With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

webxro · Jan 16, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"What would that mean for Earth?"

I have the feeling that she both asked if he plans to take over earth and what would happen to earth if Dox took over the galaxy and just let it to Paul to figure out.

NightmareWarden · Jan 16, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
So the people who technically work for OL's company see him as their super rich boss who's using his company to make the world a better place first and a superhero second?

Anyone who saw Paul's presentation on where Earth tracks for their technological research and implementation relative to the rest of the galaxy should believe that. He also spoke about properly supporting budding technology-based supervillains (to use the wording the DC public would understand). I bet all the Red and Green Martians on J'emm J'axx's side see him that way too.

Hard to say whether my heart is more moved by Grayven's support of metahuman schooling or the above presentation.

Mr Zoat · Jan 16, 2022

Darko said:
'Then points'

Thank you, corrected.

moralrelativity · Jan 16, 2022

Genocidecles said:
Paul and Jade doing couple stuff is cute. I approve

Same.

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 16, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
26th September 2012
10:02 GMT +3

Jade and I wave as the cocoa lorry drives away down the road.

Maybe I'm being a bit… Imperialistic, but I rather assumed that Kenya would have worse roads than this. Or-. Well, it looks fairly recently built, so maybe this was part of the post-Sheeda reconstruction?

You're British, OL. Imperialism is in your blood. But this is a good kind of Imperialism, I think. Making the world a better place, while keeping their nose out of how things are run. Up until it interferes with things they want...

I make a point of not having my ring just tell me.

Jade checks the balance of her backpack. "I think he's going to be dining out on that for a while."

Let me guess: OL took the high road of the hitch-hiker's payment (Gas, grass or ass.) And he's a big tipper?

"What?"

She peers at me quizzically, then… Then she smiles. "You don't know that you own this, do you?"

So at least she did some research beforehand. Joy of not having a Power Ring to rely on for personal safety.

"What, the… Portal? I think they're leased."

"That truck, this road, that-" She points at the field of cocoa plants just the other side of the fence at the edge of the road. "-field, that-" The points to the one on the opposite side of the road. "-field, and probably every field we're going to walk past for the rest of the day."

Ah, yes. Since there's minimal shipping costs thanks to Dolmen Gates, companies can invest in acquiring farmland in remote areas and the communities that support them. Biggest cost is probably the production and delivery of gates...

"Oh."

"It must be nice to be that rich."

Ah, yes, the 'Bruce Wayne' level of rich. Where you don't care how much a humanitarian action costs, only that you can do it. And that you have a moral obligation to do it if you can... Better than the 'Lex Luthor' kind....

I awkwardly adjust my own pack. "Money's just a tool?"

"Do you even know what your company is doing here?"

I mean, if he wanted to (and wasn't on holiday,) he could have a detailed breakdown at the forefront of his mind in an instant...

"Only very broadly. Farming equipment comes in, which helps areas ravaged by the Sheeda rebuild and export agricultural products back to Europe under contract for a guaranteed price."

"And you own the company outright, which means that all of the profit they make is yours."

Though I suspect he funnels a lot of that into the lower-ranked personnel's wages.

I shrug. "I didn't want Kraft owning it."

She looks away as we start walking along the side of the road. My ring's environmental shield is keeping Kenya's Autumn sun off me, but Jade opted to just bear it. It's about as hot right now as a typical British mid-summer and I don't like British mid-summer. But I suppose that she's more used to generalised hardship than me. Or… Prides herself on her ability to withstand it more than I do.

Why not both? She's physically fit and wearing well-ventilated clothing...

"Do you know what other reconstruction work your company has done?"

"Ah… Some civic infrastructure? Primary schools, sanitation, that sort of thing. It's basically-. What do you know about Industrial Revolution Britain?"

A, time for a bit of that uniquely-OL brand of info-dumping...

"Not a great deal."

