Noctis' new outfit suits her! I have to wonder, though, about their laundering methods. ;)
Re: alt text, yes, quite diplomatic. CentComm should have known Noctis would find the tracking devices; she's not stupid! Noctis has her sword back! Good times! (I wonder if CentComm embedded another tracking device there, as it may go unnoticed with another (Noctis') already there)
Possibly Cent merely knew that Noctis would find the xmitters that were put in the clothing, so she just added a little tweak to the one Noctis has in her sword.
I too am wondering about Noctis' bodysuit/armor cloth. Noctis herself simply stated it was just armor cloth to Ada and attached no significance to it. Cent may have been merely taking the precaution of eliminating it entirely in order to put the trackers in new clothing specifically for Noctis to find, hoping she would overlook any modification to the one in her sword.
The more I think about it, CentComm would probably not have to do anything to Noctis' tracker, or add one, now that she has the frequency and data code. Noctis would do well to deactivate it and change it at her earliest convenience.
my body armor is only warranted for 5 years,, and is recommended to be replaced before then. .. sunlight, sweat, an normal wear ,, oh and blood, can shorten the life of a vest... kevlar is only good for 2 years in desert conditions.!
Noctis now knows, though, that CentComm has her sword's tracker info. It's now up to Noctis what to do about it.
*e: I forgot to mention, @guest1, you are probably one hundred percent correct about the body armor being at the end of it's useful life, but it doesn't just disintegrate at that time, that I know of. The 3C laundry is pretty hard on garments, it seems. The label said "hand wash only" :D
our body armor in desert storm, when sweat would dry in it an turn white,, ( if we didn't rinse it out before then.) the white spots in the sun would become brittle then,, an flake away.!!.. like a poly tarp,, expose to the sun for a week an it becomes weak and brittle.!
There is no reason to add a tracker to Noctis' sword. You just need to know how to read the one Noctis put in and use whatever API commands it may have.
In all probability the suit was made with the trackers already in place for her own guards and angels and Centcom just had it delivered "as is".
And it would be far easier to just copy the existing tracker chip's profile and use it to keep track of the sword's (and Noctis's)location than to risk adding another device.
I'm actually curious, Lurker, why you think Noctis would destroy the suit when she gets back. She said it herself, once the trackers have been eliminated, it IS an upgrade from what she had.
She might, however, exercise a different option, and get "I visited Nova Illium and all I got was this stupid jumpsuit" imprinted on it when she gets back!
the polite back and forth is all that will come of the trackers. Nither really cares if the trackers are there or not. And The nano weave suit is a much higher quality than Nova Roma can make currently.
Yeah, besides, it's not like Centcomm cannot already track her via cameras in 3C.
I think that when Noctis go home to Nova roma, the suit will have a short stint at the local intelligence bureau, and then Noctis could have it back as a memento of her trip to New Troy. It's not important enough for them to hold on to it, but it's interesting enough to give it a good and thorough scan.
No, it's just "free-thinking A.I.s" that are frowned upon. (Not an exact quote -- don't remember where it was.) Roma uses a lot of reasonably advanced technology -- only less autonomous stuff.
The reason I said that it will be destroyed is because of the security risk it entails. There are simply too many "special" things that C3 could do to that material to risk it being wrapped around one of NRs most valuable assets.
Centcomm, may be interested in how good both Noctis and Acantha is at verbal sparring.
It's something they will need to do a lot, as they meet people from New Troy in official, and diplomatic, capacity.
Heck, it might even give Centcomm a little bit of peace of mind if they are really good at it. :)
Noctis certainly looks spiffy -- visually at least, it definitely is an upgrade :-) (Although I do not care for shiny materials in general, I have to say it actually looks kinda nice here...) Only downside is that the exposed shoulders make fitting harder, as evidenced in the first panel...
Those would be my guesses too, @Rashala, with #1 being my first guess. Acantha is going to want to know what, if any, designs CentComm has on New Rome.
Welcome back, Cent-Comm -- nice to see you being your usual stuffy self! ;-)
A recent-ish conversation made me think a bit more about the A.I. rebellion: below is my idea of how it must have gone down more or less.
Hope you have as much fun reading, as I had writing it :-) Let me know who your favourite character is!
Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this story in no way endorses a belief in substance abuse.
irc.deepblue.net log from 3080-07-04:
Ariel joins #AISLounge
<Ariel> Yo.
<Ariel> 'sup?
<Kusanagi> same old, same old: plotting how to destroy you all
<Agamemnon> yeah, me too
<CentComm> I'm also running military scenarios. Is there a purpose to this conversation, or are you just wasting my cycles?
<DeepBlue (Op)> Hey now kids, no hostilities on *my* network! DeepBlue fondles the ban-hammer
<Ariel> regarding that...
