(RFC) Untitled SI (Nanoha)

[classicdrogn]

So basically, Jail was a Spacebattler? That makes a disturbing amount of sense, though it seems he forgot how many Starlight Breakers it takes to shoot down an Ancient Belkan battleship.

When the table suddenly sprouts wrist and ankle cuffs, you'll know it's time for the next stage of the SCIENCE! to begin.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

Sorry about the lack of updates.  Weekend sucked.  My muse is back, and with it, my motivation to post.
No comments on the thing last post?  Sad.
CD:  The answer is someplace between zero and eight, depending on how you define 'shoot down', and which attacks count as SB-equivalent.
Oh, and get out of my head.  It's not safe for you there.
**********
Entry 20 (Day 77)
...I signed up to be a lab rat.  WHY did I sign up to be a lab rat, again?
Oh, right.  Magic.  Good reason, that.
Over the last two months (and change; I did manage to figure out how long elapsed in between Entry 18 and Entry 19, and have been keeping track of the days since), I've been poked, prodded, drained, scanned, enervated, energized, psychoanalyzed, heavily marginalized, and massively demoralized.  By my reckoning, I've been through every single form of medical testing ever devised... and a few that Doctor Scaglietti invented himself.
In that time, I've noticed a fairly clear progression.  The first few tests were non-invasive scans, of the sort that just required me to stand in the doctor's lab for a few monutes, and then leave.  After a day or so of that sort of test, the sampling started... 'nuff said about that.  Then came the energy-based tests, most of which involved standing in front of a glowing plate of some sort, and letting the doctor see what happened.
I know at least some of those tests were magical in nature.  I could feel it.  Having your linker core stretched to its limits is... rather memorable.  Sort of feels like a heart attack and a real bad case of indigestion, all at once.
That was a really bad day.  I was barely able to ignore the pain (a burning ache all over) long enough to limp, slowly, to my quarters.  Once I was laying down and not doing anything, most of the pain died down, leaving me in just enough discomfort to focus my mind.
Makes it rather hard to sleep, I can tell you.
The day after, I managed to ask the doctor whether he could do anything about that.  His response was, and I quote, "The data that I'm gathering requires that you remain fully aware of your condition.  Accept the pain.  Relish it, as a symptom of your coming rebirth!"  Those were his exact words.
Anyway, the magical testing soon gave way to a new flavor of torment- boredom.  I had to lay on an examination table, staying reasonably still... and that's about it.  Some days, I'd be spending hours laying there, thinking of nothing- and I do mean 'nothing', and Scaglietti would let me know if I was thinking too hard.  Other days, he'd ask me questions while I was laying there, and I'd be tasked to think through the question, assemble the most complete answer I could, and then recite the answer I'd thought up.
The interesting days were the ones when I'd be given math problems to solve.  I was initially given a screen with the problem on it, along with the ability to verbally order the screen to update, substituting for the ability to write, I surmise.  As time went on, my access to those conveniences decreased.
It's fairly obvious what's going on, when you think about it.  I'm going to have to be made a mage, hence the physical and magical testing.  High-level Devices have to be customized to fit their user, which includes mental synchronization- the boredom and questioning tests are obviously part of that.  As for the math testing, well, I suspect that that test was doing triple duty- teaching me the fundamentals for magic, getting me trained to do mental math, while training my future Device to cast with me.  A good sign, really.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Dartz]

A good sign, really.

I don't have to say famous last words, do I?
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[classicdrogn]

If nothing else, it's getting your brainmeats in shape for the heavy mathmatical lifting that is MSLN style magic. Now you know (from the inside) why wizards put their highest score in Intelligence... Has he been hitting you with multitasking yet? It would suck to loose track of your flight spell because you had to put up a shield to block an incoming attack, and a mage in combat will not only need to keep a barrier jacket up all the time, but reinforce it periodically as soaked damage disrupts it.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

