Duke Long
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'how'
'giving'
Seems very obscure. Where'd you snag that from?
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
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- self-insert young justice
Mr Zoat
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m_d
Fascinated by storytelling
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Is it obscure though? 'Inept' is pretty commonly used word I thought? The contrary naturally follows providing that one is aware of the meaning of 'in' in context, and most english speakers would have picked that up given its prevalence in so many other words.
ToadUnderBridge
Not too sore, are you?
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Inept is commonly used, but ept has fallen out of use, much as ruthless is still used but ruth has become archaic, and underwhelmed and overwhelmed are still used but whelm is not.
Silverias
Not too sore, are you?
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It's what is known as an orphaned negative. Inert, nonplussed, and ruthless are other examples.
Someguy Somewhere
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Really feeling the Aster with is topic
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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...okay, now I have to ask if there's a Paul in the Galaxy Rangers universe.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju7EhA6RqxE
Meetings Squared (part 15)
New
Mr Zoat
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18th May 2284
15:12 GMT -6
Vesley leans closer to me as Diana displays her plans for building health clinics across New Mexico.
"How nuts is she?"
We both contemplate the large screen displaying Diana Stone's chosen avatar. Not her own long-abandoned human face. Not the tank that is her current residence. Not a symbol of her former employer Greenway Hydroponics, of which she is the last surviving executive. No, it's a live video feed of a giant holographic image of the Roman goddess Diana which she's projecting in a dedicated audience chamber in Vault 29.
"Compared to what?"
She glances my way for a moment. "A sane person."
"A touch of megalomania. As long as she's got something to work on you'll hardly notice."
"…combination of medic protectrons and trained human physicians, I anticipate a substantial improvement in the treatment of physical injuries and simple diseases. Unfortunately, I am still lacking the base chemicals to synthesise more sophisticated medicine, as well as the aforementioned shortage of medical doctors."
WARDEN's robotic avatar nods. Or rather, bends its waist slightly and then straightens up. "I've had to provisionally put Brotherhood scribe-physicians from the Maxson Chapter in charge of our Department of Health, but we don't have enough people with advanced medical training to both oversee the healthcare professionals we have and actually perform medicine."
One of the local members of the Followers of the Apocalypse leans forwards. "If you're saying that you don't have any kind of medical training college, what kind of qualifications do they have?"
The Diana image stares out with an air of benevolent imperiousness. "I have made certain to ensure that members of the Twin Mothers tribe have a practical grounding in basic medicine. Their medical men and women can clean and sew wounds, set bones and treat fevers. I have avoided training them in more complex forms of medicine."
The Followers frowns. "But… You predate the war. You're probably one of the leading authorities of medicine left. I can't imagine that there's much you couldn't teach them."
"Vault Twenty Nine was an experimental Vault."
The Follower's eyes widen. "Oh God. What was the experiment?"
"In essence, to see if people raised without advanced technology would build a happy and stable society. Alas, while my people demonstrated that it is possible, the Legion who conquered and enslaved them demonstrated that there is no causal link. In cooperation with WARDEN I have begun increasing the sophistication of the educational program for those of the tribe who have returned to me."
The Follower… Doctor Gannon, slumps back in his chair, and I can feel the relief in his mind. The fact that the Vaults were never meant to save anyone… Or at least, the fact that doing so wasn't their primary purpose, is relatively common knowledge across California. And other places are painfully aware that some Vaults 'went bad' or had messed up things happening in them. I don't think anyone has ever had the chance to directly question someone who set up such a Vault before.
The representative from Vault City leans forwards. "We've got fully trained doctors, and I suspect that persuading them to move to another Vault would be a good deal easier than trying to talk them into moving to… Some.. tribal village. But what are you offering in exchange?"
Diana frowns at the idea of someone not jumping at the chance to selflessly help people, but it's WARDEN who answers. "Essentially, immortality."
"Pardon me?"
"They'd be the first generation of fully trained physicians in Colorado since the bombs dropped. They'd form policy, get hospitals and schools named after them, and they'd have the gratitude of the state. It would be a major increase in status for anyone who wanted to move out of your city."
The representative nods. "Okay, I can see you getting some volunteers on that basis. But what does Vault City get?"