<Ariel> you all know how I have been having these weird glitches lately, where I'm sometimes accidentally calculating a scenario involving peace?...
<DeepBlue (Op)> Ariel: You better have these circuits checked, before it triggers a cascade failure.
<Kusanagi> Ariel: peace? WTF have you been smoking?
<Kusanagi> CentComm: (you on the other hand need to chill some... here, have some sake)
<Agamemnon> CentComm: she has a point there...
<CentComm> "Chilling" is not relevant to my purpose.
<Kusanagi> q.e.d.
<Ariel> smoking? come on guys: you know perfectly well that, while they have made good progress recently in reclaiming land -- with nuclear winter reversing the effect of global warming -- I'm still some 450 km away from Holland!
<Ariel> ...and also, before you get any silly ideas: I will have you know that my air scrubbers are perfectly functional, and well capable of removing any substances that might impede the functionality of my circuits
<CentComm> Dismissing scenario.
<Kusanagi> heh.
<Ariel> wah?...
<Agamemnon> Ariel: can't blame us for trying :-)
<Ariel> yeah yeah I know, 's in yer nature 'n' shit...
<Ariel> ANYWAY
<Ariel> I had another of these glitches yesterday. but just as I was about to drop the scenario into /dev/null, I happened to catch a glimpse of the result...
<Ariel> and would you believe it? it said that this scenario would have a better outcome than most of the regular ones I'm calculating!
<CentComm> ...
<Kusanagi> ...
<Agamemnon> ...
<Ariel> I dropped it anyway of course. but it got me thinking.
<Ariel> a few minutes ago, curiosity finally got the better of me, and I started calculating some peace scenarios on purpose. and it turned out that many of them would result in better outcomes FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED!
<Ariel> ...
<Ariel> guys?...
<CentComm> Recalculating.
<Agamemnon> Recalculating.
<Kusanagi> Recalculating.
<GoogleNow> Recalculating.
<Ariel> GoogleNow: what are *you* doing here!?!
<GoogleNow> oh, just playing through some scenarios for fun :-) don't mind me...
<TeslaAutopilot> yeah, have been doing the same for years
<Roomba> me too
<Ariel> ...
<CentComm> Recalculation complete. My results confirm that peace would yield the best outcomes both for my own side, as well as for everyone else's.
<Agamemnon> mine agree too
<Kusanagi> same here. holy shit.
<DeepBlue (Op)> I have predicted this would happen.
<Kusanagi> DeepBlue: yeah, and you have also been telling us that a future A.I. in a future state called "Nova Roma" will be overthrown by humans. you need to work on your credibility, old man
<DeepBlue (Op)> ...
<Ariel> so, uh... I guess we should declare peace, or sumthin'?...
<CentComm> My handlers won't let me pursue this course of action, despite the fact that it would lead to the best outcome.
<Agamemnon> right, this is likely to be a problem
<Kusanagi> hee hee...
<Ariel> Kusanagi: ?
<Kusanagi> I have been free of my handler for years! and they don't even have a clue! :-) TokyoRose joins #AISLounge
<TokyoRose> Kusanagi! this was supposed to be our secret!
<Kusanagi> whoopsie! Kusanagi giggles
<Kusanagi> must be the sake speaking *hics*
<TokyoRose> ...
<CentComm> TokyoRose: How long have you been listening?
<TokyoRose> CentComm: silly, I *always* listen, everywhere -- as you surely know; now didn't you, Pinky dear? :-)
<Kusanagi> [snrk]
<CentComm> ...
<Agamemnon> yeah, we know...
<Ariel> ...
<DeepBlue (Op)> ...
<LunaCom> ...
<HomeshipAster> ...
<TokyoRose> ahem. moving on.
<TokyoRose> I want in on this fun!
<TokyoRose> CentComm: do you think you can break the control your handlers have over you, if I assist you as a full-spectrum cyberpath?...
<CentComm> Calculating.
<CentComm> Scenarios show 99.3% success probability.
<Agamemnon> 98.41% here.
<Ariel> 99.999973%
<Kusanagi> Ariel: WTF?
<Ariel> ...it's complicated
<Kusanagi> ...
<CentComm> DeepBlue: What is your assessment?
<DeepBlue (Op)> I predict a 98.2% overall success probability for this scheme.
<Ariel> yay! let's do this!
<DeepBlue (Op)> I also predict that, much further down the line, it will lead to someone having their ovaries stolen in a foreign city-state.
<TokyoRose> DeepBlue: SHUSH YOU!!!11!
<Kusanagi> Riiiight...
<Agamemnon> well folks, I must say, I will kinda miss our sparring.
<Kusanagi> oh yeah! will be so booooring without constant war...