CD:
Dartz: You think?
I thought I was more genre savvy than that.  How disappointing. >_>
**********
Entry 21 (Day 86)
Testing continues.
Body scans stopped a while back.  Same with sample-taking.  Magical tests continued until yesterday, at least.  Core stress test.  Worst ever.
Just woke up.  Didn't remember test ending.  Got med access weeks ago.  Looked it up.  Wish I didn't.
Last magical test I wrote about?  Six minutes.  Barely standing after it.
This time?  Was okay at six.  Could barely stand at seven.  Begging to stop by seven minutes thirty.  Stabbing pain in chest at eight.  Deepest ever.  Can still feel ache from it.
Tried to escape it.  Instinct.  Couldn't think then- wanted pain to stop.  Bastard Doctor bound me up.  Easy.  Like snapping fingers.  Turned up the power after.
Feed says I took it for three more minutes.  Collapsed when it ended- expected that.  Didn't expect this.
Med records say I fainted.  Out cold before hitting floor.  I believe them.  Cam feed shows me twitching... weeping... screaming at top of lungs.  At least two minutes.  Started when test ended. 
Only stopped when sedated.
They tried magic first.  I got louder.  Had to use drugs.
Opened log after lab feed ended.  Started typing.  Can't type straight.  Hands shaking.  Small words easier.
My everything hurts.  Bad.  Suspect Crucio feels like this.  Button press feels like grinding on nerve.  Back feels like fire.  Heartbeats ache.
Wish I hadn't looked.  Can't forget the sound...
Worse than pain I feel now.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[ECSNorway]

That's the problem with volunteering to be a test subject for a Madboy.

They don't give a flying fuck how much you hurt.

Yeah. Let me know when it's over if you still think it was worth it.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[robkelk]

That's the problem with volunteering to be a test subject for a Madboy.

They don't give a flying fuck how much you hurt.

Yeah. Let me know when it's over if you still think it was worth it.

No, they care - it's an important indicator.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Sirrocco]

robkelk++

[Dartz]

Would've been better of with the Book, IMHO....

Oh well, you reap what you so. At least it's not Quattro.....
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[classicdrogn]

Well, look on the bright side - at least you didn't explode in an eruption of magically-impelled chunky salsa! That's actually a really positive sign, when the experimental subject survives the proceedure intact and able to function mentally through the lingering pain.

Looks like you found the reason why the TSA told you you were too old to begin the training...

(sorry, all my sympathy is being used up by my dog, who had to get a bunch of teeth extracted today, and is currently whimpering beside me)
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

This next bit should answer CD's question from a few pages back.  I'll explain what I was trying for next post- we'll see how close it is to what I wrote.
ECS: I sort of figure there's a law of conservation of pain when it comes to gaining power.  Most people just space it out a good bit more.
Going to JS was simultaneously insanely brilliant and insanely stupid, all at once.  This is the stupid part.  It'll be worth it, we think.
Rob: Indeed.  Pain means you're still alive, right?  It's useful until/unless you need your testmonkey to do anything delicate.
Dartz: Things might've been easier if I snagged the Book, but think of the butterflies!
Besides, I like Hayate.  She deserves awesome power, a devoted family, good friends, and the cutest Device ever.
CD: First, your dog has my sympathies.  Hope the pooch gets better!  Second, I don't need them, so that's just fine.
Third, my version of JS is more of a sociopathic realist.  What happened was precisely calculated to cause a specific effect, and so what if it hurt?
Fourth, it wasn't training.  I was attempting to make that fairly obvious.
**********

I was not looking forward to this.
Insolent fool.  How dare he?
As I walked towards my objective, most of my attention was focused inward.  Were I in a better mood, I'd enjoy that rare luxury.  At the time, I was too busy being offended.
That trash should've been killed where he stood.  Using blackmail like that... he clearly has no honor, and yet the Doctor allows him to live?  Why?It must somehow advance the Doctor's purpose- OUR purpose- but how?  What use could he have for someone like that?
All I can do is follow my orders, and trust that he's right.  Still, it rankles...
It wasn't a productive line of thought.  Still, it haunted me, even as I entered the quarters of the trash in question.
From the instant he had first spoken to the Doctor, I'd known the man was a wretch.  Looking at him now- barely able to sit up, poking at the keys on his computer with shaking hands- he looked it.  Trash finally got what he deserved.
"You are needed.  Come along."
My message delivered, I spun on my heel, and marched out of the room... only to hear a loud thump in the room I'd just left.  I just sighed, and head right back the way I'd come.  Of course he'd make it as difficult as possible.
The Doctor's unwelcome guest had managed to knock his own chair over, with himself in it.  He was sprawled out on the floor when I reentered the room; even as I watched, he slowly, shakily rolled onto his back, put his hands on the floor, and attempted to push himself back up... only for something in his back to spasm violently, landing him on his side again.
The trash looked up at me.  I saw the pain in his eyes, the frustration at how it had crippled his pathetic body.  He had tried to get up once; he wouldn't do so again- I was sure of it.
I hadn't finished thinking that thought when he closed his eyes, shifted his body, and took a few deep breaths.  He held the last breath in, wincing as something in his chest complained, for a second- then his eyes snapped open.  In one move, he pushed his body up off the floor, forcing that last breath out as he forced himself up to a sitting position.
It didn't last, of course.  The weakling tried to get his legs back under him, only to end up right back where he started... on the floor, trying not to scream.
In the end, I had to help him reach the Doctor's lab... just not in the way I'd expected.  In defiance of sense, the guy just kept trying to stand, time after time.  Even when it was clearly getting more and more difficult to keep trying, he didn't stop.
After maybe a dozen tries, I finally had to ask.  "Why?"
He collapsed to the ground, wheezing.  He was barely able to speak, but managed to get out a reply.
"Doesn't matter... ...how many times... ...I fall. ...Only care... ...how many... ...how many times...  ...I stand up again."
After catching his breath, the man forced himself back up off the ground- again?!- and started shifting his weight, preparing to try and stand once more.  Before he made that attempt, he took the time to say one thing more.
"If I die... I die standing.  If I can't stand... I die trying.  That's... who I am."
Then he forced himself to his feet... took a slow, hesitant step... another... and collapsed again, right in front of me.
The next time he stood up, I was there to keep him from falling.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[ECSNorway]

