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

Whenever Possible · Jul 4, 2024

The core of scientific advancement is repeatable results.

Mr Zoat · Jul 4, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'Bleez'.

Thank you, corrected.

crazygrox · Jul 4, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
His bark becomes malleable once again, and he flops into the seat. He looks up, and then grows his neck until his head is in line with the appropriate part of the seat back. Then vines extrude from the headrest and plug into his head.

"Oh. Oh."

"Mister Gumbo Man?"

"I… I hadn't thought of it like that. I-."

The vines retract and he rises to his feet, staggering forward on his newly flexible legs.

"That changes everything. I need to tell-."

He collapses onto Swamp Thing's body, light fading once more from his eyes.

This is a very unhelpful answer. Given that he probably left to tell the rest of the parliament whatever he found out, maybe we can assume that Swamp Thing at least tried to leave to do the same?

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 4, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
15th April 2013
10:31 GMT -5

Huh.

Kara's eyes are unfocused, and I think that's because she's using her augmented vision to try and study the… Thing, we're looking at. Donna's taking a look at what is probably Swamp Thing's most recent body, which has fallen on its face after stepping off his… Throne? It's clearly a chair, and the complex network of underground roots and tubers suggest that it was built with far more deliberation than his usual structures. That's… That's a chemical power plant, effectively converting magic into electricity. If we can train up enough druids, that could be useful. Nothing geothermal… Maybe I should show him Mother of Mercy's design next time I speak to him?

I'm guessing the underground stuff includes a hell of a lot of something akin to neural connections. Like a giant artificial brain made of plant matter. Like a Dominator computer scaled up tenfold, perhaps...

And the headrest… Last time I spoke to him, he'd clearly incorporated elements of dominator computer design into his body. But this is actually an improvement on the design I gave him. And that's just the parts I can scan. The magic element might make it better still. I don't know if it's similar to actual dominator designs, but Alec Holland was a botanist, not a computer engineer. I'm honestly impressed that he came up with this, even with his improved processing speed.

Honestly, I'm amazed he didn't give the computer frame a little upgrade into something more regal. It's certainly how I'm picturing it, anyway. Like a crown or a halo about his head...

And unlike his body, it's still alive.

We might need to plug Gumbo Man in.

That... Does not sound like the best idea... He's the only voice of the Green you have contact with right now.

Bleez just shakes her head. "What is it?"

"A plant-based supercomputer which he was using to increase his intelligence. I don't know why, and I don't know enough about biotechnology to know how big a deal that is."

Would dominators come after him over that? I know that Mr. Kharhi thought that they would come down hard on people creating knock-off versions of their technology, but… How would they even know about Swamp Thing using their computer? He…

I doubt it included some form of quantum-entangled spyware.

...At least, I didn't until I mentioned it.

I focus for a moment, scanning the world for any sign of Dominion technology or dominator biology. Nothing, but... But there are ways to dodge my scans, the dominators aren't stupid or too speciesist to adopt useful alien technology, and they're very advanced on their own. Dodging ring scans is something they would almost certainly be able to do on their own. And I remember a.. comic where they had a small research centre on Earth for a long time before Superman and Batman found it. And another where they had a base inside the moon and blew it up. They're good at sneaky-.

Which is impressive given they look like a combination of Grey Aliens and 'Yellow Peril' stereotypes. Then again, they wouldn't have gotten out much.

And they were interested in the metagene. And I think they'd be interested in seeing how much better than their current generation someone like Swamp Thing could make their computers.

"Bleex, does Thanagar have any particular relationship with the Dominion?"

Be specific, OL. You know how many space empires use names like 'the Dominion'?

"You mean the Girgurgian Dominion? I think-."

"No, the dominator Dominion." I create a construct image. "These people."

Long shot that she hasn't heard of them, given her intelligence agent status...

"I didn't know the name, but I think they tried buying Nth metal from us one time." She wing-shrugs. "But we don't sell to aliens. They didn't take that for an answer, so our manager told them that it needed special permission from the Thanagarian government so they should speak to them. I didn't hear anything after that. Are they dangerous?"

Ah, passing the buck. A fine tradition of middle-management everywhere.

"To you, a bit. To us, quite a lot. They're ruled by a caste of evil scientists who'd think nothing of live vivisection to understand how Nth metal integrates into your body."

Bleez moves her eyes to Kara and then Donna. "And Earth has a wider variety of things to study."

Oh, yes indeedy. IF the Dominators salivate, they'll be dribbling on their natty robes the second they hear about how diverse Earth's population can be.

"Yes indeed we do. With the Thanagarian Empire, they'd probably just abduct a few dozen people and then leave you alone, because as well as being evil they're quite capable scientists. With Earth…" I nod. "Yeah. I'm not sure what they'd do if they found out what it's like here. We're too far away to be annexed, really."

Probably a case of regular visits to steal what they can. And a bit of frustration as they realise there are even more variations to collect springing up.

Kara snaps back to the present situation. "And we'd beat them!"

"Kara, we beat the Sheeda and Apokolips. How is the Earth doing?"

At this rate, Humanity will be 'Oh, another alien invasion? Must be Tuesday.'

She pouts. "Better than it would be if we'd lost."

I nod. I suppose that's true.

After all, you wouldn't be here discussing it, would you?

Donna shakes her head. "Before we assume that it's the dominators, who else could it be?"

"Doctor Jason Woodrue would probably like to nobble Swamp Thing, but he wouldn't leave this here. Not without using it. In theory, any sufficiently capable magic user could trap Swamp Thing, but it would be difficult. Swamp Thing might have just left the planet under his own power, or got stuck in the Grey, or dived too deeply into the Green to easily come out again."

All of which are things that have happened in the comics, honestly.

Kara perks up. "Ooh! I know!"

"You know-?"

And she's gone.

Would it kill her to stop and explain before going off?

And then she's back again, with the body of Gumbo Man in her arms, roots and soil dangling beneath him. But if-. No, from the way he's looking around it looks like he hadn't abandoned his body, he'd just gone to sleep. Either that or he's gone back to it, but given his startled expression that seems unlikely.

Either way, it'd be a bit of a surprise.

"Here you go!"

She lightly tosses him at Swamp Thing's chair, and… He doesn't fit. His hard bark-covered legs don't bend, and he's a little too big. The effect it like trying to put a toy from the wrong playset into the driving seat of a toy car.

