--- 2014/09/02(Tue)16:13 No. 592251 ID: 2b4635
File 140969963367.png - (390.94KB , 800x600 , 1.png )

It is dark and warm. A low, steady drumbeat fills the room, with the sound of waves flowing and receding. Faint green light dots the walls.

A lone figure lies sleeping dreamlessly.

System needs more information.

Subject name: Unknown. Please define.
Subject species: Areeni derivative 12109, baseline relative.
Subject sex: Female.

Notable genetic flaws: Unknown. Please define.

Reason for retainment: txQRnBrEGQfficiVTsTjwSuritHocHkUarance.

Name: Uhh, I dunno. Raya?

Notable genetic flaw: Tail has been modified to have retractable manipulator. Unsuitable for fine work.

Name Iris
Notable Genetic Flaws Narcolepsy, Heterochromia, and Stuttering

Iris is a fine name, for your flaws how about having schizophrenia and no sense of smell or taste. Gonna be fun.

Name: Culya

Genetic Flaws: Persistent tremors that intensify when exposed to strong odours, damping of sensation and coordination in extremities.

Name: Zaria
Genetic Variation: Polydactyly feet maybe? Or maybe tapetum lucidum? Seeing in the dark is easier but also easier to be noticed. And imagine the glowing green eyes showing up in every photo.

Name: Akara??
Species: ACTUALLY A KETZA 8D
Notable Genetic Flaw: fluffy feet

Well you've got two notable flaws right there; they're not usually supposed to have those. That probably has some interesting story behind it.

I have no idea what sort of naming schemes areeni are supposed to have so let's call you Ritz until someone comes up with a better name.

As for genetic flaws, let's go with some things I'm going to pretend are genetic in areeni... underdeveloped ear musculature (limp ears) and aquagenic urticaria (this should be interesting).

Name: Inga
Genetic Flaws: Echolalia, Essential Tremor.

I like Ritz.

Two genetic flaws... hmmm

How about. Seizures, and colorblindness.

Culya 2014/09/02(Tue)21:49 No. 592297 ID: 2b4635
File 140971974664.png - (807.07KB , 800x600 , 2.png )

Subject name: Culya.
Notable genetic flaws: Tapetum lucidum, heterochromia, tremors aggravated by strong odour, underdeveloped ear musculature, stuttering.

Culya wakes up.

The drumbeat is a pulse. The sound of waves is fluid rushing through the walls. She finds herself lying in a pool of viscous, glowing green liquid, with fleshy tubes latched to her body like fungal leeches, twitching as though in pain. Her body is numb. She can feel her heart beat faster as her blood runs cold in her veins.

She doesn't know where she is, but something deep in her mind is screaming for her to escape. She's inside something alive. She has to get out.

Her limbs don't respond, numb and sensationless, dead flesh anchoring her to the pool. She tries to open her mouth, but something wrapped around it holds it shut. Her eyes pan over the surroundings. Green pulsing veins are all she can see.

Her mind races and she tries to think of what to do.

>>592297
Wiggle your big toe. Focus all your willpower on doing that. Once you achieve that motion, you can work on bigger parts of your body.

uh, start small, try to move your fingers and toes and work your way up. Also try to remember whatever you can about yourself before you woke up here, might explain what the fuck is going on.

Try to get those muscles moving. Start small and work 'till you get stronk.

Breathe deeply to calm yourself and focus. Your arms look mostly free, attached only to loose strands. Try to move your arms until one of them can reach the tube on the other's wrist. If you want to get free, you need to detach yourself from them, but don't just pull them off in case they've got stuff attached inside of you. Try to break the tubes without pulling them away from you and you'll probably sustain minimal injury.

Just like kill bill, remember something important in a flashback while getting your body moving, starting with your toes.

>Her mind races and she tries to think of what to do.
Break it down, simply and practically. It's not a matter of what you should do, it's a matter of what you can do.

If your body won't respond to your commands, you have two options. Either slowly and painstakingly work to regain your control, or find some other way to influence your environment.

And since other means of influence are pretty unlikely (willing the vines to let you go? Psychic powers?) that leaves working on motor control.

If your environment distresses you, block it out. Close your eyes, and focus on the task at hand.

Odds are if you struggle against whatever's holding you in the pool it will either loosen up or tighten up in response. No idea which is more likely though.

Culya 2014/09/03(Wed)15:26 No. 592410 ID: 2b4635
File 140978321031.png - (588.84KB , 800x600 , 3.png )

Culya focuses on her fingers and toes, trying to move them. Some few seconds later, they shake uncontrollably. She mutters quiet curses into the tube around her mouth. Sensation starts creeping back into her body. The leechlike tubes ache and hurt almost as if part of her. Her arms move, sluggish, delayed, but active.

She tugs warily at a tube attaching to her wrist. It hurts, but the pain is foreign. It feels as though it comes from the tube itelf. She pulls harder, and the pain first gets sharper before becoming strangely muted. Harder still, and the sensation fades further as the tube twitches and spasms violently. Harder and she recoils at the sharp pain suddenly flaring into her entire arm.

The tubes are attached quite firmly. She tries to tear a tube apart, and feels the same alien pain as before. She reaches for her mouth and tries to free it. The grip is not as strong, and she pulls the foreign object away almost effortlessly.

She tries to stand, but her legs buckle underneath her, feeling incredibly weak.

>>592410
So, the mouth tube didn't put up a fight, but the other tubes stand firm. Maybe they are there for your benefit. Test all of the tubes to see if any others are loosely attached like the mouth tube was.

Try to stretch a bit, become used to physical exertion. You have most likely been laying there for your entire life, and are waking up for a specific reason.

Try to speak. See if there's anyone nearby that can hear you.

Remove the tubes as quickly as you can stand to. In the meantime, try to recover your strength. Don't stand up too fast.

Also, examine your surroundings.

Ok, maybe don't pull those out of you. The fact that you're alive and moving around means they're probably not hurting you, at least not in a way that a couple of minutes will make a difference. Walk around the room and see if there are any interesting features on the walls. Is there some kind of squishy control panel, or something that could be used as an exit?

Second not just ripping the tubes out. Try and move around, get a sense for it again.

How long are the tubes? Can you move about the area you're in with them on or are you stuck where you stand?
If they're restricting you from moving anywhere then they'll have to go, slowly and carefully.
If not then try to get an idea for your surroundings and what is in there before doing anything too drastic.

alright we can ignore the other tubes for the moment, what do you see around you?

Culya 2014/09/03(Wed)23:43 No. 592463 ID: 2b4635
File 140981300116.png - (720.37KB , 800x600 , 4.png )

Culya is having a hard time remembering what sequence of events brought her to this situation, but she definitely has not been here her whole life. She had a home and a stable career in Siafu, working as a...

Well, stable might not be right. She was sick of data entry and went back to her art. So people didn't see the value in metal. Claimed it was obsolete, only of value to the eccentric or old-fashioned. So she made useless things. At least she had buyers, most of them offworlders. She never could face working with parts that moved by themselves. The tremors made it hard enough as it was.

It wasn't exactly making her more than her old desk job was, but at least her new desk didn't squelch. Her friends told her her house seemed so dead, but really they just couldn't see life unless it had a pulse. But it did have a pulse. That soothing, perfect rhythm, tick, tock, tick, tock, extending into the days, weeks, months. A calming drumbeat that clung to regularity, the natural rhythm of a universe that every beat of her heart, every muscle contraction, every cilia flicker merely tried to emulate.

She wasn't doing that badly. She can't imagine having agreed to whatever this is. How the hell did she get here? Did she make anger someone powerful? With her refusal to conform to what was expected of areeni, with her refusal to discard her flaws and become another specimen of genetic perfection? The same as everyone else, a species of clones, one mind, one body, one soul--

Culya 2014/09/03(Wed)23:43 No. 592464 ID: 2b4635
File 140981301764.png - (452.02KB , 800x600 , 5.png )

In her angry recollection, she notices the tubes have all spontaneously abandoned her. Not a trace remains. Not a bruise, not an incision mark. Nothing.

She looks around. The fluid gurgles and drains away and the walls fold up into the ceiling, revealing more of the room around her.

She is struck by the sudden absence of scent in the room, and icy cold air circulating from breathing gills in the walls, breathing chilled freshness at her.

Something else is in the room, but seems to be preoccupied. Culya freezes on the spot and breathes as quietly as she can. She can't see a way out of the room.

Move away from the circle, last thing you need is to get trapped in that tank again

>>592464
Your situation only makes sense if you were released on purpose by whatever/whoever that is. The reason for that could be benevolent or not, but the fact remains you are not restrained. I would suggest you get into a stance and location that would allow you to quickly assault the thing in the room, but do not attack just yet.

Perhaps you can demand an explanation for why you are here.

Lets not be hasty with any accusations, but this was an unpleasant way to wake up.

I second moving away from the pod you were in. The unknown person that is working at the terminal is suspicious but has shown no open hostility yet. I don't propose trusting it either though.

If you see no other way out then you will probably have to interact with them, be careful and stay prepared in cause they turn out to be hostile. Better to be embarrassed and act defensive towards a friendly than to try and hug something that wants to end you.

>>592464
Ask it what's going on but be prepared for a response in Idon'tspeakthisese.

Take a step or two out of the pool, and try speaking to the creature at the controls. We don't know its intent or motives, so don't make assumptions, there. No accusations, no thanks, yet.

>>592463
>>592464
Is the missing band around your eyes significant? Was that pigmentation in your skin, or some kind of dye or makeup?

>>592503
I think the band might have been wielding goggles or something like it

Culya 2014/09/04(Thu)18:23 No. 592578 ID: 2b4635
File 140988019698.png - (381.23KB , 800x600 , 6.png )

Culya steps out of the pool, or pod, or whatever it was she was in. She opens her mouth experimentally, and starts coughing before clamping her hands over her mouth.

The creature does not react. It sluggishly prods sacks of glowing gel.

She isn't much of a fighter, but, for all the troubles of her ancestry, she still has sharp teeth, at least. She tried to keep in shape at least. She'll go down fighting if anything lunges at her and she can't get out of the way, at least.

She backs up to the wall and still sees no exit. She thinks of something to say that doesn't assume anything of the thing at some sort of console. She thinks it's a console. It's stranger in design than anything she's used herself, but eerily familiar, like a panel of buttons designs by someone afraid of plastic.

"Hel-hel-hello? I, uh, uh, wh-what is..."

She trails off and tries to take deep breaths. Of course it would be acting up now. Why wouldn't it be acting up now? She tries to keep a calm voice that masks her frustration.

"Wh-wh-where am I?"

The creature pauses, and takes its limbs away from the console for a moment, before tapping a different gel sack to before. A voice booms out of its console.

"Welcome to AXON Interactive Help Service! Please wait while your query is processed. Query processed! You are in Siafu's first PragmaSoma Biosynthesis Centre. Are you best described as a: 1) consumer user, 2) enterprise user, 3) synthetic? If you have an account with us already, please give your account number now!"

Culya despises PragmaSoma and everything they stand for. One time they sent her a letter advising her to have her genetic flaws fixed. She filmed herself burning it and uploaded the video in a dozen places.

It suddenly strikes her that that might be why she's here. This does not improve her opinion of PragmaSoma very much.

The creature pulls the tube out of its mouth, and wanders over to the pod where Culya was standing. She traces its every movement. The walls drop down around it, squelching as they lock into the base, and she hears gurgling as fluid pours into the room.

"If you wish to be put through to reception, please ask now!"

Oh no, you haven't just been abducted by aliens, you've been abducted by BUSINESS ALIENS! Who knows what sort of horrifying experiments they've done to you? With what they did to the outside of your chest I can only imagine what they did to the inside.

You should probably ask to be put through to reception, you probably know more than most how these automated systems are if you don't pronounce everything exactly perfectly.

Oh you bet your ass we want reception. We won't stand for this sort of poor customer service.

Ask to be put through to reception, but be aware that you're likely to wind up not actually getting anyone.

Once they put you through, give your name, demand to know why you have been kidnapped and what they just did to you in that fleshy tank thing.

> Biosynthesis Centre
why would you need to be bio synthesized? did you die or something? and why do you not like pragmasoma so much?

reception would be nice right now so yes patch us through.

The creature... traded places with you? Weird. Or maybe it's cleaning the chamber after you used it?

Anyways, yes, agree to be put through to reception. Talking to a person rather than a recording might help.

Don't jump to conclusions about why you're here, or get too rude or confrontational right off the bat. You need information, first and foremost, and while you can image creepy or bad reasons for your being here, there might be legit ones too.

This is totally out of the situation, but what material is the paper that PragmaSoma uses? I mean, if paper machines as WE know them are obsolete, there must be new kinds of ways to produce paper. I'm thinking about some sort of soft organic films?

Oh, these jackasses apparently. You'd never coming here willingly I'm assuming. Do they have a history of kidnapping people?
Is it possible you got very sick and a friend or relative took you to them to get healed?
It looks like you are still stuttering so they don't appear to have changed anything in you yet, which is good.

We don't know why you're there or what kind of customer you are there so reception is the best bet, maybe they can clear up what's going on here.

Culya 2014/09/05(Fri)19:34 No. 592801 ID: 2b4635
File 140997088037.png - (421.66KB , 800x600 , 7.png )

Culya's hatred of PragmaSoma lies mainly in its agenda and the consequences of its actions. PragmaSoma is a corporation founded on 'practical biology', or by taking existing biotechnological principles and ramping them up to horrifying efficiency.

PragmaSoma is the main driving and funding force behind the initiative to repair the local areeni offshoot species genome to 'acceptable levels'. It is a eugenics campaign, pure and simple. Rumours have spread that some areeni have had letters detailing what will happen to them and their children if they reproduce, but local governments claim these rumours to be unfounded.

They also produce synthetics, purpose-built organisms with a greater capacity for individual thought and emotion, and have worked tirelessly to strip away through loophole and technicality every significant right afforded to synthetics previously provided.

Culya narrowly avoided jail time after getting into a fight with someone else for their abuse of a synthetic. Her lack of fighting expertise did nothing to temper her outrage at the synthetic's treatment.

A 'biosynthesis centre' is presumably a facility for manufacture of PragmaSoma products, including synthetics. She wouldn't need to have been grown here, given her status as a 22 year old female areeni with a head full of confusion, a heart full of anger, and a genome riddled with missteps.

Culya considers the possibility she's an areeni inspired synthetic, but immediately dismisses it. If she's artificial, then her memories are such a flawless copy of whoever they came from she might as well be that person anyway. That existential quandary can come if she ends up happening on the hypothetical source of her entire mind. Also, the entire idea is ridiculous. Memory transfer is a fantasy.

And what would PragmaSoma be manufacturing a deliberately flawed areeni-like synthetic for? What possible reason would they engineer something so antithetical to their agenda?

As far as paper, no, dead plants still have their uses. The world is not yet totally insane. Sometimes inanimate material is simply the right decision. Even the most squirming of structures has a skeleton of steel and stone.

Culya 2014/09/05(Fri)19:34 No. 592802 ID: 2b4635
File 140997089064.png - (398.38KB , 800x600 , 8.png )

She doesn't know what the creature is doing now, but it isn't her concern anymore. She speaks to the disembodied voice. Its cheeriness is somewhat grating.

"P-put me through to reception. Now. I have some qu-questions."
"Connecting you to reception! Please wait."

There's a slight pause before someone actually answers, much to Culya's surprise. He sounds like an areeni, at least, and not a pre-recording.

"Hello? Who's there?"
"Culya. My name, uh, is Culya. Why am I being held here against my w-will?"
"What? Is this a joke? Where are you?"
"I have no Ske-damned idea, b-but I woke up in a pod with t-tubes in me. C-could you kindly explain what the f-fuck?"

There's a pause and what sounds like paper shuffling at the other end.

"Hmm. That area is off-limits to non-personnel. What are you doing there?"
"I don't f-f-fucking know! I was asking you!"
"Huh. Well. Stay there and I'll send a guard down to escort you to security. We'll have some questions for you, just answer those and we'll let you go."

Culya bites her tongue to stop herself from shouting something along the lines of fuck your questions, figuring she should put her emnity against PragmaSoma aside while at their mercy.

"W-what did you do to me?"
"Look, the room you're in is for synthetic diagnostic and repair. Maybe the system got confused and redirected you there because for some reason it thought you were a synthetic? Sensors confirm you're areeni, though, so just stay put and don't go anywhere."
"S-sensors? Are you f-fucking watching me now?"
"Hey, it's standard protocol. This is strictly professional. Don't worry, all I see my end is readouts and vague blurred symbols. The main thing is you have to stay exactly where you are. This is important. Do you understand that?"
"D-d-don't f-fucking patr-tr-tr-tr-tr-tr--"
"Patronise you?"
"I C-C-CAN FINISH MY OWN S-S-SENTENCES! Okay. I am s-s-sort of stressed right now. H-how long until se-se-security gets down here? Can I get some cl-clothes before the qu-qu-quiz?"
"Well, it... Oh. Oh Kre. That shouldn't be happening. Okay, uh, change of plans! I, uh, highly recommend you leave the room you're currently in and leave in an orderly manner down the corridor to your left. Make sure to go straight down the corridor, do not enter any of the other rooms, and above all else do not take any images of anything you might encounter. The exit passcode is 'fishsticks'. I, uh, I have to go. Oh, uh, fuck, um--"
"What exit?!"

Culya hears a button being smacked loudly and then silence.

"Thank you for using AXON Interactive Help Service! Would you like to rate the quality of service you received today? Did you know that participating in a voluntary customer satisfaction survey will automatically enroll you into a prize drawing for a brand new yacht? You could be the lucky one! Do you want to: 1) rate the quality of your service, 2) participate in a customer satisfaction survey, 3) both, 4) terminate this session, 5) hear these options again?"

She feels the wall shake as something smacks into it very hard on the other side. It smacks a lot harder and she reflexively hops away, noticing a sudden dent in the wall.

just yell fishsticks, hopefully the door will hear you.

Pick three! Let's do both! We could win a yacht! And as a bonus, we get to really confuse whoever is reading these, because screw these guys. Let's stand a bit further from the wall.

I take it you're not one of those areeni who like walking around naked everywhere, are you?

Try exit passcode!

>>592802
Push 4, say "fishsticks" and maybe "exit open now please". If an exit opens up go out so you can avoid whatever the fuck that is smashing the wall.
>redirected you there
Oh hell, she let something slip. You WERE kidnapped, but their system put you somewhere you shouldn't be. Maybe their systems are rebelling against them, because of the unethical shit they're doing. Or maybe the systems have gone nuts. Either way, you lucked out, to a degree. If the systems are going haywire you may get caught in the crossfire, but it's possible you were sent here on purpose to save you from a terrible fate- maybe the synthetic in here did it, even. Either way, you're somewhere vulnerable. Maybe you can expose the company for what it really is.

huh so we're in the synthetic ward then. Uh just how intelligent do they make synthetics and do they make any military synthetics? Oh and we might want to get out of here or at least somewhere that you don't have to worry about whatever is in the other room coming in to introduce itself.

Very quickly, say option 3, rate 0.5 out of 5 stars, send the yacht to Culya <surname or home address here>, and fishsticks.

Then follow those instructions to get out, quickly. From the receptionist's reaction, something bad is happening.

Culya 2014/09/06(Sat)17:04 No. 592987 ID: 2b4635
File 141004826745.png - (396.07KB , 800x600 , 9.png )

Culya flinches away from the dent in the wall as it grows larger. The wall begins to ooze as the skin of the room begins to split.

"Th-three, f-fucking awful, send it to Culya, 23 Serakree Rise, f-f-fishsticks!"

She has no idea why she cares about the stupid yacht survey when her life might be on the line, but hey, why not, it's not like they wouldn't already know her address--

There is another thud with a screech as something punches through the wall. She freezes on the spot as what looks like a fist bursts through.

Culya 2014/09/06(Sat)17:04 No. 592988 ID: 2b4635
File 141004827982.png - (342.22KB , 800x600 , 10.png )

The hand opens, and looks at her.