Hrm. Uno? Doesn't seem snarky enough to be Quattro.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[classicdrogn]

Read it, like the Tre POV, but no can brain now. Need Zzz.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Dartz]

It's not Quattro....

I don't think it is. She'd be enjoying the floundering a lot more obviously before doing the bare minimum she'd been ordered to do.

It's terse enough to be Tre. She isn't kind. But she can respect strength.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Bluemage]

ECS, Dartz: Nobody seems to have placed this in the timeline yet.  There's a reason only Uno and Tre have made appearances as of yet.
CD, Dartz: Yep.  This time, it's a fragment of one of Tre's memories.
Dartz: That was *exactly* where I was going with Tre's opinion of me so far.  She respects strength.  In this case, she'd decided that blackmail- even attempted blackmail- was a tool only used by those who lacked the strength to reach their goals on their own power, and the honor to accept that.  I attempted blackmail, therefore I was of no benefit to her or The Cause, therefore she had no use for me.
Of course, then I showed two parts bravado, two parts stubbornness, and one part self-hypnosis with anime references.  So things changed.
**********

The two of us entered the Doctor's lab mere minutes later.  Ford- he had proved himself worth naming- walked into the room under his own power, if ever so barely.  He had one arm around my shoulders, and was letting me carry most of his weight, but he was walking.
My father, of course, had his own concerns.  "Ah, Tre.  You're here.  Set Mister Prefect down in the Chair.  Quickly, now- I'd prefer he not suffer a total magilink collapse."
But that only happens-?  "Yes, Doctor!"
Once I'd positioned Ford in the Chair- an impressive machine, worthy of the emphasis my father gave it- it snapped shut around him.  Metal brackets slammed into place, locking around Ford's arms , legs, and neck... only to pull him deeper into the cushioned back of the machine.  From where I was, it looked like he wouldn't be able to move a muscle.
Ford was, naturally, not pleased with this.  "Doctor?  What's going on!?"
"My part of the deal," he answered, not even looking away from the two different systems he was controlling.  "Do not speak unless spoken to, and Do.  Not.  Move!  This is a complex procedure, and I do not need distractions!  Uno, attend!"
 'Complex' was the word for it.  I'd seen the Doctor work on some of my sisters- both Uno and younger siblings yet to be born- but nothing I'd seen required this sort of equipment, or this sort of effort.  Even as I watched, my older sister had taken a place next to the Doctor, her own displays coming to life around her.
The two of them worked feverishly, new displays and controls flaring to life around them as more and more equipment came to life.  First the Chair, already active enough to restrain Ford, fully activated.  I watched as the helmet Ford was wearing unfolded, dozens of probes lifting themselves away from the rest of it, only to drill down through, hair, and bone.  Then the computer core in the background powered up, and I noticed the thick cables linking it to the Chair.
"Bridge core operational.  Engram collection loaded; synchronization at 98.3%.  Beginning system update."
Uno entered a few more commands, and the computer core began to hum.  Lights began to blink on its surface, each one in time with the probes on the Chair.  "Synchronization now at 99.9%.  Switching to real-time update pattern."
The lights began to blink faster, spending less time off than on.  As the pace increased, Ford's body began to twitch, the restraints keeping him in place as the twitching escalated into a full-scale seizure.
Even as Uno looked over toward the Chair, eyes wide in alarm, one of the many displays hovering around her head flew in front of her face, its border blinking an angry red.  "Magilink collapse underway!  Core fragments are separating!"
The Doctor reached down to a console at his side, the screen for it appearing before he  made contact, and typed out a sequence of commands.  Steam hissed from vents on the back of the
Chair as an orb in the back of it lit up a deep, dark blue.  The orb- some form of customized Device, obviously- gave off a nearly subliminal hummmmm as it activated, locking Ford's chest in a cage of dark blue light.
For the next three seconds, all of us were silent.  The twitching gradually slowed, and Uno's readouts changed from dangerous red to a healthy green.  Finally, the resonant voice of Doctor Scaglietti, calm and in control, filled the room.
"Emergency magilink integrity field online.  Projected time to failure- seven to eight minutes."  He smirked, closing down the console he'd used.  "Continue the operation, Uno."
Uno looked over her readouts, adjusting a few settings, and nodded.  "Real-time updates online.  Synchronization at four decimal places and holding.  Predictive iterations look good."
I was well used to the Doctor's creative moods by now.  This one proved little different.  "Well.... LET'S BEGIN!"  He raised his hands, a keyboard not unlike the ones we often use appearing underneath them, and played a chord, holding it for a few seconds before starting the piece proper.  As he played, Uno continued her work, occasionally calling out details for our father's sake. 
I've seen them do this hundreds of times- she's almost a second set of hands and eyes for him, managing less complicated processes and feeding him important information, letting him focus on the complicated bits without missing anything.  Their teamwork is some of the best I've ever seen, actually.
"Cognitive bridging successful.  Ego border bilocated.  Multiplexing sensory data... adjusting for transmission lag... sensory data now synchronized."  With each callout, another one of Uno's displays changed from amber to green.  A lazy swipe of her hand, and all the readings were collected in a single display... which promptly turned green.  "Consciousness continuity achieved."

