Session 23
Prev: Session 22
Next: Session 24
- Aedryn
- Corvin Rusic after throwing up and the robots collect it and throw it away
- “You’ve done well”
- Al: thank u
- “Of course. I can tell he likes you.”
- Al: that’s as amazing as it is terrifying
- “Whats terrifying about it?”
- Al: ur so right. Im a better person for having spoken to you
- “One day you too will earn your way up the ladder like i did.”
- As: who was he?
- “Someone very important. If he deemed you to not know, that is the right answer.”
- “Still, i too am grateful you spoke well. Itd be a shame to have to clean up so many bodies for him.”
- Al: it would sir
- “Do you wish to speak of any other programs? Id be glad to talk abt any of the public ones.”
- Al: sir idk if ur briefed, but we had the… pleasure to meet Meiko.
- “Are you the one she spoke about over our dinner?”
- Al: i….. I’m sure- i’ll be honest sir she had to make corrections, but i think im on a better path for the company now
- Hits a major bow
- “No profit was lost, so I see no harm to the company
- M: if it’s any consolation he’s been a much better friend!
- “What about as a bodyguard? Has any harm come to u hatsune miku?”
- M: not as of late!
- He believes miku
- “Very well. Stand, it doesn’t befit a manager to be on the ground for too long.”
- Almado stands but is still trying to be small in his presence
- If he immediately sits down he can avoid reaching his height
- “You were asking about the Muse program I presume?
- Al: yes sir
- “What do you want to know? It’s an idol program where the idols never age and are content filling their purpose. It also perhaps solves the final hurdle with android kind.
- Al: that would be the renewal sir?
- “Yes
- As: I have my doubts about that
- “You can doubt but the science is clear. It has been done
- M: meiko says she’s in her 30s and hasn’t had the urge for renewal
- “Yes, she was due in her 20s per our divinations
- (you dont feel renewal coming on, it just kinda. Happens)
- 26: what about Kasane Teto
- “Oh that bitch teto? The cheap copycat
- 26: sure yeah we can call her that
- “They hold a ritual suicide
- Al: what about her guards, do they allow it?
- “Allow it? They’re part of it. New Teto, new guards. We don’t have the exact details, just internal documents.
- “Its fortuitous for us. It means only aetherion vocaloids are left in the galaxy.”
- “I am unsure if they have a way to transfer knowledge”
- Al: i believe in miku
- Teto keeping memory may be a form of immortality, but we think we’re missing smth. Dont know if we dont have the piece or arent connecting the pieces
- Transferring data between 1 android to another doesnt transfer life, while credicites are the Same Soul. overall the same, but some fundamental part of the process is different
- 26: could we ask abt the development of the aethercop cultivation
- “Of course. Our cultivation of the future. Cultivation should not just belong to those with more time on their hands. It should belong to those who bring the most profit.”
- 26: cultivation is an active dedication to the furthering of one’s being
- “Is working hard not dedication”
- 26: the process
- “The process should determine the reward?”
- 26: not all the time
- “We give them the option. If u wish it to go to money it goes there, if u wish it goes to cultivation, it goes there
- “I could offer the next cultivation level to you. It would be nice to see someone that Zebufera's Last Doctrine spoken so highly of be strong”
- 26: we’d liek to do our own methods than relying on aethercorp
- Almado offers him his business card, he takes it
- We leave to lobby
- Zld “we were worried. We felt a disturbance of your presence.”
- 26: we met someone
- Al: ive achieved the next step of my path
- “Congrats almado we are proud”
- 26: we met… someone. Someone who was not-
- “Did he not say who?”
- 26: we are not certain who. He was not… the head of r&d. We know that
- (remember that the network has been Fully Emptied)
- Al: 26 maybe we speak somewhere with less prying eyes
- “I have a dinner reservation with the president of Aedryn. I can see if they allow a plus 1”
- 26: that is a very kind offer.
- “I thought you mentioned ur itinerary was full. Still make friends with ur companions. I havent asked”
- 26: we’d be honored to attend. We have cleared our schedule
- “We’re glad that ur schedule is cleared. We’ll talk to the president immediately.”