Diana's frown smoothes slightly. "I can prioritise you for seeds and seedlings, as well as agricultural equipment. I understand that your farms are manpower intensive."
To put it mildly. Vault City uses wastelander labourers in preference to robotic labourers, and those wastelanders… They've moved away from the serf-labour system they used to use, but they're still very much second class citizens and… The Vault City citizens seem to like being able to lord it over them. They were having a problem with people leaving, but the obvious place to go after leaving Vault City was New Reno, and after Anderson attacked it it's become a good deal less appealing. Of course, if their farms switch to using the farmhand version of Mr. Handy or even just regular tractors, they'll need to improve the education of their labourers so that they can maintain them properly.
"That's… Acceptable, but we'd also like access to the Colorado Dome."
WARDEN pseudo-nods again. "That isn't a problem. It'll be good for Doctor Goddard's-."
Diana's image crackles and vanishes, replaced by the text 'signal lost'. The C-27 WARDEN is piloting stumbles a few steps before straightening up.
Vesley stares at them. "What just happened?"
I'm frowning, expanding my awareness to see if I can feel anything untoward. "WARDEN?"
The C-27 looks around. "Command unit WARDEN is not available. Please state your request."
"Why isn't command unit WARDEN available?"
"Satellite uplink has been disrupted. Please stand by. Should you require police assistance, this unit is ready to protect and serve."
The screen comes back to life, but it's not displaying Diana. Instead, the green and black image of Robert House's avatar is on display. "'Disrupted' is putting it mildly. My early warning system just detected a high-altitude nuclear detonation. The resulting electromagnetic pulse appears to have shut down Diana's remaining satellites. Fortunately, my own systems are hardened against that sort of attack."
I blink. "Was it-? Someone actually built a GoldenEye?"
"Would you care to explain that, Mister Krono?"
"From a… Work of fiction. The GoldenEye satellites were… Satellites with nuclear bombs in them, designed to cripple an enemy's electronic infrastructure. They were rather more dangerous against people who relied on transistors rather than vacuum tubes, but it's not as if anyone can replace the overloaded vacuum tubes in the satellites."
"So our long-ranged communication systems are crippled."
And I need to make sure that the people on the zetan mothership are alright.
The Vault City representative is already on her feet. "I need to try and get in contact with Vault City. Would the hard lines be affected?"
"Of course not." I can hear House roll his eyes. "And any radios that aren't hardened would simply need their vacuum tubes replaced. That's why my company continued to use vacuum tube technology in the first place. Mister Krono?"
"WARDEN and Vault Twenty Nine are both hardened, so they should be fine even if we can't reach them from here. I can have people reach out telepathically-. Are there any incoming strategic missiles?"
The room gasps, but that's the obvious reason to use a GoldenEye. It wouldn't cause the damage depicted it the film, not in this universe, but it could deactivate radar stations for an hour or two.
"Not that I can detect, but my capacities aren't what they were. I didn't detect the launch."
"It might have already been up there. Alright." I turn to the other attendees. "Everyone, check in on your lead negotiators, get initial damage and intelligence reports, and reconvene in half an hour."
Because I think this is the start of something unpleasant.
15:12 GMT -6
Vesley leans closer to me as Diana displays her plans for building health clinics across New Mexico.
"How nuts is she?"
We both contemplate the large screen displaying Diana Stone's chosen avatar. Not her own long-abandoned human face. Not the tank that is her current residence. Not a symbol of her former employer Greenway Hydroponics, of which she is the last surviving executive. No, it's a live video feed of a giant holographic image of the Roman goddess Diana which she's projecting in a dedicated audience chamber in Vault 29.
"Compared to what?"
She glances my way for a moment. "A sane person."
"A touch of megalomania. As long as she's got something to work on you'll hardly notice."
"…combination of medic protectrons and trained human physicians, I anticipate a substantial improvement in the treatment of physical injuries and simple diseases. Unfortunately, I am still lacking the base chemicals to synthesise more sophisticated medicine, as well as the aforementioned shortage of medical doctors."
WARDEN's robotic avatar nods. Or rather, bends its waist slightly and then straightens up. "I've had to provisionally put Brotherhood scribe-physicians from the Maxson Chapter in charge of our Department of Health, but we don't have enough people with advanced medical training to both oversee the healthcare professionals we have and actually perform medicine."
