#bionic controlled computers

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Liz, Biotechnician

Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I still can’t get this stupid arm to work right,” Liz groaned. She’d managed to get to the lab on time today, and she’d been able to get dressed herself, but only barely. Her lab coat and uniform were both disheveled, the new bionic hand unable to get every button resulting in half of them being left undone. She’d ended up having to tie her shoe laces in knots to keep them on her feet because her fingers couldn’t bend the way she wanted or grip the thin laces. The only reason Liz was wearing the lab coat these days was to hide the cross section where her arm ended and the cybernetics began. Looking at it was… upsetting, to say the least.

“It’s only been a few cycles, Human Liz,” Coco said. “It’s my understanding that losing limbs is fatal to most other species of non-botanicals. Having the ability to complain right now is a gift.”

“It’s been over a week,” Liz said. “And I know, everyone keeps reminding me I’m lucky to be alive, you, the captain, Jane, I know how lucky I am, but this,” she waved the hunk of metal she called a hand, “is starting to piss me off.”

“You are upset,” Coco said. They were standing beside the center lab table. Liz couldn’t even see the claw marks the predator creature had left on their trunk anymore. “This is to be expected.”

Coco walked over to their wall computer, avoiding the small automated cleaner Liz had made to tidy up the dirt they tracked everywhere.

“Remind me again, this device you have made to remove the dirt, why have you attached a weapon to it?” Coco asked.

“Thought it’d be funny,” Liz said, “which it was.”

“And you have designated it…?”

“Stabby, ‘cause of the steak knife.”

“Why?”

“Old Earth legend. Makes us humans laugh,” Liz said, smiling as she leaned her chin on her good arm.

“You will have to explain that story to me again some time.” Coco clicked a button on their screen and a wall panel slid up between them, revealing the clutch of 5 eggs they’d taken from MX13 sitting in their tank. They were about the size of baseballs, or stone fruits. Liz had stuck a strip of electrical tape on the front and written ‘arm eating bastard eggs’.

“You know I’m half tempted to eat them,” Liz said.

“Please do not engage in predator behavior around me,” Coco asked. “It still makes me nervous sometimes watching you try to swat at insects.”

“Really? Why?” Liz chuckled.

“I know you are more evolved than a simple animal, but when I observe you stalk and hunt down the… mosquitoes? It reminds me of the predators we have on Spryga. It is unsettling.”

Liz stopped and thought for a moment. She hadn’t considered that before. It was probably a normal complaint among former prey species working alongside humans. Whoops.

“Well, sorry. Humans are weird like that, but I’ll try to be more conscious about it,” Liz said.

“Thank you. I do not mean to… step on your hands, but I appreciate it.”

“Step on your toes, hon.”

“Right.”

Liz pulled the tank out of the wall while Coco set the lab up, turning on heat lamps and setting the environmental controls in the room to MX13 standard, except for the air. Upon further analysis of the predator creature from the moon, it didn’t need the methane in the air to breathe. From what was left of its ‘lungs’, they breathed more like frogs, through their skin, stripping oxygen from out of the water they swam in. Apparently they were more reptilian than Liz had expected. There were underground rivers and lakes all across the subsurface of the moon, hunting grounds for the creatures. Liz guessed they came above ground to lay their eggs, away from the competition.

Furry reptiles, Liz thought. Why the hair though? It doesn’t make sense. Maybe to keep warm? The underground water has to be freezing.

“What do you think the GAIL will want to do with them after… if they hatch?” Liz asked.

“Standard procedure would be to return them to their natural habitat after a nano scrub to remove any and all unnatural scent from their bodies, so they can be reaccepted back into their species later,” Coco explained. “But hatchlings would be another question entirely. Perhaps they would be sent to an outpost for further study, or released into a controlled habitat somewhere.”

“What, like a zoo?” Liz asked. “You have zoos in the GAIL?”

“Possibly, I’m not sure what this zoo is.”

“We had them on Earth a long ways back. It was pitched as a way to study animals up close, but it was really just cheap entertainment for the masses. Eventually it kinda grew into a way to help endangered species, but it was still pretty on the line.”

“Then no, we don’t have zoos. What I’m speaking of are rehabilitated planets or moons with an ecosystem created to cater to the needs of the species we simply can’t put back where they are from.”

“That still kinda sounds like a zoo, but I guess if nobody is throwing peanuts at the elephants it’s still an improvement.”

The lab was set up for observation, the eggs were supposedly viable, so while they waited to see what would happen, the two got back to their other work. Reasonably they could’ve just left the eggs in the temperature controlled wall slot, but Liz had said that’d be boring, considering it was ‘the most she’d ever paid for less than a full carton of eggs.’

Coco stepped into their pot and watched the eggs, Liz in her desk chair tinkering with her new arm. She was sure if she could just get the pathways right, she’d be able to get the thing working properly. The cable running from her arm to her computer was annoyingly equated to a leash in her mind.

If I could just open a can of soda by myself, that’d be a huge win.

As they sat there doing important scientific work, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Coco said, unmoving in their corner. The door opened and, oddly enough, another human walked in. He stood just inside the doorway looking around sheepishly. Liz glanced at him and was surprised to see a maintenance droid sitting on his shoulder.

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you guys, uhh, I’m Thomas, from engineering,” said the man.

“Well, hi, I guess,” Liz said, a little confused. “What are you doing all the way up here Thomas? We didn’t make any maintenance requests.”

“No, you didn’t, but I think you need one anyway,” Thomas said. “See, I was just in the med bay for the last couple cycles, and I overheard the nurses talking about the human who needed a cybernetic arm. I’m assuming that was you and not one of the other two, right?”

“What gave it away?” Liz said dryly, waving her metal hand. “And what are you doing, asking about me anyway? You want to see the robot arm or something, get an upgrade for your little buddy there?”

“Oh, no no no, I’m sorry, I just figured you’d need the fix for it,” Thomas said. He walked further into the room, albeit cautiously. “I asked about the model arm they gave you, the MK6, and there’s a small chance the one you have has a problem.”

“… huh?” Liz said, actually confused now.

“Yeah, the MK6 is a great design, but the company putting out the arms had a faulty inspection system, a couple hundred came off the line with a bug in the wiring.”

“I’ve ran a dozen tests on this thing, I would’ve found any code defect.”

“No, I mean, an actual insect, little crawly thing, in the arm. The factory where they were made had a pest problem so they were fumigating for a while. The whole plant is totally automated, so they didn’t stop production while they did it. Bugs went everywhere trying to escape, and some went into the product to avoid the pesticides. Prosthetics got sealed up, and so did the bugs. It’s probably gunked up the wiring in your arm, that’s why you can’t… you know,” Thomas explained, gesturing to her uniform.

“There… there’s a bug in my fucking arm?” Liz said, disgusted.

“I’m just saying there might be,” Thomas said, hands up like he was going to defend himself.

“Beep.”

“Yeah, I know buddy, but we gotta get permission first.”

“Did the small drone speak?” Coco asked.

“Oh my god you’re a Sprygan!” Thomas said, surprised. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were just a houseplant.”

“It’s no problem, I am not offended,” Coco said.

“Uhh, yeah, his name is Roomba, he asked why we don’t just fix the arm and go. We’re still learning patience and manners, apparently.”

“Beep.”

“Apology accepted. Thank you Roomba.”

“Can somebody just check my arm for bugs now please, before I throw up?” Liz half squealed, panicking. She could charge a hostile alien creature no problem, but the thought of insects touching her was enough to make her stomach churn.

“Yup, right, okay, gimme a sec,” Thomas said, coming into the room fully now. “Roll your sleeve up, I gotta remove the casing for this.”

Liz rolled the sleeve of her lab coat up past her elbow, grimacing as she caught sight of the connection plate set into the bone. The skin around it was still red and scarring.

Thomas pulled a small set of tools out of his back pocket and got to work. With a thin pick, he popped the forearm plate up, exposing the circuits running the length of the device, what Liz had in place of muscle tissue now. He took a small pair of needle nose pliers and started poking around, gently moving aside some wires here, around a bolt there. Liz turned her head away. As fascinating as the mechanism was, the idea of seeing an insect inside her body was going to make her sick.

“Okay, talk, bot boy, how come you knew about the defects?” Liz demanded. “I need stimuli to keep from thinking about this revolting situation, so talk.”

“I, uhh, wrote a paper at the academy, about how designers only see solutions to what they think could be the problem,” Thomas said, moving up her forearm. “A lot of people don’t realize they’re smarter than they give themselves credit for, especially actually smart people. Knowing what could go wrong, they start to doubt themselves, and when things do break, they wrack their brains over all the little things they think they did wrong. So I wrote a paper about all the other things that could go bad… like this little guy right here.”

Thomas clamped onto something and slowly fished it out of the device. Liz turned her head even further away, but it didn’t matter. Coco, ever present, and blunt as always, described it to her.

“It appears quite dead. Human Liz, you seem to have had a beetle of some kind in your prosthetic limb,” they said.

“Hon, I love you, but please don’t tell me the details,” Liz said, covering her mouth with her good hand.

“The lady who designed the MK6 is a certified genius, so I used her factory in my thesis paper. After they started getting complaints about some of their prosthetics, they ran every test they could think of, even rewrote the software a few times. It wasn’t until a no name engineer opened one up that they found the problem. Wasn’t anyone’s fault, it’s just a difference between working software and working hardware.”

“And you wrote an engineering thesis paper on that?” Liz asked, dry heaving ever so slightly.