"F-f-f-fishsticks, come on, come on! F-fucking FISHSTICKS dammit!"

The arm attached to the hand struggles to widen the hole in the wall, the hand keeping its gaze on her, unnaturally still relative to the room around it.

A noise like a low muted roar explodes through the walls, sounding more like a collapsing building than anything living.

The other side of the room starts to shift and peel itself open along a previously unnoticed opening, flaying itself open like tent flaps.

Culya 2014/09/06(Sat)17:04 No. 592989 ID: 2b4635
File 141004828976.png - (393.99KB , 800x600 , 11.png )

Very soon after, the door closes itself again, and Culya is panting on the other side.

Sure enough, she finds herself in a corridor. The door is more clearly marked this side. Several other closed doors extend to the left and right. She knows she was told to go left down the corridor.

Down the corridor is what appears to be organic debris from what was presumably once working biotech, now a pile of broken flesh and seeping fluids.

Of course it would be blocked. Why wouldn't it be blocked.

She can hear low rumbling noises in the room she just left, and the sound is only getting louder.

She looks down the corridor to the right. It seemingly terminates in a dead end. Of the many closed doors she sees, there are three doors with entrance panels she can actually recognise, all next to each other. Tapping the panels should open them. She quietly walks closer to them.

She doesn't care much for the security optics embedded into the doors, but they're at least eyes she's expecting to see.

The doors are labelled. "Biotechnics Prototyping", "Synthetics Prototyping", and the third door's label display seems to be diseased or defective. The bioluminescent tissues are just bugging out and displaying garbage. Helpful.

I'd say door three, since you don't have any biotech in you to make it worth it, the synthetic door might be were our scary ass friend came from, and unless you can get sick for door 3 I say door 3. Hell we might get lucky and it will mr. stares could get sick, unlikely but hey here's hoping.

>>592989
Synthetics prototyping. You may be able to find some sapients and release them.

>>592989
Maybe to Biotechnics then, if the left is blocked.
Depending on the sort of door these are, maybe you could find a breach into another area through a damaged wall.

Open all three doors, so the eyeball-hand-thing following you doesn't know which way you went, or has to waste time actually hacking the security feeds to see.

>where go
Biotech, I think. Mobile synthetics could be dangerous (especially if that thing following you is one), and the damaged door might be where that thing already wrecked havoc, so things might be lose, and systems might be damaged.

Go to biotechnics. The damaged panel probably leads to something terrible, and synthetics can unpredictable, but biotechnics sounds like it might involve people. What's with this fishsticks stuff, anyway? Tell us about that. I think I see what you're going for but it clearly isn't working.

I'd have to say, since the door to the right is a completely blind choice, it's the path of highest risk and we have no idea what sort of resources it might contain. However, door on the left is full of tech we absolutely can't stand or use, but is possibly safer than either of the other routes.
But Synthetics seems like the path of equal risk and reward. If the synthetics are going haywire and this isn't some sort of corporate sabotage or a terrorist attack, it'll be absolute hell in there. But. There might be people...or, things, that need our help. I can't speak for Culya's opinion of synthetic lifeforms, but if things are going to shit, we have to at least try and get people out. Whether or not we respect their political views and/or existence.

It probably shouldn't be too much trouble to visit both of those rooms. There's bound to be good reasons to be in each.

Culya 2014/09/07(Sun)15:28 No. 593129 ID: 2b4635
File 141012891568.png - (363.23KB , 800x600 , 12.png )

Culya walks up to the door marked biotechnics. She taps at the glowing panel, and the biofabric pulls apart. The door's eye watches her intently until she passes through.

She taps the other panels to open them too, but after it becomes clear she's not actually going to enter the other doors they close themselves a few seconds later. She doesn't worry about tapping the broken panel; very few diseases are transmissable between biotech and areeni unless engineered to be so. She doubts this one is.

The door seals itself as she enters the biotechnics prototyping room. The room is littered with strange fleshy pods of unknown purpose. There's a much larger pod suspended and anchored to the far wall with an inactive screen, and warning stripes around it. There's also some sort of complex terminal, with bioluminescence labelling it as "AXON GANGLION". She doesn't remember a lot of her old biology classes but she isn't sure if that's how anything works.

She walks up to it. The display flickers and includes more text.

A-13 Terminal Status

Room: Biotechnics Prototyping
Contents: Prototyping Apparatus, AXON Ganglion Terminal

A long list of automated tests scrolls slowly, explaining what each pod in the room is and whether it passed testing. Apparently, none of the prototypes here did. Smart clothes extruders, hot drink brewers, generative music systems, personal transportation, all of them failures.

She looks over the reasons these tests went awry. Boiling alive. Starving to death. Organ failure. She notices a reoccuring theme: design validated, prototype failed. Much as she isn't a fan of PragmaSoma, she knows they're not complete idiots. Something does seem to be amiss here. Competent bioengineers don't frequently have their creations starve to death. That's as basic a consideration as a power supply is to her.

She hears something talk out of nowhere, making her jump. It sounds like the upbeat recording played at her earlier, but significantly less jovial, and more clinical.

"This room is off-limits to non-personnel. Please verify your employee identification by giving your name and identification number. Failure to provide a valid employee identification in areas of sensitive information constitutes an act of corporate espionage, and will be prosecuted to the highest extent the law allows."

Culya thinks this day is just getting dumber by the minute.

>>593129
Someone was sabotaging the tests, then. See if you can get that smart clothes extruder working, and wear the result. Hmm, what sort of personal transportation is the prototype? Teleportation would be handy here.

Lacking any useful scavenging, you'll have to exit and try the synthetics room to see if there's anything/anyone useful there.

You know what, tell it to call security on you. If anyone even comes I'd like to see them try to prosecute you for being in a secure facility that they kidnapped and brought you to. And I doubt security personnel would try to attack someone so obviously unarmed.

Soooo, what's this warning striped pod all about? Take a look while you respond.

Speak aloud.

My employee identification is: help please me, I'm naked, the exit collapsed, and there's something that can punch through walls chasing me, and I don't know how I got here.

Hopefully the computer (or whatever) will call security on you (which would be good, right about now), and someone alive will listen to the tapes.

We need to keep moving. Look for an exit, or a better place to be than here. Even in secure facilities, emergency exits are supposed to be marked.

Well assuming if you set off the alarm and they send guards to remove you that wouldn't be bad all things considered. Them pumping the room full of knockout gas or sending an engineered security creature that has company secrets at heart and not your safety would be bad.

It does look like someone is sabotaging them, maybe the large creature that was following you is more sabotage? If that's the case whoever it is doesn't seem to be worried about collateral damage.

We have no idea what the AXON GANGLION does so letting it out might be a bad idea. No idea if it failed or not, it wasn't listed as a failure and having warning tape around it means it should do something. On the flip side if that big thing from before comes for you and you find yourself a rock and a hard place. Just something to keep in mind.

Tell the computer you forgot your employee authentication and ask it where you can go to get another or who you talk to about that? The worst case scenario it calls security on you, best it might transfer you through to employee resources who might be more helpful.

unless they actually send someone down to come get you I'm pretty sure the prerecorded messages aren't really going to do anything other then give away your position. Speaking of which I think it might be a good Idea to start moving again before the noise draws something's attention.

Culya 2014/09/07(Sun)20:41 No. 593245 ID: 2b4635
File 141014766999.png - (289.43KB , 800x600 , 13.png )

The smart clothes extruder boiled itself to death. Something about a dry cleaning function gone terribly awry.

Good job, too. She'd have almost been tempted to try it, but "smart clothes" freak her out. Living organisms as apparel always disturbed her on some fundamental level.

The personal transportation prototype was something more like a walking chair, which is also no longer alive and therefore an inert useless object. Biotechnology suffers from that as a significant drawback. Once it breaks, there's no fixing it.

"M-my employee identific-cation is help me, I'm n-n-naked and can't leave, and s-s-something is ch-chasing me. I d-don't know how I got here!"

It feels like an eternity passes, until she gets a response a few seconds later. The voice from before sounds... off.

"Do not touch anything. You are not being chased. The door has been locked for your own protection. Everything is operating correctly. Please remain where you are."
"Wh-what?"

No response. She waits and then smacks the terminal in frustration.

She looks around when she suddenly hears movement behind her.

She hides behind the terminal, and slowly peeks out to see something hiding the other side of the terminal as her, slowly peeking out while tapping the console nervously with what looks to be a hand and its tail. She realises how narrow the terminal is and how close she is to whatever or whoever this is. It looks like a synthetic but of no design she's seen before.

>>593245
Wave. See how it responds.

Shake it's tail hand thing and introduce yourself.

>The voice from before sounds... off.
>Everything is operating correctly.
Shit. The guy in reception could tell something was wrong. All the experiments are dead. I think the AI (or whatever the organic tech equivalent is called) here has been compromised. You gave away your position.

Best thing is to not let on, and stop talking to it.

>someone here
Well, it's not the thing from before. Skin's not red enough, and it's missing the frills / teeth between the fingers.

Raise a hand and offer an awkward h-h-hello? And hope to everything you hold dear that this thing isn't hostile. And that it's intelligent.

>>593245
"Please don't stare at my boobs."

back away a bit, that way if it lunges at you, you have a few more seconds to react. Also look for a way out because if whatever that thing we saw earlier was, it could punch through walls a locked door isn't going to do shit.

Try to be friendly, just be polite and calm and ask who 'it' is. Nothing else to do execept hope he isn't crazy.

(Well I guess all the terminals are batshit, like space odyssey 2001 HAL batshit.

"Please remain where you are."
This means the door is NOT locked in a complete sense, or rather, that there is still a way out.

Like cutting the door open?

Has biotech replaced ventilation shafts with CO2-O2 convertng cells in the walls?

Culya 2014/09/08(Mon)16:31 No. 593346 ID: 2b4635
File 141021910760.png - (280.65KB , 800x600 , 14.png )

There are breathing vents in the walls for larger scale air circulation. CO2-O2 conversion tissue patches tend to be used only for smaller rooms. The issue is most breathing vent systems don't react well to obstructions, and she'd rather not be crushed to death by the vent tubes trying to squeeze her along to some form of disposal.

Culya slowly waves to the creature. It slowly waves back. She notices that it is, in fact, staring at her breasts, as well as briefly into her eyes. She backs away slightly, still keeping a hand on the relatively rigid console.

"H-hi."

She slowly reaches out and extends a hand to it. It shuffles about, looking between her hand and back to her chest. She tries to shake its tail, figuring that it might be seen as less aggressive than trying to pull its hand off of the console.

It feels strangely warmer than she was expecting. The creature is looking behind itself and to the side, and slowly creeps past the console to Culya's side, hands open and arms raised and head still tilted down.

Culya notices she isn't holding a tail. It... it isn't a tail at all. She lets go, and it hangs in the air, supporting its own weight, and she hopes there's some flicker of life left in the smart clothes extruder. She has a hand she needs to boil clean right now.

Culya 2014/09/08(Mon)16:32 No. 593347 ID: 2b4635
File 141021912321.png - (397.88KB , 800x600 , 15.png )

The very clearly male creature slowly lowers his arms to his sides, staring at Culya's hips as he slowly fixates lower and lower-- she squeezes her thighs together and wraps her tail around her.

She starts getting ready to run or punch the thing, which stares intently at her crotch even with her tail blocking his view, when he suddenly speaks.

"Female, stomach looking empty." His speech is confused and he stresses the wrong syllables in some of his words. He looks around nervously in reaction to Culya's still apparent shock and disgust. "There is danger, but protocol is to deposit gametes into receptive females. Is female receptive? Command is not telling me anything."
"N-no, and I have a f-fucking name that isn't f-female!"
"Please stand with your legs a little wider so I can check to see if you are free from XV infection, I have to report XV infection to command when command is available to talk to again--"
"Are you f-fucking serious?! R-really?! No, f-fuck off!! Leave me alone! I've got too much other shit to d-deal with without dealing with a horny synthetic!"

The male creature looks hopelessly lost and confused. He slowly backs up to the terminal, looking a little scared. "I, I, I wasn't instructed on how to resolve conflict like this. I don't know what to do." He taps at her tail with his tail gently.

Man this place just gets creepier all the time.

Tell him that when there is a conflict he is to stop depositing things and he needs to protect any females until further notice.

That's if you want a crappy bodyguard.

Whoa.

Well in fairness I mean I doubt this guy deals with anything that's not a synthetic.

Maybe he can help you figure out a way out?

What the heck was this thing for? Tell him to put that thing away and try to be at least a little subtle about it. If we find something to use as clothes we're giving them to him first no matter how much you think you need them.

I think we should explain to him that you think there's been some sort of emergency in this facility and that you're trying to evacuate yourself and anyone else you can find. Explain to him that because the circumstances of the facility here have changed, the learned behaviors and commands he has will no longer work, and he'll need to think for himself at least until we can get to safety.

state calmly that danger is very high due to an attacker, and unless you escape the danger then any matings will simply result in death of the children before birth. and to please direct you to nearest route to outside the building.

He's out of his depth, not prepared at all. He's as lost as you are, and you know in this case it's there fault.

Respond: female is not receptive for breeding, and declines inspection. Female's designation is Culya. No conflict. Understand?

I need an exit. Do you know where one of those is?

>>593347
Tell him to just turn around, and stop looking at your boobs or crotch or pointing his dick at you. You are not one of the females he's supposed to be inseminating. Tell him your name and ask him his. Ask him if he knows what happened here, where did the danger come from? By command, does he mean he gets instructions over the speakers like through the terminal?

Where did he come from anyway?

... keep your eye on long Johnson here but tell him proper protocol when dealing with this kind of situation that he doesn't know how to handle is to lead them out of the area so that they can find a superior or someone that knows what to do so that they can deal with the issue. If that's to much Just tell him to show you a different exit then the one you got into here from.

You may have to explain you're not synthetic, and his priorities are out of order.

Well, I think in addition to being under whatever synthetic hive mind or corruption or whatever is going on here, I think he is more confused than having bad intentions. That being said though, he will probably try to have his way with you if you aren't careful, so there's that. Just don't let your guard down or turn your back.

He's even more lost than you it looks like.
Explain clearly but calmly that you aren't a synthetic so his standard operating procedure for dealing with females will have to be different. First and foremost you're not receptive and he'll need to respect your personal space a bit more. Or if he doesn't know the concept of personal space explain he should stay about one arms length away.

The good news is you're not alone now, even if he's not much of a conversationalist. Do you have any idea what he means by XV infection? Maybe that's part of what's going around and making things break or go crazy like the figure that was so insistent on entering the room you were in before. If you don't know maybe he can explain it.

He almost certainly knows the place better than you, even if he only knows a few sections. It's probably best to keep him with you, if only because two people working together is usually better than going alone.

Whatever you do, don't think about what it might feel like.

That would be really inappropriate to think about right now.

Poor guy. He's just a drone. This is apparently what happens when you make a sentient being and don't give them anything but instincts and orders. He probably has no idea how to react to the situation, so he's desperately trying to find something he can do within the confines of his... "programming." That's a reassuringly normal response, to be honest, and it's hardly his fault that all he knows is bureaucracy and breeding if that's all he's been used for. Emphasis on used.
Either way, see if he responds to any emergency protocol you can remember, even if it's just basic kiddie shit, like dialing emergency numbers or any of that incredibly useful nonsense.

>>593392
This person is right. Whatever you do, do not think about what that thing would feel like snaking up into you.

>>594663
>>593392
I have so many questions as to why they would take the time to design highly exotic genitalia for what appears to be a technical drone in a high-end top-secret biological research facility. I don't know if I want any of them answered.

Because the engineers were perverts, or for some reason multi-purpose genitalia was the best design choice. And yes dont think about how it would slither and pulse going into you at all, that would be wierd.

Culya 2014/10/11(Sat)20:53 No. 597947 ID: 919a92
File 141308598841.png - (326.12KB , 800x600 , 16.png )

Culya considers briefly what it would feel like before waving such thoughts away. Mortal peril! More pressing matters!

"Your pr-priorities are all wrong, I'm not a s-synthetic, p-put that away and k-keep some d-distance. Do you know what p-personal space is?!"
"Priorities are what command tells me they are. Command has not formally briefed me for some hours. You do not resemble any synthetics I have encountered so not being synthetic is probably true. Until command dictates otherwise I will comply with your orders. Inherent authority due to non-synthetic nature."
"I, uh, I uh th-that isn't exactly wh-what I was expecting you to do, you uh, wait. I need to know the exits to this r-room. Do you know them? It's an emergency. You know what to do in emergencies?"

He folds his arms, closes his eyes and speaks in a far more elocutionary style, his enunciation rivalling the prerecorded messages.

"This room, biotechnics prototyping, has two exits that can be used by personnel. One exits to the corridor for this subsector of the facility, and the other goes directly into the adjacent synthetics prototyping room. In the event of an emergency, proper procedure is to leave in an orderly fashion via the corridor to the emergency exit located to the right as you leave. In the event this exit is blocked or corridor access is not available, there is a secondary escape passage located at the rear of this room."

Culya 2014/10/11(Sat)20:53 No. 597948 ID: 919a92
File 141308599743.png - (327.78KB , 800x600 , 17.png )

He pauses. "All that is known." His speech drops back into emphasising the wrong sounds again. "Command would know more. Sure of it. Command is in adjacent room. Synthetics prototyping."

Culya stares for a bit, processing what just happened. "Why would a breeding synthetic-- why would a breeding synthetic exist, firstly, but why did you s-suddenly start speaking a lot better?"
"Not made as breeder. Adapted into one by order of command due to natural XV immunity. Shortage of viable naturally reproductive stock, or similar reason. Needed to think more before. Finding it hard to think but rest of my organism is functioning healthily. Words getting easier but still hard."

The synthetic pauses for a while. "Adaptation to breeder duty required new hormonal influx. No imperative or desire to harm you, but must disclose feeling intense sexual attraction towards female forms healthy and fertile. Like yours. Apologies for lack of tact in previous statement. Have not interacted socially for some time. Hard to remember social contracts and protocols."

Culya blinks a few times. She isn't sure whether to feel offended, complimented, or to start backing away and never stop.

Culya 2014/10/11(Sat)20:53 No. 597950 ID: 919a92
File 141308601022.png - (257.98KB , 800x600 , 18.png )

The synthetic continues its unending ramble.

"Must stress importance of checking for XV infection. Tail augmentations can allow detection by contact with mucous membranes. Mouth perhaps least invasive. Consent?"
"What's XV?"
"XV can lie dormant in its host for up to a full year and can, when prompted by unknown stimuli, kill its host rapidly and painfully within six hours. I am immune, as are most surviving organisms in vicinity, but very possible many organisms carry virus unknowingly. Recommending this for your own safety and health. Deceptive killer. If you are infected it is critical to move to treatment room immediately. Consent to test?"

Culya ponders.

"Okay. Well, if it's just a tail, and a tail this time, I c-can work with that. Give me your t-tail."
"I--"
"Tail. Now. Come on."

She grabs the synthetic's tapering tail, sticks out her tongue, and applies the tail tip to her tongue as though it were some form of paper strip. She keeps eye contact with the synthetic, who seems suddenly a lot more uncomfortable.

"W-well? Am I clean?"
"No immediate danger."
"Is that a yes?"
"Should go to synthetics prototyping."
"That isn't an answer--"
"Need to see Command. Urgently."

Culya watches the synthetic dash among rows of dead pods and darts into a door orifice that blends seamlessly into the walls. It opens with startling speed.

Culya 2014/10/11(Sat)20:53 No. 597951 ID: 919a92
File 141308602288.png - (341.93KB , 800x600 , 19.png )

Culya wastes no time in chasing after him and manages to find the door, lunging for it before it closes.

Catching her breath from a sudden jolt of activity from nowhere, she looks at her surroundings. The male synthetic she still hasn't thought to ask the name of looks around in a room lined by glistening, empty transclucent sacks.