One of the local members of the Followers of the Apocalypse leans forwards. "If you're saying that you don't have any kind of medical training college, what kind of qualifications do they have?"
The Diana image stares out with an air of benevolent imperiousness. "I have made certain to ensure that members of the Twin Mothers tribe have a practical grounding in basic medicine. Their medical men and women can clean and sew wounds, set bones and treat fevers. I have avoided training them in more complex forms of medicine."
The Followers frowns. "But… You predate the war. You're probably one of the leading authorities of medicine left. I can't imagine that there's much you couldn't teach them."
"Vault Twenty Nine was an experimental Vault."
The Follower's eyes widen. "Oh God. What was the experiment?"
"In essence, to see if people raised without advanced technology would build a happy and stable society. Alas, while my people demonstrated that it is possible, the Legion who conquered and enslaved them demonstrated that there is no causal link. In cooperation with WARDEN I have begun increasing the sophistication of the educational program for those of the tribe who have returned to me."
The Follower… Doctor Gannon, slumps back in his chair, and I can feel the relief in his mind. The fact that the Vaults were never meant to save anyone… Or at least, the fact that doing so wasn't their primary purpose, is relatively common knowledge across California. And other places are painfully aware that some Vaults 'went bad' or had messed up things happening in them. I don't think anyone has ever had the chance to directly question someone who set up such a Vault before.
The representative from Vault City leans forwards. "We've got fully trained doctors, and I suspect that persuading them to move to another Vault would be a good deal easier than trying to talk them into moving to… Some.. tribal village. But what are you offering in exchange?"
Diana frowns at the idea of someone not jumping at the chance to selflessly help people, but it's WARDEN who answers. "Essentially, immortality."
"Pardon me?"
"They'd be the first generation of fully trained physicians in Colorado since the bombs dropped. They'd form policy, get hospitals and schools named after them, and they'd have the gratitude of the state. It would be a major increase in status for anyone who wanted to move out of your city."
The representative nods. "Okay, I can see you getting some volunteers on that basis. But what does Vault City get?"
Diana's frown smoothes slightly. "I can prioritise you for seeds and seedlings, as well as agricultural equipment. I understand that your farms are manpower intensive."
To put it mildly. Vault City uses wastelander labourers in preference to robotic labourers, and those wastelanders… They've moved away from the serf-labour system they used to use, but they're still very much second class citizens and… The Vault City citizens seem to like being able to lord it over them. They were having a problem with people leaving, but the obvious place to go after leaving Vault City was New Reno, and after Anderson attacked it it's become a good deal less appealing. Of course, if their farms switch to using the farmhand version of Mr. Handy or even just regular tractors, they'll need to improve the education of their labourers so that they can maintain them properly.
"That's… Acceptable, but we'd also like access to the Colorado Dome."
WARDEN pseudo-nods again. "That isn't a problem. It'll be good for Doctor Goddard's-."
Diana's image crackles and vanishes, replaced by the text 'signal lost'. The C-27 WARDEN is piloting stumbles a few steps before straightening up.
Vesley stares at them. "What just happened?"
I'm frowning, expanding my awareness to see if I can feel anything untoward. "WARDEN?"
The C-27 looks around. "Command unit WARDEN is not available. Please state your request."
"Why isn't command unit WARDEN available?"
"Satellite uplink has been disrupted. Please stand by. Should you require police assistance, this unit is ready to protect and serve."
The screen comes back to life, but it's not displaying Diana. Instead, the green and black image of Robert House's avatar is on display. "'Disrupted' is putting it mildly. My early warning system just detected a high-altitude nuclear detonation. The resulting electromagnetic pulse appears to have shut down Diana's remaining satellites. Fortunately, my own systems are hardened against that sort of attack."
I blink. "Was it-? Someone actually built a GoldenEye?"
"Would you care to explain that, Mister Krono?"
"From a… Work of fiction. The GoldenEye satellites were… Satellites with nuclear bombs in them, designed to cripple an enemy's electronic infrastructure. They were rather more dangerous against people who relied on transistors rather than vacuum tubes, but it's not as if anyone can replace the overloaded vacuum tubes in the satellites."