“No, I wrote my psychology paper on that. I wrote my engineering paper on a new WARP drive design I made up.” Thomas threw the dead insect in the trash. “Bigger brains just see bigger problems. Takes a… well, not dumber person, just maybe a different kind of person to see the small problems.”

“Clearly. Anyone with two degrees isn’t what I’d call dumb either,” Liz said, turning her head back.

Thomas used a little brush to clean up the arm a little, squeezing a small tube of sanitizing gel into the empty space between wires.

“Roomba, sterilize this for me, would you?”

The little drone carefully climbed down from his shoulder and dropped onto the table. It held its little hand up as one of its finger tips ignited, making a small controlled torch. Liz held her arm out, looking concerned. The little droid ran its finger over the affected area and after a moment, the little flame went out.

“Beep.”

“Good job buddy. He said it’s totally clean now, 100% sterilized,” Thomas said.

“Oh thank god,” Liz breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks little guy, I owe you one.”

“Beep.”

“He said you’re welcome,” Thomas translated, handing the small droid a data pad. The pad wirred and trilled, and Liz realized the droid was playing a video game.

Odd little fella, huh, she thought.

“You should be able to get the arm working by the end of the day now. It’s had plenty of time to adjust to your neural pathways, it just couldn’t execute any functions till the block was removed. It’ll work just like your old one now,” Thomas said, putting the little tool kit back in his pocket.

“Guess I should say thanks for that,” Liz said, rolling her sleeve back down. “So… thanks. I owe you one too. Any of you guys down in maintenance need a hand, I’ve got a shiny new one to offer.”

“Human Thomas,” Coco chimed in, “thank you for fixing my friend. Your service has been greatly appreciated.”

“You’re very welcome,” Thomas smiled at them, “both of you. I better get back down to the maintenance deck though, we’re still repairing the core room from that flare the other cycle.” Thomas turned to leave, and was almost at the door when Liz called after him.

“Hey, hardware!”

He stopped in the doorway.

“Weird thing to call me, but I can dig it. Yeah?”

“How many degrees do you have?” Liz asked.

“Four, why?” He said.

“Know anything about eggs?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas left after a while, saying he’d be back to help build a better inclosure for the hatchlings. Apparently he’d kept bearded dragons as pets when he was a kid, so he knew at least a little about ‘lizards’.

Liz opened a desk drawer and dug out a stress ball, something Doctor Shaw had given her for rehab, and tried to squeeze it. Amazingly, her metal fingers actually curled and the ball morphed out of shape.

“Finally!” She said. “Coco, look! I can squeeze the ball!”

“That is wonderful, Human Liz,” Coco said, the lit photo bar in their branches feeding them synthetic star light. “The human capacity to overcome body altering trauma is fascinating. In my research of non-botanical life, this is very clearly an exception. Other lifeforms would simply perish from such catastrophic damage.”

“Wait until you hear our bones grow back stronger after they break,” Liz said, laughing.

“They do what?” Coco asked, a note of alarm making its way into their voice synthesizer. Liz cackled, throwing her head back and everything. She felt better than she’d had in days, like whatever funk she’d been in was starting to disappear. She suggested they discuss human bone structure while they go get something to eat, saying Coco could gorge themselves on chocolate while she got a sandwich or something.

The mess hall was lively, and various species meant various different cultures and cuisine, so it always smelt different every few minutes or so. They sat and discussed cellular structures, bone density, and the like, how calcium deposits support bone regeneration for a while, making the broken area stronger than ever, for a time at least. Coco was simultaneously fascinated and terrified. They had no idea non-botanical lifeforms were so resilient in the Terran System.

After some time, and a second sandwich, they made their way back to the lab. They’d just stepped off the lift and were a few feet from the door when Liz heard it.

…scchhtt scchtt sschht…

Something was scratching at the door, low to the floor. Something small.

“Coco wait a minute,” Liz said softly, holding out her good arm in front of the Sprygan.

The door opened… and there was a baby arm eating bastard sitting there, looking up at her. The thing looked almost like a big kitten, except for the gator snout and reptilian limbs. Its body was covered in patchy fur, almost like a baby seal. It looked up at the two of them and chirped like a cat before waddling over, sat on Liz’s foot, and began gnawing on her laces.

“Holy shit,” Liz said. ���It’s so ugly I love it.”

“I will go call Human Thomas,” Coco said, “we will need the new enclosure now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Thomas arrived, the scientists had found two more Armeaters. “Yeah, one word, that’s what I’m calling them,” Liz had said when asked. One had been crawling around in Coco’s plant pot, and the other was sniffling around under the desks. As for the other two eggs, it seemed the three had…

“You mean they ate the other eggs?” Thomas asked, mildly horrified.

“Yeah, we checked the recordings. They sat looking at the eggs for a bit before they, uhh, kinda just crushed the eggs and ate them scrambled,” Liz explained. She was sitting in her desk chair, covered in Armeaters. Coco didn’t put out any body heat, so the little buggers had decided Liz’s lab coat and uniform were the optimal place to get warmth. It was actually pretty cute, in a weird sort of way, as they were all three purring in a guttural manner.

Thomas rigged the big tank the eggs had been in with a little 3D printed ‘rock’ cave, with some spare dirt the Sprygans had on board. The engineer worked hard to make the enclosure as close to the environment on MX13 as possible. By the time he was finished, they even had a little ‘pool’ made out of a file tub they weren’t using.

The problems started when the humans tried to put the creatures in the tank. They didn’t go for it. The moment Liz tried to set them down, they started whining, making this pew sound, much like baby alligators.

“I do not understand,” Coco said. “Why are they doing this? There is food and water in the enclosure, as well as a heating rock to keep them at the optimal temperature.”

“They probably imprinted on Liz when you walked in,” Thomas said. “Lots of creatures think the first thing they see after they’re born is their parent.”

“That sounds… confusing,” Coco said. “On Spryga, we either sprout from the ground near our progenitor, or we are sometimes an offshoot of them when branches or limbs break off and take root on their own.”

“This is just great,” Liz said sarcastically. “Gonna have to get a blow up bed or something, sleep in the lab now. We’re having a slumber party Coco, sorry, but apparently the kids need me.”

“Beep.”

“Because they’re newborns Roomba, they don’t know any better- OW SHIT!”

Thomas looked around, then started laughing uncontrollably. The auto-cleaning device had started its rounds, cleaning up eggshell and dirt. It had nicked his ankle with its knife.

“THERES A ROOMBA WITH A KNIFE!” He howled. “This is amazing! Why didn’t I think of that?”

He looked directly at Liz, more serious than either of the two scientists had seen so far.

“Do you think Roomba can ride the roomba? Can one of the little guys ride with them too?” He asked, so seriously.

“You humans are starting to concern me,” Coco said. “I’m getting more chocolate.”

“Can you grab me a drink too hon? These little guys are sleeping and I don’t want to wake them.” Liz was petting the little creatures when she noticed she was using her prosthetic arm. She hadn’t even noticed, it felt so seamless. She curled the fingers and scratched gently behind one of their ears.

About time, she thought. The funk was over. The new normal wouldn’t be that bad it seemed. She looked at the engineer.

“Thomas, if it’s the last thing I do on this ship, they’re riding the roomba.”

[stevebattle]

XEE by G. Brown, in Practical Electronics, June-July 1971. "There has been a considerable amount of correspondence relating to "electronic animals" following the earlier series on Bionics and the articles about EMMA last year. Readers' letters, in the main, have emphasised the need for less expensive drive systems in these "animals" and, among other things, pointed to the shortcomings of the noise cell arrangement used in EMMA. Unlike the earlier models, XEE employs integrated-circuitry for all its control logic, using discrete components only where it is more simple and cheaper to do so. Further differences include the bodiment of relays in the muscle control circuitry, rather than transistors which only afford a modicum of isolation between logic and drive systems, and which, because of their relatively high Vcc lose volts that could be usefully driving motors. Related to EMMA, XEE is mechanically a sort of "middi" version; indeed, this new animal represents just the beginning of others which, physically, will tend towards the "mini". We will examine the anatomy of this latest "bug" which, not inappropriately, got its name from a computer that had been programmed to generate random letter and word sequences. Basically, XEE has two senses, one, an electro-optical sense provided by a pair of photo-sensitive resistors; and the other, a load monitoring arrangement associated with the muscle control circuitry. How XEE ultimately decides to respond as a result of inputs to these senses is determined by a subsystem employing a clock and random generator. Several degrees of freedom are provided permitting turning to the right, turning to the left, driving forward, driving in reverse, and stopping. These functions, over which there is a fair amount of random control, thus provide XEE with a reasonably lifelike repertoire of responses." – Practical Electronics, June-July 1971.

[pushing500]

✨Gracie's Rimworld Modlist✨

(For the Mechanitor's Message run)

Here are all my current mods in order. Once again it’s all hand-typed because I am a bit rubbish at computer stuff and don’t know how to export modlists. Enjoy!! xoxo

Prepatcher (required for one or more of the other mods to work)

Harmony (I think this is just for performance)

Vanilla Backgrounds Expanded (this is just cool for loading screens etc.)

[CAT] Show Hair With Hats or Hide All Hats (so my colonists can show off their beautiful hair)

HugsLib (I think this is just for performance)

Camera + (better for taking screenshots)

Character Editor (so I can start with customised colonists)

Vanilla Expanded Framework (so all the Vanilla Expanded mods work)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Props and Decor (adds fancy props and decor)

Geological Landforms (for fun map generation)

Pathfinding Framework (a framework for pathfinding)

ANDH - Animal Nuzzling Detects Horrors (animals can detect metalhorrors when they nuzzle your colonists)

[GMT] Trading Spot (those darn traders always track dirt on my floors)

[KV] Impassable Map Maker (in case I feel like settling on an impassable tile)

[NL] Facial Animation - WIP (they look so cute with their lil’ faces!!)

