2024-02-15 18:12:08
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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
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Controlled Chaos
Aron extended his hand and a single rune appeared in front of him. Anyone who had seen him using his runes in the past would know what the rune was: the humble, yet mighty, shield rune. It glowed its usual golden color and was its usual small size.But that didn’t last long, as Aron continued pumping mana into it with the intent of expanding it. The thing he was planning on shielding was enormous, so the rune had to be equally as large to perform its task.A minute passed and it continued growing... five minutes passed... ten minutes.... Aron continued pushing intent-laden mana into the rune for a full hour before the flood of mana died down to a much more sustainable amount and the rune stopped growing. Now, he was only directing enough mana into it to prevent it from disappearing and forcing him to start the process over again.But despite that, it still remained inactive, silently hovering in the vast blackness of space outside Earth’s atmosphere. It had reached a gargantuan size o
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day ERD-26 Planetary Shield Generator
Aron closed his eyes and began the process of imprinting his intent into the enormous runic construct he had created over the past hour. It was no easy task, as the necessary intent that would allow the construct to function at full capacity was just as complex as the construct itself, and he had to futureproof it by leaving room for upgrades as his knowledge of the runic language increased. In order to make that possible, he needed to imbue it with an even more complex second layer of intent that would create “hooks”, so to speak, that would be used in the future to tie in potential upgrades, a task that would be made much more difficult should he ignore it now and leave it for later.The runic system, he had discovered, was much like a computer. The carved runes in their physical form were like a computer’s hardware, and the intent that allowed them to function was software. The mana itself was the power that allowed the entire system to function. And just like a regular computer p
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Successfully Initialized
Aron, despite the rune construct’s activation, continued feeding a steady stream of mana to it to ensure it didn’t collapse. Despite it being in a neutral state and receiving no attacks at all, its sheer size meant that it required more than the relatively small amount of ambient mana could provide. So, to prevent it from destabilizing due to the lack, he needed to act as a temporary bridge.He passed through the shield and headed toward Ceres Station, where an entire bank of massive, hundreds-of-meters-tall fusion reactors had been purpose-built to fuel the enormous runic construct. Nova had calculated the minimum amount of mana required to ensure the shield would remain stable without Aron’s intervention and she’d built sixty reactors to handle the load, with a combined output of 112 petawatts of electricity.The generator bank was connected to the surface of Ceres Station by a conduit spanning ten meters in diameter, lined with a second printed runic construct that would ensure a s
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Wargames and Reservations
John was in the shower, getting ready for a night with his ladies, when he received a priority notification. Since only Aron, Gaia, and Athena could ping him when his availability was registered as “do not disturb”, it was important enough for him to immediately check it. Thus, he stepped out of the shower, and without even drying off, he simply wrapped a towel around his waist and found the nearest chair he could drop his ass into and sat down.He logged in to the simulation and called for his AI butler, Jotunn. “Catch me up on the situation,” he ordered.{His Imperial Majesty erected a global shield. The information hasn’t been made widely public yet and it’s still classified pending testing. His order is for you to hold wargames and test the shield to failure in the simulation. As our VR game hasn’t been made public yet, we have no staff for our space navy, so the wargames will be between you and Athena with simulated crew....} Jotunn continued briefing John as he threw him a data
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day Model Employees and Model Cities
The announcement informed everyone that anyone interested would be employed under a temporary contract with Hephaestus Heavy Industries that came with some truly hefty perks. For twelve months, they would be employed with a salary of a thousand END per month, a per-diem meal allowance of a hundred and fifty END per month, free on-site housing, and each employee would receive a credit for a free future visit to a medical pod, should they ever require one. Not only that, they would be given priority access to advanced courses and certification as electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders, and so on, should they choose to take that path. And with the first full month being essentially a paid vacation while they waited for the cities’ foundations to be laid, it was an excellent proposition. So they would be paid 12,000 END for the entire job, all while gaining an essential, marketable skill to prevent them from being unemployed in the future.Once the realization sank in, billion
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day War Games: Strength
Deep below the Cube on Avalon Island, kilometers below the surface and near the border of the crust and mantle of the planet, was ARES Central Command. In contrast with the usual understated elegance or futuristic decor of the Terran Empire, the command structure was very, very barebones. So barebones, in fact, that it was a simple cavern that’d been dug out of the ground and had workstations placed in it for the military high command to issue orders, make plans, and track the progress of ongoing operations.Not that it really mattered, to be honest, as augmented reality could make even a cesspit look like a palatial garden.Currently within the rooms carved out of the rock, a planning session was taking place between John and the rest of the human leadership of ARES.“It’s strength against strength this round. Our defense fleets are limited, and we won’t have reinforcements. We also have to work with simulated crews, so our orders will be followed exactly to the letter, but only to t
Getting a Technology System in Modern Day War Games: "Subtlety"
The next stage of the war game, testing the shield against a determined infiltrator from the inside, was scheduled for four days later. Considering the upper echelon of ARES had all been involved in the first stage from start to finish, one day was allotted for rest before the three-day preparatory period began for the second stage of destructive testing on the shield.As John had been on defense first in the first round, he would be on offense first in the infiltration round. His task was to send a single reaper team into Ceres Station to take down the planetary shield in whatever way they could. They would be given limited intelligence to simulate spy action, including the number of defenders, types of defenses, and potential routes to the shield control stations in the planetoid-cum-space-elevator.The confidence level of the intel wouldn’t be high, but it would be generally reliable to form the framework of a plan around. The briefing John received set the confidence level in the
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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