- Turns around, beams their thoughts in another direction
- “You are allowed. We will be sitting at a lesser table tho. They cannot accommodate us with 1 seat.”
- 26: mmm very well
- “They need to know what dishes you can have”
- 26: we have no dietary restrictions
- “U are a stronger cultivator than us. We had to give up many dishes.”
- Ambassadors (asper ripley zmena xep)
- We go, if we try to invite anyone
- Halrex Korr says no, Voz Ricander is rejected at the door for being a former Solara Imperium soldier, Kalervo Turred would be allowed tho
- Elf working front desk: “go on in Shujiao, the others will need to get scanned
- As: it is asper
- “Apologies asper. The others will need their weapons put down and fingerprints scanned
- Everyone disarms, if u dont withhold weapons or fingerprints u get in fine
- Turred gets an impronouncable name on the register on the desk
- “Are you [incomprehensible name] the black scourge?”
- “No, turred.”
- Ripley scans
- Sees minor bounty “the thing might be busted. Are you ripley?”
- R: uh. Yeah? I have multiple siblings
- “Is one of you wanted for… potential murder? In aedryn space? Any of them?”
- R: no?
- “Are you the one wanted for potential murder?”
- R: wtf are you talking abt?
- Long sigh.
- “Are you archibald?”
- R: fitzwilliam
- “Listen. Youre with shujiao and she treated me very nice. We’ll clear the bounty. You just need to be honest.”
- Outside of the deadnaming of asper (elf who lived many years w prev version) this asper thing is New for an elven perspective
- R: yeah im archibald.
- Zmena scans
- “Whats your true form?”
- Z: astrazoan
- “Ok, youre good.”
- Xep
- “You dont seem eager.”
- X: not. Really no
- “By the weapons, are you the killing type?”
- X: yes
- “Sit in the lobby.”
- She locks the door, points to the TV behind her, and asks “do you have any choice of programming?”
- X: im just getting exposed to media programs for the first time. Any recommendations
- She puts on Reddy. Highwayman the shoony
- Ambassador Naeri Astana stands up and goes for a hug with asper
- As: it is good to see you
- “Great to see you. You’ve come back! Will you be staying?
- As: i will not be
- “Still, we should make a night of it
- As: that would be nice. These are some of my companions. The others have things going on
- She shakes the hands of her “child’s” favorites like a proud mother and nods to Siryu who reveals the liquor cabinet
- “You don’t happen to need anything notarized or any diplomatic work done? Immunity or the like?
- As: wellllll it is not out of the question. There are a lot of things occurring at the moment. Once I get back in contact with my other companions it would be appreciated.
- “Give me their names. So long as it’s not to major in Concord of Aedryn space I can get rid of it
- She won’t turn anyone in for what asper says here
- As: there has been a slight incident on arkari that may come up associated with us. We have done our best to try and have that not be the case.
- “Hasn’t shown up in our computers as far as I can tell. I can already put it out that u were working with a black ops team
- As: ok, if you believe that is best
- “No one except the absolute higher-ups will pull anything on that. Except for revenge. Is there anyone I should worry about seeking revenge?
- As, turning to look at Zmena “We have concerns about the Camacho family
- “How deep of concerns?
- As and Z: pretty big…
- “does a prayer to Aeryn-Vox I’ll see what I can do. It is the Camachos and not A Camacho right?
- As: to my understanding yeah
- R: yeah it is
- “They are iconoclasts as im sure you know
- As: Yes, that is part of the concern.
- “What happened? What am i going against one of the head iconoclast families for? If it was simple murder they would not care
- Z: i may have taken over the identity of their son, one of them, who was killed by an assassin.
- “Siryu, close the balcony doors.”
- Windows darken and become opaque, no light or sound comes through
- “Which son?
- Z: Nivaya
- “I’ll do what I can.
- As: it is a big ask
- “I think I can maybe buy a year at most, if they have a hint. If they don’t it’ll be buried. Does anyone else know this? Spies, clansmen for them, information brokers
- As: they hired a bounty hunter to capture him. We became allies for a brief time. She was with us but is now back here in Aedryn. It slipped my mind that she may go talk to them again. There is also the information broker Velu Shineleaf.
