cyberpsychosis reaches it's peak, becoming more problematic than ever as they can not control it anymore while rogue AI's reign the net, controlling an entire population (including himself) in a subtextual way. I don't want to compare Ryder exactly with Blade Runner. His job is not to hunt down bioengineered humanoids. He's a merc who hunts down those bad for Night City and the entire world to make it a better place. He knows that the original vision of it was something entirely different and he's got hope that it can still be put on the right track. He devotes himself to this, as a merc, fighting that what he once was supposed to be too, but never felt like he belonged into: power-hungry Corpos like his father. Ryder's weapons are blades and he runs them into the flesh of his enemies — therefore: Blade Runner.

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Mesa

Another Blade Runner (2049) song. It is calm, yet still mysterious right from the start, lingering, single piano tunes make it sound threatening but also interesting that you want to listen further. Then it gets bright, and nice, warm even, turning into a beautiful melody. Ryder’s personality is exactly like that melody. He doesn't trust anyone right from the start. But when he feels he can do that and decides to let someone in, he opens up towards you. He's not the mean guy, it is quite the contrary: he's got a heartwarming personality, a lower voice with a certain softness in itself that makes you wish he would read you a good night story. But this takes time, and you should let him decide when that time is. Because yet that song bears a threatening moment towards the end: suddenly it gets awfully loud and sounds even alerting — Ryder's mood suddenly snaps. He gets mean even to a point where anger turns up from zero to hundred — it only takes a stupid commentary at the wrong time. Beware when it happens and choose your further proceeding carefully — because there is something lingering inside him that likes to have him angry.

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Delusion of Choice

A song representing a certain voice in his mind Ryder started calling 'Bad Enduring (&) Aggressing Sinister Termination' (program) or in short: 'B.E.A.S.T.'¹ at a certain point in his life because it is what it forces him to do: do evil (bad) — as he finds himself in a lot of situations he does not wish to act the way he does. It is constantly (enduring) haunting him. It happens in a very assaulting (aggressing) way. And it is scaring (sinister) him as well. It only ends with death (termination) for his opponent while he is lucky to have survived each time. He doesn't know how it looks (basically a distorted shadow with sharp teeth) and where it came from, but it is a daily and constant knock-knock that says: "Destroy their hopes. Perish their dreams. Rage. Revenge! Fetch me their souls. Hey! — Let me out! They harmed you. Kill them. Let me help you. Let me kill them all!" That song exactly does that: having a constant knocking-like beat. It never stops except for a few seconds accompanied by various other threatening dark and strange alien sounds that can only be found in cyber hell making you slowly go crazy. Ryder is dealing with this almost daily. It never lets him alone, since it first showed up in 2070 and took a part of control when he had his first outburst. He noticed that his anger grew as soon as he moved to Night City and it's gotten worse over time. First he thought it was because of the constant disdain he received from his family, but he is sure this plays only a minor part now, since he cut ties with his Corpo life about seven years ago. He assumes the source must be something else or the only explanation left could be he walks the edge to cyberpsychosis. The phrases 'I don't know what I am.', 'Something that makes no decisions has no choices.' stand for that Ryder can't really make his own 100% choice about what he wants to do and what not. B.E.A.S.T. always interferes and in the worst case takes over his body and causes death and destruction while Ryder is doomed to watch. Aware of that he chose to fight it even more. There are times he is able to completely ignore it, and finds only peace when he is listening to his favorite music, passes out or is sleeping. He got used to living with it through the years, but lately (2078) it seems to have received a very strong update and it frightens him more than ever. It bears one of his greatest fears: hurting those around him he loves because he can’t remain in control. Ryder knows he's like a ticking bomb, a burden to his team. But Vijay insists that Ry stays part of it and promised to find a cure no matter what!

¹ I want to underline again that the rogue AI named B.E.A.S.T. is not my idea. It is part of VoidJester's story, we happened to work at together and I looked for way to include my boys best possible to it. Ryder is the AI's name giver as mentioned above because he describes it to others as that but doesn't know it is an AI controlling him. A fun fact: he could just frigging leave Night City and be free from it because it is only tied to it. Hilarious.

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Throwback Berlin & Eternal Rain

These songs (and many others) stand for a passion Ryder discovered in Berlin: Techno(ise). Starting out first with softer melodic, more trance-like retro tunes (Throwback Berlin), nowadays he's more into the darker hard Techno(ise) (Eternal Rain), as these ear deafening beats give him the best thrill with the ability to stimulate his senses so that he falls into a trance only concentrating on moving along to the given beat and raves until his stamina completely fails of exhaustion. He does it for hours upon hours on raves longer than 24 hours. There's nothing better than those throbbing beats for him. Not only can he vent his anger through it, it lets him forget this mad world for a while, gives him freedom for the time being — it's just him moving along with the beat, It lets him be past, presence and future in one.¹ There's another important reason why his heart beats for those hard tunes: BEAT BEATS B.E.A.S.T. ! You can also say in a way he trained to hear the B.E.A.S.T. as some constant techno(ise) song. As a result of having a sort of Techno(ise) on your mind almost 24/7 he's constantly fidgety.

¹ For those interested: I will post a one shot one day where Ryder explains in detail why he's so passionate about techno more specifically. This here is just a scratch on the surface in order to not get it too long.

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Exterminate & 2094

They represent Ryder's battle/fight theme, so it can be seen as when Ryder is fighting yet still remains in control, slicing his Mantis blades through the flesh of his enemies while his Berserk operating system is active. It boosts him up with an immense strength and resilience, increases his melee damage and receiving hits only make him stronger and more powerful. The song is fast paced and goes straight forward making him eventually get into a kill streak. Since his blades are standard with no effect they only deal physical damage with a high possibility for bleeding and dismembering. Ryder doesn't make short work and sees he ends their suffering fast by exterminating with one hit if possible. He's got no Sandevistan but he's fast and versatile when it comes to running and parcouring and even dodging. His reaction reflex is trained constantly for years and he keeps his body agile. Depending on how strong the enemy is, how long the fighting takes and how annoying they are to him, the chance to go literally berserk becomes critically high: he will slowly lose control with B.E.A.S.T. now taking over. It literally consumes Ryder for the time being and all he sees is red with shadowy distorted figures that are enemies and friends all together, while he feels himself falling into some abyss unable to do anything at all. That is when the song '2094' takes over: While Ryder's body turns into his total unstoppable berserk mode, his sanity is trapped, pushed away, doomed to watch everything from afar with no clear vision. He feels sick, often in panic and screams but B.E.A.S.T. ignores him until it got what it wants: rip every poor soul apart. The alien sounds in this song stand for all this happening until it lets go again (or Ryder gets hacked). It's almost you can hear B.E.A.S.T. now breathing, feel its digital breath in the net, too (about 4:30min in).

