#Computer Vision Research Report

[greenglowinspooks]

(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (Pt. 3)

—

Tw: Vivisection mention, torture mention (GiW agent receiving), me not actually knowing how telegram works

Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually.

(Pt. 1 here) (Pt. 2 here) - (Pt. 4 here)

(Masterlist/subscription post)

—

It’s an average, ordinary afternoon in Gotham, and Jason is in hell.

Specifically, Jason is in hell because he’s been researching the GiW for the last week or so, ever since a cryptic message from Scarecrow of all people.

He still hasn’t gotten anything substantial out of it that Scarecrow hadn’t already provided. Most location data had been previously scrubbed from the database, weaponry details were apparently all stored physically, and the experiment logs seemed to be only accessible from within one of the bases, whose locations Jason did not have.

Apparently Babs and Tim were having similar issues with gathering information. He had sent a copy of the files over to them in a moment of weakness, but they were having the exact same results as him.

To make things worse, the GiW was more active than they had been previously, combing through Crime Alley and the rest of Gotham tirelessly. At least they weren’t harassing him anymore, he thought, but now he had even less of a clue what they wanted.

And to top it all off, the Joker had escaped Arkham a few days prior to Jason receiving Scarecrow’s note, and he still hadn’t done anything. That could only mean that he was planning something big, which meant more grief for Jason, because the clown was obsessed with him.

So yes, Jason wasn’t having the best week.

He got up from his computer, stretched, and walked over to the window.

The sky was Gotham’s usual grey, clouded with a toxic miasma made up of traditional pollutants and the aftermath of gas attacks both, which could generously be called ‘smog.’

The streets seemed busier than usual, or maybe that was just because Jason was having a hard time keeping his eyes focused.

With blurry vision and a dull ache in the back of his head, Jason paced through his apartment, going through everything he knew.

The GiW, or Ghost Investigation Ward, were part of a secret government project having to do with ‘ecto-entities,’ which were mostly made up of ghosts.

The GiW was able to kidnap and steal away anyone who was ‘ecto-contaminated’ to be dissected, and it was completely legal.

According to the non-censored patrol reports he was given, Jason himself was considered ecto-contaminated. So were Bruce, Damian, Steph, and Cass.

There were also several rogues that were in the same boat, but their names had been redacted, presumably by Scarecrow. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he guessed it was either for leverage or privacy. Knowing Crane, it could be both.

Anything useful about the GiW seemed to be stored physically within their compounds, or on an operating system that couldn’t be accessed outside of certain areas.

Anything useful about ghosts was conveniently removed by Scarecrow.

And, lastly, he knew from capture logs that they had numerous captive ghosts which were definitely being experimented on. One of these ghosts was named Daniel, last name redacted, and had been turned over by his parents in return for allowing them to run their own experiments on the boy.

From what he could tell, it had been around fifty two days since he had been turned in.

Fifty two days of experimentation and dissection.

Jason had to find him.

But first, he had to find the locations of the GiW bases, and plan his entrance carefully. He couldn’t let them get away because of a simple mistake.

The only location data he had been able to find was on a picture of the boy, Daniel, a picture of a vigilante in a red suit, and a quick note left about Daniel which hadn’t been transferred into the main database.

The note was…

Jason had been around crime for a very, very long time. He understood it intimately, in a way most people would never hope to achieve.

He understood hatred, too.

And yet, the words in that note were almost incomprehensible to him.

They were mockery of a child in pain. A child that was not seen as human. A child that was seen as a threat, a monster.

The man had detailed the security surrounding the child being cut back. Apparently, the kid had some sort of sonic scream. They were removing the muzzle that inhibited it because he had screamed himself hoarse, and he couldn’t make a sound anymore.

He also mentioned that the kid was cut open at least once a day, sometimes multiple times. He was opened up, played with, and sewn back shut.

The man joked that they should just put a zipper on him, so they wouldn’t keep wasting their stitches.

Jason really, really wanted to kill that guy.

The metadata on the note traced back to a newly-bought building in Gotham’s financial district, while the photos both came from Amity Park, Illinois.

Amity Park, Illinois did not exist in any official capacity.

Tim, who had taken the Batplane to check the precise location listed in the metadata, had reported that there was a town there after all, and it was on complete media lockdown from the rest of the world. He hadn’t even been able to use Bat, Justice League, or Young Justice channels to message anyone outside of the city until he left.

Jason had checked the building in the financial district firsthand, and found that the man who had submitted the note had done so while resting on a patrol of the city. He seemed to go there often to avoid his superiors, and Jason found it easy enough to get the drop on him the third time around.

His advanced interrogation techniques hadn’t been enough to get the man to name any locations. Worse, the man definitely recognized Red Hood, and would definitely tell the rest of the GiW about what had happened as soon as he left.

So, Jason did something about that. He couldn’t kill him, unfortunately, so he did the next best thing.

The GiW sent him to a public hospital within a few hours of finding him with shattered hand bones, broken arms, and a throat with near-permanent damage. The man wouldn’t be able to speak for a month at least.

He might never write again.

Jason, having read the note over and over until the words stained the backs of his eyes, thought it was the least he deserved.

Jason sighed, stopping his pacing. He wasn’t getting anywhere with this. If anything, working himself up was only going to lower the chances of him magically coming to a realization about where the kid was or what in the hell was going on.

He walked into the kitchen, popped some leftovers into the microwave, and started them up.

Once they were done, he brought them out to his desk, intending to eat as he continued to work on the GiW case.

When he saw his screen, he froze.

Telegram had been opened to a new chat with someone he had never messaged before.

TooFine: who are you?

TooFine: why are you looking into the giw?

The messages were a couple of minutes old, probably sent while Jason was spiraling pacing. He just stared at the screen, dumbstruck.

Shakily, he responded.

RedDead: How the hell did you get my contact info

Whoever was on the other side of the screen paused for a second. Jason considered sending a quick text to Babs to tell her what was going on, but he decided that he could handle this by himself.

TooFine: got it from the backdoor I put into the giw system.

RedDead: Shit

TooFine: ok your turn

TooFine: why r u looking into the giw? seriously man

RedDead: I don’t have a single reason to tell you. Give me one and I might answer your questions

TooFine paused again. Clearly they both had issues trusting someone over the internet, and rightfully so. What they had both admitted to doing was incredibly illegal, and if someone turned them in, they would be in deep shit.

TooFine: ive been trying to take down the giw since it was created. I can help u if ur honest with me

RedDead: Oh yeah, because no one has ever lied to another person on the internet before

RedDead: But fine

RedDead: I’m looking into them because they’ve been shadowing me for over a month at this point, among other reasons

TooFine: other reasons?

Jason sighed. He shouldn’t have added that. He knew that the other guy would ask, but he said something anyways.

RedDead: They’ve got a kid. I don’t like it when people hurt kids

TooFine: Danny? he’s alive?

RedDead: From what I can tell

So he knew the kid. Or, at least, he was pretending to. It would make sense for him to be cagey about his intentions, and for him to be desperate enough to reach out.

TooFine: oh my god

TooFine: do you know what city? fuck

TooFine: fuck fuck fuck

TooFine: I need to find him man please

RedDead: He’s somewhere in Gotham

RedDead: I’ve been trying to find him for a week now but no dice. They keep everything important on separate servers

TooFine: listen man you’re a good hacker but you’re not as good as me. you need my help if we’re gonna find Danny

RedDead: Okay, what are you trying to get me to agree to?

TooFine: i’m coming to gotham and we’re going to meet up

RedDead: Hell no

RedDead: Stranger danger

TooFine: if I tell u who I am will you say yes

RedDead: ?? How am I supposed to verify if you’re telling the truth

TooFine then sent him what seemed to be a selfie. Jason’s jaw dropped at the kid’s sheer audacity.

RedDead: There’s something seriously wrong with you

TooFine: my name is Tucker Foley. i live in amity park. i’m in 10th grade

RedDead: ???????? WHAT THE HELL

TooFine: i can send u my address too

RedDead: PLEASE DON’T??

RedDead: WHAT’S YOUR FUCKING DAMAGE? DON’T DOXX YOURSELF TO ME

RedDead: WHAT IF I WANTED TO KILL YOU OR SOMETHING? WHAT IF I WAS A FED

TooFine: i have to take that chance.

TooFine: Danny is my best friend. they’ve had him for over a month and no one’s doing anything to help. mr. Lancer was the only one who cared and he gave up after they blackmailed him

TooFine: they’ve had him for OVER A MONTH. I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD.

TooFine: Sam and Jazz and I are coming to gotham and we’re going to find him no matter what it takes

TooFine: you have to help us

Jason considered, for a second, the choices he’d made in his life that had led up to this moment. He also considered, if he was in this kid’s position at his age, if he would be doing the same.

He decided to throw the kid a bone.

RedDead: [4735.jpg]

TooFine: HUH

RedDead: I’m guessing you know me

TooFine: RED HOOD??????

RedDead: No I’m just a very dedicated LARPer

TooFine: am i gonna die for Danny right now

RedDead: If I were literally anyone else, probably

RedDead: But no, you’re not. I’m gonna help you find your friend

TooFine: your username is red dead and you’re. yeah ok

RedDead: Oh come on, it’s funny

TooFine: Danny would love you

RedDead: So Danny clearly has great taste in jokes

TooFine: nope. literally loves puns and wordplay

RedDead: Nevermind

They both paused for a second. Then, Jason had a thought.

RedDead: Wait you’re in the 10th grade and you’re hacking into government databases?

TooFine: please don’t tell my parents.

RedDead: And how are you supposed to explain a sudden vacation to Gotham to your parents?

TooFine: wait so you’ll help me?

RedDead: I really hate to say it but I’m not the best at hacking, and my usual help is busy trying to track down the Joker. So, yep, we’re teaming up

TooFine: LET’S GOOOOOO

RedDead: God. I’m asking a 16 year old to help me take down a government agency and save another 16 year old

RedDead: I feel like the bat

TooFine: oh my god this is awesome. Danny is gonna flip when the actual real-life Red Hood comes to save him.

RedDead: I already regret this

TooFine: too late.

TooFine: btw do u have any place for 2 teenagers and 1 adult teenager to stay in gotham? preferably without dying but yknow.

Jason groaned. He was really, really gonna regret this, and he knew it.

Still, the alternative was some overeager kid dragging two other idiots to Gotham to find their friend and getting themselves killed. At least this way he’d have help, and damn good help at that.

He really was turning into the Bat, wasn’t he?

—

[improbable-outset]

📂 𝐑𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

↳ 📂 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤

Miguel O’Hara x Fem!Reader

𝐀𝐎3 | 𝐌𝐲 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 | 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.5k

𝐓𝐖 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐖: Post-divorce, Exes-to-Lovers, Miguel being a bitch in the beginning but slowly softening up, mentions of flings.

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: In your complex web of your shared history, you and Miguel, your ex-husband and co-worker, struggle to communicate without clashing your professional and personal lives. However, an unexpected moment sparks a longing between the two of you. Despite the tension, a shared moment reveals unspoken desires and deep secrets.

You felt your mouth and throat becoming increasingly dry as each second passed and you couldn’t moisten it no matter how many times you swallowed. Your eyes have been burning since this morning from staring at the screen for so long but you had to get the reports done by the end of the day. You watched Miguel, your colleague and ex, with his sharp gaze fixated on the proposal titled ‘Enhanced Genetic Therapy for Tissue Regeneration’ you’ve just submitted to him, scrutinising every word written inside the file. His office and lab was located in the heart of Alchemax’s research facility, a place where genetic breakthroughs were made. But now the once-familiar corridors and labs became a bore to your awkward encounters and tense silence since your divorce. Despite the passing of time, working with Miguel had never grown any easier.

Time felt slower as you waited for him to finish reading. Minutes felt like hours and the silence that surrounded you was almost suffocating. Finally, just when you thought you weren't going to hold back any longer, he spoke up, voice controlled and assertive which cut through the stiffness in the room.

“You know this quality of work is inadequate from you.” He chided, dumping the file back in front of you dismissively. His words reverberated in your ribcage and made your skin crawl. If you weren’t in a professional setting right now, you would’ve thrown every curse word at him and telling him how you’ve worked tooth and nail all day on the reports only for him to have the audacity to just dismiss it like it was nothing. But instead you gulped, shoving the vulgar words down your throat and reached for the files on the desk. He still held his gaze as he waited for a response from you.

