Ngamer11
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That's the lantern that Lysis gave Paul to trap Parallax.Those... did not seem to be the SI's memories? What's that about an 'Empty Lantern'?
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That's the lantern that Lysis gave Paul to trap Parallax.Those... did not seem to be the SI's memories? What's that about an 'Empty Lantern'?
Well, looks like the surge of his fears was enough to smack Malvolio out of Determination mode for a moment at least. But he still has enough presence of mind to hold on to his environmental field. Impressive.20th January 2013
19:18 GMT
Malvolio's flame aura collapses, leaving only a few faint wisps protecting him from the vacuum of space. His eyes flicker with flicker with yellow light as Parallax does whatever it does to dig up his fears, and his other constructs fade to nothing.
I accelerate towards Parallax.
Crumbler gauntlet, eh? Going to engage in a bit of the old fisticuffs?
And probably a good idea, given how big Parallax is. Admittedly, it's like a bee trying to sting Godzilla..."You intend to punch us? A classic-"
I swing, a clawed hand five times the size of my body appearing from nowhere and swinging to slap me aside. It disintegrates as it hits my fist and I fly on through-.
Just because giant fists are goofy, that doesn't make them bad... Sometimes, you just need to swat a bug.Parallax moves, appearing a few hundred metres away, clearly unfazed by my attack.
"-choice. Uncharacteristic."
Oof. I don't think Parallax is going to enjoy the next few minutes.Malvolio blinks once and then reignites, staring at Parallax with utter revulsion.
"You suppressed it, but you never stopped feeling it, did you? For centuries."
Hey, getting real personal there, bug-boy."My weaknesses do not govern me, demon."
"It sure looked like it governed you. Of course, since you never went back to Earth, you'll never know."
...Somehow, I don't think so. After a while, the pain would fade, and she'd understand... Or maybe not."Is it something you want to talk about, or shall we just get back to-?"
"My mother. After I mistakenly slew her lover. I explained my actions at once, but we were never reconciled. I fear that she died hating me."
Well, if it creeps you out that badly..."I know some really good necromancers. If you don't mind visiting Earth, we can see about communicating with her soul."
"'t'would be ungodly."
Heh. Nice work, defusing that lever for Parallax to work."No, I got the heavenly host to okay it. Not for you specifically, but in general."
"Then it would ease my mind greatly."
Oh, stop it, you. Can any fear be so powerful as thinking a loved one died hating you?Jammer.
"But that's just the first! A man as old as you has fears aplenty. And you've spent so long drowning them out! Such a shame. If you'd actually processed them like a normal man instead of stamping down on them then--."
Why am I picturing a 'grated cheese' effect? Or that hallway scene from Resident Evil?I see it coming a mile off, crumbler constructs shooting across the intervening space and nearly reaching him before he vanishes-.
Oooooh. That's what it looks like when someone tries to transition through a jammer effect.
...And now I'm picturing the 'La Magra' bit from Blade... Such graphic imagery with so few words..."Yuugh..."
And that's what it looks like when the embodiment of fear reassembles its mortal body, because it's thoughts are contained within the yellow light and it mostly keeps the body going because very few people aren't at least a little afraid of death. But while they're distracted-
Heh. OL's speciality: a Spanner in the works.Desire amplification.
-let's introduce a little dissonance between host and graft.
Whoops. And that, Harrolds, is why you make your combat gear with its own atmosphere.Parallax blinks out, and Joseph Harrolds stares at me through the vacuum. Oh, darn it. I drop my jammer construct and transition towards him, a space suit-.
"Oh."
Ah, he was playing to OL's compassion. Sneaky sneaky.The Parallax construct rematerialises, two of its claws clasped around me.
"Let's see how you like it!"
Well, this little emotional cross-counter will be interesting.
Ha! Parallax just bit itself in the foot there...It abandons subtlety, reaching… Reaching back into the thought echoes of my earliest ancestors. Fear of insects and snakes and strange noises and outgroups and they're all around me everywhere all the time! I'm shivering, quaking, barely able to get the empty lantern that should protect me must protect me she said it would protect me!
"What's that-?"
And OL wasting no time to take advantage of their distraction.And I can think again as the yellow light around me dims and what I can see of Parallax through his hands looks confused.
Cables.
And now the tug-of-war begins...Compliance.
Glowing orange cables lung out, connecting Parallax's hands to the empty battery as Malvolio grabs it around the head with giant construct gauntlets.
...Though one side has a little advantage over the other.
