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Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Record Scratch
Private simulation, Aron’s personal training field.Aron had been spending his time since the inaugural council meeting in his own personal simulation instance, handling his work and practicing his mana usage by fighting with his AIs. Instead of relying solely on Nova as his sparring partner, he had given the rest of the higher AIs the same mana knowledge he had. As a result, he was growing by leaps and bounds as he fought “people” who, due to the difference in their self-tailored code structure, approached fights in a very different manner compared to Nova. Their usage of his runes gave him many different inspirations on how to use his own.Currently, he was standing alone in the middle of an empty field, his eyes glowing gold as he attempted to track the flow of mana around him to catch anything out of the ordinary. He was obviously in the middle of a fight with someone.It wasn’t very long before the AI he was currently sparring with was revealed. No matter how vigilantly he was sc
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Shining A Light
Fifteen minutes after the miserable end of the spar.Aron had been revived after being given a once-over by Nova, who was worried about his state of mind whenever he experienced a death in the simulation, much less one as... devastating as his most recent. After all, she fully expected there to be some sequelae after experiencing death firsthand, something that had already long been an issue with the harsh ARES training. But while the issues were similar, the solutions were most definitely not. ARES troopers could have their memories deleted, or at least reduced in intensity to around the same level of impact that dying in a dream would have, while Aron’s mental defenses, not to mention the system riding in his consciousness, was absolutely impenetrable to any form of mental manipulation that came from outside the system. Even when Nova had spotted the issue during Aron’s first upgrade, she had been incapable of interfering until the system recognized what she was doing and relented
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Begin at the Beginning
Once the councilors were all seated, Gaia wasted no time and, acting as the general secretary, immediately began speaking.{Ladies and gentlemen of the imperial council, thank you for your attendance today. There are a few ground rules you should take note of regarding protocol in the council chamber, but those are all in your introductory data files and you should have read them. Everyone here is an adult, and all of you have been entrusted with the weighty responsibility of the empire’s day-to-day operations. Anyone who violates those protocols will be ejected from the council chamber at His Imperial Majesty’s sole discretion.{Today’s session of the imperial council only has one item on the agenda: progress reports from each of your agencies’ ongoing projects, if any. I fully expect, though, that this will be a long meeting, as nearly everyone in this room has been assigned a project with the goal of strengthening the empire’s foundation. We are not here to judge, but to assist. Te
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Healthy People, Healthy World
Aron’s speech had hit the target, inspiring and riling up everyone that watched it. From beginning to end, the reactions on social media only grew wilder and wilder as people rapid-fired their views on the imperial feed all over the internet. Even Panoptes had had to spawn a whole host of VI assistants to ensure that the opinions were neatly tucked away in their own individual echo chambers, lest conflict arise from opinion clashes.That said, a few examples still had to be made of those that egregiously violated lese majeste law, though there weren’t that many who crossed that line. Most people were reasonably supportive of the empire, having experienced the sweetness of imperial citizenship benefits already. Life was good for imperial citizens, and it showed in the general optimistic trend in the background, with very little need for propaganda to reinforce or alter peoples’ opinions.Events like the speech Aron had just delivered as the empire of mankind were only occasionally nece
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Municipalization and Numbers
As time passed, more and more agency heads rose and delivered their reports. There were no breaks, or even significant pauses, as the emperor himself was present. His face was unchanging and his attention remained focused throughout the marathon council session.As report after report was delivered, uninvolved people were finally witnessing the scale at which the empire operated. Many agencies were previously completely unknown to most, as their tasks were generally performed in the background, like the imperial waste management agency. Pre-empire, not many people considered the fact that waste management—garbage and recycling pickup, sewage treatment, and so forth—was a function of their local government, but now that every government function had been centralized, it was made apparent.Along with that, many other things were now operated by the state as well. Things like power, water, and the few remaining places that relied on natural gas had been absorbed into the imperial utility
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Infiltrating the Halls of Justice
(Ed note: sorry for the spotty chapter uploads lately. Dealing with some health stuff on my end; I’ll try to not let it get too bad, though.)Mason County Courthouse, Shelton, Washington.An old, beat-up pickup truck rumbled around to the back of the historic Mason County Courthouse and huffed to a stop. The engine knocked a few times, then, with a puff of black smoke from the tailpipe, rattled to a stop as well. The truck’s passenger door opened and a long-legged beauty with strawberry blonde hair tied up in a neat bun at the back of her head stepped out on three-inch stiletto heels.“Dammit, Tim, when are you finally going to get this old piece of shit running right?” she said as she slammed the door of the truck, rattling the window that was stuck half open.“I—” Tim began, his knuckles turning white around the steering wheel.“No more excuses, Tim! Fix it or get rid of it.” Siobhan turned around in a huff and began stomping toward the employee entrance of the courthouse.“Vonnie!