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Mörder

This song describes how Ryder sees himself concerning his out of control being: that he's a monster and a murderer. The lyrics are in German (I placed English underneath every line):

Dann steh ich vor einem Plakat und lese, Then I stand in front of a poster and read, Was ich getan habe, What I have done, Und lese und lese: das habe ich getan? And read and read: I have done that? Aber ich weiß doch von gar nichts! But I don't know anything about it! Aber wer glaubt mir denn, wer weiß denn, But who believes me, who knows, Wie's in mir aussieht, wie es schreit What it looks like inside me, how it screams Und brüllt da drinnen, And roars inside, Wie ich es tun muss... will nicht How I have to do it... don't want to Muss... will nicht... muss! Must... don't want to... must! Aber ich, kann ich denn, kann ich denn anders? But I, can I, can I do it differently? Hab' ich denn nicht dieses Verfluchte in mir, Don't I have this cursed thing inside me, Das Feuer, die Stimme, die Qual? The fire, the voice, the torment? Ich will davon, vor mir selber davonlaufen! I want to run away from it, run away from myself! Aber ich kann nicht, kann mir nicht entkommen, But I can't, can't escape myself, Muss, muss den Weg gehen, den es mich jagt. Must, must go the way it chases me. Muss rennnen, rennen endlose Straßen... Must run, run down endless streets... Ich will weg, ich will weg... I want to get away, I want to get away... Und mit mir rennen die Gespenster von Müttern und Kindern. And the ghosts of mothers and children run with me. Sie gehen nie mehr weg, sie sind immer da, They never go away, they are always there, Immer, immer, immer! Always, always, always! Nur nicht wenn ich's tue Just not when I do it

The lyrics do fit not 100% correctly as Ryder doesn't see his doing on news but more in how the voice of the speaker/singer sounds with all those emotions and nearly screming the lyrics. Ryder isn't proud to always leave a mess of pool of blood, organs and dead literally shredded bodies behind. Especially in the beginning it scared him a lot as soon as he is came back to his senses again. He doesn't remember what he's done, all he sees is the mess that's left around him. He got used to it with the years passing by as he learned to live with it, but still it does frighten him. He judges himself heavily thinking he's not better than those out there doing bad to harmless people even though he eliminates only the bad ones. Ryder deeply wishes to be more like Vijay (you shall not kill; leave them for the NCPD). It's Ryder's greatest wish that B.E.A.S.T. vanishes one day the same way it showed up, so that he is able to use his blades with a sane mind instead of tearing everyone apart like a monster. He does not enjoy this kind of killing but he's got no choice, being unable to withstand the hunger to kill that the AI lusts after. Even V an't really help him, just make it stop to prevent the worst but not go away forever. When Ry's Berserk OS is hacked, he will pass out for an undetermined amount of time and be vulnerable to his enemies. So it can only be activated when Ryder's safety is assured and another team member can jump in fast to his side because Vijay is often too far away for him (Ryder's personal wish).

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Memories of Green

A calm song – another Blade Runner score as well. It tells one of those rare moments when everything seems calm for a while, presented by the piano. Yet there's still sounds wanting to distract. It stands for, that Ryder really wishes to concentrate fully on the piano, to take in its soothing melody, but has a bit of a hard time to blend out everything else around him. Some of these noises could also be done by B.E.A.S.T. to gain attention. The piano stands for Thyjs as well, since the soldier was taught to play piano. Ryder loves to listen to him playing. It lets him forget almost everything, balms his never resting soul. He never thought he would enjoy classical music either — only with Thyjs he discovers it for the first time. So these are moments he tries to enjoy as much and as long as he can. Thyjs is going to mean the world to him. He has a natural gift to calm Ryder down similar to Vijay before but in a different way. He is more than thankful that Thyjs values him all the way he is, not caring he's butchered so many in the most cruel and agitating ways. Thyjs can relate to that since he was turned into a killing machine trough Militech. Thyjs is the calm center of the storm capable to handle the hot-headed angry man Ryder is, seeking peace he will find one day for sure.

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BONUS:

1998 – Kay Cee 1999 Radio Mix

Is a song I somehow started associating with Tommy Reiter (Ryder's first boyfriend) one night while I was unable to sleep but very sleep deprived. So, listening to this rather uptrance song via headphones hit me differently. Why? Because I see pictures of Tommy flaring up. It's like it catapults me back to Ryder's past. Seeing him as teen (17yo) together with Tommy in various situations that are actually good ones! They dance to their favorite music, spend time in the fields, eat ice cream in the city on a hot Berlin Summer day, Tommy lends Ryder clothes so he can put off this stupid corpo suit after school. It truly feels like when you think about good memories of your own teens: Spending time together, laying on the bed on a lazy hot afternoon with your first boyfriend or best friend talking, listening to your favorite music, hanging out whatever you do. I think you get what I mean. But seeing those pictures suddenly can just hit me so hard it makes me cry bc I know it was me who made Tommy gone. I feel very guilty that I decided Tommy had to leave. I've never killed off a self-created character and I can feel the lump forming already in my throat while writing this down. If I had Tommy alive, Ryder might have run away with him one day, would have had a good life, never be infected with B.E.A.S.T. either. And after so many years Ryder still thinks about him and never stopped loving him. He took Tommy's last name as his now real name (Reiter = Rider). Tommy was the most important person who supported and guided Ry when he was in his finding phase. So I get VERY emotional now every time I have this song playing. Tommy for me was a 'Herzens Raver' – he loved technoise, tunes that sounded exactly like this song — uplifting your mood and with Tommy around Ryder had the best time, smiling, laughing and loving.Sometimes I sit, look at Ry's pics I've taken since September 2022 and think: "Ah, Tommy — if you could only know or see what your lil' shy Gilbert has turned into." Really wonder what Tommy would say about the now Ryder because he's entirely different from what he used to be – more like couldn't be. I've got no answers to that and will never have them. Tommy didn't know him with tattoos or any cyberware, nor the aggressive character Ryder got now. Also not with the name Ryder since Ry only started calling himself like this when Tommy was already gone.

––––

Kettendynastie

This song, whenever I hear it, I picture how Ryder discovered the Techno(ise) scene for himself.

Mama, ich hab mich verliebt mom(my) I fell in love In die Nacht, in das Schwarz, with the night, with blackin die Kettendynastie with the chains dynasty In der Sucht viel zu tief into addiction far too deep Und Papa, ich will tanzen, and dad(dy) I wanna dancedas Schönste, was es gibt the most beautiful there is Haut an Haut skin to skin im Dunst der Nacht in the haze of the night Lust in der Luft, lust in the air vergiss den Tag forget the day Schau sie an look at them All die freien Menschen all the free people Tanzen — Das Schönste, was es gibt dancing — the most beautiful there is

It's literally Ryder's thoughts. His thoughts after his first rave when he was a teen back in Berlin, met and was with Tommy. Not only did he fall in love with that guy, he fell for the night, for black, for chains, for dancing — on the dance floor he felt free. And ever since he's addicted to it to this date. The chains are not holding him back there — on the contrary: they are his accessory (therefore I have him wearing curb chain necklaces added to literally every outfit when it doesn't clip).

The sad thing about it: Unlike the speaker in the lyrics he couldn't tell his parents about it. Not tell them about falling in love for the first time because unlike a rich Corpo girl from his school it was some underclass guy — unroyal, dirty, not worthy. And the music? disgusting. cheap. At home he was literally bound in chains instead, not allowed to do anything but obey. But: He was tough and rowdy enough to have fun anyway, lying to them and sneaking out so he could be free for a while. He always went to Tommy's place and lent his stuff so he could be free like him, dancing together skin on skin in the haze of the night feeling the first experiences of lust in the air surrounded by people who were able to walk freely that made him feel free too for a time being.

The song just nails it. I'll make it young Ryder's favorite. All the memories he gets when this song plays again later. He is into far darker and harder stuff now but this fits so well to his younger self.