As much as a giant beast of elemental emotion can feel emotions other than what it's made of."You see, at a very fundamental level, the desires of a giant fear elemental and a remotely normal human aren't compatible. Whereas we understand one another very well. You want people to be afraid of you all the time and we just want them to want."
The cables surge and Parallax's construct body dims, Joseph's mouth returning to normal as he looks around-.
Ah, the bindings are loosening, eh? And without having to sing a song at him. Then again, OL and Ophidian's joining was a lot more voluntary. So of course it was harder to split them."You won't be rid of me so easily!"
Parallax's mouth moved but Joseph's didn't. Okay, their minds are separating, now-.
And the bug is trying to scuttle away and hide from the light. How appropriate.Parallax shines brilliantly for an instant and then shrinks, collapsing into-. Into Joseph's body. Ah.
Keep the cables attached, keep draining-.
Oh-ho. Harrolds pushed right past the wall by the immersion, eh?Malvolio's construct hands slam closed around Joseph as Parallax downgrades him from partner to puppet. Joseph's skin writhes as if Parallax is trying to physically fit inside him, yellow light seeping out of every joint. And worst of all, this is something that Joseph is actually afraid of.
"No, that's… Not happening."
Heh. If anything, pumping up his determination would be more effective.But enlightenment means that he's not ruled by it. Ah, stop amplifying his desires, because that's just going to be a distraction-.
Weaponer Lysis appears next to me in a flash of orange, qwa-bolt in hand. She aims-.
...Do you want to explore what happens when you erase one-seventh of all emotion from existence? Or at least the embodiment of it? Let's not drop a second Crisis into the pool, huh?
Ooh, Jade giving the Ring up already? Bet she'll be glad to be rid of that damned voice.
Risky, but given that he'll likely be exhausted from this whole affair, I don't think he's going to be all that hostile.Jade tosses the ring, which pass through Malvolio's construct hands and onto Joseph's right ring finger as Ragnar pulls her away again.
"Now. Get. OUT!"
And now OL has a Yellow Light Fountain.. of sorts.The yellow light is thrown out, surging down my cables and igniting the lantern into a radiant bonfire. Joseph continues to glow, pushing just as hard as I pull to free himself. I get one last glimpse of Parallax's malevolent face before is vanishes into the lantern and its shielding panels slam down to contain it.
...Not sure here. maybe 'are flung' or 'lunge'?Glowing orange cables lung out, connecting Parallax's hands...
Ancient Ancestor Paul, from Cats control the world and Native American Tribe guards ancient civilization's robot universe?Those... did not seem to be the SI's memories? What's that about an 'Empty Lantern'?
Not sure if the italic part is meant to be orange text? Seems like it was meant to be PaulPhidian speaking and not just Paul."You see, at a very fundamental level, the desires of a giant fear elemental and a remotely normal human aren't compatible. Whereas we understand one another very well. You want people to be afraid of you all the time and we just want them to want."
I don't think the were is necessary?"My mother. After I mistakenly slew her lover. I explained my actions at once, but we were never reconciled. I fear that she died hating me."
No, that's correct formal grammar. Remember the Big Green uses somewhat arachic and decidedly formal speech.
It abandons subtlety, reaching… Reaching back into the thought echoes of my earliest ancestors..
The thing Hinon gave him to contain Parallax.
If you'd actually processed them like a normal man instead of stamping down on them then-."
...Not sure here. maybe 'are flung' or 'lunge'?
Thank you, corrected.Not sure if the italic part is meant to be orange text? Seems like it was meant to be PaulPhidian speaking and not just Paul.
It's an older expression, sir, but it checks out.
Still in the Phantom Zone.
He wanted to go there. He was suffering from a Kryptonian disease that made him into Doomsday-lite and insane, he had wanted to die with dignity but being sent to the Negative Zone was actually a good ending for him as he was finally sane and was able to talk to other Kryptonians. He thanked Supergirl for sending him there.
And the smell stopped.He wanted to go there. He was suffering from a Kryptonian disease that made him into Doomsday-lite and insane, he had wanted to die with dignity but being sent to the Negative Zone was actually a good ending for him as he was finally sane and was able to talk to other Kryptonians. He thanked Supergirl for sending him there.
Smell? What do you mean?
One of the changes his potion made to his body is to make him smell really bad.
He held up his end of the bargain, Lysis is going to hold up hers.So is Paul getting a ring or not and what did they do to Harrold?