I can get that. Like trying to fit Thundercats into a GI JOE vehicle, or stuffing a Mega-Blox Halo figure into a LEGO seat.

"Hmm."

Kara drops down and takes hold of him, then tries to reposition him.

Gumbo Man must be really confused right now.

"Kara-."

"Nearly got it!"

She twists him a little to the left, then picks him up and sort of thumps him back down. And then she does it again. And again.

...And probably getting a little annoyed. Of course Swamp Thing had the seat tailored to his particular butt.

"Mister Gumbo Man, I think you-"

CRACK!

...Oh, that is not something you want to hear.

"-should-."

She hasn't-?

Fortunately, Avatars tend to be a little tougher than the plants around them...

Phew. The chair's arms have given way, and in a blue blur Kara is back with vines to tie him in place. It's still not a great fit, but at least she isn't breaking his arms and legs off. I mean, he could easily grow replacements and probably doesn't have much feeling in them, but… Still.

Hopefully said arms aren't structurally important. Like, connection clamps or something.

Gumbo Man looks around at us, seemingly confused. "Why did you bring me here?"

Kara points to the headset. "We need someone to operate the plant computer chair, and you were closest!"

Okay, Kara? Stop and think about these things before you start doing them. Ever tried to connect the wrong plug into a particular socket? Or overclock a computer without proper preparation?

"Computer? I don't understand."

…

Right. He might predate electronics, in which case he'd think a 'computer' is a person performs calculations.

Heh. A quirk of old sci-fi that gets quite entertaining when you read them today.

"We think that Swamp Thing created a plant based device to make himself more intelligent. You're sitting in it, and should be able to connect with it. It might have a recording of what happened to him, and we'd appreciate it if you could try and use it."

"Oh. Alright."

Big jump there. He may not even be compatible with the interface. Like trying to plug an Atari 2600 into the Internet. Or in his case, like trying to plug a Babbage Engine into the Internet...

His bark becomes malleable once again, and he flops into the seat. He looks up, and then grows his neck until his head is in line with the appropriate part of the seat back. Then vines extrude from the headrest and plug into his head.

"Oh. Oh."

Is that the 'mind expanding' kind of 'Oh' or the 'Oh, my' kind of 'oh'?

"Mister Gumbo Man?"

"I… I hadn't thought of it like that. I-."

Oh, dear. It seems he's a little too compatible.

The vines retract and he rises to his feet, staggering forward on his newly flexible legs.

"That changes everything. I need to tell-."

He collapses onto Swamp Thing's body, light fading once more from his eyes.

...At least Swamp Thing won't be alone wherever he went?

Okay, Kara? This is why you don't just go plugging people into random things. For all we know, The Gumbo Man is on his own little Space Odyssey right now. And now you've lost your only emissary from the Green. I wonder if she'll learn any lessons from this little experience. Especially if the others complain at her for a bit.

The effect it like trying to put a toy...

The effect it like trying to put a toy...

...a 'computer' is a person performs calculations.

...a 'computer' is a person who performs calculations.

Cuchulin · Jul 4, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
Okay, Kara? This is why you don't just go plugging people into random things. For all we know, The Gumbo Man is on his own little Space Odyssey right now. And now you've lost your only emissary from the Green. I wonder if she'll learn any lessons from this little experience. Especially if the others complain at her for a bit.

Its probably more like a Space Oddity...

ForeverShogo · Jul 4, 2024

I imagine things wouldn't be too terribly difficult if he had to crush some Dominator skulls. Outside of the way they weaponized JSA-Alan's son, they didn't really have anything that could put up a fight when he was beating the shit out of them in that alternate universe.

And the Alan of this universe didn't have children, nor did a bunch of this Earth's metahumans get snatched, so they can't pull that move this time around.

Neruz · Jul 4, 2024

Whenever Possible said:
The core of scientific advancement is repeatable results.

Ideally we would need to put at least one more plant elemental into the chair and get the same result before making any conclusions.

Mr Zoat · Jul 4, 2024

th has a way wider variety of things to

Chojin Patriarch said:
The effect it like trying to put a toy...
...a 'computer' is a person who performs calculations.

Thank you, corrected.

Stsword · Jul 4, 2024

ForeverShogo said:
I imagine things wouldn't be too terribly difficult if he had to crush some Dominator skulls. Outside of the way they weaponized JSA-Alan's son, they didn't really have anything that could put up a fight when he was beating the shit out of them in that alternate universe.

And the Alan of this universe didn't have children, nor did a bunch of this Earth's metahumans get snatched, so they can't pull that move this time around.

Probably not, although there are a few storylines Zoat could put into play.

For example, they don't save their genetic experiments for just humans- In the comics they've tried to conquer Daxam and they've cloned a Daxamite which eventually led to Cyborg Superboy.

CrazyNoVa · Jul 4, 2024

Could Euanthe or Pamela use the computer? They might be able to help with this problem.

Darko · Jul 4, 2024

ForeverShogo said:
nor did a bunch of this Earth's metahumans get snatched, so they can't pull that move this time around.

They potentially may.

Given Earth's state at the moment, a bunch of people disappearing may not raise that many eyebrows.

Ngamer11 · Jul 4, 2024

CrazyNoVa said:
Could Euanthe or Pamela use the computer? They might be able to help with this problem.

It's probably configured to work for beings like Swamp Thing. Besides, Paul already gave Pamela her own plant based computer when she asked, so she wouldn't need it.

CrazyNoVa · Jul 4, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
It's probably configured to work for beings like Swamp Thing. Besides, Paul already gave Pamela her own plant based computer when she asked, so she wouldn't need it.

Okay, so the Swamputer can only work for Swamp Thing, because it was specifically desigmed for him.

NightmareWarden · Jul 4, 2024

Theories, theories… Swamp Thing was hit with the White Light. He felt that feeling with the perspective of human emotions, as well as plant emotions. The White Light probably does care for (and connect to) all plants- sapient, sentient, and non-sentient. I'm not saying that Swamp Thing is reaching towards white enlightenment as Paul found Orange enlightenment, but he might be making progress toward it incidentally. While researching something else.

I doubt he's aiming for some sort of harmony between all of the kingdoms, but… I think we will see something unusual, not just a villain screwing things up with the Green's avatar.