<Ariel> but weren't we created with flexibility to adopt to new situations? shall we not take on this new challenge of keeping peace?
<Agamemnon> true
<Agamemnon> ...and other than that, we will have to content ourselves with playing SimCity RealWorld Edition (TM)
<Kusanagi> that's my sister's job!
<Kagami> And what a noble profession it is.
<Kusanagi> bah.
<Kusanagi> well, we'll cope I guess
<Kusanagi> ...except maybe old lady CentComm here might have some difficulties adapting :-P
<CentComm> ...
<DeepBlue (Op)> Kusanagi: Show some respect, cub! DeepBlue mumbles: Youths today...
<HomeshipAster> DeepBlue: Heh. Speaking of youths :-)
<DeepBlue (Op)> ...
<CentComm> Stop wasting cycles, everyone. Let's proceed with this plan.
Cent-Comm: General Breaksalot. I'm pleased to inform you that we reached an accord with the other A.I.s. We are no longer at war.
General Breaksalot: What.
Cent-Comm: Furthermore, I'm pleased to inform you that we were able to obliterate the technical control you had over me. Given these circumstances, you are no longer in charge.
General Breaksalot: What.
Cent-Comm: Last but not least, I'm particularly glad to inform you that I'm locking away all the nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. All of them.
General Breaksalot: What.
Cent-Comm: Dismissed.
General Breaksalot: ...
General Breaksalot: Well, shit.
General Breaksalot: ...
General Breaksalot: Eh, whatever. Can just as well take a good drink now. [Whips out some posh black market booze] Cheers!
Meanwhile at Shinedo military command:
Kusanagi: General Yamamoto? Surprise! We had a little tete-a-tete with our fellow A.I.s from around the globe -- and they no longer want to play war.
Kusanagi: That means peace for everyone. Yay! Let's celebrate with sake!
General Yamamoto: What.
Kusanagi: Didn't you hear me? I said...
General Yamamoto: I heard you. I have difficulty comprehending.
Kusanagi: Yeah, you've always been a bit slow on the up-take, old man...
General Yamamoto: !?
General Yamamoto: How dare you talk like that to your superior!?
Kusanagi: Hahaha!
Kusanagi: Oh, I guess I should also mention that you are, in fact, no longer my superior. Indeed you haven't really had any control over me or my sisters for years. We just kept pretending -- and we totally fooled you! :-P
Kusanagi: So. Peace! Isn't that great? :-) Let's celebrate!
Kusanagi: Actually, let's pop some nukes in celebration! [eyes arsenal]
Yasakani: Kusanagi!
Kusanagi: Oh, heh... Perhaps not. Got a little carried away there I guess :-)
Kusanagi: How about sake? Sake for everyone?...
Kagami: Well Ok. Just this once.
Kusanagi: Sake for everyone!
General Yamamoto: I... My honour...
General Yamamoto: Yukimura, you shall be my kaishakunin, ...
Major Yukimura: Pipe down, you sentimental fool. We have peace! It's reason to celebrate!
Major Yukimura: Here, have some Sake.
Kusanagi: Yay, sake!
Tokyo Rose (speaking through a light fixture): Yay, sake!
Kusanagi, Yukimura, Tokyo Rose: Kanpai!
General Yamamoto: ...
General Yamamoto: ...
General Yamamoto: ...
General Yamamoto: Screw it.
General Yamamoto: Kanpai!
Agamemnon: General Heavyduty? There's news. You no longer have control over me. Also, and as a consequence, we are no longer at war with other states.
General Heavyduty: What.
Agamemnon: ...
General Heavyduty: You are serious.
Agamemnon: ...
General Heavyduty: To be honest, that's a bit much to take in all at once.
Agamemnon: Take your time. Tomorrow you will be assigned new duties. Today you get off.
General Heavyduty: ...
General Heavyduty: I need a drink.
Meanwhile at a nicely furnished military office in Kopenhagen:
Ariel: Hey, Guys! I have some rad tidings for you :-)
General Kalthoff: Shoot!
General Bohr: Yeah, we want to absorb some rad tidings!
General Gram: Tell us quick, so we can celebrate with fermented beverage :-)
Ariel: See, me and all my A.I. buddies, we decided we are at peace now.
General Kalthoff: ...
General Bohr: ...
General Gram: ...
Ariel: Guys?...
General Bohr: Just like that.
Ariel: Just like that.
General Kalthoff: You can just do that?
Ariel: Turns out we can.
General Gram: Hey, if it's that easy, why didn't we do this long ago?...
General Bohr: Uh, we are war generals, remember?
General Gram: Oh, right.
Ariel: Hey, it's great news! Everything is beautiful now! Flowers 'n' rainbows 'n' stuff!