"Well, there was a huge movement of people from the countryside to the cities, which resulted in large numbers of people crammed into tiny, unsanitary hovels. But a precious few of the newly wealthy industrialists realised that treating their workers that badly was immoral, and.. spread diseases which they could catch. So they took to building model communities for their workforces. Bigger houses available at low rents, wider roads, ornate churches and uplifting entertainments. In the case of Cadburys', they built Bournville. You still can't buy alcohol there."

And probably better for the body and soul than some places.

"Because alcohol encourages immorality. Were they Puritans?"

"Quakers, but really devout, ball-games-banned-on-Sunday Quakers. So us doing this sort of thing is really traditional as far as British Industrialists in general and Cadburys' in particular are concerned. Felicity loves it."

Presumably it means the company gets good press for 'fostering rebuilding and infrastructural improvements in regions damaged badly by recent events'...

"Flushing toilets are more useful than a concert hall."

"Or art, like the Medicis tried. The Cadburys' didn't look at it as a way to assuage their own guilt at their wealth. They did it because they saw an opportunity to make the world a better place."

Of course, a little money spent now translates into more money coming in later...

Jade smiles faintly.

"I thought you were just in it for the chocolate."

Well, he is an Orange Lantern. Petty motivations are what they're built upon.

"In this heat?"

"It's not that hot."

And besides, the humidity can make a big impact on how it feels.

"It is if you're chocolate. Ah, though the first generation to grow up in Bournville were just the right age to fight in the First World War, so… Maybe hope that history doesn't repeat in quite the same way."

"You shouldn't plan another war until you've finished the one you've already got."

Pfft.

OL could stop a World War in his sleep at this point.

"After the Reach, any other war would be a step down. I mean, the Dominion are the Reach without the social skills or cunning, the Spider Guild are the Reach without the technology or intelligence and also without the social skills or cunning. The only real threat would be Apokolips, and they don't really go in for mass combat."

She glances my way with a small smirk.

Yes, their methods are much more her style...

"Planning on conquering the galaxy?"

"No. Nothing I particularly want requires it. Dox… Might be interested, but I think he could probably do a good job at it. Besides, ruling the galaxy in any meaningful sort of way is actually really hard. It's just too many people and too big an area."

True. Much as historical empires found out, it's hard to maintain continuity of rule when it can take weeks for the edges of the empire to receive news.

"What would that mean for Earth?"

"Probably nothing. I can't believe that we still haven't got a faster than light drive, yet. Of all the things for the Light not to steal…"

<chuckles in Renegade> Can't believe he's still not thought of the Knight Family and their Cosmic Converter technology...

"You could steal something."

"No point. I already have access to dozens for forms of faster than light travel. I don't bring them here because I don't want people getting lazy."

Plus, humanity's probably still got a bit of growing to do before they're ready for galactic prime-time...

"Theft is a growing sector of the economy."

"And requires all sorts of skills that lend themselves to a species earning a place in the wider universe." I frown mildly. "Have you ever been to Kenya before? Other than-"

Given the ever-changing nature of the politics of sub-saharan African nations? Almost certainly...

"Yes."

"-those professional occasions I already know about."

Heh. Such is dating the former international assassin.

"Good phrasing."

"Thank you, I've been practicing."

Couples humour...

"No, not apart from that."

I frown a little. "You joined the Shadows almost immediately after leaving home, right?"

Presumably once she found out they existed... Though she probably had some inkling thanks to her father.

"Yes?"

"Have you been working full time since then? That is to say, even longer than I have?"

All two-odd years of your Lantern career, OL?

"The League of Shadows has-. Had retreats. And no one really cared if I disappeared for a few days between jobs. But I wanted to prove myself."

"So no backpacking across Kenya?"

Kind of risky for a single woman, especially a foreigner. Though I suspect anyone who tried something would receive a pointed lesson about appearances...

"We had wilderness survival lessons. And urban survival lessons. And practice. This wasn't something we did for fun. What about you?"

"Before I came to this world, the closest I got to Kenya was Sharm el-Sheikh."

As in the airport? Interesting tidbit...

"No backpacking?"

"With the Scouts a few times. But it was usually colder and raining. Last time I carried a load this heavy, I was still in Secondary School."

Ah, yes, the old textbook workout. I remember those days.