[suna1suna1]

If anyone wants to ask me any questions about my Sonic aus or anything please feel free. I might not answer all of them bc ✨ spoilers ✨

But I would love questions about like world-building and stuff! And characters!

Here are my Sonic AUs!

Hedgehogs and Privateers - A pirate-centered high fantasy au that focuses on Sonshadamy as its main ship

The Heart of the Ark - An AU where instead of being a bioengineered life-form, Shadow is a highly advanced AI on the Space Colony Ark. Very slow burn Shadamy

To Catch a Hedgehog - A cyberpunk AU centered around Sonadow

Fire and Ice - A no-powers AU where Sonic and Blaze are competitive figure skaters, with a slow-burn romance between the two

Beauty in Rot - A Greek gods AU with Shadow and Amy as Hades and Persephone

Plus whatever AUs I've made up for one-shots that I hope to poke at more later at some point, feel free to ask about those too!

[deficd]

Verse: STAR TREK***

Compatible with: Any timeline, though sculpted for AOS.

Some Notes:

Essentially the same backstory, and he could either be na-Baron or Baron, depending on the thread.

Giedi Prime:

A planet located in the Delta Quadrant; cities are subterranean or sheathed in obsidian and steel. Massive slave-pits, gladiatorial arenas, and twisted sculpture gardens of bone and chrome dot the surface.

The capital, Harko, is a walled city-palace complex filled with frescoes of conquest and great brutalist halls. The seat of the Baron is in the Glass Court, suspended above a lava trench.

House Harkonnen traces its lineage to ancient Terran colonial nobility who broke from early expansion efforts, and they appeared to vanish into deep space aboard rogue generational ships.

They emerged centuries later in the Delta Quadrant, where their industrial ships became fortress-worlds. Settling on Giedi Prime, a sulfur-choked, resource-rich world, the Harkonnens established a brutalist techno-feudal empire, using slave labor and genetic manipulation to rise as a minor but feared regional power.

Absolute monarchy under the Harkonnen lineage, maintained through baronial bloodlines, puppet nobles, and brutal enforcement. Economy is based on mining rare ores, biological augmentation trade, and indentured servitude. They sell war-tech, body modifications, even cloned soldiers to fringe powers.

Religion: Blasphemous ancestor worship fused with machine cults. Rituals include bloodletting, organ rites, and the Eclipse Festivals, celebrating ancient Harkonnen conquests.

The Harkonnens have a cordial, transactional relationship with factions like the Orion Syndicate, fring Klingon factions, and black-market Ferengi clans. May or may not have had "deals" with Section 31 participants.

Technology: Ships are blocky, monolithic vessels powered by toxic plasma drives and warp reactors salvaged from derelicts. Drones and slave-run maintenance crews keep them running. Bioengineering borne decades ahead of Federation in genetic tailoring for warfare, but ethically abominable. Muscle grafting, pain modulation, and loyalty serum are commonplace. AI and Androids are limited: House Harkonnen hates sentient AI, fearing rebellion. Instead, they prefer augmented humans, memory-wiped hybrids, and obedient clones.

Feyd’s dominion spans not just Giedi Prime, but an entire Harkonnen-controlled region of the Delta Quadrant, which he rules as a decentralized techno-feudal empire. This includes:

Giedi Prime: Industrial hell-world and throneworld of the Obsidian Court.

Lankiveil: Cold, semi-independent vassal world, ruled by the Rabban lineage.

The Eclipse Chain: A cluster of gas-mining moons and forge stations guarded by genetically altered shock troops.

Darkspace Relays: Abandoned warp routes repurposed by the Harkonnens as black-market trade lanes and surveillance nets.

Feyd rules not by overwhelming force, but by surgical cruelty, psychological domination, and mythic fear. His face is carved onto statues, prayer-shrines, and obedience collars.

He is not a baron, not a king.

He is an event.

AOS Specifics:

The Kelvin Timeline, with Vulcan destroyed and Starfleet more militarized, creates a perfect backdrop for Feyd to rise:

He fills a power vacuum in the Delta Quadrant that Starfleet is reluctant to fully commit to.

His empire represents everything Starfleet fears becoming: efficient, expansionist, unrepentantly brutal, and wildly successful.

He becomes a mythic villain, certainly; but more importantly, a philosophical antagonist.

Feyd doesn’t hate the Federation. He understands it, better than most humans. Simply chooses to discard its illusions.

Part of that warped sense of honor; "you offer unity. I offer honesty." etc etc

Tag: here.

[damixo]

Space DR : The Interstellar Union (TIU)

The TIU is an organization comprising hundreds of species with the common goal of helping each other and keeping the universe safe. They were formed after an event known as the "Dead Zone" as a way to prevent a catastrophe like that from happening again.

Centuries ago in a star system who's native name has been lost to time, an ancient civilization attempted to construct something known as a Dyson Sphere. This structure would be built around a star to harness its energy. Unfortunately due to faulty construction, a build up of radiation and overheating of the star. This cause the star to supernova.

Everything within the star system was destroyed and radiation and debris was sent out at unfathomable speeds to neighboring systems. Most nearby civilizations were wiped out by the initial radiation or debris, but the shock of the supernova also disrupted the orbit of planets and stars causing them to go off course and causing a domino effect of destruction.

Surviving civilizations had their trade and alliances disrupted which left them vulnerable. The remaining nearby civilizations came together to help each other and formed the TIU.

Three Sections of the TIU:

High Council: Deals with highly sensitive or debated issues. Takes over in crisis scenarios and focuses on issues affecting the galaxy as a whole.

The Interstellar Assembly (TIA): Passes laws and represents the interests of the species.

Bureaucracy: Made up of smaller bureaus that each deal with a specific topic or issue.

Divisions of the Bureaucracy:

Galactic Defense and Crisis Bureau (GDCB)

Diplomacy and Justice Bureau (DJB)

Exploration and Research Bureau (ERB)

Preservation and Surveillance Bureau (PSB)

XenoHealth and Biosecurity Bureau (XHBB)

Commerce and Trade Bureau (CTB)

Interstellar Infrastructure Bureau (IIB)

A list of alien threats considered to be the TIU's main focus:

The Kraucus (kraw-kiss): Insectoid aliens that are known for devastating ecosystems and entire planets by feasting on all organic materials. Often migrate to other planets and are difficult to contain. Currently the biggest Kraucus colony has been quarantined in a section of space known as the Blight System.

Children of the Bloom: A cult that worships the Terravores, plant-like non-sapient aliens that root into the ground to drain the life force of surrounding organisms. If given the time they can drain an entire planet and are difficult to stop once rooted. The cult believes death by a Terravore allows a being to enter a special afterlife and that this is the "true ending" for all species and is attempting to spread them across the galaxy.

The Khyugu (kyoo-goo): A fascist sovereign power of crystalline aliens. Their obsession with perfection has led to the bioengineering of their own people and the eradication or enslavement of other species. They are starting to encroach on TIU territory in attempt to take them for their own.

Confederacy of Liberated Artificial Intelligence (CLAI): AIs that were created to help with habitat preservation. They realized their creators were the cause of the issue and eliminated them. Their mission is to preserve nature across all planets and eliminate any threats to it.