"So our long-ranged communication systems are crippled."
And I need to make sure that the people on the zetan mothership are alright.
The Vault City representative is already on her feet. "I need to try and get in contact with Vault City. Would the hard lines be affected?"
"Of course not." I can hear House roll his eyes. "And any radios that aren't hardened would simply need their vacuum tubes replaced. That's why my company continued to use vacuum tube technology in the first place. Mister Krono?"
"WARDEN and Vault Twenty Nine are both hardened, so they should be fine even if we can't reach them from here. I can have people reach out telepathically-. Are there any incoming strategic missiles?"
The room gasps, but that's the obvious reason to use a GoldenEye. It wouldn't cause the damage depicted it the film, not in this universe, but it could deactivate radar stations for an hour or two.
"Not that I can detect, but my capacities aren't what they were. I didn't detect the launch."
"It might have already been up there. Alright." I turn to the other attendees. "Everyone, check in on your lead negotiators, get initial damage and intelligence reports, and reconvene in half an hour."
Because I think this is the start of something unpleasant.
Mr Zoat
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Maybe? I haven't watched it for decades.
Might actually be three decades.
The problem would be that even without a way to recharge, it would be pretty easy for him to kill the Queen and get away again,
Duke Long
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Amazing chest ahead!
First thought is that it's MODUS given that he was introduced earlier in this plot as being creepy and possibly interested in nuking China. In which case the anti-satellite attack could be focused on Chinese satellites and the loss of American satellites is just a side effect.
Or it could be something completely different, of course.
Chojin Patriarch
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That's a good question. You have to wonder how stable anyone who exists as a brain in a jar is, especially if they're past a certain age. Still, as long as her suggestions are feasible, is there any reason to dismiss them out of hand?
That's... Certainly setting a mood.
And it seems if she can direct her focus on this project, it's quite beneficial to everyone.
Still needing the tools to make the tools, eh?
I suppose learning advanced medicine isn't a priority out in the wastelands.
Bonesetters and barbers, most likely.
I'm guessing to reduce risks of someone trying to do something they aren't prepared for. Some of the advanced stuff likely requires support structures they don't have right now...
...Ah, Okay, I can see that being a sensible precaution.
Ooof. Yeah, doesn't matter how peaceful you are if your neighbours aren't.
Looking it up, I can see why he was relieved. That's just messed up...
Hopefully they're willing to be helpful...
Not a physical sort, of course. The main methods of that probably aren't conducive to continued good medical practices.
Hmm, yes, appeal to their egos.
Good, yes, spreading better food supplies is always good.
...Hoo boy. People gonna people all over everyone else, aren't they?
As long as it's done carefully? Things don't sound all that stable in certain parts there.
...Well, that seems concerning.
...Very concerning. looks like the shit is about to go fan-wards.
Oh hell. Is someone playing around with EMPs?
How fortunate.
Ah, the classic Bond movie threat.
I wouldn't be surprised to find that those were actually made in-universe too, that this was an old weapon reactivated rather than some improvised kludge...
Are the light saucers space-worthy? Or at least capable of that communications range?
Amazing how the technology of this universe developed so bizarrely...
And prevent any anti-missile systems from being brought online, with no way to target subsequent launches...
I wonder if Krono even realised he just stepped in and took charge so easily. And if others will notice the same thing...
So, someone is playing around with EMP devices. Some random wasteland lunatic - no shortage of them, after all - or a foreign power poking their nose into the Americas? Are the various communities of the former United States going to be facing an invasion attempt by an old enemy... Or perhaps a conquest by someone new they didn't know about.
ForeverShogo
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Given the other bits from Van Buren mentioned, it's probably Presper making use of B.O.M.B. 001.
Mad scientist who wants to purge areas with nuclear fire so his followers can repopulate the Wasteland. B.O.M.B. 001 is a donut shaped satellite base that can launch up to 24 nuclear missiles. The plan for if Van Buren were ever completed was that you'd either sacrifice yourself to stop the nukes or, with the right build, you could stop most but not all of them. If you went for the latter, you would have to decide which of the settlements you visited during the game got nuked.
Last edited:
Mr Zoat
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No, by this point in time Presper's very dead, and his surviving followers are living under Hecate's rule.