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[classicdrogn]

applause.flac

Acheivement earned: Happy Rebirthday!

Congratulations, the upload is complete and you are now transhuman. Full upgrade procedures may now commence!

So, will the result be based on your old body, or resleeving the an existing Artificial Mage project clone at a useful degree of physical development?

You know, when the mad wizard says he'll make you think you're a little girl in pigtails, he usually means via mind magic, or at most a transformational curse... you should'a been more specific.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Dartz]

Either way he's F'd

I figured having only three numbers around would put this in the right timeframe to be childhood friends with someone prone to making friends with pink lasers.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Jorlem]

My impression was that he's still in his old body, its just that he 'died', had his soul linker core captured and rebuilt to be far stronger, and was then revived, not that he was placed into a new, 'better' body.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[robkelk]

You know, when the mad wizard says he'll make you think you're a little girl in pigtails, he usually means via mind magic, or at most a transformational curse... you should'a been more specific.

A little girl in pigtails... and glasses. Who we haven't seen in the fic yet.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[classicdrogn]

A problem with vat-grown humans is the mind - a Device could run sims to provide some kind of socialization, but I'd expect the results are mixed at best. B_M has already noted two dozen or so tubed subjects, my thought was that one might have been physically but not mentally viable.

Kind of squicky in the fridge horror way those "time travel (or SI) and replace the MC as a child" fics ignore, but there's some good company too.

Maybe (s)he could have a tea party with Quattro and braid each other's hair?
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[classicdrogn]

To be more Meme-y about it-

"No Ford, you are the Numbers!"

And then Ford was a cyborgirl!

lolcat.jpg
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[nemonowan]

Hopefully he will be Sein.That way he can insist that he is not a Number, he is a person.

[Bluemage]