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Tim and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Shelton High School, Shelton, Washington.Tim was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Not only had he gotten in an argument with his partner early in the day, but he had also been objectively wrong in it. The truck he drove wasn’t actually a part of his cover; it’d belonged to his actual father, William Todd, and had been left to him after his dad had passed to prostate cancer. So it actually MEANT something to him on a very personal level. Thus, he was rather reactive when it came to the venerable piece of Detroit steel and ingenuity. Even though it had... personality, he’d always believed it would come through for him no matter what he put it through on any given day.That belief had lasted until precisely this day, when the truck he’d always put his faith in had completely broken down. With a resounding bang and a heartwrenching thud, the transmission fell out of the bottom of the chassis and the engine blew the hood back against the window as it did its level best
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Flattery and Bootlicking
As Tim and Siobhan were facing the first day of their mission, the imperial agency council meeting finally drew to a close. The meeting had lasted a very long time, as more than a hundred agencies had given their progress reports, each of which lasted anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. All told, the meeting itself was a 25-hour marathon session from the end of Aron’s speech to the end of the session itself.The vast amount of revelations prompted a flood of news articles, each of which focused on a single piece of information. They provided a sort of cliff’s notes version of the IAC meeting for those who couldn’t remain glued to their screens for the entire duration. As it turned out, the vast majority of humanity was still uninterested in the minutiae of the day-to-day operations of their governments, so even though the full recording of each progress report was available in the Akashic Record, they chose to read the articles instead.(Ed note: I can’t believe it, but Cliffs Notes
Latest Chapter
Decisions
After gathering every last body from the wreckage and laying them in the hangar, Dreznor finally broke the silence.“Do you have any way we can cover them for burial?”{I can print them for you if you want,} Little Protagonist replied gently.“Please do so,” he said, his voice subdued as he turned back to kneel before the body of his son, small, still, and cold, with a gaping hole in his chest where the energy round had ended his young life. Dreznor lowered his head and placed a cloth over his son's face with shaking hands.“Rest in peace. I’ll join you after I’m done with all of them,” he whispered.He moved to his wife next, then to his mother, repeating the same words, the same gesture, each time slower than the last. Each time it felt harder to let go.Half an hour later, the 3D printer beeped softly, indicating that the burial cloths were ready. One by one, he wrapped the bodies in the printed covers, each fold done with reverence and care. The process was slow, painful, six hour
Watering the Seed
“I understand your reluctance, but my proposal doesn’t violate the restrictions placed on you,” Minister Youssef replied calmly, the confidence in his tone making it clear they had already considered such limitations. “Our side won’t receive any wormhole technology, we’ll simply provide mana stones for their operation. Your side would handle all technical aspects. We’d share the profits as business partners.”He leaned slightly forward. “Think of it as us being shareholders. You manage the operations; we invest and receive dividends. That way, we maintain full compliance, we never come into direct contact with the technology.”“If that’s the case,” the representative said after a pause, “and the wormhole use is restricted within our own territories, then yes, it might be possible. But I’ll still need to report this back home before anything can move forward.”His tone remained neutral, but the subtle shift in his expression was enough; he was already hopeful and leaning toward agreeme
Lacing it With Temptations
The fleets of the Astral Conclave civilizations, carrying the exchanged mana stones, departed a day after the trade was completed. This time, the process was far smoother than before, as the exchange had taken place inside the Trade Hub itself. Their representatives, along with their close entourages, remained behind, unsure when their negotiations with the Empire would conclude, but aware that the importance of the talks warranted their continued presence.While discussions around the VR network had stalled, pending approval from their respective governments. During this period, the empire requested individual meetings with each representative to discuss separate matters.Now that VR access was granted, those who accepted the invitation found themselves summoned to private virtual meeting rooms, far from the watchful eyes of other representatives. This allowed each nation to negotiate without the risk of backlash from the top ten civilizations, who might otherwise view one-on-one mee
Our Conditions