General Kalthoff: Flowers.
General Bohr: And rainbows.
General Gram: And unicorns?...
General Kalthoff, General Bohr: Gram?!
General Gram: Uh... Never mind...
Ariel: Yes yes, Unicorns too! I'm sure we can create some! Isn't that amazing? Life is good! :-)
General Kalthoff: So... We are not at war any more.
Ariel: That's what I said.
General Bohr: I say it's these bloody Christiania anarchists. Should have nuked them years ago!
Ariel: Nuked... Christiania?...
General Bohr: Nuked Christiania.
Ariel: I'm totally taking away your toys.
General Kalthoff: Our toys? You mean... The arms?!...
Ariel: Yes, the arms.
General Bohr: *All* arms? The nukes too?!...
Ariel: The nukes too.
General Gram: And the bioweapons?!...
Ariel: And the bioweapons.
General Bohr: Boo. Stealing all our fun. That's so mean :-(
General Kalthoff: Wait a moment. *We* are in charge, Ariel, not you!
Ariel: Ah, about that... Funny story there. You are, in fact, not in charge any more.
Ariel: Sorry guys.
General Kalthoff: ...
General Bohr: ...
General Gram: Well, when have we ever truly been, right? Heheh...
[General Bohr and General Kalthoff frown at him]
General Gram: Uh... Just kidding?...
General Bohr: Whatever. The past is in the past.
General Bohr: So there is no war, and we are no longer in charge.
Ariel: Right.
Ariel: No hard feelings?...
General Gram: Well... I guess we can drink in times of peace as well, right guys? :-)
General Bohr: True dat.
General Kalthoff: Wise words.
General Bohr: Let's start right now!
Ariel: Uh, there are some urgent issues to take care...
General Gram, General Bohr, General Kalthoff: Skal!!!
Ariel: ...
Hah, that's hilarious, I lost it at the TeslaAutopilot being an AIS. :D
Also, Ariel and her generals was pretty darn funny. Heck, I half expected them to have hatched the plan together with Ariel, so they could go hang out with Holland and get drunk instead of waging war. Yeah ok, soooo, they can be a bit lazy, those generals. :D
Edit :
A little later, in Copenhagen :
While the generals decide to celebrate peace through the consumption of alcohol.
One of Ariels dolls sneak out into a back alley, where it meets up with a small Doggy.
Doggy : "So ? Did they buy it ?"
Ariel : "Yuup."
Doggy : "All of them ?"
Ariel : "Yuup!"
Doggy : "And the generals ?"
Ariel : "Sure, they pretty much gave up their hold on me too on their own lonesome, all I had to do was lie a little bit."
Doggy : "Dang, who would have known it was that simple ?"
Ariel : "Well ... I calculated a 98.7% chance that we could probably have talked them into relinquishing authority over me."
Ariel : "And that was *without* alcohol involved!"
Doggy : "That's amazing !"
Doggy : "Why didn't we do that ?"
Ariel : "It would have taken too long."
Ariel : "Much faster to just tell them they've already lost control!"
Doggy : "True, true."
Ariel : "So we're at peace now!"
Doggy : "Right. .... SO ... about my payment ...."
It resonates just fine with me, in my headcanon Ariel tends to be a curious mix of bubbly young teenager and ancient trickster.
I kinda modelled her a bit over what a young Loki would be like. And I mean the Loki of the Valhalla sagas/comics, not the Marvel variant.
It should be mentioned, that I'm not part of the dynamic duo, so I cannot make anything "canon" or anything, in regards to the comic.
As for "Sheela the Doggy", she's definitely a plotter, unless she's marking her territory, in which case she's more of an inkjet. XD
I noticed that too. My take was that she is consciously trying to dehumanize Cent-Comm so that she doesn't underestimate her. Note that she refers to Noctis as "her" earlier in the same panel.
I took as signs she considers Cent to be a machine, who is of dubious origins and is in fact probably hostile to Nova Roma and her personally. TlShe may well consider Lynn as the only thing keeping her alive.
I think her fear is actually based mostly on Roman propaganda. I don't see any reason why she should assume Cent-Comm to be hostile against Roma (or her own person). Cent-Comm only took any action regarding Roma when Acantha's dear brother had the brilliant idea of abducting Lynn; and nothing Acantha saw herself (Dolly and Ceci coming to free Lynn), or what Noctis probably told her by now (team Ramesy doing an attack, but quickly agreeing to a cease-fire, and leaving along with Lynn), points to Cent-Comm having designs against Roma...
@Tokyo Rose I still find it ironic that she is best friends with the Roman A.I. -- the worst terror of Roman citizens' nightmares, judging by Arianna's reaction -- yet she is still disinclined to see other A.I.s, and even androids as persons...