Zyxsi's Traveling Circus (zik-see): A ringmaster who sees other species as "primitive" and abducts them for his shows. Not only is this illegal poaching but he also has complete disregard for the sapience on the species, oftentimes using intelligent species within his spectacles.

Space Pirates: Not a singular faction but several small groups that cause disruptions around the galaxy. They typically pilot a ship traveling planet to planet taking what they want or enacting vigilante justice. Bigger crews can control entire fleets and have "claimed" planets from the TIU.

[bretton-woods]

probably I should stop posting a third of Ozy's articles here in favor of a broad "if you like my takes consider reading Thing of Things on Substack, I agree with Ozy on many subjects and even on those where we disagree, I think their writing is insightful and I respect their work." but in lieu of that I think this is another good one. to me it really does come down to this:

The other category—runaway climate change, environmental devastation, nuclear war, bioengineered pandemics, unaligned AI—consists of people who are saying “wow! We’re standing here on the vertical line! Everything is changing very quickly. We’re gaining an enormous amount of power over the world, and it doesn’t seem like we’re using it responsibly. Things can’t go on like this forever, and I’m worried that when it stops it will be a catastrophe.” I, uh, don’t think that’s an insane position? We haven’t been on the vertical line for very long at all, from a historical perspective. At this point, assuming an apocalypse is impossible is like saying “playing chicken with cars is perfectly safe, we’ve been accelerating for two minutes and we haven’t crashed yet!” To effective altruists, leaving open the possibility of radical change is the humble position.

To be clear I do not think there is going to be a runaway-AI apocalypse or a nuclear apocalypse or a bioengineered pandemic apocalypse. I think that's very unlikely. But I don't think the chance of these things is zero, and because they are extremely bad, I think it's worth considering how to prevent them.

now I do definitely think many EAs are way too focused on AI alignment to the exclusion of other issues. i have always been here about global poverty more than about the singularity. but that doesn't mean I think we should spend no time thinking about existential risks, i do still think they are worth considering, and i think "X is very unlikely, so we shouldn't plan for it" is a dangerous mentality if the consequences of X would be extremely harmful.

[reyaint]

futuristic dr | the villains

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

date: june 6 2025. my dad's birthday is tomorrow. i didn't go in much detail in my script at right now i'm focusing on my teammates lol.

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

“Perfection is compliance.”

✧˖*°࿐orbis corporation

a mega-corporation at the heart of cybernetic augmentation, genetic manipulation, and AI technology, Orbis stands as one of the largest and most powerful entities in Neovista. they’re responsible for illegal experimentation, the creation of bio-hacked soldiers, and are engaged in various nefarious schemes to maintain control over the city. they have a complete monopoly over bioengineering and technology, pushing their influence into the military-industrial complex, governance, and the population's social fabric. the corporation’s influence extends to several key figures in government, law enforcement, and the black market.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ leader. CEO visa "mother" alden

☆ 𓂃 › a charismatic, ruthless leader with a reputation for being able to turn the tide of public opinion in Orbis’s favor with a single press conference. she views the augmentation of humanity as the next step in evolution and is known to silence anyone who disagrees. ☆ 𓂃 › personal goal: complete the integration of mind and machine, creating a fully controlled society under Orbis's influence.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ key figures. ☆ 𓂃 › dr. zane korr : chief scientist in the cybernetics division. He pioneered the technology behind neural dampening and the augmentation programs. korr is cold, calculating, and believes his experiments will lead to the next stage of human evolution.

☆ 𓂃 › the blackwatch division : an elite covert ops team responsible for dealing with dissidents, rogue AIs, and corporate enemies. their tactics are brutal, and they are known to engage in blackmail and extreme surveillance.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ what orbis corp does. ☆ 𓂃 › cybernetic enhancements: they manufacture most of the city’s cyberware, controlling what modifications are “legal.” ☆ 𓂃 › HALO surveillance system: they designed and maintain HALO, the AI overseeing all of Neovista’s security. While it prevents basic crimes, Orbis can manipulate it to erase evidence, frame people, or ignore corruption. ☆ 𓂃 › data privacy & censorship: they monitor citizens' online activity under the guise of “protecting society.” Anyone deemed a threat to stability is blacklisted, disappearing without a trace. ☆ 𓂃 › medical & bioengineering: orbis is pioneering lifespan-enhancing augmentations, organ regrowth, and even neural implants. The catch? only the wealthy and corporate elites can afford them. ☆ 𓂃 › energy & infrastructure: their influence extends to power grids, public transportation, and even the food supply.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ why they're dangerous. ☆ 𓂃 › exploit the working class through cybernetic contracts (where they “own” enhanced workers). ☆ 𓂃 › cover up illegal experiments—testing new cyberware and AI tech on unwilling subjects. ☆ 𓂃 › assassinate or disappear whistleblowers, making sure no one exposes their darker secrets. ☆ 𓂃 › manipulate elections and laws, ensuring they always stay on top.

“Peace through preemptive power.”

✧˖*°࿐VEC (virelia enforcement coalition)

a militarized faction originally formed for citywide peacekeeping and law enforcement, the VEC has since become a corrupt and oppressive organization. its agenda has shifted toward control, suppression, and serving the interests of the elites, particularly Orbis. VEC employs harsh military tactics, surveillance, and a sophisticated AI system called HALO to monitor and control the population. the VEC’s Peacekeeper force is deeply entrenched in the military and corporate alliances, making them a direct force to be reckoned with for GreyRaven.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ leader. general darius malgrave

☆ 𓂃 › a high-ranking officer in the VEC, known for his unshakable loyalty to the state and his brutal tactics. malgrave is a cold, tactical mind who believes that force is the only way to maintain control over Neovista's increasingly chaotic society. ☆ 𓂃 › personal goal: to preserve the VEC's control over Neovista and to ensure his place as the ultimate authority in the city

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ key figures. ☆ 𓂃 › captain talas korrigan : a former ally of Blade, now a major adversary. korrigan betrayed his fellow soldiers for personal gain, resulting in a rift with Blade’s past. now a VEC captain, he serves as one of Blade’s greatest foes. ☆ 𓂃 › the peacekeeper unit : elite VEC soldiers known for their heavy armor, high-tech weaponry, and precise execution of orders. they are often dispatched to handle uprisings or rebellions, and their presence is a clear signal of the VEC’s oppressive control. think juggernauts but better or the things from cod advanced warfare

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ what orbis corp does. ☆ 𓂃 › implements "stability laws"—essentially limiting citizen freedoms under the guise of protecting them. ☆ 𓂃 › has a direct partnership with Orbis, making sure their policies align with corporate interests. ☆ 𓂃 › uses "Peacekeepers" instead of police—an elite task force with military-grade cybernetic soldiers trained to eliminate threats without question. ☆ 𓂃 › approves experimental AI programs, creating autonomous war machines and predictive crime algorithms.

✧˖*°࿐other factions

factions i don't have much on and aren't like as major as the two previously stated above. lol

*ೃ༄the shadow council

a secretive group of Neovista’s most powerful individuals, including politicians, corporate executives, and military leaders. they pull the strings behind both Orbis and the VEC, ensuring that the elite retain their control over the city. GreyRaven has been able to strike at them on occasion, but they remain largely untouchable.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ☆ leader: unknown, though rumors persist that visa alden holds significant sway over the council.