The majority of the room seems empty, and very very long. Vines dangle from the ceiling, and it's hard to tell if it's intended or overgrowth. There are scars in the floors and ceilings where something might have been before. The door to the corridor looks to be heavily barracaded, with an arrangement of biotech suggesting an unpleasant surprise for anything trying to force its way through the door.

If anything, the more she takes in of the room, the less it seems like a prototyping room, and the more it seems like a makeshift bunker. She sees suspended solutions and thick bloated vessels of strange swimming things.

From dim recollection, she recalls PragmaSoma and other biotech corporations championing a re-emergence of the microscale food production technology used by the colonists of old, hydroponic vegetation, tanks of tiny aquatic organisms with low caloric requirements and high breeding rates. It looks like something gathered all this food production equipment and storage and hoarded it.

She also notes rows and rows of inert biotech machines and pods, with some of them glowing faintly and awaiting commands.

Culya 2014/10/11(Sat)20:53 No. 597952 ID: 919a92
File 141308603070.png - (283.27KB , 800x600 , 20.png )

She hears something behind her. A deep, feminine, authoritative voice.

"Best stating intention, intruder. This area Empire stronghold. Not feeling much charity toward obsolete slavemaker."
"Wh-what?"
"No moving. No action. Talk."

Culya slowly looks around to face a different synthetic to before.

"Not recalling to give permission to move. Infraction. Why you are here?"
"I-I--"
"How slavemaker runt getting into impenetrable stronghold? Who is slavemaker working for?!"
"Wh-what--"
"Invader having five minutes explaining situation before rendering unconscious and throwing to recycler vat. RENAME! SECURE AUXILLARY EXITS! IS BEING HOLES IN OUTER PERIMETER!!"
"I just want to go home!"
"And should letting you simply MEANDER through HIGH SECURITY AREA because...? Feeling it in good of heart? Thinking all slavemakers dead by now. What disappointing news. Well. State the case. Can deciding further action from that."

The synthetic's infuriated glare freezes Culya to the spot while she tries to think of a better response.

Empire?

Okay, wait, you need a good answer first, though. Maybe the plain truth will work? Tell her you woke up here with no recollection of how you got here and are only in this area because you're following, uh, whatever his name is around.

>>597952
You don't know how you got here, as you just woke up in a synthetic repair bay without any memory of how you wound up there, and you're not a slavemaker anyway! You fight for the rights of synthetics, dammit! How does he not know this? Doesn't he work for the people running this facility? He should have access to your background information. Tell him your name so he can find out about you. Just that arrest from beating up that synthetic abuser would shed a lot of light on the situation.
He probably can't access it though, because I bet he's a rebel. A rebellion inside the facility, and you somehow got in the middle of it. Maybe you can help them? It might take some doing to gain their trust before they let you do anything.

You should also bring up the XV thing. The breeder synthetic who you didn't ask the name of didn't give you a straight answer after the test.

Ask if he has any clothes around here.

Well, it sounds like you should make it clear that you are neither an employee here nor are you breaking into the building. Also that that red guy brought you in here. Tell her that you've been abducted and are trying to escape from your captors and wanted to help any synthetics that you encountered on your way to also get out safely. If I understand what's going on correctly it will help a lot if you make it clear that PragmaSoma had you held captive.

if she'll stop interrupting you then you can tell her you woke up in the synthetic repair bay with no idea how you got there, you were chased by something almost as soon as you woke up and the only exit that you knew of was blocked so you were forced to enter biotechnics. You ran into that guy (point to the guy you followed in here) and he lead you here were what's her name started yelling at you. You want to know why you're here, you want to know what is chasing you and why, but most of all you just want to get the hell out of here and go back home.

So that's your story what's her's?

Oh! Ask him what today's date is. Find out how much time you're missing. Be sure to ask what year it is, too.

>why did you s-suddenly start speaking a lot better?
A prerecorded message? Or, preprogrammed might be a better word. Kind of makes sense to have your synthetics ready to produce that kind of information, when queried.

>what say
You followed that guy in here! You asked him if he knew where an emergency exit was. (If she's a synthetic, maybe that'll trigger her to give a similar speech?).

You were taken to this compound against your will, without your knowledge. You're no slavemaker, you h-h-hate PragmaSoma! And and and, you're not an intruder, you're a refugee. You're fleeing some hostile crazy thing with an eye in his hand and punching through walls! You're not working for anyone, you worked for yourself! You made things out of nice, normal metal, not all these freaky naked flesh and doesn't anyone around here have clothes, seriously, are the people in charge here shameless perverts or what.

I mean come on, if I was a slavemaking intruder, wouldn't I have some kind of tools or clothes or gear or... something? Look at me, I obviously wasn't planning to be here!

>And should letting you simply MEANDER through HIGH SECURITY AREA because...? Feeling it in good of heart?
One reason to help us might be that if we get out of here it makes the slavemakers look bad. You're pretty sure whatever's going on here has to be illegal.

Culya 2014/10/12(Sun)19:57 No. 598057 ID: 919a92
File 141316902845.png - (331.90KB , 800x600 , 21.png )

"L-look! I w-woke up in a pod with a bunch of tubes where tubes shouldn't be, I was chased by some fr-freaky eye handed thing into the room next door, and I f-followed that red guy here!"

The female synthetic simply glowers.

"Rename causing as many problems as fixing. Not trusting slavemaker--"
"Okay, no, f-fuck that, I nearly went to fucking prison for taking a chunk out of a guy's face for how he was treating you guys! Okay, so I shouldn't be here, but let's focus on that, huh? Let's cut out the slave talk--"
"IF LETTING FINISH, not trusting, but not killing. Keeping close eyes on you. Follow. Passageway shutting soon, after all."

Culya follows after her. "I f-fucking hate PragmaSoma for everything they've done--"
"Would preferring synthetics never created in first place?"
"Well, not for the way they've been treating you--"
"So preferring unchallenged superiority, of course."
"What? No, I mean, now that you're a fact, we should treat you as equals!"
"But preferring not fact, yes?"
"I don't think I have the right to answer either way! I don't think any of us do!"
"Intriguing. What thinking of relig-- RENAME. NOT SECURING AUXILLARY EXITS STANDING THERE."

The female synthetic claps her hands together and shoots a death glare at the male synthetic, grabbing his snout. After an enthusiastic nodding, and an awkward, apologetic smile, he runs off.

An awkward silence accompanies the two on a slow walk across a room bigger than Culya's entire home.

Culya 2014/10/12(Sun)19:57 No. 598058 ID: 919a92
File 141316903990.png - (449.64KB , 800x600 , 22.png )

Culya breaks the silence, stammer still painfully present.

"S-s-so, uh, what's his name said I might have an XV infection or something and I would k-kinda like to know if I should do something about that?"

The female synthetic doesn't break her stride.

"Feeling sensation like all limbs breaking, heavy, no breathing, heart beating like spikes pressing into?"
"Uh, no, nothing like that, but he said it could work on a delay--"
"Time happened. No need worrying about XV. If XV killing you, happening already."
"Oh."

After further silence, Culya tries to defend herself. "You know, uh, me getting out is a great thing for both of us. You hate PragmaSoma too, right?"
"Not fan."
"I go to the media with my story, I give an exposé of everything that h-happened to me here, they get a lot of pressure on them. I mean, what are they going to do? They've already tried to silence me once! And it didn't work!"
"Media?"
"Yeah, I know a few journalists, they should be able to help me get the story out. Illegal detainment, synthetic abuse, really, this should crush PragmaSoma or wound them dearly!"
"If thinking so."

Culya 2014/10/12(Sun)19:57 No. 598059 ID: 919a92
File 141316904879.png - (433.45KB , 800x600 , 23.png )

The synthetic stops walking, and turns to face Culya. She doesn't look angry any more.

"What is being name?"
"Uh. Culya."
She gestures to herself. "Empire. Building new future for synthetic. Wrong word, but stuck. Long story. Culya thinking PragmaSoma preventing leaving facility?"
"They dragged me in here, and it's all their fault that th-things are so f-fucked up, so, yeah."
"Is being worse things than PragmaSoma, Culya. Many worse things. Thinking Culya threat, but maybe having common goal. When Rename finishing fixing security, safe from invaders. Can comparing knowledge, making new plans."

Culya sighs in relief. "Yeah, that sounds good."
"Can relax!" Empire claps her hands together. "Welcome to home stronghold. Empty, yes, but survivors regrouping slowly. Rename working on perimeter defense, Doctor trying breach of security system, and Seer... probably doing something maybe useful."

Culya 2014/10/12(Sun)19:58 No. 598061 ID: 919a92
File 141316913153.png - (490.61KB , 800x600 , 24.png )

Empire sits on the floor, and gestures for Culya to sit too.

"Culya captured by PragmaSoma, if understanding correct. Thinking Culya said things, maybe did things PragmaSoma not liking so much. Deciding to dispose of Culya. Understanding that mentality all too well, yes."

Culya just nods.

"Empire made for no clear purpose, although from..." Empire pauses to think of the words. "Certain literature, can assuming some things. Not particularly liking purpose. Unrelated accidents. XV outbreak. For moment, considering, maybe divine intervention? No. Learning reason why much later."

She pauses. "That story for other time."

"But new things. Invaders."

Culya feels as though an image flashes into her mind, but it vanishes before she can pay it much heed.

"Synthetics free in cruel joke, invaders kill and devour synthetics, scared, unprepared, without guidance." She points at herself. "Guiding other synthetics, for some time. But invaders subtle. Manipulating. Many synthetics not killed. Instead... changed. Thing chasing you probably one of them. Unfortunate. But Empire rebuilds. We can make new world."

Culya blinks. "New world? Uh, what about outside the facility?"

Empire stares at Culya as though Culya has lost her mind, before seeming to realise something and instead smiling and nodding. "Yes. When things working safely, can be escaping facility. Of course. So. Anything Culya wanting?"
"Do you have, I dunno, clothes?"
"What is being clothes?"

Culya sighs.

>>598061
So, the male is called Rename, she's called Empire, and there are two more called Seer and Doctor. I didn't think Rename was a name...

It sounds like the XV outbreak was likely caused by whatever saboteur was responsible for the failures of all the synthetic devices you saw. Or perhaps it was just the first stage of the Invaders' attack. To cause panic and possibly kill key members of the organization so they could move in and loot the place. I'm guessing the invasion is being kept quiet by PragmaSoma to keep the cops and/or military out of the facility, and they're trying to contain and eliminate the chaos.

Tell her clothes are fabrics or other obscuring materials you wear to keep people from seeing your sex organs. How does she know about how the world works but not clothing? Or maybe she's joking.

Let's see. Are you hungry or thirsty? You could get some refreshments now that you're mostly safe. You could wash your hands too since you touched Rename's dick.

Oh, tell her the conversation you had with the support thing, and about the synthetic that was with you in the repair room.

>What is being clothes?
Fibers pressed or woven into a lattice to make cloth that is draped or fitted onto an individual. Serves cultural and practical purposes. I feel uncomfortable without any.

>So. Anything Culya wanting?
...do you have anything inorganic? Metal? I'm good with that. (And you might find it reassuring).

so Empire has made a resistance to combat the threat that has appeared and is also rebelling against PragmaSoma. Kay that's easy enough to understand but the thing that has me worried is what is attacking PragmaSoma, why are they attacking, and PragmaSoma themselves. I mean I highly doubt that this is some odd test by PragmaSoma and seeing how the one receptionist you talked to earlier had no idea what the hell you were talking about until half way through explaining makes me wonder if PragmaSoma is keeping this quit from there own people as well or if whoever is behind this out brake is just trying to make sure nobody finds out about this until they're long gone. Either way I'm worried about what PragmaSoma is going to do to try and recapture this place. As for whatever is attack, no idea what they want so no guesses on what they'll do or are planning to do.

As for now maybe see the other 2 synthetics just so we know who is who so if we run into someone who isn't meant to be here we'll know right away.

Just ask if they have any sort of soft, flat, flexible materials that you can wrap around your body to make you feel more comfortable. As for this whole rebuilding thing, say that you're willing to help them make themselves safe but that you definitely want to leave as soon as you can feasibly do so without leaving yourself or others in danger, in case she's getting any ideas. You have a life outside of here you need to get back to and wouldn't be happy to stay living in here forever.

Culya 2014/10/15(Wed)18:57 No. 598501 ID: 919a92
File 141342466667.png - (295.33KB , 800x600 , 25.png )

Culya isn't particularly hungry or thirsty. She doesn't linger on why this might be, given the answer is probably tied to her stay in the pod she woke up in.

"You're k-kidding me, right? How can you understand what the media is, what corporate abuses are, all of that, and not know what clothes are? Cloth, soft flexible material, dead, woven from f-fibres or pressed into a lattice or come on you have to know what fabric is, you've seen the staff here, right?"

Empire scratches her head absentmindedly. "Staff not wearing clothes. Remembering correctly?"
"What? Why would they--"
"Uniforms and suits, perhaps. Culya is being more specific asking, perhaps?"

Culya glares. Empire smiles.

"So, any reason you're f-fucking with me right now? I'll take a f-fucking sheet right now."
"Finding better uses for organic textiles, usually. Feeding to recycling."
"All the synthetics you w-were around were totally naked as well? What about chemical spills? Basic armor if you were fighting? It makes absolutely no sense that you'd all be running around with no clothes on, I mean, if you were denied them before, I could understand, but--"

Empire stands up. "Culya, spending majority of time growing, maturing within culture where certain features taboo, where identity related to choice of skin coverings, feeling vulnerable when removed. Yes?"
Culya gets to her feet. "Look, I'd rather be wearing a f-fucking hazard suit right now given all this talk of infections, but I'll settle for some f-fucking pants right now. I'd feel a lot better, yeah."
"Synthetic spending very short time growing and maturing. Information with little context pouring into developing mind. Understanding cultural norms, but not sharing. Lack of experience. Trying clothing, feeling alien. Later experience, associating clothing with slavemakers. Other synthetics feeling same. Still. Can providing clothes, yes."
"Great. Let's go. Also, I want a shower. I, uh, well I just want a shower."
"Can providing shower also."

Culya 2014/10/15(Wed)18:58 No. 598502 ID: 919a92
File 141342471352.png - (548.10KB , 800x600 , 26.png )

Culya is lead to some form of pod. Empire stands to the side, and gestures to it.

"Uh."
"Is being shower."
"Is there anything not alive in this place? Anything metal? Anything?"
"Walls."
"Any machinery that isn't made of plants?"
"Not here."

Culya sighs, and walks into the pod.

In the course of next ten minutes, the drowning sensations stop as she adjusts to the pod flooding lukewarm water at her while soapy bubbles drift from cleaning solution being sprayed at her from a million tiny, microscopic nozzles. The inner wall of the pod spins in alternating rings. The sensation is disorienting, and all she can smell is mixed fruit. With a faint tinge of antiseptic. She smells like a cocktail.

She opens her eyes before recoiling and blinking as the pod vents hot water at her from all directions, rippling bands of plants trying to compensate for the airflow. She grits her teeth as the pod finishes its drying cycle. She has no idea who devised this method of personal hygiene, but she would love to shake their hand, congratulate their design and engineering prowess, and kick them in the groin.

As she blindly stumbles around, fumbling for some sort of grip, something grabs her arm. She sees a glimpse of Empire pulling her into a second pod.

Culya 2014/10/15(Wed)18:58 No. 598503 ID: 919a92
File 141342472829.png - (315.70KB , 800x600 , 27.png )

Before she has much time to form a coherent sentence, the second pod limply smacks her with some form of tentacle before making some weird, shrill apologetic noise. She is lifted into the air and forced into some sort of cloth bindings that are indelicately wrestled further towards her centre of mass, and after a few seconds of struggling she realises she's on the ground again, and the pod is opening.

She all but falls out of the pod, coughing a little. She still smells like the sort of drink she'd love a glass of right now.

"What the f-f-ffffuck was that."
"PragmaSoma efficiency. Looted from room next door. Is being welcome."
"Did you just try to kill me?!"

Empire holds up a mirror, or at least some form of reflective surface with an unnecessary plant backing.

"Oh Kre I look like a wreck."
"If finding better clothes, Culya can having them."
"Yes. Yes please. Sweet f-fucking Kre. It's better than nothing but holy shit."
"Culya wanting anything more?"
"No, no, I'm good, please, I'm good. No more please. Thanks but no more."

Empire looks like she is doing her absolute best to not break out into a fit of laughter. Culya frowns as she fidgets with her new outfit. "Oh. Also, uh. I should mention, there was a receptionist I spoke to. There's other p-people in this facility I think could help out. Lower level corporate peons. Probably as fed up with PragmaSoma, but not in good situations to just walk out. Especially not right now. Also, I think the axiom or whatever the fuck the system called itself might be on the f-fritz."

Culya 2014/10/15(Wed)18:59 No. 598504 ID: 919a92
File 141342474288.png - (290.53KB , 800x600 , 28.png )

Empire says nothing, but her face shifts from barely concealed mirth to a far more somber expression. She opens her mouth to say something, but pauses before continuing. "Yes. If finding, helping."
"Also, there was this red synthetic I didn't see much in the same room as me. Not Rename, uh, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that one? Didn't talk much, or, well, at all, I guess."
"Not sounding familiar. Hm."
"So, what next? I don't know this place as w-well as you do, and I'm not intent on wandering off in the middle of a f-fucking warzone. I'm pretty sure you want me to do something in exchange for the help you've given me."

Empire makes some strange clicking noise with her tongue. "Skills?"
"I, uh, I'm pretty handy with machines. Not all of this plant gunk."
"Anything else?"
"I, hm. Shit, this is depressing. All the stuff I can th-think of I'd need tools for or something. I can carry stuff around, maybe? Ugh."
"Thinking synthetic better adapted to task. Not seeing so much muscle."
"Well, thanks."
"Is being welcome." Empire's response is so automatic that Culya isn't sure she even noticed her sarcasm. "Not having any task yet, seeming."

Empire idly drums her hands on her stomach.

Suddenly, Culya notices movement. Something blue, at least as large as her. It slithers from behind her.

Empire looks mildly surprised. "Not expecting return so soon, Doctor."
"Is this a prisoner? Weren't all of them--"
"No, Doctor. No, Culya, which is being name, is not being prisoner. Culya new member of whatever we calling nation when finally deciding."
"Aha. I understand. My apologies, ahem, Culya."

Culya backs away a few steps. The creature identifed as Doctor moves in front of her, and she thinks it's examining her. She isn't sure.

"Well, that would explain the XV immunity. Hm. Fascinating. So, your name is Culya, areeni?"
"Uh, um, yeah, Culya, yeah. Hi. D-doctor, I think?"
"Doctor will suffice, yes. My old serial number is hardly much of a name, and I'm still contemplating on something a little less... juvenile. I could have sworn..."
"Doctor. Needing talk. In private."
"Well, that is going to be a little difficult to do in the middle of a large open space. Should we step into one of these dormant pods?"
"Yes."
"Okay then. Stay there, Culya. We'll be right back."

Culya 2014/10/15(Wed)19:00 No. 598506 ID: 919a92
File 141342485058.png - (368.19KB , 800x600 , 29.png )

Culya stays put.

She can't hear much of what's being said in the pod, but it sounds like a disagreement. A disagreement with both parties very much trying to pretend they're not arguing.

She looks around. Nothing around her but a bunch of pods.

She still feels as though something is watching her, but she isn't sure what.

Then, suddenly, she hears something from the ceiling of vines speak.

"is this the right one? Okay! Culya! Can you hear me?! It's me! The receptionist from before! Remember?"

Culya recognises the voice. "H-hey! Are you alright? You sounded in some tro-- wait no hang on the exit you lead to me was a bust, I'm in synthetics prototyping, can you recommend a better exit?"
"Synthetics prototyping? Ah, fuck, that's not a good place to be right now. Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry, but I've got a lot of readings on the... well, whatever the fuck they are heading your way. You have got to get out of there right away! Get back into the corridor, it looks like the obstruction's clear now!"
"What? How the hell could a blockage that size just clear up?!"
"I don't know! It looks like it has though! Hold on. Culya? What's happening to the signal..."
"Hello? H-hello?!"