“Sorry…” you sighed, holding the files against your chest. “It'll be better next time.” Your tone had a hint of bitterness to it that you couldn’t hide from him. For a fleeting moment, you glimpsed something in his gaze - a flicker of what used to be. But it quickly disappeared and was replaced with his usual mask of professionalism. Miguel had always been assertive, even during your marriage. It was hard to tell if he was using that assertiveness as a reason to be firm with you now, or if he was still bitter about the divorce. With a brief nod, you turned and left the room. As you were reaching for the exit you caught a snarky remark from him, it was quiet but you still heard it perfectly.

“Yeah… sure it will.” He muttered before turning his back towards you, now completely blocking you off from his peripheral vision. The weight of the encounter still lingered as you made your way back to your own cubicle. To make matters worse, your work space was not too far from Miguel’s, so he had the perfect view of you and could watch you whenever he wanted. Even as you would have your back towards him, his piercing stare was still palpable, like blades on your bare skin. As you reached your workspace, you slumped down on your chair and set down the file on the desk. You turned on your computer monitor and opened up the documents again, your eyes stinging from the screen. As you focused on perfecting your papers, the familiar measured footsteps with confident stride drew closer towards your cubicle. You turned to see Miguel, leaning on the frame of your cubicle with two mugs in his hand.

“I got your coffee too.” He simply stated as he placed the mug on your desk.

“Huh? Oh…Thanks.” The gesture caught you off guard, especially when he was scolding you for your work just a few moments ago. Nevertheless you took the mug. You took a few sips from the hot beverage and felt the warmth down your throat. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach was probably not the best idea. You could feel the liquid settling in the lower pit of your stomach with the bitter taste on your tongue but that wasn’t your main concern. Your eyes were still sore and dry making you rub them repeatedly. It didn’t help that you were developing a headache too from the prolonged screen time. Miguel was still standing on the edge of your cubicle, watching as you tried to sooth your dry eyes.

“You okay?” He asked, the coldness in his tone wasn’t there this time.

“Fine-” you replied, your tone was abrupt as you turned back to your work again, hoping he’d get the hint. You weren’t in the mood to hear anymore criticism from him.

“You’re not fine…don’t lie to me.” He leaned on the doorway with his arms folded across his chest, his mug still in one of his hands. His eyes were now drawn to your monitor screen, reading over and analysing the open document.

“Maybe not. Why does it matter?” You mumbled, still not facing him as you talked and hoping he would leave you alone. You really didn’t want to deal with him in your work space especially with the throbbing headache you had. Even the fluorescent lighting felt like it was screaming at you.

“‘Why?’” He sighed and you knew he was pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance like he always did. “Because we work at the same place and see each other every day. Plus, what’s wrong with checking up on my colleagues?”

“I thought by now you would at least try to ignore my presence or pretend I’m not here.”

“Do you really think I could ignore you when you’re only a few cubicles away from me? C’mon now.”

“I could.” That was a damn lie. Everyday you could always feel his presence like a dark shadow of your history looming over you. The tangled mess of your past was impossible to escape. As much as you wanted to move on, it seemed that your past will forever haunt your professional lives.

“Do you know what your problem is?” You didn’t question him further but could hear him stepping fully inside you the cubicle now as he spoke. You knew he was going to answer his own question anyways. The walls felt like they were closing in on you, listening intently to your interaction and recognising the gravity of the situation. “You expect too much, especially from me.”

“Sorry?!” Your voice almost came out as a screech as you finally turned your chair to face him, you scrunch your face in both shock and disgust. It was ironic hearing that from him of all people. But if this was how he felt about you, you suspected that was the reason why he had ridiculously high expectations of you. His eyes fell on you again, amused by your sudden change of tone.

“You expect me to ignore you completely. You want me to forget about you and treat you with disdain and hatred.” He let out a dark chuckle and took a sip from his coffee before he spoke again. “That was never going to happen.” He looked back at the screen again but you held your gaze at him, now feeling a little perplexing. You never said anything about hatred - sure you ended your marriage on a bad note but there was no point hating each other. You rather treat each other as colleagues with no history between the two of you just to keep things civil.

“Not hatred, I never said anything about that. Just act like our marriage never happened.” You told him, making him chuckle again, his tone was starting to sound a little condescending and you were now realising how unreasonable your expectations were.

“I can’t just forget we were once married….we were together for five years.”

“Yeah and then we got a divorce after. Who’s fault was that?” The last sentence came out more hostile than you intended but you still hoped you got your message across.

“Mine.” He stated, his voice low and tinged with regret. It was a single syllable but it still shook the stillness in the air, like a boulder being dropped in a stagnant pond and sending ripples of emotions that melted away the tension in the room. “…mine for not being the man you deserved.” He continued.

“At least you’re self aware.” You said dismissively, hoping that was the end of the conversation. You didn’t want to revisit your broken marriage, especially with your headache throbbing more now.

“Mhm...doesn't make it hurt any less though.” He mumbled as he took another sip from his mug, hoping you didn’t hear.

“What was that?” He didn’t repeat himself but his silence and the falter in his expression behind the mug spoke volume.

Your eyes met his and for a moment, a rush of memories unraveled in your mind. You remembered the man you fell in love with, the one who captivated your heart and vowed to protect you till his last breath. But somewhere along the way of your marriage, his unwavering commitment to his job overshadowed your relationship. Your marriage was on its last legs before it crumbled. A pang of sadness washed over you as you wondered how things would’ve been different if he struck a better balance between his career and your relationship. That little bit of love you still harbored for him made you ache for what could have been.

“It does hurt sometimes, you know.” You admitted, averting your gaze away in shame.

“Hm?” He hummed inquisitively, tilting his head in curiosity at what you’ve just said before continuing. “It must be hard for you…”

There was a hint of regret that settled in your mind. It was minimal but just enough to make you wonder that, just maybe, you had been too hasty in making the final decision.

“Look, I know the main reason for our divorce was because I didn’t feel valued and you were more focused on work but…sometimes I feel like I was a little hard on you and I didn’t give you a chance to redeem yourself. Sorry that sounds pathetic…” As you spoke to admit your feeling, it felt like you were reopening a jaded door that was long closed.

“Do you want to hear something more pathetic?” Miguel asked, walking up to you and crouching down so he could look up at you, all while you remained seated on the chair. The change of position made your heart stutter and the air in the cubicle seemed to be amplified now. “The reason I was so focused on work was because I was scared to lose you. I thought if you saw who I truly was, you’d leave me. And focusing more on work, I thought it was a way of protecting myself from that.”

“Miggy…” your voice softened as you placed your hand on his shoulder, something you never thought you’d see yourself do again. You couldn’t help but notice the sudden change of his demeanor after you uttered that endearing nickname. For a moment, you saw the hint of nostalgia in his gaze that unlocked a hidden compartment in your shared history. “I married you for a reason. Before things were complicated between us, I was head over heels for you. I knew you meant well but I wish you told me about this earlier.” You said, making him sigh quietly and nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry, you deserve better. The worst part is that I was so afraid to lose you yet I ended up losing you anyway because I was so focused on my damn work.” It was your turn to let out a somber sigh. “But…I do hope you’re doing well now. Are you?” He looked up at you, his brown eyes glistening with a hint of crimson under the lighting and waiting for your response.

“You could say that. But I do miss you before you were so engrossed in your work.” You chuckled as if that wasn’t obvious by now after you just admitted your deeper feelings.

“I miss us too. But I guessed you moved on…do you have anyone now?”

“Nothing but flings here and there.” You admitted sheepishly. You caught the slight twitch in Miguel’s jaw after hearing you say that. You could've sworn you saw specks of red in his iris overshadowed the warm brown hue. The sight sent a cold shiver up your spine. “They were just to get my mind off of things. But everytime I would end up missing your touch even more.” You added quickly. It wasn’t a lie. All those one-night stands were nothing other than stress relievers and it would never be as sensual and passionate as what you experienced with Miguel. You heard him chuckle in amusement.

“They couldn’t compare, huh?” He teased, a smirk tugged on his lips. “I’ve missed your touch too…when I think of you being with someone else, it hurts like hell.” There was pain wovened in his voice as he said that last sentence but you couldn’t blame him when you felt the same.

“Me too…I’d get a little jealous thinking that you’d treat another woman better, the way I desperately wanted to be treated.” You gulped. The image of Miguel making another woman happy made you chest clench even though you fully knew you shouldn’t feel like this when you were the one that initiated the divorce.

“Treat another woman better?” Miguel echoed in solemn. “You have no idea how much I regret treating you the way I did. It haunts me to this day.” From the look of his eyes, you knew he was being sincere and you could feel the raw emotions emanating from him. You remembered the moments you felt neglected and unappreciated but now after hearing Miguel’s confession, you couldn’t help but wonder if he had felt just as lost as you did.

“So… what do you want to do now?” You asked, the question hung in the air between the two of you. The query was loaded with possibilities that could redefine your future together.

“Now? Well…I really wish I knew but I know I don’t want to move on from this. I want to try again with you.” Miguel's gaze was now fixated on yours, desperately trying to read your face.

“How about we start with this.” You smiled, wheeling your chair a little closer towards him. “Are you free Friday night?” Miguel’s eyes blinked rapidly in surprise, clearly not expecting things to move this fast.

“Oh uhm yeah…wanna grab dinner maybe?” Your heart was pounding in your chest in euphoria and you couldn’t help the grin that grew on your lips.

“Yeah I’d love that.”

“Great, I’ll find us a place then and I’ll let you know the details.” Miguel beamed as he got up from his knees.

“Perfect. I can't wait.” You wheeled your chair back as you spoke.

“Me neither, hermosa...”

God, you missed that smile.

Reblog >> Like

{{Part 2}}

[elwenyere]

I saw a post the other day calling criticism of generative AI a moral panic, and while I do think many proprietary AI technologies are being used in deeply unethical ways, I think there is a substantial body of reporting and research on the real-world impacts of the AI boom that would trouble the comparison to a moral panic: while there *are* older cultural fears tied to negative reactions to the perceived newness of AI, many of those warnings are Luddite with a capital L - that is, they're part of a tradition of materialist critique focused on the way the technology is being deployed in the political economy. So (1) starting with the acknowledgement that a variety of machine-learning technologies were being used by researchers before the current "AI" hype cycle, and that there's evidence for the benefit of targeted use of AI techs in settings where they can be used by trained readers - say, spotting patterns in radiology scans - and (2) setting aside the fact that current proprietary LLMs in particular are largely bullshit machines, in that they confidently generate errors, incorrect citations, and falsehoods in ways humans may be less likely to detect than conventional disinformation, and (3) setting aside as well the potential impact of frequent offloading on human cognition and of widespread AI slop on our understanding of human creativity...

What are some of the material effects of the "AI" boom?

Guzzling water and electricity

The data centers needed to support AI technologies require large quantities of water to cool the processors. A to-be-released paper from the University of California Riverside and the University of Texas Arlington finds, for example, that "ChatGPT needs to 'drink' [the equivalent of] a 500 ml bottle of water for a simple conversation of roughly 20-50 questions and answers." Many of these data centers pull water from already water-stressed areas, and the processing needs of big tech companies are expanding rapidly. Microsoft alone increased its water consumption from 4,196,461 cubic meters in 2020 to 7,843,744 cubic meters in 2023. AI applications are also 100 to 1,000 times more computationally intensive than regular search functions, and as a result the electricity needs of data centers are overwhelming local power grids, and many tech giants are abandoning or delaying their plans to become carbon neutral. Google’s greenhouse gas emissions alone have increased at least 48% since 2019. And a recent analysis from The Guardian suggests the actual AI-related increase in resource use by big tech companies may be up to 662%, or 7.62 times, higher than they've officially reported.

Exploiting labor to create its datasets

Like so many other forms of "automation," generative AI technologies actually require loads of human labor to do things like tag millions of images to train computer vision for ImageNet and to filter the texts used to train LLMs to make them less racist, sexist, and homophobic. This work is deeply casualized, underpaid, and often psychologically harmful. It profits from and re-entrenches a stratified global labor market: many of the data workers used to maintain training sets are from the Global South, and one of the platforms used to buy their work is literally called the Mechanical Turk, owned by Amazon.

From an open letter written by content moderators and AI workers in Kenya to Biden: "US Big Tech companies are systemically abusing and exploiting African workers. In Kenya, these US companies are undermining the local labor laws, the country’s justice system and violating international labor standards. Our working conditions amount to modern day slavery."

Deskilling labor and demoralizing workers

The companies, hospitals, production studios, and academic institutions that have signed contracts with providers of proprietary AI have used those technologies to erode labor protections and worsen working conditions for their employees. Even when AI is not used directly to replace human workers, it is deployed as a tool for disciplining labor by deskilling the work humans perform: in other words, employers use AI tech to reduce the value of human labor (labor like grading student papers, providing customer service, consulting with patients, etc.) in order to enable the automation of previously skilled tasks. Deskilling makes it easier for companies and institutions to casualize and gigify what were previously more secure positions. It reduces pay and bargaining power for workers, forcing them into new gigs as adjuncts for its own technologies.

I can't say anything better than Tressie McMillan Cottom, so let me quote her recent piece at length: "A.I. may be a mid technology with limited use cases to justify its financial and environmental costs. But it is a stellar tool for demoralizing workers who can, in the blink of a digital eye, be categorized as waste. Whatever A.I. has the potential to become, in this political environment it is most powerful when it is aimed at demoralizing workers. This sort of mid tech would, in a perfect world, go the way of classroom TVs and MOOCs. It would find its niche, mildly reshape the way white-collar workers work and Americans would mostly forget about its promise to transform our lives. But we now live in a world where political might makes right. DOGE’s monthslong infomercial for A.I. reveals the difference that power can make to a mid technology. It does not have to be transformative to change how we live and work. In the wrong hands, mid tech is an antilabor hammer."

Enclosing knowledge production and destroying open access

OpenAI started as a non-profit, but it has now become one of the most aggressive for-profit companies in Silicon Valley. Alongside the new proprietary AIs developed by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, X, etc., OpenAI is extracting personal data and scraping copyrighted works to amass the data it needs to train their bots - even offering one-time payouts to authors to buy the rights to frack their work for AI grist - and then (or so they tell investors) they plan to sell the products back at a profit. As many critics have pointed out, proprietary AI thus works on a model of political economy similar to the 15th-19th-century capitalist project of enclosing what was formerly "the commons," or public land, to turn it into private property for the bourgeois class, who then owned the means of agricultural and industrial production. "Open"AI is built on and requires access to collective knowledge and public archives to run, but its promise to investors (the one they use to attract capital) is that it will enclose the profits generated from that knowledge for private gain.

AI companies hungry for good data to train their Large Language Models (LLMs) have also unleashed a new wave of bots that are stretching the digital infrastructure of open-access sites like Wikipedia, Project Gutenberg, and Internet Archive past capacity. As Eric Hellman writes in a recent blog post, these bots "use as many connections as you have room for. If you add capacity, they just ramp up their requests." In the process of scraping the intellectual commons, they're also trampling and trashing its benefits for truly public use.

Enriching tech oligarchs and fueling military imperialism

The names of many of the people and groups who get richer by generating speculative buzz for generative AI - Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Larry Ellison - are familiar to the public because those people are currently using their wealth to purchase political influence and to win access to public resources. And it's looking increasingly likely that this political interference is motivated by the probability that the AI hype is a bubble - that the tech can never be made profitable or useful - and that tech oligarchs are hoping to keep it afloat as a speculation scheme through an infusion of public money - a.k.a. an AIG-style bailout.

In the meantime, these companies have found a growing interest from military buyers for their tech, as AI becomes a new front for "national security" imperialist growth wars. From an email written by Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, who interrupted Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman at a live event to call him a war profiteer: "When I moved to AI Platform, I was excited to contribute to cutting-edge AI technology and its applications for the good of humanity: accessibility products, translation services, and tools to 'empower every human and organization to achieve more.' I was not informed that Microsoft would sell my work to the Israeli military and government, with the purpose of spying on and murdering journalists, doctors, aid workers, and entire civilian families. If I knew my work on transcription scenarios would help spy on and transcribe phone calls to better target Palestinians, I would not have joined this organization and contributed to genocide. I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights."

So there's a brief, non-exhaustive digest of some vectors for a critique of proprietary AI's role in the political economy. tl;dr: the first questions of material analysis are "who labors?" and "who profits/to whom does the value of that labor accrue?"

For further (and longer) reading, check out Justin Joque's Revolutionary Mathematics: Artificial Intelligence, Statistics and the Logic of Capitalism and Karen Hao's forthcoming Empire of AI.

[absentherobook]

Study on cis women´s appraisals of sexual stimuli: looking for participants

Hello! My name is Maryna, I am a Ph.D. student at the University of Porto, Portugal, and my research is focused on the topic of asexuality. Currently, I am conducting an online experiment focused on asexual, demisexual, graysexual, and heterosexual women´s appraisals of sexual stimuli. The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the University of Porto.

Study inclusion criteria are:

to identify as an asexual, graysexual, demisexual, or heterosexual cisgender woman;

be over 18 years of age;

be able to read and write in English;

have no self-reported mental health condition;

have normal or corrected to normal vision (e.g., glasses, contact lenses).

To find out more about the study and take part, please follow this link. Use the right and left arrow keys to navigate between the introductory slides and the Escape button to exit the study at any moment.

Note that this study can only be accessed from a computer or laptop and is best compatible with Edge, Chrome, Opera, and Firefox browsers. You might also want to use the incognito tab for a better experience.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Anthropocene Magazine:

U.S. states can decarbonize on their own for about the same price as a federal-led effort to reduce emissions by the same amount, according to a new study. The findings underline that a “coalition of the willing” could not bring the country to net-zero emissions on its own. But they also represent a hopeful vision of how climate action in the U.S. could continue despite Trump Administration rollbacks.

The Biden Administration pursued ambitious decarbonization policies via the Inflation Reduction Act and other initiatives, while the Trump Administration has taken a very different approach to climate policy. The situation highlights the volatility of national-level climate action in the United States, even as the American public broadly supports developing alternative energy sources, and urgent action is needed to avoid locking in fossil fuels with new infrastructure.

Enter “climate federalism,” a concept that casts U.S. states as laboratories not just of democracy but of climate action. In theory, this bottom-up approach might be more effective and durable than top-down action. In the new study, researchers sketch out what it might look like in practice.

“Ultimately the most important takeaway here is that state-led action can achieve substantial emission reductions, even without federal support, but that the world looks very different from one where there is federal coordination,” says study team member Jeremiah Johnson, an environmental engineer at North Carolina State University. “This has some important implications, not just for those states that choose to participate, but also for those who don’t.”

Johnson and his colleagues identified 23 U.S. states that are most likely to pursue net-zero emissions by 2050, based on the number of climate policies currently on the books as well as their overall political leanings. They fed publicly available energy system data into a computer model to estimate the cost of decarbonization and predict the green technologies that the states would likely turn to in their efforts.

Action by this group of states could reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by about 46% by 2050, the researchers report in the journal Nature Communications. The researchers then used the same model to explore what federally coordinated action to reduce national emissions by the same amount would look like.

Federal led climate action would be about 0.7% cheaper than state action, the researchers found. “We were surprised [the state-led] emissions reductions would be achieved at costs comparable to federal actions,” Johnson says. Since only about half of U.S. states were expected to pursue net-zero emissions, “we expected to see this considerably push up the costs of achieving deep decarbonization.”

However, the mix of green technologies that would be used in a state-led decarbonization effort would be different from the federally coordinated one. The state-led effort would lean heavily on green manufacturing technologies to decarbonize industry, while the federal approach would rely more on clean energy such as solar and wind power.

The net-zero states would likely rely on electrification to reduce emissions from transportation and industry, as well as direct air capture to neutralize residual emissions. They might also purchase more electricity from neighboring states, leading to the potential for “emissions leakage.” In the state-led scenario, “we observed substantial new electricity exports from the Great Plains states into the Upper Midwest while those exporting states increased fossil fuel-based use,” Johnson says. “This would undercut the efforts of net-zero states unless their policies are designed to address this.”

The state-led scenario also leaves some cost-effective mitigation opportunities on the table, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage in the Southeastern United States, where states are unlikely to pursue decarbonization without federal action. Still, if state-led action is the only option, this can lead to substantial progress on climate, the study shows.

[poeticlark]

Doll Au Part Two - Part One

Everyone is a cyborg, retro-futurist, heavily inspired by the cyberpunk franchise.

1800~ words

Trigger Warning for panic attack and discussions of sexual assault -.-.-

“Jack in, Captain. This won’t take long, so you can get back to standing around and looking busy.”

“Har har har. Very funny.”

“Why, thank you.”

Curly unwinds a spool of cabling from his wrist, the end of it cradled between his fingers. The Pony Express Diagnostic Terminal sitting on her desk, an off-white block probably older than her which computes like the Antikythera mechanism, is whirring and humming. Every few minutes, its coolant fan coughs out more dust and hair.

Diagnostic check ups have gone smoothly. No neural viruses, no significant bugs, no circuit failures. Everyone so far has come to sit in the creaky patient chair, plug their jack into the terminal’s ancient mechanisms, and chat idly for the duration of the diagnostic. Anya’s questions are brief, their responses concise. Minimal hassle.

“Please don’t fry my brain?”

Anya huffs, as Curly plugs the end of his cable directly into the terminal’s port, shuffling nervously.

“I’m not even sure this fossil can generate the voltage for that. You'll be fine, Captain.”

It’s doubtless that his test will take longer, but what Anya worries about isn’t the condition of his cyberware. They're clean, flawless, well-installed pieces.

No, Anya’s chief concern is how she’s supposed to politely bring up the Morpheus. Is it like a sexuality or disease? Is it within her scope of treatment to ask?

Is Anya being a bad person for wondering if Curly’s fit to serve as captain, if he has one?

Red walls of texts, checks on every box, flick past the screen. Nothing’s being flagged as faulty, and Curly sits there quietly with his eyes flashing blue and a timid look on his face.

Maybe he knows. Well, surely he knows. He had it installed. Specifically, he knows that Anya would do preliminary research on her crewmates before conducting the first diagnostic session. And that the process of having a Morpheus installed would appear in his files.

Anya breathes in and out, deep and heavy breaths, like she can contain what’s wrong with the entire situation through meditative training.

Small talk drifts back and forth between them. Casual but somewhat stinted. Curly looks like he wants to peel off his skin and clean out every enhancement he’s ever had installed.

“Are you prepared for a physical inspection, Captain?”

“Physical?”

He echoes it nervously, picking at the edges of his nails absently, eyes flashing cerulean. She wonders absently what he's seeing in his far more advanced opticware: if there's none of the permanent fizz around the edges, if the alerts are clearer. Maybe, he can't see her at all, boxes and bubbles floating into his vision to report on the functioning of his own mind to him.

“Your neural processor. Are you prepared for me to do a brief physical inspection?”

The terminal beeps loudly, a flat attempt at a musical tone, and the diagnostic is done. No complications. His shoulders unwind finally, tight knots of stress sagging as he huffs out a sigh of relief. Unplugging his cable from the terminal, he watches it spool and disappear back into his forearm.

“Of course, Nurse Anya.”

The resignation in his voice, quiet obedience, rings hollow and sour with context. Her gut twists and swirls, unpleasantly nauseous. What sort of conditions lead a man to accept a Morpheus, to accept handing over his very body and mind for a profit?

Was he a soldier of the war? No, surely too young to serve like her father. Maybe, a more recent conflict. In the American forces, maybe. Taking on programming to march through the apocalypse or fly overhead with kiloton payloads, oblivious to anything he did. Only taking orders. 

A worker in the sex industry, maybe. A million words come to mind - all derogatory, all demeaning - and she swallows, a knot in her throat like she was about to bark them at him. It pays well, and there's nothing as profitable as serving anonymous clients a living toy who feels no pain. It pays better than a Pony Express Captain could ever dream of, so why leave it?