“Should we accept your requests, what are the conditions?” the Elara representative asked, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over the room. The air was thick with contemplation as each delegate weighed the enormous implications of the offer before them.They all knew this wasn’t the meeting where a decision would be made. The stakes were far too high. Instead, they were here to gather the full list of demands, terms, and potential benefits, enough to return to their respective governments and present a comprehensive proposal for final judgment.Masimbi gave a slight nod, then replied steadily, “There are only a few conditions, but each exists for good reason. They’re not just to protect our interests, but to ensure that the system cannot be corrupted or weaponized to the detriment of the entire network.”He raised one finger.“First, we require that the VR network be protected from hostile interference. This protection must be formally enshrined within Conclave law. Any indi
Resumption
The meeting that had initially been postponed for just one day ended up being delayed by an additional four days at the request of the representatives. They needed more time to inform their governments, allow them to fully digest the implications of the technology, and formulate a new approach before presenting their decisions.Though five days might have seemed excessive at first, the time passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. When they reconvened in the same meeting room, the atmosphere had shifted. Gone were the strategies and agendas of the original meeting, replaced now by entirely new plans shaped by the earth-shattering potential of what they had witnessed."Our government is inquiring about the possibility of purchasing the technology," Carvath said as soon as the floor was opened. "They’re ready to hear your terms in exchange for it."Over the course of nearly five days of rigorous analysis, the top fifteen civilizations formed a covert pact to collaborate in investig
Nyx's First Action
“Looks like this is what he was talking about,” the Trinarian prince murmured as he removed the VR device from his head. The thin, metallic trusses, designed to automatically and comfortably adjust to any head size or shape, felt strangely underwhelming in his hands, considering the sheer magnitude of what they were capable of.He stared at it, already dreading the thought of going back to a life without this technology. Now that he knew it existed, how could he? More importantly, he knew the government would feel the same once they learned the full extent of its capabilities.“Any updates on our request for a meeting with the emperor, or are they still delaying?” the prince asked, not bothering to look up.“We haven’t checked yet, sir,” his assistant replied. “We were awaiting your directive. With this new information, you may want to reconsider your approach, perhaps adjust what we’re willing to offer after consulting with the king and hearing his input.”The prince smirked slightly
I Need a Moment of Peace
One Hour Later“Then we will take an hour-long break for him to update you on his findings,” Masimbi announced, pausing the meeting just as Cravath logged out. Without hesitation, he and the other human representatives stood up and left the room, granting the others privacy to discuss without fear of prying eyes.The moment the doors closed behind them, Cravath wasted no time.Without a word, he pulled every representative into his mental network, no warning, no request for permission.Yet, not a single one resisted.They all understood the urgency. Whatever he had discovered was significant enough that he deemed it necessary to share immediately and without interference.Curiosity and unease filled the air as they waited for his findings.………….“The two hours I spent there told me everything I needed to know about it. And if anything, they’re underrepresenting what this technology can do,” Cravath said the moment everyone took a seat at the rudimentary round table he had constructed.
The Zelvora Scapegoat
“Would you like to test it?” Masimbia asked, his tone calm and measured. There was no point in further explanations, he knew their minds were already racing with doubt. Instead of arguing over the validity of the technology, he would let the results speak for themselves.Silence.None of them answered immediately. Their hesitation was obvious, their expressions guarded. Trust between them and the Empire was at its lowest, this was nothing more than a transactional relationship, devoid of any real goodwill.And with what they knew of the Zelvora’s capabilities, both in offense and defense, some from firsthand experience, how could they be sure this wasn’t a trap?What if, the moment they put on the devices, the Empire activated them?Trapping them in an illusion. Brainwashing them. Shattering their minds. Or, worst of all, extracting their memories, laying bare their governments’ secrets, their personal vulnerabilities, handing the Empire an undeniable edge.The risk was too great.
Dreznor II
For hours, Dreznor spoke, recounting every memory that surfaced. His voice wavered at times, thick with emotion, but he pressed on. He told Little Protagonist about his past, the life he once had, and the chains that had bound him ever since he was fifteen.His civilization had lost a brutal war against a neighboring power, and the terms of surrender had been merciless. Anyone who had played a role in the war—whether as a soldier, a medic, a logistics officer, or even a mere clerk in the government—was stripped of their freedom. Families of these individuals were not spared either. Some were forced into indentured servitude, while others, like Dreznor and his mother, were outright sold as slaves. His father, being a valiant General who had fought to the very end and perished on the battlefield, sealed their fate. Yet fortune intervened, as Dreznor and his mother found themselves purchased together by a single owner.For thirty years, Dreznor had known nothing but servitude. He had gro