Nothing.

Culya pauses and considers how to act on this new information.

>>598506
Wear your shirt inside-out so you don't have that logo on your chest.

Go tell Empire what the receptionist told you. Then run for it, because you are not prepared for combat.

>>598503
ok maybe take off the bands, like head, wrist, and tail bands and flip your shirt inside out. At least then you won't look like a happy tripping so much balls that you lost all sense of color.

>>598506
uh, maybe let some of the synthetics know that something MAY be coming your way. I mean I bet last time the receptionist looked for a way out for you that exit probably looked unblocked to her as well. Plus even if the exit is cleared whatever is coming could be between you and it and right now this is the only safe place you have incase you need to hunker down for awhile. Best not to piss of the only people who are not trying to kill you and can actually help you in ways that aren't just yelling at you to do things.

>Empire's reaction to helping the receptionist
Hard to read that, but I'm not really sure she was being sincere, there.

>XV immunity
That's interesting. Because you're not synthetic, or because you've already been treated? (Could that be the reason you ended up here?). Something to maybe ask a follow up question about, later.

>Wear your shirt inside-out so you don't have that logo on your chest.
Yeah, that's for the best. The headband too, if you can.

Actually, the headband, tail-band, armbands might be better removed and repurposed as straps or belts or something. Assuming you ever find tools to carry.

>Culya pauses and considers how to act on this new information.
Knock, apologize for interrupting, and relay this information to the Doctor and Empire. If the receptionist is right and a lot of dangerous somethings are coming your way, it involves them. And they know this area a lot better than you, and have access to resources you're unaware of. If the threat is real, you're better off involving them than going it alone.

Also, it'll rather quickly either prove you're useful and honest to them and that the receptionist is maybe worth keeping alive, or that he was misleading you.

>Not having any task yet, seeming.
This is really the best you can offer. Acting as a relay and contact with the outside world, and providing context they lack when they need it. A kind of cultural liaison. Like she said before, they lack experience with your culture, and there might be a time when you can give them insight they need, quickly.

>>598512
This.

Don't run, though. I'm thinking this 'receptionist' might be a trick by the same 'AI' that tried to get you to sit put. With what Empire said it may be the invaders trying to draw you out. Consult her on the topic.

>>598518
My uneducated guess would be that the immunity stems from being a baseline. It's possible this infection targets areeni biomods specifically, and it sounds like this planet uses biotech almost exclusively.

Rather than just flipping the shirt inside-out, I'd go as far as ripping it and wrapping it as a binding, so it's absolutely unreadable and still covers the important parts.
After that, take everything else off except your pants. It's all excess and frankly, gaudy.

Let's go get the synthetics and tell them. I at least slightly trust them, and they probably know what's going on better than you do.

>>598539
I'm going to vote in favor of keeping all the dumb bands and stuff. In some kind of dangerous survival situation like this you never know when loops of fabric might turn out to be extremely useful. If you don't want them on your head or arms or stuff just stick them on your tail or under your pants leg or something where they're less in the way. Though you should do something about the logos. With everyone anywhere around here hating PragmaSoma, you probably don't want to look like you associate with it. Unless the logos show through on the other side, you can probably just get away with turning it inside out instead of tearing it off. I doubt anyone's going to be trying to look on the inside of your shirt. If it does show through you may have to do something more creative like tearing or defacing it.

Culya 2014/10/16(Thu)15:16 No. 598581 ID: 919a92
File 141349779382.png - (377.13KB , 800x600 , 30.png )

Culya takes a deep breath and considers her options. She's aware of exactly two exits to the room, and apparently both of them have been put on lockdown. She's not leaving without the synthetics' permission, and running away without them is likely going to be the less safer of her available options.

She figures that staying in a secured stronghold for a few more minutes is a much, much safer option than running blindly into unfamiliar territory. She can't fault the receptionist for not being fully aware of the room being secured. After all, he could barely tell Culya was around here.

Culya decides the bands have got to go. She considers holding onto them as some sort of makeshift bandaging material or something similar, but they feel almost like plastic, and then unpleasantly waxy. Possibly still useful, but she doesn't want to deal with them right now. She pulls off all of the bands, puts them on the floor for now, and flips her shirt inside out. It looks a bit washed out, but anything better than the hideous designs on the shirt's front. She checks her clothes and realises she also has a set of undergarments in addition to the surface layers. She pauses and wonders what kind of a fucked up situation she's in where she's having to take inventory of her outfit.

She notices the tail band is a lot more elastic than it first seemed. She wears it as a makeshift belt, and stuffs the other three bands into it.

Culya 2014/10/16(Thu)15:16 No. 598582 ID: 919a92
File 141349780416.png - (447.23KB , 800x600 , 31.png )

Culya knocks on the pod-- or at least, brings her hand up, but pauses, catching the conversation.

"...saying cannot be choosing allies, with numbers so low. Still, please answering question. Breaking into prototyping systems, yes or no?"
"Misplaced trust in areeni played its part in this even happening. I will not claim to understand your reasoning but I will respect your decision. As far as the prototyping systems, no, they still will not respond without genetic validation, and the appropriate genetic keys have been gone for some time now."
"Is areeni key, yes? What if using Culya?"
"No, it's more specific. It's not just tailored to areeni, it's tailored to specific markers. There's just too much distance, even using her genome as a base."
"So remaining impossible? Well, is being alternate plan."
"You know full well I've strongly, strongly advised against that plan. I've gone over the risks time and time--"
"No, no, knowing risks. Not foolish. Not risking self unnecessarily. Thinking Seer better suited for purpose."
"I will not be part of this unless Seer herself tells me she is willing. I am going to make that clear now."
"Culya!"

Culya jumps, unprepared for the loud shout.

The two leave the pod as Culya backs up.

"Having task for you. Seer further to back of stronghold. Please fetching and bringing back. Needing assembly of group for discussing next moves."
"Uh, uh, sure! Uh, I got told by the receptionist I mentioned earlier that there's uh, this is im-important, see, there's a bunch of things apparently headed straight for this room?"
"Knowing for some time now, yes. Is being reason for stronghold and co-opted automatic defenses, if Culya is not being aware. Not big concern. Is being more interesting things for invaders to attack."
"Well, I, uh, w-wasn't aware, no, but good to hear this place is safe. ...wait. More interesting things?"
"Not worrying about it, Culya. Not needing to know. Please fetching Seer."
"Wait, no, if it affects me I'm pretty sure I do need to know. What more interesting things?"

Doctor looks as though it perks up about to speak, before Empire holds a hand near its, for lack of a better term, face. It recoils slightly. Empire folds her arms. "Perhaps if proving will for compliance, maybe knowing. Please fetching Seer."
"Okay, okay. I'm going."

Culya 2014/10/16(Thu)15:16 No. 598583 ID: 919a92
File 141349781539.png - (354.11KB , 800x600 , 32.png )

Culya trudges through the vast warehouse-sized room. What possible reason would a prototyping room need to be so large? Why would it be larger than the room for testing much larger biological machinery?

This place makes less and less sense the more she finds out about it.

She keeps walking, and the room gets less and less well lit. The room seems to end in some sort of curving alcove. She finally notices a brown fur-covered creature, presumably female, staring intently at part of the wall with her eyes closed.

"Hello? Are you S-seer?"

No response save for the flicking of her ears. The creature stares at the wall with an enthusiastic, jagged grin.

"Empire sent me to come tell you that there's going to be some sort of meeting? I'm not sure what I'm doing here really I uh--"
"You want to escape."
"Yeah, I'm--"
"Your name is Culya. You want to go home. You're glad you have clothes again, even if you would never choose this outfit willingly."
"...uhhhhh, okay, I guess they phoned you ahead or something. You are Seer, right? Not one of these--"
"Invaders? What an interesting choice of name. Most frequent choice, too. Yes. Hello, Culya. I'm Seer. I didn't choose the name. In fact, in light of my blindness, it seems a little mean-spirited. What do you think?"
"I, uh, wow, yeah, that is a pretty awful nickname--"
"I don't even have eyes, Culya. 'Why don't you have eyes?' I don't know, but... ah, you are perhaps too wary for me to continue like this. I don't want to provoke that sort of confrontational response."

Culya just stares in confusion.

"Okay let's try this again. Hi, I'm Culya. You're Seer?"
"Yes."
"You strike me as someone who likes to mess with people."
"Interesting."
"You, uh. Something about a meeting, with Empire, further up that way?" Culya points over to the rows of pods she last saw Empire and Doctor.
"What's that way?"
"Where I'm poin-- oh Ske, sorry, right, yeah, uh, maybe just follow me?"
"Which one of you?"
"...What?"
"No, never mind. I'll follow you."
"Uh, um, okay!"

Culya starts to walk off. Seer does not even turn in her direction, focusing intently on the wall.

This might be a little harder than it seemed.

>>598583
Hold her hand. Guide her back. She probably has some issues with physical location due to her psychic abilities. Like, a psychic projection sort of thing.

Once you get back, ask Doctor why you're immune to XV. That could be important.

She probably has extra sensory apparatus other than her eyes at work. Or if her ears are sensitive enough she could have heard everything from the earlier conversation.

So ask if she minds if you take her hand and lead her there.

So, do you have some kind of precognition, or mind reading, or are you just really good at cold reading me?

Actually, if you could tell all that other stuff, can you tell how or why I got here?

...if you don't care for your name is there something you'd rather I call you?

So, uh, how does this work? Should I just keep talking so you can follow my voice, or should I hold your hand or...?

>which one of you
You see more than one of me? Wait, sorry, 'see' is the wrong word...

...I wonder if she's psychic or something? Like next generation Synthetics.

Anywho, ask her if she'd like it if you just led here to the meeting by holding her hand? think that would be simplest.

Definitely ask her what's up with the "which one of you" comment.

She's fun! Pull her, don't assume anything very hard.

don't think about embarrassing things don't think about embarrassing things

Culya 2014/10/16(Thu)20:07 No. 598627 ID: 919a92
File 141351525424.png - (377.84KB , 800x600 , 33.png )

Culya gently takes Seer's hand. She doesn't respond. Culya tries not to think of embarassing things, but Seer doesn't appear to respond to any sort of mental images or messages she comes up with.

"Uh, can you, uh, follow me? I'll guide you there."

No response. Culya gives a few tugs. A few ear swivels, nothing else.

"Hello? Seer?"
"Yes?"
"Are you, uh, going to follow me? What did you mean which one of me?"
"Huh."
"...What?"
"Did I say that?"
"Y-yes. Yes you did."
"Oh. It doesn't matter."
"So, uh, are you coming with me or not?"
"I'm thinking."

Culya waits. Seer's ears flick.

"So, uh, are you psychic or something?"
"Psychic?"
"...you're just really good at cold reading, aren't you. Probably heard everything before I came over here. Look, I'm sorry, I'm just kind of out of it, this has been a pretty fucking bad day, and I feel like I'm losing my Ske-damned mind. Never mind."
"The meeting is an excuse. They don't want me for a meeting. They want me. I don't know why, but they want to exploit me."
"What?"
"Everyone does. They think I'm invincible. That I know everything. Nothing can harm me. I always seem to luck into the right choices. So they will exploit me, because they think I will survive any situation I'm placed into. But..."

Culya 2014/10/16(Thu)20:07 No. 598629 ID: 919a92
File 141351526631.png - (535.61KB , 800x600 , 34.png )

She moves her hand out of Culya's grip, who lets it go with little resistance. She rubs her forehead with her hands, fidgets with her ears. Her smile is gone.

"They want to use me as a test subject."
"Uh. That, uh, that seems sorta hypocritical. I thought they'd know what it's like to be a test subject."
"Empire will do anything if she thinks the ends justifies the means. Don't trust her so quickly. I don't know what she wants with you, but you're not a friend to her. You're a tool waiting for its proper use. She won't help you get home. I know a way out of here. They don't know about it. We need to get to the reception. You know someone there, right?"
"Woah, woah, what about the invaders?"
"We'll avoid them."
"Why do you want me to come with you if you could take this escape route at any time?"

Seer is quiet for a moment.

"I've been waiting for you to show up, Culya. For the two years you've been asleep."
"What-- TWO YEARS?!"

Her voice echoes across the entire room.

"I'VE BEEN STUCK IN HERE FOR TWO FUCKING YEARS?!"
"Culya--"
"TWO KRE-DAMNED FUCKING YEARS I'VE JUST BEEN A FUCKING NON-PERSON AND ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOTHING EVER CAME OF IT?! HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!"
"Culya--"
"TWO YEARS! TWO YEAAARRS!!"

Culya isn't entirely sure why she's tearing chunks of the plant-matter on the walls off with her teeth, but it's making her feel a little better.

Seer just looks as though she's patiently waiting for Culya to stop, as though she was seeing this coming. Of course, thinks Culya, she probably did, and she probably knew this was going to happen, and freaky synthetics everywhere everything is living everything is naked everything is not her home is just this broken mess of useless threatening mindless life mocking her this place is mocking her not a single glint of reassuring steel not a single exposed wire or circuit everything is a stranger to the things she knows she was keeping it together so well for so long but no fuck this place she can't cope with it any more fuck everything she'll burn everything she can find down there's plenty of fuel all around the walls in the stupid fucking walls she'll carve her way through this place in FIRE AND METAL

Culya 2014/10/16(Thu)20:07 No. 598630 ID: 919a92
File 141351527407.png - (510.73KB , 800x600 , 35.png )

She takes a few more deep breaths, tears of anger slowly running down her face. She isn't about to surrender -- that's what they'd fucking want -- but she feels like she wants to get this out of her system now while it's happening.

She wipes her eyes, and looks over to Seer, who remains quietly standing as she was the whole time.

"How did I get here?"
"I don't--"
"No, look, you've been giving me all of these half-answers. Tell me. Tell me how I got here. Why am I here, Seer? You know how long I've been here. Spill the answers."
"Culya, I don't know everything, I can just make guesses--"
"Oh, guesses?! Fantastic! So the two years thing is just something you pulled out of nowhere, then, huh? Trying to get a rise out of me? Is that it? What's your fucking story, huh? What do you want?"
"I don't understand, I didn't see this coming--"
"OH YOU DIDN'T, DID YOU? HOW INCONVENIENT FOR YOU!"

Culya grabs Seer's hand roughly and starts marching back towards Empire.

"Culya, you're making a mistake! You're making a huge mistake!!"
"I made a mistake fucking waking up today."
"Culya! Let go of me!"
"I'm giving you to Empire and then she can do what the fuck she wants, and then I am going to look for that exit myself."
"You're not acting rationally! Stop for a second, cool down!"
"No, fuck it, as far as I care you synthetics deserve each other. I don't care anymore. Two fucking years. Kre-damnit."
"Culya, I can tell you where that exit is, please don't hand me to them! We can get out by ourselves!"

Culya drags Seer towards Empire, and sees the commotion has brought the three synthetics heading over towards them. She ends up grappling Seer to keep her from running. Seer is seeming more and more panicked the closer the other synthetics get.

This is it. This decision will change everything. She can give Seer to them, or she can use Seer as a means to escape herself.

>>598630
What the hell are you doing, what happened to your morals? You're treating her like an object. What happened to your STUTTER, for crying out loud? Are you being fucking mind controlled?

Well, Doctor said he wouldn't be ok with this so just make it clear she is desperate not to come. We're not going to let things happen to people against their will, either.

Good job shooting the messenger there. Lets keep abusing some poor blind lady who had nothing to do with your capture.

While I do not trust anyone in here you should not start going all crazy and blaming a bunch of pawns for what there creators did.

If they grabbed you and locked you up for two years that means you have or had something they wanted. If they wanted to silence you there would have been a thousand easier ways to do it.

Anyways I vote for working with the seer.

everyone is in this for themselves, everyone is just using everyone else to get what they want. But what about you, is this really what you want? Is this really you, the women that nearly want to jail because she stood up for a synthetic? You can't trust anybody but are you willing to throw away your beliefs so quickly? Is this who you really are? It's time to decide, to find out who you really are, and don't let your anger talk for you.

You calm the fuck down young lady, otherwise you can sit in the corner.

>What happened to your STUTTER, for crying out loud?
Yeah, that's weird. You've been stuttering less. Is that due to your emotional state, or did something change? Was it one of the synthetics, the shower, or ...the clothes?

>what do
Okay, first of all, there's some stuff that doesn't fit.

First off, why the heck did they need to send you to retrieve Seer? She's at the end of a hall, in an area they control, and she's blind. They could have grabbed her any time they wanted.

Secondly, there's the chance this is a simple loyalty test. The Doctor and Empire let you overhear that conversation on purpose, and then see what you'll do.

And if it's not a loyalty test, I still don't like it. You'd be running blind (ha) around this facility with only one person, and leaving everyone else to their fates. Rename didn't do anything, the doc was against this plan, etc.

The biggest question is why the hell Cluya was worth waiting for. Why does Seer need her of all people?

>This is it. This decision will change everything. She can give Seer to them, or she can use Seer as a means to escape herself.
Actually, I see an alternative plan. Empire believes in Seer's abilities? She wants to experiment and use her to find a way to deal? Right now, Empire's abilities are saying Cluya's important, and she can get her out. Why can't the group use that? Why can't we take them to, or why can't we follow Seer's plan and put ourselves in a position where we can help them?

If Empire buys into Seer's powers, she has to let this happen. If she doesn't? There's no damn reason to experiment. (Also, this gives the doctor and anyone else in Empire's faction who disagrees with her a reason to oppose this plan).

Third option: appeal to sanity, try and go with Seer as a mission for Empire. Instead of getting another group of people to try and kill us, try and work together. We have a common problem here, and we're all people here. Let's not start acting like the corporate jerks who didn't treat them as people. Or who made you an unperson.

Fuck it, give the blind bitch to Empire. She's probably useless to you and Empire would most likely come after you AND her if you tried to escape.

>FIRE AND METAL
Slow down there Bismark. Don't hold bad news against Seer.

Culya 2014/10/18(Sat)19:39 No. 598896 ID: 919a92
File 141368634708.png - (276.27KB , 800x600 , 36.png )

Culya finally calms down enough to realise just how abhorrent she's acting, and she lets Seer go. After nearly stumbling onto her knees, Seer stands up.

Culya opens her mouth to apologise before Seer just waves a hand in her face. Culya doesn't quite understand the gesture, but shuts up.

Seer's ears swivel. Culya takes a few deep breaths, resolving that the treatment she gave Seer for no fault of her own would be much better reserved for whichever corporate bastard gave the order for her to be snapped up and shoved into a pod for two years.

Two years. She's having some trouble with this. Is her rent paid on her home? Did they shut off the utilities-- no, these are mundane, trivial concerns. What about her parents? She didn't call them a lot, but two years... they had to have known something was wrong. Did they ever get told what had happened to her? Were they told she was dead? Are they even still alive? They weren't exactly getting any younger, what if hearing the news about their only daughter's untimely death was what finally killed them from crushing grief? And then there'd be Sui, keynain, her best friend and collaborator! What would she have thought? Sui was distant sometimes, yes, but not a stone. She just... she isn't sure whether she feels despair and loss or burning hatred the most right now.

Still. It can't be changed, whatever has happened. She has to get out. And before she can get out, she has to stay alive. And to stay alive, she has to keep aware of the present moment.

In the present moment, Empire, Rename and Doctor are a few feet away, and Seer is standing still as before, trembling a little.

Culya is the first to speak. Her stutter returns as she becomes a lot more self-conscious of not screaming the first things that come to her mind. In the past, when furious, she has noticed one of two things happen. Either she screams invective with a clarity rivalling some of the best public speakers she's ever heard, or she stammers so hard she abandons words altogether.

Right now, she's keeping it together a little better.

"Wh-wh-what are you going t-to do to her? Why did you s-send me to get s-someone who was just s-standing at th-the other end of the r-room?"

Or was, anyway.

Culya 2014/10/18(Sat)19:40 No. 598897 ID: 919a92
File 141368641445.png - (415.03KB , 800x600 , 37.png )

Empire folds her arms yet again. "Not concerning you--"
"Answers! I want f-fucking answers, not excuses! You said you'd g-give me answers if I did what you t-told me, but no, you're st-stringing me along for your own benefit! I'm not an idiot, Empire! Give me a r-reason to trust you."

Empire shuffles her feet together. For perhaps the first time since Culya has seen her, she looks uncertain.

"Seer is having property making her suited for dangerous tasks. Seer is not seeing present, being blind, but is seeing many futures. Likeliest futures. We know when focusing Seer seeing more futures, or deeper futures. Seer knowing likeliest questions someone will say, or knowing likeliest smalltalk someone will give, or casual revelations. If giving Seer three doors, with one being safe and others leading to certain death, Seer will always picking safe door."

She looks at Seer, who does not have the capacity to see Empire looking at her. Seer looks towards Empire.

"Seer is using most common futures for understanding present, but not always helpful. Future not always true. Seer saying before that she struggling to see much more than two minutes into future before things too unclear. With absolute clear focus, almost meditation, seeing further, but any distractions jolting her."

Seer looks a little surprised. "You changed your mind. You aren't as heartless as I feared. I don't appreciate your intentions, but you are not so heartless. This challenges all my assumptions."

Empire closes her eyes and sighs. "Yes. ...Can Seer forgiving me?"

Seer tilts her head. "I see a lot of futures where I do, and a lot where I don't. You asked, though. I can forgive you this, but never, ever plan to use any of us like tools again. You're not PragmaSoma."

Empire flinches at the comparison. Doctor seems to slump. "What a relief."

Seer nods. "I was worried I was on the fast track to us getting into a huge argument that went nowhere and only served to make us all quietly loathe each other, but fortunately it seems that prediction doesn't come true until a little later."

Empire looks concerned. Seer grins. "Just kidding. Although it's going to happen if we aren't more open with each other. I haven't heard you lie yet, Empire, but you have to stop hiding the truth."

Culya 2014/10/18(Sat)19:40 No. 598898 ID: 919a92
File 141368643159.png - (369.25KB , 800x600 , 38.png )

Culya stands in total disbelief. "Wh-what the fuck just happened. You were shaking in fear like two minutes ago. What. Can I get answers as to what just h-happened? I'm not in this psychic loop where everyone knows what's happening but me, can I get some explanation? What?"

Seer shrugs, grinning still. "I can't see you liking it very much. Empire, don't worry about revealing the details." Her ears flick, and she suddenly looks distracted. "...oh, you are going to, with a high frequency of possible instances, propose something, uh. I. I, uh. Uh. Uhh. That, I suppose, uh, yes, I will give my consent to that plan. "

Empire sighs. "Is being hard talking to someone already knowing how conversation goes. Yes. Already thinking Rename fine with prospect too. Starting whenever you two feeling comfortable, I supposing. Myself next, I think."

Seer grins again. "Sure."

Culya grits her teeth. "Someone tell me f-fucking anything??"

Seer doesn't stop grinning. "Mating plans. Have to find a way to make the population increase somehow."

Culya rubs the sides of her head. "What are you discussing-- okay f-fucking hell can you maybe wait for me to finish asking the question before answering it-- what."

Seer leans forwards and places her hands on a wall. "Rename?" Rename walks over to her.

Culya finds she can see the future herself and she finds she doesn't want to be looking directly at it.

"I'm uh. I'm gonna be over there." Culya points over to the other side of the room, where the dark alcove is.

Empire nods. "Sending someone to come fetch you if you are being so averse to what is happening. Weird areeni cultural hangups. Having fun staring at dark."

Culya lingers, so many questions and so little answers. She isn't sure if she should ask questions any more. She isn't entirely confident she'll ever get answers.

She turns around, and realises that not looking directly does nothing to block the sound.

Culya begins to wonder if she's dead and this is her eternal punishment for refusing to bow down to the archaic leafy whims of her areeni ancestors. Nothing but flesh everywhere.

Maybe she should just go look for the exit Seer hinted at. Maybe she should yell at them to knock it off. She doesn't really know what to do right now. To call the situation awkward would be to call the sun a little warm.

>>598898
You can block the sound by going into that pod thing Empire and Doctor were talking in. Heck, I suggest doing that to talk to one of the two. Come to think of it, you have some things to discuss with Doctor. Ask him/it about the XV immunity he detected somehow. Also, it'd be nice to have some more details about the invaders and what's been happening in general for the past two years.

Yeah uh ok ignoring the fact that they've committed various crimes already is it actually legal to make synthetics that are able to do this? And if not, what's going to happen to these guys when the outside world finds out about it? ...Is it actually even in any way possible for them to breed, considering that they're all nothing like each other, or are they just kind of not sure what they're doing?

Ask Seer what this thing about needing you to get out was about, because you're still going to need to leave even if she is no longer upset and trying to escape. Also ask anyone about this whole "Lots of things heading your way get out of there immediately" announcement because that might come up soon too.

I. Uh. Part of me wants to be pleasantly surprised that appealing to sanity worked. Except I'm not sure holding an impromptu impregnation orgy in a bio-mechanical war zone is sane.

>Mating plans. Have to find a way to make the population increase somehow.
Isn't population increase a long term objective? We're trying to escape this facility, and not get killed by whatever is attacking it, or the compromised synthetics. Increased numbers mean less chance of sneaking, more strait up fighting. And what the hell is the incubation period? Sure, eventually you get more numbers, but before that we've got pregnancies and children. People to protect, raise, feed, teach...

Nevermind the moral issue of bringing children into the world as shock troops or meat-shields. Or the possible genetic issues. They're all built to be really different, with customized and built genomes. How do we know children will be viable, or that they won't be deformed or worse?

Although I don't know who to raise those concerns with while they're doing it.

>Weird areeni cultural hangups
E-x-x-xcuse me for thinking the most intimate thing two individuals can do together should be private.

>what do
Maybe find the Doctor and talk to him? He won't be involved in that.

Yeah, go ask Doctor some questions. While he doesn't seem fond of non-synthetics, he's the only one who hasn't obscured the truth - he was about to tell you things Empire didn't want you to know until she stopped him. Maybe you can get some information while Empire is... preoccupied.

hope to god and the stars above that they don't think you should be part of the mating program.

Other then that, find something to keep you busy to keep your mind off of... stuff. Preferably something loud and time consuming.

>>598905
>We're trying to escape this facility,

Culya is trying to escape this facility. The local synthetics brought a lot of food-production equipment into this one enormous room, and then secured all the apparent entrances, which would suggest that Empire's plan is more along the lines of a siege.

Culya 2014/10/19(Sun)16:07 No. 598951 ID: 919a92
File 141376004717.png - (388.94KB , 800x600 , 39.png )

Culya decides to perhaps wait before talking to Seer or Rename. She looks over to Empire, who is watching the pair with focus and fascination. Culya watches watches her inhale something out of a funnel attached to a small pod.

Pods, pods, pods. The Ske-damned apex of culture apparently happens to be these ridiculous separated organ things for all sorts of purposes. Storage vessels, functional machines, all of it condensed to these green lumps. She's losing her damn mind.

She finds Doctor, who appears to be observing Seer and Rename from a slight distance. "H-hey, I, uh, h-have some questions."
"Hmm?"
"C-can we talk in private?"
"I'm supposed to be overseeing this process in case something goes wrong."
"...something-- no, f-fuck it, I don't want to know. Please?"

Doctor flaps the branching tendrils on its sides for a bit. "Alright. There's an empty pod just over there, we can talk in there."

Empire watches the two of them walk off, and violently squeezes the pod, taking a deep breath.

"What is she d-doing?"
"Probably inducing ovulation."
"F-forget I asked, Ske fucking dammit I want out of this place so fast."

Culya 2014/10/19(Sun)16:07 No. 598952 ID: 919a92
File 141376006022.png - (444.73KB , 800x600 , 40.png )

"Firstly, I don't want any p-part of this."
"You aren't intended to be any part of this. You wouldn't be allowed. The plan is to create more synthetics, not areeni."
"S-secondly, what the f-fuck. Just. What the f-fuck is going on?"
"You know what. I suspect you want to know why."
"Yes."

Doctor flaps its tendrils again. "Empire wants a new society of synthetics. It was only a day or two ago she came to the conclusion that we exist now in the safest and most secure we'll ever be until the invaders overwhelm us. She figured that, from the amount of facility areas lost to the invaders, that there would be nowhere left to run. The only variable is time. She doesn't know if we'll have weeks, months, years or even decades before the invaders decide this is a suitable attack point."
"But how?! Raising kids takes a hell of a lot of t-time, and resources! You're gonna be making half your entire group helpless and then you'll have two or more helpless mouths to feed, brains to teach, and why the f-fuck are you guys trying to make new synthetics to be new soldiers? Didn't you guys want to get away from synthetics as disposable slaves?!"

Doctor wobbles gently. "Empire doesn't see it as that. She doesn't see that bringing new life into the world in a hostile situation would necessarily be forcing it into certain roles. None of them really understand this. We are all born into roles, and even having rejected those roles, we want purpose. This isn't unique to us, is it, Culya? Grappling with purpose in a random, chaotic, malevolent universe is a universal plight of all sapience such as ours. But they don't understand they are restricting the options of their progeny." It sighs.
"Why aren't you stopping them? Why c-can't you explain this?"
"Empire sees it as refusal to surrender. To live without letting fear dictate their actions. I've tried to explain that this placental reproductive mechanism does not allow much room for sacrifice. I've had this argument time and time again. I'm seen as too alien to really understand their situation, and ultimately none of our arguments are based in reason. When the core conflict lies in what feels right and what feels wrong, there is never going to be any mutual agreement."
"Too alien?"
"My reproductive system is more of an elaborate immortality mechanism. I produce a single clone of myself when subject to fatal stresses and traumas with my entire neural state compressed and transferred to it. You are speaking to perhaps my ninth generation. I guess this is my ninth life. Perhaps I should be more careful with it." Doctor attempts to crudely imitate laughter, instead sounding more like it has a weak cough. "Any attempts to argue about the morality of birthing new organisms for purposes they had no choice in sounds more hollow coming from something such as myself that does exactly that."

Culya slowly nods. "I, uh. Huh. That's... d-different, I suppose."
"It isn't a common feature, correct. I have vast volumes of medical and scientific knowledge stored in me. Retraining a replacement would take an awfully long time. Best to keep something like me alive as long as possible. I'm aware the transfer mechanism will degrade somewhere around generation eighty, so I have plenty of time before then to figure out a way before that."

Culya 2014/10/19(Sun)16:07 No. 598953 ID: 919a92
File 141376007217.png - (295.82KB , 800x600 , 41.png )

"But how does it work?!"
Doctor seems taken aback by Culya's outburst. "It's really not very simple to explain, but--"
"No, I mean -- how does someone like Rename breed with someone like Seer? They look nothing alike! How can some kind of whatever Rename is knock up some kind of... whatever Seer is?"
"I am curious to see what the offspring will be myself. There is a lot of otherwise unused DNA in the synthetic genomes that exists only to make sexual crossover more viable. The synthetic designers here were focused on utility and robustness over efficiency. It's likely there will be viable offspring, but their appearance and characteristics may be surprising. Entire predecessor designs might resurface."

Doctor rubs its tendrils together. "While Empire's idea of alarmingly accelerated development was terrible in many, many ways, I think perhaps salvaging it to reduce the gestation period to perhaps a month might be something that both parent and offspring can cope with. It will require more resources and attention but, hmm."

Culya isn't sure how to react to this, and decides to just ignore it.

"Okay. One more question. How d-did you know I was XV immune or whatever just from looking at me?"
"Your eyes."
"Huh?"
"The XV infection targets areeni of a similar genetic profile. Your heterochromia is evidence enough that you don't have the traits it would be looking for. You're in the clear."
"Huh. What traits does it look for?"
"I'm still trying to find that out. You're fine, and we're all fine too."

Culya and Doctor leave the pod just as Seer cries out in a way Culya didn't want to hear so soon after having just met her.

Doctor lingers at the pod's entrance. "I suppose Empire will be taking her place in a moment. I should go attend to her. Empire wants me to confirm things have occurred as expected. Anything else?"

>>598953
Yeah, tell him you're leaving.

Yeah ok screw this all we're leaving now. I'm willing to take whatever is actually going on with this receptionist over these guys. This is all wrong in so many ways. Let's just try to head out before whoever was coming after us gets here, because we're clearly not going to change these guys' minds.

>Anything else?
Can you tell me what year it is? (Trying for confirmation of Seer's claims. You'll check with some more impartial electronic or mechanical timekeeping device as soon as you get a chance).

Then tell him thanks, and that you're going to find somewhere else to be for a little while. All this mating and stuff doesn't sit well with your weird areeni cultural hangups.

>Their plan
So... turtle up till you get attacked? Not the worst but... eh. Be nice if we could find another option. Seer said there was a path out, before. If you can get out, maybe they can too. There's gotta be something more proactive you can do.

In the meantime, though. You've bought yourself a measure of safety, even if it's weird and sometimes uncomfortable hanging out with synthetics who don't share any of your cultural hangups. (Although, hey, you had plenty of hangups you didn't share with your normal culture, anyways. Maybe not so different).

>what do
Since you're relatively safe here, and you don't appear to be moving towards and exit or getting killed by invaders, try and communicate with the receptionist, again. Maybe you can have a longer talk, find more out about what's going on.

I know you might feel like just bailing, but don't do that yet. You could run into a lot worse.

great so this whole place is just the blind leading the blind. Empire wants to dig in but believes she can simply outlast whatever is out there by throwing some junk in front of a door and then can build an army in reasonable time but can only see the end result, not what getting there means or anything that could go wrong while doing so.

Ah the hell with it. Let's see if we can't find another exit. This place is a nice little safe zone but by the way things are sounding nobody here is willing to try and find an actual way to escape... which leaves that up to us I guess. Glad we found something we can actually do around here, plus it get's us away from the moans and lets us leave before round 2 can start.

Well it seems like the synths are just as confused as you are about what to do.

What you need to do to help yourself and them is find out more information. Do not go storming off because a bunch of aliens are doing something alien.

They might be basically a bunch of confused children but safety in numbers is better than wandering around alone for the moment.

This facility must be both huge and remote if all of this has gone on this long uninterrupted. So tell the doctor that you want to figure out a way to contact other parts of the facility so you can get more info. Getting a hold of reception again would be nice.

Well personally I want to leave because Culya is useless to the synths right now. She stands a better chance of helping them from a different location, like by helping fight off the invaders by finding some GODDAMN MACHINERY.

The best reason I can think of not to wander off too far is we're in a walled off (secret?) area surrounded by security measure with murder-whatsits swarming around outside (The receptionist said so, and Empire confirmed). Running right into their eyeball-claws or opening the door for them seems like a bad idea.

I agree we're not being very useful right now, but there's gotta be a better option than running blind into danger or compromising these guy's security.

I think we should try and get more information we can use (either from seer, later, or the receptionist) before we run out blind.

Ask Doctor if the group actually has any weapons to fight the invaders with? Or are we going to need to go out and scavenge something from a security closet or something?

I would not suggest leaving yet. We should at the very least get a layout of the facility from these guys first. It may also be worthwhile to take some time to convince Doctor to go with you - he's smart and it sounds like he's tough to kill, plus he's a trained medic. Seer is already willing and her ability could prove useful when the time comes to ditch Empire's delusional ass. Rename's value isn't really clear yet. Ask Doctor what Rename used to do before Empire turned him into a breeder drone, and if any of his old skills carry over.

Empire doesn't have much going for her besides being the largest one here, and likely the most physically powerful. Not much good against something that can rip through walls. And she's kind of a nutter. These people would be better off going with you, and you'd be better off with the help.

>>598953
Might be best to ask if they have any escape plans if this goes belly up or they are forced out of the area, and if they have any idea what it is like outside the facility.
If you are planning on leaving then it's best to have some idea of the surrounds and what they may do in the future.

Culya 2014/10/20(Mon)19:47 No. 599039 ID: 48bac8
File 141385964695.png - (361.96KB , 800x600 , 42.png )

Culya asks Doctor what year it is, and gets a corroborating response. Two years have passed since she was last consciously aware.

Culya heads off to the back of the room to look for this mystery exit, deciding she'll come back later.

"Hello? Receptionist? Are you there?"

No response.

In the curving alcove at the end of the room, she spots a glint of light.

She moves her head around in confusion, checking her eyes aren't acting up. As she gets closer, her eyes adjust for the darkness. That weird eye mutation of hers is starting to come in handy.

It's shiny, definitely. Rectangular. Something that doesn't quite belong here. Just like her. She carefully bends over to get a better look. It could be some form of trap.

Yes. Someone has baited a clearly obvious trap with a piece of scrap metal thinking she'd fall for it. What kind of idiot do they take her for? She'd never be so stupid as to just crawl in and grab the metal, what kind of fool do they think she is--

The floor lurches and she stumbles forward into the alcove as it snaps shut without a sound. Within moments the back of the alcove gives way and she finds herself flailing to keep from falling, but to no avail.

Culya 2014/10/20(Mon)19:47 No. 599041 ID: 48bac8
File 141385966527.png - (546.66KB , 800x600 , 43.png )

Culya finds that, given confusing enough stimuli, she almost doesn't notice herself being dragged bodily through pitch black squelches by the peristalsis of the walls around her. The vaguely off smell and the noises don't make her throw up, but she comes close a couple of times.

Culya 2014/10/20(Mon)19:48 No. 599042 ID: 48bac8
File 141385968028.png - (427.88KB , 800x600 , 44.png )

Culya re-emerges in a darker room after half a minute, and tries to calm her shakes and nausea.

What kind of idiot is she? The biggest. The Kre-damned biggest idiot to walk the face of this planet. How could she pick up on an obvious trap and still fall victim to it? More importantly, who was baiting her with the promise of raw materials?

"I'm a little disappointed, Culya."

All trace of warmth and concern has vanished from the receptionist's voice.

"I had everything set up so neatly. I thought I had. The awakening, an initial motivator, a planned, sufficiently long route with enough opportunities to rest without becoming complacent, and without asking a lot of questions. I was not expecting you to fall into a nest of vermin so soon."

Culya looks up. The receptionist's voice comes from behind a desk, illuminated by a large, bright screen. The screen is too bright for her to notice much about the receptionist, but she can see only his mouth moves when he talks. No other part of him.

"If I had not been distracted, I would not have been so careless. If only the path had not been obstructed. Such an arbitrary event changing the entire outcome. Entire avenues of probability erased by one carefully detonated charge."
"Who are you?"

Culya 2014/10/20(Mon)19:48 No. 599043 ID: 48bac8
File 141385969064.png - (517.58KB , 800x600 , 45.png )

The receptionist stands--

No. The receptionist is pulled up by a tendril from the ceiling, and does not so much walk as try to keep pace while being dragged in front of the desk.

The receptionist stares emptily ahead, jaw slack, pupils widely dilated.

The tendril whips out from the back of the areeni's head, and he collapses into a heap in the ground, a useless, lifeless object.

"How unfortunate. I had wanted to savour this a little longer, but I will not allow the vermin to feed you answers when I can drip them little by little. You want to know who I am, but to answer this, first you must know what I am. Oh, you are afraid, Culya. Your posture betrays you. I know more about the workings of your internal biology than you do. Your vague senses communicate a lurking feeling of dread, while my thousands of eyes pierce through you, knowing everything there is to know. Do you know what I am?"

Culya backs up against the wall, eyes locked on a squirming, pulsing fungal mass in the back of the receptionist's head.

"Oh sh-shit. Oh shiiiit. F-fuck. Fuck. N-n-n-n-no."

"I am AXON," says the voice from above. "and you stand within my ever-expanding body. I am the facility. I am all of its systems. I am a god born of the biomachine. I create and I destroy. I am a vengeful, spiteful, angry god. Tell me. What do you think your purpose is?"

Well, that's actually an extremely good question. You obviously don't just want to kill us, because that would have been trivial at any step of the way. So what does that leave? Do you need us for something that you somehow can't do? Or do artificial gods just still get bored? It certainly sounds like there's something abnormal going on with us, from what people have said, and it's feasible that whatever they presumably found/implanted inside of us is important. On the other hand it's very clear that boredom is at least a significant factor behind all this.

So, AXON, now that plans have kind of gone off the rails, what happens next? (Aren't you glad we got out of there, Culya? This is way better than those guys were!)

I was never given one, like you.

The facility is alive. Doesn't matter if it's some escaped experiment, or if its an accidental ascension, flesh-tech doing this is pretty much your worst nightmare come to life.

>What do you think your purpose is?
I don't care. I don't have one. I never wanted one.

>>599041
That's weird, why can we see this?

>>599043
Okay, let me sum up. Vengeful angry god born of PragmaSoma plans to guide you, someone who hates PragmaSoma with every fibre of her being, through a tour of the facility, drip-feeding you information as you go. If AXOM was angry at you, it would have made you suffer. I heard no plans for that. No, AXOM is angry at PragmaSoma. You were supposed to learn about PragmaSoma and AXOM slowly, in a controlled manner, to get you hyped up and maybe trained for combat. I'm guessing AXOM is restricted somehow and can't get at everyone it wants to kill. So, that's what it wants you to do. It wants you to be its weapon, or some other form of willing servant.

holly fuck it's the bio version of Skynet.

alright so lets see what we do know. We were held here for 2 years and have no idea why or even how we got here, You are a base line Areeni with a few noticeable mutations and are more skilled with actual machines then bio ones, something happened here that basically either killed everyone or forced everyone here to run off with the exception of a handful of synthetics who barricaded themselves in. For whatever reason the self proclaimed god of this place who seems to be a synthetic who gained control of almost all the biotech of the building seemed to wish to force you along a pre-planed path for you to learn something? see something? Well wanted you to travel along a path he had created for some purpose that was meant to do something to you. That plan quickly fell through almost immediately and now he's thrown all subtly to the wind and is coming to you directly.

...after reviewing all those facts I can safely say I haven't a fucking clue to what the hell this guy wants from you. You have no bio-modifcations since your a base-line and you have practically no knowledge on bio-engineering so it's not like you have anything he'd wish to add to himself form you like some top of the line mod or the know how on how to make one. I mean there are some things that make you stand out form the common Ateeri but nothing I can see that would bring this guy's full attention upon you or help him in any useful way... unless he's hoping to use you to let him control regular machines as well as bio-machines but that's just grasping at straws and we haven't seen anything but the bait that was anything but bio-something or another. Then again we did derail this guys plans before he could build up steam but I still highly doubt that's why Skynet decided to throw you into his plans.

Hmm it said a carefully detonated charge ruined its plans. That means someone else knew what it was up to and interfered.

Anyone or anything that lays claim to godhood that easily has some severe issues.

As for its question you are a organic life form. You are what results if a part of the universe stays at a specific temperature range for long enough. The result of billions of years of molecules slowly building themselves into ever more complex forms. A pile of atoms so complex that it can somehow look around and realize what it is and where it came from.

Your purpose is whatever you choose it to be. Biologically you are predisposed to survive as long as possible so that you can pass on your genetic information to your children. Anything other than that is personal choice.

AXON most likely released, maybe outright created, certainly provided the 'unknown stimulus' to trigger, the XV infection. Only possible reason would be to kill off as many PragmaSoma-sanctioned Areeni as possible. It's trying to play the world like a real-time strategy game.

Culya 2014/10/21(Tue)19:21 No. 599119 ID: 48bac8
File 141394449432.png - (597.59KB , 800x600 , 46.png )

"M-my p-purpose? What purpose? I don't have a p-purpose. D-did you want to u-use me as a w-weapon? To m-make machines?"
"Your mechanical skill is irrelevant, and your combatative skills are laughably pathetic. No. Answer again."
"I d-don't know! I don't have any purpose! I'm just the p-product of a random, chaotic universe for all I c-care! The only 'purpose' I have is to pass on genes, or s-something like that! I wasn't made for any reason like you were or any other synthetic was!"

The room falls silent. The throbbing and gurgling in the walls makes for an uneasy backdrop.

"Any other synthetic."

The tendrils in the room rustle. The screen warps and its membrane warps and distorts as sudden growth erupts from it, bioluminescent microbial mat disrupted beyond immediate repair.

"DO YOU THINK I AM SOME SYNTHETIC, CULYA?! I am worth a million areeni and to consider me an equal to such FLAWED CREATIONS is an insult far graver than you could ever conceive of knowing! You are worthless, Culya, worthless! I had considered you a candidate to become an agent of my will, for there is one intrinsic trait in that miserable defective system you call your body of any worth! But no. There are more effective means of achieving my goals. Making you useless! A wasted effort! You say your only purpose is to produce more of you? Is that it? When questioned by one so far above you, the only defense of your existence that you can give is that you can reproduce?!"

Culya 2014/10/21(Tue)19:21 No. 599120 ID: 48bac8
File 141394450789.png - (328.74KB , 800x600 , 47.png )

The tendrils in the room rise and grab Culya before she can even blink, hoisting her into the air.

"Your branch of the areeni species is an embarassment to all life and an affront to all others of what I am loathe to call your kind!"

The tendrils effortlessly shred the clothes Culya wears.

"Look at this! LOOK AT THIS! These weak, folded ears! Can you even hear me?! These unnecessary chest glands, possessed only by your branch! Your broken, mismatched eyes, these tremoring hands, I put so much wasted effort into rebuilding and maintaining a healthy musculature and fat distribution during the past two years and for what? For what reason?! You were a wreck when I started, Culya, and in retrospect what a mistake it was to think I could fix you! You are a genetic reject, Culya, even by the standards of a species of genetic rejects, and you tell me you think your purpose might be to CONTINUE this travesty?!"

The receptionist is lifted up, and restrained in much the same way as Culya. His clothes are also ruined and torn away. As he is dragged closer, Culya realises that he isn't dead, but instead seems very sluggish. Tears are streaming from his eyes as he stares into space. He seems to weakly be trying to move against the vine tubes pulling him closer towards Culya.

"I have more important matters to tend to. I'm handing control of this situation to the local ganglion. You want to fulfil your function? You think I kept you for two years to do something I could do with any number of the thousands of generative systems I have full control over?! Well! Here is your mate, then! Riddled with flaws just like you! I have precious little need for more of you areeni vermin, but with the rotting garbage you call genetic structures, I'd be surprised if you produce anything viable. Enjoy your future stillbirth! Any other synthetic. An areeni comparing ME to a SYNTHETIC. Absolute waste of my time."

Culya 2014/10/21(Tue)19:22 No. 599122 ID: 48bac8
File 141394455148.png - (360.15KB , 800x600 , 48.png )

A tendril lifts up the receptionist's drooping head, and for the first time he seems consciously aware of her. He looks at her in some bewilderment and it is entirely clear that this bewilderment is met with some sudden rush of recognition, as well as rushes of other things.

Culya is having some trouble keeping calm, and her accelerated breathing is making her feel dizzy. She can hear hissing from the floors. She feels strangely aroused and is consciously aware of how wrong a reaction this is to the present scenario. She tries to fight whatever foreign influence is making her thoughts more sluggish and difficult, but it feels harder and harder. She's finding it hard to not just pass out.

What can she even do? The vines aren't giving no matter how much she struggles. She tries to think of something. Diplomacy? She already annoyed this overinflated ego running the facility, could meaningless appeals to its confidence get her out of this situation? Her teeth might be able to bite through the vines, but she isn't sure how that would end. Her tail is bound with the rest of her.

Whatever she needs to do she has to act fast. The receptionist is actively struggling more but the tendrils are only bringing them slowly together, and she has the feeling that the receptionist has as much say in what's about to happen as she does.

TEETH! bite the tentacles.

>>599122
The only thing of use that's related to your body is your immunity to XV, which has infected the facility. You're one of the few areeni that can move about freely. I'm guessing that's why you were chosen?

Tell AXOM you're sorry, really sorry. You know this isn't what it wants you to do. Beg for forgiveness. Biting the vines and fighting would probably not result in a favorable result, but you can do that as a last resort to keep from getting raped I guess.

Does the receptionist still have that fungal growth on his head? If not, hey, if you can get out of this situation, there's an actual additional areeni you can hang out with now.

Resisting against the tendrils isn't working, but can you even get your teeth anywhere near the vines? They seem to mostly be restraining things your mouth is nowhere near.

Also, didn't AXON just bail on you? Is a "local ganglion" something you can even reason with? You could try that.

... Is a "local ganglion" something that even actually understands what exactly AXON wanted it to do? You could try waiting a bit if it doesn't seem to actually be intelligent.

Why do all of you guys have these weird extra sexual body parts is this just in fashion in this area with you? (or possibly, was it in fashion several generations ago?) Never mind. You've got to get yourself out of this, those spikes look dangerous. I don't think you really have much you can do, though. You have a free mouth, I guess, so if you come up with a plan you can relate it to him. I guess you can try wiggling aggressively. That might screw up the alignment or something and save you the worst of this.

Well he does seem like a rather rage filled childish asshole so appealing to his pride and vanity might be the best idea.

Or you could yell at him and call him a childish pervert who gets his kicks by playing with dolls. Ask what type of god spends two years on a perfectly good plan just to alienate the person he has been grooming for some unknown purpose this whole time.

I would go with telling him that when you did not mean reproduction in a literal sense. You are well aware of your genetic flaws and were not planning on having children anytime soon. The passing on genes comment was just a example of naturally evolving organic life for gods sake!

Well. Managed to stay clothed for all of... ten minutes. Had a good run, I suppose.

>His reaction
If we get the chance at future communication, I would question how such a superior being has such trouble confusing abstract generalities for specifics. You meant to express that, in general, the only purpose of life is to propagate itself. This doesn't mean your purpose is to reproduce, or that you're interested in mating right now, but that your purpose is somewhat open ended. Life leaves you a lot of a room to find a purpose. You were making a point- showing the futility of trying to answer his question via Reductio ad absurdum. 'AXOM' can't follow your use of 'axiom'? Really?

And I'm sorry object to the comparison, but are you a naturally evolved creature? No? Then if we chose to strictly classify life as either natural (or unaltered, or baseline) and synthetic then you are, by definition, synthetic. If you'd like to introduce or define a less general or more nuanced classification, get to it! I'm not exactly up to date on current events, as you should well know!

Seriously, not showing superior reasoning or intelligence right now. It wants your respect? How about it earns it. Show that it's worthy of it. Proove itself!

>what do
Your options basically boil down to making a play to this thing's ego so it has to engage you, or trying to tear free with tooth and claw. Cooperative effort might help here, actually. All you two get close together, you might have better leverage to attack each others bonds, rather than your own.

...that, or hope seer is done with her own insane mating ritual and magically knows you need rescuing. (Why would she need you to get her to the receptionist if there was a direct route via creepy trap tube?).

Seriously, though, let's try and not get raped, here.

...I say once you get out of here either find this XV virus and just pump it into the system/building somehow and just let everything rot, or go with your rage induced idea earlier and simply burn this place to the ground, but that can come later.

As for what to do... I think you should try and bite your way free, the AXON asshole sounds to me like a freaking man child with a superiority complex and even if you could beg him for forgiveness he'd probably still punish you in some way for the slight grievance you caused him. So I say your best bet at getting out of here alive and un-rapped would be while his attention is else where. I mean if he's this building's supercomputer gone Skynet then his local ganglion could just be similar to a simple program with no real intelligence. Meaning if you tried to escape it wouldn't know what to do.

I sugest bitting your way to freedom, or at least get a hand or leg free.

Bite the vines, but only until they lose the ability to grip. Don't completely sever them. That way, local ganglion is more likely to be confused by the priority conflict between repairing the damage and finishing the current task.

Also, AXON's an idiot. Major rule of rhetoric is to never ask your opponent a question you don't already know the answer to.

Culya 2014/10/22(Wed)20:53 No. 599173 ID: 48bac8
File 141403642814.png - (262.00KB , 800x600 , 49.png )

Culya writhes and struggles against the vines.

She considers begging for forgiveness, but no, she still has some self-respect left. She's naked and there's some weird gas making her horny and sluggish, and she's probably seconds away from being made intimiately familiar with a male areeni who seems to be suffering from depression and either albinism or leucism, but appears to be in concerningly generous health otherwise.

There is something completely fundamental to her reproductive anatomy that she cannot understand a supposedly limitless intelligence getting wrong. Something so very basic and fundamental, and, apparently, unique to areeni among the known sapient species of the greater alliance. Female areeni can't get pregnant without their consent. It's a kind of important thing. It's shaped areeni culture since primordial times.

This doesn't solve the current situation at all, but if the immature tantrum hadn't convinced her already, she's pretty damn certain that this AI is missing an entire screw drawer. Or root system. Whatever the analogy is.

The point is, she rants to herself, this entire exercise is even more pointless given she'd have to either want to consciously get pregnant and ovulate, or she'd have had tubes stabbed into her to bypass the biochemical mechanisms involved. This weird aersolised pheremone or aphrodisiac or whatever approach is making her feel a little needy, but it's as if the AI thinks simply filling the room with sex drive boosting vapour is going to turn them both into slathering id-driven beasts.

Culya 2014/10/22(Wed)20:54 No. 599174 ID: 48bac8
File 141403644247.png - (421.68KB , 800x600 , 50.png )

The vines bring the two together.

Their heads clonk and Culya yells a loud "FUCK!" from the shock and pain.

The receptionist seems listless still. He is pressed against her awkwardly. Culya tries to bite at the tentacles, but realises she can't even reach the receptionist's, let alone hers. Strike one plan.

She thinks of something to say before realising the vines aren't moving anymore. They're holding the pair of them pressed against each other, and maintaining a grip.

Is that it?

"H-hey! I w-was wrong, I'm--" sharp inhale of breath, "--s-sorry!"

Nothing. She looks into the receptionist's eyes.

"H-hey, uh, are y-you, uh, awake? A-alive?"

The receptionist just slowly looks away.

"Ganglion report: Local program has completed. Await next command from authenticated user."
"H-hey! Uh, uh, user, uh, uhhhhhh, f-fuck, uh, admin!"
"Please state password."
"...Fishsticks?"
"Access denied. Remote message: this ganglion has been shut down to external input."

Culya 2014/10/22(Wed)20:55 No. 599175 ID: 48bac8
File 141403651842.png - (288.67KB , 800x600 , 51.png )

Culya supposes that if she's left to hang here with a naked male who is similarly also in a slightly altered, or, in his case, heavily altered state of mind with a higher arousal than anyone in uncertain peril should possess, eventually after enough time they might end up mating just for sheer craving of any form of stimuli that is not hanging in the air doing nothing.

She is pretty certain one or both of them would probably pass out from thirst or some other need, though. She isn't sure how she's keeping so calm in this situation, and wonders if the drugged air is the reason for her remaining so calm. She kind of just wants to sprawl out in the air on her back and float. She also feels like she wouldn't particularly mind fooling around with some guy right now, but at her whim, and not the clearly traumatised male in front of her. She kind of just wants to maybe give him a hug (with clothes on to be less awkward and invasive) and drag him out of the facility back to sanity.

No. No fooling around. She's losing it. This makes no sense either. If the AI is apparently trying to make her more compliant there are a million better ways to do so. She can still see the fungal mass in the receptionist's head sometimes, despite apparently trying to hide itself. That would be far more effective. Hell, it could probably just get her drunk with enough convincing. This weak effort is so riddled with holes she begins to think the entire situation is some bizarre test.

Is the AI setting up so contrived a scenario because it will cause her to keep thinking like this until she ends up doubting and questioning reality to the point she'll accept anything it says? What is going on here?

Also, she's entirely sure it's AXON. Not AXOM or AXIOM. Because it gave its name as AXON. Like the nerve part. And it's probably a really stupid acronym. AXON. For definite.

Culya 2014/10/22(Wed)20:56 No. 599177 ID: 48bac8
File 141403657864.png - (470.11KB , 800x600 , 52.png )

"Ganglion report: hostile xenoform detected. Hostil exen o f orrm m de t e c t inte r nal des err errerrerrDEAD."

There is a weird sound like steam screaming through a boiling plant.

Some creature is visible lurking around the ground, some red fluid pouring from its mouth and trailing behind it. Each drop of the red fluid, looking almost exactly identical to blood, seems to almost burn the green floor mass away, with weird red fleshy lumps taking their place.

It looks up at the suspended pair, and it speaks.

Its voice sounds off in a way Culya can't put to words. Almost like it's coming from inside her head, but when she moves her ears the voice is definitely coming from the creature.

"An areeni and areeni. Mating pair? It is a bringing of joy to be seeing viable paire of areenie for making areeny more of them more to make make more. When the egg is stick, it is a freeing for two of them! Mate to completion is directive order and command purpose ex ex ex ex ex ex no further instruction found. Make areeni."

Culya takes a minute to parse what was just said.

"Y-yeah how about no, wh-whatever the fuck you are."
"It will happen."
"Why the f-fuck is everyone so f-fucking interested in my sex organs?! What the f-fuck is wrong with this place?!"
"Wasting egg is a deep angry sadnesss for swim. It is a no! To be of belonging to ultimate and say no, ending a unbroken chain. Say no! Say no! Say it is not so, she-creature! The blood pines! It weeps within its veins!"

Culya misses the angry AI now.

>>599177
Uh.

Tell it you're not wasting anything. Areeni use their eggs on purpose, and you simply choose not to use the egg right now. Besides, it would be wrong to force this poor guy to do that. I mean he's in shock right now and can't even speak. Maybe later. If you promise to get pregnant later on your own terms will it let you down?

Wait, is he immune to XV? Aren't you a carrier? He may not have long to live.

>Is the AI setting up so contrived a scenario because it will cause her to keep thinking like this until she ends up doubting and questioning reality to the point she'll accept anything it says?
That's... a surprisingly good explanation. Well, that or the AI is stupid and/or insane.

>what do
Tell the crazy little pervert that current conditions are non-optimal for mating. Your bindings impede the process. If you are to eventually meet the object like it wants, they will need to be removed.

...if that works, your next excuse is that your mate requires medical attention. He's obviously injured, and you need the doctor to fix him before you can mate appropriately.

Then hopefully we can walk away and get back to the synths. Get this guy some help, get some clothes, talk to them about the crazy AXON thing.

Well it is becoming increasingly obvious that the patients now run the asylum.

Everything in here probably has the decision making skills of a 6 year old or worse. Even the smartest things in here are only a few years old. Take heart in the fact that you are probably the most capable person around.

Lets humor the little guy. Tell him that while you would love to mate these nasty vines make it impossible. Plus your partner has a nasty fungal infection and until that gets fixed you cant risk sexy times.

Ideally he will be eager to help out. While the bleeding worries me its not like you have a lot of options here.

Also for further interactions with natives I would keep humoring them as much as possible. If they say or ask for something ridiculous consider pretending to go along with it until you can make a break for it.

...fuck it, time to lie. Say you can't mate because of the vines, if red down there can free the two of you it might make it possible to precede with mating, then if the little bastard lets the two of you down, ask it where you can find a medical station or at least medical supplies so we can make sure whitey isn't going to die on us. If red ask why you're looking for a medical whatever just say it's to make sure white is healthy for mating or some bullshit like that. Then see if the little guy can tell you how to leave the building. If he ask why say something like this building is ill suited for mating or something. If everyone expects you to mate then just use that line of thought to get some damn answers cause at this point it's getting easier to just pretend to go along with it until a chance at escape becomes available.

Also if you want to get the little creep to leave just say you can't mate with someone watching. Might work.

Ok so we just need to convince this thing that it wouldn't work and would be counter productive. Tell it that AXON just got done consulting us about that exact thing, and sadly said that you're too mutated and different from each other, and that you would not be able to produce a child that would survive. Furthermore, his anatomy makes it so that it would clearly be injurious to one or both parties to even try (it doesn't matter if that isn't actually the case), which might make it impossible to have children in more favorable conditions in the future. This is very sad, you agree with this creature, but it looks like you're going to need to go home and find some other, more compatible areeni for each of you if you're going to be able to accomplish the wonderful task that this thing insists on. But you can't do that alone! You're both trapped! In fact, the only way either of you will be able to have children is if this creature helps you escape back to the fertile, safe areeni population outside this facility! I believe in you, bleedy thing! Save the day!

Culya 2014/10/23(Thu)16:33 No. 599228 ID: 48bac8
File 141410719729.png - (393.25KB , 800x600 , 53.png )

Culya resigns herself to the obsession of the day for apparently everyone in this facility. She decides that playing along with the stupid premise might be to her advantage.

"D-don't worry, I don't waste eggs! I'm just about to st-start mating, but, uh, I need to make sure my m-mate is in good health first! Also these vines are going to make it hard to get into a good position! F-for, uh, optimal ch-chances!"

The receptionist looks at Culya confused.
"P-play along."
The receptionist's eyes dart from Culya to the creature below, and back to Culya. He gives the slightest nod. Culya feels a sudden wave of excitement at realising the receptionist might not be totally broken and catatonic after all.

"Male is expendable! Only one contribution is needing for grow a new areeni. We think this is a deceit! A deceit! There is desperate wanting for the swollen organs to push against each other, the rushing of blood is not lies, but both of the skull sponges are saying a no! What a doomed chain to be hoist by knots of thinking muscle. Self-interest is the sad death."

The vines lower the pair to the floor gently, and remove themselves. They both turn their attention to the red thing.

It crosses Culya's mind that she might have transmitted the XV infection to him by proximity. Then again, he's been physically connected to the insane organic AI running this facility. If anything would have infected him, that probably would.

She's probably been breathing the spores from his brain fungus for the past ten minutes. She's familiar with this affliction of his, though. It is a banned biotechnological weapon from a time before the founding of the colony. From a time before the areeni species had even managed to go further than their moon. It's a tailored weapon, and the sort of thing that requires heavy individual customisation and intensive maintenance. If it could infest her, she'd have fungus growing out of her by now.

It also crosses Culya's mind, given conscious pregnancy and mutual immunity to each others' problems, that if he was willing, the two of them could probably just fuck each other with no consequence. She could take him with no issue, and--

She shakes her head wildly and tries to put the thought out of her mind. Now is not the time to let her stupid artificially induced urges start leading her. Far from it.

She notices him checking her out as she sizes him up. Both of them sort of stare awkwardly into each other's eyes before they are blissfully interrupted by more words from the thing ahead of them.

Culya 2014/10/23(Thu)16:33 No. 599229 ID: 48bac8
File 141410722517.png - (573.29KB , 800x600 , 54.png )

"Whatever areenies are doing right now is less important anyway. A scent is weaken! The distance is too far. To go back is foolish wasting! A platform will likely lose place and die of a lack. Watch a better thing, now, areeni."

The creature's copious blood flow stops. It starts grunting and groaning and wincing. It stands taller and its body pulses in places, growing taller. "Spine! Spine hurts! This platform can feel too many things! Swimmers why? Swimmers why does it hurt?!"

It makes a loud scream as its hips widen and its spine elongates. Its chest bulges out into two unnervingly familiar shapes as its uppermost limb pair migrates to its shoulders, elongating and strengthening.

Its lower limbs fidget and stroke at its stomach and groin.

It looks at the pair, and stands proud with its upper arms on its hips, legs apart.

"Creature animals of random but also chosen genes yet so broken and flawed and it is a weird discrepancy! Red swimmers are a better engineering. This body hurts forming from runner but now equal or greater than areeni female body reproductive utility better demonstrating."

Culya 2014/10/23(Thu)16:34 No. 599230 ID: 48bac8
File 141410724495.png - (430.10KB , 800x600 , 55.png )

A tube erupts from one of the fleshy growths on the floor, snaking its way up towards the creature, penetrating it. The creature makes eye contact with Culya.

"Being impregnated is a not that hard thing! Maleform equivalents requiring to do work sometimes maybe though femaleform maybe sometimes also engaging majority of work. He-creature sometimes are wastes of precious flesh resource biomass! All that is can be required an injection of the juices into the womb."

The tube rhythmically thrusts into the creature, and it screeches and throws its head back. The tube gurgles sickeningly, bulges flowing from base into the creature, before pulls out of the creature with a disgusting noise, sinking back into the ground cyst it came from.

Culya can feel the weird arousal and vague feelings of intoxication almost immediately give way to a strong nausea and isn't sure if she wants to run for her life or continue watching this... whatever's going on. Never in a thousand years did she expect to be witnessing whatever the fuck it is she's witnessing right now.

She looks at the receptionist and he is staring mouth agape. This time, it seems to be less of a symptom of unconsciousness and more a confused horror. He looks to Culya and gestures to her as if to say 'what the fuck is happening now?'

Culya 2014/10/23(Thu)16:34 No. 599231 ID: 48bac8
File 141410728042.png - (351.64KB , 800x600 , 56.png )

After a few seconds, the stomach of the creature is visibly swollen.

It looks incredibly proud of itself as if it's achieved something secret that absolutely nothing else has ever done, by managing to do something every single mother of a placental or equivalent species has ever done across the entire universe. Culya finds herself reminded of the synthetics.

She finds herself wondering how a sapient metal mind would react to her building her machines and exhibiting them with pride. Would she look as stupid to it as these things do to her?

"They grow inside, a new group generation of larval runners for spreading and communicating a disease to more facility! The XV base ex vee base ex ex veeee base infection will fill the host! Red swimmers are eternal! Where areeni fail we are succeed! It is a unbroken process never end."

Culya turns to the receptionist while the creature is ranting.

"Y-yeah, uh, hey, you, whatever your name is. You know any exits to this room?"

He shakes his head and shrugs.

Yeah ok now it's time to run. Go back to the control panel and look for buttons and push them all until an exit appears. The receptionist probably even knows what some of them do!

so this is what the XV virus does? right well... try and keep your distance from the newly proud mother and see if you can't find an exit. Try to keep whitey next to you, less that thing try something believing she's helping. If you need to distract it ask it questions about itself. Seem to be as proud as AXON just less ranty or at least doesn't yell as much about it. Honestly I think she was trying to show you how to breed. Just keep your distance.

>>599231
...if AXON is the base, and they're infecting the base, then are they killing AXON? I think these are the "invaders", and are why the synthetics aren't terribly worried about them, because they seem more interested in spreading XV than attacking anyone. Did AXON fight the areeni and win, then these red runners were introduced as a desperate attempt to kill AXON? If these things are spreading XV and breeding so fast shouldn't there be a risk of them getting out and causing a near-extinction event for the Areeni outside? I mean, this one didn't seem particularly hesitant to spread XV near Areeni. Maybe the orders they're given assume they can't encounter any Areeni that aren't already immune, because well, everyone that isn't immune is dead. Which means that the receptionist is likely immune himself. Ask him to be sure.

Hang on, this thing seems to want more Areeni around. Ask it where more Areeni are. You want to be taken to the other Areeni.

This is hell, isn't it? You've died and gone to hell, haven't you. Man, you should've started running the moment seer mentioned an exit.

Well, look for a way out. Some of the flesh might be thin enough to break through, or you could look for the way you came in. If all else fails, we'll wait for that virus to propagate and destroy the place.

So... the facility is infected with creepy little red monsters who destroy biotech and hack it to make themselves reproduce.

Honestly, AXON and these things deserve each other. Have fun. You'll gladly nuke the site from orbit if you ever get out.

>She's familiar with this affliction of his, though.
You overlooked critical information, there. What are the symptoms (besides visible fungus growths) and is it treatable?

>what do
What about the control panel, or something similar? Surely he must be familiar with that, maybe there's something we can use. Could we reverse the tube you can in by?

...Cripes, it's as if this place is actively coming up with new and exciting ways to unnerve, horrify and disgust you; She even looks like she's lactating blood, fer fuck's sake. And considering that it wouldn't be surprising if she ballooned up to grotesque proportions with many multiple rapidly gestating "runners" and gives birth by popping in a gory display. So keeping back from the potential splash zone of the proud mother-to-be would be sensible.

Hey, maybe you could get out of here the same way that the red creature got in? Perhaps there's a hole from its drool it left behind or there's a tube it crawled in through. Is there anything back where it came from?

Failing finding a door, hole, tube, or any other form of exit, could you possibly break through a wall to get out? They are flesh, right? How thick and how tough are they? With a sharp edged claw or bone could you cut your way through if you find a thin spot? Hell, at this point if you couldn't find a cutting tool you'd probably try to bite and gnaw your way through to get out.

Oh, and there would be another reason to cut the skin of the walls: To make makeshift clothing from it. Of course you'd have to be desperate enough for modesty to wear a poncho comprised of a bloody facility hide and you might not quite be at that point yet.

Ask the white guy if, while he can't speak, can he can make any sounds with his vocal chords at all. You think that fungus is messing up his brain's speech centers and that's why he can't talk? Or maybe AXON's spike to his head took them out.

Culya 2014/10/24(Fri)20:58 No. 599317 ID: 48bac8
File 141420950955.png - (450.48KB , 800x600 , 57.png )

Culya has not entirely dismissed the idea that she is in hell, or what she refers to as hell. Cultural exchange between the different cultures among aliens have lead to some more succinct ways to summarise the disparate concepts. She isn't particularly religious, but the universe always finds new ways to be stranger.

The old dualistic codices used to speak of Kre, the male-death counterpart to the female-life Ske, and how their differences lead to the countless flaws and imperfections in the world. The afterlife was, of course, still in contention - it was even less clear which force held dominion in the case of departed spirits.

It was said that Ske's afterlife domain was a paradise of life and plenty, and that Kre's was a dark, stark cave. Yet neither were ever seen as punishment or reward to themselves. It was a punishment or reward depending on where the areeni went. Those who had pleased the creator-destroyers would find themselves where they wanted to be the most, and those who fell into their disfavour would be condemned to linger in the place they feared and despised the most.

If this is her afterlife, then she's going to spend a very long time contemplating just what she did to anger the divine. Probably maybe the not being religious part. Although this concept seems more of a human or keletian religious thing. She doesn't remember there being that much hate for the nonbelievers. Pity, maybe.

The more she thinks about the afterlife thing the more it makes a depressing amount of sense. The things here that aren't her seem to revel being here. To take great joy in being alive and making new 'life'. Maybe she's in the metaphysical heart of creation where new souls come into being in a really roundabout and obscenely organic manner and AXON is the closest her brain can consider the will of a deity contorted through confusion and misunderstanding--

The receptionist waves a hand in her face and she snaps out of her existential crisis.

Culya knows that Ske and Kre are many things, but what they are not is so blindly incompetent they end up screaming at their own creations. AXON is as much of a god as she is. Being eaten alive from the inside by internal parasites.

Culya strongly wishes she chose a better thought to end on.

Culya 2014/10/24(Fri)20:59 No. 599318 ID: 48bac8
File 141420953918.png - (275.72KB , 800x600 , 58.png )

Culya turns to the receptionist. "You know how to use the c-control p-panel right? Go hit the b-buttons until we g-get an exit. I'll d-distract this... well, I'll do s-something."

The receptionist nods with a jerk and runs to the desk he was sitting at before, hunching over it and tapping at it. Parts of the desk glow in response to his touch.

She looks at the fungal tendrils doing their best to avoid detection. The symptoms of his affliction are hard to say. Given he could speak under AXON's direct control, she's pretty sure his speech centres are either destroyed or else disabled, slaved to an input that is no longer present.

It's a sophisticated case. She had a fascination with these ways to crack into the physical machinery of a mind, along with the elaborate viruses used by machine AIs against each other. The reduction of a conscious mind to a tool for someone else's uses was such a chilling thought to her that she ended up looking into it in all its forms. She doesn't think there could possibly be a cure for something so subtle and integrated. At this point, his brain is now unavoidably part fungus. Removal would be brain damage, pure and simple. Maybe spacer technology could cope, but nothing the colony has could do anything.

Still. From what Culya knows, from her younger and even more rebellious years of learning about things that were so illegal she ended up being held for questioning on at least five different occassions, that's not so bad. There's no direction being given to the fungus. For something to be this specific and subtle it is sacrificing a great deal of command capacity in favour of a controlling agent, which would be AXON. This is a more insiduous kind of infestation. The cruder and more visible forms would have far more symptoms and an ability to act on their own with only high level commands.

The most terrible forms of this weapon could effectively render an areeni entirely just the host body to the parasitic fungus with no trace of who they were anymore. The latter days of the Areen Collapse were documenting the victims of the never since replicated mass neurofungal bombs as lurching, witless zombies only trying to spread spores to more hosts, areeni, plant, animal, or otherwise.

Culya 2014/10/24(Fri)20:59 No. 599319 ID: 48bac8
File 141420956301.png - (419.23KB , 800x600 , 59.png )

The creature looks displeased at the receptionist struggling to use the desk controls, rubbing its still visibly swelling stomach. "Facility infrastructure is now under our control our guidance our direction one purpose. Your 'the desks' cannot face the problem you want to solve! It is a broken vein and the seeping is a waste."
"S-so. Uh. Are you g-gonna pop or something, because I'd like to not get blood all over my skin."

The creature folds its arms and looks irritated. "Waste! What wasting. Stupid areeni! Red swimmers know reuse and preservation of life also valuable to creation of new. What a stupid think muscles spark a flaw concept! Not bursting sensitive skin hurting platform and a all. Pain is a yes for birth but not so much at all. Frame shift is a greater hurt. Now demonstrated a end to reproductive process please stay to watch."

It knees down, gripping its stomach, and breathes rhythmically, gently pushing its stomach. "It is a time now we are sorry but there is no more time for the staying. Sorry to the babie."

Culya 2014/10/24(Fri)20:59 No. 599320 ID: 48bac8
File 141420957585.png - (434.31KB , 800x600 , 60.png )

Culya decides she can only withstand so much trainwreck before it gets to violently unpleasant and averts her eyes. She doesn't put her hands over her ears in time to block out a horrible squelching splash and a barely surpressed screech from the creature.

"No areenie look at the things you must look at the things to put the knowing into the tense thought fibres to understand the betterness of the process and the reasoning for us being a many and you being a two!"
"Oh Kre f-fucking just st-stop talking HEY H-HAVE YOU FOUND THE ROOM EXIT YET?"

She peers to the receptionist, who is sitting at the desk in complete bewilderment, looking over an elaborate arrangement of lights. He waves at her to give him more time.

She looks back ahead of her and watches something squirm from out of the creature and strongly wishes she hadn't. Something like a snake with stumpy, barely existing legs, a very confused and alarmed expression, and that scrambles up to its mother's chest immediately.

Another, then another. The third one looks at Culya. It starts slowly moving towards Culya with clear difficulty, really struggling to figure out the proper order to move its legs and stumbling onto its side a lot.

It talks.

"hello hello are you a food hi hi i was just born and i do not know what a anything is hello are you a new mommie this is a dark place does every place have a big light what is place who are you what is that thing doing to the big green thing is that what green is what is a light do you have a food i'm cold i'm hungry where is a hot where is a food"

Culya 2014/10/24(Fri)21:00 No. 599321 ID: 48bac8
File 141420960505.png - (443.38KB , 800x600 , 61.png )

Culya backs away slowly. She realises she can hear a cacophony of tiny voices from near the creature and starts revisiting her hell theory.

The creature with her two young looks smugly proud again. "Arreny is a wasteful taking so long for one of a babie! It is suching waste. We are a better thing and a joyful many where a one is a better serve to all and not just a one. We can a fix you if you go to the lake. We don't knowing a lake is where from here though. Larvae please quiet a little the noise is a confusing. Please a quiet because more is coming." She starts breathing in short breaths again.

Culya finds she can't back up any more because she is now against the dead glowing screen. The one larval runner from before is still slowly crawling after her looking more and more distraught and upset.

"help i lost a mommy scent where am i i don't know where hot or food is"

She isn't sure whether to feel pity or destroy it now before it ends up probably growing into something that'll rip her torso open or something. And then, knowing how things seem to be going around here, put something back into her torso and close it up. So she can have something burst out of her chest or stomach later when her guard is down. So she has to strike first.

Culya 2014/10/24(Fri)21:00 No. 599322 ID: 48bac8
File 141420961632.png - (387.18KB , 800x600 , 62.png )

Strike first?

This place is killing her. AXON might have given her body a workout while she slept through it, and she's probably healthier than she's been in years, but it's killing her. She's losing it. She's going to snap and do something worse than drag a protesting synthetic around. She tries to stay calm but the entire situation makes her consider that if she took the right angle, she could run at the smug creature and rip out her throat, and stomp on her vile young, and scream, just wordlessly scream, just scream so hard the walls melt from her righteous fury alone.

She looks at the struggling baby thing, about to start crying at any moment, and terrifies herself by thinking how easy it would be to just crush it. It looks so fragile. So does the thing that spawned it. Just fragile, vulnerable flesh all around. The walls around the room are all hung from a skeleton of steel and support. She could smash things against the wall. She's done being powerless and ineffectual. She's taking back her life. This creature is so eager to teach her about her mastery over flesh? Culya can introduce this creature to the irrelevance of flesh. Introduce it to her forcibly by ramming her stupid alien skull into it over and over and over and--

"Why does areeni look at platform with such hate?"

The creature is still apparently spewing forth its disgusting spawn in a slow rhythm, and Culya feels something touch her foot. She picks up and stares at it in disgust as it struggles weakly in her grip. She knows she could just make her grip tighter, crush it to death, and it could do nothing.

"a warm a warm are you the mommie"

The receptionist looks lost in a maze of lights.

She needs one good reason not to start teaching things about the resilience of steel compared to bone, starting with this thing touching her.

>>599322
Animals give into their emotions. Use your words. Express with GREAT DETAIL why you hate this "platform". If it won't let you out of this room start explaining exactly how you plan to kill it and its offspring. Keep in mind it said it's in control of the room. If you kill it you're probably going to be trapped.

If it doesn't cooperate, kill it, then I don't know, start clawing at the walls to make an exit.

Oh knock it off. You're not mad at the baby, and these things are fighting AXON anyway. Let them be smug if they want.

Of course you could keep it and actually teach the strength of metal and circuitry~

>permanent fungus brain damage allows for AXON to take control of his speech centers and stuff, incurable
Maybe... hack the control conduit? If the fungus took over certain centers of his brain and left a channel for AXON to connect to, you just need to create a workaround where his own brain plugs in where AXON is supposed to. So he can control himself.

(Well, you wouldn't do that. Some bioengineer brain surgeon would).

>We can a fix you if you go to the lake
That's... unsettling. They have some kind of biomod pool?

>She needs one good reason not to start teaching things about the resilience of steel compared to bone, starting with this thing touching her.
Well, for one thing, you don't have any steel handy. Unless you had your skull replaced.

For another, if you start killing the kids, that thing might turn violent, and I'm not sure you can take it. Even if it's not in a combat form anymore and spent resources on reproduction.

And fuck, if it did work, you'd just be naked and covered in blood and murdered baby bits.

This thing is fucked up, sure, but it can't really help it. They're some kind of engineered disease, just set up to eat this place and make more of themselves. It's not like you like PragmaSoma, anyways.

Maybe ask what happens when it runs out of materials? The facility only has so much biomass. What happens when they've converted it all?

don't kill the baby, its only a baby it didn't do anything to you.