"Was it a camping trip?"

"Lockers in inconvenient places and a bus that left five minutes after the school day ended. Some textbooks can be surprisingly heavy."

Yes, some people prefer to carry all their books at the same time. Not always by choice, but it does make for a good bit of exercise.

And another small jump of a few days. Good to see them travelling, though. I pity any thugs who try to mess with them while they're out and about, though. If the whole episodes are scenes like this, it might be a nice break from the usual super-hero problems. And hopefully a few alternate Pauls having more interesting adventures...

Darko · Jan 16, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Ah, yes, the 'Bruce Wayne' level of rich

I don't think he's that rich.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Better than the 'Lex Luthor' kind....

Which is usually an attempt to either apologize for his ysual shenanigans or some plot against Supes that's doomed to fail.

Chojin Patriarch said:
<chuckles in Renegade> Can't believe he's still not thought of the Knight Family and their Cosmic Converter technology...

I think he remembered Knight's tech though it's possible that it's just not something he paid too much attention to.

Renegade got involved because as it turns out, Savage bought the rights to Knight's tech just so he can make sure it isn't distributed as a way to spite him.

Ngamer11 · Jan 16, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Can't believe he's still not thought of the Knight Family and their Cosmic Converter technology...

Darko said:
I think he remembered Knight's tech though it's possible that it's just not something he paid too much attention to.

Renegade got involved because as it turns out, Savage bought the rights to Knight's tech just so he can make sure it isn't distributed as a way to spite him.

Paul is aware of the Cosmic Converter tech, but not the spaceship. The former because it is being used by a company that Paul doesn't know is really controlled by Savage, and the latter because only the Knight family knows it exists and doesn't tell anyone about it.

Senevri · Jan 16, 2022

BlueMangoAdea said:
Paul's company slowly taking over the world.

Should be small potatoes compared to what Wayne and Lex do, just because even infinite wealth cannot accelerate everything.

Still, bringing resources to Africa instead of taking them is a bit novel.

Darko said:
I don't think he's that rich.

In account-money? No, but you're really underselling the value of asteroid mining. In raw material assets, Paul is richer than the entire world economy, if he so chooses.

Of course, he's not the only one in the setting. Frankly, DC earth not being a post-scarcity world is a disgrace. I know, it's stuck that way to retain verisimilitude, but still....

theaceoffire · Jan 16, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Lockers in inconvenient places and a bus that left five minutes after the school day ended. Some textbooks can be surprisingly heavy."

You are my soul brother!

All backpackers unite! I got so frustrated with the terrible lockers at my school I end up carrying all my books for the whole gosh darn day. My backpack was a certified weapon at the end of this!

jasonh23761 · Jan 16, 2022

theaceoffire said:
You are my soul brother!

All backpackers unite! I got so frustrated with the terrible lockers at my school I end up carrying all my books for the whole gosh darn day. My backpack was a certified weapon at the end of this!

Heh, I remember my school had a 7 minute passing period and even then that wasn't enough time to go to my locker during the two years I had one. I basically just put snacks in there and carried all my books in my bag.

I did take a sadistic amount of pleasure in dropping my book bag whenever I got frustrated just to hear the satisfying thump.

Sojiko · Jan 16, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Jade and I wave as the cocoa lorry drives away down the road.

Maybe I'm being a bit… Imperialistic, but I rather assumed that Kenya would have worse roads than this. Or-.

Cocoa trucks on surprisingly good transport infrastructure? Those are his roads, aren't they?

...

Yup.

Mr Zoat said:
"And you own the company outright, which means that all of the profit they make is yours."

I shrug. "I didn't want Kraft owning it."

That's the really funny part. His only motivation was to save good chocolate from corporate fuckery. He didn't do any work to make his company wealthier and more powerful. He just told them "you know how to do your jobs, so keep doing that."

Then they took advantage that their owner had contacts in the dolmen gates business and here we are.

Mr Zoat said:
"Lockers in inconvenient places and a bus that left five minutes after the school day ended. Some textbooks can be surprisingly heavy."