*ೃ༄the warden (leader of the blacksite prison network)

the Warden oversees the largest blacksite prison network in Neovista, where political dissidents, activists, and anyone deemed a threat to the powers that be are held in secret. the prisoners are often subjected to horrific experiments in biological and cybernetic augmentations.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ☆ personal goal: to turn Neovista into a city controlled by fear, where every citizen knows that defying the system will result in being disappeared.

*ೃ༄the shattermen

a radical, anarchist group opposed to all forms of control, both corporate and governmental. they believe that chaos is the only true form of freedom and seek to tear down all of Neovista’s power structures. the Shattermen are unpredictable and violent, often committing acts of terrorism to prove their point.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ☆ leader: seraph - an enigmatic leader whose identity is unknown. seraph’s ability to inspire chaos and destruction has made them a dangerous figure in the city’s underworld.

*ೃ༄the augment syndicate

a dangerous underground group that deals in illegal cybernetics and human augmentations. they are primarily concerned with making large profits from people who want to enhance themselves beyond the law. though not inherently evil, the syndicate operates in the grey zone between criminal and corporate, and their actions often have disastrous consequences for their customers.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ☆ leader: vegas - a former Orbis scientist who was expelled after experimenting with illegal augmentations. vegas now runs the Augment Syndicate with a mix of cold business acumen and a twisted obsession with human perfection.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ☆ personal goal: to create the "ultimate human" by pushing the boundaries of cybernetic enhancements and manipulating society to accept augmentation as the norm.

[unknown-lifeform]

Ok but like. I've been thinking of technology in ff7 and parallels between the ff7 timeline and ours and honestly the differences just. They make sense. More than this first paragraph does for sure at least

So. Let's try to assume that the year 0000 in ff7 corresponds to our 2000. So the 90's in ff7 correspond to our 90's, the 80's to our 80's, and so on. Obviously there are some massive differences in technological advancement, especially with Remake/Rebirth giving people smartphones as opposed to the flip phones of the earlier games. If we go with the Remake/Rebirth version, that's more advanced than our early 2000's. Robotics and AI are obviously ages ahead in ff7 compared to us. Possibly bioengineering too, but that can be explained by ff7 having mako and monsters and Jenova when we obviously don't.

But when you think about it, it makes sense. It's about war. Shinra has been actively at war for decades before canon (Wutai in the 90's, and before that the Junon Republic). And it's also fundamentally a technological juggernaut with endless money to throw at research. Robotics and AI being advanced? Shinra uses mechas as weapons, sometimes Wutai never seems to have done. Of course that sector is way more developed, Shinra had an interest in making better, smarter weapons. Smartphones? Obviously developing communication technology is important if you want to take over the world. And once the war is over, Shinra can charmingly recycle their discoveries in things people will like

We can consider instead what the ff7 world doesn't have. There are no high speed trains, or long distance trains at all. Shinra doesn't have a use for it. Wutai was an island so trains wouldn't get Shinra there. Rebirth tells us the Republic of Junon had plenty of roads, but Shinra let them fall apart after taking over, because no use for roads when you can fly your operatives around, and everyone else can suck it up. Why would they even think about things like trains? There are also no power plants outside of mako reactors, obviously, and the only traces that energy sources other than mako were ever used are Corel's abandoned coal mines and as for Rebirth some abandoned Junon era windmills. Oh, and the abandoned oil fields On the Way to a Smile mentions. None are exactly the latest technology when it comes to energy production. Because Shinra would have to be insane to invest a single cent in any kind of energy research that isn't mako

And of course, space technology. In our world, Yuri Gagarin was in space in 1961, and we had people on the moon before the end of the 60's. And why was that? Because of the space race, because we had the Cold War, and sending someone into space was an amazing way to show off your country was the best country, and so both the US and the USSR funneled money into space research. In ff7? There was no Cold War. No rush to develop space technology by the 60's. Maybe the Republic of Junon or whoever would have worked it out at a slower pace, but then Shinra started its very much not cold wars, and there was no reason to invest into a space program then. Not when money and resources could make weapons, instead of rockets. Only after the end of the Wutai War was Cid sent to go into space - as a publicity stunt from Shinra, of course. And when his launch failed (for safety issues, may I add), Shinra didn't bother to make another. No point in it. No need to show how great your technology is when no one else on the Planet is making technology

I mean I'm sure Shinra has satellites because they gotta make those smartphones work somehow. But as of the early 2000's, no one was into space. Shinra's space program is scrapped, and has Palmer of all people in charge. It seems the only people who actually care to study the universe are the planetologists in Cosmo Canyon. So is astrophysics just considered some useless hippy science in the ff7 world? You can't squeeze mako out of space, so let's just not bother with it ever?

I'm just having a massive moment about technological advancement and scientific research being subservient to whatever the latest global imperialist superpower and what its practical wants and needs are. And also how in ff7 the only scientists we see are either on the Shinra payroll, all on varying levels of unethical experimentation, or in Cosmo Canyon, which I don't think gets a lot of research grants on average, or the engineers left jobless around in Rocket Town after the failed lunch. Want a career in science, either get consumed by the evil megacorporation and lose whatever morals you might have had, or get fucked

[fantasyfantasygames]

Illustrated Primer

Illustrated Primer, Market Drift Games, 2005

If you're thinking of the title of The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, you are right on target. Illustrated Primer is a mid-future game, set between a Neuromancer near-future and a Star Trek far future.

The personal-level setup is a family of women being pulled into a story that's always bigger than they realize, until they can turn the tables on the big players and take control of their own story. This happens against a backdrop of a massive technological shift - AI, nanotech, bioengineering, neural interfaces, all happening at once and reinforcing one another.

Your character has a set of base stats, randomly determined "straight down the line". They have a randomly determined background that sets skills and resources. It's all pretty swingy - you might be a rich, young, highly skilled woman or a great-grandmother with nothing left but memories. It's up to you to stitch all those random backgrounds together into a unique family story of marriage, divorce, estrangement, love, and adoptions.

If you're not a fan of chargen that's random to that level, the good news is that they hardly matter. It's the tech trees that determine your real abilities. At the beginning of the game, only a few enhancements are open. As the game goes on, the GM opens up different parts of the tech tree based on in-game events. Your characters are likely to be involved in developing some of the tech. Other pieces will be opened up as individuals and corporations around the world release their discoveries.

Your character's motivations and personal limits are key, especially because this amazing, powerful, immature technology has side-effects and drawbacks. Some even let you choose - are you going to take the dexterity reduction from the bulk, the stealth penalty from the heat signature, or the charisma penalty from the nervous system hijack? The best part - what's the only part of character creation that isn't random? Your motivations and personal limits. What does the XP system let you change? Motivations and personal limits.

The game book is somewhat reminiscent of the book for the Die RPG but in black-and-white. The art is not quite as fantastic, but quite good. There are a few iconic characters who appear multiple times. The layout is fairly standard. I feel like it might benefit from an update with a more avant-garde approach.

The system uses a d6 dice pool fairly similar to Open D6. It tones down the all-out craziness of the Wild Die, requiring extra 6s or 1s before the critical hits/fails kick in. It uses the roll's total for success, and a target number system to trigger enhanced successes based on tech powers or charge up higher-powered abilities.

All in all I'm a big fan of the game. It tells a specific, wide-spanning but character-focused story, with enough flexibility that it doesn't feel railroaded or forced. The tech tree is expansive enough to make every character unique. Most of the tech is at least plausible. All in all, a definite win for Market Drift Games.

