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

Neruz · Wednesday at 6:45 AM

Darko said:
So she can sire her own Goa'uld.

I'm guessing she's keeping it a secret, since Goa'uld Queens don't necessarily have that much power behind just siring new generations of Goa'uld.

Morrigan apparently kept her status as a Queen secret.

It's one of those things that the canon sort of waffles back and forth on, but at least by the later parts of the story it was largely established that most queens are exploited and used as consorts to spawn offspring that are mostly ritually consumed, because Goa'uld System Lords trend towards being both evil and insane. (The fact that at least some of them sleep in their sarcophagus as a normal thing likely has a lot to do with the latter part.)

Queens are also very rare and thus having one as a consort is highly sought after as a status symbol amongst System Lords, so it would not be surprising that Bastet would hide her queen status in order to prevent herself from becoming a 'prize' in the eyes of other System Lords.

dw7thdoctor · Wednesday at 7:01 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"She might well marry you." Huh? "Oh, don't look so surprised. I would be astonished if you had not realised that she is a queen. I had hoped to sire her children myself, but without my… Advantage, that will not occur. So, I will go back to managing my world, you will receive more generous trade terms and a supply of my perfume and I will not get in your way. Do we have an understanding?"

Does the orange light Goa'uld have enough life to even sire a child or will that be how Mammon is found out?

Chojin Patriarch · Wednesday at 7:03 AM

Mr Zoat said:
12th November 1999
08:07 GMT

Analyse.

A chemical analysis appears in my mind immediately. It doesn't mean all that much to me -other than to note the tiny similarities and vast difference to every perfume I've scanned before- but using Am-heh's knowledge reveals that several of these chemicals are quite psychoactive in goa'uld. He doesn't recognise the combination but it was clearly supposed to do something.

Ah, a bad old mickey finn? Or at least something to make Goa'uld more pliable and accepting of suggestions. I hope she hasn't been relying solely on that to encourage cooperation from other underlords.

Anything odd in Heset's body chemistry?

Ah.

A counter-agent, I take it, since it wouldn't do much good if she was as affected by it as her targets were.

"It is just.. a perfume dispenser. Snatching it was most uncalled for."

"Um-hm. So you would have no concerns at all if I eliminated what is clearly a counter-agent from your blood and then sprayed you with it?"

Heh. I wonder how much she's panicking over the fact he seems to be completely immune to it?

"I was instructed to pleasure you and this is your response?!" She look around, spots the door and marches towards it. "I will report to Lady Bastet-."

"No." She floats off the ground, gagged and struggling. "You won't. I wonder what it is? You've been wearing it on Bubastis so it's almost certainly not a poison. A narcotic, perhaps? It certainly interacts with the goa'uld brain. Not the pleasure centres, though. Something subtle?" I walk around until I'm in front of her once more. "I wondered why a goa'uld with no record of working within Lord Bastet's domain was granted control of a planet. Is that it, then?"

So she's even gotten Bastet with it. That could be troublesome if he exposes her. It would taint every decision she'd made since Heset arrived.

I look into her eyes, and… Ah yes, there it is.

"I wonder how long it lasts? Since System Lord Bastet currently likes you, it would be awkward for me to detain you. I could expose you to your own chemical, but you may be able to work through it since you have experience with it." Scan. "I don't know, and I don't have the time locate a chemist. How intact is your host, mentally speaking? I should be able to remove you and ask them, if you choose not to volunteer the information."

Ah, the sign of fear that only he would truly sense. So, he now has leverage on her... What to do with it...

That's… Heset's connection points are a little different to what I'm… Familiar with.

Genetic scan and comparison.

I'm guessing that's down to the Tok'ra philosophy. Presumably for less severe control of the host.

Looking into her eyes, the fear has somewhat abated. Does she have good relations with her host, or does she have a plan for talking herself out of this?

Alright. "Shout for help and I remove your vocal cords."

And hopefully she's sensible enough to know he's not kidding.

I dismiss the construct, and she lands lightly on the floor as the results of the genetic analysis come in. That… Doesn't prove anything, but it is highly suggestive and would explain a great many things.

"I am an expert chemist. Originally, I sought a way to reduce the paranoia-inducing effect of sarcophagus-use. Instead, I developed a chemical that would make other gods… Unusually well-disposed towards me. Since you are now… Aware of it, I can provide you with a supply in exchange for your silence on the matter."