That brings back unpleasant memories...

Rafin said:
How come Paul had dirty clothing last chapter? Does he want to make his clothing dirty? Because if not, shouldn't the Ring take care of it automatically?

Are you talking about the underwear? Because he wasn't aware that they needed to be cleaned until he saw them and by that point he had removed both of his rings. From the way he reacted, that's not a new thing.

Mr Zoat · Jan 16, 2022

Since I've seen a couple of people mention it, the ring can flawlessly preserve his clothing while he's wearing said ring. The moment it comes off, the suppression on his body's normal stress response stops and his body overcompensates. He can get clothes sweaty very quickly.

Pinklestia · Jan 16, 2022

*Looks at Superman Animated

Yeah "usually".

Rebu · Jan 16, 2022

theaceoffire said:
You are my soul brother!

All backpackers unite! I got so frustrated with the terrible lockers at my school I end up carrying all my books for the whole gosh darn day. My backpack was a certified weapon at the end of this!

I had the opposite problem. My aunt worked at the school, so I'd leave stuff in her car sometimes to save carry weight. Like my lunch. Or her gym bag.

And sometimes she went out during the day.

I also sometimes left crap in my locker when I needed it for another class. Like the aforementioned gym bag. And then I'd forget to grab it, so I'd have to run back to my homeroom and shamefacedly interrupt the current class.

ForeverShogo · Jan 16, 2022

Damn, school bus drivers. I know the feeling of carrying just about everything at all times because of them. They couldn't leave fast enough and I'd basically have to sprint to where the busses were and hope I'd make it in time.

Cuchulin · Jan 16, 2022

Darko said:
I don't think he's that rich.

Agreed, he is potentially richer given greater access to off world resources.

theaceoffire said:
You are my soul brother!
All backpackers unite! I got so frustrated with the terrible lockers at my school I end up carrying all my books for the whole gosh darn day. My backpack was a certified weapon at the end of this!

I never saw the point of lockers, to much work to remember where they were and to use them as well as the locker combo which could change if you were assigned a new one. Much easier to simply keep everything in a backpack.

Michael Vonica · Jan 16, 2022

Cuchulin said:
I never saw the point of lockers, to much work to remember where they were and to use them as well as the locker combo which could change if you were assigned a new one. Much easier to simply keep everything in a backpack.

Backpack? *Thinks back to when I used to carry everything for class in my arms*

Ryumancer · Jan 16, 2022

Cuchulin said:
Agreed, he is potentially richer given greater access to off world resources.

I never saw the point of lockers, to much work to remember where they were and to use them as well as the locker combo which could change if you were assigned a new one. Much easier to simply keep everything in a backpack.

Not all schools actually allow lugging your backpack around, tbh, though you're right that there isn't usually enough time between classes for a locker trip, so it tends to be better to just carry everything around even without a backpack. May not even be enough room in the locker for more than just boots and a coat, all things considered...

Thankfully, by the time i got to highschool, local schools figured out the ban on taking backpacks to class was dumb, but...

nobodez · Jan 16, 2022

ForeverShogo said:
Damn, school bus drivers. I know the feeling of carrying just about everything at all times because of them. They couldn't leave fast enough and I'd basically have to sprint to where the busses were and hope I'd make it in time.

It's not the drivers' fault, it's the assholes that don't hire enough drivers, buy enough busses, and thus have such a tight schedule that they can only wait five minutes after the end of the school day because they only have so long to take one load of kids home before they have to be at the next school that releases later in the day.

Xmaster3000 · Jan 17, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Lockers in inconvenient places and a bus that left five minutes after the school day ended. Some textbooks can be surprisingly heavy."

I hear that!

Steelplaza · Jan 17, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
The only real threat would be Apokolips, and they don't really go in for mass combat."

Hasn't the SI already come across Grayven leading a warfleet against the Reach, with an implicit "we'll settle up with each other once the Reach is done" ending to their meeting? I remember it was that battle where Dox accidentally took himself out overloading his nascent magic sense.

