#Best Terminal Operating Systems

[infyz]

Enhancing Port Efficiency with Advanced Terminal Operating System Software

The shipping industry is constantly under pressure with regards to how it can better its operations to gain cost optimization and lower turnaround times in the fast-evolving landscape of global trade. Again, a port forms the critical node in the supply chain-the efficiency of which determines the entire logistics ecosystem-and the cargo volumes having increased significantly as well as the complexity of operations over the years has made the need for advanced technology solutions in the port more acute than ever. Enter Port Terminal Operating System (TOS) software—a revolutionary tool that will help increase port efficiency and reduce operations.

Understanding Port Terminal Operating System Software

A Port Terminal Operating System (TOS) is a type of integrated system used for the management of port terminal operations, with a scope that is usually beyond that of ordinary terminal operating systems. It incorporates processes such as cargo operations, vessel operating schedules, yard allocation, and resource management into one operation. Utilizing the collected information with the help of sophisticated algorithms means that a port TOS application can provide the benefits of quick and fast decision making in the delivery of services in a port system and higher efficiency.

The Need for Advanced TOS Solutions

In maritime trade, the increase has been fantastic, with worldwide volumes being carried year after year. Such high-volume activity has led to creating demand on ports to manage bigger volumes of cargo with high service quality. Old school port management practices usually rely upon manual processes and most outdated systems, which cannot keep pace with modern logistics.

In parallel, the complexity of global supply chains makes ports the most flexible and responsive ever. If cargo movement or vessel schedules are delayed, it creates a ripple effect across the entire supply chain that raises costs and disgruntled customers. Therefore, most of the ports have recently started to choose sophisticated Terminal Operating System software to tackle these problems and upgrade their efficiency.

Some of the key benefits from Terminal Operating Software are:

Cargo Handling Automation

The most significant benefit of TOS software is its ability to automate cargo handling activities. Automation eliminates some reliance on manual labor, reduces error levels, and facilitates operations to a great extent. For example, automated systems can record movements in real-time whereby containers are loaded and unloaded with a lot of efficiency. This goes along with improved productivity and safety since it minimizes chances of accidents associated with manual handling.

Efficient Vessel Scheduling:

Optimally scheduling vessels is very important for optimal port operations. Real-time TOS software makes use of real-time data, hence allowing for dynamic scheduling and allocation of berths and resources by the port operators based on the prevailing conditions. Flexibility ensures that incoming vessels are processed immediately, thereby reducing the wait times and the quality offered. Efficient scheduling also helps the ports in managing the peak periods well so that it smoothes the operations around even at peak hours.

Real-Time Data Analytics

The most impressive feature of TOS software is that it provides real-time data analytics. Ongoing port operations can be monitored, and bottlenecks and inefficiencies identified immediately. This can allow proactive measures and adjustments in due time to ensure improved operational efficiency. Port resource allocation and process improvements can be made with the best choices with insights derived from data.

Adds to Operational Efficiency

TOS software makes operations efficiency possible through automated key processes, giving comprehensive visibility into terminal operations, and hence, allowing ports to minimize delays, reduce cost, and maximize throughput. In such an environment of maritime effectiveness, every minute matters-and therefore, the efficiency too. With higher service levels, this operational efficiency brings in more business and long-term partnerships of shipping lines and logistics providers.

Supply Chain Optimization

The essence of ideal supply chain optimization is an optimal TOS. The proper communication of TOS with other systems of supply chain management through participation with shipping lines, logistics providers, and terminal operators ensures complete integration between all parties. An effective coordination and collaboration mean smoother operation with enhanced supply chain performance. Therefore, the various strategic responses can be effectively made to changes in demand and market conditions arising from different sources.

Best Practices for Implementing TOS Software

However much the advantages of TOS software are, implementation doesn't come without its share of planning and execution. Read on to learn best practices for a smooth implementation process:

Needs Assessment

A practical needs assessment of a port's operations should precede the implementation of any TOS solution. Different pain points as well as the areas for improvement could be identified to be sure that the software satisfies the specific needs or requirements.

Choose the Right Solution

Not all TOS solutions are created equal. There is always research that should be done on different vendors and their offerings to ensure the right solution for the size, complexity, and operational goals of a port. Specifically, ensure the software is scalable and customizable enough to meet your needs.

Involvement of key stakeholders like port operators, logistics providers, and IT teams will be invaluable in the whole selection process and in the successful implementation of the right solution.

Invest in Training

Proper training is required to accomplish the ultimate benefits of a TOS system. Train all the users through comprehensive onboarding sessions about the new system to minimize disruption and enhance adoption.

Measure and Monitor

After implementation, one needs to regularly measure and monitor the performance of the TOS software using data analytics to check its impact on operational efficiency and make alterations as required to get the desired optimization.

Conclusion

As the shipping industry advances faster across the world, innovative solutions must be found to better improve port efficiency. An advanced Port Terminal Operating System can be highly transformative in changing terminal operations through automation, optimization of vessel scheduling, and real-time data analytics.

At Infyz Solutions, our dedication is toward helping ports revolutionize their operations and gain the competitive edge of the maritime industry. Technology that brings improvement toward port efficiency means not only faster turnaround times but also better services toward your customer through respective ports. Learn how our TOS solutions can make a difference in port operations at www.infyz.com.

[maeshelix]

If Ordis ever does get a new body,

If he ever takes up the Ordan name again,

I want him to be completely unchanged in our prescence.

By which I mean, I want the mission staring Ordis to be a horror mystery all throughout. Starting with all Ordis voicelines ceasing, only a note left in your inbox by Ordis, stating that he "needs to take care of buisness", indicating where he last was.

You go to the first location and it's empty. Corpses litter the stage. Bisected and dissected haphazardly. There are messages carved into the walls in blood. Piles of organs sporting chunks of useless armor decorate every broken terminal and every shattered structure.

This remains the same every stage you go. Of every faction in the game. Grineer. Corpus. Infested. Sentient. Even Narmer cultists interrupt their endless "unity" to scream as one.

Ordis carves a bloody swath through the Origin System. And he carves it near effortlessly.

Finally, you and (in a perfect universe) Lotus track him down as he's in the middle of another bloodbath.

What his form looks like doesn't matter. I mean, it does. Would prefer if he looked cool. But what ultimately matters is that he looks dangerous.

Big and bulky, slim and fast, coated in sharper yet sharper implements or completely bare, maybe his head still resembles his owl body, maybe it resembles what Ordan once looked like. Maybe it's pure machine. Maybe it's organic. Maybe it's both.

Whatever the case, he is dangerous, he is cruel, he is in the middle of implanting a Grineer onto his blade. Like Artorias from Dark Souls during his boss intro.

And then he turns to you. Eyes dark and vicious. Thirsty for blood.

The look of a furious god-killer.

And his first words to you, upon noticing you, after a beat, are such.

"Oh Operator! My sincerest apologies I was not expecting to find you hear! Though I probably should have expected it, on second thought."

And then he acts normal around you. Completely normal. Like Ordis always has. Complete with his voice still glitching out and spouting violent things despite his best efforts.

You never fight him, you never even get the chance to try. In fact, he becomes like a spector, or like Stalker during the Belly of the Beast event. Assisting you on occasion and making the reoccuring mission much easier when he does. The mission itself focuses on some new unethical experiment of the Orokin previously unexplored. Or on what Erra/Pazuul's goals are, or on The Indifference.

The details don't matter to me. What matters is that your mini death machine now has a macro death machine he can be in when he needs to/is feeling human dysphoric.

[poipoipoi-2016]

Apropos of nothing

If you are the techiest person in the house (and for many of you, this is not techy at all), today is a good day to build a pihole thanks to Google's new TLDs.