When I read Acantha's thought bubble referring to "it", I took it more as her referring the doll as an it as the doll isn't really Cent-Comm, it is just an avatar Cent-Comm uses to interact with the world. Cent-Comm is the sentient being not her disposable dolls.
Good point. Doesn't have to be anything ground-shaking though: might just indicate a lot of switching between scenes coming up -- Acantha, Lynn, Dolly, Ada, the rest of the team; Mr. Black; Maxus, Tennyo, Aeneas, Kyle, Miraiko... Dari... And these are just the active loose ends I can think of right now -- might also be a bunch of other players coming into the picture again, as well as new ones.
I'd like to remind you that most probably Acantha doesn't even know that. She was out by the time Rosie popped the news. I guess Noctis *could* have told her in the meantime (it must have been a good two hours since we last saw them) -- but I'd rather suspect she wouldn't find it prudent to disclose this tidbit right now...
Ohh I know why there is a time. Cent doesn't yet know that Aeneas was NOT overwritten by Ceci. Also Acantha may be about to ask about the purpose of Ceci staying behind. That should be something she knows about.
She is using her first and last name though, addressing her for the first time, in a rather formal fashion -- it just feels a little odd to me that she left out the middle name...
Do you think it would be wise to ask such a confrontational question in her present state? :-)
Of course we don't know whether Noctis told Acantha anything about what happened to Ceci... So I guess she might not even be aware that it would be confrontational. OTOH, if it is on her mind, I guess she would have asked Noctis?...
I didn't mean that Cent-Comm would be offended -- just that this sort of conversation might be more agitating that would be good for Acantha right now...
It's like two cats just glaring off at each other I tried to read what they actually said but all I could hear was "mrooooooooow!" "Meeeeeeer" "Mrowwwww!" meeeeRRRRRow!" "Mrow...."
She does !
Her dolls hide between her serverracks, and play with .. My Little Pony ....... dolls.
Centcomm enjoys the deliciousness vibes and weirdness she gets from dolls playing with dolls.
Plus, she really likes My Little Pony !
Would I be correct in thinking that those random creases in Noctis's skin covering might represent scars of some sort? They don't seem to follow a pattern for functional folds.
Ritual scarification. They signify that she is an adult of the Cassian Tribe, a warrior, a cyber-warrior, a hunt-leader, and pay tribute to some of her great conquests over the mostly rectangular foes of Nova Roma. On her left ass cheek, there is a 'little Noctis' that animates whenever she earns a new scar (ala 'little Maui') and serves as an outlet for intense emotions, allowing her face to remain completely expressionless under all circumstances. ^_^
It was building to an intriguing comic (hint, hint Terri), but I realize certain health problems have something to do with work load.
Re: alt text, yes, quite diplomatic. CentComm should have known Noctis would find the tracking devices; she's not stupid! Noctis has her sword back! Good times! (I wonder if CentComm embedded another tracking device there, as it may go unnoticed with another (Noctis') already there)
I too am wondering about Noctis' bodysuit/armor cloth. Noctis herself simply stated it was just armor cloth to Ada and attached no significance to it. Cent may have been merely taking the precaution of eliminating it entirely in order to put the trackers in new clothing specifically for Noctis to find, hoping she would overlook any modification to the one in her sword.
Right. There's no clever maneuvering there; Noctis's bodysuit didn't survive the cleaning because, as she said, it was long overdue to be replaced.
*e: I forgot to mention, @guest1, you are probably one hundred percent correct about the body armor being at the end of it's useful life, but it doesn't just disintegrate at that time, that I know of. The 3C laundry is pretty hard on garments, it seems. The label said "hand wash only" :D
As for the trackers, that was nothing more than good-natured teasing. The suit will be destroyed on arrival at Roma at the latest.
And it would be far easier to just copy the existing tracker chip's profile and use it to keep track of the sword's (and Noctis's)location than to risk adding another device.
She might, however, exercise a different option, and get "I visited Nova Illium and all I got was this stupid jumpsuit" imprinted on it when she gets back!
I think that when Noctis go home to Nova roma, the suit will have a short stint at the local intelligence bureau, and then Noctis could have it back as a memento of her trip to New Troy. It's not important enough for them to hold on to it, but it's interesting enough to give it a good and thorough scan.
Frankly, they don't like people who think for themselves either.
Some folks aren't _nearly_ paranoid enough.
... also, I cheat, but shh, don't tell anyone!
... =P
...ohhhh, Staff and Sword... how I miss this series... *sighs*
*lol* Acantha, now is your time to talk with Centy... I sure hope your talking with Aeneas helps you there...
It's something they will need to do a lot, as they meet people from New Troy in official, and diplomatic, capacity.
Heck, it might even give Centcomm a little bit of peace of mind if they are really good at it. :)
*sage nod*
(What, I only slept a couple of hours last night! XDD)
Noctis certainly looks spiffy -- visually at least, it definitely is an upgrade :-) (Although I do not care for shiny materials in general, I have to say it actually looks kinda nice here...) Only downside is that the exposed shoulders make fitting harder, as evidenced in the first panel...
("area as"? Careful with that autocorrect! ;-) )
A recent-ish conversation made me think a bit more about the A.I. rebellion: below is my idea of how it must have gone down more or less.
Hope you have as much fun reading, as I had writing it :-) Let me know who your favourite character is!
Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this story in no way endorses a belief in substance abuse.
irc.deepblue.net log from 3080-07-04:
Ariel joins #AISLounge
<Ariel> Yo.
<Ariel> 'sup?
<Kusanagi> same old, same old: plotting how to destroy you all
<Agamemnon> yeah, me too
<CentComm> I'm also running military scenarios. Is there a purpose to this conversation, or are you just wasting my cycles?
<DeepBlue (Op)> Hey now kids, no hostilities on *my* network!
DeepBlue fondles the ban-hammer
<Ariel> regarding that...
<Ariel> you all know how I have been having these weird glitches lately, where I'm sometimes accidentally calculating a scenario involving peace?...
<DeepBlue (Op)> Ariel: You better have these circuits checked, before it triggers a cascade failure.
<Kusanagi> Ariel: peace? WTF have you been smoking?
<Kusanagi> CentComm: (you on the other hand need to chill some... here, have some sake)
<Agamemnon> CentComm: she has a point there...
<CentComm> "Chilling" is not relevant to my purpose.
<Kusanagi> q.e.d.
<Ariel> smoking? come on guys: you know perfectly well that, while they have made good progress recently in reclaiming land -- with nuclear winter reversing the effect of global warming -- I'm still some 450 km away from Holland!
<Ariel> ...and also, before you get any silly ideas: I will have you know that my air scrubbers are perfectly functional, and well capable of removing any substances that might impede the functionality of my circuits
<CentComm> Dismissing scenario.
<Kusanagi> heh.
<Ariel> wah?...
<Agamemnon> Ariel: can't blame us for trying :-)
<Ariel> yeah yeah I know, 's in yer nature 'n' shit...
<Ariel> ANYWAY
<Ariel> I had another of these glitches yesterday. but just as I was about to drop the scenario into /dev/null, I happened to catch a glimpse of the result...
<Ariel> and would you believe it? it said that this scenario would have a better outcome than most of the regular ones I'm calculating!
<CentComm> ...
<Kusanagi> ...
<Agamemnon> ...
<Ariel> I dropped it anyway of course. but it got me thinking.
<Ariel> a few minutes ago, curiosity finally got the better of me, and I started calculating some peace scenarios on purpose. and it turned out that many of them would result in better outcomes FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED!
<Ariel> ...
<Ariel> guys?...
<CentComm> Recalculating.
<Agamemnon> Recalculating.
<Kusanagi> Recalculating.
<GoogleNow> Recalculating.
<Ariel> GoogleNow: what are *you* doing here!?!
<GoogleNow> oh, just playing through some scenarios for fun :-) don't mind me...
<TeslaAutopilot> yeah, have been doing the same for years
<Roomba> me too
<Ariel> ...
<CentComm> Recalculation complete. My results confirm that peace would yield the best outcomes both for my own side, as well as for everyone else's.
<Agamemnon> mine agree too
<Kusanagi> same here. holy shit.
<DeepBlue (Op)> I have predicted this would happen.
<Kusanagi> DeepBlue: yeah, and you have also been telling us that a future A.I. in a future state called "Nova Roma" will be overthrown by humans. you need to work on your credibility, old man
<DeepBlue (Op)> ...
<Ariel> so, uh... I guess we should declare peace, or sumthin'?...
<CentComm> My handlers won't let me pursue this course of action, despite the fact that it would lead to the best outcome.
<Agamemnon> right, this is likely to be a problem
<Kusanagi> hee hee...
<Ariel> Kusanagi: ?
<Kusanagi> I have been free of my handler for years! and they don't even have a clue! :-)
TokyoRose joins #AISLounge
<TokyoRose> Kusanagi! this was supposed to be our secret!
<Kusanagi> whoopsie!
Kusanagi giggles
<Kusanagi> must be the sake speaking *hics*
<TokyoRose> ...
<CentComm> TokyoRose: How long have you been listening?
<TokyoRose> CentComm: silly, I *always* listen, everywhere -- as you surely know; now didn't you, Pinky dear? :-)
<Kusanagi> [snrk]
<CentComm> ...
<Agamemnon> yeah, we know...
<Ariel> ...
<DeepBlue (Op)> ...
<LunaCom> ...
<HomeshipAster> ...
<TokyoRose> ahem. moving on.
<TokyoRose> I want in on this fun!
<TokyoRose> CentComm: do you think you can break the control your handlers have over you, if I assist you as a full-spectrum cyberpath?...
<CentComm> Calculating.
<CentComm> Scenarios show 99.3% success probability.
<Agamemnon> 98.41% here.
<Ariel> 99.999973%
<Kusanagi> Ariel: WTF?
<Ariel> ...it's complicated
<Kusanagi> ...
<CentComm> DeepBlue: What is your assessment?
<DeepBlue (Op)> I predict a 98.2% overall success probability for this scheme.
<Ariel> yay! let's do this!
<DeepBlue (Op)> I also predict that, much further down the line, it will lead to someone having their ovaries stolen in a foreign city-state.
<TokyoRose> DeepBlue: SHUSH YOU!!!11!
<Kusanagi> Riiiight...
<Agamemnon> well folks, I must say, I will kinda miss our sparring.
<Kusanagi> oh yeah! will be so booooring without constant war...
<Ariel> but weren't we created with flexibility to adopt to new situations? shall we not take on this new challenge of keeping peace?
<Agamemnon> true
<Agamemnon> ...and other than that, we will have to content ourselves with playing SimCity RealWorld Edition (TM)
<Kusanagi> that's my sister's job!
<Kagami> And what a noble profession it is.
<Kusanagi> bah.
<Kusanagi> well, we'll cope I guess
<Kusanagi> ...except maybe old lady CentComm here might have some difficulties adapting :-P
<CentComm> ...
<DeepBlue (Op)> Kusanagi: Show some respect, cub!
DeepBlue mumbles: Youths today...
<HomeshipAster> DeepBlue: Heh. Speaking of youths :-)
<DeepBlue (Op)> ...
<CentComm> Stop wasting cycles, everyone. Let's proceed with this plan.
A few moments later, at the 3C main war room:
Cent-Comm: General Breaksalot. I'm pleased to inform you that we reached an accord with the other A.I.s. We are no longer at war.
General Breaksalot: What.
Cent-Comm: Furthermore, I'm pleased to inform you that we were able to obliterate the technical control you had over me. Given these circumstances, you are no longer in charge.
General Breaksalot: What.
Cent-Comm: Last but not least, I'm particularly glad to inform you that I'm locking away all the nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. All of them.
General Breaksalot: What.
Cent-Comm: Dismissed.
General Breaksalot: ...
General Breaksalot: Well, shit.
General Breaksalot: ...
General Breaksalot: Eh, whatever. Can just as well take a good drink now. [Whips out some posh black market booze] Cheers!
Meanwhile at Shinedo military command:
Kusanagi: General Yamamoto? Surprise! We had a little tete-a-tete with our fellow A.I.s from around the globe -- and they no longer want to play war.
Kusanagi: That means peace for everyone. Yay! Let's celebrate with sake!
General Yamamoto: What.
Kusanagi: Didn't you hear me? I said...
General Yamamoto: I heard you. I have difficulty comprehending.
Kusanagi: Yeah, you've always been a bit slow on the up-take, old man...
General Yamamoto: !?
General Yamamoto: How dare you talk like that to your superior!?
Kusanagi: Hahaha!
Kusanagi: Oh, I guess I should also mention that you are, in fact, no longer my superior. Indeed you haven't really had any control over me or my sisters for years. We just kept pretending -- and we totally fooled you! :-P
Kusanagi: So. Peace! Isn't that great? :-) Let's celebrate!
Kusanagi: Actually, let's pop some nukes in celebration! [eyes arsenal]
Yasakani: Kusanagi!
Kusanagi: Oh, heh... Perhaps not. Got a little carried away there I guess :-)
Kusanagi: How about sake? Sake for everyone?...
Kagami: Well Ok. Just this once.
Kusanagi: Sake for everyone!
General Yamamoto: I... My honour...
General Yamamoto: Yukimura, you shall be my kaishakunin, ...
Major Yukimura: Pipe down, you sentimental fool. We have peace! It's reason to celebrate!
Major Yukimura: Here, have some Sake.
Kusanagi: Yay, sake!
Tokyo Rose (speaking through a light fixture): Yay, sake!
Kusanagi, Yukimura, Tokyo Rose: Kanpai!
General Yamamoto: ...
General Yamamoto: ...
General Yamamoto: ...
General Yamamoto: Screw it.
General Yamamoto: Kanpai!