Helpful. Though she's still lying, isn't she?

"You have been a competent administrator. In these turbulent times unnecessary changes in leadership should probably be avoided. If I could use your chemical to win over a few minor gods who would rather duck out of the current war, I might be able to work things to System Lord Bastet's advantage." She looks mildly reassured. "Why did you try to use this chemical on me? I only rule one poorly developed world. I could grant you no favours."

Suspicions and fear, for a start. You have Bastet's ear. If she could get you to make suggestions for her...

"You are Lady Bastet's current favourite. You are able to serve her in ways that none of her other Underlords are. When you passed up the opportunity to receive a reward for your work on Jaffa armaments, I started to be… Concerned, about my lack to leverage."

And by how atypical of Goa'uld that is, of course. Because why would they pass up such a reward?

"Why?"

"Why? Because every favour she seeks to bestow upon you is one that she does not bestow upon me."

This isn't about jealousy, though, is it. Not entirely. He's a threat to your mission, after all.

"But I… Passed on the favour. Even when I served Ra my ambitions were sated by being his functionary. I am happy with this world, and with my relationship with System Lord Bastet. I make myself useful because I want to ensure that her version of goa'uld civilisation becomes the dominant one, not because I want something else from her."

Best of a bad lot, and all that. And the refusal makes him look humble. I wonder if she'd offered three times, would he have accepted? (It's a Confucian thing.)

She stares at me for a moment, then shakes her head. "You truly..? You befriend her other Underlords without causing friction, you obey her laws and praise their wisdom, your greatest concern is for a world where you have taken her code of law and expended upon it, you deal with 'inconveniences' for her without leaving a trace of your presence and ask for nothing in return. Bastet knows that you love her."

I nod. "I am aware that I am privileged to have her as my sovereign lord."

She… Stares at me.

I mean, you do sound a little crazy for a Goa'uld, Mammon. One that serves without threat of pain?

"And I am glad that she believes the truth of my-."

"Are you joking!"

Well, that's an extreme reaction to the average Paul outlook...

…

"No?"

"That you love her romantically. Though if you do not it will make my life easier."

...Ah. I mean, his loyalty could be mistaken for that. I'm sure Mammon hasn't actually fallen for the nominally evil alien parasite...

Has he?

I shake my head. "No, I don't love her romantically. That would be ridiculous."

Her eyebrows raise slightly. "You don't feel a brief moment of joy each time you meet her."

I doubt that sort of thing would be visible as a micro-expression, right? Especially with Mammon carefully controlling his responses.

"Well, yes, I do, but she's a very easy person to get on with."

"You do not desire her carnally."

Who wouldn't. I mean, Just look at her hosts.

I shrug. "She.. does not pick ugly hosts."

"Any of whom you could have taken as a concubine after she left them. And yet you did not."

...She doesn't go through them that quickly, does she?

"Of course not, they're not heeeeeer."

Ah. I shouldn't have said that. I mean that they'd be ignorant human girls who wouldn't be able to be my partner, but from the way Heset is looking at me she obviously took it differently.

...Not exactly proving her wrong, though. It certainly does sound like you like her for her mind.

"And now that you have my perfume, you are not even considering using it on her, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

Just imagine the trouble if she caught him out doing so. After all, it's probably a very distinct scent that they all associate with Heset...

She rolls her eyes. "Such romantic nonsense."

"If you've quite finished mocking my romantic-."

Ah, yes, Goa'uld are known for their transactional approach to romance, after all...

"She might well marry you." Huh? "Oh, don't look so surprised. I would be astonished if you had not realised that she is a queen. I had hoped to sire her children myself, but without my… Advantage, that will not occur. So, I will go back to managing my world, you will receive more generous trade terms and a supply of my perfume and I will not get in your way. Do we have an understanding?"

I would assume that's a minor detail adjusted by Mr Zoat, since I doubt the series ever elaborated on it. Still, could go some way to explaining her particular political clout.

I snort. "I don't trust you just because your revised story is a little more believable. You are one of Egeria's daughters-."

"Along with millions of others. I didn't think that you were married to Ra as well!"

Egeria being the founder of the Tok'ra line, he's basically made it clear he knows she is a spy.