- “An info broker. How high up the network is he?
- As: unsure.
- “Is he part of the original 100?
- As: i do not know what that is
- “All info brokers are connected by a shared mystic network. It’s how they share info across galaxies. How high up is he?
- There’s a central mystic who’s super powerful and no one knows. 100 original people who each have a bit of power and can imbue 10 people
- multi-level mystics
- As: I am unsure where he falls in this. He has been very knowledgeable about things in the past but idk what sway he has.
- “Do you know where he is physically?
- As: we last saw him in Nsuoba but he was able to project himself onto Acoria
- “I’ll look into him. If he’s a halfling then he’s from Solarian space.
- As: I would not be surprised. He is a halfling
- “We’ll look into him. He shouldn’t be too big a concern. They aren’t fond of the iconoclasts
- As: why is that?
- “The iconoclasts seek for all knowledge beneath the government
- As: that does make much sense yes
- “I can offer no promises at this time
- As: that is ok, I trust you with this information
- “I will do the best to the promises I made to ur past self. And if there’s anything I can help u with Asper pls lmk
- Siryu opens up the blinds again and serves drinks to anyone who wants one
- Turred isnt really affected by alcohol
- Contemplative dinner
- 2 brains float around. They dont call it a lesser table but its not by the president
- Zld “we are glad that you were able to come.”
- 26: we appreciate the invitation, tho we are sad u had to give up a more prestigious seat for our sake
- “Dont be sad. In times where we give up now, we gain more later. For to give up this for someone who we consider our equal, is the world not better for it.”
- 26: the accumulation of good karma- we believe the universe and the dao will reward you
- “We consider what we have now worthy of a reward”
- 26: honorable.
- “You are already approaching on my mental realm. Let me be clear on no uncertain terms. By the power ur increasing recently, u’ll become a cultivator of which the world and the galaxy has not see.”
- 26: appreciate it. Once there were many like us, but it has been quite some time since our cultivation technique has been used by someone else
- “You refer to your sect? The one lost to time.”
- 26: indeed. We are… hoping to revitalize it once we are in a better position.
- “You are truly an admirable contemplative. Working togehrer in order to create smth new instead of rehashing smth that exists. Bringing something new to the future. If we could we would bow to u, but it would be inappropriate at this dinner”
- 26: we would not accept such a bow. Perhaps we should order before we continue our discussion.
- Its the president’s dinner, anything can be ordered.
- Zld whisperthinks their want. 26 copies them
- Waiter bows. “If you may. Could u define what the smallest that may still be considered mountain dew is?”
- 26 scratches that and gets a salad
- Fancy vocaloid dinner
- Luka hugs miku
- Almado perception on Lucas Halo
- He seems to have 1 hand on his gun, ready to kill miku in case she does smth weird. Does professional handshake
- Al: weird request. But a friend of ours would probably like an autograph
- “For a friend of miku… of course!”
- Al: to ripley
- M: ty luka its so good to see you!!
- “Its wonderful to see you again!”
- M: what are you doing out here? Ik u have a concert but whyd u choose here
- “The capital of aedryn?”
- M: yeah!
- “Its important to reach new fans not just those that already exist, no?”
- M: ur so right luka!
- “We need to hit every heart we can!”
- M: this is my best friend, he just got promoted to manager!
- “My manager is a manager too! Middle manager! What abt u?”
- Al: lower manager
- Him “take pride.” messages psychically “how many ppl did you kill?”
- Al: i stopped counting a while ago
- “competent enough to kill but not enough to count?”
- Al: im no Spider but ive done my fair share of wetwork
- “Yknow, he asked if he could get a kill on you.”
- Al: we had a disagreement
- “If you tried to do that to me, what do u think would happen?”
- Al: [explains]
- “Im not so messy. You’d just be dead.”
- Al: my apologies. But uh… luka’s not the twins (Kagamine Rin Kagamine Len). Adn you’re no spider. I doubt id have nearly as good of a chance
- “You had a chance against the spider?”
- Al: i outsmarted him
- “Yes. and i outsmarted the street light by going thru it fast.”
