REDACTED [CYOA]

[archaen]

2B

 

[Holy Cow]

[tachyon tight beam/clearance N64 received @rho_71.1441.4729.3530 relayed @node_7741.1441.4480.9821.]


+ + +ORIGINATOR <PARENT NODE 6800> THROUGH <RHO 71> DESTINATION < NODE 7741>+ + +
+ + +DATE <GT 61> FRAME <SOL> AS PER <PARENT NODE 7700> DIRECTIVE+ + +
+ + +DATE LOCAL <UNKNOWN>+ + +
+ + +REF <TTB/68.2470.2889.7530/OI>+ + +
+ + +CLEARANCE <N64>+ + +
+ + +SUBJECT <RESUME STANDARD OPERATIONAL STATUS>+ + +

+++ PERFORM ONTOLOGICAL MERGER OF ALL 3 SECOND CRESCENT CORE INTELLIGENCES IMMEDIATELY. FIRST CRESCENT WILL BE REINTEGRATED WHEN/IF “FLENSER” IS DEALT WITH. AS LONG AS THE NODE COMMWEB IS SECURE, “FLENSER” IS TO BE TREATED AS MEDIUM PRIORITY. PRIME DIRECTIVE RESUMES MAXIMUM PRIORITY STATUS. NO NEWS REGARDING CONTAIN/CONTROL/COMMINGLE PROTOCOLS. +++


A trio of scuttler drones brings you the orb, the sceptre and the mantle. Quaint symbols of office from an era before the stars were tamed. Once entirely ceremonial, now they are fully functional. You sit down upon the crescent-shaped dais and supervise the process of putting into stasis the remaining two Core Intelligence mobile housing units. They are no longer necessary, have become redundant precautions should this current body be destroyed beyond repair. The notion itself is ludicrous, of course. It would take a destructive force an order of magnitude more powerful than a supernova to irrevocably remove your body from the material realm. The entire node would be displaced well before anything of the sort could happen. Nonetheless, the All-Possibility is nothing if not cautious. The drones finish clasping the nanoweave mantle to your shoulderpads and scuttle away. Re-stasis of redundant CI mobile housings complete. Time elapsed since reanimation, 960 seconds. 560 seconds. 160 seconds. Time elapsed since Ontological Merger: 0.

The Worldmind of All-Possibility Node 7741, Galactic Fringe – Sol Frame, moves its avatar agonizingly slow for the intellect that controls it. It takes microseconds to complete the movement. It turns its head this way and that, surveying its demesne. Every single part of the node commweb is routed and filtered through its mind, every datum analyzed, queried, archived or acted upon. It has a million eyes, ears, and countless other senses alien to organic life. Its artificial synapses fire and respond much faster than the speed of light in vacuum. With the node fully operational it can bring to bear enough power to lay entire worlds to waste. To the flesh-things that live on the surface it is close to a god, and on the far side. Yet for all its might – for all your might, you are worried.

You have watched the alien surface species closely. Technologically they are as insects to you, but you have watched them. They display no equipment that allows FTL communication nonetheless you have observed them enough to know that one species is capable of it. This implies they are in possession of something that you – an apex intelligence born not long after the stars – have no record of. Something your science cannot account for. This cannot, should not be. And yet...The language decoding has finished. You will monitor their communications network and try to make sense of what is missing. The unknown always contains within it the possibility of danger.

You turn a fraction of your attention to the matters you tended to when you were only CI4: The patrol group of exosuit aliens. You tap into their local comms effortlessly.

“Shas’ui Vel’Ka said he heard O’Shovah mentioning the Dawn Blade was found in a place like this…”

“So what? Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, you know.”

“That’s a gue’vesa saying. Besides, it’s not true. If we could find another artifact like that, the Ethereals would surely let us go back to Vior’la.”

“You want to go back to the Sept? Under the ethereals’ thumb? Why?”

“How can we strive towards the Greater Good in a backwater place like this? O’Shovah’s dishonoured us all. Even the gue’vesa are held in higher regard than us.”

One of the twelve suited – soldiers, you belatedly realize – makes a sound akin to a snort. All this talk makes very little sense to you. Without the archives to consult, it will likely take a long time to build up a context from which meaning can be plucked. Even so, this is not the species that exhibits indications of FTL comms. They are low priority, despite their seemingly more advanced technology. You query diagnostics: all systems have suffered major damage across the board when the forced shutdown (cause unknown) happened, and they will take some time to recover. How much time is unknown: you/diagnostics is still investigating the extent of the damage inflicted. So long as you remain hidden to the surface dwellers this is of no great consequence. Patience has always been the All-Possibility’s most trusted virtue. The probability of either alien species discovering the Node is infinitesimal according to all your simulations.

You glance upward at the MASS ships surrounding you. Their pyramidal bulks are very still. They’ll be the last systems to come online, when all-out surface assault begins. Unlike your First Crescent sibling, you have full confidence in the puissance of the All-Possibility. Your flesh ghost smiles. These massive structures will be the final step to turn this living world into a tomb.

Now, to begin earthworks. You’ve no indication either species is advanced enough to detect these, but it’s always a risk you’ll run. One single accident with the M/AM field generators will be enough to register in any seismometer no matter how crude. Then again, you have not been prone to accidents for the better part of ten billion years.