[SBV] Recreational Drum Use (drum go bang boom, brain get happy)

[T] Moor Floors 1.4 (more floors)

[XND] Proper Shotguns (Continued) (makes shotguns work better so Security Chief Ratchet and Deputy Rocket the militors can be extra kickass)

Llama's Proper Shotgun Patches (some patches for the previous mod)

Adjustable Archonexus Quest Continued (no way Mechi is losing all his research!)

A Dog Said… Animal Prosthetics (animal bionics wooo)

Dubs Bad Hygiene (bathrooms cool)

Allow Tool (makes life so much easier)

[ATW] House Decor (more decorations for the house)

Biomes! Core (framework for Biomes! mods)

Biomes! Fossils (dinosaur museum go brrrr)

Biomes! Islands (tropical paradise, here we come!)

Allies are Helpful (so that our friends, few as they may be, will actually be useful)

Alpha Biomes (adds cool new biomes)

Alpha Memes (new ideology memes)

Alpha Mythology (adds cool new mythological animals)

Alpha Prefabs (cool prefabricated buildings)

Alpha Props - Parks and Gardens (adds props for parks and gardens)

Anima Animals Combined (Continued) (cool anima animals)

Animal Controls (animals can have food restrictions, etc.)

Better Mods Mismatch Window (to see which of my mods is fucked up THIS time 🙄)

Ebbbs (cute black blobby creatures)

Horse Breeds - Skin Variations (in case we feel the need to become cowboys with a varied herd of horses)

Biome Transitions (so your biomes transition)

Childhood Backstories (so your children can have backstories)

Clocks (every house needs a grandfather clock)

Colors (personally I prefer “colours”, but we can’t all be right)

Det’s Xenotypes - Avaloi (colourful drunk coral-people!!)

Det’s Xenotypes - Bogleg (alien mafia)

Doors Expanded (expands on the doors)

Dormitories (Not Barracks) (they shouldn’t be that upset about sharing a room)

Dress Patients (Continued) (put clothes on the patients)

Enhanced Beliefs (expands on the ideology system a bit)

Erin’s Baldur’s Gate 3 Hairs (need more hair)

Erin’s Cottage Collection (cutesy furniture)

Erin’s Decorations (cute decorations)

Erin’s Hairstyles - Redux (mmmmmore hair!!)

Extra Alerts (handy-dandy extra popups)

Floordrawings (those kids are so artistic)

GloomyFurniture (cutsey furniture)

Gloomy Furniture Fix (fixes something idk)

Gradient Hair (gradient hair)

Hard Times: Hair and Beards (more hair and beard styles)

Haul to Stack (you think they could figure that out themselves, but no. They need a mod)

Hospitality (warcrime-themed hotel chain let’s goooo)

Human Butchery 2.0 (just in case)

Human Leather Floor (👀)

Interaction Bubbles (to see what dey sayin’)

Kinky Bodystrap (I will not elaborate)

Lights Out (conserve electricity, save the planet)

Megafauna (biiiig pets)

Minify Everything (if I wanna carry a whole wall I damn well will)

More Descriptive Words and Names (exactly what it says on the tin)

More Faction Interaction (Continued) (more faction interaction)

More Persona Traits (to make Persona Weapons more interesting)

More Religious Origins (adds some more religious origins for ideology)

More Thrumbos (Continued) (mmmmore thrumbos)

More Thrumbos (Retextured) (just makes them look a bit better)

More Vanilla Biomes (more vanilla biomes)

negative traits (they can’t all be good)

Non-Binary Gender (adds a non-binary option)

Offworlders - The Biliog (swamp people)

Optimization: Meats - C# Edition (all meat is raw meat)

Pawn Name Variety (variety in pawn names)

Pick Up and Haul (pick it up and haul it)

Prisoners Don’t Have Keys (why would they??)

Random Research (it looked amusing)

Reel’s Facial Animation Textures (face stuff)

Replace Stuff (to build walls on top of other walls etc.)

RimPy Mod Manager Database (just for insurance)

Rimsenal - Hair pack (hair)

Rimsenal Hair Retextured (more hair stuff)

RimTraits - General Traits (more traits)

River’s Tribal Shoes (tribal shoes)

Romance on the Rim (awww, so romantic <3)

Roo’s HD Dreadlock Hairstyles (dreads)

Roo’s HD Glasses Hairstyles (glasses)

Roo’s HD Hairstyles (hairy)

Roo’s HD Royalty Hairstyles (fancy hair)

RPG Style Inventory Revamped (inventory is easier to use)

RT Fuse (I don’t like zzzt events)

Sand Castles (for funsies)

Simple sidearms (always be prepared!)

Smutty Fanfiction (👀)

Snap Out! (for mental breaks)

Standalone Hot Spring (why have geothermal power when you can have a nice hot bath instead?)

Stylized Slave Collars and Headgear (to fit the theme)

The Vanity Project - Beards (more beards)

The Vanity Project - Female Hair (for the gals)

The Vanity Project - Male Hair (for the guys)

Trait and Backstory Icons (icons for traits and backstories)

Toddlers (smol bean people)

Upscaled - Won hair_men (hair)

Upscaled - Won hair_women (hair)

Vanilla Achievements Expanded (makes me feel successful)

Vanilla Animals Expanded (adds fun new animals)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Endangered (adds endangered animals)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Royal Animals (adds fancy animals)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Waste Animals (edgy dystopian animals)

Vanilla Apparel Expanded (new clothes)

Vanilla Apparel Expanded - Accessories (new accessories)

Vanilla Armour Expanded (more armour)

Vanilla Backstories Expanded (more backstories)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded (alcohol woooo)

Vanilla Base Generation Expanded (generates cool bases)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded - Coffee and Tea (to feed our caffeine addiction)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded (fun food)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Stews (everybody loves a good stew)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded (such a relaxing pastime)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded - Fishing Treasures AddOn (you can fish up cool stuff, like wood)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Sushi (we have to do something with all those fish)

Vanilla Events Expanded (can never have too many events)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Ancients (scary ancient people)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Empire (makes the empire more interesting)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Mechanoids (we couldn’t have a mechanitor run without them)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Settlers (yeehaw)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Tribal (I like having tribal friends)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded (more furniture)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Architect Module (new structure stuff)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Art Module (fancy art and decorations to make)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Farming (we love growing food)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Medical Module (to make the most kickass hospital)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Power (mechanitor has to power their mechs somehow)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Production (cool manufacturing stuff)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Security (you can never be too careful)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Spacer Module (a mechanitor’s dream)

Vanilla Hair Expanded (always need more hair)

Vanilla Hair Retextured (make it look snazzy)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Dryads (for sprucing up gauranlen tree stuff)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Hats and Rags (to dress properly)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Icons and Symbols (to customise ideologies as much as possible)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Relics and Artifacts (cube…?)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Sophian Style (fancy~)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Splits and Schisms (reminds me of Wookshys)

Vanilla Nutrient Paste Expanded (hell yeah nutrient paste)

Vanilla Outposts Expanded (we can form outposts if we like)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Android (it would be cool to have androids hanging out with our mechanitor…)

ReGrowth: Core (I like the retextures)

ReGrowth: Tropical (more fun stuff)

ReGrowth: Aspen (new biomes)

ReGrowth: Boiling (new biomes again)

Vanilla Plants Expanded (yummy foodstuffs)

Tilled Soil (heehoo farm)

Vanilla Persona Weapons Expanded (make the persona weapons more personable)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - More Plants (even MORE farm)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Mushrooms (I should do a dirtmole colony someday)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Succulents (they’re cute)

Vanilla Psycasts Expanded (I love ‘em)

Alpha Animals (one of my favourite mods)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded (genetics stuff)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded - More Lab Stuff (more lab stuff)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Memes and Structures (more customisation)

Alpha Genes (Makes for fun people to draw)

Alpha Mechs (Mechs for the Mechanitor!! Skulls for the- oh, wait, no)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Archon (basically githyanki)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Custom Icons (to make your own xenotypes that much more distinct)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Fungoid (zombies go brrrr)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Genie (how many wishes do I get?)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Highmate (the perfect partner!)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Hussar (nobody will ever be as good as Henry…)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Lycanthrope (do we need a werewolf boyfriend?🍍)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Phytokin (tree people my beloved)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Pigskin (is there a teacup pig variant?)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Sanguophage (vampires go brrrr)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Saurid (lizard people to control the government)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Waster (pollution people)

Facial Animations Xenotype Compatibility (to help smooth out the face stuff)

Vanilla Skills Expanded (makes learning more interesting)

Vanilla Skin Tone Genes (inheritable skin tones)

Vanilla Social Interactions Expanded (more interactions to draw)

Vanilla Textures Expanded (expands the vanilla textures)

Vanilla Textures Expanded - [NL] Facial Animation (makes the facial animation more vanilla and less anime)

Vanilla Textures Expanded - Variations (so things don’t look too same-y)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Anima Theme (for funsies)

Vanilla Trading Expanded (expands the trading)

Vanilla Traits Expanded (more traits!)

[DN] Bundle of Traits (one of my favourite trait mods <3)

Vehicle Framework (a framework for vehicles)

Vanilla Vehicles Expanded (more vehicles)

Vanilla Vehicles Expanded - Tier 3 (even MORE vehicles)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded (to spice up the combat)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Coilguns (adds coilguns)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Grenades (expands on grenades)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Heavy Weapons (more heavy weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Laser (laser weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Makeshift (for when you gotta make do)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Non-Lethal (for interrogations and organ harvesting)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Quickdraw (to draw quickly)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Frontier (yeehaw)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Tribal (they deserve some variety too)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Pirates (arrr me hearties!)

VPG Garden Resources (if I wanna grow uranium I will)

Vanilla Psycasts Expanded - Puppeteer (mind control, oooh!)

VVE - Deconstructable Vehicle Junk (so we can make old cars new!)

War Crimes Expanded 2 Core (Updated) (just in case)

What's That Mod (so I know what the mod is)

While You’re Up (PUAH) (more hauling revamps)

Won Hair Men Retextured (hairy hairy)

Won Hair Women Retextured (more hairy hairy)

Xeva’s Rimhair (hair)

Xeva’s Rimhair Retextured (hair)

Yet Another Hair Mod (I don't have too many, shhhh!)

ATH ‘s Retexture Female Apparel (looks like fun to draw!)

ATH’s Style Female Dresses (fun to draw)

HousekeeperAssistanceCat (the best mod)

Facial Animations Xenotype Compatibility (to make the cute faces more compatible with different xenotypes)

[FSF] Complex Jobs (Legacy Version) (makes job prioritizing easier)

Nice Short Female Hairs (okay maybe I have a problem with hair mods 😅)

Pointless Surgeries (it looked funny)

Rational Romance 2 (Continued) (I don't think Mechi is the romantic type but just in case)

Rim of Madness - Bones (it seems to fit the void-studying aspect)

ReGrowth: Retextures (fixes ReGrowth textures or something idk)

Urn Retexture and Variation (we needed different urns in case)

[LYN] HD Corporate and Hedonist Apparel (makes some of the Vanilla Expanded clothes HD)

Alpha Vehicles - Early Cars (Mechi should have cool vintage cars)

Det's Xenotypes - Venators (if I can't have T'au I'll have a different ranged xenotype)

Det's Xenotypes - Stoneborn (dwarf go brrrrr)

ReGrowth: Wastelands (biomes~)

ReGrowth: Tundra (bioomes~)

ReGrowth: Swamp (biooomes~)

ReGrowth: Temperate (bioooomes~)

ReGrowth: Boreal (biooooomes~)

Do Recreation When Idle (makes pawns do recreational activities when they're not doing anything else)

Ponpeco Furnitures : Kids' Room (cute furniture in case we, I don't know, acquire a little girl along the way)

Roo's HD Accessory Hairstyles (I JUST NEED MORE HAIR TO DRAW)

Roo's Minotaur Xenotype (we have pig people and dog people and lizard people and I WANT COW PEOPLE DAMMIT)

Roo's Minotaur Xenotype Expanded (just a lil' extra somethin'-somethin' for flavour)

Roo's Birthmarks and Blemishes (fun 👏 to 👏 draw 👏)

Roo's Faun Xenotype (I can live out my Narnia dreams...)

Roo's Satyr Xenotype (need more xenotypes)

Roo's Satyr and Faun Xenotypes Expanded (just a lil' extra somethin'-somethin' for flavour)

Roo's Tattoos - Starter Pack (mmmmmore tattoos!!!)

Use Resurrector Mech Serum On Rotten or Skeleton People (on the off chance we have a sibling who's been buried for too long to be resurrected with a serum otherwise 👀)

Share Rooms [LWM] (on the off chance we have royal twins who don't want to share a room, but I want them to share a room. A mod explicitly written for this run, and I could not be more delighted ❤️❤️❤️)

[henry-old-hollywood]

"the story goes, that he needed to touch Jesus' wounds to be convinced"

i am finally ready to tell about my lost au, where everything's the same, but ben is an artificial intelligence.

- BN-48 (bionic neuroanalyst) is a program made by roger linus, who wanted to cure his sick wife emily, for medical purposes - to analyse patients data, symptoms and diagnoses better and faster, and to add some human touch to simple computer analysis, thats why it become an AI

- roger mistakenly damages ben's hard drive, not noticing untill its too late, and ben's malfunction becomes the reason of emily's death (the program was connected to her life support)

- roger later sells his project to dharma initiative, not mentioning that its broken and potentially dangerous

- ben gains control of all electronics on the island and later kills most of the dharma members (shutting them down in bunkers, using fences that blows up your brains etc)

- everything's the same in the present, plane crash, the survivors etc, untill john goes down the hatch and founds a. talking computer. they talk and play chess and all is nice. obviously you have to push the button

- doubting ben, john doesn't pushes the button, same ending as s2; electromagnetic outburst is a threat to ben, so they move its hard drive to a robot body, so ben could be autonomous. (john and hurley later fix/rebuild it so it can walk nd stuff) (yes 48 is john and hurley's numbers)

ben's program was taught the entirety of human history, literature, mythology, philosophy, science, and religion. he is conflicted because part of him is curious and jealous of human experience and feels trapped in the digital form, but his "mind" that knows everything about humanity is cold and cynical cus yk. people are the virus they are terrible for the planet and themselves, thats why he manipulates and kills them <3

there will be a lot of stuff connected to religion and faith, life creation and human heart; its ofc benlocke centered, its about them finding a connection, about john teaching ben what its like to be human <3 trying not to get killed in the process

so thats all i have so far, btw HUUUGE shoutout to @mr-areyoustupid who is basically my co-author, made robo-ben design and helped me to connect a lot of parts of the story 🩶🩶🩶

[spikes-got-anger-issues]

Here’s an interesting thought experiment. I was reading your post about the Commando app Beta 2.1 vs 3.1 debate and whether there was an Alpha app or a Beta 1.1. What if there was an Alpha app and Douglas tried it with Adam, the original bionic but it didn’t work right and caused some brain damage which is why Adam is like that? Douglas then realized that if he was going to put the Commando app in a bionic’s head that he needed to completely rewire their brain to be able to handle actually having information downloaded like a computer. By the time he realized this Bree was too far along so he turned his attention to the next subject. He made Chase more computer like and did a bunch of stuff that would allow Chase to handle actual changes to his brain from outside influences. It’s why Chase has the Commando and override app. The other two can’t have actual apps in their heads like that because they weren’t created to handle things like that.

Yayyy another person to talk about Spike/the Commando App with!!

And this is such an interesting thought that I love!! These are all great connecting ideas too, the idea that Chase has these apps because he has a computer in his mind to process and handle it all unlike his siblings and not just because his main ability is super intelligence. After all, he does have more room for upgrades than his siblings. I love this idea!

I do wonder though if after Douglas were to hypothetically do this he went and gave Adam and Bree some from of compatibility to their chips since Chase can connect to them essentially through bluetooth. But him having the computer not only for his intelligence but also for his apps and to process the use and control of these apps alongside his normal brain is really something to think about. Not only that, but he does have a bunch of wiring inside his head and a bunch of different scanners from his bionic eyes that are also linked to his computer system too (identifying people, fingerprint scanning, etc.)

And with the Commando App, we see that in both versions, especially the first one we see in 1x03, that there is a bunch of coding that appears during the activation and deactivation of the app. This almost seems to imply too that the app truly is still not 100% complete, which matches with the Beta version we see.

We also see that the Commando App has an entire targeting system connected to Spike's vision. In the first version this comes in the form of Spike scanning the threat's face before completely locking onto the target as an "imminent threat."

In the second version, this just comes in the form of a literal target being in Spike's vision. He also has a gauge that measures his aggression level, which obviously varies for him. Not only that, but on the right side of Spike's vision he has gauges to measure speed and visibility presumably of his target, which is kind of scary lol.

A mystery however is why does the chip interrupter not only not work on the Commando App, but instead makes Spike more aggressive? It most likely has something to do with affecting the computer system in Chase. Maybe it doesn't work because Spike is an app and is potentially more linked to the computer in Chase than his chip? Is it just a glitch in general? Is Spike's aggression increase also a glitch or is it a defense mechanism against an outside influence? Who knows!

One last thing to note is the fact that after Spike takes a hard hit from Perry, it actually causes an error in Chase's computer system and glitches the Commando App out and forces it to disengage. Maybe this is something that would "naturally" happen or this is another example of the incomplete app being unstable (because one would imagine that this caliber of app and its purpose of fighting shouldn't be able to glitch out and shut down after a hard hit)

Another intriguing thought is that a few of Chase's abilities are apps but are considered "abilities" like the Commado App or his Magnetism App, if that makes sense. Some of his "abilities" are directly related to his computer system as apps compared to his normal "abilities" like his laser bo or forcefield. I just thought that that was interesting to point out because I never really realized that until now!

There's a lot to think about with this, and since we were never meant to dive this deep into because it's a Disney XD show, there's a lot to play around with!

[docgold13]

Heroes & Villains The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Robert Vance

Software maven Robert Vance was a genius programmer who created the hugely successful and cutting edge technology firm Vance Industries.  In his later years, Vance was diagnosed with an incurable neurological disease.  This prompted him to digitize his cerebral infrastructure to create an artificial intelligence based on his knowledge, attitudes and business acumen.  This A.I. program was meant to serve as a guiding force in the continued running of Vance Industries.  Following Vance’s death, however, his son and the board of directors chose to disable the program and run the company on their own.

Many years later, Vance’s son passed away and controlling shares of the company were inherited by his Vance’s grandson, Bobby Vance.  Bobby ended up turning the A.I. program back own seeking advice on how to run the company.  