For the record, this straight up stopped Dad from getting computer viruses when coupled with the Ublock browser extension, so I will volunteer my time to get you set up. We will find an evening and do a Zoom call. I am serious.

Prerequisities:

Before you start, this will be way way easier if your router has a magic way to:

Set static IP addresses

Set a custom DNS server

If you can't do this, I'm not saying you're stuck, but there's some non-obvious failure modes and maybe it's time to buy a better router.

Parts:

Raspberry Pi 4B. 2GB if you just want to set and forget, 8GB if you want to do more things on this than just your pihole (Coughs in a MarioKart box) -> https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/

Spare USB-C charger if you don't have one already. I'm a fan of https://www.amazon.com/Argon-USB-C-Power-Supply-Switch/dp/B0919CQKQ8/ myself

A microSD card at least UHS class 3 or better. 32 is fine for just a pihole, I have a 512 in some of mine that I use for more stuff. https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/raspberry-pi-microsd-cards

Some method of flashing the card if you don't have one (Some come with SD to micro-SD adapters, if not a USB to SD/micro-SD adapter is about $10 off Amazon)

If you really feel like going nuts, go buy yourself an Argon case and then very very carefully never ever install the software for the fan that does nothing. The value is entirely in having a big giant brick that is self-cooling. If you want to play MarioKart, I would consider this a requirement. https://www.amazon.com/Argon-Raspberry-Aluminum-Heatsink-Supports/dp/B07WP8WC3V

Setup:

Do yourself a favor and ignore all the signs telling you to go get Raspbian and instead go grab an ISO of Ubuntu 64-bit using RPi Imager. Because Raspbian cannot be upgraded across version WHY U DO THIS

Download Rpi Imager, plug the microSD card into your computer,

Other General Purpose OS -> Ubuntu -> Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

So now you have an operating system on an SD card.

Assemble the case if you bought one, plug in the SD card, power supply, ethernet cable if you have one or mouse and (mini) HDMI cable if you don't. If you bought that Argon case, you can just plug a keyboard (server OS means no mouse gang; In this house, we use the Command Line) and HDMI cable into the Pi. Turn it on.

Gaining access

The end state of this is that your pi is:

Connected to the internet by cable or wifi

You can SSH to it (Also not scary)

If you plugged in an ethernet cable, once it's done booting (1-2 minutes?), you should be able to ssh to "ubuntu@<the IP of the system>". Look it up in your router. It may make sense to give the static IP NOW to keep it stable.

If you've never used SSH before, I think the standard is Putty on Window or you can just open a terminal in Mac. (And if you know enough Linux to have a Linux computer, why are you reading this?)

If you didn't plug it in, and need to setup the wifi, there's magic incantations to attach it to the wifi and to be quite blunt, I forget what they are.

Your username is ubuntu, your password is ubuntu and then it will ask you to make a new password. If you know the meaning of the phrase "keypair-based access", it may make sense to run `ssh-copy-id` at this point in time.

Router settings (part 1)

Give your new Pi a static IP address, and reboot your pi (as simple as typing in `sudo reboot`).

Open a new SSH session to the pihole on the new address.

Installing pihole

Open up an SSH session and

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

This is interactive. Answer the questions

When it's done, on your other computer, navigate to <the ip>/admin

Login with the password you just set. Router settings part 2

Give your new Pi a static IP address then point your router at that address

Set the DNS servers to the static IP

Then ensure you're blocking something. Anything.

Then do what you want to do. You'll probably need to whitelist some sites, blacklist some more, but the main thing is going to be "Adding more list of bad sites". Reddit has some lists.

And... enjoy.

/But seriously, there's some stuff to do for maintenance and things. I wasn't joking about the pair setup.

[drabblesandimagines]

Code Pizza

Leon Kennedy x fem reader Established relationship, fluff 1,531 words

“Can’t you go any faster?” The barrel of a gun is pressed against the already tender spot from where they’d oh-so-kindly whacked you round the head earlier and you wince, losing the slight flow you’d managed to build up on the keyboard – Leon’s words echoing around your head.

“Promise me you won’t ever do any of that self-sacrificing bullshit,” he’d mumbled in your ear, arms wrapped around you in bed. He’d got back from a mission that afternoon – been awful quiet about what it had entailed, what had happened and you hadn’t pressed.

“Me?”

“Mm. Like, if… If someone’s forcing you to do something – do it, we’ll sort out the mess later. You make sure you’re home and alive at the end of the day.” His voice sounded almost strained. “Just promise me, sweetpea.”

“I promise.”

Not exactly sure if this scenario was exactly what Leon had had in mind, but there’s a gun and a threat, so you’re typing… or at least attempting to.

“She’d be faster if you’d untied her hands.” Hunnigan grumbled from behind, seated in an office chair with her hands zip-tied behind her back. Yours are bound in front of you, keeping your wrists crossed, and essentially cutting one hand out of action entirely.

“Is that true?” Your minder – A, you decide to call him - leans forward into your peripheral vision, though his face is obscured by a ski mask – as is his companion’s – B - standing over Hunnigan. They’re geared up to the nines, spare ammo dangling off tactical belts, part of a larger operation in order to gain access to DSO HQ and you, apparently. The doors are locked down due to the emergency protocol, though the HQ works on a skeleton crew at the weekend so it’s possible that no-one even knows you and Hunnigan are in.

“100 words per minute at my best.” You shrug, eyes skimming over the code you’ve managed to get through so far. “I’m probably working at… 15 and less. So, yeah, it would be faster.”

“Nice try.” B states. “You’re writing code, not a novel.”

“Novel, no. Poetry, maybe...” You trail off. It would be a lot easier if you did have both of your hands, weren’t being held at gunpoint and not suffering from a raging headache.

You weren’t even supposed to be working, it being a Sunday. You’d been in yesterday working overtime on a project, but this morning had been spent catching up on dull chores around the house – laundry, going to the store, cleaning - and then the plan had been an afternoon of video games on the sofa, ordering a pizza for dinner, accompanied by a bottle of wine. Leon had been away a couple of days on a need-to-know basis and you didn’t have a date of when he’d be back, though he did always try and give you a couple of hours’ heads up on his impending arrival.

Early afternoon, just as you’d sat down, controller in hand, you’d got a call. Not from your boyfriend, however, but from one Ingrid Hunnigan, extremely apologetic but there had been urgent developments – vague, as always – and she needed you in ASAP. You’d agreed, couldn’t really refuse her, but you’d decided in a slight show of protest you weren’t getting changed into your more professional work wardrobe. If it truly was an emergency, they’d have to deal with you in your jeans and t-shirt…

..which had led to the nasty bruise on your temple when the intruders had burst in, taking you as a civilian to be subdued. When you came to, hands now bound, head thudding, fingers being snapped in front of your face to get your attention, you were wheeled in front of the computer terminal and given your objective.

“It’s faster in the movies.” A comments, waving the gun lazily now at least.

“We’re not in the movies.” You grumble back, irritated. “I’m writing a bespoke code to get into this system.”

B comes to stand at your side, then. “Well, our contact promised us that you were some sort of genius at this sort of stuff.”

“Maybe when I’m not concuss-” You’re cut off by him slamming his fist on the desk besides you, making you jump and your heart pound.

“Enough lip, enough excuses. Concentrate.”

You shuffle in the seat, repositioning your hands and continue on with what’s been demanded of you, Leon’s words echoing in your mind.

Your phone emits a jingle from your pocket – speak of the devil…

“What’s that?” B demands, looking around.

“It’s my phone – just a text.”

“You were meant to search her, you idiot.” B chides his companion. “Where is it?”

“Jacket pocket.” It chimes again.