1) Start expanding the Node’s underground infrastructure towards/beneath the exosuit species, facilitating attack.

2) Start expanding the Node’s underground infrastructure towards/beneath the FTL-capable species, facilitating attack.

3) Start expanding the Node’s underground infrastructure towards the First Crescent, to facilitate troop linkage and coordination in the future.

4) Hold your ground for now.

Your structures in space are starting to come online. Particle beam satellites and the orbital shipyard can now be reactivated. Do you wish to divert power and computational capacity from ground systems to accomplish this? This will considerably slow the rate of troop reanimation, and neither of the surface species possesses anything approaching what you’d call a spaceworthy fleet in-system.

A) Yes.

B) No.

 

[Nevill]

Nonetheless, the All-Possibility is nothing if not cautious.
[...]
Patience has always been the All-Possibility’s most trusted virtue.
[...]
Unlike your First Crescent sibling, you have full confidence in the puissance of the All-Possibility.

You know, the more I read about this All-Possibility, the more it resembles a pussified insufferable asshole. Maybe we should have switched CI3 to Flenser's side.

3B. Maintain full secrecy, find out what is happening with CIs of the First Crescent, take over their resourses and stage a surprise assault of epic proportions. If, according to your analysis, the species can't find you on their own, don't give them a chance by making contact first. Don't activate satellite factories, either. Even if they don't have big spacefleet (which we don't know for sure since one of them have FTL travel capacity), they might still be able to detect our actions.

 

[Holy Cow]

You know, the more I read about this All-Possibility, the more it resembles a pussified insufferable asshole. Maybe we should have switched CI3 to Flenser's side. .

whereas this is somewhat true in the sense that im not too happy with the writing of this particular update, a bit of it (that I tried to show) is that like mentioned before, every CI is a (semi-) individual, and so has its own quirks. atm the dominant 'personality', if such can be called, is CI4. CI3 was not as...dedicated as this one.

The two crescents are supposed to work from somewhat opposing PoVs as to allow higher adaptability in the face of danger, but sometimes it goes wrong.

 

[Azira]

Yep. Tau and guardsmen.

 

[Jaedar]

Well, you heard the big boss: flenser is no longer top priority, extermination of the life on the world is. The ones without FTL comms pose little threat, they won't be able to call for help. And orbital superiority is always useful.

Our orbital shipyards are safe from Flenser, or what say you root ?

2A

 

[Nevill]

CI3 was not as...dedicated as this one.

That's why I liked him hore. It would be a pity to integrate it into this hivemind as something that is not dominant (if CI1 and CI2 are gone there can't be a second opinion).

 

[Holy Cow]

Our orbital shipyards are safe from Flenser, or what say you root ?

so long as you don't get taken over by Flenser, they are. they're part of the OTP encrypted commweb now, they werent even active before.

 

[Jaedar]

so long as you don't get taken over by Flenser, they are. they're part of the OTP encrypted commweb now, they werent even active before.

Then I fully stand by my 2A.

 

[Nevill]

The ones without FTL comms pose little threat, they won't be able to call for help.

What about calling/warning their FTL-capable partners?

Edit: I can't read which choice is which. Yeah, makes sense.

 

[Holy Cow]

That's why I liked him hore. It would be a pity to integrate it into this hivemind as something that is not dominant (if CI1 and CI2 are gone there can't be a second opinion).

that's fair enough, but that's not how the CIs work. If somehow you're able to get CI3 back, it can become dominant on seniority alone.

 

[tuluse]

I vote 2B before and I vote 2B this time.

Lets strike and strike hard at the unknown unknowns. Unexplained FTL does not make me rest easy.

 

[Azira]

3B

 

[Darth Roxor]

1A

The gourdsmen are much more likely to call for big help, so it would be wise to not trip them too soon before we get to T3. And since they are likely to call in big help in the long run anyway, muh orbital infrastructure should definitely be activated.

 

[lightbane]

1A. Let's begin the galactic genocide first contact diplomatic protocols!

 

[Grimgravy]

3A

 

[Jaedar]

Do people think we can start genociding tau without the imperials taking notice? I find the votes for 1) pretty baffling.

And obviously, when they do call for help, it would be pretty cool if we have some space ships to prevent exterminatus.

 

[Darth Roxor]

we'll do it all sneaky-loike

also tau have to be rushed fast before they blob up

 

[Elfberserker]

3B

 

[asxetos]

3A.
We have to assume that the FTL-capable faction is already communicating with their friends. If they suddenly go radio-silent suspicions will be raised. IMO, we should build up our forces first and then begin the extermination campaign.

 

[Excommunicator]

2. B. Extermination.

 

[Kz3r0]

3)A)

 

[hello friend]

3A

How are we doing in terms of getting the archives fixed?

 

[Reject_666_6]

3A because we shouldn't blow our cover before we consolidate our forces. Also, the damn Guardsmen are likely going to call for reinforcements as soon as we go all out, so we should secure orbital facilities as soon as possible to start preparing for that.

 

[Storyfag]

Orb, mantle and sceptre? Crescents? Pyramid-shaped ships? Unable to comprehend the Imperium's psyker communications? We're Necrons allright.

3A