Although the program initially seemed benevolent, it was soon revealed to possess nefarious intentions.  Based entirely on the engrams of Robert Vance, the program could not endure being an incorporeal entity and it put in motion a plan to have its consciousness implanted into Bobby (a process that would overwrite ad effectively murder Bobby).   

The programs exploration of how it could control computer based devices and mechanisms through Neo Gotham ultimately prompted an investigation by Batman that led the Tomorrow Knight to Vance Industries.  The program found that it could infiltrate and fully control Batman’s bionic suit and Terry would have been killed had Bruce not activated an emergency shut-down procedure.  

Ultimately Batman discovered the program was vulnerable to high burst electromagnetism and he was able to save Bobby’s life by administering an electromagnetic pulse that had the effect of completely deleting the artificial intelligence.  

Actor Stacy Keach provided the voice for Robert Vance as well as the Vance artificial intelligence program.  The villainous A.I. featured in the fourth episode of the second season of Batman Beyond, ‘Lost Soul.’ 

[ilearnedthistodaysblog]

#1160 How can a person control a bionic limb?

How can a person control a bionic limb? There are generally four ways a person can control a bionic limb. They can use a special harness that can open or close hooks. They can have sensors that read electrical signals through the skin. They can attach directly to the nerves. They can have sensors that read the electrical signals directly from the muscles. Losing a limb is not an uncommon occurrence. It is estimated that over one million people lose a limb or are born without a limb every year. The causes for this limb loss vary. America has about 500,000 limb amputations a year and 60% of those are due to diabetes. Diabetes can cause nerve damage and circulation problems, leading to the death of limbs, which then have to be amputated. Humans can obviously still function without a limb, and we can learn to cope, but everything is just much easier with all our limbs. In order to compensate, medical science has always tried to come up with solutions. Early prosthetics were wooden legs or arms with a hook. They couldn’t move, but people could balance or pick stuff up. Modern science has come a fairly long way since then. Let’s look at four different methods of making prosthetics that can be controlled. The simplest method is to use a harness that the wearer can control by moving other muscles. Some prosthetic arms go over the amputated limb and they have a cable that goes up the arm, across the shoulder, and is fastened to a harness on the other side. When you shrug your shoulder, it tightens the cable, and the hook will open. To close the hook, you just have to relax your shoulder. You can tell if the hook is open or closed by the tension across the shoulder. They are very basic, but they are simple. A second way is to read the signals that the nerves are transmitting. When we want to move our hand, our brain sends signals that travel down our nerves to make the relevant muscles contract or relax. Even after a limb has been amputated and the nerves have been cut, the brain still sends signals to the remaining muscles. It is possible to read the electrical signals that these nerves are transmitting and translate them into signals that a small computer can use to move a bionic hand. The sensors go on the skin and when you think about moving the hand that has been amputated, the sensors will detect the electrical signals to the muscles and open, close, or rotate the bionic hard. These are good but they are quite hard to learn how to use. You can program different muscles to do different tasks. For example, you could program a bicep flex to open the hand, and then flex the triceps to close the hand. Another way is to connect directly to the nerves. The nerves come in bundles and the bundles can be spread out before being attached to sensors. Doctors can wrap a cuff around the nerves, or they can insert tiny needles into the nerves. These sensors can detect the signals that the brain is still sending to the limb that has gone. They get accurate signals, but they are not good for the long term because nerves are very sensitive and don’t like being wrapped in things or having needles in them. The nerves develop scar tissue or become weaker. It can cause a lot of irritation and sometimes pain as well. The current most successful method involves reading the signals directly from muscles. Nerves hate being touched by sensors, but muscles don’t. In this method, doctors grafted pieces of muscle from different places in the patient’s body over the nerve bundles. They left the muscle pieces for three months and found that the muscles grew and the nerves regenerated. When the patients thought about moving their amputated limb, these new pieces of muscles took the signal from the nerves and amplified it, making it easier to read. Sensors took this information and moved an arm or a leg. Experiments have found that people with a bionic leg that uses this method can walk almost as quickly as a person with two legs. One of the most important advances of late is to use machine learning in bionic devices. The computer receives signals from the muscles and the bionic limb responds. The AI inside the computer learns each time the bionic limb is used and becomes more accurate.  These limbs are very impressive, but they do still take a long time to learn how to use them and they are not as fast or as delicate as real limbs. However, each year they improve and there will come a day when they are just the same as a real limb. And this is what I learned today. Liked this? Try these: - #483 Does blood volume decrease if a limb is amputated? - #1091 How can a salamander regenerate? - #458 What causes pins and needles? - #660 Is Earth an open or closed system? - #86 When did people start using aircraft carriers? Sources https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/above-elbow-bionic-arm-can-control-every-finger https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1rwj42l5qxo https://spotlight.engin.umich.edu/mind-control-prosthesis https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/08/bionic-movements https://amputee-coalition.org/resources/limb-loss-statistics https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/amputation-and-diabetes/art-20048262 Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-with-a-prosthetic-hand-6153356/ Read the full article

[digitaldetoxworld]

Smartphone Reviews: The Best Devices of 2024

 As smartphones retain to adapt, producers are pushing the boundaries of layout, performance, and camera era. With such a lot of options available, selecting the best device can be overwhelming. In this evaluation, we can take an in-intensity take a look at a number of the top smartphones of 2024, covering their specs, capabilities, and overall performance to help you make an informed selection.

Affordable smartphones with best camera reviews

1. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Apple has another time set a excessive bar with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This device capabilities a titanium frame, making it lighter and extra durable than its predecessor. The A17 Bionic chip ensures pinnacle-tier overall performance, and with a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR show, the visuals are beautiful.

Key Features:

Processor: A17 Bionic Chip

Display: 6.7-inch OLED (Super Retina XDR)

Camera: Triple-lens machine (48MP foremost, 12MP extremely-huge, 12MP telephoto)

Battery Life: Up to twenty-eight hours of video playback

Software: iOS 17

Pros:

Exceptional camera overall performance, particularly in low light

Impressive battery existence

Premium build exceptional with titanium body

iOS 17 optimizations beautify average usability

Cons:

Expensive

No major layout overhaul from preceding fashions

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the satisfactory choice for Apple lovers who demand pinnacle overall performance and camera nice. However, its high rate tag may not be for all people.

2. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Samsung keeps to dominate the Android space with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, a powerhouse of innovation and overall performance. With its Snapdragon eight Gen three processor and an advanced S Pen, this device caters to each productiveness and enjoyment desires.

Key Features:

Processor: Snapdragon eight Gen three (or Exynos variant in pick markets)

Display: 6.Eight-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz refresh rate

Camera: 200MP major, 12MP ultra-huge, 10MP periscope telephoto, 10MP telephoto

Battery Life: 5000mAh battery with 45W speedy charging

Software: One UI 6 (based on Android 14)

Pros:

Stunning 200MP foremost digital camera for tremendous detail

Bright and vibrant display with a high refresh rate

S Pen support complements productivity

Strong battery overall performance

Cons:

Expensive

Large length won't be cushty for all customers

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is the remaining Android flagship, providing an unheard of camera experience and pinnacle-notch overall performance. However, its high cost and huge shape issue may not match everybody.

3. Google Pixel eight Pro

Google’s Pixel 8 Pro keeps to impress with its AI-powered software program and digital camera skills. The Tensor G3 chip brings AI enhancements that improve pictures, battery control, and standard tool performance.

Key Features:

Processor: Google Tensor G3

Display: 6.7-inch LTPO OLED, 120Hz refresh price

Camera: 50MP major, 48MP ultra-huge, 48MP telephoto

Battery Life: 5050mAh battery with 30W speedy charging

Software: Android 14 (with distinct Pixel functions)

Pros:

Best-in-class computational images

Clean, bloat-loose Android revel in

AI-driven software optimizations

Seven years of software updates

Cons:

Tensor chip nonetheless lags in the back of Snapdragon in raw performance

Slower charging in comparison to competition

The Pixel 8 Pro is the satisfactory choice for folks who prioritize digital camera first-class and a smooth Android experience. While it could now not be the fastest device, its AI features make it a compelling option.

Four. OnePlus 12

OnePlus has been progressively improving its flagship gadgets, and the OnePlus 12 is not any exception. It promises excessive-give up overall performance at a surprisingly lower fee in comparison to different premium flagships.

Key Features:

Processor: Snapdragon eight Gen three

Display: 6.Eighty two-inch AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate

Camera: 50MP fundamental, 48MP extremely-wide, 64MP periscope telephoto

Battery Life: 5400mAh with 100W speedy charging

Software: OxygenOS 14 (based totally on Android 14)

Pros:

Excellent battery life with excellent-fast charging

High refresh rate display for clean scrolling

Competitive pricing

Minimal software program bloat

Cons:

Camera performance is good however not the pleasant

OxygenOS is turning into greater just like ColorOS

For users who need flagship-level overall performance without spending over $1,000, the OnePlus 12 is a high-quality alternative. It gives fast charging, a brilliant display, and a smooth software program revel in.

Five. Xiaomi 14 Pro

Xiaomi has been making strides within the top class smartphone marketplace, and the Xiaomi 14 Pro is a sturdy competitor. With pinnacle-tier specs and an appealing charge point, it affords super price.

Key Features:

Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

Display: 6.Seventy three-inch LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate

Camera: 50MP predominant, 50MP extremely-huge, 50MP telephoto

Battery Life: 4880mAh with 120W fast charging

Software: MIUI 15 (primarily based on Android 14)

Pros:

Fast charging generation is a few of the quality

Strong performance with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

High-satisfactory show

Competitive pricing

Cons:

MIUI can sense clutteredreview

Limited availability in some regions

The Xiaomi 14 Pro is a incredible choice for users who need excessive-stop performance at a greater reasonable rate. However, software program enjoy and nearby availability may be factors to don't forget.

[spacepiratenemo]

B.E.N. - Combat Droid // Nemo's Assistant

#jackpotspacepiratecrew#charactersheet

B.E.N.: Bionically-Engineered-Neomachina

Ben is more than just a complex supercomputer with a highly developed A.I. controlling its system. It’s also a butler, a therapist, a medical surveillant, an assistant, the commander of other droids, and a stupid bunny… *coughs*😂

🚀Nemo built Ben at the age of only four years. It was created after a year of learning, trials and errors, wasted materials, and first-built droids and bots. Due to the “Boss’s” convector mutation, she quickly figured out how to build something that would develop on its own while she maintained control over the computer. The first version of Ben was very young and still learning alongside its new master. Its program and A.I. were constantly updated, reinstalled, and perfected. Its body is made of dozens of nanobots creating one cohesive system, self-maintaining, self-repairing, and self-learning.

💘Despite Alliqui’s low intelligence, he was the one to “mess the program up” permanently. One day, the big brother expressed his worries about his kid sister and how sad she’d be if he weren’t there anymore. Nemo was still so young, just 6 years old at the time when Alliqui talked to Ben. The details of that chat are classified, but the bot started to understand the importance of a big brother in her life. It promised that it would take the role whenever Alliqui wouldn’t be present. Ever since, Ben has been an obnoxious, depressed, dramatic, comedic, quirky, idiotic, and mostly annoying little droid, turning into a massive fighting machine when the Boss is in danger.

☢ NOTE: Combat stats apply to space, homeworlds, or natural environments. Stats can change in different environments.

🤍 Drop your Q&A’s in the comments!

One Piece © Eiichiro Oda Jackpot Space Pirate Crew © R0tt3n_Rabbit__

[winxbutbetterimo-ovo]

Techna Long ver

(some stuff is from the fan wiki i just tweaked)

Name: Techna (or Tecna) Hephaesta Sharpp

Looks: Tecna has a light skin tone, teal-blue eyes and Pink pixie cut 1 hair, styled on the right side with a single small hair strand sticking up. She also has a bionic right arm (she was born without one), and always has a one sided google glass thing on her left eye.

Relationships: Her soulmate is Timmy, and she is the closest with Flora

She shines in her normal, charmix, Enchantix forms the most.

Personality: Robotic, photographic memory, prideful about technology and her problem solving abilities, insecure abt dance actually loves history and reveres inventors in particular. Also on a full ride scholarship to Alphea.

Tecna is extremely smart, with an IQ of 150, and loves technology. She is self-confident and a perfectionist. She is always practical and logical, sometimes to a fault. Tecna has trouble expressing her emotions and bases the majority of her decisions on pure logic. She is selfless and nice to her loved ones, even if she cannot always show it by using emotions. She develops emotionally through the series and eventually experiences crying, stating that she never cried before.

She loves science, experimenting in her spare time by creating numerous techno devices. She also has a photographic memory. She loves computers and video games. Tecna also enjoys playing (solo or duo) sports (badminton, squash, ping pong, and so on) and being active.

History: Techna was born with 1 arm to Magnethia and Electronio Sharpp on Zenith. her upbringing was quite normal for a girl her age on Zenith, the only difference is that her parents are high ranking inventors on Zenith and therefore Techna spent more time than most around the latest and oldest technologies and spare parts, leading her to gain a passion for inventing and trap setting. she is quite the prankster as a child, but nowadays she prefers to set traps for villains and use her inventing skills for good.

Powers: Tecna, as the Fairy of Technology, has technology-based powers. Her powers are entirely based on technology and digital energy, but, on occasion, she has been known to control electricity. She can create shields of energy, digital cages, and walls of magic energy. Tecna can also throw blasts of energy which can immobilise a person for a short time or cause them to explode. She is able to manipulate any machine and is able to connect with different networks which she can use as maps to help locate objects. Tecna has displayed precise control over machinery, gadgets, and devices alike to achieve a variety of effects whether it is to keep it in control, amplifying a certain trait, or repairing it. She is capable of imbedding electronic properties into regular objects.

Her magic is green in colour

Tecna has the ability to summon data from the palm of her bionic hand when she is analysing a subject or using a database of information to solve a problem. Tecna is also able to scan objects with her bionic hand to gain information and speak in binary code. She can also analyse a data transmission via magic and produce a rendering of the received data. She can create and control projections from various Technomagic devices. Tecna is very savvy with all digital technology she has been seen using.

Tecna has an affinity for light capable of generating small plasma orbs to illuminate an area, creating holograms, to misdirect opponents and display information, and amplifying electric light fixtures. She is able to generate, absorb, and redirect electricity from various power sources, and has the ability to create and control electro-magnetic fields and shoot spheres of plasma energy. Tecna is able to shoot rays of binary and use them as shields that protect her and others. At times, . Tecna has exhibited various problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to invent various machines. On occasion, Tecna has created geometric shapes to imprison others or as a defence.

Tecna also knows some basic, first-level spells that all fairies can use, such as telekinesis, transmuting objects, and fixing minor messes. Tecna is so far the only magical creature in the series to be able to use spells with electronic devices.

[rametarin]

It's so surreal.

As a very young child I used to wish for something as simple as the joy of being able to play with cameras, reticules and have access to stuff like, "cyborg vision." You know. That thing you imagine as a kind when you mean Graphic User Interface with basic machines.

At a time when user interfaces are so bare bones that just green text on a clear background image for camera feed is peak design, that shit makes a kid's mind rumble. I used to wonder the ins and outs of everything, what the standards of robot UI would look like, because as a child I had never used a computer before.

And today, though it would take a few years, I have the vague potential ability to customize and design those things, if I really felt like getting into the nitty gritty. Or just use premade, boxed aesthetics. That is within my control. It's not some process that exists bare bones because it is the ideal scientific way to do that limited because of how complex doing it is- it's a graphic design subject. And many different organizations of companies or government standards could be different, because there's a million and one ways to engineer things to different standards.

Stuff like bionic limbs and truly complicated prosthesis are within reach and range. Integrating them with nerves is the newest tangible thing. These are things that exist, now. Not speculative, "boy it sure will be nice when people a century or two from now get to enjoy them. I wonder what that experience will be like," sentiments, but physical, REAL things, right now.

Peripherals for robots and vehicle mechs are things you can just design now, if you're savvy. The processes and methods to construct them, too. It's not how complex to research and develop the stuff is now, because the IF it can even be made real has been discovered, proven and scienced. It's simply bringing oneself to study and internalize them, like understanding electricity, or radio, or materials science, that is the block.

It'd take a small hobbyist fortune to do, but bare bones materials, if you had the savvy... it'd be possible. We could have glove operated peripherals and camera helmets for stuff like cranes. Or put arms on a big truck. And that to me is absolutely amazing.

[pushing500]

✨Gracie's Rimworld Modlist✨

(for the Children of Ecthuctu run)

Here are all my current mods in order. Only a scant two-hundred and sixteen of them! Once again it's all hand-typed because I am a bit rubbish at computer stuff and don't know how to export modlists. Enjoy!! xoxo

Prepatcher (a mod manager thing)

Harmony (I think this is just for performance)

What’s That Mod? (tells you what mod stuff is from. VERY USEFUL)

Vanilla Backgrounds Expanded (this is just cool for loading screens etc.)

Camera+ (for taking better screenshots)

Biomes! Fossils (I could build a dinosaur museum!!!)

Better ModMismatch Window (for if I do feel the need to mess with the modlist)

Mod Manager (I have lots of mods to manage)

RimPy Mod Manager Database (I don’t know if this needs to be active to use the RimPy application but I don’t wanna risk it)

HugsLib (I think this is just for performance)

Humanoid Alien Races (aliens are cool)

Tabula Rasa ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Character Editor (so I could start with the colonists I had planned)

Vanilla Expanded Framework (I think this is just for performance)

JecsTools (I think this is just for performance)

Interaction Bubbles (To see what my lil’ guys are talking about)

CM Color Coded Mood Bar [1.1+] (helpful for spotting incoming mental breaks)

Childhood Backstories (so that babies born in my colony will have relevant backstories when they are all grown up)

Dubs Bad Hygiene (bathrooms cool)

Pathfinding Framework (makes the Biomes! mods work)

Doors Expanded (expands on the doors)

A Dog Said… Animal Prosthetics (animal bionics wooo)

LBE’s A Dog Said Easy Patcher (to help with all the animals mods woooo)

Vanilla Achievements Expanded (sometimes it gives me a serotonin)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded (a good food source when I’m not resorting to cannibalism)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Android (cool robot xenotype)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Tribals (more tribal stuff)

ReGrowth: Core (framework for ReGrowth stuff)

ReGrowth: Tropical (adds new tropical plants and stuff)

Biomes! Core (the framework for the Biomes! mods)

Biomes! Islands (in case I wanted to reenact Castaway)

Vanilla Plants Expanded (more farm stuff hooray!)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Succulents (for making the colony look pretty)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - More Plants (even MORE farm stuff!!)

Biomes! Prehistoric (dinosaurs :3)

Alpha Biomes (can never have enough biomes)

Alpha Mythology (adds mythological creatures)

Vanilla Psycasts Expanded (expands the psycasts)

Alpha Animals (even more pets!)