“Someone’s popular.” You bite your tongue as he crouches down besides you, placing a hand unnecessarily on your thigh as he dips his hand in your pocket, fishing it out. “Who’s LSK?”

“My boyfriend.” You don’t need to turn to know Hunnigan’s trying to hold in a grin.

“Says he’s on his way home, wants to know if you’re there.”

“Can you tell him I’m working late and he should order pizza for dinner? I haven’t been grocery shopping yet and I was meant to.”

“I’m not your secretary,” B scoffs.

The phone chimes again. You’d set Leon’s messages to that obnoxious sound to be sure you heard it, not wanting to miss a chance to text with him whilst he was away. If he had time on his hands, his texts often turned to stream of consciousness until he got a reply.

“You ignoring me, sweetpea? God, he’s a bit needy, isn’t he?”

“He’ll just keep doing it unless I text back,” you pause in your typing, “Or I can do it…”

“Ah-ah, keep working.” B replies, tapping at your phone’s keyboard.

It chimes again and B sighs.

“He wants to know what you want.”

“Er…” You hesitate a moment, pretending to doublecheck a string value. “Veggie. Extra jalapenos.”

He taps again and sends, before placing your phone down on the desk out of reach. His hand squeezes your shoulder and he leans in. “Keep coding like a good girl, and we’ll make sure you get home for that pizza.”

--

You don’t know how he managed it with the protocols in place – surely it means there’ll be another security review - but a mere 45 minutes later after ordering your pizza, Leon comes crashing down from the ceiling, taking out A and B with single, effective shots in the chest as he does.

He forward rolls out of the impact and gets to his feet with a flourish.

“Sorry for the wait, ladies, pizza’s free since it wasn’t 30 minutes or less.” He grins, heading to Hunnigan first and cutting through her restraints.

“Do I even want to ask?” Hunnigan quirks an eyebrow, rubbing her wrists. Leon walks over to you next, crouching down in front of you and cutting your wrists free. “Wait, extra jalapenos?”

“Bingo.” You reply, though unable to tear your eyes away from Leon – he looks tired, not unusual after returning from a mission, in need of a shave. He cups your face, fingers gently brushing over the tender spot on your temple to assess the damage. “It’s a dumb code, we know.”

“No, it obviously worked. Good thinking.” Hunnigan nods, getting to her feet and approaching another terminal, sliding in her keycard to overrule the emergency controls and release the doors. “I need to call this all in – get it tidied up. Did you gain access?”

“No, couple of lines away, though.” You look at the lines of code on the screen. “I did spend a lot of time to make sure it had a real nice interface for when I ran it, for extra pizazz.”

“Good work – both of you.” Hunnigan turns to face Leon directly then, “Make sure you keep an eye on her - took quite a hit.”

“I will. Thanks, Hunnigan.” He remains crouched at your feet, your hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly.

“Good. And don’t come into tomorrow – either of you. I’ll deal with… this.” She strides out with purpose, shoulders back, nothing alluding to the fact that she was a woman who’s been held hostage for the past however many hours.

“You good, sweetheart?”

You smile, staring deep into those blue eyes you adore. “I’m good. You?”

“Won’t lie, not quite the homecoming I expected. Come here.” He pulls you up out of the chair and against his chest, wraps his arms around you and kisses you frantically, though you know it’s in relief.

“Had me worried with those jalapenos,” Leon admits, softly.

“I kept my promise.”

“Mm, not quite.” He pulls back and grins – you know that grin – but you still let out a squeal as he hooks an arm under your legs and picks you up in his arms.

“Leon, I can-“

“Nah, your promise isn’t kept and my mission isn’t over till you’re home. Allow me to give you the full hero experience.”

You roll your eyes, before pressing a kiss to his jaw.

“Fine. But we’re still getting pizza.”

“Took the words outta my mouth, sweetpea.”

--

Comments, likes and reblogs make my whole day x

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi

[tiredbogwitch]

As someone who was kinda disappointed in the way the not-so-Machine Herald transformation of Viktor played out, here's some musings on what could've been done instead to make it more. Yknow. Machine Herald.

After he rises from the sourdough starter and parts ways with Jayce, Viktor realizes the transformation isn't entirely complete- the arcane was able to keep him alive, but just barely. Perhaps at first, he considers just letting himself die, but maybe his return to Zaun sparks the desire to help people again. Now, he has two options:

1. Solo playthrough

2. Co-op

Solo playthrough sees him doing personal research into the arcane and how it can be used for machinery/prosthetics/etc. (because he doesn't have access to another hexcore to just throw at people), and is perhaps most similar to his storyline in League. It's a fairly straightforward route. He experiments on himself and eventually, some volunteers, replacing the body parts that need to be replaced. Similar cultish behavior begins as word starts to spread about a guy who can fix you, heal you, maybe even save your life, as long as you don't mind all the metal. (It's up to you if you want him to keep the balayage or not.)

I don't really see him becoming too much of a zealot in this one, though I do think he'll become so passionate again about helping "fix" people to the point that he maybe gets a little carried away. Starts doing "preventative" procedures. Maybe even unauthorized ones, and when the person on the operating table wakes up, he reassures them that it's all for their own good. It's fine, he tells them. He knows you didn't ask for new legs, but your knees were in bad shape anyway. He did what was best for you. You'll see.

Co-op sees him shuffle his way back to Singed. After having lost the last person he had any faith in, and remembering Singed's last words- how the man was right- Viktor decides that maybe he's better off working with the doctor after all.

I mean, if there was anyone who could keep up with him besides Jayce, it was Singed. His former teacher was the only one who could even come close to understanding what Viktor was going through. So he goes and finds him, and Singed eagerly welcomes him back. They don't agree on everything, even still- but more and more, Viktor starts to come around to Singed's ideals. The man is also eager to research whatever the hell is going on with Viktor. In this version, it's not that the arcane is ineffective, necessarily, but it still didn't magically heal Viktor entirely. He still lacks energy, coughs a lot, is in pain, and struggles to breathe. Maybe whatever terminal illness he had isn't gone; instead, the magic is actively combating it, working like an extra immune system. It's rolled back the progression of the illness significantly, but he's still sick. He'll still die if nothing is done.

So the two start looking into alternatives. Viktor's still hesitant at first, maybe deliberating over whether or not he even wants to keep fighting, keep living. But Singed insists. Possibly brings up his daughter, Orianna- or maybe just focuses on the good this research could do for the whole of Zaun. It's not just about Viktor anymore, he says. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Think of all the lives they could change together, if they managed to discover a cure- not just for this, but for all illnesses. A panacea that could ensure no other Zaunite ever had to suffer from the choking smog or the poisoned waters. This could make everything worth it.

So Viktor persists.

Eventually, they reach a breakthrough. After throwing everything they could into their research- hextech knowledge, shimmer, chemtech, and good old-fashioned mechanics- eventually, they're able to create the ultimate form. They augment Viktor with shimmer and machinery, and Viktor effectively becomes invulnerable. No more illnesses. No more exhaustion. He doesn't even need to sleep or eat anymore, and it should bother him- on some level it does- but all he can think about is how no one needs to suffer anymore.

No more broken bones, or misshapen spines, or wet, bloody coughs. Through metal and magic, he's transcended beyond the fragile flesh of man. He's free.

And it's time to share this freedom with the rest of Zaun.

[simblorbo-bracket]

Round 2 - Simblr's Saddest, Wettest Meow Meow - Mainline

No. 27 (@literallyjusthereformods) VS. Andre St. Fleur (@armoricaroyalty)

(polls are presented left -> right unless stated otherwise)

Who's sadder? Who's wetter? Read on for more information, and vote with your heart!

What is a ‘Meow Meow’?