- (def implant. Hes an elf. He can also take off his helmet)
- “What name do u go by?”
- Al: almado
- “Luka’s Halo. match your vocaloid. You talk abt branding but you only wear it as a mask.”
- Concert is for luka’s 4th major album release
- M: i heard u were debuting ur 4th album! Congrats! Im still working on my first
- Her manager bows, presents a camerabot
- Comes with a small contract (972 pages)
- Clause is simple: they get to keep whatever footage for themselves if it’s good enough. He wrote it himself. Lawyer AND bodyguard
- Al: since miku loves it so much, we’ll take it! Ty!
- “Thank you. But thank luka first.”
- Al: of course! It seems i have a new prompt- (almado tazes himself)
- Bodyguard is so bamboozled
- Al: i was wondering if it would please the 2 of you, perhaps miku could do a real opener at your show. A show of good faith. We wont even- we’ll allow all of our merch sales to go directly to u for the duration of the concert
- Talks business
- Luka “its so good to see u miku!”
- M: im doing fine! This is the first time ive been so far away! There’s lots of new sights to see! On the last planet I tried 57 types of bubble tea!
- “57?????”
- M: ikr! So many!
- “Oh! We’re only 3 leaps from where we were born.”
- (leap = going thru Remembrance Streams. Kiliv-vi would be the furthest tho)
- “You went to kiliv-vi???”
- M: yeah!
- “Why????”
- M: we crashlanded
- “Crashlanded??? Do you hear this lucas? They crashlanded!”
- Almado tazed
- M: ueah we’re ok! Our ship got dented but we got it fixed up. And we got to meet a bunch of other friends
- “U lost ur aetherion space ship?”
- Ambassador party
- “How did you get here?
- As: on our ship?
- Siryu “They found a ship. On Kiliv-VI
- “And is it sufficient for you?
- As: it has been quite nice. There is a slight concern. explains the concept of the credicites as we explain them A fragment of this has been residing in our ship. I’ve been able to communicate with it.
- “Do you think that it’ll allow an end to your renewal if I let it live? You will get a new ship no matter what
- As: why? What is wrong with our ship?
- “It’s not normal.
- As: it is our ship
- “Yes. and it’s infested with something. And I have to ask, as someone i trust, do you trust it?
- As: it has not harmed us. It has helped us. It ran away to a Data-Temple on Arkari. We went there. It helped us.
- “Do you trust it?
- As: yes
- “Then i’ll trust it. I’ll transfer whatever it is to a new ship. More accommodating. If it helps her achieve her goal in death then it’ll be yours. You can fight over the captain’s space. The beds in the middle will unfold into a full luxury space. Figure out who gets what amongst yourselves
- As: that is very kind
- “Well i’m like a mother to you no?
- As: yes
- “And what would you do if I asked, albeit indirectly?
- As: i would do whatever i could for u
- “And i’ll do the same. Consider ur bounties cleared and ur new home urs
- SHE GIVES US A NEW SHIP
- Its so nice
- Goes 1.5x faster in non remembrance stream space
- Contemplatives
- Enjoy their appetizers. Being gay
- Theyre being so gay. Jesus christ.
- 26: on our previous topic. We do not believe that the revival of our sect is as loft of a goal as you describe it. Is it not just dwelling in the past even if we’re bringing a new form of it to the future
- “We dont believe so. We think u would make it future proof, as we are able to discern.”
- (“do you not like flirting with obama about daoist philosophy?”)
- “It wont be what it once was, but rather what it once was filtered thru the 26 laws of power.”
- 26: while we wouldnt doubt our cultivation technique, some of our philosophy was shaken by the individual we met early. He practiced a singular law of power
- “How does a singular law compare to 26?”
- 26: that single law of power was that his will is our truth. And indeed, his will was far greater than any of ours. Especially us.
- “We are not convinced. We think about… such things, we are convinced you’ll come on top. Ur will only need to be a 26th. If urs reach even a 10th, u will best him. Without contest.”
- 26: that is a very optimistic view, but one we will happily accept
- “Its not a complement but a truth. But its unlikely its all of his truths. On the one he deemed to share, u will best him. And the ones he deemed not to share will be his weaknesses. Us working together will best him and whatever strength he has.”
