hadriel | [video] ready for more plot

[Law would like to interrupt your currently scheduled sobfests and chest-unburdening to bring you something somewhat urgent. Maybe seeing Jon and Dany taking initiative inspired him, who knows.]

The Null are coming and the fight is coming, we know that. But anyone who was here for the last round might remember just how desperate it was. The only reason it stopped was because Fear moved the city, not because the Null gave in or we won or anything. I foresee the same thing happening again: that when they come, they won't stop coming until we're all dead or something else intervenes.

[he sighs; he hasn't asked Sorrow directly, yet, so he can't blab about his research into the gods. But he can dance around it pretty damn well, providing as much as he knows without going into his secret research.]

I have a proposal for a way to put a permanent end to the war between the Null and the gods, but I need assistance to pull it off. Technological assistance. I have some expertise, but the mechanics of this idea will require other skill sets which I don't have and can't learn in a few weeks.

The essence of the conflict is emotion; the gods live off it and the Null hate it, and the Null's own unique brand of logic leads them to conclude that the only way to protect themselves from emotion is to destroy the gods. Our chance at getting home dies if they do, but there are simply too many Null for us to fight - we can't win this war that way. Ending the conflict is going to take creativity rather than swords and magic. That's where I come in. The Null will have no reason to destroy the gods or us if they're put into a situation where whether or not they catch the virus becomes moot. Either they need to be rendered permanently safe from emotions, or permanently afflicted with them.

As a doctor, my preference is inoculation. But as much as I understand transmission of viruses and that emotion is likely a biological state, I don't have the means of adapting that to robotic systems. If a vaccine is impossible, then we can go the opposite way and turn it into a weapon. [his eyes harden] I have my own reasons to detest such a path, but if it's that or our deaths, then I'll take unethical means over death.

Contact me if you have the skills to assist with this. I admit it's out of my area of expertise. The sooner we get on this the better, because even with the most skilled fighters preparing for months, it's not going to be enough. If all we have is physical fighting, we're all going to die anyway.

[yep that's why he has the worst bedside manner]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

By "vaccine", you mean something like an antivirus to protect the Null from being infected? It'd be possible if they were actually open to communicating a truce.

[Which, based on past incidents, they don't seem too keen on doing. Rey doesn't see the point in trying to negotiate with machines, but others seem to have value in it when it comes to things like Name.]

Stumbled on what looked like a communication hub back at the last planet. Might've found something to contact their hivemind, but we didn't want to mess around with that sort of thing to draw attention to our current location.

[Pause.] But if we had a way of a few of us being transported back there with a plan, we at least know a place where we can contact them without putting everyone in the city at risk. Tranquility at least seemed open to allowing Fear to send out scouts and such. Don't know about you, but sitting on our thumbs in a jungle doesn't sound very fucking productive.

...I agree, it doesn't.

[oh good Rey's smart, she can help]

Exactly, an antivirus. I know they're not good negotiators but maybe dangling the promise of never having to fear infection ever again will get their attention. We'd have to have that bargaining chip ready, though.

Knew someone who'd probably get something like that whipped up in a heartbeat. Too bad he's not here. He'd probably welcome the challenge.

[Not that Rey would wish Tejinder to be here and not back in the world they share, though things weren't looking much better for him than they were for Rey.]

Not much of a programmer myself, unfortunately. [Alphys is the only one she knows here that could be just as good as Tejinder, though.] But that communications hub might be our best shot at holding any leverage on them, whether we decide to weaponize the virus or use it to help them.

[Now the city's been moved, Rey isn't as remiss about going back there to check out that direct link to the Null.]

Yeah, well. Right now we have to work with whatever resources we have. I'm not even going to hope that the Door brings in someone anytime soon.

You're right, though. That hub sounds extremely interesting. Had I known it was there I might not have been so quick to vote to leave.

[nah he's still glad they're not in snow-land anymore]

Think it's better that we did leave. Didn't want to accidentally end up tipping off the city's location to the Null at the time. At least knowing that we have the ability to send out scouts helped with my decision. Now we might be able to go back and look into that direct line more thoroughly without the risk of getting everyone killed.

[Rey would have much rather gone to the Null planet, but she'd rather put herself in the line of fire than a bunch of people who may or may not know how to take down synthetic enemies.]

I suppose that's a plus. Better than freezing our asses off, still.

Either way, that hub sounds like our point of contact, so that's one problem solved. There are a lot more on my list still to tackle, though.

The ass freezing was never a problem, personally.

[Hooray for having total control over your body temperature.]

Yeah... Would have brought it up sooner, but didn't want some window licker who didn't know what they were doing to come and fuck with that shit if more people knew about what we found at the time. It looked pretty important. We know where it is and we can go back again, so that's what matters.

[snort! this is why he still likes you, Rey]

For you, I'm sure.

It does look like Sorrow's got a better handle on the Door. Being able to send a party back there might be crucial, now.

[video] ready for more plot

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