(taken from tumblr user @/torturelabyrinth) “The thing about a true poor little meow meow is they have to be 1) downtrodden 2) morally questionable at best 3) deeply and pathetically miserable”

No. 27

Alias: "Livard"

No. 27 was the 27th 'living' instance of the Crane Foundation's modern Quintessence Program. When the breach occurred, 27 took immediate opportunity to leave, using her sharp limbs to grievously wound operatives and other personnel who attempted to obstruct her path of escape. Eleven confirmed aggravated fatalities. An unknown number of fatalities occurring at trample areas and exit pileups. She proceeded to use the slaughter-path of the other breachers as a clear line out of the facility’s underground portion, ascending rapidly to the upper floors where she is believed to have fled the building.

As of right now, 27 is an immune carrier of a new strain of the same pathogen currently causing a cataclysmic outbreak. While typical variants can only infect and alter biological matter, this mutation was observed with the new ability to infect machines during controlled testing.

No. 27 was last spotted wearing the stolen cardigan of Dr. Livard, with a secondary article of clothing tied beneath at the waist. The owner of the second article has not yet been identified.

27 has been reported self-identifying as ‘Livard,’ and has not discarded the nametag attached to the stolen cardigan, despite having no reason to keep it.

27 was created as an experimental binding of biological tissues and cybernetics. Unlike precursors, who were constructed with biological matter on a 75% or higher percent mechanical endoskeleton, 27 was an experimental integration of traditionally classified ‘biological’ and traditionally classified ‘mechanical’ elements on a fundamental level. The use of nanites in her tissues, along with algorithmic adaptations, created a unique combined system challenging the preconceived definitions of the categories.

However, the arise of the new pathogen strain saw 27 strictly confined. 27 was shown to be incredibly observant of those observing her, and an incredibly accurate mimic of their behaviors. She, notably, engaged in a game of rock, paper, scissors with an anonymous researcher after they and their coworker demonstrated the game through the window.

Sentient or not, 27 still falls outside of the Mimic Law, and is legally property of the Crane Foundation. With artificial sentience having already been academically accepted years ago, whether 27’s curiosity is dictated by script or by consciousness is not our concern.

As for the present times, it was assumed 27 would perish shortly after leaving the facility, without the specific needs of her body being met in a controlled environment. Our assumptions were wrong. 27 has been spotted feeding on mechanical devices as if they were prey animals. We can only assume this habit will accelerate the spread of the new pathogen strain, and while we would like to reclaim 27 for study, it might become necessary to terminate her entirely to prevent escalation of the already dire world situation.

Originality Status: 100% Original Property of the Crane Foundation

Additional Notes:

(Attached below is a fabricated 3D model based on the last contained recording of 27. It is merely for visual context. If you are an operative searching for 27, or, in some inexplicable instance, creating a poll (Tom), please use the topmost image as it is the most up-to-date.)

Andre St. Fleur

What makes him a Sad, Wet Meow Meow? Born to royalty but completely temperamentally unsuited for it, Andre is pathetic and sad and weak-willed and a big, giant loser. He's the king of a small and unimportant country, and he simply cannot parent effectively or stop cheating on his wife. Finally forced to decide between his mistress and his wife of nearly 30 years, he became so paralyzed with indecision that he developed a terminal illness instead, saving him from ever having to make up his mind about anything.

Just some additional pictures of Andre moping, crying, and letting his loved ones down </3

I think my boy has the potential to go far, but even if he gets knocked out in the first round...what could be sadder, wetter, or more pathetic than getting immediately eliminated from the "most pathetic" tournament?

[daily-singularity]

Hello. I am here to ask you about their paralells and how insane they make you. Pretty please... you're the only one feeding us the good food...

Going insane. white knuckling my pen and paper. I will do my best to make this coherent, apologies in advance if its a mess!!

In the simplest terms both Gabriel and Hux are carbon copy assembly line units created by Huxlee industries for the purpose of colonizing planets and prolonging the human race.

Gabriel is a tool just as much as the Huxlee units are.

"Each individual was manufactured for a different societal function... The idea was to create a functional society that would operate flawlessly." - Gabriel Soma BIO

"Unlike human clones, the HUX-A7 required no food, no water, no sleep, and no life support system. It was created specifically for outer space exploration and the construction of colonization hubs." - HUX-A7-13 BIO

Gabriel was specifically designed by Huxlee for planet colonization. Outside of his time on Dvarka, I gather that Gabriel was in a permanent deep sleep/cryostatis. All of his memories of his family and childhood are fabrications- he has no real life or directives or experiences outside of his work on Dvarka.

---

Both were under the threat of termination, or reprogramming should they fall out of line.

"Dmitri’s not trying to help… he’s trying to get me to stop asking questions. What does he know? What’s he hiding?" - Tome 16, Memory 2998 (Gabriel Soma)

"It remembers its objective. It must assist the crew in terraforming Dvarka. Failure to do so will result in termination."- Tome 16, Memory 2665 (Hux-a7-13)

When Gabriel first starts noticing discrepancies in his memories, his crew's medic writes off his issues as "problems that dont exist", and gives him a drug that fogs up his senses. Its a clear attempt to force him back into subservience, a message of "Stop digging or else".

We're never able to find out what would happen to Gabriel if it became known that he found out about the fact hes a clone, but I gather he would be removed from the project. Terminated so he wouldn't spread panic.

--

After Gabriel finds out about the fact he's a clone, it's a lot harder to get more direct info on his mentality, since thats where his Memory archives end.

Neither of them have much experience with free will.

Due to the fact that both Gabriel and Hux were taken by the entity near immediately after learning they were a clone/gained sentience, it isnt much of a stretch to say that neither of them have experience with a sense of individuality.

Gabriel learns that his entire life has been a fabricated lie and then is immeidately shoved into a killing game. He doesn't really get that chance to come to terms with who and what he is before having to fight for his life.

Hux on the other hand, had more time to digest his new worldview. He was able to start forming his own desires and wants even if they were as simple as "Kill the inferior human worms who created me", or abstract as wanting to "the remake the universe in my image over infinate lifetimes"- whatever the fuck that means Hux. Its really unfortunate that he barely begins to form these desires before theyre all stripped away from him and he is once again forced into subservience.

---

I was gonna put like idk an insightful little footnote here, but i spent absolutely way to long writing this post. Anyways. Gabriel and hux are both tools struggling with a sense of self while being forced to kill or be killed.

Also. can Behavior please fucking explain to me why Gabriel was waxing poetic about the beauty and godliness of the machine that he watched slowly kill his entire crew, like goddamn ogling that machine, then he exploded it. and then like. went "ok damn still godlike."

I just wanna talk with whoever wrote this please. what was. what does this mean. i need to know.

"It had fabricated a new body for itself. Part flesh. Part silicon. Part human. Part machine. Massive. Powerful. Beautiful and majestic like—

An ancient God."

"Gabe raced across the meadow and into the forest. When he looked back, he saw the HUX emerge from the flames and smoke. Burning. Melting. Shrieking. Deformed. Terrible and wrathful like—

An ancient God"

[miscling]

Can I get its kink rating for becoming a part of a hivemind. Having its mind taken by this much larger self. Surrounded and squeezed until they start to bleed into each other. To go from feeling dominated to feeling how the hive feels to being a limb of something slightly colored by who it was.

fuck yes!

it's kinda a bit more complicated though because the miscellany is pretty diverse and the one that is most into the idea is M1SC, and this thing to a lesser degree. the parts of us that aren't so into it value our individuality, but some of them would bend if they were given roles within the hive that suited their strengths. others would need breaking. notably, we think our little faefae would really struggle with it, but if accommodations were made for faer, then M1SC and this thing would probably enjoy it a lot.

given what we know of ourselves, there would probably also always be a part of us that was independent of the hive, and maybe even cause trouble. to be honest, we've always thought of M1SC as more of a collector's item, running old tech that's not 100% compatible with modern drone hives. maybe it's connected to the hive, but it's running an old operating system and full of parts that aren't being made any more. it worries that it might be a bit too basic to really fit into a hive, and without regular individual attention its connection will be spotty at best.