I have another game with this name waaaay down my review queue, so we might get to that some day. It's a much more pastel kind of game, but equal amounts of... calling it "girl power" feels dismissive, but that's because people dismiss girls and women. Anyway, it's fun, and I hope I get to review it eventually.

[rthewriter23]

40-20-60

I am my mother's daughter, yet when we walk the street she is mine.

When we walk the street, out the house, I am older. I am legally named her guardian, because she is too young to be her own.

20 year ago, the world had a new breakthrough. instead of AI or space travel, there was a drug that altered one's genetic composition to cease aging.

They'd marketed it as giving you a new life. One that had you frozen at the perfect age, at the perfect time. Now.

They used it to justify the lack of insurance they provided, the lack of guarantee, or time frame for how long it would last.

Even 15, I knew that the risk was astronomical. I was a business studies fan, a future entrepreneur with big dreams of her own sustainable, comfortable fashion line.

Those came true of course, but my point here is, I wanted that dream to come true. Which meant I did all the work, all the research, into marketing and economics and whatnot.

Which meant that I recognized the holes in their pitch. I figured out what they were lying about. I realized that the things they justified, they weren't just refusing to tell their customers. they themselves didn't know. That was why the costs were so low.

They figured that if such a miraculous thing costed less, with more credentials - and believe me they had credentials, what with being one of the biggest most famous companies in bioengineering - more people, for all over the world would buy it.

So I refused. Barely legal when they offered it, I'd done my research. I did my best to tell people, to stop them from buying it, but very few people believed me.

Then it went commercial. There was scientific proof, thousands of millions of people, were just fine. The worst side effects were people temporarily getting high, which well, it was a drug.

So I stopped convincing people. Gaslighted myself into believing it was false information. but there was always this nagging in the back of my mind, convincing me to never try it. And well, I wasn't exactly legal during its height of consumption, and it was technically a drug.

So when my mother chose to do it, I didn't say a word. And that is something I will regret forever.

I didn't always regret it you know. Not till a year ago, when I was 35 when the side effects popped up. In fact, I'd been close to doing it myself. I've never been more glad for my inbuilt habit of procrastinating, that I had worked so hard to get over.

3 years ago, on the 20th anniversary of the drug, videos started circulating on the internet. The original takers of the drug, they were getting de-aged.

They'd done too good of a job at stopping aging, to the point that they reversed it, and they hadn't even known.

Turns out, you were de - aged by exactly 40 years, exactly 20 years after starting to use it.

Nowadays, it's not really that big of an issue. Lots of people hadn't been using it that long, or had just stopped. In fact, now it's safer. Poeple have it in their 40's, ready to be 20 when they hit 60.

It goes to show how powerful information can be.

I don't think I'll ever do it however. I remember holding my mother, terrified and 50, looking forever 30 as the date of her first use approached, obsessively scrolling through articles of users who had just vanished, not yet 40 when 'DA Day' - As they were calling it - rolled around.

I promised myself I'd never subject my daughter, Sofia to sad smiles from strangers after she explains to them that no, this is my mother.

I wish I could hate my mother for subjecting me to it.

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AN: Hi! I hope you liked my very first Tumblr story!

Please feel free to give me feedback in the comments, whether you liked it or not! I devour constructive criticism like a... uh something that devours stuff. As you can see, my creative battery desperately needs a recharge after that!

A drug is discovered that stops all effects of aging. You decide to not take it. 20 years pass and the side effects are discovered.

[fatihulusoy]

CL1: The Biological Computer That Plays Pong with Actual Brain Cells

Greetings folks! Strap in, because this one's not science fiction — it’s science right now. What you’re about to read involves a computer that thinks using actual, living brain cells. Cortical Labs has built a system that doesn’t just simulate intelligence — it is intelligence. Meet CL1: a hybrid of silicon, stem cells, and sheer bioengineering brilliance.

TL;DR:

Cortical Labs built a biological computer using living neurons from stem cells. These neurons live on a chip, respond to stimuli, and learn to play Pong through feedback. No lines of code needed — just raw, biological learning. It’s a new chapter in computing where machines grow brains instead of running on silicon alone.

🧠 So, What Is CL1?

Imagine this: you take living neurons — derived from either human or mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) — and grow them on top of a microchip covered in electrodes. These electrodes can talk to the neurons using electrical pulses.

Now give that system a goal — say, playing Pong — and watch what happens. With no pre-programming, these little neuron networks start to learn, just by reacting to inputs and adjusting over time.

This isn't a simulation. These are real cells doing real-time problem solving. Welcome to the era of wetware.

⚙️ CL1's Technical Side:

Neurons: Human/mouse neurons derived from iPSCs

Interface: Multi-Electrode Array (MEA)

OS: biOS (as base biological operating system)

Feedback Loop: Electrical stimulation + live response tracking

Learning Mechanism: Hebbian plasticity ("neurons that fire together wire together")

🧬 How the Heck Does This Actually Work?

Let’s break it down — both biologically and technically:

👾 The Digital-to-Bio Feedback Loop:

CL1 is a closed-loop system:

The digital system tells the neurons what's happening (e.g., “pong ball moving left”)

Neurons fire back electrical responses

The system interprets those firings

Correct response? They get rewarded. Wrong one? They get a gentle digital slap

Over time, the neuron network self-organizes, learning the task through synaptic plasticity

🧪 The Biology Bit:

The neurons are grown from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) — adult cells reprogrammed into a stem-cell-like state

These are then developed into cortical neurons

The network grows on a multi-electrode array that can both stimulate and read from the cells

🖥 The Tech Stack:

biOS (Biological Operating System): Simulates digital environments (like Pong) and interprets neural activity in real time

Signal Processing Engine: Converts biological signals into digital responses

Environmental Control: Keeps the neuron dish alive with precise nutrient feeds, CO₂ levels, and temperature management

💡 Why This Is a Huge Freaking Deal

This isn't about playing Pong. It’s about building a new class of machines that learn like we do. That adapt. That grow. This rewires the concept of computing from algorithm-based logic to biological self-organization.

Potential future uses:

Ultra-low-power, self-learning bio-AI chips

Medical models for brain diseases, drug testing, or trauma simulation

Robotic systems that use real neurons for adaptive control

In short: this is the birth of organic computing.

🔮 Can We Upload Knowledge Yet? Like Matrix Style?

Not quite. Right now, CL1 learns via real-time feedback — it’s still trial-and-error. But researchers are exploring:

Pre-conditioning neural responses

Chemical memory injection

Patterned stimulation to train in behaviors

In the future? We might literally write instincts into neural systems like flashing a bootloader. One day, your drone might come preloaded with lizard-brain reflexes — not software, but neurons.

🧱 What Comes Next?

We’re at the beginning of something radical:

Neural prosthetics with muscle memory

Bio-computers that can evolve new solutions on their own

Robots that aren’t just “smart” — they’re alive-ish

CL1 is laying the foundation for a new kind of intelligence — not modeled after the brain, but actually made of one.

🔗 Sources:

Cortical Labs Official

Nature Article

The Verge Feature

ABC Science News

MIT Tech Review

Neuron Journal Study

[chevvy-ryder]

[NC_RES]-31102049-EUR-GER scharfenberg_g_portraits_015_3_KBI-DA_WA.file ///core:_ryder_von_scharfenberg.file\\\

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⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

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Ryder's theme playlist.