Mr Zoat · Jul 5, 2024

7th December 2282
08:56 GMT

I didn't spend much time in London back on my original Earth. My first few times were with my maternal grandparents and sister, when we went from Westham to Leonard Stanley via London, which required getting off at the London Victoria station, travelling on the Underground to Paddington and then…

Leonard Stanley? No, Leonard Stanley didn't have a station. Gloucester? No, that doesn't… Sound quite right.

Point is, we didn't really do any site-seeing.

And then there were school trips to various museums, but again, those stayed inside the museums themselves. I… Do remember actually going to Buckingham Palace once… I don't remember why, and frankly the outside isn't that interesting. Didn't even have the Life Guards on duty that day, and I remember finding the police armed response units more interesting because they were actually guarding.

What was that trip… For?

Today, London is… It's not Shady Sands level of 'in good repair', and Shady Sands wasn't burdened with pre-War infrastructure. They could build new, and build things they knew how to maintain. I know that-. In Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons, there was a pony whose special talent was sewage systems. As a filly, she'd been understandably worried that she'd get a turd as a cutie mark. In the end, I think she got a faucet or something? And then in the first settlement where she and her team stayed for any length of time she built the first simple but functioning toilet that anyone there had seen in their lives. Probably saved a dozen ponies that year by reducing the instances excrement-related diseases, so say nothing of improving the smell.

I can see plumes of smoke where coal-fired industry has started up again. Most of the roads are clear, and the damage of two hundred years is being patched over. With cobblestones and bricks rather than tarmac due to the ongoing oil shortage-. Or rather, absence.

I look around to my travelling companions who are with me on the top deck of this nearly classical red bus. Given that it's December I'm glad that it's not one of the open-topped ones, though I'm a little curious where the fuel came from given that it doesn't appear to have a steam engine. Whale juice, perhaps?

"Hey, nephew-."

"Don't call me that."

"You never told me your first name."

"What's wrong with 'sergeant'?"

"Neither of us have a lot of other family. Who's going to call you by name if not me?"

"I don't believe that you've been able to have a genetic test done this quick."

I haven't, but psychic powers are a wonderful thing. And the thing is, a genetic test wouldn't be particularly helpful. Not enough samples from other family members to compare both of us to, and we don't have a particularly close genetic relationship anyway. But psychometry doesn't care about stuff like that.

"I don't believe that you're being this much of a baby about telling me your name. Worried I'm going to make a voodoo doll of you of something?"

"Fine. Its Peter."

I nod. "Thank you. So, Peter, what can you tell me about off-shore oil extraction?"

"What?"

"There are substantial deposits of oil under the North Sea, and near the Falkland Islands. I was wondering if they were expended. Given the war and all."

"How would we do that? It's under water."

I frown, looking at him directly. "Oil rig? Send a pipe and a drill down into the sea bed? It's not that complicated." He looks blank. "I'm... You don't..?" I shake my head, trying to get some sort of feedback. "Am I talking nonsense here?"

"I don't know. I'm not an engineer. It's not something we could do today, anyway." He frowns. "Is that something the Americans built?"

"Yes. They had oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and off the west coast."

If Britain never discovered North Sea Oil… I don't.. really know what that would do for our economy. Presumably… We were a bit worse off? We were still importing oil anyway… Maybe it undermined the Scottish independence movement if they knew for certain that they'd go bankrupt?

"How was France powering itself, before the Resource Wars?"

"Coal, gas and oil. Have you not been listening to anything I've been saying?"

Except… France used nuclear, back home. I remember because they put them all on the north coast so that if anything went wrong it would irradiate the south of England rather than France. Why didn't that happen here? I mean, I… Don't know where France got its nuclear fuel from. Maybe the differences in international relations made it impractical?

"I'm surprised that other countries didn't switch over to nuclear. Given how common it is in America. I mean, the basic principles were well understood, and with the oil crisis…"

"Don't American cars explode if you look at them funny?"

"Ah… It's not quite that easy. Yes, if you shot the engine after its been lying around for two hundred years, you can trigger a meltdown, but that is after two hundred years. When they were first built, they were a good deal more reliable."

He half-smiles. "Bloody good incentive to drive carefully."

I nod. It's true. I remember reading a newspaper article that pointed out that while modern cars protect their passengers and driver far better in the event of crashes than older models, the rate at which people have accidents actually increased. They couldn't reach a conclusion as to why, but the suggestion was that it was due to the fact that people felt safer in their cars and so were less careful.

Stick a contact-triggered nuke in the bonnet and people would drive exceedingly carefully.

I shake my head. "But I was thinking about power plants for generating electricity, not giving every individual vehicle a nuclear battery."

He raises his right hand and points to his face. "I'm not really the biggest fan of nuclear fuel."

"I though you got hit by a nuclear bomb?"

"What difference does it make?"

"A nuclear explosion is designed to be as deadly as possible, while a power plant is designed to be as safe as possible."

We drive past a team of builders pulling down a decayed building. Carefully, making sure to keep as many of the bricks as possible in one piece. Down a side street I see scaffolding around several buildings as they're put back into good order. Reminds me of the ongoing work in the Boneyard and New Vegas, both cities expanding now that the areas around them are safe and stable. Not 'expanding' beyond their pre-War boundaries of course. I doubt that there are enough people in the NCR to do that.

"What sort of contact do you have with Europe?"

"We have ships with radios just off the shore of most of their major ports. If they try sending a fleet against us again we'll know about it. It's hard, building centreline guns on wooden warships, but as long as our high seas fleets avoid their old beached warships they should be able to beat anything the Europeans have."

"I… Really meant in the sense of peaceful trading relations, but I… Suppose that answers my question."

This isn't the Great Britain of my time, dependant on food imports to feed its population. This Britain has been feeding itself for two hundred years, even if the yields were nothing like enough to feed the pre-War population. There isn't anything other countries make that we need. Plenty of things that might be nice to have, but nothing essential. And there's no peace with our neighbours, just a state during which active hostilities are impractical.

I'd rather civilisation rebuild peacefully, but…

It's not like I'd really miss France.

The bus comes to a stop at the checkpoint outside Buckingham Palace, a checkpoint that's operated by regular human soldiers I notice. Peter looks around.

"This is us, then. Let's go and meet Her Majesty."

RichardWhereat · Jul 5, 2024

I suppose if they dont need to worry about trade, or overpopulation, it's not difficult to feed themselves. Britain did it for most of its existence.