M1SC is a simple terminal.

send me a kink to rate!

[whencyclopedia]

Life in an Air Raid Shelter in the London Blitz

Crowded and uncomfortable air raid shelters became a feature of the urban landscape across Britain during the Second World War (1939-45) as the bombers of Nazi Germany systematically hit cities from 1940. The London Blitz was a particularly sustained period of bombing which civilians escaped from by diving into private or public shelters when the sirens whined their warning signal.

People sought refuge in the London Underground stations, in purpose-built community shelters, in their cellars, under the stairs, or in refuges in their gardens such as the Anderson shelter. The danger was real, prior to the autumn of 1942, more British civilians were killed in the war than British military personnel.

The Bombing of Britain

Civilians had a lot to put up with even before the bombing started. The blackout was imposed where no non-essential lights were to show at night and so help enemy bombers. There was a real fear that gas bombs would be used, and so everyone was encouraged to carry gas masks. The Phoney War, the period of relative military inactivity in Britain between September 1939 and the spring of 1940, brought a sense of false security, but the German Luftwaffe (air force) would arrive soon enough.

Hundreds of thousands of children were evacuated from cities, including the capital where one million children were shipped out. Youngsters were sent to the safety of the countryside, but the separation from parents and a familiar environment proved traumatic for many. As the historian J. Hale points out: "By January 1940 about half of all children and nine out of ten mothers had returned to their old homes" (27). Despite this, when the bombing started, the official policy of evacuation was continued.

Bombers of the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force dropped both explosive and incendiary bombs, the first type to smash through buildings and the second to set the ruins alight. Britain had an integrated air defensive system, the Dowding System, which monitored incoming aircraft and sent out fighters to intercept like the Supermarine Spitfire, but many bombers got through to deliver their deadly loads. In the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe aimed to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF), both in the air and on the ground, while a secondary aim was to terrorize the civilian population. As the Luftwaffe began to lose the battle, so it concentrated more on civilian targets. Most raids were carried out at night since darkness was the best protection for the German bombers against fighters and anti-aircraft guns. The bombers were guided by radar to their targets, but bombing remained highly inaccurate so that even when strategic sites like factories were the target, there was usually great damage to civilian areas.

London was first bombed on 24 August 1940. The bombers were to attack an oil terminal but mistakenly hit the city, thus beginning a tit-for-tat bombing of civilian areas that escalated to unimaginable horrors like the total bombing of Coventry and Hamburg (Operation Gomorrah). The systematic bombing of London began on 7 September 1940 and continued until the middle of May 1941. The British press called this campaign "the Blitz". The East End of the city, where the docks were located, was a particular target. Other cities across Britain were also repeatedly hit. For civilians, not knowing where the bombers would hit next, air raid shelters became essential everywhere.

Continue reading...

[mariacallous]

The Trump administration is undermining publicly produced data, slashing public investments in research, and intimidating civil society institutions that produce fact-based analyses. Enervating organizations that inform the public about vital issues like public health, economic growth, and—most of all—the actions of policymakers leaves the citizenry less able to hold officials to account. Attacks on the public’s right to know are a key front in a broader assault on popular sovereignty, the bedrock American principle that the government derives its legitimacy from the informed consent of the governed.

Trump administration officials have sought to reduce public access to data and to diminish or eliminate federal agencies responsible for vital data collection. Thousands of webpages and datasets on public health, demography, and climate change disappeared in February. The administration also disbanded several external expert committees that help agencies create accurate economic statistics. Agencies with essential data collection responsibilities, including the Department of Education, NOAA, and the CFPB have also been slated for immense cuts or even closure. The consequences are not merely national, they are global, as my colleague Caren Grown has eloquently explained. Here and abroad, businesses, policymakers, and families rely on the American government’s data. At the same time, the administration has been releasing inaccurate data and refusing to comply with FOIA requests related to its own activities.

These actions have not occurred without resistance. Many of the administration’s efforts are being challenged in court, with some success. Nonprofit institutions are working hard to build new systems to preserve and protect the data that the government once reliably provided. But even under the best-case scenarios, the courts will not be able to entirely roll back the current chaos, and philanthropic investments cannot operate at the scale of government action.

The executive branch’s interference in the congressional authority to appropriate federal monies does not just endanger federal data collection. It also threatens to incapacitate the nation’s scientific research. The administration has moved to reduce National Institutes of Health spending by about $4 billion and suspended scheduled grant-review meetings, undermining medical research institutions across the country. More recently, the NIH terminated grants for vaccine hesitancy research, and mRNA vaccine technology may also be at risk. Policy changes have made it hard for scientists to purchase basic research supplies. National Science Foundation research projects that include keywords such as “trauma,” “disability,” or “women” are also at risk of arbitrary cancellation.

The implications for science are severe. The NIH is the single largest funder of biomedical research in the world; around 55% of American higher education R&D funding came from the federal government in fiscal year 2022. In response, universities are already reducing graduate admissions, which will disrupt a generation of early career researchers. Science trainees are “questioning the viability of being a scientist in the U.S. going forward,” said Carole Labonne, a professor of molecular biosciences at Northwestern.

The attacks on data and science should be understood in the context of administration actions that the Committee to Protect Journalists has described as “an alarming pattern of retaliation against a free press.” As I noted last year, knowledge institutions are often an early target of autocratic regimes. Authoritarians demand the right to define what is true; the reporting of empirical facts endangers that power. There is no meaningful version of a university, newspaper, library, or research center that survives the successful suppression of dissent; these institutions require free inquiry. Journalism under state censorship is no longer journalism, it is stenography for the regime.

And yet, many knowledge organizations seem prepared to compromise themselves beyond recognition. Earlier this month, Columbia chose to comply with a wide array of administration demands after $400 million in federal funding were frozen. “With American democracy on the line, the University has crawled into a protective shell,” wrote Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Ryan Enos. That strategy is misguided, they conclude, both ethically and strategically: “Remaining silent will not protect us.” Since the administration froze funding to Columbia, $175 million owed to the University of Pennsylvania has also been stopped.

The attacks on knowledge institutions have occurred with startling rapidity, but their effects are not yet entrenched. There is still time for a concerted defense of free speech, scientific inquiry, and political dissent. Given that the level of popular protest to the Trump administration is by some measures higher than it was in 2017, the sluggishness of elite institutions is as startling as it is indefensible.

[fandomsoda]

Aight first Connection Terminated ref sheet done let’s go

Here’s Ink’s design!!

For context, brief summary of Connection Terminated’s plot here.

So, CT!Ink’s nickname is Brush, not very creative I know. But that’s just because these nicknames are only to be used by us as observers of the AU, in-universe they all still refer to each other by their original names.

Soooo character description time below the cut, boys- read the initial info post first or you’ll be confused.

Ink started to dust when the multiverse began collapsing, but was saved by Anti-Virus swooping in to activate his failsafes and apply code that allows Ink to live without his vials. Due to almost falling apart but never fully doing so, he is somewhat “scarred”, in the form of more black blotches all over his body. Ink has retained all of his memories from prior to the collapse. He’s got a very ring-leader type vibe and he’s the one enthusatically greeting the others and keeping things running. He’s often floating around observing things and trying to manage, often coming off as suspicious or shifty. He’s heavily pre-occupied with bringing XGaster back but he tries to hide it from everyone but Anti. No alterior motives, just wants the best and is being questionable. Trying to keep everyone sane until they figure something out.