It is odd, though. She isn't an Anti-Monitor loyalist like Kalmin, nor a mercantilist like Varnathon. There isn't really much left in Qwardian philosophy. Or maybe she is a mercantilist, but didn't want to go along with his self-sabotage?
Don't-
"Warning: will detected."
-know.
Oh, she clearly recognized the name of that one specific planet and it's relationship to elemental rage.Did she pretend not to recognize the Forbidden Lore there or does she actually not know it?
And I guess it helps make up for their old habit of killing stars to try and enforce some measure of order. Wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of the oldest still think the whippersnapper youngling are too soft on the ephemerals... Such is the privilege of the old.20th January 2013
19:34 GMT
The Controllers can build planets, either by collecting up available mass and merging it together around an appropriate star, or by converting energy directly into matter. They've been doing that long enough that it's pretty much their buy-in: any species that signs up with N.E.M.O. knows that should the worst come to the worst their species will be reborn on a new world with as much of their culture intact as possible.
Which will definitely leave a mark on their collective psyche. Though I can't help but imagine they're feel a bit braver when faced with danger, because 'there's no way it's as scary as Yellow Day.'For worlds and species that haven't been completely wiped out, we have great cargo ships filled with everything that a billion refugees could need to survive until the basic functions of their civilisation are restored. And with the Reach around, they might be actively fighting against that restoration thanks to Reach mental contamination, so we've got well trained military police and engineers and -of course- psychological specialists. And while the latter are usually used to detect subtle signs of Reach influence, they can also help a people who have spent ten minutes constantly exposed to their greatest fears.
Geez. Has she been eye-fucking the thing the whole time? I'm amazed she didn't try to pull a double-cross, try to grab it and flee. Then again, given who's holding onto it...Weaponer Lysis finally manages to tear her eyes off the Parallax containment vessel.
"So, your ring telemetry."
And a lot of the deaths would have come from simple panic amongst the people. Crushes and tramplings, for example.I shrug as I remove another hundred tonnes of rubble from the area around a partially collapsed building and… Move the bodies aside for recovery by the mortuary teams. The monster constructs didn't kill a particularly high proportion of the population, but a low proportion of a big number is still a lot of people. This… They're probably going to have to tear it down and replace it, depending on whether it's considered a priority for the industrial transmuters.
Ugh. And I doubt Kalmin has any interest on making a few suggestions? To be expected, I suppose."So, my power ring."
"I can't make one without as more data than I have now. This whole event prevented me getting the final readings that I needed in my laboratory, and Harrolds has no reason to aid me further. So unless you follow through on your side of the agreement now, I can't get you what you want. Unless I experiment with many more people and get lucky with their psychological profiles."
Unless it's got a tricksy self-destruct integrated into it. I don't doubt Sinestro would figure 'I know at least one party who may have an interest in collecting these rings...'Ah. Yes, I suppose… If all else fails I can just hunt down one of her neophyte Yellow Lanterns and take their ring. Honestly, that would probably be easier than borrowing one.
"Alright then. Ah, normally I just flick it over to someone else's ring. I don't know what you use for data storage…"
I mean, many of the technologies in a Ring are reproducible. Just not on the level of compactness involved, nor the Spectrum-based energy sources."My systems are compatible with power ring data packets."
"Alright then."
Hopefully she gets to enjoy OL's personal notes and journal logs as well. As in, these chapters, scrubbed of any incriminating details...Ring, compile all recordings related to this encounter with Parallax and send them over.
Compliance.
You've given him no reason not to. Do try to keep up that streak, will you?The orange pulse leaps from my ring and flies into her harness. She goes still for a moment, then nods.
"I wasn't sure that you would follow through on our agreement."
I suspect that right now, she wants you to shut up and not try to recruit her.
She's got you there, OL. Even without overtly brute-forcing it, you do have a knack for getting people to do what you want."I could put a recording of the word on a loop, if that would help?"
"You are an expert at desire manipulation. I don't intend to give you any information at all. This conversation is already outside of my preferred risk profile."
But until then, he's OL's useful technologist."All the resources you want, a major stellar empire to destroy, and hey, Kalmin speaks well of you and you know what he's like."
"He's a deranged religious fanatic who will destroy you."
Unless you were more useful than Kalmin, Lysis, it ain't happening."Maybe. But if I'm prepared to put up with him, what do you think you could do that would drive a wedge between us?"
"I'm-."
Though I don't think getting her on board is worth the kind of reputation hit towards the Guardians that would result in..."We don't have to give Parallax back to the Guardians."
She takes a moment to master herself.