Pulling on her gloves, watching Curly heave himself into the medical gurney and start to strip, she scolds herself for letting her mind wander. Frankly, it's none of her business why he'd have one installed. That's private. It’s not impacted his work so far. She doesn’t know this man as a friend, and she’d have never known if it wasn't for the updated policy.

The upper part of his overalls hanging around his hips, Pony Express shirt lying folded on the cot beside him, he looks small and weak. Like a child, lost and scared. His lower lip is red and flaky, bitten down. He hates this.

“Are you alright, Captain? I can have someone else present, if it-”

“No. No, thank you. That won't be necessary, I'm just cold.”

He coughs, awkwardly, like it can smother his outburst. Her smile tightens, as he turns away from her. Hands clutching the edge of the gurney, Curly tilts his head forward and exposes the back of his neck.

Skin, usually freckled and pockmarked by overexposure to the sun, gives away to plates of painted titanium in a poor approximation of white skin, an off-cream stretching into his shoulder blades and neck. It’s only bracing the exposed neuralware, embedded deep into his upper spine and stretching down in interlocking plates.

Reaching out with her gloved hands, she prods around the edges of it for any swelling or complications. Nothing feels unusual to her, and Curly isn’t hiding flinches of pain as she squeezes around the seams. No overheating, no buildup of fluid, or signs of infection.

“How do you clean it, Captain?”

“Isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush.”

Noting the angry inflammation and dry skin around the metal plates, at the seam where flesh has started to curl around titanium, she hums.

“I can see that’s causing irritation as it dries out your skin. Good thinking, but it can lead to infection as the skin breaks from the exposure.”

His shoulders lift halfway to his ears, hands clenched around the sleeves of his jumpsuit. She’s never seen him look so genuinely upset over a light chastising.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Pursing her lips tightly, she inspects the implant for any rust or corrosion. The sooner she can stop touching him, the better. His discomfort is making her stomach roll, tight with nausea. Her fingers ghost over the ports behind his right here, two slots for memory chips and other information downloads, and a thick circular port for cabling. That would be used to upload behavioural programs. 

“I have some products that won’t damage the implant, but may treat your skin a bit kinder. Moisturiser would help too, you know,” she mentions offhandedly, hoping to distract herself from the lingering thoughts.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Have you been experiencing dizziness, mood swings or lapses in memory?”

“No, ma’am.” 

“Have you felt anxiousness, paranoia, or felt a sense of disconnect from yourself?” “No, ma’am.”

“Have you felt like you haven’t been acting like yourself, or that something else is dominating your actions?”

The silence stretches on like hot elastic, awkward and tight. It’s not a standard screening question, but by God, she’d hoped he would brush it off as a rephrasing. A mundane question for a mundane test for cyberpsychosis.

Curly’s shoulders are trembling, his breaths short and shallow. Whistling through his teeth, shoulders wound up like he’s ready to spring away.

“You know?”

Anya pulls her hands away, looks away from his bare back and faintly quivering curls. The sticky sound that snaps through the air as she tugs off the gloves makes Curly’s shoulders twitch like he’s holding himself back from bolting for the door.

“You know about it, Anya? The chip?”

She tosses them in the bin and stands. She needs distance, needs feet between her and Curly as he’s falling apart on the gurney. Throwing the gloves in the waste bin, she sighs heavily.

“Yes, Captain. I know about the Morpheus implant.”

In his scramble to get away from her, he almost knocks the gurney over. His breaths are thin and tight, rabbit-like as he presses his back up against the wall furthest from the desk.

“It’s alright, Curly.”

Grabbing his Pony Express shirt and tugging it over himself like a shield, he shudders at something unseen, ghosting over the back of his neck like her hands. Anya watches with a deepening pit of suspicion in her gut.

“I’ll leave you to dress, Captain. We can continue the check later.”

Making for the door, hoping to camp out in the kitchen until Curly’s regained his composure and calmed enough so that she can complete her diagnostic report, Anya feels the anxiousness start to unravel in her chest.

“You can't tell anyone, Anya.”

His fingers are tight around her wrist, bones aching at the sides where his hand squeezes. Trying to pull away only makes her stumble, his grip unyielding. The anxiousness beats and kicks.

“Let go of me.”

He finally looks at her, makes the eye contact that she’d been dreading. His eyes are near manic, a feral sort of fear only found in dogs about to bite. Flicking to the medical bay door, opening to the corridor and the lounge beyond that. To the rest of the ship, and to the crew.

“Please Anya, please? Don’t tell anyone about it, please.”

Stomach rolling, Anya distantly notes that his terror at the thought of it induces some sort of pity reaction. Maybe he fears faith in the Captaincy to crumble with the reveal. Maybe he fears judgement for the implication.

Maybe Anya will finally connect every single red flag and symptom he’s basically been screaming at her, the entirety of this diagnostic session. Maybe Anya is actually being a cunt right now. This is more than “my coworkers won’t like me”.

“Captain Curly. Let go of me.”

He drops her wrist like it burns, stumbling back and pressing it to his abdomen like he’s holding it away from her. Face pallid, chest heaving with his attempts to suck in full breaths of air.

“No one can know. What they’ll do to me… trips up here can get lonely. People can get lonely. Please, Anya? Please don’t tell anyone, I’ll… I'll do anything.”

The heavy implication lingers like a foul smell, sour when it hits the back of her throat with the sting of unshed tears. This is so awful, and God how she can’t bear it. The wreck he’s been reduced to, the way he says anything like his very survival depends on how much gravity he can impose onto it, how Anya interprets the word.

“I will tell no one, Curly. Your medical records are entirely confidential. No one has to know.”

Eventually, Curly gives up on floundering for words. Wriggles back into the top half of his jumpsuit, almost falling over as he scrambles to get himself presentable again. Anya just stares at the floor and thinks about taking anti-emetics on her lunch break. If the deducted payroll is worth it.

Curly rushes out of the room, collar popped high to hide that processor on his neck, and the dead pixel flashes, in a sea of cool blue.

[whisker-biscuit]

Sonic Big Bang 2024

Close Encounters of the Grim Kind: Chapter 3

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

Through the next few days, Tails discovered three things aside from his alternate dimensional research.

It took about six hours for the probe to make a round trip from him to his new pen pal and back when they tested it.

His pen pal was extremely intelligent and just as interested in the state of the Shatterverse as he was. They did not, however, want to talk about anything else, and especially not themselves.

Sonic was still refusing to share the full picture of what happened during his adventure.

Only one of these things was technically a problem, but the fox was a scientist first and foremost, and a very curious child on top of that. So, he set out to “solve” each and every one.

The first one was easy, relatively speaking. The device had been built to travel indefinitely, collecting data at manageable speeds to be analyzed later. Now that it wasn’t being used as a probe but as a simple messenger, it was no issue to redirect some of its power output away from its memory banks and towards its speed instead. He let his pen pal know what he was doing, and wasn’t surprised when they offered their own assistance, claiming that they had worked with Paradox Prism energy to know how to make movement almost instantaneous. Working off only a fraction of that power instead of the entire prism meant it would still be slower than that, but any upgrade on that front would be an improvement.

Together, they were able to drop the travel time from six hours to two, which helped immensely. It also made Tails debate crossing “Sails” off of his list of potential people, because Sonic never mentioned the pirate ever getting close enough to the Prism to learn how to do that. In the end, he kept the name on because the evidence against its presence was still flimsy.

Additionally, his unknown collaborator sent equations that would allow Tails to duplicate his own technology with Prism energy, which he used to make several more probes to send out across the Shatterverse. None of those devices were intercepted and fed data at a constant rate to his computer for him to observe and report back to the pen pal.

By the end of the week, it became routine for a familiar flash of light to appear in the fox’s shop every few hours. He’d pause in whatever he was working on to read and respond to the message as though it were an overly detailed texting app instead of the intricate probe that he’d built it to be.

[ have you found any interdimensional cracks or signs of decay? ]

– No. So far, none of my probes have registered any anomalies. –

[ good ]

[ i was unable to check for that since losing access to the shards ]

[ was worried it might return even though the paradox prism was reformed ]

– What about you? –

– Did you see anything concerning appear in your own dimension recently? –

[ none so far but ill keep you posted if that changes ]

The second problem took a little longer to work around, and Tails wracked his brain for ways to approach it without raising suspicion. He desperately wanted to know whether he was working with an Eggman above all else. It was hard to think about how their minimal exchange exploring and discussing the Shatterspace’s state of being was beneficial to any version of the mad scientist, but he’d been caught off guard by a convoluted evil scheme before and had no intention of kickstarting another with his own help.

At first, he tried to gauge his mystery partner’s interest in technology.

– I’m sorry my last message was delayed for so long. –

– I was caught up in a new invention idea and lost track of time. –

[ theres no expectation for a prompt response ]

[ im not offended ]

– That’s a relief. Do you ever get tunnel vision with your own projects like me? –

[ yes ]

– Glad to see I’m not alone! –

– What kind of projects do you like to work on? –

Asking that last question led to him being ignored for nearly half a day until one of his probes completed its semi-scheduled data returns, in which his pen pal finally sent the device back asking about its findings. There was no mention of the original inquiry; Tails got the message and didn’t bring the topic up again.

It did make him cross out Mr. Dr. Eggman’s name on his list, however – from what Sonic had told him, the man never would have been able to pass up the chance to brag about his own genius, no matter how obvious the trap.

His second attempt was more roundabout – disguising it as idle curiosity about the Paradox Prism and the Shatterverse.

– There’s still so much we don’t know about all of this. –

– My memory is a bit hazy about what happened when the dimensions split. What do you remember? –

It was admittedly a dangerous gamble. He didn’t know how many people Sonic had told about the Prism being from Green Hill, or that he himself had no recollection of the dimensions breaking apart. Someone as smart as his pen pal might be able to deduce who exactly he was – and by extension, where Sonic was – if he made a single misstep. The last thing Tails wanted was to put another target on his brother’s back even if it was from a source that probably wasn’t much of a current threat without a way to cross dimensions independently. Eggman ingenuity was never a thing to take lightly.

[ i didnt personally notice anything different until sonic first appeared ]

[ he was the catalyst for the changes in our dimension and across the shatterverse ]

Tails couldn’t help but laugh when he received that message.

– Yeah, that seems to be a constant for him. –

– He mentioned he had Prism energy inside his body that allowed him to traverse the dimensions –

– Did you ever see that in action? –

[ yes. it was remarkable to experience ]

[ the first time he used that power, he briefly shut down power in all the machines in a significant area ]

That little tidbit gave the fox pause. He remembered very well Sonic’s description of that event – and how it had happened when he was a captive of the Chaos Council. Without immediately replying, the fox instead found his notebook of names and finally removed Sails from it. Then his pencil hovered over Nine’s name for a solid minute. Sonic had mentioned that dimensional counterpart had been captured at the time as well, but had he actually been there to witness the explosion Sonic had caused?

Asking outright was likely going to go ignored again. He tapped the pencil to paper and stared at the probe as he considered how to react to this new revelation without his pen pal shutting it down.

– What was that power output like? Was it a visible phenomenon? –

Receiving a response within the average two hours made him heave a sigh of relief.

[ extremely visible ]

[ the best way to describe it was a giant rainbow hued shockwave that extended outward from his body ]

[ it was pure unfiltered prism energy with no direction or goal ]

– That sounds incredible. Did the Paradox Prism ever do something like that independent of Sonic? –

[ yes, but it looked a bit different ]

And so, the inquiry turned back around to their research without any further fanfare. As grateful as Tails was for the new hint and frustrated that it was still too vague to fully confirm his pen pal’s identity, he left those follow-up questions alone for the time being. Patience was going to be his best friend in this careful investigation.

Speaking of best friends…

Sonic had finally started to lose his manic energy regarding his friends. He wasn’t pestering them for hang-outs as often, he wasn’t spending most of his time loitering around outside Tails’ workshop anymore, and his daily runs were taking him far enough away again that sometimes it would be more than a day before any of them caught even a glimpse of him. Both Amy and Knuckles expressed their relief to see him settling back in after his solo adventure, and even Rouge made a passing comment about it when they crossed paths.

The fact that he still hadn’t told Tails about everything that had happened wasn’t as worrisome any longer, and probably would have just become idle curiosity if not for how he stumbled onto something he was obviously not meant to see.