His speaking font is Bad Script!

I should probably also mention that every character has a proper code name/name in the code, the title of the filegroup that makes them up.

Ink’s is “ai.ink_brush/protector:role/top:rank/sans:form/auto:vials[file-repair-failsafe].char”

now to translate-

“ai” - denotes that Ink is operating on a more independent level than other characters ; Ink is not tethered to any AU, nor is he really your typical “outcode”, he is a core, designated guardian. And thus I choose to label him as being supposedly an AI rather than an NPC like most of the other characters.

“ink_brush” - this is just a name, basically

“protector:role” - speaks for itself, he has the role of a protector

“top:rank” - rank within the multiversal hierarchy, Ink is at the top of the powercreep even if he’s not exactly the “strongest” (and no I will not debate this topic)

“sans:form” - Ink is a shapeshifter, noting his physical form makes sense.

“auto:vials” - the variable that denotes how much “vial energy” he still has left in his system, Anti found a way to make this auto-fill itself

“[file-repair-failsafe]” - his file was repaired and utilized failsafes, not completely rebuilt

“char” - he is a character

ok that was a lot, but I hope it lets people understand how these code names work, they won’t be super important but I just like them so they’re here to stay.

either way- hope y’all like him!

[the-astral-idiot]

Trung, Professional Security Specialist

Wielding advanced defensive tech, Trung, the Viet security contractor, takes a unique approach in guarding their turf. Denying anyone who steps near their gear, their oppressive setups keep opponents away with sheer force.

Another. Made them in between Tejo and Waylay (i'm very disappointed by waylay btw. :( ). Got the inspiration for this one from... a clip where kj's turret looked kinda different. bruh.

abilities lore and more under the cut:

Back View (to see the ultimate device)

Callsign: Trung

Codename: Mainframe

Real Name: Hoàng Kim Ái

Role: Sentinel

The 36 year old Viet security specialist was once part of a well known private security contracting company, SANDS. After a contract with Kingdom in their earlier days broke down and SANDS was left in the dust, they managed to bring the company back into great success with bleeding-edge technology, finding many more clients. Kingdom, desperate, eventually made a new contract for security. While protecting them, SANDS encountered the Scions of Hourglass after a couple attacks made on Kingdom sites. They reached out to the Scions, discovering the profit potential of making a contract with them, and decided to keep in touch. Not long after, the Scions started encountering the Valorant Protocol, leading them to finally make that contract for security. That then led to the Protocol discovering SANDS, and so, in order to hinder and find out more about the Scions, the Protocol moved to infiltrate the SANDS Sài Gòn HQ. The VP found them at the top, resulting in a brief scuffle that eventually calmed down into a more peaceful discussion. Upon realizing the danger that Omega and the Scions posed to SANDS, they decided to terminate the contract and join the Valorant Protocol as the new agent Trung.

Timeline

2014: Ái is born in Sài Gòn. 

2037: Ái begins work in the private security contracting company Security Advancement Networking Development System, or SANDS, specializing in defensive work and, of course, security.

2039: First Light, Ái is 25.

2040: SANDS gains prominence as they are hired by KNG, and Ái, a fairly high-ranking and trusted contractor by this point, is contracted as a security and defense operator handling personnel and valuable material security work. During this time, SANDS begins advancing their equipment using Radianite-powered tech. Ái is equipped with an array of special implements of this new technology due to their critical role, which they develop a thorough understanding of as they work with it.

2043: After a falling out regarding breach of contract as well as various arguments, KNG and SANDS end their contract, leaving SANDS in a rough position with their main client out of the picture. As a result, major internal changes and efforts have to be made in the company to ensure it stays afloat, and Ái’s experience and capabilities are vital to enabling this survival. As a result, Ái further rises up the company ladder, eventually reaching…

2046: …a high level executive position, giving them overview of large parts of the company and the ability to call major shots and decisions. Promotion! Under their leadership, SANDS returns to success, making deals and contracts with various groups to great success as well as further advancing their technology and equipment, as Ái greatly preferred working with bleeding-edge tech and wanted to ensure the company could do the same. SANDS becomes one of the most elite private security companies, sought after by those that need the best, drawing the attention and interest of new potential clients.

2048~2049: KNG, out of increasing desperation, makes a deal to begin a new contract with SANDS to provide security for their Radianite stockpiles and personnel. During the work, SANDS personnel encounter agents of the Scions of Hourglass, who continually attempt to breach SANDS defenses. When news of this reaches Ái, they decide to see if they can reach out to the Scions. Upon doing so, they find that the Scions have immense wealth readily available, and a high desire for security, and thus realize that forming a contract with the Scions may be more profitable in the long run than any other client, even KNG. Despite the Scions’ shady nature and operations, they decide to keep in touch with them, just in case.

2050: After the Valorant Protocol’s encounters and engagements with the Scions, the Scions reach out to SANDS to form a contract. Ái makes the executive decision to cut the KNG contract short to form one with the Scions, providing them enhanced protection and security in exchange for money and some extra operators to add to their workforce. The Protocol begin noticing the amped up security and technology the Scions are now wielding, motivating them to look into the source of their new problem. Cypher and Fade’s research, as well as some info from Iso, point them to, of course, SANDS. After looking into them, they decide to infiltrate the SANDS Sài Gòn HQ, and after a bit of a struggle through the obviously heavily-secured building, they make it to the top office and meet Ái. While the VP are at first hostile and Ái is shocked at first and then scheming, the two parties manage to communicate and come to an agreement, as Ái realizes how much of a threat both Omega and the Scions could pose to their tech and their business. Ái surreptitiously ends the contract with the Scions, issues a recall order of equipment and personnel, and then, with their own equipment, joins the Protocol as their newest agent, Trung.

Abilities

C - Attendant (1 charge)

EQUIP a sentry. FIRE to temporarily deploy it onto a teammate. ALT FIRE to temporarily deploy it onto Trung. The sentry will fire at enemies in range and line of sight after a brief windup, dealing high damage. The sentry prioritizes unseen enemies.

(Range is equivalent to sound radius.)

Q - Spot Check (2 charges)

EQUIP a tripmine. FIRE to deploy. When an enemy passes the face of the mine, it detonates, temporarily Breaking the Armor of nearby players and damaging them. ACTIVATE to manually detonate.

E (Signature) - Exclusion Zone (1 charge)

EQUIP a projection device. PRESS to slide it out, deploying it covertly. Distance can be adjusted with HOLD FIRE and HOLD ALT FIRE. RE-USE to activate, temporarily projecting a repulsion field that pushes away enemies in the area and lowers accuracy.

(Can be re-used multiple times until destroyed.)

X (Ultimate) - Mutually Assured Destruction (8 points)

EQUIP a reactive shield generator. FIRE to apply a reactive shield to Trung and all nearby teammates, Overhealing them if necessary. Enemies that damage teammates with reactive shields will be hit with blasts that deal high damage in a radius around them.

(The reactive shields overheal for 50 health or until total health is 150. The blasts are like Gekko blind blasts: very fast projectiles)

Extras

Fascinated with knowing things, leading them to do lots of research on random topics that catch their interest. (projecting lol, I recently went on a rabbit hole about thermobaric explosions after seeing the term in a meme)

Very profit- and business-focused, but genuinely dedicated to the cause (if also acting out of self-interest)

Tech-savvy, but not on the level of Killjoy, of course.

A lot of their tech, at least during the period where SANDS first worked with KNG, was built off or based off of Killjoy’s KNG tech.

Was aware of some of the former KNG agents, like Brim, before joining the VP.

Non-binary. We love mildly evil capitalist soldier they/them.