"And the way you've attached yourself to your host is… Non-standard. I had wondered how a group as inept as the Tok'Ra had concealed themselves for so long." I make a show of examining the perfume dispenser. "Now, I know. You smell trustworthy."

She pulls back slightly, looking decidedly less confident. "That is a recent development."

Is it now? Or were they simply lucky? Whether that the System Lords never really took them seriously enough to root out, or to discover the formula.

"I weep for our species. Let me talk to your host. I have to believe that they're the brains of your relationship."

Her eyes glow for a moment and then fade, then her facial expression changes. Scan? Oh, that's what it looks like. I'll remember that.

Heh. Useful to have a way to fake his 'master' letting him take the wheel. It'll prevent moments like his visit to SGC in future...

"Is there a bargain to be struck, or will you send me to your dungeon?"

"I don't actually have a dungeon. I don't really mind the Tok'Ra undermining any other System Lord. But I do mind you undermining System Lord Bastet, particularly when that risks my experiment."

Nice touch, suggesting that you're a mastermind playing everyone for your advantage. Even if you're not, she's going to assume it.

"You are genuine, then."

"Yes I'm genuine. Your people are fools for not doing this centuries ago. Any effort you make against Bastet would worsen the lives of every human in her domain." Scan in depth. "So while I don't mind you keeping an eye on us I will not tolerate sabotage. That's in addition to what your goa'uld offered."

A pity they can't really accept that you could actually be that altruistic.

"She is not a goa'uld. But… I have no orders to act against you or Bastet."

I'm not an expert on brain patterns, but that… Looks true.

Or at least you hope it is. Still, given the overwhelming power difference, what benefit does she have in lying?

"Then I will make you aware now. I have ways to alter the minds of other people. If I have reason to doubt you, I will make you both my willing slaves before pursuing all of your Tok'Ra contacts. Do you both understand me?"

She nods.

"Good. Now get off my planet."

Quietly, mind, because I bet someone would be curious to hear that Heset visited Mammon in private. Though the probable guess they'd make would be an affair...

Well, now Mammon's poked both Earth and the Tok'ra, what's his next trick going to be?

That one advanced human colony that kicked all other factions out and told everyone to leave them alone? On the upside, he now has a line into the Tok'ra that he can use to pass information through. If he ever needed to.

...and I don't have the time locate a chemist.

...and I don't have the time to locate a chemist.

Concerned, about my lack to leverage.

Concerned, about my lack of leverage.

crazygrox · Wednesday at 7:06 AM

Mr Zoat said:
Bastet knows that you love her."

I nod. "I am aware that I am privileged to have her as my sovereign lord."

She… Stares at me.

"And I am glad that she believes the truth of my-."

"Are you joking!"

…

"No?"

"That you love her romantically. Though if you do not it will make my life easier."

I shake my head. "No, I don't love her romantically. That would be ridiculous."

Her eyebrows raise slightly. "You don't feel a brief moment of joy each time you meet her."

"Well, yes, I do, but she's a very easy person to get on with."

"You do not desire her carnally."

I shrug. "She.. does not pick ugly hosts."

"Any of whom you could have taken as a concubine after she left them. And yet you did not."

"Of course not, they're not heeeeeer."

May be a sign that he needs to figure out how to reverse engineer goa'uld genetic memory and figure out out a set of genetic memories to pass on that both corroborate his story and construct the sorts of personalities in offspring Goa'uld that he'd like to see.

KyleDaScourge · Wednesday at 7:13 AM

Is there a good index or the like available anywhere with links to all the various sidestories by universe?

I'd like to reread what we've got of the stargate timeline from the start (Maybe also the transformers one), but it seems like a pain as-is.

Vaermina · Wednesday at 7:14 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"Yes I'm genuine. Your people are fools for not doing this centuries ago. Any effort you make against Bastet would worsen the lives of every human in her domain." Scan in depth. "So while I don't mind you keeping an eye on us I will not tolerate sabotage. That's in addition to what your goa'uld offered."

"She is not a goa'uld. But… I have no orders to act against you or Bastet."

I'm not an expert on brain patterns, but that… Looks true.

"Then I will make you aware now. I have ways to alter the minds of other people. If I have reason to doubt you, I will make you both my willing slaves before pursuing all of your Tok'Ra contacts. Do you both understand me?"

She nods.

"Good. Now get off my planet."

I'm going to point out here that the actual Tok'Ra response to this would be to slip information about Paul and his technology to every System Lord in the galaxy to have them come down on him like a hammer in hopes that technology is destroyed in the fighting.

Someguy Somewhere · Wednesday at 7:24 AM

crazygrox said:
May be a sign that he needs to figure out how to reverse engineer goa'uld genetic memory and figure out out a set of genetic memories to pass on that both corroborate his story and construct the sorts of personalities in offspring Goa'uld that he'd like to see.

Or he comes out and tells the snake of his dreams that he really is just a human......I mean, there was that one Goa'uld spy gal that fell for Quinn, during that whole tunnel to the core of the planet to save it from exploding episode. And going by the Tok'ra the host and symbiote can have different preferences and partners, I recall one hitting on Jack and the other Daniel for one ....what was the Sciencey Tok'ra gals name?

EDIT: Anise and Freya
How could I forget?

Senevri · Wednesday at 7:41 AM

You know what's amusing?
OL's troubles with the Danner formula. Because...
Even soulless earth biology can probably match or top that, at least nearly.
- Use a different lipid for cell wall construction
- Have similar muscle fibers as something like a chimpanzee or other high performant animal. This will likely drop endurance, but:
- Have a trait that gives you extra mitochondria to compensate for this to a degree,
- Plus the myelinase mutation that gives you 2.5 times the muscle fibers.
- For energy, have a set of gut bacteria that can process methane, and be able to use one of the methane cycles
- For bonus, photosynthesize CO2 to get sugar and oxygen.
- Also, steal a bit from pyrophilic bacteria so you can tolerate the higher body heat from using more energy. Also improves your functional endurance.

There's plenty of other things, but those seem the simple ones. One part where it's lacking a lot at that point is durability; Piezophilic attributes merely make you slightly tougher, although some bacteria have been shown to survive gigapascals of hydrostatic pressure. Ideally you'd at least want your fascia to have the tensile strength of spider silk.

(I had a WHOLE THING about a kryptonian that obeys the laws of physics. Tl;dr, got to like early Byrne tier before needing to go completely exotic)

Mr Zoat · Wednesday at 8:29 AM

Chojin Patriarch said:
...and I don't have the time to locate a chemist.
Concerned, about my lack of leverage.

Thank you, corrected.

...She doesn't go through them that quickly, does she?

One a year, as part of their induction into her priesthood.

I would assume that's a minor detail adjusted by Mr Zoat, since I doubt the series ever elaborated on it. Still, could go some way to explaining her particular political clout.

Her being a queen? Didn't come up in the series, as far as I remember.

BR549 · Wednesday at 8:33 AM

Chojin Patriarch said:
Well, now Mammon's poked both Earth and the Tok'ra, what's his next trick going to be? That one advanced human colony that kicked all other factions out and told everyone to leave them alone?

That would be the Tollan. I don't think Anubis has had Tanith nuke them from orbit yet...

m_d · Wednesday at 10:06 AM

KyleDaScourge said:
Is there a good index or the like available anywhere with links to all the various sidestories by universe?

I'd like to reread what we've got of the stargate timeline from the start (Maybe also the transformers one), but it seems like a pain as-is.

In the first post of this thread there is a link to a post under Spoiler: Omake Index called List of Minor SI variants. It was last updated 19 June 2021, so it doesn't contain the Stargate ones yet since they started 1 February 2024. I would be unsurprised to find that there are readers of this fic who have their own indexes, but I don't know of any current public ones. The TV Tropes one and the Wiki linked on the first post don't appear to contain the sort of index you're looking for. You can search specific threads as a QQ member for keywords though. I might eventually post one, but I haven't gotten around to putting one together. If you can remember chapter titles you can also just open the threadmarks list and do a wordsearch there.

For convenience, here is guide to the Stargate ones I've found:
Starring (part 1) to Starring (part 22) all can be found under the heading of Episode 145: Unreal on the third post of this thread. The next time I'm aware of them coming back up are in chapters Starbate (part 1) to Starbate (part 4), all of which are in Episode 151: Working Relationship.

The Transformers ones:
Start in Episode 120: Krummkreuz with Plus Two (part 1) and Plus Two (part 2)
Continued in Episode 128: Feasibility Study with Transformed (part 1) to Transformed (part 7)
Continued in Episode 145: Unreal with Transformational (part 1) to Transformational (part 4)
Continued in Episode 148: Codominion with Meet The Eye (part 1) to Meet The Eye (part 12)
Continued in Episode 149: Equity with Equity (part 3) and Equity (part 8). The titling convention of this section is different because of the crossover nature of the episode. You can get an idea in the index by going off of the year the chapter takes place in. The Transformers ones are the ones in 2014.

For completeness-sake, here are links to all of the posts for both that I found behind spoilers with the dates and Episodes as given in the index. Please let me know if I missed any or if you have other corrections.

Episode 145: Unreal
14th August 2013
Starring (part 1)
Starring (part 2)
Starring (part 3)
27th August 2013
Starring (part 4)
Starring (part 5)
Ten Years Later
Starring (part 6)
Three Years Later
Starring (part 7)
Starring (part 8)
Two Months Later
Starring (part 9)
Two Seasons Later
Starring (part 10)
Three Days Later
Starring (part 11)
Starring (part 12)
About a Month Later
Starring (part 13)
Starring (part 14)
Starring (part 15)
9th October 1999
Starring (part 16)
Starring (part 17)
Starring (part 18)
Starring (part 19)
Starring (part 20)
11 October 1999
Starring (part 21)
Starring (part 22)

Episode 151: Working Relationship
3rd November 1999
Starbate (part 1)
5th November 1999
Starbate (part 2)
12th November 1999
Starbate (part 3)
Starbate (part 4)

Episode 120: Krummkreuz
21st May 2013
Plus Two (part 1)
21st May 2013
Plus Two (part 2)

Episode 128: Feasibility Study
16th October 2013
Transformed (part 1)
Transformed (part 2)
Transformed (part 3)
17th October 2013
Transformed (part 4)
25th October 2013
Transformed (part 5)
Transformed (part 6)
Transformed (part 7)

Episode 145: Unreal
5th February 2014
Transformational (part 1)
Transformational (part 2)
Transformational (part 3)
Transformational (part 4)

Episode 148: Codominion
14th June 2014
Meet The Eye (part 1)
Meet The Eye (part 2)
15th June 2014
Meet The Eye (part 3)
22nd June 2014
Meet The Eye (part 4)
Meet The Eye (part 5)
28th June 2014
Meet The Eye (part 6)
Meet The Eye (part 7)
12th July 2014
Meet The Eye (part 8)
13th July 2014
Meet The Eye (part 9)
Meet The Eye (part 10)
15th July 2014
Meet The Eye (part 11)
Meet The Eye (part 12)

Episode 149: Equity
16th July 2014
Equity (part 3)
Equity (part 8)

KyleDaScourge · Wednesday at 10:13 AM

m_d said:
Snip

Somewhat disappointing that there isn't an up-to-date version, but about what I expected. Still though, the two you provided here are awesome! Thanks very much!

haralo99 · Wednesday at 10:47 AM

Does stargate Paul have a way to recharge?

m_d · Wednesday at 11:00 AM

haralo99 said:
Does stargate Paul have a way to recharge?

In his very first chapter he takes Mammon's orange lantern from an underground facility that he found through ring scan. It was protected by force fields and energy weapons which he was able to get by reasonably easily. There was also a hologram of Mammon that appeared to be a recording rather than an intelligent system, so he didn't spend much time listening to it. The orange lantern sigil was apparently Mammon's symbol before he died, which has interesting implications.

Wisard · Wednesday at 11:22 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"I weep for our species. Let me talk to your host. I have to believe that they're the brains of your relationship."

Savage.

Given the usual tokra arrogance, you can feel the fear by the fact they didn't respond to that...

Chaoswind · Wednesday at 11:44 AM

I love the Stargate updates as they are a return to simpler times, with a focus on relationships, diplomacy, uplifting society through competency and a little out of context lantern powers.

Mr Zoat said:
"Because you can stop a fleet on your own."

"Yes."

This level of confidence tells me that Mammon went on a trip and stole a Ha'Tak from a rival system Lord or has tested himself against a fleet of Bastet ships.

Radix · Wednesday at 2:52 PM

BR549 said:
That would be the Tollan. I don't think Anubis has had Tanith nuke them from orbit yet...

Based on the timeline we are in mid season 3. If going off of episodes being approximately on their airdate, this is after Foothold but a few months before Klorel lands on Tollan. So it wouldn't be out of the question for Mammon to get involved there.

Neruz · Wednesday at 5:55 PM

dw7thdoctor said:
Does the orange light Goa'uld have enough life to even sire a child or will that be how Mammon is found out?

As long as he has DNA, he can 'breed' with a Goa'uld Queen.

Reproduction with Goa'uld Queens isn't really reproduction in the same sense that we know it; it's actually a method to specialize a brood of Goa'uld for a given type of host: The Queen takes a genetic sample from the target host, usually though sexual intercourse but not always, and then uses that genetic sample to tailor her offspring to the species that the genetic sample came from.

There is no actual genetic 'mixing' the way sexual reproduction usually works on Earth, the process is more like parthenogenesis plus genetic engineering.

Mr Zoat said:
Her being a queen? Didn't come up in the series, as far as I remember.

It did not, in fact we get basically zero information about Bastet other than that Anubis kicked her shit in so hard she was forced to team up with Kali, and she uses female Jaffa.

I think the first and last time we see Bastet is at the summit of System Lords, and then awhile later its mentioned that Baal killed her off screen.

Chaoswind said:
This level of confidence tells me that Mammon went on a trip and stole a Ha'Tak from a rival system Lord or has tested himself against a fleet of Bastet ships.

He has an orange ring, taking out a fleet of Ha'tak would not be very difficult.

Mr Zoat · Wednesday at 7:44 PM

Neruz said:
It did not, in fact we get basically zero information about Bastet other than that Anubis kicked her shit in so hard she was forced to team up with Kali, and she uses female Jaffa.

I was under the impression that her alliance with Kali was a long term thing.

He has an orange ring, taking out a fleet of Ha'tak would not be very difficult.

He doesn't have a lot of experience with ship combat, and it's not the first Ha'tak fleet that's the problem. It's all of the others that head your way when they find out that you have a weapon for killing Ha'tak fleets.

Chaoswind · Wednesday at 8:29 PM

Mr Zoat said:
The Altairan androids are perfectly capable of making everything I displayed, but they're repairing their world and don't really have industrial capacity to spare. Not unless I could offer them something in return that would make it worth their while. Keeping them willing to trade with me at all is well worth keeping the pressure off; I need teachers that don't come from Earth more than my gou'ald allies need better armour faster.

Besides, Roboneil is getting angsty about the Altairan military wanting their gate facility back. If they actually say 'join up or get out' then I'm reasonably confident that they'll take my offer.

Mr Zoat said:
"…why you need us at all."

Roboneil is making a show of looking over the armoury, but he's fairly clearly watching me out of the corner of his eyes. Teal'c on the other hand is just checking the weapons.

"Need?" I shake my head. "I don't. It would be helpful to have you, and I believe that we could accomplish useful things together, but ultimately you don't need me and I don't need you."

Oh shit, just noticed during a reread that Altair is confirmed to be rebuilding and its android population to be somewhat recovered up to the point Roboneil and his gang are strongly considering moving to work with Mammon. This is a massive butterfly and I don't think the Asgardians are going to appreciate having another civilizations of robots in the milky way.

Someguy Somewhere · Wednesday at 10:22 PM

Chaoswind said:
This is a massive butterfly and I don't think the Asgardians are going to appreciate having another civilizations of robots in the milky way.

Tasty Tasty Replicator Food

Ardy · 2024-10-24T00:33:06+0100

Someguy Somewhere said:
Tasty Tasty Replicator Food

Do replicators adapt to new issues, like the Borg? I've never seen the show. Otherwise it seems like some method to have replicators kill or infect each other with something would make dealing with them trivial. Especially with a power ring.

Someguy Somewhere · 2024-10-24T01:22:36+0100

They adapt based on what they eat. The ones that ate Asgard ships were made out of higher grade materials then the ones chewing on human made submarines for example. The former are more durable and water resistant then the later.

They also can take control of other machines, such as the aforementioned space ships and floating tin cans, and operate them without the organic crew.

The Human Form Replicators are nanite based rather then the small metallic scale structures of their more insect like brethren, however these units seem to require very specific materials to construct and are therefore less common in the Milky Way. The Pegasus galaxy mechanical life forms based on the Ancients do not appear to be limited by this requirement, and are both more sophisticated mentally and physically (I was never quite sure if they shared an origin or not, but they at least operated similarly enough that the anti replicator tech could work on each other, at least until the smarter ones adapted)

From what I understand there is a degree of a hive mind with both models, but the human form replicators appear to be more independent from each other and have discrete personalities and motives, even while sharing 'base code' that allowed the individual parts of individuals and groups to tether to each other.

Hacking their 'base code' was used in Atlantis, and was fended off several times by alterations and ....effectively having Software Patching, in their collectives.

Darko · 2024-10-24T03:09:54+0100

Mr Zoat said:
I was under the impression that her alliance with Kali was a long term thing

It was.

They apparently killed a Goa'uld named Sobek and Bastet has his head.

Prince Charon · 2024-10-24T05:15:56+0100

m_d said:
For completeness-sake, here are links to all of the posts for both that I found behind spoilers with the dates and Episodes as given in the index. Please let me know if I missed any or if you have other corrections.
<SNIP>

Most or all of the urls in the spoiler boxes have a doubled up bit [http://'https//], which makes them not work.

Mr Zoat · 2024-10-24T06:09:26+0100

April 27th, 2013
09:12 EST

"…greenhouses, where the latest of LexCorp's genetically engineered crop strains are cultivated before being transferred to the fields."

I nod slowly as I follow Miss Teschmacher through the greenhouse. That's not how Mister Kent does it, but I guess if something goes wrong with a novel plant then they want to have a record of everything that happened to it so they can work out what they did wrong.

"Any questions so far?"

"Uh. Yeah-. Yes." She's watching me-. "Uh, are those fields open air?"

"Of course. We need to test these plants in conditions which match those they'll actually be farmed in… As near as possible. For cultivars designed for more extreme climates we do smaller batches in artificial environments and then arrange to perform larger tests closer to where they're intended to be grown."

"Don't you have a problem with… Cross-pollination? I mean, if bees take pollen from a modified plant and pollinate the unmodified type…"

I probably shouldn't be asking that. But she just smiles.

"Mitchell, I know perfectly well that your mother is Wonder Woman and that… The Justice League doesn't have a great relationship with LexCorp." She looks at me for a moment, so I nod. "But you should know two things about us. Firstly, we're here to make money. We make most of our money in the high technology sector; we depend on a functioning global economy, with billions of market participants. The current broken state of human society hurts us a lot more than it hurts the Justice League. I must have worn this dress at least twice before today."

Her smile broadens for a moment, so I think that was supposed to be a joke. But I don't get it. I've worn this shirt dozens of times at least, and Conner's got a wardrobe that's basically just identical copies of the same stuff. If it wasn't for M'gann, that would be his whole wardrobe.

"Secondly, there is no profit in the end of the world. So now is a really bad time for taking dangerous risks. Every one of these strains makes use of genetic use restriction technology. They'll still produce pollen, and they need to be fertilised by an insect-. We actually have our own bee hives, just over…"

She raises her right forefinger as she tries to remember.

"Over that way." She points in the direction of the buzzing noise I can hear and the sweet scent I can smell. "But they can't pass on the modified characteristics for more than one generation. One of the things we're working on here is an improved version of that technology that would prevent any kind of cross-pollination."

"Is there a market for that?"

"Just about every agribusiness in the world is interested in improved terminator technology."

"Yeah, but… With farmers. Don't they.. usually keep some of their own seeds to plant the next year?"

"That depends on which part of the world you're talking about. That's certainly common in less economically developed countries, but in more economically developed countries farmers usually buy seeds annually for annual plants. And this way, whenever we come up with a new variety it just slots into the purchase schedule."

"But… Haven't we had massive disruptions in shipping for the last few years?"

Miss Teschmacher nods. "Yes, and that's been a major problem, as I said. Without the ability to ship seeds to farmers, the entire LexFarms subdivision of LexCorp has been going into the red."

"No, I mean, for farmers. If they can't get seeds, then they can't farm."

"No, no. While I stand behind the supremacy of LexCorp products, there are alternate suppliers on every continent. While it reduces end user choice, the system still works."

"Uh…"

"Well, put it this way. How many normal farmers have access to a cutting edge genetics research laboratory?"

"None?"

"None. So there's no way for them to take advantage of the techniques we use to improve their yields, drought resistance, disease and pesticide resistance, or heat and colds resistance. They could try using traditional techniques to breed new varieties, but that takes a long time. The first known orange carrots existed in the sixth century, but it wasn't until the eighteenth century that the Dutch produced a variety that was always orange. Here, we can engineer carrots that are just about any color, and are far hardier and more nutritious than normal varieties as well."

"What's..? Wrong with purple carrots?"

"Ah, they taste slightly bitter to the modern pallet. There's nothing.. wrong with them exactly -not like some of the older varieties of potatoes- it's just that they could be better."

I nod. "So is this where you work?"

"No, but it's where you'll be spending about half your time. I hope you don't mind farm work."

"No, grandma's put me to work on the farms on Themyscira. This is a… It's a bit more sophisticated. But I'm sure I can cope with it."

"That's the spirit! The other half of the time you'll be with me in my office in Market Analysis. It probably won't be very interesting, lot's of fetching and carrying, but I'll try and make sure that you know why everything's happening."

Huh? "Is there a lot of… Market to analyse right now? I thought everything was-. I mean, transport, and-."

She nods. "It's true, we're not doing much typical market analysis right now, but if anything what we're doing is even more essential than usual. Rather than looking at what could give us an edge over our competition, we're looking at what it is that people really need. For example, quite a lot of the U.S. has problems with water shortages, which is made worse by the fact that we can't really import as much food as we used to and even if we could, South America is exporting much less than it was a few years ago. What do you think that means for LexFoods, and LexCorp in general?"

"Ah. Farm land is a lot more valuable. And so are farmers, because people don't learn how to farm in schools."

She nods. "It's a shrinking profession."

"And KordTech's weather control system… Ah, it's not really working so well right now."

"It's working, but it's not expanding. On their original outline, supplying water to drought-stricken areas in the U.S. was something they'd have started this year. But with Atlantis not able to supply them they're down to a fraction of the staff they need to sustain normal operations."

"So agricultural land's a lot more valuable than it was."

"People always need land, but the U.S. needs skilled farmers and water for irrigation. And not just drilling aquifers; if they aren't replenished, that just buys the area a few years. So that means piping it in, desalination plants or magic. We even looked at the viability of bringing in a ice comet!"

"Uh…"

"Oh, don't worry. That one was more of a theoretical exercise. Because unless you can bring in a new comet every few years you end up back where you started."

That's a relief. And not just because I'd be worried if LexCorp drops a comet somewhere, but because the Justice League could easily do that, and if it could have actually helped…

"So, ah, what exactly would I be doing around here?"

"Well, a lot of the monitoring is done by computer, but we still need a human to run their eyes over everything. Why don't I show you the soil analysis robots?"

Darko · 2024-10-24T06:16:20+0100

Mr Zoat said:
perfectly well that your mother in Wonder

"mother is"

Mr Zoat said:
"Well, put it this way. How many normal farmers have access to a cutting edge genetics research laboratory

I mean, this is a comic book universe, so it wouldn't be that odd if there are a few.

NightmareWarden · 2024-10-24T06:16:55+0100

Now I'm wondering if gently setting a bunch of ice comets on Antarctica and the north pole would help our magic-free world. Or stacking them. That's to bandaid how quickly they are melting, nothing to do with fresh water.

Ngamer11 · 2024-10-24T06:18:23+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"Mitchell, I know perfectly well that your mother in Wonder Woman and that… The Justice League doesn't have a great relationship with LexCorp." She looks at me for a moment, so I nod. "But you should know two things about us. Firstly, we're here to make money. We make most of our money in the high technology sector; we depend on a functioning global economy, with billions of market participants. The current broken state of human society hurts us a lot more than it hurts the Justice League. I must have worn this dress at least twice before today."

That should say 'is'.

Mr Zoat said:
"Secondly, there is no profit in the end of the world. So now is a really bad time for taking dangerous risks. Every one of these strains makes use of genetic use restriction technology. They'll still produce pollen, and they need to be fertilised by an insect-. We actually have our own bee hives, just over…"

Now I'm thinking of the time Paul quoted the Kingpin by saying that to KF, and the latter replying he wishes real villains would say stuff like that. Eve isn't a villain, but this is probably the closest we'll ever get to Lex saying it out loud.

Mr Zoat · 2024-10-24T06:35:00+0100

Darko said:
"mother is"

Thank you, corrected.

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

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