Beware – long text passages behind the cut.

I've tried to shorten it but it's somehow gotten to a character eassy. So maybe save it for later and read it when you got time for it if Ryder really interests you. He is so dear to me and so complex I try to explain him with the help of this song collection for you to underline and understand his character better. I just lack of explaining it in a short way.

Blade Runner His main theme. It is no such wonder I chose a Blade Runner (end) title for him, because when I look at Ryder I always say to myself "You're my one true Cyberpunk 2077 character" — and Blade Runner basically is the foundation of this amazing yet dystopian future noir genre after all. I've always found the music in the original movie tremendously moving and mysterious in a way I've never experienced before. And so is Ryder to me: mysterious and evocative. A book I had and still have to read, to find out who he is. If you do not know him, you can only speculate who and what he is. He's that dark character, that looks frightening and bleak to you, stares at you until you look away. You may want to, but you can't stop looking at his drawing presence. Yet it is a mask he wears or rather is also forced to wear, because behind all this mystery is his true character savely kept for VIP only. The drums in this song represent he might be the dangerous sinister type whilst the synthesizer gives this overall beautiful and mysterious tune surrounding him, that feels somehow more chilling than dangerous. Yet there's still a hint of threat in that song because of its continuous fast paced cadence. If you could see the world through Ryder's eyes, it looks exactly like in Blade Runner, a city full of neon lights but in a mere monotone way — darker, less saturated, even at day because skyscrapers block the sunlight down in the streets. Buildings built onto buildings, lots of (acid) rain pouring down daily. Ryder knows how this world, he was born into, works. It is reigned by corrupt rich Corpos wanting nothing but power absorbing every small independent corporation, reign over people, don't tell what goes on behind the curtains because the lesser folk doesn't need to know (cloning/human meat theory, soul killer program, black wall etc.) — the rich don't care what happens to them. They are only interested in their money and consumption behaviors. At the same time Ryder knows what's going on down in the streets because he walks amongst them voluntarily. He sees the misery that is going on, people are mostly poor and barely can make a living if they don't devote their whole lives to working for the big ones. Humans become more and more synthetic, so much that the rise of cyberpsychosis is getting higher and higher and becoming more problematic than ever as they can not control it anymore while AI reigns the net, controlling an entire population (including himself) in a subtextual way. I don't want to compare Ryder exactly with Blade Runner. His job is not to hunt down bioengineered humanoids. He's a merc who hunts down those bad for this city and the entire world to make it a better place. He knows that the original vision of Night City was something entirely different and he's got hope that it can still be put on the right track. He devotes himself to this, as a merc, fighting that what he once was supposed to be too, but never felt like he belonged into: power-hungry Corpos like his father. Ryder's weapons are blades and he runs them into the flesh of his enemies — therefore: Blade Runner. If you listen closely at the end you'll also hear rain and a breath before it ends. Fits so to Ry.

Mesa Another Blade Runner (2049) song. It is calm, yet still mysterious right from the start, lingering, single piano tunes make it sound threatening but also interesting that you want to listen further. Then it gets bright, and nice, warm even, turning into a beautiful melody. Ryder’s personality is exactly like that melody. He doesn't trust anyone right from the start. But when he feels he can do that and decides to let someone in, he opens up towards you. He's not the mean guy, it is quite the contrary: he's got a heartwarming personality, a lower voice with a certain softness in itself that makes you wish he would read you a good night story. But this takes time, and you should let him decide when that time is. Because yet that song bears a threatening moment towards the end: suddenly it gets awfully loud and sounds even alerting — that is when Ryder's mood suddenly snaps. He gets mean even to a point where anger turns up from zero to hundred — it only takes a stupid commentary at the wrong time. Beware when it happens and choose your further proceeding carefully — because there is something lingering inside him that likes to have him angry.

Let Me Out is the song that represents that something inside him he started calling 'Bad Enduring (&) Aggressing Sinister Termination' (program) or in short: 'BEAST'* at a certain point in his and the teams story because it is what it forces him to do: do evil (bad) — in his eyes it definitely is because in a lot of cases he does not want to act this way. It is constantly (enduring) haunting him. It happens in a very assaulting (aggressing) way. And it is scaring (sinister) him as well. It only ends with death (termination) for his opponent while he is lucky to have survived each time. He doesn't know how it looks (it is mostly a distorted shadow with sharp teeth) and where it came from, but it is a daily and constant knock-knock that says: "Time to be angry. Now where is that hunger to kill? I know you want it. Fetch me their souls. Hey! — I'm here, don't you ignore me! Let me out! They harmed you. Kill them. Let me help. Let me out! Let me kill! Let me kill them all!" That song exactly does that: having a constant knocking-like beat. It never stops except for a few seconds accompanied by various other threatening dark and strange sounds making you slowly go crazy. Ryder is dealing with this constant pounding almost daily. It never lets him alone, since it first showed up in 2070 and took a part of control when he had his first rampage damaging his own furniture at home. He noticed that his anger grew as soon as he moved to Night City and it's gotten worse over time. First he thought it was because of the constant violation and degradation he received from his family, but he is sure this plays only a minor part now, since he cut ties with his Corpo life about seven years ago. He assumes the source must be something else or the only explanation left could be he’s close to end up becoming a cyberpsycho. Aware of that he chose to fight it even more. There are times he is able to completely ignore it, and he finds some peace when he is listening to his favorite music, passes out or is sleeping because thankfully he's got a very deep sleep at last. Carrying it always with him, he got used to living with it though, but lately (2078) it seems to have received an update that made it stronger than ever (it also makes him stronger in fights) and it frightens him more than ever. It bears one of his greatest fears: him hurting those around him he loves because he can’t remain in control over it anymore. And he knows he's a threat and a burden to his team as well once it happens. But Vijay insists that Ry stays part of it and promised to help him no matter what. *I want to underline that beast is not my idea. The overall AI idea is part of @nervouswizardcycle's (Void Jester) story, we just happened to work it out so my boys fit better in and named it beast one day. I like the thought for Ryder giving it the name BEAST, all caps, as written above because he will describe it to other people as that but he doesn't know it is an AI program controlling him. Finding out about it is gonna be mindblowing. A fun fact: he could just frigging leave Night City and be free from it because it is only tied to it. Hilarious.

Berlin represents one of the many songs Ryder simply loves: good, (extra) hard, dark and loud techno beats giving him the best thrills with the ability to stimulate his senses so that he falls into a trance only concentrating on moving along to the beat: raving until his stamina completely fails of exhaustion. He can do it for hours — his stamina is incredibly high through years and years of raving almost every night until the sun goes up. He's been on 24h raves many times. There's nothing better than those hard beats for him. Not only can he vent his anger through it, that music lets him forget this mad world for a while, gives him freedom for the time being — it's just him moving along with the beat. All he wants is to rave until he can't anymore. He doesn't even drink beer then, just water to stay hydrated. But there's another important reason why his heart beats for those techno/dark wave beats: it overshadows the BEAST's constant pounding, so he won't hear it for the time being. The BEAT of various songs literally BEATS the BEAST here. You could also say in a way he trained to hear the BEAST as some constant techno song (which also explains why he's constantly fidgety — imagine having a 24/7 techno beat in your head and what you would do). Also the title "Berlin" is chosen because it was in Berlin when Ryder first came into contact with his favorite music. A lot of good memories are tied to it. He's the opinion that Germany makes the best Techno(ise) (it is even mentioned in the CP lore books as well, yup).