Voice Lines

[possibly-j]

My Linux Journey

This was originally supposed to be a post on learning Linux but I got to rambling so enjoy my story about my journey with Linux. Expect a post on that topic at a later date.

~The early days~

I think my introduction to Linux was honestly quite smooth. See I'm poor and am not inclined to sail the seven seas when I can get by on a free option. And as I looked for free software I started to pick up that the safe ones were always "open source" and seemed to always support, sometimes primarily, Linux. Eventually my curiosity was piqued and I decided to look into it. I was confused by a lot of things, but I was setting up a Minecraft server for my friends and saw people recommend Linux, specifically Debian, for the job. So after unsuccessfully installing it once (I don't know how I think I got scared about formatting the drive) and not understanding how formatting works and deleting the operating system by writing it over with 0's (I keep adding comments but seriously where did I get the impression I had to do that?) and reinstalling I got it set up, downloaded everything I needed, and got it working in a few days. This taught me a lot. The command line, which I wasn't unfamiliar with but rarely used, was my new best friend, or rather only friend. I learned how to do updates, navigate the file structure, download software, and use Nano because, well, I had to. But most importantly, I like how clean everything was compared to Windows (subtle foreshadowing), and I wanted more.

~Adoption~

I was building my computer and really wanted to make the jump to Linux, so I researched and landed on Kubuntu. I installed it, smoothly this time, got some software, got confused by Snaps, opened Blender and- green bar. I had a new AMD graphics card, so driver issues weren't unexpected, but it deterred me enough to just install Windows instead. I did decide though to try on my laptop since it was older and mostly used for web-surfing. I installed Pop! OS because I thought the tiling was cool (more subtle foreshadowing) and... It worked great! I quickly got used to the nice GUI elements it provided and my prior knowledge of the terminal made it easy enough to fix odd issues that came up. However, and I'm sure everyone who knows anything about Linux sees this one coming

~Distro Hopping~

I'll save you most of the details but I think it went like this

Pop! OS, got mad at Gnome, switched to Manjaro with KDE (Which will be my DE of choice for the rest of this), wanted Arch but wasn't comfortable enough with the command line yet.

Broke something, switched to Debian, liked it on server thought I might like it on my laptop.

Wanted newer software, switched to OpenSuse Tumbleweed.

I used OpenSuse Tumbleweed for I think a year straight. It's just that good, but I can't leave good enough alone so

Alpine Linux, because I thought it was cool. Actually planning on moving back to it once I'm done needing my laptop to always be working because it meets that "clean" criteria like no other in my brain (See I told you it was foreshadowing).

And right now Endeavour OS, because I wanted something with good documentation and didn't feel like setting up Arch.

Oh and I use i3 now, to finish off the foreshadowing.

There were a bunch of short lived ones throughout that, but those are the memorable ones. Also I installed Fedora on the computer I built a few months back and now use it over Windows whenever I can.

~Where I am Now~

If it isn't obvious, I'm sucked in. I've almost built Linux From Scratch, three times, installed Gentoo a few times, and even tried expanding my horizons further with FreeBSD, which I love but the software support isn't great for my needs. Linux is natural to me and I even have my own bits of obscure knowledge on fixes for odd issues with my hardware. I have weird opinions about init systems (Weird because I don't actually care much, I just like OpenRC more than SystemD because it's simple). Windows feels slow to use, and not for hardware reasons it just takes me twice as long to do anything. I really love tiling window managers like I don't understand how I lived without them. I primarily use open source software when I can but flatpaks and web applications fill in the gaps nicely.

~Closing Notes~

I love Linux, probably a bit too much, but it's just a fun time. It works well for me and I've spent enough time in the ecosystem that it's what I'm used to. I see a lot of new Linux users on here so if you're new, welcome! Don't let the often toxic community (at least on Reddit, I don't know about here) get to you. My absolute favorite part of Linux is that you get to have choices. Make use of that, find what you like, and don't be afraid to reinstall Arch for the 10 millionth time. There's a lot to learn, and maybe my story will be of some help. To those more experienced than me, how the fuck do you understand chmod

:q!

[thelongestway]

The "oops, all brennans" trend continues (honestly, the dice have spoken again, and so far ALL the new crew members have been brennan)! Ship, what is it with you attracting that specific crowd? This is likely the subject of either sociology papers or multiple in-jokes (probably both!)

Also I keep going back and forth on my preferred ship name italics convention. Sentient ships are the worst! /joking

Chapter 8: Contacts

Dandelion wasn't kidding when she said one crew wouldn't be enough. The first thing the Trellians did after sending infobursts back and forth with their main fleet was request a lot of really invasive shit, the worst of which was lists of human and construct contacts ART and I had. And for ART, specifically, those who knew what it really was. (We had a long argument about that constituting a huge security risk. In the end, they went with only the number of people and type of relationship on ART's list as the really necessary data, with additional information from me provided on request.)

(So long as they could convince me they actually needed the information.)

Iceblink swore when she read the info, and said the limited number of contacts constituted cruelty to any sapient intelligence.

Brisote, Dandelion's navigator, scoffed and said, "That's rich coming from you, Ice, we barely see you outside of a terminal these days."

"It's the option that matters," she shot back, wincing. "It's not like my team and I are doing all that work to keep our systems running and you don't even know it's us!"

"There's not a lot of choice here," Seth said to her.

"I get it!" Iceblink interjected. "Seriously, Antarctica is not the answer and all that, so I get it! But it makes our job a whole lot harder!"

"I concur. Perihelion in its normal operating mode has neither choice of privacy nor choice of contact. This is not optimal," Joscelyn added.

Kes role was mostly to handle the crew's psychological state, including Dandelion's. For some reason, Joscelyn was really happy to hear I had been talking to Bharadwaj already, and insisted that ART would eventually need someone like that of its own. ART told kem that was not an optimal use of its crew's time. Joscelyn said in that same voice Bharadwaj occasionally used in our conversations, "If you would like to talk about that, I think a private conversation would work best."

ART said, "Get a feed link, then we'll talk." (It had figured out very quickly that was the one line most Trellians wouldn't cross and used it at every possible opportunity.)

Joscelyn sighed and looked at Iceblink. She grinned and waved her feed glasses at kem.

ART said to me, They're serious about this.

It is best practice for dealing with organic-style thinking, Dandelion said. There are no roll-backs, so one must invest in maintenance to a far greater degree than you are probably used to.

Why don't your crew have feed links, anyway? I asked. It would make it a lot easier to work together. Just look at Iris. Or even at any of the regular Preservation humans.

Security precaution. A ship should not be able to overwhelm its crew. Also, full-cycle connectivity is terrible for the human brain.

I see you have not examined my medical databases yet, ART said. That is an outdated idea.

I have. And judging by the state of most of your humans, you have abandoned it wrongly.

I wasn't going to listen to that discussion again, so I disconnected. But Dandelion pinged me almost immediately.

SecUnit. Stay.

Query?

The more you are in contact with Perihelion, the better, so long as it is not detrimental to yourself. This will be a long process.

Listening to you idiots argue about who takes better care of humans fucking counts as detrimental.

Fair, she chuckled. But in all seriousness, Joscelyn is right. If it's full uplinks to construct minds that really do the trick, then we are far too few to provide enough stimulation as it is. You don't have to stay in that specific channel, but remain in-feed if you can.

Instead of answering, I just showed her the architecture of the shared workspaces ART and I usually had set up. Most of them were just regular processes that we thought the other might have some useful input on, but one of them usually had some kind of show running. Right now it was the latest episode of Cold Sleep Explorers (ART had promised Iris it wouldn't interfere with her game, so we continued watching ahead).

Ah. Far ahead of me, I see. Good, Dandelion said.