He’d been on his way back from Amy’s house and decided to take a quick detour towards the waterfall he had first met Shadow at, hoping to tell the hedgehog that Sonic finally seemed to be doing better again. He’d flown up the cliff from the hill’s side until he reached the very top, but found himself to be the only one there today.

Then the familiar sound of a sonic boom made his ears twitch and he looked out at the landscape.

A blue streak was approaching, followed by a yellow one that was keeping pace but not gaining it. Tails watched, surprised, as his brother came to a stop at the shore of the lake below the waterfall. What was even more surprising was how Shadow caught up a second later and stood beside him instead of challenging him to a spar or another race to even the score. They began speaking, too far away for him to hear, but even from up high he could tell by their body language that it was a tense conversation.

Getting close enough to eavesdrop wasn’t an option. Both hedgehogs had hearing that would pick up his flying immediately, and he was almost certain that whatever they were talking about it would stop the instant they noticed his presence. Feeling a twinge of guilt that wasn’t enough to assuage his interest, the fox pulled out his Miles Electric and began tuning it to amplify the sound waves from below to a frequency he could hear and understand.

“….fine, Shadow, honest! Man, I had no idea you were such a mother hen.”

“It’s not about ‘mothering’, Sonic. It’s a legitimate concern.”

“Aww, you’re concerned about little old me? Never thought I’d hear you confess it outright.”

The sound of their banter made Tails’ shoulders relax when he hadn’t even realized they’d been raised. It meant that whatever they were talking about probably wasn’t all that serious after all. Or it meant…

“Stop deflecting. It’s not going to get you out of this conversation.”

…His brother was avoiding a discussion, again.

Sonic sighed so visibly that Tails didn’t even need his device to see the action. He put his hands on his hips and turned towards the lake, kicking a rock into the water as he did so.

“I really mean it, Shadow. I’m fine. I feel fine. Nothing about that has changed since we returned to Green Hill. I get why you’re worried, but there’s nothing to be worried about anymore.”

“Your brother seemed to think differently.”

“Tails?” His head whipped around so fast to stare at Shadow that all his quills bounced in sync. “What do you mean? You’ve been talking to him? What did he say?”

The other hedgehog crossed his arms, looking irritated even from far below. “Contrary to whatever belief you might hold, we keep in contact when the situation calls for it. He has expressed worry that you aren’t behaving like yourself.”

Tails’ eyes went wide. What was Shadow doing? Hadn’t he been the one who insisted that they keep Sonic out of their arrangement? And now he was blabbing about a private conversation!

“Oh, well, if that’s why you’re suddenly up in my business, don’t worry. We talked it out a while back.”

“Did you?”

“Yes, Shadow, geez. He noticed I’ve been a little…clingy, and I told him it was because I was thinking a lot about the dimensional counterparts we had to leave behind. Plus, y’know, the whole “all my friends became shadows of themselves that I thought I’d never be able to piece back together” part? Pretty obvious why I’ve been off my game the last few weeks.”

“Did you tell him about –”

“No, I didn’t, and I don’t need to.” Sonic’s tone took on a hard edge. “I’m not about to put that on his shoulders. It has nothing to do with him and he’d still feel guilty about it.”

“What happens if you ever start to deteriorate?”

Deteriorate?!

“I’m not going to, Shadow! There’s literally been no reason to worry about that! You are literally the only one worrying about that.”

“Of course I am, Sonic!” The hedgehog closed his eyes. A pained expression flashed across his face and his voice grew softer when he spoke again. “Of course, I am. You were…dying in my arms.”

Tails felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He backed away from the edge of the cliff and clutched the Miles Electric in shock, hoping he’d misheard what had just been said. The long silence that fell between the two down below was enough of an answer. Too much of an answer.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about that,” Sonic finally said, sounding more somber than he’d been in a long time. “Truly, I am. I wish I could go back and do things differently so you never had to experience that. But I mean it when I say that I haven’t felt any different since we got back. No weird energy, no sparks, no teleporting no matter how fast I’ve been running. Nine said he pulled all of it out of me and I have no reason not to believe him. Especially not after…all of that.”

More silence. Tails curled his namesakes around himself to try and soothe his sudden shaking.

“…You really trust him that much, huh?” Shadow’s voice was unreadable, and so quiet that it was barely audible even through the device.

“Absolutely. Just as much as I trust Tails. We’d all be wiped from existence if it weren’t for him.”

Another long pause.

“Shadow, I get why you’re worried, and I promise I’ll tell you if something changes. We both said we’d be better about communicating after this, didn’t we?”

“We did.”

“Then trust me when I say I’m okay. Please?”

“…Fine.”

“Thank you.”

“You really should tell someone else about this, though. If not your brother, then one of your friends.”

“I’ll think about it. You up for a race to the ocean?”

“Perhaps another time.”

“Alrighty, then. See you later.”

A blue streak zoomed off, visible for only a few seconds before disappearing beyond the horizon. Tails found the ability to move and peeked back over the side of the cliff. Shadow was still at the lake shore, staring in the direction Sonic had run off in. His back was turned to the waterfall and so the fox couldn’t see his expression. After nearly a minute of standing there like a statue, his rocket shoes kicked into gear and he dashed off as well in a different direction.

Tails sat down right where he was, completely stunned by everything he had just heard and struggling to process it. Sonic had almost died. Sonic had been dying and hadn’t told anyone about it. How had that even happened? They’d mentioned something about “weird energy.” Was that because of the Chaos Council? The Shatterverse breaking down? Him being displaced from the dimensions in the first place and physics had finally caught up to his body?

And why on Mobius did he think Tails would blame himself if he knew?

Thoroughly shaken up, the fox flew straight home. He was still so blindsided by the information he’d unintentionally learned that he didn’t even notice the probe hovering above his desk until he collapsed into his chair after almost an hour of pacing his workshop.

He picked it up almost on autopilot, staring at the latest messages there without really reading them. It was some theory about why the other dimensions still existed with the Paradox Prism reformed, but he couldn’t wrap his head around the words no matter how he tried to distract himself with them. What did pointless theories matter when his own brother had nearly died – might still be at risk of it if Shadow’s concern was valid?

Tails needed answers and he needed them now. Screw Shadow’s terms, screw whether this mystery person was a friend or foe, screw everything that wasn’t going to tell him what he needed to know. If it ensured Sonic’s safety then he’d take any risk.

Instead of replying, the young scientist shut the device off and pulled out its blueprints, along with the notebook he’d used to parse out the equations for how to make it travel faster between dimensions. Additionally, he recalled all of his probes that had been out collecting data. Two hours between messages was too long to wait for each reply. He needed this to be as instantaneous as his pen pal had claimed the Prism energy was capable of, and he was going to use all the energy currently at his disposal to do it.

A preliminary glance at the time told him it was early evening. He turned off or flipped over every clock and time-keeper in his space, knowing this was going to be a long haul. From the kitchen he retrieved a full pitcher of water, an entire half-pan of lasagna leftovers, and three unopened energy drinks. As each probe returned one by one in small flashes of rainbow light, Tails cracked his fingers, stretched his arms once over his head, and got right to work.

It took most of the night. By the time he shut the final panel on the device, finished charging it with all the other probes, and turned it back on, the nearest clock read nearly 3 AM when he dared to look. The fox cradled the device in his hands, thoroughly exhausted. For all the work that he had just accomplished, he knew that was technically the easiest part of this entire thing. The rest hinged entirely on his mystery collaborator.

Tails drank the rest of his last energy drink, then spent the next five minutes crafting a message that would get his intentions across without scaring his pen pal away forever.

– I know we agreed to keep this as solely a research venture but this is urgent. –

– Do you know what happened to Sonic before he returned to Green Hill? Is there a chance it could happen to him again? –

– Please. I need to know. –

He sent it out before he could second-guess the wording. Then he waited.

Nothing came back.

The fox gave it ten minutes. Thirty. An hour. Just like the very first time he’d activated the device, he was left in limbo, waiting and wondering if everything he’d worked so hard for was about to go up in flames. He knew it wasn’t just about technological limitations anymore. There was a small chance that his pen pal was asleep, but their time zones were very different and they seemed to have just as odd a sleeping schedule as he did. The radio silence was most likely an intentional one.

Eventually, out of lack of anything better to do, Tails began cleaning up his work station just to get rid of some of the nervous energy jittering through his body. He glanced at his desk for any sign of flashing lights so often it was quickly becoming a compulsion, and so he forced himself to leave the room entirely. Crawling into bed had him feeling conflicted; he was so tired and on the verge of a crash, but he was terrified that any minute the device would return and he would miss it for hours.

In the end, physical needs won. Tails passed out the moment his head hit the pillow and he drifted off into restless sleep.

[lunasgayshit]

🦉Positivity owl reporting for duty! This was sent by a friend who wants you to smile as much as your posts make them smile. Please list five things that make you unique, four things you are super passionate about and why, OR three of your favorite memories. Feel free to send the owl to those who you feel deserve to smile🦉

Oh wow um, first, thank you anon 💜😭😳

Five things that make me unique? Uh, not exactly unique, there are so many humans that any one thing is highly unlikely to be unique, but in combination they are :)

My egg was exceptionally hard to crack due to circumstances

I work in tech but my heart is in the arts and humanities, and having seen what capitalism did to my tech hobby, I will never make the same mistake with my art

I approach every person in my life with love in my heart, and treat them as such. Kindness, empathy, and patience are more important to me than I can say. We're all connected, we humans, and bringing love to every interaction is the best way I can think of to interact with others.

Due to the particulars of my autism (it's hard to focus on anything other than a conversation if I'm listening to that conversation, among other auditory processing issues), almost all of the music I like is nonlyrical. I have music for every mood, some of it the most beautiful things you've never heard, but none of it has a single word. I also always have something playing, whether it's music or a game I'm playing or something I'm watching.

I'm really good with mental arithmetic for numbers below a certain (ill-defined) size, especially things like Fibonacci numbers, square numbers, and addition/subtraction/multiplication (just like with a computer, everything but division is easy and fast). The numbers just come to me, a lot like Ramanujan said they come to him (except in my case they're not delivered by Hindu deities while I'm sleeping). I'll have the answer for a calculation before I even realize it and I won't know how I got the answer, but it'll be the right answer. It's weird, but it works!

As for things I'm super passionate about and why, this'll be interesting as I'm rather autistic so this is basically asking me to ramble about my special interests :) If anon knows anything about me they must know I'm autistic and they probably know at least a couple of these, so the list shouldn't be entirely surprising :) For all of these I could go on for longer than the post altogether so I'm going to try to be brief; know that there's so much more to say for each of these.

For as long as I can remember, language has been a special interest of mine. This manifests most specifically in words, meanings, etymologies, dialects, identifying languages from words / scripts / sounds. There's so much complexity and beauty in language, and it affects and influences every element of being human. I don't feel comfortable saying it's something that makes us human, particularly with recent research into cetaceans and other animals, but it is nevertheless an important part of being human.

I've been a Star Trek nerd similarly long. A lot of folks are Trek fans because they like the stories, the utopian vision of the future where most diseases have been cured and you can trans your gender in an afternoon with enough time left over for a fancy dinner, the egalitarian society, but for me it's deeper. Those things all matter, to be clear! They are important! But other things matter even more. For me it's about the radical love and acceptance people in the Federation show for one another. There's an implicit social contract of acceptance of differences and diversity, there's representation on screen and in universe of so much of the diversity of humanity. This is absolutely a result of the optimism, of living in a post-scarcity society, but it's also how I personally try to treat others.

Perhaps unsurprising is that I'm absolutely in love with science / mathematics, have been since I was a kid. Sure, there are certain fields I'm more interested in (physics, calculus, psychology, anthropology, linguistics as said above), but the broader subjects have always held my interest for as long as I can remember. If real life is a game, then science is the rules for how that game works. It's about the knowledge per se, for me (which is specifically why I say science / mathematics instead of an applied field like engineering)--all knowledge is worth having. But it's also about the learning, both students learning things and researchers discovering things. Learning things is cool! I genuinely hope we never learn everything about the universe, about ourselves. An existence where science / mathematics is genuinely, truly "done" would not be nearly as fulfilling.

Just as important is my appreciation and love of arts and the humanities more broadly. Like with language above, I'm not going to say that our pursuit of these subjects makes us human. However, like the sciences, these subjects do certainly make being human more rewarding and worthwhile. Again, like with the sciences, there is so much beauty in this world, so much nuance and subtlety that the arts and humanities help us understand. I genuinely see the sciences and the humanities as closely related in this way, in what draws me to them: much of what I said above about the sciences applies to here as well. It's all about learning and beauty, learning about the universe and ourselves and seeing the beauty and love that existence shows us every moment of every day. It's not coincidental that I get a bit poetic about this! Again, like with the sciences, there are certain kinds of art and subjects in the humanities that draw my attention more, but I do have a general appreciation for all of it.

I hope you can forgive me, anon, for taking so long to respond to this ask. I have taken your questions seriously and, in tandem with good old ADHD (and distraction from the many cuties on here), it's taken some time to arrange my thoughts.

[anonymousewrites]

Logos and Pathos (Book 3) Chapter Seven

TOS! Spock x Empath! Reader

Chapter Seven: Isolated Darkness

Summary: Spock, Kirk, (Y/N), and Bones find themselves in the strange laboratory of aliens experimenting on a mute empath.

            Captain’s Log: Orbiting the second planet of the Minaran star system. This star has long given evidence of entering a Nova Phase, and six months ago a research station was established to make close-up studies of the star as its end approaches. Minara is now entering a critical period, and the Enterprise has been ordered to evacuate the station before the planet becomes uninhabitable. Yet out attempts to contact the station’s personnel have been, so far, unsuccessful.

            “Dust,” said (Y/N), examining the tools strewn about the research station. Bones, Spock, and Kirk milled about the room around them.

            “Apparently, these instruments have not been recently used,” said Spock.

            Kirk blew dust off an item. “Record tape. Maybe it’ll tell us something about the personnel that lived here,” he said.

            “Enterprise to Captain Kirk. Come in, please.” Scotty’s voice came over the communicator.

            “Kirk here. What is it, Enterprise?”

            “Scotty here, sir,” replied the engineer. “Our instruments have picked up a gigantic solar flare with very high levels of cosmic rays accompanying it.”

            “How bad?” said Kirk as Spock looked up and made eye-contact with (Y/N) at the news.

            “An enormous one,” reported Scotty. “Our sensors indicate the cosmic ray measures 3.51 on the Ritter scale. That’ll play the very devil with the crew, as well as the ship.”

            “At this rate, it will take exactly 74.1 solar hours for the storm to pass,” reported Spock.

            “Get that ship out of there,” said Kirk to Scotty. “Stay at minimum distance for absolute safety.”

            “Aye, aye, sir,” said Scotty. “We’ll beam you up in—”

            “Negative, we’re staying here,” said Kirk. “The atmosphere of the planet will protect us. Get that ship out of there, Scotty.”

            “Very well, sir. Scotty out.” The communicator shut off.

            “Mr. Spock, what about that tape?” asked Kirk, returning to the task at hand.

            Spock sat in front of the computer, and (Y/N) leaned over him as he put the tape in. “Remember, Captain, that what we see on this tape happened approximately three months ago.”

            A recording of two men in the research station appeared on the screen.

            “I don’t think I can stand another week in this godforsaken place,” grumbled one researcher.

            The conversation was interrupted as the ground shook. The scientists paused as if it was a common occurrence before resuming to speak.

            “ ‘In His hand are the deep places of the Earth,’ ” quoted one scientist. “Psalm 95, verse four. Looks like He was listening.”

            And then a buzz pierced the air. The researchers clutched their ears and ran to escape the sound, but a flash of light cut across the camera, and when the vision cleared, the men were gone.

            “They disappeared,” said (Y/N), furrowing their brow.

            “What happened to them?” wondered Kirk.

            Unfortunately, someone or something was listening to him, and a high-pitched buzzing pierced the air.

            “Where’s that sound coming from?” griped Bones.

            “Spock, can you pinpoint it?” shouted Kirk over the sound.

            “Negative, Captain. It doesn’t register,” said Spock.

            (Y/N) groaned and covered their ears. A moment later, a bright light flashed, and (Y/N) was gone.

            Spock’s eyes widened, and he started at their disappearance. “T’hy’la?” Another flash, and he disappeared.

            “Spock?! (L/N)?!” Kirk stumbled towards where they had stood. He looked at Bones in worry, and then the light blinded him once more. Bones was gone; Kirk was alone. “Bones! Spock! (L/N)!” Another flash.

            The research station was left empty.

l

            (Y/N) opened their eyes to find themself on the floor of a dark, seemingly endless room. Bones, Kirk, and Spock sat up around them. Spock was quick to scan the room and stand up. Then he helped (Y/N) up and stood close to them before anything else could happen.

            “Is everyone alright?” asked (Y/N).

            “I’d be a lot better if I knew where we were,” said Bones.

            “We are exactly 121.32 meters beneath the planet’s surface,” said Spock.

            “How did we get here?” said Kirk.

            “Residual energy readings indicate we were beamed here by a matter-energy scrambler similar to our own transporter mechanism,” explained Spock.

            “That’s a nasty cut, Jim,” said Bones upon seeing Kirk had hit his head being transported. “Does it hurt?”

            “No,” said Kirk.

            “Captain, I can feel someone’s emotions,” said (Y/N). “It’s not one of us, but it’s quite strong.”

            Spock nodded in confirmation. “I am picking up a life-form reading, bearing forty-two, mark seven.”

            “One of the missing scientists?” asked Kirk urgently.

            “Negative. Although humanoid, it is definitely not homo sapiens,” said Spock.

            “Identification,” said Kirk.

            “Impossible. I can make no exact identification other than them being humanoid,” said Spock.

            “Let’s fine out ourselves, then,” said Kirk, getting out his phaser and setting it to stun. “Phasers to stun.”

            Carefully, the group walked forward. Spock remained in front of (Y/N) in case something attacked. He refused to just let them go into harm’s way. (Y/N) nodded as they drew closer, the emotions growing stronger.

            A light illuminated part of the barren, endless room in front of them to reveal a couch where a woman in purple lay unmoving. The emotions radiated from her.

            “Be careful,” murmured Kirk when Bones tried to step forward.

            “Well, she seems harmless enough,” said Bones.

            “The sand bats of Manark IV appear to be inanimate crystals, Doctor, until they attack,” said Spock wisely.

            The group tensed as the woman awoke and stretched. Upon seeing them, she cowered, silent and watchful. Her emotions were icy against (Y/N)’s skin, full of fear.

            “We’re not going to hurt you,” said (Y/N) gently.

            The woman looked at them and relaxed at their words, seemingly sensing their truth.

            “Is this your home?” asked Kirk. “Do you live here?”

            The woman didn’t answer. (Y/N) wondered if she just couldn’t. However, that still left it up to either muteness or being forced not to reply.

            Kirk glanced at his associates. “What about it, Spock, (L/N)? Analysis.”

            “She is the source of the strong emotions,” confirmed (Y/N). “And she definitely understands us.”

            “From what we know of the specific gravity and other environmental factors of this planet, a lifeform such as hers could not evolve here,” said Spock.

            Kirk nodded and put away his phaser. He knelt beside the woman. “Are you responsible for bringing us here?”

            The woman flinched at the accusation, putting her hands up as if shielding herself from his words and anger. (Y/N) tilted their head and moved towards the couch.

            “I don’t think she is,” said (Y/N).

            The woman brightened and looked up at (Y/N).

            “Bones,” said (Y/N), keeping their calming smile on their face to keep the woman relaxed. “Is she mute or is she being forced not to speak?”

            Bones scanned her and nodded. “She’s mute. No vocal cords. Not even vestigial. And I don’t think it’s a pathological condition.”

            “Explain,” said Kirk.

            “She appears to be perfectly healthy,” said Bones. “For the other, her lack of vocal cords could be physiologically normal for her species, whatever that is.”

            “A race of mute people, like the civilization on Gamma Vertis IV,” said Kirk.

            “That’s my observation, for whatever it’s worth,” said Bones.

            “Without speech, how could they communicate?” asked Kirk.

            “She could have some form of psychic abilities,” said Spock, lacing his hands behind his back.

            “What do you think, (L/N)?” asked Kirk. All heads turned to the resident empath.

            (Y/N) cocked their head. “It would explain why her emotions are stronger than most and how she understands us, but I’m not sure yet.”

            “Well, we can’t keep referring to her as ‘she’ as if she wasn’t here,” said Kirk. “Any ideas?”

            “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to call her Gem,” said Bones.

            “Gem, Doctor?” questioned Spock.

            “Well, that’s better than ‘hey, you,’ ” grumbled Bones.

            Kirk turned back to Gem. “I want to know why we’re here. I want to know what’s going on—”

            A bright light flashed, and Gem fell backwards.

            “And she knows,” said a new voice.

            The Starfleet officers turned to see two aliens in silver robes holding a weapon and gazing at them. Bones and Kirk froze, and Spock stepped in front of (Y/N).

            “I’m Capt—” started Kirk.

            “We are aware of your identity, Captain,” said one of the aliens.

            “Who are you?” asked Kirk. “Why did you bring us here?”

            “We are Vians. Do not interfere,” said Vian One.

            “What do you intend to do with us?” questioned Kirk.

            “Delay us no longer,” said Vian Two, ignoring Kirk’s question.

            Kirk stepped forward. “We come—”

            Vian One activated his weapon, and Kirk was thrown backward. Bones and Spock stiffened, and Gem looked fearful. (Y/N) narrowed their eyes.

            Kirk got to his feet and carefully approached the Vians again. “Since you already know who we are, you must also know that we come in peace.” He held his phaser on stun. “Our Prime Directive prohibits us on any interference—”

            The Vians fired, a light flashed, and Kirk’s phaser disappeared. Kirk’s eyes narrowed, and he lunged forward. The Vians fired again, and a bright light appeared, flashing and trapping them in place. The Vians walked around to the couch, and Gem cowered from them. They scanned her with their devices, and she convulsed uncomfortably.

            “I can’t seem to stand up,” groaned Kirk.

            “Don’t fight…the force field,” said Bones. “There’s something about it that upsets the body metabolism.

            “Not quite, Doctor,” said Vian One. “The field draws its energy from your bodies. The more you resist, the stronger the force field becomes.”

            “Ah. Sufficient,” said Vian Two after scanning Gem.

            They walked into the darkness and disappeared. The force field fell away a moment after, and Bones, Kirk, Spock, and (Y/N) were released.

            Kirk groaned. “There must be an exit other than the one we just saw.” There was no time to wait. They needed to get out of there before they discovered what the Vians wanted with them.

            “Correct, Captain,” said Spock.

            “Are you alright, Captain?” asked (Y/N). They could sense the whisps of his pain.

            “Don’t worry about me. She is clearly more affected,” said Kirk, facing Gem. “They may have hurt her.”

            He reached out to help her up, but the moment he touched her, she flinched and pulled away, covering her head in pain. Sure enough, whisps of pain emanated from her to (Y/N)’s senses. (Y/N)’s eyes widened as they watched Gem straighten, steel herself, and gently reach out to Kirk. They suspected they knew what she was. Gem put a hand on Kirk’s forehead and the other on his hand. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The cut on Kirk’s forehead sealed and healed itself before the group’s eyes. The next moment, it appeared on Gem’s before healing again. Gem held her head and slumped over slightly in exhaustion. Using her abilities clearly tired her.

            “The pain is gone,” said Kirk in surprise. “She touched my head, and the pain is gone.”

            “And the wound is completely healed,” said Bones.

            “Gem is an empath,” said (Y/N). Gem brightened at (Y/N)’s realization and smiled. They were right.

            Kirk, Bones, and Spock looked at them. “I thought empaths manipulated emotions,” said Kirk.

            “Empaths deal with feelings,” corrected (Y/N). “That comes in a wide variety of abilities and specialties. Many empaths have a specific feeling they’re good at working with. It seems Gem can deal with pain and injuries better than most.” They frowned at Gem’s exhaustion. “Obviously, it still causes strain.”

            “But you’re good with every feeling,” said Bones.

            (Y/N) shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “I’m a bit of an anomaly.”

            “So you’re powerful even for a Celian or other empath’s standards,” said Bones.

            (Y/N) nodded in embarrassment. They didn’t like making it a big deal.

            “Doctor, there is a reason (Y/N) received so many job offers before they went to Starfleet. Their abilities are unparalleled,” said Spock proudly. (Y/N) turned pink at their boyfriend’s praise.

            “Enough about that,” said (Y/N), waving a hand. “Spock, did you figure out a way for us to leave?”

            Spock nodded and gestured to the darkness behind them. “In this direction, my tricorder is picking up a substantial collection of objects.”

            “Details,” said Kirk.

            “Electronically sophisticated items,” said Spock. “I’ve failed to understand why my tricorder previously gave no indication of them being out there.”

            “The Vians were likely hiding them,” said (Y/N). They crossed their arms. “If they’ve revealed them now, it must be for a reason.”

            Kirk sighed. “Unfortunately, we have no other options than to go and see what it is.”

            “Oh, perfect, let’s walk right into a trap,” grumbled Bones as he followed Kirk into the darkness.

            (Y/N) offered a hand to Gem, and she took it, standing next to them. It was clear the woman empath could sense the Celian was similar to her and trusted them. Spock stood beside (Y/N) and glanced around watchfully as (Y/N) took care of Gem.

            Together, the group walked into the darkness of the never-ending room.

            When they finally came out of the shadows into another circle of light, they found themselves surrounded by various stacks of strange computers and technology. Electric tones and sounds oscillated around them.

            “Fascinating,” said Spock.

            “Look at this stuff,” said Bones.

            Kirk walked away to another dark corner, and a light flicked on. His eyes widened. “Bones…Spock…(L/N)…Come here.” His friends joined him, and (Y/N) kept Gem’s arm looped around theirs to keep her close. They froze as they saw what the light had revealed to Kirk.

            Linke and Ozaba, the researchers who had gone missing on the tape, were suspended in two test tubes. The glass capsules were named “Subject” Linke and “Subject” Ozaba; scientists turned into experiments. Their faces and bodies were contorted in suffering, suspended in pain in death.

            “Jim, Spock, (L/N)…” Bone trailed off as he spotted something else. He walked to where four other capsules stood. The signs on these read “Subject McCoy,” “Subject Kirk,” “Subject (L/N),” and “Subject Spock.”

            Spock’s eyebrow quirked upwards. He wouldn’t let (Y/N) get harmed in some sort of experiment.

            (Y/N) felt the exact same way. They glanced up at Spock in worry. If the Vians were planning some sort of experiment, it would definitely hurt Spock, and (Y/N) couldn’t let that happen.

            “You’re on schedule.” The group whirled to find Vian One standing behind them. Some further tests are necessary.”

            “We’ve just seen the results of some of your tests,” snapped Bones.

            “I found our missing men dead,” said Kirk. “Another one of your experiments?” He narrowed his eyes.

            “You’re wrong,” said Vian One. “Their own imperfections killed them. They were not fit subjects. Come, time is short.”

            “Yes. Your time is running out,” said Kirk, narrowing his eyes. “This sun is about to nova. When it does, it’ll destroy you, this planet, and this insane torture chamber.”

            As he distracted the Vian, Spock walked up behind him and touched Vian One’s neck. The alien collapsed, and Kirk caught the strange device he held before passing it to Spock.

            “Let’s get out of here,” said (Y/N), eyeing Vian One’s body warily.

            “Readings indicate the passage to the surface lies in this direction,” said Spock, nodding at the darkness.

            The group hurried off, not casting another look behind them. They needed to leave before they became the Vians’s next batch of unfit subjects.

Taglist:

@a-ofzest

@grippleback-galaxy

@genderfluid-anime-goth

@groovy-lady

@im-making-an-effort

@unending-screaming

@h-l-vlovesvintage

@neenieweenie

@keylimeconstellation

@wormwig

@technikerin23

@ilyatan

@nthdarkqueen

[adastra-sf]

Human brain organoids: coming soon to robots!

Scientists have been developing biocomputers by using human brain tissue, or brain organoids, grown in labs and connected to computer chips.

The end goal is to create a kind of hybrid intelligence, a potentially conscious entity capable of leveraging the strengths of both the human brain and artificial intelligence. Research has integrated these lab-grown brains with electronics.

In late 2023, researchers from Indiana University Bloomington connected their 2-dimensional "Brainoware" architecture to an AI tool, and now researchers from Tianjin University in China report they’ve expanded the architecture of the brain-on-a-chip from two dimensions to three, and created a robot with "organoid intelligence."

Called MetaBOC, the robot is capable of obstacle avoidance, tracking, and grasping.

This is a robot that’s part brain, part electronic, and 100% cursed.

A putty-like, grapefruit-sized organoid sits in the head-case of the bipedal, humanoid robot, providing a startlingly real vision of where this technology could be headed.

Read more about this new Torment Nexus project here and here.

[imjustania]

How to nail 💅your Essays

No matter if you’re in university or school, you will need to write a research paper. Now this post will be dedicated to a normal essay structure, if you need to write an essay based assignment on medical, biological, chemical, or any other science, you need to be more specific, as writing a lab report has a couple extra steps.

Now, you have an essay due in two weeks? A week? Tonight? I’ve been there and I share your pain. I am currently in my last year in university studying for bachelor degree in Marketing, and oh boy let me tell you, the amount of essays I had to write was unreal. Therefore, let me share with you some of my essays skills, to help your speed run your own assignment.

Step 1: OUTLINE IT!?

Ok i think so many of you out there are missing this step. You cant expect yourself to sit in front of the computer and start typing away your essay? No you cant do that. You need to spend a good amount of time sitting down and outlining your essay. Figure out what goes where, and what sources to use for each section. Luckily for you, you have me here to tell you the basic outline structure of every essay. It consists of the:

Table of content (depends on how professional your essay is asked for)

Introduction

Main body

Conclusion

… THATS IT! Only 4 sections (and a half) to write your essay. However of course there is more to write then just that. Lets break down those sections

1) Introduction: When writing the introduction for your essay, it's important to start off with a bang! You want to give your readers a glimpse of what's to come and hook their attention right from the beginning. Make sure to include a strong thesis statement that clearly states the main argument or purpose of your essay. To make it even more engaging, you can provide some background information about the topic and give a brief outline of the main points you'll be discussing in your essay. Therefore, every introduction should have an hook, explanation what you’re writing, what you think will be the result or what is the point you’re writing your essay, and outline all the points of the main body (but simplify them)

2) Main body: In each section of your essay, it's important to provide a detailed analysis and offer supporting evidence for the points you introduced at the beginning. Take each paragraph as a chance to present a single main idea or argument and support it with enough evidence, examples, or citations to back up your claim. To make sure your ideas flow smoothly, use clear and logical transitions between paragraphs. Lastly, remember to give credit to your sources and include proper references for any external information you include in your essay. Here are some side tips for you

Try to have at least a minimum of 3 main body paragraphs . Each paragraph should have one point which helps support your main hypothesis or reasons or this essay.

Each essay will have different main bodies, depending on the subject. Sometimes your main bodies will be dedicated to presenting information about your topic. So for example, as a marketer, I had to write many reports. Most reports written will always include a main analysis of the company (so SWOT, PESTEL, Stakeholder analysis, mission and vision of the company, etc). Depending on what the essay require you to do, you should consider to present your points in that order.

Even your main body should have a proper structure of introduction, main points, and the conclusion.

Don’t forget to have a proper in-text citations depending on which format you use.

3) Conclusion: A conclusion is a chance to wrap up your essay by summarizing the main points and restating the thesis statement. Remember not to introduce any new information here; instead, provide a concise summary of the arguments you've made throughout your essay. Furthermore, this is your chance to leave a lasting impression on your reader by offering insights, implications, or recommendations related to the topic. A well-written conclusion should leave your reader with a sense of closure and a clear understanding of the importance of your essay's content.

4) References: The references section of your essay is where you list all the sources you have cited or referenced. It's important because it helps readers find and verify the credibility of the sources you used. When writing the references section, make sure to follow the specific citation style required by your institution or professor, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago style. Include the author's name, publication year (if there is no publication year, then the article must not be reliable. It must always have a year), title of the source, publication information, and any other required details. Arrange the references alphabetically by the author's last name or by the title if there is no author (if there is no author try using the organisation or the website that published the text). Don't forget to double-check the formatting and punctuation for accuracy and consistency throughout the references section.

After your essay was outlines and you know exactly what you’re supposed to write… write it dude? Like you have the format, you have the sources, and you know your points. Just start writing… if you are having trouble getting started, then give a click to another one of my blogs on how to actually get started on studying.

If you want to go the extra mile, and also make the essay more professional here are some of my personal tips to accomplish that:

size 12 for normal text and size 14 for title (titles can be only bold)

Use text Times New Roman (ROMAN EMPIREEEEEEEEEE)

Double space of all essay

Have a cover page! You can find templates in the insert section of the word tabs.

Have numbers tag the foot of the page

And thats all for today folks! Hope this is actually useful to you, and if you are struggling with anything specific, then do let me know in the comment section or send me a question through the tumblr! Now thank you for reading, and leaving likes <3 don't forget to smile, because you’re beautiful.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 45, 2024

Reward value and internal state differentially drive impulsivity and motivation. Albert-Lyons, R., Capan, S., Ng, K. H., & Nautiyal, K. M. (2024). Behavioural Brain Research, 471, 115073.

Adult neurogenesis improves spatial information encoding in the mouse hippocampus. Frechou, M. A., Martin, S. S., McDermott, K. D., Huaman, E. A., Gökhan, Ş., Tomé, W. A., … Gonçalves, J. T. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6410.

Alpha and theta rhythm support perceptual and attentional sampling in vision. Gallina, J., Ronconi, L., Marsicano, G., & Bertini, C. (2024). Cortex, 177, 84–99.

Grasping tiny objects. Giesel, M., De Filippi, F., & Hesse, C. (2024). Psychological Research, 88(5), 1678–1690.

Efficiency in redundancy. Gronau, Q. F., Moran, R., & Eidels, A. (2024). Scientific Reports, 14, 17109.

Flexible neural population dynamics govern the speed and stability of sensory encoding in mouse visual cortex. Horrocks, E. A. B., Rodrigues, F. R., & Saleem, A. B. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6415.

Shared structure facilitates working memory of multiple sequences. Huang, Q., & Luo, H. (2024). eLife, 12, e93158.3.

State-dependent complexity of the local field potential in the primary visual cortex. Jungmann, R. M., Feliciano, T., Aguiar, L. A. A., Soares-Cunha, C., Coimbra, B., Rodrigues, A. J., … Carelli, P. V. (2024). Physical Review E, 110(1), 014402.

Irrational choices via a curvilinear representational geometry for value. Jurewicz, K., Sleezer, B. J., Mehta, P. S., Hayden, B. Y., & Ebitz, R. B. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6424.

A low-dimensional approximation of optimal confidence. Le Denmat, P., Verguts, T., & Desender, K. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(7), e1012273.

Framing the Default Option Right. Meunier, L., Bashirzadeh, Y., & Ohadi, S. (2024). Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 37(3).

A transthalamic pathway crucial for perception. Mo, C., McKinnon, C., & Murray Sherman, S. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6300.

Concurrent response and action effect representations across the somatomotor cortices during novel task preparation. Palenciano, A. F., González-García, C., De Houwer, J., Liefooghe, B., & Brass, M. (2024). Cortex, 177, 150–169.

Complex behavior from intrinsic motivation to occupy future action-state path space. Ramírez-Ruiz, J., Grytskyy, D., Mastrogiuseppe, C., Habib, Y., & Moreno-Bote, R. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6368.

Spiking attractor model of motor cortex explains modulation of neural and behavioral variability by prior target information. Rostami, V., Rost, T., Schmitt, F. J., van Albada, S. J., Riehle, A., & Nawrot, M. P. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6304.

Chromatin plasticity predetermines neuronal eligibility for memory trace formation. Santoni, G., Astori, S., Leleu, M., Glauser, L., Zamora, S. A., Schioppa, M., … Gräff, J. (2024). Science, 385(6707).

Intrinsic Motivation in Dynamical Control Systems. Tiomkin, S., Nemenman, I., Polani, D., & Tishby, N. (2024). PRX Life, 2(3), 033009.