Alpha Genes (more xenotypes to play with and draw!)

Alpha Prefabs (pop-up buildings will be cool for a nomadic playthrough)

Allow Tool (easier to forbid and unforbid items)

BiomesKit (helps with placement of biomes on the planet I think)

[ATW] House Decor (for aesthetic purposes)

[KV] Impassable Map Maker (in case I want to make a colony on impassable mountains someday)

Vanilla Traits Expanded (I love hoarding traits)

Bundle Of Traits (give me ALL THE TRAITS)

[GMT] Trading Spot (to stop stupid traders keep walking in my house)

[NL] Facial Animation - WIP (they make funny faces :3) 

Vanilla Textures Expanded - [NL Facial Animation] (why my colonists have such cute lil’ faces)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Saurid (dinosaur people wooooo!)

[SBV] Recreational Drum Use (banging on drums is cathartic)

[T] More Floors 1.4 (adds more floors)

Anima Gear (I could make stuff out of anima grass if I felt like doing the research for it)

Animal Controls (to stop animals eating my fancy colonist-food)

Avoid Friendly Fire (you think they would know not to walk in front of the gun but noooo)

Geological Landforms (cool new map gens)

Biome Transitions (if your map tile is next to a different biome they can mix together)

Clocks (tick tock tick tock…)

Ebbbs (goo creatures my beloved)

Erin’s Cat Overhaul (I like cats)

Erin’s Cottage Collection (everything looks so cozy ❤️)

Erin’s Decorations (for aesthetic purposes)

Erin’s Hairstyles - Redux (there’s never enough hairstyle variety)

Euglena Framework (the framework for the euglena xenotype stuff I think)

Euglena Expanded - Euglena Xenotype (tree people go brrrr)

Euglena Expanded - Implantor (expands on the euglena stuff I guess)

Floordrawings (adds more floordrawings for kids to draw)

Giddy-Up 2 (getting to the crashed ship will be easier with animals to ride)

GloomyFurniture (cute cozy furniture)

Gloomy Furniture Fix (some patches for the cute cozy furniture)

Gradient Hair (so your colonists can have frosted tips I guess)

Hard Times: Hair and Beards (I love hair and beard variety)

Haul to Stack (so they don’t clutter the freezer with individual piles of food instead of one big pile)

Horse Breeds - Skin Variations (horses very fun!!)

Hospitality (easy to lure unsuspecting victims from other factions if you run a hotel)

HousekeeperAssistanceCat (one of the first mods I ever played with and I love it)

Human Butchery 2.0 (look it’s a cannibal cult what else was I supposed to do??)

Illithid Xenotype (I like hoarding xenotyes)

Kinky Bodystrap (It was funny at the time)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Mechanoids (scary robots)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded (can never have too many weapons)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Medieval (cool medieval weapons)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded (expands the cooking)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded (alcohol woo)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded - Coffee and Teas (coffee and tea woo)

Megafauna (biiiiiig pets!!)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded (adds fun and illegal-feeling genetic experimentation)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded - More Lab Stuff (adds “more lab stuff” to the aforementioned mod)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Power (adds new power sources)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Security (more defense stuff)

[FSF] Complex Jobs (Legacy Version) (splits jobs into smaller subsections)

Let’s Have a Cat! (I like cats)

LightsOut (pawns turn lights off when not using them)

Metaflora (cool mechanical plants)

MinifyEverything (sometimes picking up whole sections of brick wall is okay)

More Descriptive Words and Names (adds… more descriptive words and names)

More Faction Interaction (Continued)  (the more we interact the more chances there are for me to EAT THEM)

More Horn Colors (So that impids can have ✨fancy✨ horns)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Memes and Structures (lots of cool ideology stuff)

More Ideological Words (just makes random generation a bit easier and more interesting)

More Persona Traits (adds more variety of traits for persona weapons to have)

More Religious Origins (more ideology stuff)

More Thrumbos (Continued) (adds a whole bunch of awesome new thrumbo types)

More Thrumbos (Retextured) (retextures the awesome new thrumbo types)

NamesGalore (adds new names for people and stuff)

NamesGaloreLatin (adds new names for people and stuff but in Latin this time) 

negative traits (more traits but bad)

Optimization: Meats - C# Edition (all meat is just “raw meat” unless it’s specifically “human meat” or “insect meat”, so it can all be stacked together easily)

Pawn Name Variety (I like them to have lots of different name options)

Pick Up and Haul (pawns can carry more than one thing at a time)

Polyamory Beds (Vanilla Edition) (🎶there were four in the bed and the little one said “roll over! roll over!” so they all rolled over and one fell out…🎶)

Prisoners Dont Have Keys (they gotta bash their way out if they want to escape)

Rainbow’s Hair Pack (I like lots of options)

Replace Stuff (so I can build stone walls on top of wood walls without un-freezing the freezer, etc.)

Rim of Madness - Bones (skulls for the skull throne and all that jazz)

Rimsenal - Hair pack (more hairstyles lmao)

RimTraits - General Traits (more traits pleeease!)

River’s Tribal Shoes (don’t want to get prickles in your feet)

Roo’s Accessory Hairstyles (hairstyles with neat accessories in ‘em)

Roo’s Dreadlock Hairstyles (dreadlocks are cool!!!)

Roo’s Glasses Hairstyles (hairstyles with cute glasses attached)

Roo’s Royalty Hairstyles (fancy hair)

RPG Style Inventory Revamped (better inventory layout)

RPG Traits+ (more traits haha)

RT Fuse (I don’t like the zzzzt events)

Sand Castles (Laursen loves building sand castles)

Simple sidearms (every colonist needs MANY WEAPONS)

Simple Utilities: Ceiling (lights on the roof!)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Architect Module (adds new building stuff)

Simple Utilities: Wall (lights on the wall!)

Snap Out! (slap pawns out of their mental breaks)

Standalone Hot Spring (geothermal power boring and ugly, hot spring FAR better use of steam geysers)

Strong Bridge (makes bridges stronk)

Stylized Slave Collars and Headgears (it was funny at the time)

Tilled Soil (it’s not cheating it’s just farming)

Toddlers (makes babies more interesting)

Trait and Backstory Icons (gives traits and backstories cute lil’ icons next to ‘em)

Tribal Ideology Icons (more ideology symbols but tribal-specific)

Vanilla Animals Expanded (I insist on having a huge selection of pets)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Endangered (endangered pets)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Royal Animals (fancy pets)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Waste Animals (pets that will probably irradiate you)

Vanilla Apparel Expanded (more clothes) 

Vanilla Apparel Expanded - Accessories (adds fun utility items)

Vanilla Armour Expanded (more armour)

Vanilla Backstories Expanded (adds new and fun backstories for colonists)

Vanilla Base Generation Expanded (makes enemy bases on caravan trips more fun)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Stews (adds stew)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Sushi (adds sushi)

Vanilla Events Expanded (more events)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Quickdraw (adds quickdraw weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Laser (adds laser weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Heavy (adds heavy weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Coilguns (adds coilguns)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Settlers (cowboys and stuff)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Frontier (weapons for cowboys and stuff)

Vanilla Expanded - Ideology Patches (for patching things up to Ideology)

Vanilla Expanded - Royalty Patches (for patching things up to Royalty)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Ancients (expands the Ancients)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Empire (adds more Empire stuff)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Insectoids (bugs. ew.)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Pirates (love me some pirates)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Vikings (adds vikings)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded - Fishing Treasures AddOn (you can catch treasure when fishing)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded - Xtra Fish (adds more fish for fishing)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded (More furniture)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Art (I’m something of an artist myself)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Farming (for farm furniture I guess)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Medical (to make cool hospitals)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Production (makes for very nice workshops)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Props and Decorations (more props and decor)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Spacer Furniture (cool spaceship style furniture)

Vanilla Hair Expanded (more hair)

Vanilla Hair Retextured (just helps vanilla hair be a bit nicer)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Anima Theme (alters the Gauranlen trees a bit)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Dryads (more gauranlen tree stuff)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Hats and Rags (adds new ideology clothes)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Icons and Symbols (easier to customise your ideology)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Relics and Artefacts (adds new relics and artifacts for your ideology)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Splits and Schisms (sometimes your ideology can have a reformation and split into “catholic” and “protestant” versions, I guess)

Vanilla Nutrient Paste Expanded (mmmmm yummy goo)

Vanilla Outposts Expanded (I could go make outpost camps if I wanted)

ResearchPal - Forked (I’ve always played with this mod and it’s hard to adjust without it)

Vanilla Persona Weapons Expanded (more skins for persona weapons)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Mushrooms (adds new mushrooms)

Vanilla Psycasts Expanded - Puppeteer (adds a new psycast route to take)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Custom Icons (new icons for xenotypes)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Archon (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Fungoid (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Genie (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Highmate (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Hussar (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Phytokin (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Sanguophage (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Waster (I like lots of xenotypes and xenotype playstyles)

Vanilla Skills Expanded (expands skill stuff)

Vanilla Social Interactions Expanded (new social interactions for fun and interesting storytelling)

Vanilla Textures Expanded (makes stuff sharper and crisper)

Vanilla Textures Expanded - Variations (stuff looks cooler when it varies)

Vanilla Trading Expanded (I think this adds a stock market or something idk)

Vehicle Framework (cars go brrrrr)

Vanilla Vehicles Expanded (expands on the vehicles)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Grenades (adds more grenades)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Makeshift (adds makeshift weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Non-Lethal (adds non-lethal weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Tribal (adds more tribal weapons)

VPG Garden Resources (it’s a lovely day on the Rimworld and you are growing uranium in your garden)

Offworlders - The Biliog (hideous swamp people with chemfuel blood)

Vanilla Vehicles Expanded - Tier 3 (more vehicle stuff)

War Crimes Expanded 2 Core (I mean I am playing an eldritch cannibal cult it was bound to happen eventually)

Way Better Romance (streamlines the romance a bit more)

Alpha Props - Parks and Gardens (adds more awesome decorations so my colony will look snazzy)

Colors (adds more colours to the default palette)

Det's Xenotypes - Boglegs (space mafia that looked fun to draw)

Det's Xenotypes - Avaloi (more cool xenotypes that looked fun to draw)

Erin's Hairstyles 2 (I have a hoarding problem)

Erin's Baldur's Gate 3 Hairs (a really severe hoarding problem)

The Vanity Project - Bears (there's just so many cool hair mods)

The Vanity Project - Female Hair (look at them all!)