- 26: we appreciate ur confidence in us and ur kindness
- “U need not appreciate confidence and kindness for its the right thing to do. That which only gives us a benefit is not kindness but selfishness. For that we are sorry.” bows
- 26: we wont accept such a bow. It us that must bow to you
- Waiter is back for order
- 26: we have much we wish to discuss
- “We do. And the president is here. Are you used to talking to such officials?”
- 26: we are not. We will defer to you
- “Defer to us now, but this will be ur seat in the future.” (theyre so gonna die)
- Vocaloids
- Al: thats the highest possible percentage we can give
- Lucas Halo “More. or no deal.”
- Al: FINE. we completely…. We will receive 0% of concessions, we’ll give the net income of merchandise sold at the event, and miku will do a backing track for one of luka’s songs.
- “I need this. U can ride on my coattails. Miku can be the next star after luka. U could even leave miku behind if you want”
- Al: haha no never
- (message) “are you sure?”
- Al: ive had it spelled out for me that…. Meiko has specifically, personally, corrected my behavior. I dont wish to upset her further.
- “Meiko may not have as much power as she wants in the future. Give it a few weeks. She could never threaten u in the future.”
- Al: a true manager is prepared to profit off any situation. If this comes to fold, ill remember ur offer and remember who made the offer.
- Miku gets a salad and a steak and almado gets a Professor Ikeshti (66% alcohol) and a small order of fries
- Ambassadors
- She offers the ship
- “You’re looking for a cure for renewal?
- As: yes
- “She found one, or thought she had a lead before aetherion took it in the war. In the Istitiver System
- As: why didn’t u tell me before?
- “The one in enemy territory?
- As: ...it would have been a death sentence
- “U don’t have a whole lot of her. But u have her body, so ur death would be the death of half of her. I have her heart, the memory of what she was. U have the rest
- As: it is not much
- “It’s everything compared to what’s left. I have what she was, you have what she could’ve been.
- As: i have what she left behind
- “That’s her future no? We can only leave behind our future, not our past. All i know is she was interested. And once aetherion gained ground there she left. Took me along some 25 years ago. And i agreed to love her as a mother
- Asper knows this place. Where we sent miku when she was defective the first time
- As: Aetherion has…
- “Owns it now, after the war
- As: and they have claimed a way to stop renewal
- “They have. Though i have my doubts
- As: i have my doubts as well. I travel with one of their vocaloids.
- “Ren, lin?
- As: hatsune miku, the starlight idol
- “She’s operational?
- As: she is. Is that a surprise?
- “I heard she died. Twice
- As: that is my understanding as well. But i believe we have come to learn at least a portion of what occurred to her in the past. She is not the same android but she has the same personality and at the v least some of the same memories. It is strange. She got, i believe infected is the correct term, and got what seemed like symptoms of renewal. We took her there and she got better, but it is not her.
- “I wish she’d taught me more about this. I am sadly lacking when it comes to the spiritual. But she taught me the politics and gave me a nice life outside what I would’ve had. And i owe her that and I owe you. Whatever i can provide like she gave me in the long term.
- As: you offer a lot
- “And yet… not enough
- As: i do not believe that. You have raised me, in a sense. You have given me a lot and i am grateful. As much as i can be
- She cries a bit before siryu starts a toast to the memory of who asper once was
- “Still, i owe you much more
- As: i am sorry i am not her. I cannot bring her back.
- “No, i am not sure she would want to come back. Do you know how often renewal normally takes?
- As: i do not
- “A week. Not 3 earth years. 1 week. It took u 2 revolves around the sun where we are now. I trust by the way she spoke this was part of her plan and if not such, her faith.
- As: I believe that we are guided in the same way.
- “We as in me and you or you and her?
- As: all of us
- “I wouldn’t… she would be so certain
- As: well it cannot be helped
- “This is the hand we’re dealt. May it play in mankind’s favor, however it unfolds. I’ve attempted to erase the debt, tracking, and bounty from the camachos. I haven’t found ayla but i provided the new ship. I wish to help however i can but this is the limit of what my mind can reach. Let me know if you can think of any ways.
- As: do not punish yourself for something you cannot control.
- “I would punish myself never. I am a lashunta by nature. I am the lashunta by the circumstance i am born. I am the lashunta by absorbing the society around me. I am the lashunta who learned to love her adoptive mother. And i have learned to love the child who stole my adopted mother’s body. By which should i punish myself? Would acting be a way of punishing myself?
- As: ....i don’t know
- “I am left with but one action. To help you, unless the request is so unreasonable
- As: i try not to be so unreasonable. I know the limits of what u can provide
- “U think the limits, but of that you are preferable to her
- Vocaloids
- Luka messages “are you sure u like almado?”
- M: we had some rough patches but i think hes getting better! I believe everyone deserves a 2nd chance! Or 3rd!
- “And a 4th?”
- M: there’s always the potential for good in someone as long as u help them along the way! And im gonna try my best!
- “What about the spider?”
- M: well idk the spider personally, so i cant say anything abt him. But if we were to meet id try to be his friend!
- “And what if he planned to kill almado now? Would you object?”
- M: id always be there for my friend! Id hope it wouldn’t end in bloodshed! I think we could meet a peaceful resolution! No one kills for no reason, right?
- “Profit.” see the matrices where its more profitable for lucas to shoot almado than let him live
- M: What number are you on now?
- “One. he knows his place. He was hired up from the executive board down to me.”
- M: and do u trust this one?
- “Of course.”
- M: he’s been by ur side for so long! Do u think he’d turn his back on u?
- “No. (whisper) i turn a profit.”
- M: have u been talking a lot to meiko lately? Is that where this is coming from?
- Shakes her head, waves off the waiter (mentally) “no. i learned this on my own.”
- M: what are u trying to say? I should start to make a profit?
- She looks at almado. “Leave him in the dust. Grind him in the dirt and then abandon him. He holds u back. If he’s worthy, he’ll keep up.”
- M: i dont think profit is more important than friends! But maybe thats just me. Id never throw u under the bus luka!
- “It might be more important than friends.”
- M: why do you say that?
- “I am the only one outside of meiko who is on the 1.0 model.
- M: do u know what happens when we get taken back in the factory?
- Body guard shakes his head “u needn’t worry abt that hatsune miku. You’re perfect.”
- M: ty for talking! Maybe we can talk another time! I havent released my album yet, id like some advice :)
- Contemplatives
- 26 bows to zld
- “Ready to meet the president?”
- 26: as ready as we will ever be
- Nod in vague direction of the president.
- Sellis Vae waits
- Zld “they wonder why you’re here. I can make an excuse for u, but ur causes are noble enough taht i wish them spoken directly”
- 26: we have been investigating an aetherion program. Our reasons are several fold. We wish to spend time with u zld bc we value ur companionship but in a… mmm… nvm…. In addition, we have been investigating the trifecta program. And while ur part of a public face, other parts are not so public. We know aedryn may be interested if theyre not already aware
- The president looks toward their 2 bodyguards, who clap their hands together and bow. Make odd separate space on an elongated dinnertable, shunted into a void, behind is a windy desert with only the desert standing. Far away from zld
- “Speak freely or speak not at all forever.”
- 26: the trifecta program, we have learned of 2 of its parts and possibly met someone at least partially in charge.
- “Speak their name.”
- 26: we have not learned that. We just know them as a nameless cultivator- (have to roll a will save) (SUCCEED IN DESCRIBING)
- Overcoming all laws, has to roll AGAIN, keep lower
- Pure gibberish, she pulls back her table
- Looks at zld “why do u bring a madman before me.”
- Zld “we dont believe they’re mad. We believe theyre in the process of learning two truths we cannot reach. Do not punish them for striking what we could not understand. Reward them”
- 26 fumbles
- President “we’ll keep an eye on you. And should you need assistance, once, while we hold the presidency-” holds out a small card, zld’s telekinetic hand places it into their lapels
- 26: we appreciate that. Perhaps in the future we will be able to overcome what ails us
- “They say so.”
- Zld “they will.” smile almost convinces the president to have faith
- We go, if we try to invite anyone