Large-scale calcium imaging reveals a systematic V4 map for encoding natural scenes. Wang, T., Lee, T. S., Yao, H., Hong, J., Li, Y., Jiang, H., … Tang, S. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6401.

Ambiguity Preference in Waiting Time: Investigating the Desirability Effect and the Interplay of Temporal Description, Outcome Category, and Evaluation Mode. Xu, P., Cheng, J., Shang, X., & Jin, Z. (2024). Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 37(3).

Manipulated overlapping reactivation of multiple memories promotes explicit gist abstraction. Zhao, X., Chen, P., Chen, J., & Sun, H. (2024). Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 213, 107953.

[darkmaga-returns]

Nearsightedness or myopia occurs when objects look blurred at a distance. The British Journal of Ophthalmology recently published a report that found a significant increase in myopia among children and teens since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

“Emerging evidence suggests a potential association between the pandemic and accelerated vision deterioration among young adults,” states the report. The researchers carried out 276 studies across 50 countries with a total of 5,410,945 participants. Instances of nearsightedness in children and teens has tripled in the past three decades, which one could assume is the result of an increase in screen time as children stare at tablets, phones, and computers for hours on end.

Yet, there was a significant increase in cases of myopia after the pandemic. “Myopia has increased dramatically during the period of COVID,” said Lisa Christian, associate director of clinical practice at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. “When we’re indoors, we’re focused on near work most of the time, we’re looking at one spot. When we’re outside, we’re looking far away, so we’re relaxing our eyes.”

[thetechempire]

Anthropic’s CEO thinks AI will lead to a utopia — he just needs a few billion dollars first

🟦 If you want to raise ungodly amounts of money, you better have some godly reasons. That’s what Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei laid out for us on Friday in more than 14,000 words: otherworldly ways in which artificial general intelligence (AGI, though he prefers to call it “powerful AI”) will change our lives. In the blog, titled “Machines of Loving Grace,” he envisions a future where AI could compress 100 years of medical progress into a decade, cure mental illnesses like PTSD and depression, upload your mind to the cloud, and alleviate poverty. At the same time, it’s reported that Anthropic is hoping to raise fresh funds at a $40 billion valuation.

🟦 Today’s AI can do exactly none of what Amodei imagines. It will take, by his own admission, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of compute to train AGI models, built with trillions of dollars worth of data centers, drawing enough energy from local power grids to keep the lights on for millions of homes. Not to mention that no one is 100 percent sure it’s possible. Amodei says himself: “Of course no one can know the future with any certainty or precision, and the effects of powerful AI are likely to be even more unpredictable than past technological changes, so all of this is unavoidably going to consist of guesses.”

🟦 AI execs have mastered the art of grand promises before massive fundraising. Take OpenAI’s Sam Altman, whose “The Intelligence Age” blog preceded a staggering $6.6 billion round. In Altman’s blog, he stated that the world will have superintelligence in “a few thousand days” and that this will lead to “massive prosperity.” It’s a persuasive performance: paint a utopian future, hint at solutions to humanity’s deepest fears — death, hunger, poverty — then argue that only by removing some redundant guardrails and pouring in unprecedented capital can we achieve this techno-paradise. It’s brilliant marketing, leveraging our greatest hopes and anxieties while conveniently sidestepping the need for concrete proof.

🟦 The timing of this blog also highlights just how fierce the competition is. As Amodei points out, a 14,000-word utopian manifesto is pretty out of step for Anthropic. The company was founded after Amodei and others left OpenAI over safety concerns, and it has cultivated a reputation for sober risk assessment rather than starry-eyed futurism. It’s why the company continues to poach safety researchers from OpenAI. Even in last week’s post, he insists Anthropic will prioritize candid discussions of AI risks over seductive visions of a techno-utopia.

[govindhtech]

NVIDIA AI Blueprints For Build Visual AI Data In Any Sector

NVIDIA AI Blueprints

Businesses and government agencies worldwide are creating AI agents to improve the skills of workers who depend on visual data from an increasing number of devices, such as cameras, Internet of Things sensors, and automobiles.

Developers in almost any industry will be able to create visual AI agents that analyze image and video information with the help of a new NVIDIA AI Blueprints for video search and summarization. These agents are able to provide summaries, respond to customer inquiries, and activate alerts for particular situations.

The blueprint is a configurable workflow that integrates NVIDIA computer vision and generative AI technologies and is a component of NVIDIA Metropolis, a suite of developer tools for creating vision AI applications.

The NVIDIA AI Blueprints for visual search and summarization is being brought to businesses and cities around the world by global systems integrators and technology solutions providers like Accenture, Dell Technologies, and Lenovo. This is launching the next wave of AI applications that can be used to increase productivity and safety in factories, warehouses, shops, airports, traffic intersections, and more.

The NVIDIA AI Blueprint, which was unveiled prior to the Smart City Expo World Congress, provides visual computing developers with a comprehensive set of optimized tools for creating and implementing generative AI-powered agents that are capable of consuming and comprehending enormous amounts of data archives or live video feeds.

Deploying virtual assistants across sectors and smart city applications is made easier by the fact that users can modify these visual AI agents using natural language prompts rather than strict software code.

NVIDIA AI Blueprint Harnesses Vision Language Models

Vision language models (VLMs), a subclass of generative AI models, enable visual AI agents to perceive the physical world and carry out reasoning tasks by fusing language comprehension and computer vision.

NVIDIA NIM microservices for VLMs like NVIDIA VILA, LLMs like Meta’s Llama 3.1 405B, and AI models for GPU-accelerated question answering and context-aware retrieval-augmented generation may all be used to configure the NVIDIA AI Blueprint for video search and summarization. The NVIDIA NeMo platform makes it simple for developers to modify other VLMs, LLMs, and graph databases to suit their particular use cases and settings.

By using the NVIDIA AI Blueprints, developers may be able to avoid spending months researching and refining generative AI models for use in smart city applications. It can significantly speed up the process of searching through video archives to find important moments when installed on NVIDIA GPUs at the edge, on-site, or in the cloud.

An AI agent developed using this methodology could notify employees in a warehouse setting if safety procedures are broken. An AI bot could detect traffic accidents at busy crossroads and provide reports to support emergency response activities. Additionally, to promote preventative maintenance in the realm of public infrastructure, maintenance personnel could request AI agents to analyze overhead imagery and spot deteriorating roads, train tracks, or bridges.

In addition to smart places, visual AI agents could be used to automatically create video summaries for visually impaired individuals, classify large visual datasets for training other AI models, and summarize videos for those with visual impairments.

The workflow for video search and summarization is part of a set of NVIDIA AI blueprints that facilitate the creation of digital avatars driven by AI, the development of virtual assistants for individualized customer support, and the extraction of enterprise insights from PDF data.

With NVIDIA AI Enterprise, an end-to-end software platform that speeds up data science pipelines and simplifies the development and deployment of generative AI, developers can test and download NVIDIA AI Blueprints for free. These blueprints can then be implemented in production across accelerated data centers and clouds.

AI Agents to Deliver Insights From Warehouses to World Capitals

With the assistance of NVIDIA’s partner ecosystem, enterprise and public sector clients can also utilize the entire library of NVIDIA AI Blueprints.

With its Accenture AI Refinery, which is based on NVIDIA AI Foundry and allows clients to create custom AI models trained on enterprise data, the multinational professional services firm Accenture has integrated NVIDIA AI Blueprints.

For smart city and intelligent transportation applications, global systems integrators in Southeast Asia, such as ITMAX in Malaysia and FPT in Vietnam, are developing AI agents based on the NVIDIA AI Blueprint for video search and summarization.

Using computing, networking, and software from international server manufacturers, developers can also create and implement NVIDIA AI Blueprints on NVIDIA AI systems.

In order to improve current edge AI applications and develop new edge AI-enabled capabilities, Dell will combine VLM and agent techniques with its NativeEdge platform. VLM capabilities in specialized AI workflows for data center, edge, and on-premises multimodal corporate use cases will be supported by the NVIDIA AI Blueprint for video search and summarization and the Dell Reference Designs for the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA.

Lenovo Hybrid AI solutions powered by NVIDIA also utilize NVIDIA AI blueprints.

The new NVIDIA AI Blueprint will be used by businesses such as K2K, a smart city application supplier in the NVIDIA Metropolis ecosystem, to create AI agents that can evaluate real-time traffic camera data. City officials will be able to inquire about street activities and get suggestions on how to make things better with to this. Additionally, the company is utilizing NIM microservices and NVIDIA AI blueprints to deploy visual AI agents in collaboration with city traffic management in Palermo, Italy.

NVIDIA booth at the Smart Cities Expo World Congress, which is being held in Barcelona until November 7, to learn more about the NVIDIA AI Blueprints for video search and summarization.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[polychaeteworm]

(currently only on mobile)

Note: if you send me a donation request that looks like a copy paste I'm reporting you.

Hello I'm Orn, I'm the alien system host of a 33 year old human body with 8 alters inside, this is just my blog though. Bodily Native Lakota. I'm partnered irl with an akita mix therian who helps me with my disabilities (service dog energy). I work at a garden center with an attached farm market so I do post root porn and plant pics from time to time. I'm very committed to the honorable harvest and making sure my garden is an actual eco system. My soil be alive and my plants be pollinated

I'm a mixed media artist and I know more mediums then I can remember to count. I give advice compulsively so if you have a weird art supply question my inbox is open and anons are on. I know all about glue, polymer, proper glitter use, and UV colors. You can also ask me anything about plants and I will info dump you an essay. If it's about a plant I don't know I will research it and still give you my thoughts and best guesses.

Aro/ace-spec, into men as a man and women as a women. I'm still just utterly alien in general and I don't really love the way most humans do.

If you are here to question my right to use the pronouns that I do, I will not be discussing the physical configuration of my sex to justify my right to use shi/hir. I only discuss my physical transition on a case by case basis and will not support a precedent of questioning if someone has a right to their pronouns on the basis of their body.

You can assume in good faith that I'm not perisex and fuck off, because that's all you're getting on the subject. These pronouns came from a personal paracosmic origin for me specifically and have nothing to do with my body or how it might be fetishized. I'm just an alien slamming English words together independent of discourse and I'd like to be left out of it thanks. I have other pronouns you can use if you have personal trauma.

I support all people with cluster B disorders, my partner system has BPD. You are all worthy of love and safety.

I'm a green wizard and I've been doing weird art based magic for about 11 years

On this blog you'll find a nice mixed bag of the following: Precambrian explosion and Paleo fun, garden center adventures, speculative biology, green magic and experimental occult content, 420 weed posting, plants, pendantic info dumps, artwork(both mine and not), web 1.0 tech nostalgia and autism/did/disability content!

I was formally diagnosed with the demand avoidant flavor of ASD when I was 7 and can't live alone but remain very independent in spite of my support needs.

I have lots of trouble wording things and as an alter I've become hyper verbal out of a fear of being misinterpreted. ABA therapy abused my system into having a pretty convincing mask so I try to give myself a break here.

Writing conversationally helps me continue to be able to speak verbally so I write way more than people expect. I understand that it can be overwhelming but I can't help it. Sorry!

Human body conditions I'm running with include: DID, hypermobility, fibromyalgia, ASD, dyspraxia, low vision/legal blindness, irlen syndrome, complex synesthesia, hyperphantasia, and really uncontrolled maladaptive daydreaming

I grow cannabis in a legal state and use it to treat my various issues.

I am posic and objectum. I am mostly attracted to plants, but old technology too. I currently have a courting/platonic relationship with a Philodendron Solleum Named Basaran and a committed platonic partnership with a large MFC office printer named Leviathan. I've had several committed romantic relationships with older computers, but currently don't have an alive and well computer partner.

Other blogs I'm connected to:

My irl human(dog) partner is @guromechanical TW: don't go here if you're not fucked in the head 18+

@neurotheascars Saira's side blog, trauma holding alter, goth aesthetics and vent posts. TW for syscourse, traumacore, unreality and blood/SH specifically. If you are a Saltburn, traumacore, or otherwise dark gothic blog it is most likely Saira that has followed you.

If Saira is co-fronting or informing a post here, it will be tagged with ⚔️

Saira has more severe difficulty with communicating and needs a bit more patience than me.