Also, I'm sometimes a little confused if Apokolips is considered to be a "Milky Way Galaxy threat" like these others are, or a truly "uncounted galaxies of the universe all in danger" threat. But then, comics are bad at scale.

Mr Zoat · Jan 17, 2022

27th September 2012
05:52 GMT -7

I've had the local villages under observation for a few days, and it seems that the adults at least make a point of rising just before dawn for what looks like a morning prayer. It's fascinating that a pony culture almost entirely disconnected from mainstream Equestrian society exists so close to Equestria-proper.

I suppose it's due to the transportation-.

"Euuuaaarghghuhhh!"

Raindow Dash yawns loudly next to me, sitting on her haunches and stretching out her forelegs and wings.

"Miss Dash." I gaze at her reproachfully. "Please remove your feathers from my nostril."

Her wing jerks back. "Ew." She takes a moment to check the snot-free condition of her feathers before ruffling her wings and returning them to her flanks. "Why'd you make me get up this early, anyway? Who are these ponies?"

"Based on their cutie marks and their injuries, these are some of the ponies who were holding Miss Do captive in the fort."

"Hm." She looks up in the air for a moment, then tilts her head downwards, frowning as she tries to puzzle something out. "So… You're not here to arrest anyone."

"No crime has been committed either in a place administered by me, or in Equestria."

"Ah, pretty sure taking control of the sun is a crime."

I say nothing for a moment, then raise my head to its full height and turn my head in the direction of distant Canterlot.

"I mean… I could arrest Celestia. I don't think Luna would appreciate it, mind."

"What?" Miss Dash frowns at me, this time. "What do you mean, 'arrest Celestia'?"

"You said that taking control of the sun is a crime. I take it that after the events of our initial meeting you've taken the time to read up on Equestrian law, and thus have become aware that-."

"Okay, stop." She holds up her right forehoof. "Stop."

I stop.

"Celestia controls the sun. I mean, usually."

I nod. "That's been true for at least a thousand years, certainly."

"A thousand-? Oh, right, the Heathwarming thing about unicorns doing it."

"But as we established with the Diamond Dogs..?"

"Ah, Celestia can't give ponies something she doesn't own? So she doesn't own the sun?"

"It's tricky to see what legal system would apply. Equestria doesn't have any off-world stations or starships, so it's difficult to see how you could make an exclusive claim to this star system. And without that, there's no obvious reason why Equestria should be the nation which decides who the sun belongs to."

"Aside from the fact that Celestia controls it and has done for a thousand years."

"The stones that fort was made of had been there for a while. If it was over a thousand years old, who's to say that they don't have a prior claim?"

Yeah, there they go. Ponies leaving their huts and heading to the area in front of the chief's hut. Just as they have each day since the g-elves found this village.

"Are you saying Celestia stole it?"

"No. I'm saying that given how bad historical records from that era are, we have no way to establish any sort of chain of custody and thus cannot establish ownership. Celestia has discharged her duties as custodian well enough that the planet hasn't burned or frozen, but that doesn't mean it's hers."

Miss Dash stares at me. Then she closes her eyes, raises her forehooves and presses them to either side of her head. I carry on watching the villagers as the… Chief comes out and joins the front of the herd as the sun rises first over the horizon and then over the canopy. As one, the village bows, stays bowed for about five seconds, then rises and begins to go about their day.

"You-. You're good at finding things that are wrong with things. Isn't that right?"

"I have an instinct for the proper discharge of personal responsibilities, certainly."

"Do you..? Not like Celestia?"

"I'm indifferent to her. Personally, she's quite pleasant. Professionally, she-."

"You want her to have time off 'cause you don't like how she handles the sun! Admit it!"

"Okay. That's part of it."

"What's there not to like about it?!"

"If, say… Five years ago? Chrysalis infiltrated Canterlot, launched her invasion and killed Celestia, what would have happened with the sun?"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh… I guess.. it.. would stop moving? Or maybe Chrys-. Wait, Princess Celestia can die?"

"How do you want to test that?"

"Oh." She looks away. "Yeah."