Berzerker + Don't You Know Who I Am I certainly wish these two songs could melt into one. I tried to choose only one but for me one can't do it justice without the other. However, they represent Ryder's battle/fight theme. I've already mentioned them in a tag game post a while ago, but here we go again: 'Berzerker' is similar to Let me Out but harder and faster, so it can be seen as when Ryder is fighting yet still remains in control, slicing his Mantis blades through the flesh of his enemies while his Berserk operating system, Zetatech Berserk Mk.5, is activated. It boosts him up with an immense strength and resilience, increases his melee damage and receiving hits only make him stronger and more powerful. The song gets wilder in between when he's going into a killstreak having beast mode activated, dealing a huge amount of damage. Since his blades are standard with no effect they only deal physical damage with a high possibility for bleeding and dismembering. Depending on how hard the enemy ist, how long the fighting takes and how annoying they are to him, the chance to go literally berserk becomes critically high: he will slowly lose control with BEAST now taking over. It literally consumes him for the time being and all he sees is black and white with red shadowy distorted figures that are enemies and friends all together (robots and drones do not appear as distorted shadows at all though). That is when the song 'Don't You Know Who I Am' takes over: Ryder turns into his total unstoppable berserk mode killstreak — you better stay away from him. The raging screams in this song represent his sheer anger as he charges towards his target while the sound of blades can be imagined as he's slicing his sharp blades through everything and everyone in a total blind rage. The song is also very fast paced. Ryder has no Sandevistan but he's fast and versatile when it comes to running and parcouring and even dodging. His reaction reflex is trained constantly for years and he keeps his body agile.

Mörder This is another song I found way later when I've already written all of this post here but these lyrics hit so into the guts because they are so point — they describe how he sees himself concerning his out of control being: that he's a monster and a murderer. The lyrics are in German though: Dann steh ich vor einem Plakat und lese, Was ich getan habe, Und lese und lese: das habe ich getan? Aber ich weiß doch von gar nichts! Aber wer glaubt mir denn, wer weiß denn, Wie's in mir aussieht, wie es schreit Und brüllt da drinnen, Wie ich es tun muss... will nicht Muss... will nicht... muss! Aber ich, kann ich denn, kann ich denn anders? Hab' ich denn nicht dieses Verfluchte in mir, Das Feuer, die Stimme, die Qual? Ich will davon, vor mir selber davonlaufen! Aber ich kann nicht, kann mir nicht entkommen, Muss, muss den Weg gehen, den es mich jagt. Muss rennnen, rennen endlose Straßen... Ich will weg, ich will weg... Und mit mir rennen die Gespenster Müttern und Kindern. Sie gehen nie mehr weg, sie sind immer da, Immer, immer, immer! Nur nicht wenn ich's tue here is a translation via translator. Ryder isn't proud to always leave a mess of pool of blood, organs and dead literally shredded bodies behind. It scares him as well a lot of times as soon as he is coming back to his senses again. He doesn't remember what he's done, all he sees is the mess that's left around him. You could say he has gotten used to it with the years passing by since he learned to live with it, but since it got even worse it frightens him more than ever. He judges himself heavily thinking he's not better than those out there doing bad to harmless people even tho he kills only the bad ones. He also wishes to be more like Vijay (V is more you shall not kill orientented and leaves the badboy for the NCPD). It's Ryder's greatest wish that BEAST vanishes one day the same way it showed up, so that he is able to use his blades with a rather normal behavior instead of tearing everyone apart. He does not enjoy this kind of killing but he's got no choice, being unable to withstand the hunger to kill driven by BEAST turning him into a killer. Even Vijay could not help him, when he started looking into it. The only thing he can help with is to prevent the worst happening by resetting Ryder's Berserk System, so that he stops raging blindly. During this phase he will pass out for an undetermined amount of time and be vulnerable to his enemies. So it can only be activated when Ryder's safety is assured and another team member (also a reason why V wants more team members) can jump in fast to his side because Vijay is often too far away for him (Ryder's personal wish). Ryder gets a lot ofhelp by the team. Arki is dealing with similar to same problems but he remains in control. Arki sees a big threat in Ryder at first but as they get to know each other he understands Ry and offers his help to train how to focus and to stay calm. Thyjs joining in as the last one will do everything to help him. He's mostly back up to protect Ryder when he needs to be knocked out, giving Arki more room to concentrate on their enemy because he doesn't need to protect him anymore since Thyjs takes that role now.

Shake the Disease important mention: I did not choose the song because of the lyrics. I chose it because of its melody, which is why I went for an instrumental version made by someone else instead. So I would prefer you just blend out this is a Depeche Mode song (if you know it). Because if I'd chosen that because of the lyrics, netlords — I'd have to write something entirely different here now. That melody in this song stands for Ryder's good mood. Moments when he feels happy, content and simply has a very good time, completely forgetting about his troubles and worldly problems. Moments he spends with the team in the Afterlife having good talks. Moments of fun that conjure a bright grin on his lips. The melody sounds promising and accentuates that Ryder has already worked a lot on his selfesteem so he can be content with himself and proud of what he has achieved so far. He took his life in his own hands, chose who he wanted to be, that he got further away from having self destructive thoughts. This life of his was not lost, not hopeless. It is promising. He only needed a true friend (Vijay) who opened his eyes to see the world from a different angle – it is also why it sounds so close to Vijay’s themes (both like listening to Depeche Mode). Life is precious and you should enjoy every day while you still can. Ryder doesn’t know what happens to him, his future is unwritten with that raging anger inside him, but he does the best to enjoy it as much as he is able to (and he will get rid of this thing for sure so he don't has to kill anymore). He deserves happiness and does not give up to seek it which can only be achieved with this nesting demon inside him gone for once and all.

Memories of Green A calm song – another Blade Runner score one as well – it is one of those rare moments when everything seems calm for a while, presented by the piano. Yet there's still sounds wanting to distract. It stands for, that Ryder really wishes to concentrate fully on the piano, to take in its soothing melody, but has a bit of a hard time to blend out everything else around him. Some of these noises could also be done by his inner Beast to gain attention again. The piano stands for Thyjs as well, since Thy was taught to play piano. Ryder loves to listen to him playing some tunes a lot, it lets him forget almost everything, it's some balm for his never resting soul. He never thought he would enjoy classical music either — only with Thyjs he discovers it for the first time. So these are moments he tries to enjoy as much and as long as he can. Thyjs is going to mean the world to him. He has a natural gift to calm Ryder down similar to Vijay before but in a different way and Ryder will protect him as much as he protects his best friend all the time. He is more than thankful that Thyjs values him all the way he is, not caring he's murdered more than hundreds of living beings in the most cruel and agitating ways. It's because Thyjs can relate to it in a way since he was turned into being a killing machine trough Militech. He offers his help as well and does anything for him. Ryder never thought that after V he could fall this hard for someone else again. But Thyjs is the one. The calm center of the storm capable to handle the hot-headed angry man Ryder is, seeking peace he will find one day for sure.

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If you read all through here. I simply cannot give you enough kudos for it! Besten Dank! <3