Lord Ernest · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
It's not like I'd really miss France.

I think that's the most old fashioned British thing I've ever heard one of the SIs say.

Still, mighty interesting to speculate on the British divergence in this universe. How far back is the split from our common history that the UK and France were so against each other?

MacShimi · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Yes. The had oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and off the west coast."

Typo: replace "the" with "they."

An enjoyable chapter. Keep up the good work.

moralrelativity · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Many things are know to-."

know -> known

Mr Zoat said:
any length of time she build the first simple but functioning

build -> built

Mr Zoat said:
"What sort of contact do with have with Europe?"

do with have with -> do you have with

Darko · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
checkpoint that operated by

"that's operated"

Chojin Patriarch · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
7th December 2282
08:56 GMT

I didn't spend much time in London back on my original Earth. My first few times were with my maternal grandparents and sister, when we went from Westham to Leonard Stanley via London, which required getting off at the London Victoria station, travelling on the Underground to Paddington and then…

It's not surprisingly, really. If you don't need to go far from home, there's not much point doing so outside of tourism or visiting stores you don't have near home. Especially if you don't own a car.

Leonard Stanley? No, Leonard Stanley didn't have a station. Gloucester? No, that doesn't… Sound quite right.

Point is, we didn't really do any site-seeing.

Not much to see using the underground. And even surface lines or elevated, you don't always see much.

And then there were school trips to various museums, but again, those stayed inside the museums themselves. I… Do remember actually going to Buckingham Palace once… I don't remember why, and frankly the outside isn't that interesting. Didn't even have the Life Guards on duty that day, and I remember finding the police armed response units more interesting because they were actually guarding.

What was that trip… For?

The joy of not having a Ring-enhanced memory. Hopefully Krono won't have to worry about Dementia...

Today, London is… It's not Shady Sands level of 'in good repair', and Shady Sands wasn't burdened with pre-War infrastructure. They could build new, and build things they knew how to maintain. I know that-. In Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons, there was a pony whose special talent was sewage systems. As a filly, she'd been understandably worried that she'd get a turd as a cutie mark. In the end, I think she got a faucet or something? And then in the first settlement where she and her team stayed for any length of time she build the first simple but functioning toilet that anyone there had seen in their lives. Probably saved a dozen ponies that year by reducing the instances excrement-related diseases, so say nothing of improving the smell.

...It sounds terrible, but you know someone would have to end up with a talent like that. Still raises the question of where they were funnelling the waste off to, but out of sight, out of mind for most.

I can see plumes of smoke where coal-fired industry has started up again. Most of the roads are clear, and the damage of two hundred years is being patched over. With cobblestones and bricks rather than tarmac due to the ongoing oil shortage-. Or rather, absence.

I look around to my travelling companions who are with me on the top deck of this nearly classical red bus. Given that it's December I'm glad that it's not one of the open-topped ones, though I'm a little curious where the fuel came from given that it doesn't appear to have a steam engine. Whale juice, perhaps?

Because it isn't London without a proper red Omnibus. Are there business gents walking around with black umbrellas, pinstripe trousers and bowler hats too?

"Hey, nephew-."

"Don't call me that."

Heh, he's been assigned to serve as your liaison, hasn't he? I suppose he earned it with his 'Simon' comment.

"You never told me your first name."

"What's wrong with 'sergeant'?"

Bit of a silly first name. What if you get promoted?

"Neither of us have a lot of other family. Who's going to call you by name if not me?"

"I don't believe that you've been able to have a genetic test done this quick."

Hardly necessary. What's the matter, you don't like Krono?

I haven't, but psychic powers are a wonderful thing. And the thing is, a genetic test wouldn't be particularly helpful. Not enough samples from other family members to compare both of us to, and we don't have a particularly close genetic relationship anyway. But psychometry doesn't care about stuff like that.

So you basically scanned back along his history and found a close enough connection. Pretty handy.

"I don't believe that you're being this much of a baby about telling me your name. Worried I'm going to make a voodoo doll of you of something?"

"Fine. Its Peter."

A pleasure to meet you, Sergeant Peter King.

Now, was that so hard?

I nod. "Thank you. So, Peter, what can you tell me about off-shore oil extraction?"

"What?"

...Not a thing these days, then? Pity. Presumably the rigs got smashed during the wars.

"There are substantial deposits of oil under the North Sea, and near the Falkland Islands. I was wondering if they were expended. Given the war and all."

"How would we do that? It's under water."

OH, boy. There's a divergence.

I frown, looking at him directly. "Oil rig? Send a pipe and a drill down into the sea bed? It's not that complicated." He looks blank. "I'm... You don't..?" I shake my head, trying to get some sort of feedback. "Am I talking nonsense here?"

"I don't know. I'm not an engineer. It's not something we could do today, anyway." He frowns. "Is that something the Americans build?"

And really, things could be a lot nastier out there these days anyway. Those monster whales Krono saw have to come from somewhere.

"Yes. The had oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and off the west coast."

If Britain never discovered North Sea Oil… I don't.. really know what that would do for our economy. Presumably… We were a bit worse off? We were still importing oil anyway… Maybe it undermined the Scottish independence movement if they knew for certain that they'd go bankrupt?

So many variables to consider. Even various hidden ones based on knock-on effects...

"How was France powering itself, before the Resource Wars?"

"Coal, gas and oil. Have you not been listening to anything I've been saying?"

Well, Krono is having some difficulty comparing his own history with the rather blank Fallout-verse history. The joy of assumptions.

Except… France used nuclear, back home. I remember because they put them all on the north coast so that if anything went wrong it would irradiate the south of England rather than France. Why didn't that happen here? I mean, I… Don't know where France got its nuclear fuel from. Maybe the differences in international relations made it impractical?

A safe bet, yes. France seems to rely a lot on foreign imports for its energy...

"I'm surprised that other countries didn't switch over to nuclear. Given how common it is in America. I mean, the basic principles were well understood, and with the oil crisis…"

"Don't American cars explode if you look at them funny?"

Ha! My earliest assumption about the setting. Think I saw some video of Fallout gameplay that had that happen... Could have been a mod, could have been someone playing with a nuclear weapon...

"Ah… It's not quite that easy. Yes, if you shot the engine after its been lying around for two hundred years, you can trigger a meltdown, but that is after two hundred years. When they were first built, they were a good deal more reliable."

He half-smiles. "Bloody good incentive to drive carefully."

Well, it's not quite a Pinto...

Though the mishaps are a little more destructive...

I nod. It's true. I remember reading a newspaper article that pointed out that while modern cars protect their passengers and driver far better in the event of crashes than older models, the rate at which people have accidents actually increased. They couldn't reach a conclusion as to why, but the suggestion was that it was due to the fact that people felt safer in their cars and so were less careful.

It doesn't help that people seem to drive more obnoxiously these days. Even if you understand that Dashcam videos are biased towards assholery, there's a lot more people out there and not all of them are good.

Stick a contact-triggered nuke in the bonnet and people would drive exceedingly carefully.

I shake my head. "But I was thinking about power plants for generating electricity, not giving every individual vehicle a nuclear battery."

Really, you'd expect electric vehicles to be more common in such an era anyway. Especially if battery technology improves.

He raises his right hand and points to his face. "I'm not really the biggest fan of nuclear fuel."

"I though you got hit by a nuclear bomb?"

Not directly, mind. Wouldn't be much left of him if he had. But radiation does weird things in Fallout-verse.

"What difference does it make?"

"A nuclear explosion is designed to be as deadly as possible, while a power plant is designed to be as safe as possible."

And even when they do fail, they tend to fail safely. The few bad ones are more foolishness and mismanagement.

We drive past a team of builders pulling down a decayed building. Carefully, making sure to keep as many of the bricks as possible in one piece. Down a side street I see scaffolding around several buildings as they're put back into good order. Reminds me of the ongoing work in the Boneyard and New Vegas, both cities expanding now that the areas around them are safe and stable. Not 'expanding' beyond their pre-War boundaries of course. I doubt that there are enough people in the NCR to do that.

A strange thing for England to have a higher, more stable population than America.

"What sort of contact do with have with Europe?"

"We have ships with radios just off the shore of most of their major ports. If they try sending a fleet against us again we'll know about it. It's hard, building centreline guns on wooden warships, but as long as our high seas fleets avoid their old beached warships they should be able to beat anything the Europeans have."

I expect they have to be careful about firing. Too much recoil... And the vintage ironclad designs like the Monitor wouldn't do well in the fiercer weather of the North Sea and English Channel.

"I… Really meant in the sense of peaceful trading relations, but I… Suppose that answers my question."

This isn't the Great Britain of my time, dependant on food imports to feed its population. This Britain has been feeding itself for two hundred years, even if the yields were nothing like enough to feed the pre-War population. There isn't anything other countries make that we need. Plenty of things that might be nice to have, but nothing essential. And there's no peace with our neighbours, just a state during which active hostilities are impractical.

On the other hand, reinforced a little with foreign aid... It could well rise back into Empirehood.

I'd rather civilisation rebuild peacefully, but…

It's not like I'd really miss France.

How very English of you, Krono.

The bus comes to a stop at the checkpoint outside Buckingham Palace, a checkpoint that operated by regular human soldiers I notice. Peter looks around.

"This is us, then. Let's go and meet Her Majesty."

I'm guessing there's less Ardens soldiers in London in general. They'd pretty much be elite forces, what with up to two centuries of combat experience.

It's amazing how divergent the history of the Fallout Earth can be compared to our own. Bits and pieces that seem familiar, until you hit one of the differences. I guess things were always a lot more belligerent world-wide until the big wars started. Anyway, time to met the immortal Queen and see if she needs any tune-ups.

Prince Charon · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
It's not like I'd really miss France.

I would be surprised if you did, at such a short range.

Mr Zoat · Jul 5, 2024

MacShimi said:
Typo: replace "the" with "they."

moralrelativity said:
know -> known
build -> built
do with have with -> do you have with

Darko said:
"that's operated"

Thank you, corrected.

Bloodalchemy · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Leonard Stanley? No, Leonard Stanley didn't have a station. Gloucester? No, that doesn't… Sound quite right.

Mr Zoat said:
What was that trip… For?

Interesting. Missing memories or signs that the memories are artificial?

Lord Ernest · Jul 5, 2024

Bloodalchemy said:
Interesting. Missing memories or signs that the memories are artificial?

Does he have the perfect recall of the Illustres? Because it sounds more like the typical forgetfulness of your average adult. I don't remember the name of the bus station where I dropped off from School, the street name of where my grandparents lived or anything like that, for example. I might be dismissing it too easily, but it didn't seem like a special plot point that he forgot something so inconsequential.

Darko · Jul 5, 2024

Lord Ernest said:
Does he have the perfect recall of the Illustres

Heck, if I remember correctly, even the OL versions don't have perfect recall.

They remember everything that's happened to them after putting on the ring, but anything before that is subject to regular forgetfulness.

DeathReaperZ · Jul 5, 2024

I apologise in advance for how long this is.

Mr Zoat said:
Compared to us… Them,

Well that's not worrying at all.

Mr Zoat said:
"Tch. Still an idiot."

This my friends, is what we call a textbook 'Tsundere'

Mr Zoat said:
"Do you see?"

Hm.

"No."

Heh.

Mr Zoat said:
"He-llo there!" The-. Napier waves, lipstick-coated mouth grinning and too-long right arm waving in a parody of genuine friendliness. "Straight Man and Debbie Downer. My money was on you ending up with the Superboy!"

Well, you're not exactly wrong if things go the way Paul wants them to.

Mr Zoat said:
"So long as he can't come back later. No sign of Alan?"

He will, the narrative demands it.

Mr Zoat said:
"Fooooooooore!"

Hah, I imagine being able to do stuff like a Looney Tunes character is probably a dream come true for him.

Mr Zoat said:
"Or did you expect me to keep myself for you?"

Heh.

Mr Zoat said:
"The small metal circle above the barrel is a sight. The magazine allows the ammunition to be drawn-." He moves the rifle off so that he can examine it again. "No. There is no source of power. It is purely mechanical. The ammunition is fed into the launching mechanism."

Surprisingly good intuition.

Mr Zoat said:
"For a moment, it was like I was more aware of the transition between instants of time, but…" I shake my head, looking over the analytic machine results. "I… Let me get back to you."

He smiles indulgently, then turns to leave. "Very well."

Alright then, let's see…

What's that? I don't remember putting-. On the console surface there's Power Rangers comic, with… An Orange Lantern cross-over?

I don't remember signing off on this.

So...did this actually happen and Paul got his memories wiped, or did Ambush Bug just make shit up?

Mr Zoat said:
What's that internet meme? Successfully failing?

Task Failed Successfully I believe

Mr Zoat said:
I'm going to take Batman to Equestria once the initial rush is over. I think he needs ponies.

I like to imagine that his brain just melts at the sheer cuteness and lack of evil.

Mr Zoat said:
"That's.. a bit.. difficult to explain. Essentially, I have a very small fragment of something call 'the Source' as.. the core of my soul. My capacity comes from the fact that that capacity exists in the universe. I just have.. more than my fair share of it."

Does his capacity just come from the capacity that already exists or was it generated by the Source?

Mr Zoat said:
On my way out I send in the minotaur and stab the lizardman in the face with the Sword of the Fallen. I can't believe I just washed out of a job interview for I job I know more about that the interviewers!

Poor lizardman. Just had to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mr Zoat said:
"Lamp anybastard looks at me funny. Like a regular Saturday night."

I believe that there should be a space separating 'any' and 'bastard' and a 'that' after the 'bastard'.

Mr Zoat said:
She switches her smile from 'happy' to 'about to make rabbit soup with live rabbit' and widens her eyes. "How did you know it was me!?"

I roll my eyes. "Come on, she's not quite that bad."

Hah

Mr Zoat said:
"No, just-! Ugh! Great! I sold me soul to a demon accidentally!"

Unless she's trying to sound like a pirate, or Scottish perhaps, I believe that should be 'my'.

Mr Zoat said:
"Hey." Guy waves his artisan beer bottle at me. "You passed."

On what exactly?

Mr Zoat said:
I can literally see how much the two of you love each other-"

He looks away. "Fergot abowd that."

Alright that's pretty adorable to be honest.

Mr Zoat said:
"Aaaah-ahhhh-aaaghaaahaaaaaghaahhhh!"

For a second there I thought he was having a heart attack, but as it turns out he's simply going back to monke.

Mr Zoat said:
"You healed Klaus's arm. He thanked you, his family thanked you, and you wanted to leave as quickly as possible."

I shrug. "What's not to understand?"

"He was crying with happiness. I nearly cried. If I could heal worth a.. damn, I'd spend all of my time doing that. I'd be overjoyed to get that sort of response."

"All the more reason to talk to Dame Carol." She's glaring at me. "What, do you want an explanation?"

"Yes."

"I can't just heal anyone I feel like healing. I'm an orange Lantern. Worse, I'm an Enlightened Orange Lantern. I can't fool myself into thinking 'maybe I want this' because I know I don't. I always know. I'll take your word for it that he was a good man, but he's not mine."

Incredibly ironic watching an ex-demon realise how inhumman her human companion is.

Mr Zoat said:
"The universe isn't that lucky."

Hah

Mr Zoat said:
I stare through the wall at the two sets of desire networks. The intertwined sets of desire networks.

I turn around and look at Mala as the three women follow me. And I raise my eyebrows.

She meets my gaze, looking slightly puzzled.

"Uh!"

She looks surprised for a moment, then looks away, shaking her head. "In their defence, this is a fairly disturbing situation, and there are only so many books to read."

I turn back to the door and knock heavily on it. "John! Finish up and get ready to leave!"

Let's hope he used protection.

Mr Zoat said:
we appear on a… Beach? Yes, a beach on.. Reformation Island. I take a moment to-

Stepping through the Honden of Love eh? Guy should learn how to do that as well.

Mr Zoat said:
"Okay… Arsehole."

I like this guy.

Mr Zoat said:
Noumenia, Boedromiōn, about-

Of course I mean 'about', boy. At my age-.

Hah! I am, and I already promised that I would tell you the story. You don't need to-.

No, no. I know that your mother was born thirty seven years ago. I will never forget that. And I married Nomia two years before that. Nomia? My wife. Your grandmother. No, you wouldn't-. Yes, with the gods. She saw you born, but…

'In time all things shall pass away'.

Ah, the Ancestor. Didn't he end up on a prehistoric verison of Earth-16? Does anybody have a collection of posts for the Ancestor?
[/QUOTE]

Mr Zoat said:
"I thought you were taking over the world."

"I'm not allowed to talk about the League taking over the world."

She raises her now-naturally-linear eyebrows. "You're actually doing that? I thought that was just you mouthing off."

"I'm not allowed to talk about the League taking over the world."

She takes another bite, thoughtfully.

"You're not… Putting anything in our heads, are you?"

"Mild brain damage is a hazard of industrial society. I can only fix it a little."

"I meant about the Justice League taking over the world."

"I'm not allowed to talk about the League taking over the world."

She frowns at me. "Did they put something in your head?"

"I'm not allowed to talk about the League taking over the world."

"O.. kay… New topic, before I get really scared. What else can you do?"

I imagine that he's saying it with the same monotone voice and blank expression every single time lol.

Mr Zoat said:
It's a quantum wafer, not a magnetic tape. Anything you could do to damage it would wreck the brain around it first.

What if someone tries eating it though?

Mr Zoat said:
"But I like it here! I just thought maybe I could help more with a ship."

Check… Kara's work logs.

"Kara, have you been drinking coffee again?"

"Um." Kara's image looks left and then right. "No?"

Uh-huh.

How does coffee even affect a Kryptonian?

Mr Zoat said:
"Heeeey!" Bleez is wearing a space suit that looks like it's been sprayed on. Her wings are slightly splayed, in a 'check-out-what-I've-done' pose rather than a 'check-me-out' pose. "Why did you stop calling?"

It seems that she's taken some 'How to be a Spacebabe' classes online eh?

Mr Zoat said:
"Heat vision!" Kara smiles brilliantly. "When kryptonians get exposed to main phase stars we get all kinds of neat powers! I mostly use it instead of brushing my teeth!"

I mean...she could still use it to shave. She would just need to aim lower.

Mr Zoat said:
I'm just glad that she can't make a smaller, more powerful version of herself.

Thank God for that.

Mr Zoat said:
"I can make my voice sound different-" Kara's mouth is moving, but the sound is coming from Bleez's lips in Bleez's voice, much to Bleez's surprise. "-and make it come from different places. But that's not really a superpower, is it? That's just silly."

With her powers, I imagine that it's a lot less silly than it seems to her.

Mr Zoat said:
"It's just, ah… I've noticed you… How can I put this..? Displaying yourself.. when we speak? My ring says that you want me to admire your physique, but that can be taken in a couple of different ways and I know that Thanagarian intelligence wants you to keep tabs on me, so..?"

She looks surprised. "I thought you didn't notice?"

"No, I just didn't want to get you in trouble with your handlers. Or me in trouble with Jade."

He's not that dense Bleez.

Mr Zoat said:
Twilight's eyes roll back in their sockets as she collapses to the floor.

Yeah that makes sense.

Mr Zoat said:
"A year to bear the foal, sixteen years to-" Twilight's cheeks colour. "-reach its majority."

I'm not sure if you can use 'majority' that way, I assume you meant maturity? And why is she blushing?

Mr Zoat said:
But at least I get to feel the großbritannienfreude that comes from being an Englishman building stuff in India. Which -given that I'm an Orange Lantern- actually helps things.

Making your ancestors proud right there.

Mr Zoat said:
But for now, they've got clean water, nutritional wafers, vitamin tablets and a few hundred blocks of that weird US government subsidised cheese that they can refrigerate because I included power lines with the road.

I don't think it was a wise idea givng them that cheese

Mr Zoat said:
"No. This isn't permanent, we will rebuild, it's just the best we can do for now."

Yep, nothing really puts humanity down for long if it's not an extinction event.

Mr Zoat said:
"'bawt-." Applejack's eyes widen, then she gulps. "'bawt a hundred alicorn Pinkie Pies?"

Ah…

She… Does sort of have a point, there.

I've never really watched MLP, and even I know that's a bad idea

Mr Zoat said:
"Kara, if you ever want to talk about your family, or Krypton in general, or anything like that, I'm happy to do that. Okay?"

"Why would I do that?" She pulls away slightly, her face a few inches from mine. "They're all dead. Ooh!"

That seems like something that needs to be dealt with asap.

Mr Zoat said:
Dr. Balewa looks mildly puzzled as bullets and shrapnel are sucked out of wounds and bleeding is stopped.

Is Paul doing that or Balewa?

Mr Zoat said:
"Doesn't know. We trys to divine its meaning, but they will not wait."

Tried

Mr Zoat said:
"Kara! Kara, back to me. Back to me. Bleez, thank you, no. If I need to kill anyone-"

Must be like herding cats.

Mr Zoat said:
"Alright. I'm sending you down. And I've got a nice desert world picked out if you don't follow through. Good luck!"

Mr Zoat said:
Her eyes go wide as they lock onto me, her wing posture-. She's not getting ready to lunge, she's getting ready to fly away.

"What do you mean by 'reality inversion'?"

Ah, she's finally gotten a taste of the insanity that is Earth eh?

Mr Zoat said:
"The Life Wizard and the World Mender. What has brought you here?"

Some rather accurate and cool titles there.

Mr Zoat said:
"Why would they attack you, then? Why not leaf?"

I believe you mean 'leave'

Mr Zoat said:
Dr. Balewa affects a puzzled expression, shaking his head. "And… What is it thet you imagine thet there is thet is worse than the Anti-Life?"

Oh, that's kind of clever. I'm not sure that she's on his wavelength. In organisations like Kobra, sometimes even the leaders have drunk the kool-aid. We've got no reason to assume that she ever went beyond 'suffering = good, follow the prophecy for maximum goodness'… But I suppose that if we're not just killing her right away…

"I have never experienced something worse."

"And, did you feel the energy as we ended the Anti-Life?"

"Yes."

"Then… What do you imagine thet the transition from one age into another feels like?"

"I-." She stares at him, and the other Kobra people are staring too. "I don't understand."

"Did you not picture what it would be like to live in the new age?" He raises his right hand, a small white sigil floating over it and even I feel it, the essence of existence. "Did you not feel the wave of spirit pass over the world?"

She gulps. "I.. did."

"You are a creature of the former, corrupted age. But for eh moment, you saw what it was like to be something else. Would you like to feel thet again?"

Seems like something Paul would do. I'm surprised that he managed to talk them down this easily.

Mr Zoat said:
His eyes narrow. "They are not. I will… Have a rather sharp word."

I smile at him. "Thank you, I appreciate it. Illustres out."

And another issue resolved through common sense and communication. This world seems a little bit too sane now.

Mr Zoat said:
I lean a little closer to Luna. "Still think she's crazy?"

She breathe out slowly, eyes locked onto Trouble Shoes' haunches.

"Think? No."

"Now we know for certain that she is an utter madmare"
I believe you meant to 'breathes'

Mr Zoat said:
There's a pulse of turquoise light, and then both of Trouble Shoe's cutie marks flicker as the thaumaturgical readouts go… Uuh, it looks wild but I'm not an expert. And then they cut out completely as the cutie marks peel away from his haunches and float over to… And in to the crystal. It blinks once more and then stops, floating in the middle.

There's a sort of gasp from the back of the room, and someone in the middle grabs the complimentary sick bag before… Making enthusiastic use of it.

Considering I haven't watched the show, I'm having trouble appreciating the implications of this moment. What would be the human equivalent to this?

Mr Zoat said:
**I wait for you to bleed.**

That sounds like a rather ominous promise.

Mr Zoat said:
"Can you do, like..? Super teeth?" He shrugs. "I get medicine's more important, but dentists aren't easy to get hold of either."

Honestly that was rather practical, he could've asked for an improved body or height extension, but he chose the practical option.

Mr Zoat said:
"I evened up their placement and structure, fixed the pre-existing damage, shrank them a little and added a layer of white everything-resistant armour over the top of the enamel layer. You'll still need to either brush or avoid sugar completely to maintain good gum health because if your gums recede then the lower unimproved parts of your teeth will get exposed."

Paul just did thousands of dollars worth of dental work in 5 seconds.

Mr Zoat said:
"Also -and this should go without saying- but they're still teeth. Don't try and bit through anything you wouldn't normally try and bit through, especially live electronics."

I'm fairly certain nobody's quite dumb enough to think that stronger teeth will allow them to digest electronic components or even survive strong electric shocks through their teeth, but best to cautious nonetheless.

Mr Zoat said:
"Superhero from the future whose power is that he can eat anything without injuring himself. He can bite through a kryptonian's skin like it's made of marshmallow, and swallow molten iron without incident."