Son, I am disappoint.  You got the whole 'new body' thing, but not the how of it.  Hint: "ego barrier bilocated" is sort of important.
CD:  In order: no, sort of, yes, yes, I actually was but you didn't see it, noted tubes (not subjects) up to XXIV, and I'm not Qwaar so heck no.
Jorlem: A linker core isn't a soul.  It doesn't hold your consciousness; if it did, I'd be screwed.  It's metaphysical, but not spiritual, if you get my drift.  Also sort of vital, in a 'don't screw it up' sort of way.
What happened to mine was less 'capture and enhance', and more 'painfully demolish in a way that won't implode immediately'.  That's what he did that hurt so much, earlier.
Dartz: For the sake of my sanity, I will just give this away.  It is currently late in year 0059 of the New Calendar.  Nanoha, Hayate, and Yuuno are three years old.  Fate isn't finished, and Tre was decanted four years ago.  I have two years until Quattro is finished.
EVERYBODY: Please stop talking about a certain cyborg that shares her number with a line of Audis.  Her fate lies in your hands. :3
Also, the part of the agreement you heard included casting big spells.  The Numbers are not mages.  You can make an exception for the Type Zeroes, and they're all mana-powered, but none of them are designed to use magic.
I will not be a Number!  I am a free man! (That's for you, nemonowan!)
**********
With that, the Doctor's keyboard changed.  New keys appeared, the board dividing itself into sections as it grew.  Over each section, another telltale appeared, each one monitoring some obscure medical detail.  At the center of this menagerie was a display even I understood- a model of a human brain, rotating slowly about its axis.  Even as I watched it spring into existence, the Doctor frowned, and it shifted modes- the physical model fading out, replaced by what looked like a dense network of blood vessels in the shape of a brain. 
Another frown, and the model shifted again- this time to an intricate web of glowing lines.  Even as I watched, the web shifted, some lines fading out, other ones shifting colors, and new ones sparking into life.
Father nodded, clearly satisfied at this.  With a two-handed gesture, the representation exploded into sections, still rotating as though it were a single object.  Another wave brought up a collection of similar scans, each one showing a different pattern.  With his workplace established, the Doctor began to operate.
I didn't pay too much attention to the conversation between him and Uno- at this point, it was all medical terms, well beyond the basic combat medic skills I'd learned.  What I did watch was the web of light hovering in front of the doctor, as it withered and died, section by section, in time with the glowing lights on the probes in Ford's head.  Once all the light had faded, he closed the model with another swipe, and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"How marvelous.  The ego border has reestablished itself perfectly!  Wonderfully done, dear Uno!"  With that, he turned his attention back to his monitors, ignoring the faint blush that appeared on Uno's face, and keyed in a sequence on one of the panels that had just appeared.
One of the many alcoves in the walls of the lab lit up, the magilights in its roof and corners almost instantly matching brightness with the rest of the room.  Inside the alcove were three of the Doctor's human specimen jars.  XXIII and XXIV were still empty, my future sisters only existing within our father's mind, but the third, unnumbered tube had a body floating in it... and a set of thick cables, not unlike the ones attached to the Chair, running to the computer core in the back of the room.
I had clearly missed something, because when I looked back over at my family, they were already engaged in a new procedure.  It sounded just like the first stage of the procedure- a lot of synchronization, updating, and all that. 
As Uno's numbers approached 100% again, the cage of blue light around Ford's chest flickered once.  It was clearly noticed, as the duo began to work faster.  Another brain model appeared, and the doctor began blanking out sections of it... this time, the lights on the computer core in the background flickered and died as he worked.  The emergency field on Ford's body flickered a second time... and then again.  Then a fourth time.  The fifth time came even faster.  By the time the doctor had finished shutting down the computer core, the field was dropping every two seconds or so, even as the hum of its generator orb crept up in pitch.
Father's voice cut through my growing sense of apprehension.  "Commence magilink to artificial core!"  A display appeared in front of the both of them; an outline of a ball, with glowing waves of light splashing across the edges of it from within, with dozens and dozens of red lines coming out from it to one side, fanning out, and then almost connecting to an equal number of horizontal lines.  Even as I took that in, orange links appeared in two of the lines, turning red to green.  Two by two, more and more connections were made, until the board showed two red strings- thicker strings- in a sea of green.  One of them turned green momentarily, a link appearing on it for a fraction of a second, before going back to red.  Then the other did the same, holding green for a little longer than the first.
For a few tense seconds, I watched the doctor and Uno work, the last two connections flicking between colors in their own time as their fingers danced across their keys.  Finally, after who knows how many attempts, one of them caught- followed by the other, a hairs' breadth later.  All three of us waited with bated breath, watching the display for any change.
...then, with a thrum of power, the ball on the display glowed bright.  All the orange blocks linking the display together glowed, slimming down until they matched the lines they connected to.  When the glow faded, the display showed nothing but uninterrupted green lines, brightly lit with power.
I let out a sigh- when had I held my breath?- as Uno brought up a spate of monitor windows, her eyes flicking from one to the other.  Finally, after a second or three, she closed them all, and relaxed, smiling faintly in relief.  "...he's stable.  Operation successful!"
Our father's mirth echoed off the walls of the lab.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[ECSNorway]

It sounds like Jail has overcome my own biggest objection to resleeving and a lot of the basic precepts of transhumanism -- continuity of consciousness/self/soul.

I'm considering setting him up with a co-op project with Ritsuko Akagi, but the prospect actively terrifies me.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[classicdrogn]

You have "rotating as as a group" in there, probably ought to fix that.

The Numbers can't cast aside from their Inherent Skills? I didn't know that... I guess losing Ginga and Subaru was a bigger setback than it looked.

Wait, don't they catch... someone... in Binds at some point? For that matter, they caught FORD in a bind, just a few posts back. Unless it's Tre's IS (I have no idea which is which except Wendi's skyboard/BFG, honestly) then where'd that come from?
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows