Seventh ☂ Text

[thirdreturned]

Thank you for retrieving the fragments of the Door. It seems that the rogue Null's information was somewhat accurate after all- though judging by some of the encounters with Null scouts, I believe it would be irresponsible to rule out any attempt at foul play on its behalf.

With the new fragments, I can experiment with making the Door more complete and responsive to complex tasks. As it is now, the monthly fluctuations are very chaotic and noisy- they bring in various people from different worlds, but also monsters, objects... and it releases a massive energy signature, which is why we have needed to relocate constantly since activating it.

My goal is to not only reduce these energy fluctuations, but also give me more control over the Door- who it brings in, what it brings in, and... yes, eventually finding a way to send all of you home or to a neutral place when this is over. With any luck, I can put in a failsafe, so that if we become overrun with no hope of survival, then I can send all of you away in a moment.

Finally, I may be able to use the Door to move the city instead of relying on Fear's power- this way, we can avoid any incomplete transfers and be able to move the city without the Null, even if the Null are invading.

To accomplish all of this, I need the fragments that have been collected. You may leave them at my temple.

Comments

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[dedikated]

( Her gut screams no, not after wanting these for so long. But Kate stares at the screen a while longer, tapping her finger against the space bar for a good minute before she thinks of a response. )

Willing to let us work with you?

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[thirdreturned]

In what regard?

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[completelycrazy]

What about the monsters? Are you planning to soup up the Door so that it stops bringing in monsters every month?

[Don't put him out of a job, dude!!!]

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[thirdreturned]

I suppose I can leave that to community feedback, though it would be ideal, don't you think?

If we don't need Fear to move the city, then we can afford to give him less power. I would have assumed most of you wanted that.

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[evocation]

what kind of signature? can we help?

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[thirdreturned]

It releases a massive amount of energy similar to our own abilities, but on a more uncontrolled scale. The Null are capable of tracking this.

How would you help?

[text]

[synthedick]

You should know by now how a request like that is going to go.

[text]

[thirdreturned]

I'm offering things that many of you have requested for years now. If your people are too stubborn to give me what I need to grant you those desires, then it's out of my hands.

The pieces are functionally useless to you, anyway.

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[ghostlocked]

what happens if some ppl dont fork over the fragments?
before u ask i dont have a dog in this fight. i dont have shit.
im jw what ur plan is in case anyones not feeling particularly cooperative.

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[thirdreturned]

It's nothing that we haven't lived without. I'm merely trying to help with all of our peace of mind and lessen the need for Fear to use you to gain power.

If you object to that, there isn't much I can do. Life continues as it always has.

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[abyssalarcana]

i wont pretend anything i did was to help you and your friends. you all know that

no point either in acting like this bunch of humans can do anything about pieces of a creature so powerful it will drive them mad

but as one of those who went to pick these things up i want a say in how they are used. i want these people to have time to study them before we give them up to all of you. and i want to make sure that sending people home is the greatest priority

can you agree to any of that?

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[thirdreturned]

You haven't already studied them? From my understanding, some of them have been in the city for some time.

I'm not sending anyone home until this is over- one way or another. That has always been my stance and I will not budge on it now. However, obtaining these fragments can help me to ensure that you are sent home, even if this city is annihilated. I can't do that without them.

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[aroundthecoroner]

[Yeah, Michael's been kind of wary about giving the fragments to the gods before, but... this sure does sound like a good deal. He's got some questions, though. When does he not?]

What do you mean "when this is over"?
You mean after we either escape or destroy the Null?
Or is there some other goalpost we're waiting for?
If you send us all away, won't you guys starve?
I'm not trying to be, like, I don't know, pessimistic, but that sounds kind of too good to be true, you know?

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[thirdreturned]

"When this is over" refers to either when we are free from the threat of the Null, secure a more agreeable and voluntary host population, or if the Null destroy us.

The goal is to eventually find another power source. We can survive without hosts for some time, but if we have to use our abilities- such as, to escape from or fight the Null- then that time is much more limited.

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[roseofthetyrells]

This all sounds lovely.
But what does "when this is over" mean?
When we have defeated the Null?
When you find a more reliable food source?
Or is there another goal in mind?

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[thirdreturned]

All of the above. If we repel the Null, if we find a better host population, or if the Null kill us.

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[hasitsthorns]

Does this not count as a netural place?
Are you kicking us out when it's all said and done?

[ What if we want to stay? is implied but not explicitly asked. ]

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[thirdreturned]

I was thinking some place more neutral.

I don't think leaving would be mandatory, unless the Null kill us and destroy this city- a very likely scenario, unfortunately.

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[toiletseat_girl]

Wouldn't everyone be better off if we all worked together on this shit?
Cooperation is kind of a dirty word, but it's easier to get stuff done as a group instead of one guy going it alone.
Even if that one guy is called a god.

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[thirdreturned]

On the Door?

Given that it drives most sentient life mad when they're even near it, I don't think that's a wise choice.

private text

[unphase]

What about those of us who are dead in our worlds?
I don't want to go to a neutral place, I want to go home.
Would you be able to send me back to my world after I died?

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[thirdreturned]

I'm not sure if that's possible.

I can look into it, but- if your body is dead in that time, altering your timeline may be difficult.

[private]

[circumitus]

if it becomes necessary because people are going to be difficult about forking over the fragments you need, would not be opposed with taking them for you.

[Unlike some, Rey sees no point in withholding the fragments from those that could make actual use of them.]

[private]

[thirdreturned]

[And unlike how others may see him, Sorrow is far more pragmatic than most.]

That would be agreeable. Would it be difficult for you?

( text; )

[traitory]

Oh so you're one of these so called 'gods' everyone's been talking about. What if we possess our own means and methods of traveling through space? A space bridge would be far more useful than this door of yours, I can guarantee it. But building it is the hard part.

[ Though he really hates helping anyone but this also helps himself so he's fine with it. ]

But forcing people to hand over these fragments will be...easy, if it needs to be done.

[ He has no qualms about bullying humans so you know he's in with the crowd of forking over fragments. ]

( text; )

[thirdreturned]

I highly doubt you'd find the materials to build such a thing here.

I could take them by force if I wished- I choose instead to respect our alliance. What you do amongst yourselves is of little concern to me.

[aka: go ahead, bud.]

[fogsong]

I vaguely remember the last time some of you decided to experiment. What should we expect?

I'm also curious: what makes you think you'll end up with any actual control over the Door? I heard it makes most things go nuts.

[ That took her a good twenty minutes to write. There had been a lot of profanity and accusations. ]

[thirdreturned]

I wasn't the one doing the experiments.

All the same... it likely won't be entirely pleasant. It is a member of my species, ancient though it may be, and I have studied it frequently so I have some understanding of it that my allies did not.

I'm more resistant to the chaotic effects of it, but I am not immune. Alterations to the door will take time so that I can preserve my own sanity.

[private]

[hot_mes]

[he's taken some time just to see what other people are saying, gleaning information from the answers. What Law actually needs to ask about is only tangentially related]

in your opinion, has anything I've learned about your physiology to date useful for keeping you from suffering any ill effects?

I know it's been a while, but to be fair, I've been happily at sea for a month.

[private]

[thirdreturned]

Perhaps. I need to integrate with it- it would be useful if I could do so while also protecting myself, but that rather defeats the purpose of integration.

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[pocketspa]

so like
why dont you just tell us what they do
so people wont need to study them
and you can just have em

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[thirdreturned]

What are you looking for?

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[sciencelizard]

[Mmmmmm of course this was coming. Of course it was gonna be him.]

so
uhm
theres no chance you can just talk about what the door does and what the shards do and all that
right

[She kind of figures he knows she must have at least one by now. Her name- and the Lab- have been floated on the network often enough.]

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[thirdreturned]

If you tell me what you want to know, I'll see if I can answer your questions in a way that makes sense to you.

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[allthecards]

What kind of experiments are you planning to do?

[That all sounds too conveniently good to be trusted.]

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[thirdreturned]

I detailed my intentions in the body of the main post.