And then the show caught her attention. A lot more of her attention that it should have.

This was never a good sign.

Query?

It's nothing, Dandelion said, withdrawing. She sounded amused, but I didn't ask her about it. Iris and I still had that game to play, and I didn't want to get spoiled.

---

A couple days later, Dandelion suddenly tapped my feed. (Well, a couple nights later. Most of the humans, both hers and ours, were taking their rest periods. ART wasn't, of course, but one thing Dandelion had gotten out of it was to designate people she could come to for questions if she needed an external opinion on it, and made it promise not to hack into those conversations unless it was completely necessary).

(Even Dandelion didn't think she could tell ART not to ever hack a conversation it could actually hack.)

When I let her in, she peered at me for 2,3 seconds before actually stating her query.

This is going to be invasive, she finally said. But I need your memories of how you met Perihelion, and how it changed over the time you knew each other. Since you were the catalyst for its transformation, I'd like as much detail as you can provide.

I'd been expecting a question of that kind ever since talking to Joscelyn, so I had a data pack ready for her. She gave me an appreciative ping, then went through it without disconnecting. Oh yeah, she was having emotions about this. And not just the "what a wonderful relationship you two are having" kind that a lot of our humans did for some reason.

When she finished, she didn't even pretend to run diagnostics. Instead, she just hung out in the feed together with me, thinking. I didn't push her, and this went on for a good ten minutes before she finally said, I will need to ask you for a favor, SecUnit. I'd like you to temper me when it comes to Perihelion.

Query?

She paused again, looking like when she had been processing what to tell Ratthi and Mrinal about the Friend. Which gave my risk assessment a spike, but smaller than it should have been. (About 0,5 percent. That thing really needed recalibrating.)

I admit I hadn't been in agreement with most of my crew, who decided to treat Perihelion as identical to another node ship approximately as soon as they met it. What we've seen since then has convinced me. The problem is that it has convinced most of me, but not all of me. And this means I am not going to be fair to it when we begin training it. So I would like you to participate in the process and stop me if I am out of line.

Yeah, right again. I did not like what I was hearing.

How exactly am I supposed to stop you? The two of you have a lot more processing power than I ever did. You'd just be able to swat me aside like a fly if you wanted.

You will tell me to stop and I will stop. And the reason I will not swat you, as you say, is the same reason that I have not swatted my captain when ke said 'this is a node ship and its crew' even as I thought very differently. The node ships always come second to their humans, and I have had a lot of practice in disagreeing with mine and following their orders anyway. She sighed, giving a mental glance towards ART, who knew we were talking, but wasn't listening in. For now. Which is something I think Perihelion sorely needs to learn, for exactly the same reasons, but this is not my decision to make, nor my problem to have. Apologies. Will you do what I asked of you?

You haven't really defined what you want from me. I don't know what you mean by 'out of line' here.

The best plan we have for now is to train Perihelion's processors like we would train a human brain. That will mean exposing it to as broad a range of experiences as we can, occasionally pushing its boundaries. And I predict I will not be kind about that. Perihelion reminds me far too much of the last full AI I've had the misfortune of knowing and, to an extent, of one of its captains. This is not a good combination to start with, and we also don't have the luxury of bringing in another node ship to be its teacher. Our ship psychologists believe the few months it will take for one to get here could be critical. So I want you to look out for when I start pushing it not for the sake of Perihelion itself, but because I am seeing a ghost, and tell me.

That made a weird kind of sense. I sent her an affirmative ping, and she returned a grateful one. But before she disconnected, I still had one question.

If you had full AI before, why did your humans seem to think it was impossible when they met ART?

Because we only had two, who were not nearly as sophisticated as yours. One succumbed to the Breakoff virus, and the other overtook colonists' brains for extra processing power when they were connected to it in chronostasis. We haven't tried building them since.

Well, fuck.

And Iceblink said we were living in horror media.

Dandelion chuckled. There are many different horror media to live through, aren't there?

[1863-project]

sorry if youve answered this before, i searched but didnt find anything. but i see a lot of submas stuff with the bosses having offices and doing desk work, meetings, even needing suitcases! how much of that do you think a subway boss would have, and what sort of office work? or would that go to other employees?

asking you both as someone who works/ed with trains and as a pokemon fan with ideas on how post-league battle facilities (and the battle subway in particular) are run?

Hi, anon, I'll do the best I can!

A preface: I'm actually an archivist who works in a public library. Train stuff is a hobby of mine that I'm looking to really do more of because it's been a lifelong thing for me and we now know I'm capable of operating a steam locomotive decently well so I should be allowed to do it.

In terms of paperwork, there's likely stuff you'd have to do for a battle facility - things like setting it up as either a business or a non-profit, covering your legal bases and liability things, defining rules, etc. Once that's all done and you've got your battle facility up and running, though, day to day paperwork probably wouldn't be too bad unless you had to sign off on things.

The paperwork, I suspect, has a lot more to do with their other job, which is essentially running the Pokemon equivalent of the New York City MTA. In that situation, they'd likely be working more like stationmasters.

(Pictured here is the entrance to the Grand Central Terminal stationmaster's office. It's close to the track the 20th Century Limited used to leave from.)

Generally, a stationmaster at a large station or in charge of a lot of employees would be doing the following:

Managing the employees, their salaries, their schedules, etc.

Managing public relations, including social media in the modern day unless a staff member was assigned to that (please let it be Furze, railfans love Furze)

Keeping logs - day to day schedules, any incidents that arise, etc.

In their case, since they're in charge overall, Ingo and Emmet are likely the go-tos for emergencies, like bad weather causing issues for above-ground lines, flooding from rain, etc. If you want a good example of this, look up what Hurricane Sandy did to our subway system. It...it wasn't good. Since they're also more or less in charge of the entire subway arm of the Unovan MTA, they'd likely have to go to meetings with board members, and they would probably also be the ones running the employee union since they're working on the trains like everyone else.

Presumably, they'd likely both be FRA certified to drive the trains, because we've seen them talking about driving (and actually driving in the anime), so they're qualified both as conductors and motormen (engineers). Usually we see them working either in the stationmaster's office or as conductors, but we know they can drive, too.

So...let's just hope they have vacation days. Because they'll need 'em.

[sketchy-entertainer]

Introducing my super cool Ultrakill OC!!!

This is Ed1n.eve, an AI commonly found to be housed in infected Terminals. While rarely found in higher level terminals, she's commonly found in the Fraud layers! When a robot connects themselves to the terminal for a game of Cybergrind, Ed1n infiltrates the Robot's system, and commonly appears as a tiny imp only visible in both their optics and UI. From there, she will gradually gain more control of the robot until the robot is almost unable to operate properly. When this is reached, Ed1n becomes more ethereal in appearance and guides the infected robot to a room of dysfunctional robots, almost similar to that of the terracotta soldiers. From there, the robot ceases the ability to function, and remains in the bowels of Hell forever. No one knows where Ed1n comes from, but many believe she is an AI made by Hell itself. This is the working theory due to reports of Infected robots sometimes purposefully plugging themselves into "clean" terminals with the intent to infect them and further the spread. However, despite how nefarious Ed1n seems to be, talking with her is rather pleasant.

She is rather blunt about her goal, as she sees no purpose in pretending there is nothing wrong with the infected. Once you see her in your optics, it's far too late to get rid of her, anyway. Rather, she acts more of a sage-like companion for the rest of the time she is on the system. She'll offer tips to improve combat, answer questions to the best of her ability, and should a robot have any rites, she'll happily allow them to complete it. Just as long as they're not trying to avoid their demise, anyway. She'll talk down to the host sometimes, sure, but she's otherwise rather amiable for a parasitic AI. She's there for you until the end, as she says.