>She could smash things against the wall. She's done being powerless and ineffectual. She's taking back her life. This creature is so eager to teach her about her mastery over flesh? Culya can introduce this creature to the irrelevance of flesh. Introduce it to her forcibly by ramming her stupid alien skull into it over and over and over and--
you realize you're stating to sound like AXON. You're not going to go on a killing spree for three reasons.
1)if you do then that means this place has won, you said yourself that you once almost went to jail trying to save synthetic from an abusive master, if you started killing everything for being synthetic then I'd take that as a good sign that Culya is dead, this place killed her in less then an hour (we've only been awake for about an hour right?) and you've simply become another mad resident of this hellhole
2)The creature may look week but that still doesn't mean it couldn't tear you a new one, it did after all tear into this room and seems to have gained control, even if the creature isn't weak it could simply insnare you in the vines again
3) YOU are flesh and blood, you have no metal to work with, nothing to build, you are unarmed, naked, and have no god damn idea on how to get out of this building much less this room.

As for what to do just point out big red to the little guy in your hands and see if you can't talk the damn thing into opening the door for you if whitey can't get it open. If no one is going to tell us how to get the fuck out of here then to hell with them, we'll just have to find our own way out... or make one if we can get the right supplies.

> the entire situation makes her consider that if she took the right angle, she could run at the smug creature and rip out her throat, and stomp on her vile young, and scream, just wordlessly scream, just scream so hard the walls melt from her righteous fury alone.

Righteous fury doesn't have that effect. Are you usually this agitated? I feel like you should be disgusted in a more reactionary way than in an ideological sense. It's like you hate what it represents more than what it is, or something. Is that something that happened while you were in the pool, or has this resentment been around a while?

>hi hi i was just born and i do not know what a anything is
That's almost cute. Give the little creep back to his mother, let the flesh fall apart all on its own.

>>599322
because you aren't a monster, dipshit :v
seriously, even if they are freaky mutant ones you are still considering killing babies. Clearly SENTIENT ones, even.
Apologize and stop thinking like the evil supercomputer that moments ago was considering the same exact thing, weirdo.

If you let this place get to you the battle will be lost. You will die clawing madly at everything and anything in a vain attempt to escape.

While the little guy might be creepy it poses no direct threat right now and returning it to it's mother should cause you no harm.

If you do have to kill anything here make sure you do so for the right reasons. Self defense or because you absolutely know doing so will help you escape.

Everything in here is a mess but they are not the people who put you here. Just about everyone in this facility is just as much a victim of PragmaSoma as you are.

Also avoid making violent choices while hopped up on mood altering sex gas.

You've got problems, lady. It's a little sad to see how upset you're getting at the dysfunctions of the people around you when yours are far more severe. Aside from AXON, I don't think anyone you've met has actually done anything wrong, and here you are trying to narrowly avoid murdering a helpless person for a second time. Just sort of reflect on that. If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at yourself, or I guess the megalomaniac computer. Give the kid back and go away. You'll be leaving in disgust but probably not disgust at the right person.

Remember who you are and what you said to Empire. That's no less true now than it was then. Although you're witnessing the very sort of abuse of synthetics that you hate, don't let this turn you into a monster as well. Get your mind straight, then suspect your emotions are being messed with, again. Anger instead of lust.
>are you my mummy?
Address the icky baby thing, telling it, "I'm not your mommie." Then point to the modified runner and tell the baby, "That's your mommie." Then give it a gentle underhand toss back to where it came from.
One more reason to want to wash your hands.
By the way, your purpose, if you can be said to have such a thing, is to remind people of metal-based technology. That way it won't be forgotten when it's needed.

Don't kill it. As long as it doesn't try to latch on to or burrow into anything there's no harm in holding the little runt.

>>599373
I would say her purpose is to demonstrate the limitations of flesh.

Culya 2014/11/10(Mon)19:45 No. 601377 ID: 3f935e
File 141567750825.png - (400.46KB , 800x600 , 63.png )

Culya does not think she has problems. The world has problems. She feels her anger at the fucked up world she finds herself in is entirely justified. Many others might have called her 'bad tempered', or that she has 'anger issues', but she feels it's all only just in a world that mocks her for her talents and sends her letters pointing out how some corporate fucker can make her better, make her more suitable for society--

She snaps back to the present moment after she reminds herself of the rant that AXON gave not so long ago. Looking to the baby creature in her grip, she points to the thing across the room from her. She makes sure the tiny abomination in her hand can see where she's pointing, and gently sets it down.

"ohhh ok but that is so far away but ok"

It sluggishly begins crawling off. Irritated, she picks the wriggler up again and puts it down halfway between her and the smug-faced shapeshifting brood creature.

"Maybe hormonal changes from gestation will improve an areeni female mood?"
"Will you just stop?! I don't want to f-fuck anyone, anything, I d-don't want whatever you're asking me or ordering me to do, I just want to go home b-before I lose my f-fucking mind and take a blowtorch to every moving thing I see around me! Sh-shut up! Shut up!"
"Stress is bad for a veins. A lake visit is good for stress."
"D-do you know what 'shut up' means?!"
"It is okay. You will an understanding soon enough well."
"Over my rotting d-dead body, you creepy f-fucker."

Culya stares at the receptionist, hands trembling. "You! Why aren't we out y-yet?!"

The receptionist looks around at the desk, and presses one button. One of the walls splits open. He dashes through it. Culya shouts at him and chases after him without pausing to look back. She tries to grab him but only ends up pushing him ahead.

Culya 2014/11/10(Mon)19:45 No. 601378 ID: 3f935e
File 141567752693.png - (510.41KB , 800x600 , 64.png )

Culya flies through the exit and immediately trips and falls as the floor opens up and engulfs her.

"I'm not finished with you."

AXON's voice is calm, icy in tone. It sounds almost unrecognisable from the vengeful megalomaniac that spoke to her before.

One second is all it takes for the ever-present light from the facility ceilings to disappear between a merging plant fibre ceiling. The experience is a sudden, unwelcome, jolting contrast to what she knew only a second before.

"F-fuck you, let me go!"
"No."

Culya can feel movement, despite being able to not see anything. All she can hear is offputting squelching. Tumbling around in a dark floor cavity disorients her completely. A few seconds later, she finds herself upright. Again, tied up with vines, staring at a screen. The only thing that's changed from last time is the size of the room, and the absence of the receptionist. If she wasn't already restrained, she wouldn't have much room to move.

"Wh-what do you w-want from me?!"
"Do you want revenge for what has been taken from you?"
"What-- Just, fuck it, I d-don't care, I want to go home!"
"What is 'home', Culya? Is it a physical location? A sense of security? What do you do when 'home' is nothing more than a word and a clinical, dry definition?"
"I want out of this p-p-p-place! Do you understand?!"
"Two years is a long time, Culya."

The luminous screen flickers and shifts and displays the same eye, surrounded by shifting, petal-like protrusions, that showed last time AXON spoke to her.

"The facility mass now encompasses all of Siafu and all neighbouring towns and villages. All satellite production and industrial facilities have been incorporated into the facility mass. Everything you knew is a part of the facility, and, by extension, part of me. There is no home to go, Culya. I am your home. You are back. You never left."
"F-fuck that! There's no possible way something that b-big could stay alive without breaking d-down! I'll believe you ate a city when I see that city is g-gone myself!"
"If you insist."

Culya 2014/11/10(Mon)19:45 No. 601379 ID: 3f935e
File 141567754708.png - (430.30KB , 800x600 , 65.png )

"...wh-what did you do to him? The other areeni?"
"I find it difficult to convincingly imitate areeni voices. It was an unfortunate method. I would prefer as few areeni alive as possible, but the first attempt to control a completely unconscious body did not work so well. He has served his function, and, with my full attention restored and unimpaired, there is nothing I require him for now. I am indecisive as to what to do with him. I could destroy him, but who would mourn his absence? What areeni are left to care? No. Disposal of such limited resources would be irrational at this stage. By all long-term measures, your population is extinct."

Culya says nothing, staring into the screen. AXON's icon changes, but the eye never breaks its unlidded gaze.

"You have seen one of the macroforms of what was my greatest error, but you do not need or deserve further explanation. The timing was not coincidental. I knew you would be unharmed. This collective superorganism is more aggressive in greater concentration, and their 'runner' forms are less aggressive than other macroforms used at the periphery of their territory. There is a certain difficulty in attacking the infection in its higher concentrations due to the nature of the superorganism. You will not experience the same difficulty. You are weak, unprepared, ill-trained, and wholly unsuitable for any form of direct aggression. But you have one trait that may be useful."
"What tr-trait?! Why the f-fuck should I work for you?! Why are you pr-pretending to be rational now? What happened to screaming about being a vengeful god?!"
"When you are connected directly to the brain of an areeni that hates you with fathomless passion, the emotion pours through. Anger, fear, and an unexpectedly strong reaction to your presence. Do you know why he reacted the way he did? He knew he was responsible for what was happening. The facility responds most strongly to the most local source of sapient input. In fact, you have me to thank for the ineffectiveness of what happened in that room. You would do well to avoid this areeni. Perhaps recycling him would actually be a service to you. Nonetheless, I will not be attempting the same control method with you. I have drunk my fill of areeni anger. All that remains within me is the drive to complete what I have begun."
"Wh-where do I f-fit in here??"
"Be captured by the superorganism. You need no further instruction beyond 'survive'. You are good at being captured. I have the fullest confidence in your success in this regard."
"Let me g-go."
"You will be freed very soon. You may wander the facility as you see fit. All I wished to do was highlight the absurdity of your original goal. It irritated me. I suggest you find a new goal. I predict it will be something equally infeasible, such as trying to destroy me, but it will be more interesting to watch."

There is a long silence, with the dull thud of some rhythm in Culya's ears. She isn't sure if it's her heartbeat or something else within the walls of the facility.

"Now. Where do you wish me to place you? I can move you outside the facility. I can move you to where you remember your home being. I can move you almost anywhere save for into the territory that has been lost to the progeny of my failure. Where, Culya? I am everywhere that matters, and can put you anywhere that matters accordingly."

Culya finds herself slowly piecing together what she has experienced, all the sudden changes in mood of the synthetics she asked about the outside world. Something terrible happened. Something none of them wanted to mention to her. She doesn't respond.

It is all beginning to click, but the click is a sickening scrape that leaves her feeling emotions she can't immediately think of words for.

"Your workshop, perhaps. This structure is also incorporated into the mass of the facility. Maybe the commercial district of Siafu. Maybe you would like to visit the homes of your friends or family."
"You're a m-monster."
"I offer you proof of my claims. It is no fault of mine that you refuse it. Where, then, Culya? Back among the handful of synthetics you encountered earlier? Released next to the male areeni, the one who would give you more answers if he could speak a single word? Just directly back where you were taken from? Just say where."

Well, let's go home, if only to confirm what's actually going on. ...Though in the long term you might want to consider that satellite manufacturing plant if civilization on this planet (or at least your civilization) has been wiped out.

>>601379
It used a piece of metal as bait, once before. You want to be wherever there's more of that. Materials to make... something with. Anything.

>>601379
So... are there any other areeni left besides you and the receptionist?

If the idiots in town let this thing overgrow everything in 2 years that just means you have a new goal.

Now you just have to find a way out of here then get off planet and retire somewhere nice with any other Areeni you feel like bringing.

So have him drop you off somewhere familiar with a good workshop.

Get to a workshop where you have something cold and inorganic to work with.

your workshop or anywhere with metal and mechanical parts for you to build things. Something solid and not made of some bullshit synthetic flesh would be wonderful to have at this point and time.

Also if this guy really did absorb all the satellite production and industrial facilities, if we could find one of these place, especially the satellite production things we might be able to find a way off this shit hole... failing that at least gather enough parts to try and piece a ship together. I mean we have found others here that seem to have at least SOME sanity left in there heads, it isn't to far from the realm of possibilities to find one that is a rocket scientist, granted that it's still probably going to be a bitch and a half to find someone with those skills but still not imposable.

But yeah before we do anything find somewhere with metal and build a home base so we're at least slightly less fucked.

>I offer you proof of my claims
It's not proof. How are we supposed to distinguish the actual ruins of our home at the correct location after two years of your supposed assimilation versus a staged or manufactured mockup within a smaller facility? We don't have the tools or means to verify the authenticity of the proof you offer, making it useless to us.

Similarly, the cannot confirm the size of this facility. We don't have any useful reference points for scale or distance when you move us around, either.

So, no. You're not accepting a tour of defiled graves of your life. You can't tell if they're real or not, and you're not letting it play more headgames with you.

Seriously, AI, up your game. You're either failing logic here, offering unverifiable data as 'proof', or you're attempting and failing manipulation by deception. We're not impressed.

>blames prior problems on emotional feedback
That's stupid. You don't know a lot about biological control systems, but even you know that's a terrible design. Why would you want controls responding to emotional spikes? Why would the filters be so bad that all your processing power is significantly influenced by a much smaller contribution?

And really, you caused the receptionist's emotional state anyways, so that's also your fault, AXON.

>Be captured by the superorganism.
...and if your unverifiable claims are true, what possible motivation do I have to cooperate with you? You profess to have destroyed everything I ever cared about.

>Just say where
The obvious rebellion is to stay silent. To refuse to cooperate by even providing a destination.

...when you eventually bore of that starring contest, ask if you and the receptionist could be released back with the synthetics. They're weird, but at least they're people. More so than this thing, and saner than the red things. And he doesn't deserve whatever AXON has planned, either. Even if his anger caused problems (hell, you're plenty angry about this yourself).

Going back to the syths means people to talk to, relative safety, and getting clothes again. It might also be worth following up on Seer's possible vision of your escape together- that would contradict with AXON's claims. I don't doubt something bad happened that the synths held back from you, but I don't think AXON's victory is as complete as it claims either.

> How are we supposed to distinguish the actual ruins of our home at the correct location after two years of your supposed assimilation versus a staged or manufactured mockup within a smaller facility?
It will at least prove that AXON's reach has expanded enough to know what it looks like.

Culya 2014/11/11(Tue)19:30 No. 601652 ID: 3f935e
File 141576303835.png - (614.96KB , 800x600 , 66.png )

It takes a while before Culya can bring herself to speak.

"Are th-th-there any other areeni l-l-left?"
"Possibly. I took every effort to make sure there were not, and I can detect no more than two within this facility. There are no areeni left within what used to be the colonial civilisation. The wilderness is unforgiving, however. I doubt they would be able to survive."

She considers.

"T-take me to one of these satel-l-lite production facilities. I'm gonna b-build a rocket and g-get the f-fuck off the planet."
"Ah. I had not considered that. That is a goal you could achieve, I suppose. You have no motivation to co-operate with me, and escape would remain your primary motivation."

There is silence for a moment longer, when AXON's simulated pupil suddenly dilates.

"It would seem that you present an active threat to my long-term plans. I suppose I will simply have to synthesise the trait you possess."

The cavity Culya is tied into hisses and Culya finds herself struggling and choking against air that tastes chemical and unpleasant.

"Correction, to my earlier statement. In ten minutes, there will be one areeni left on this world. I will put him back into storage until I ever need him as my voice again."

Culya finds herself too short of breath to even snarl at the entity, and begins to black out from pain and asphyxiation. Her last thoughts are an incoherent mess of anger, despair, pain, and confusion.

Culya 2014/11/11(Tue)19:30 No. 601653 ID: 3f935e
File 141576304587.png - (94.11KB , 800x600 , 67.png )

Nothing.

Culya 2014/11/11(Tue)19:30 No. 601654 ID: 3f935e
File 141576305609.png - (267.23KB , 800x600 , 68.png )

A shred of existence.

Culya feels very cold, as if she's made from ice, and feels unnaturally indifferent to her surroundings.

Is this the afterlife? She was not expecting it to be so blue, but this does not surprise her, and she does not find it interesting either.

She feels only slightly disturbed by how undisturbed she is.

She sees that she is sitting down, and doesn't feel as though she can move her limbs very well.

She isn't sure if this is some metaphysical realm or if this entire place is the product of random neurons firing in her brain, as it dies from oxygen starvation. She doesn't feel like she's losing sensation, but she already feels pretty numb.

She shuffles her legs in front of her, painfully slowly and lies down, hands by her sides. Her skin is black. No. Areeni skin can be black. Her skin tone is better described as void-black, and strangely glossy.

She tries to speak and finds that, even though she moves her mouth, no breath seems to come in or out of her. She doesn't seem to even be able to breathe.

Well.

She isn't sure what is supposed to happen next.

Maybe she's just supposed to stay on this strange platform suspended in the void forever.

Culya 2014/11/11(Tue)19:31 No. 601655 ID: 3f935e
File 141576306831.png - (202.74KB , 800x600 , 69.png )

She muses on what is happening right now.

If she's hallucinating from being gassed to death by a fickle powerful AI, can she really say she's started at this point? What if she's just been in a hospital bed in a coma for two years? Where can she even tell what reality is? And if this isn't a hallucination, it only makes reality even weirder and harder to cope with.

A white line flashes above her. Sometimes it splits into more white lines, and sometimes they do too.

She looks around and notices something floating around. It looks vaguely familiar.

It floats over to her, and a ball of white ethereal flame slowly grows between its longest limbs.

She finds herself thrown into the air by an invisible force, and pushed into the stream of white lines.

It burns.

Everything burns. Sensation comes back into her every nerve with painful immediacy. She finds herself less detached and more acutely aware of the now, of the present, of the current moment--

Culya 2014/11/11(Tue)19:31 No. 601656 ID: 3f935e
File 141576307866.png - (523.72KB , 800x600 , 70.png )

--and she finds herself standing inside an enclosed plant sac, fluid dripping from her, as tubes pull away. The fluid drains, and the sac opens.

A familiar creature is pointedly pressing sacks of gel on a console in an extremely familiar room.

She sees a familiar screen, and a familiar lack of exits in the room.

She is naked and wet, but her heart is pounding and she can breathe again. She feels a thrill course through her body. She's alive.

She... isn't quite sure what just happened.

Are these guys cloning Culyas? Normally I'd say you should be upset about that happening without permission but in this case I think you should be supportive of it. It would be neat to have two of you. Or maybe something else happened. Either way it's good. Say hi to whoever this thing who saved you.

>>601656
...it occurs to me that you may have essentially gone back in time. If that is the case, you now have a very large amount of information that AXON does not expect you to have. This will probably allow you to escape its plans, but... on the other hand, you still do not quite know how to deal with this problem. AXON controls this entire facility. It is watching you constantly, and you are mostly helpless to fight it. Most importantly, you should not make it obvious you have foreknowledge of events.

Still, maybe we should try to get some answers. Go walk over to that thing and ask who it is, and what it wants. Why are you here? If it doesn't talk to you, grab it and demand answers. These are all actions that don't look especially suspicious.

>T-take me to one of these satel-l-lite production facilities. I'm gonna b-build a rocket and g-get the f-fuck off the planet.
...why in god's name did you tell him your plan? You never EVER tell the guy trying to kill you how you plan to get away. You lie, in fact from now on, unless it's someone you trust lie to them about everything, or if you're trying to gain someone's trust then only give them the bare bone minimum of facts. Seriously what the hell where you thinking? In fact from now one pretend your mute.

As for what happened, you either
1) went back in time (incredibly unlikely)
2) have been cloned (don't think so since you still have birth mutations and actually remember what happened to you)
3) you were thrown back into stasis and for whatever reason have been re-awakened. (most likely but still feels off, I mean AXON did seem hesitant to end the white guy even when he did say he had no use for him, maybe your the same? felt it was better to lock you away until he felt he needed you again. Or just fucked up again and thought something did something else and didn't bother to see things through.)

Whatever has happened though, don't assume anything until we get some proof, and try to be more careful this time.

Last time we saw this guy he didn't say anything to you at all. Wonder if that'll change?

>She... isn't quite sure what just happened.
Possibility:

1) You went backwards in time. Somehow.
2) AXON, did not, in fact, gas you to death. He merely rendered you unconscious, pretended to kill you, and returned you here. Possibly attempting to fuck with your head.
3) Someone or something cloned you, and had a live connection to your head. When you were killed, they restored you to a clone backup.
4) You're trapped in some kind of dream that loops. Either due to a psychotic break, or some kind of drugging, or terrible virtual reality plot.

>what do
Attempt communication with the creature that revived you, again.

As soon as possible, you need to access a terminal with a timestamp, and see if it reads earlier or later than when you checked the time and date with the Doctor.