Annoying her into saying yes isn't going to work, OL..."It won't work. You can't manipulate me."
"Manipulate? I'm making you an offer of employment. I'm trying to give you-."
Ha! That's a conversation ender if ever I saw one.
Or there's something else she wants. Getting a certain sempai to notice her, maybe?"Something you… Clearly don't want."
It is odd, though. She isn't an Anti-Monitor loyalist like Kalmin, nor a mercantilist like Varnathon. There isn't really much left in Qwardian philosophy. Or maybe she is a mercantilist, but didn't want to go along with his self-sabotage?
I doubt Malvolio would get that kind of response. So that means...
...The fuzz are here for their escapee.-know.
I look up, taking a few steps away from the containment vessel as three Honour Guard Green Lanterns descend through the atmosphere, escorting Guardian Dennap. Huh, they sent a Guardian with actual social skills, well done them. The Honour Guards take up position around us as Dennap carefully checks the containment vessel over before encasing it in a cube-.
A hypercube, for reference. I see she's taking no chances, then.Aah-.
I wince and try not to look at the spatial distortions occurring as Guardian Dennap decides that a mere hypercube isn't enough and starts adding more dimensions on top. I'm sure that she knows her business.
Pfft. He's no use to anyone. Not even as a feeder for the Ophidian. It'd leave a bad taste in her mouth."Guardian Dennap?"
"Illustres. Thank you for returning this… Creature. We were concerned that you might decide to keep it."
And we know how well he and the Pauls got along..."Parallax has a more disagreeable temperament than the Ophidian. Though if you do have a yellow ring hanging around, I'd like to borrow it."
"I'm afraid that we don't. As far as I know, Weaponer Kalmin was the first to make one. The only other being who may have forged one is Krona."
Is that some intellectual curiosity I hear, Guardian?
Internally: Oh shit what does he know oh shit oh shit oh shit."In combination. I suspect that using seven together may produce something greater than a sum of their parts."
She appears to think for a moment, but I suspect that as with Hinon it's a idiosyncrasy that exists only for display to younger species. I know that Dennap is the youngest Guardian, but that means that she's only a few million years old, not that she's young.
Something a little less self-destructive than the stock model, for instance. Preferrably with less heart-dissolving."It… May work. It would certainly be worth knowing either way."
"Then do you have a red ring laying around?"
Ooh, tossing her a bone of information, OL?"No, for much the same reason. Red is even less biddable than yellow."
"So I suppose that there's no chance of you giving me access to Ysmault to-."
Yeah, she knows what that name means. And now she knows that he knows..."No. Now, if you'll excuse me, this needs to be returned to Oa."
"How..? Did it get out, anyway? It can't just have been me."
In other words: 'We have no fucking clue, but we aim to find out.'"That is still the subject of investigation. Good day."
She and her escort rise into the sky, hyper dimensional prison in tow.
I mean regarding the Life Entity.Oh, she clearly recognized the name of that one specific planet and it's relationship to elemental rage.
What forbidden lore?Did she pretend not to recognize the Forbidden Lore there or does she actually not know it?
Thank you, corrected.
I assume White lantern and the red light connection to Ysmault.
Goddamn that's a lot of energy. And they're willing to use that much on something like making planets, implying that they have even more. Wow. Do they have a few high-luminosity supertech Dyson swarms lying around, or do they use giant bleed torsion generators or something, or are the Controllers really personally that absurdly strong that they can pull that much energy out of the aether over a reasonable time? Or are they only creating small parts of planets with energy and using pre-existing matter for the rest? If they're actually fabricating the whole planets with energy-mass conversion, then that further implies that their ability to transport energy and/or matter is immense. I feel like I've been really underestimating the Controllers, and I already thought they were pretty amazing.The Controllers can build planets, either by collecting up available mass and merging it together around an appropriate star, or by converting energy directly into matter.
I feel that either we're going to find out tomorrow, or he was dropped off at antimatter Earth offscreen, or he's going to space prison (he was doing evil stuff on Earth, right?)Good riddance to Parallax, though. But what happened with Harrolds?
There isn't yet a red light connection to Ysmault. Dennap assumes that he learned about the Empire of Tears from Guy as the generalities aren't restricted information.I assume White lantern and the red light connection to Ysmault.
There isn't yet a red light connection to Ysmault. Dennap assumes that he learned about the Empire of Tears from Guy as the generalities aren't restricted information.
The Guardians have sort of been clenched to hear about him knowing about the Life Entity since they got a report on Dr. Mist.