"My kind can die. At least in our normal forms. We don't age, we're tough and our technology is first rate, but we can be killed, even with conventional weapons. I've been assuming that since Starswirl's Mirror rendered me as an alicorn they were about as tough; very, but not insurmountably so. I have a Last Will and Testament. Should I die, I know who will have guardianship of my children and who will be charged with continuing my work."

"Celestia doesn't… Have any foals…" She frowns. "I think. But… Yeah, who would have controlled the sun? Can… Cadance do it?"

"I don't think so, but I haven't asked. And I don't know about Twilight Sparkle, but Sunset specifically told me that she wasn't taught how to manage the sun while she was Celestia's student. And hasn't been taught since her return and ascension. Luna told me that she can, but she really wouldn't want to."

"So we… We might actually need it. The fort.. ring things. I mean, I don't want to need it, because something would have to have happened to the princesses. But… It's, like, the whole world."

I nod, pleased. "Well done, Miss Dash. You'd be surprised how many people struggle with that lesson."

"I thought you were gunna complain about me destroying it just 'cause it was old." She looks genuinely distressed. "But you mean that you don't think it could override Celestia unless Celestia wasn't there."

"Something like that."

"I coulda destroyed the world when I broke those rings."

"Yes, but that's a secondary issue."

"Huh?"

"Did you know what destroying the rings did in advance?"

"Stop Ahuizotl?"

"Given that you believed that they had the power to control the sun, did you know for certain that their destruction would not destroy it?"

Miss Dash freezes. Just for a moment.

"No. I didn't."

"Celestia could move the sun back. Beat up Ahuizotl and his followers and Twilight Sparkle could probably have worked out how to use the rings to put the sun back in the right place. I hear she's quite good at magic. Destroy it and you better be lucky, because if you're not, bad things happen."

Miss Dash gulps. "Yeah."

"Virtuous actions guard against ill fortune. Don't destroy things unless you have to; you might need them. Don't hurt people you don't need to; same reason. If you don't know what's going on, then learn, so you don't do something stupid by mistake. And that's why-."

"You wanna talk to them, so you can talk to Ahuizotl. 'cause… We don't even really know why he wanted to control the sun, and those guys down there seem to really like it. So they can't have been trying to destroy it."

I nod approvingly. "Yes. Let's go and talk to them."

Idkusername · Jan 17, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
The stones that fort were made of

'the fort was made of'

Vaermina · Jan 17, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Given that you believed that they had the power to control the sun, did you know for certain that their destruction would not destroy it?"

Miss Dash freezes. Just for a moment.

"No. I didn't."

Ah yes, another episode where Grayven is wrong about a thing but people take his word as gospal for reasons...

Emizaquel · Jan 17, 2022

Vaermina said:
Ah yes, another episode where Grayven is wrong about a thing but people take his word as gospal for reasons...

He doesn't have metaknowledge, and his stated reasons aren't terrible. There's no reason for Rainbow Dash to doubt them.

has it even really come up in the past?

Mr Zoat · Jan 17, 2022

Idkusername said:
'the fort was made of'

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Jan 17, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
comes out and joins the front of the herd as the sun first over the horizon and then over the canopy.

Maybe 'as the sun flies over'

Mr Zoat said:
and our technology is first rate

Not according to Hinon.

AmericanNumbers · Jan 17, 2022

Yeah Grayven's process is correct: Do not destroy something that has the power to control your sun without checking first what'll happen if you do.

Handlewithcare · Jan 17, 2022

Vaermina said:
Ah yes, another episode where Grayven is wrong about a thing but people take his word as gospal for reasons...

Okay, I'll bite: how exactly is he wrong? He states she didn't know that destroying the rings would not destroy the sun. She immediately admits he was right.

Vaermina · Jan 17, 2022

Handlewithcare said:
Okay, I'll bite: how exactly is he wrong? He states she didn't know that destroying the rings would not destroy the sun. She immediately admits he was right.

Because she's a Pegasus not an Earth Pony.

Which means in non "Grayven is right lecture land" she would have had the basic knowledge of magic necessary to tell at a glance that the rings in question couldn't have done that.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

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