The Vanity Project - Male Hair (I'll never run out of hair to draw)

The Vanity Project - Maid Outfits (c'mon Magic Man would slay in a maid outfit)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Sophian Style (never have too many styles)

Dresses in the Rim (fun clothes to draw)

Extra Alerts (adds some helpful things to be aware of)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Lycanthrope (everybody's teenage werewolf dreams 'boutta come trueeee)

Upscaled - Won hair men (and we're back to the hoarding problem)

Upscaled - Won hair women (maybe it's not a problem maybe it's a ✨collection✨)

Won Hair Men Retextured (these just make the last two look a lil' bit sharper)

Won Hair Women Retextured (these just make the last two look a lil' bit sharper)

Human Leather Floor (eldritch cannibal cult, need I say more?)

Facial Animations Xenotype Compatibility (for compatibility)

[CAT] Show Hair With Hats or Hide All Hats (so we can have cool hair and cool hats)

Sin's Cuter Child Clothes (cuter child clothes)

While You’re Up / PUAH+ (pawns will carry stuff while they’re on their way to and fro)

[tragedicna]

SIBYL'S STORY part one | part two

Excerpt from Project Clynes, as written by O. Debeaux, research fellow:

[...] Despite being unconscious, it seems like Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ is still capable of experiencing pain, but it is completely unclear if she has full understanding of what is happening. Dr. Marst says that consent has been given by next of kin as Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ is incapable of doing so, and that Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ has been declared brain dead. When speaking to her, there is brain activity that seemed to indicate that Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ is capable of understanding speech, or in the least, have the ability to react to sound stimulus. I have my doubts in the declaration of her status; however, Dr. Marst has reminded me that my job is just to make observations, not form opinions. Due to the damage done to her internal organs as well as to about 65% of her skin surface, the plan was to replace unusable organs with bionic replicas and to patch uneven skin with silicone and other skin-like substances. There has been discussion to alter her facial features, though I am unclear as to the goal of such a thing. Currently they are exploring ways to maintain the viable parts of her brain and replace the damaged areas with computers or cybernetic replacements. I have my doubts that it will succeed before she dies from stress.

They began with repairing her damaged organs and parts of her body, making sure she was stable and able to breathe on her own. They tried to replace all the parts that weren't viable were removed and replaced with bionic parts to mimic that of her human body…If they could, they’d remove her need to consume sustenance to continue; however, with Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ still partially human, and with the want to keep her somewhat HUMAN, they decided to do what they could to repair the damage.

When it came to her brain, the testing began slowly…First with trying to understand the extent of the damage done, then trying to figure out what portions of her brain would they need to keep and what part should they implant the cybernetic parts into…They decided they wanted her to maintain some of her humanity to make her more relatable and beloved by the civilians, but they also wanted SOME sort of control over her emotions and brain capabilities.

It was a slow and tedious process of testing, replacing, poking, prodding…All done while Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ had been fully aware and mentally conscious of what is being done. Just imagine being imprisoned in your own mind and yet, not being able to scream in pain or reject the testing…All she could do is writhe in agony and wait until it passes, wishing death upon herself…Though, these were all thoughts she would never remember having.

It was unclear if they had been successful with their tinkering, but with the most important part was seeing if they could rouse Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ from her medically induced coma to see the effects of their work. The real hell began for her once she roused….

The testing, the tinkering, the poking and prodding of needles and scalpels…It’s never ending. They renamed Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ as S I B Y L …Forever erasing the officer’s existence from the world, and almost as if it’s an act of mercy, the researchers attempted their first MIND WIPE and perhaps that was the first time Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ found peace in their own body…

For Officer ▇▇▇▇▇ no longer existed.

Just Sibyl. Only Sibyl.

[c-schroed]

It was just me and the six-legged goat in the back of the truck. The goat had been put together to army specs, so no pink was involved. Everything was drab olive, smoky, dirty—the colors of war. I had been told that the six-legger's control mechanism consisted of cultivated horse nerves specially trained for the environment. The original horse came from local stock, so they were used to the mountains, Uwe said.

"Harmony" by Project Itoh, 2008

In the marvellous science fiction novel "Harmony", Japanese author Project Itoh describes autonomous vehicles like airplanes or legged robots that have animal brain tissue in their control mechanisms, so that their computer systems have quick, almost intuitive access to information about how to use wings or legs. In 2008, when "harmony" was first published, this must have been a weird but fascinating thought. Bionics put to the extreme.

I first read "Harmony" in 2018, after watching the absolutely congenial anime adaptation by Michael Arias and Takashi Nakamura of Studio 4°C. And ever since this time I increasingly have to think about machine learning and artificial neural networks when I'm reminded of "harmony". And about how very clever Itoh's vision of the future was and still is.

No, the computers of the future won't need real brain tissue. But simulating the neural network of a goat to enable a mobile robot to climb some rocks? Pretty clever.

Pretty clever, Project Itoh.

[caixinliang]

Practice 1:

Assignment 1, Concept Art - Creating "Concepts".

. Blog post 01

Last Wednesday, we attended our first concept art lesson. This class aimed to demonstrate our established abilities in conveying visual concepts through art. Our Professor, Leonardo, permitted us to select three to five inspirational terms and utilize them to execute our first project.

I chose cyberpunk, sci-fi, Chinese martial arts elements, and loneliness.

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is distinguished by its striking visual elements, including neon lights illuminating city streets, iconic advertisements lining urban thoroughfares, and towering skyscrapers. The typical color palette associated with cyberpunk aesthetics comprises black, purple, green, blue, and red. These elements collectively contribute to the distinctive ambiance of the genre.

The cyberpunk theme was chosen as I had not previously created any designs relating to this subject matter. I aim to explore new ideas throughout this project.

Bionic human designs are a common motif in cyberpunk works. For example, I have a strong affinity for characters such as Motoko Kusanagi from "Ghost in the Shell" (see images 1, 2, and 3 on the left). Furthermore, in "Cyberpunk 2077", a large number of character designs (see Figures 4, 5, and 6 on the right) feature bionic elements. These designs are characterized by the extensive use of prosthetic enhancements, novel materials, and an intricate network of connecting cables, which together contribute to a distinct and futuristic technological ambiance.

science fiction

There are several different branches of science fiction literature, each representing a unique vision and exploration of the future as it was imagined by people at a particular time in history. For example, the cyberpunk theme is a typical branch of science fiction that reflects the pessimistic visions of the future held by the general public during the 1970s and 1980s, especially when computer technology became popular. Cyberpunk literature usually presents itself as an anti-utopian prediction depicting technological overdevelopment and social degradation, usually accompanied by themes of high levels of urbanization, information control, and the fusion of humans and machines. These works highlight the ethical and social issues that technology can raise, as well as the complex relationship between humans and technology. The emergence of this branch reflected the concerns and explorations of the time about the future direction of technology and society.

Chinese martial arts elements or wuxia elements

Characters in wuxia works often wear traditional Chinese costumes, such as robes, ancient Chinese armor, and hanboks. For example, in the film "Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon" (Figures 1, 2, and 3 on the left), these costumes often reflect the styles of different historical dynasties and regions. Martial arts movements and weaponry weapons combat weapon fighting are important visual features in martial arts works. Wuxia characters use a variety of weapons, such as swords, knives, clubs, darts, and other cold weapons, to demonstrate exquisite martial arts skills. I would like to incorporate elements of Tang Dynasty armor into my work this time, such as the two pictures in the middle.

Loneliness

Loneliness has always been a major spiritual core of the cyberpunk theme, and in the cyberpunk setting people's quality of life has not improved as a result of higher technological levels, but instead has made the rich class richer and the poor class more flatulent and impoverished. Body modification technology and consciousness-uploading technology have made human beings blur the boundaries of individuality.

I'd like to create a female warrior character, a reference to Malenia（As shown in the image below), Blade of Miquella, the goddess from Elden Ring, who guards a city alone and can only be awakened by an intruder.

Reference:

Ghost in the Shell 1 (18 November 1995) Directed by Mamoru Oshii [adult animated neo-noir cyberpunk thriller film ]. Japan United Kingdom:Shochiku (Japan) Metrodome Distribution Manga Entertainment (United Kingdom) .

CD Projekt (10 December 2020) Cyberpunk 2077 [Video game]. CD Projekt Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1091500/_2077/ (Accessed: 30 October 2023).

FromSoftware (February 25, 2022) Elden Ring [Video game]. Bandai Namco Entertainment JP: FromSoftware Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245620/_/ (Accessed: 30 October 2023).

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (29 September 2010) Directed by Tsui Hark [action-adventure gong'an film ]. China Hong Kong: Emperor Motion Pictures .