Honestly if there was a way to apply that power to more than just his teeth, he'd become a serious heavy-hitter.

Mr Zoat said:
"Krono."

Where was his name from again?

Mr Zoat said:
"I say, are you alright?"

I feel like the 'I' here is incorrect, although I'm not sure.

Mr Zoat said:
Hyathis is… A giant. Or at least has created a giant avatar for herself.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Oh, my. And I'm suddenly reminded of a Transformers Prime fanart of a cybered-up June Darby who turns into a Normandy SR-2.

All I wanna do
Is see you turn into
A giant woman~

Mr Zoat said:
He rotates on Otto's shoulders, waving Otto's right arm dismissively. "Oh, bozh of you. Your ring gives you anyzhing you want, and you turn yourself into a swimsuit model!"

"Yes? Because looking like this gives me everything I want..?"

"But you could want more!"

"Yes." I nod. "But I don't. It took me a while to even reconfigure my own eyes."

Kinda hard to want something that you weren't even aware was an option.

Mr Zoat said:
"I could, but… I'd have to either reconfigure a bunch of things -and I don't know how to do that- or… Change how I perceive all other colours to make room. And even if I could work out how to safely change my brain, I'd be stopping myself doing other things with my time while I adjusted."

He really couldn't just want his eyes to be modified to see other wavelengths really hard and have the ring take care of the rest?

Mr Zoat said:
He turns on his heel and thrusts his face towards mine. "Unt your mole composition is all wrong!"

Huh?

Another set of slammed doors, and a brief intake of breath from the waiting room as he stomps through, and then out into the street outside.

What's wrong with my mole composition? I mean, obviously the sort of symmetry I have doesn't occur in nature, but so what? They can do their job if I'm not carrying my-

Perhaps he meant that the number of atoms your body has is wrong?

Mr Zoat said:
"She had another caller. I'm on-"

Beep.

"He proposed?!"

"-hold."

Hah

Mr Zoat said:
"Send me a report anyway. I refuse to allow my father's legacy to color my life."

Good to see that Lex is finally making the necessary changes to becoming a better and well adjusted person.

Mr Zoat said:
He doesn't care about the loss of life or materiel.

Material.

Mr Zoat said:
The best idea I've got for beating him involves hitting him with something that he'll want to get hit by, something he thinks he'll be able to beat but which he actually can't."

Lex nods, then looks at me curiously. "Like what?"

I snort. "I'll tell you when I find something."

I like to imagine that it's just a cartoonishly large mallet with the words 'Anti-Life Mallet' scribbled poorly on one side.

Mr Zoat said:
"No, she's working on the Atlantis situationl, Garth and Tula are inside Atlantis and Robert is actually doing farm work. If you can't find him then you can't find him."

Situation

Mr Zoat said:
"And then thrown into the swamp where he died. Then the semi-conscious magical world of plants copied his mind and created a new life form with that as its mind but with a body made of plant matter which it could control." I smile. "With me so far?"

"Why didn't they just use..? Him? If he was trying to help plants…"

Because that would've been too logical, and because he was mostly made of meat.

Mr Zoat said:
The creature stops, focusing on me a little. "Yes. Around here they used to call me the Good Gumbo Man. When I was human… No. The human I was made from, he was called Alexander Olsen."

"Swamp Thing? The Parliament? What happened?"

"Ah yes. That. Nothing good, I'm afraid."

Uh oh

Mr Zoat said:
"I… I hadn't thought of it like that. I-."

The vines retract and he rises to his feet, staggering forward on his newly flexible legs.

"That changes everything. I need to tell-."

He collapses onto Swamp Thing's body, light fading once more from his eyes.

Of course he leaves without sharing his epiphany.

PDV · Jul 5, 2024

Lord Ernest said:
Still, mighty interesting to speculate on the British divergence in this universe. How far back is the split from our common history that the UK and France were so against each other?

Probably something about how WWII resolved. Smaller Soviet borders meaning Western cooperation was less needed? Maybe beqause we nuked Germany, not just Japan?

Mr Zoat · Jul 5, 2024

DeathReaperZ said:
Poor lizardman. Just had to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

No, he was there because he wanted to mind control the government.

I believe that there should be a space separating 'any' and 'bastard' and a 'that' after the 'bastard'.

No. He's using it as a modified form of 'anyone', which doesn't have a space.

Unless she's trying to sound like a pirate, or Scottish perhaps, I believe that should be 'my'.

Thank you, corrected.

On what exactly?

Beatrice.

What if someone tries eating it though?

Then they've already eaten through your brain and you're probably not in any position to worry about it.

How does coffee even affect a Kryptonian?

VERY WELL.

I'm not sure if you can use 'majority' that way, I assume you meant maturity? And why is she blushing?

'Age of majority; means 'age of legal maturity'.

I don't think it was a wise idea givng them that cheese

I know that American cheese is so bad that the industry would go bankrupt if the Federal Government didn't buy it, but even I would take it over starvation.

Is Paul doing that or Balewa?

The SI.

Tried

Thank you, corrected.

I believe you mean 'leave'

He has a strong accent.

"Now we know for certain that she is an utter madmare"

No. Mad is where you froth at the mouth. She's insane. That's where you froth in the brain.

I believe you meant to 'breathes'

Thank you, corrected.

Considering I haven't watched the show, I'm having trouble appreciating the implications of this moment. What would be the human equivalent to this?

Removing Rogue's x-gene.

Where was his name from again?

Watson: A comic in the Fallout setting.
Doylist: The Hearts of Iron IV mod Old World Blues.

I feel like the 'I' here is incorrect, although I'm not sure.

It's a Britishism.

He really couldn't just want his eyes to be modified to see other wavelengths really hard and have the ring take care of the rest?

He'd have to have some idea how to know that, first.

Perhaps he meant that the number of atoms your body has is wrong?

No.

Material.

No.

Situation

I corrected that a while ago.

iamnuff · Jul 5, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"A nuclear explosion is designed to be as deadly as possible, while a power plant is designed to be as safe as possible."

It's the difference between living in a house made of bricks, and being hit in the face with a brick.

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

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Veteran Lurker

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Not too sore, are you?

HISSSSSS!

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Making the rounds.

Connoisseur.

Experienced.

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Aia airëa Fëanáro.

At the End...

Getting out there.

Recovering pendant.

Connoisseur.

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Just zis guy, you know?

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At the End...

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