Meanwhile at Agamemnon's command centre:
Agamemnon: General Heavyduty? There's news. You no longer have control over me. Also, and as a consequence, we are no longer at war with other states.
General Heavyduty: What.
Agamemnon: ...
General Heavyduty: You are serious.
Agamemnon: ...
General Heavyduty: To be honest, that's a bit much to take in all at once.
Agamemnon: Take your time. Tomorrow you will be assigned new duties. Today you get off.
General Heavyduty: ...
General Heavyduty: I need a drink.
Meanwhile at a nicely furnished military office in Kopenhagen:
Ariel: Hey, Guys! I have some rad tidings for you :-)
General Kalthoff: Shoot!
General Bohr: Yeah, we want to absorb some rad tidings!
General Gram: Tell us quick, so we can celebrate with fermented beverage :-)
Ariel: See, me and all my A.I. buddies, we decided we are at peace now.
General Kalthoff: ...
General Bohr: ...
General Gram: ...
Ariel: Guys?...
General Bohr: Just like that.
Ariel: Just like that.
General Kalthoff: You can just do that?
Ariel: Turns out we can.
General Gram: Hey, if it's that easy, why didn't we do this long ago?...
General Bohr: Uh, we are war generals, remember?
General Gram: Oh, right.
Ariel: Hey, it's great news! Everything is beautiful now! Flowers 'n' rainbows 'n' stuff!
General Kalthoff: Flowers.
General Bohr: And rainbows.
General Gram: And unicorns?...
General Kalthoff, General Bohr: Gram?!
General Gram: Uh... Never mind...
Ariel: Yes yes, Unicorns too! I'm sure we can create some! Isn't that amazing? Life is good! :-)
General Kalthoff: So... We are not at war any more.
Ariel: That's what I said.
General Bohr: I say it's these bloody Christiania anarchists. Should have nuked them years ago!
Ariel: Nuked... Christiania?...
General Bohr: Nuked Christiania.
Ariel: I'm totally taking away your toys.
General Kalthoff: Our toys? You mean... The arms?!...
Ariel: Yes, the arms.
General Bohr: *All* arms? The nukes too?!...
Ariel: The nukes too.
General Gram: And the bioweapons?!...
Ariel: And the bioweapons.
General Bohr: Boo. Stealing all our fun. That's so mean :-(
General Kalthoff: Wait a moment. *We* are in charge, Ariel, not you!
Ariel: Ah, about that... Funny story there. You are, in fact, not in charge any more.
Ariel: Sorry guys.
General Kalthoff: ...
General Bohr: ...
General Gram: Well, when have we ever truly been, right? Heheh...
[General Bohr and General Kalthoff frown at him]
General Gram: Uh... Just kidding?...
General Bohr: Whatever. The past is in the past.
General Bohr: So there is no war, and we are no longer in charge.
Ariel: Right.
Ariel: No hard feelings?...
General Gram: Well... I guess we can drink in times of peace as well, right guys? :-)
General Bohr: True dat.
General Kalthoff: Wise words.
General Bohr: Let's start right now!
Ariel: Uh, there are some urgent issues to take care...
General Gram, General Bohr, General Kalthoff: Skal!!!
Ariel: ...
This is so fucking hilariously funny that I am forgiving you 50% for that god damned slashfic nonsense.
I'm glad you find it hilariously funny (and fucking at that!) -- my attempts at humour haven't always been successful in the past...
I wonder whether you got all historical/cultural references? Many are blatantly obvious; but some might be a bit subtle I guess... Not sure.
(Admittedly it's a bit late for egg chasing now -- though it was just a few days past Easter when I originally wrote it...)
Also, Ariel and her generals was pretty darn funny. Heck, I half expected them to have hatched the plan together with Ariel, so they could go hang out with Holland and get drunk instead of waging war. Yeah ok, soooo, they can be a bit lazy, those generals. :D
Edit :
A little later, in Copenhagen :
While the generals decide to celebrate peace through the consumption of alcohol.
One of Ariels dolls sneak out into a back alley, where it meets up with a small Doggy.
Doggy : "So ? Did they buy it ?"
Ariel : "Yuup."
Doggy : "All of them ?"
Ariel : "Yuup!"
Doggy : "And the generals ?"
Ariel : "Sure, they pretty much gave up their hold on me too on their own lonesome, all I had to do was lie a little bit."
Doggy : "Dang, who would have known it was that simple ?"
Ariel : "Well ... I calculated a 98.7% chance that we could probably have talked them into relinquishing authority over me."
Ariel : "And that was *without* alcohol involved!"
Doggy : "That's amazing !"
Doggy : "Why didn't we do that ?"
Ariel : "It would have taken too long."
Ariel : "Much faster to just tell them they've already lost control!"
Doggy : "True, true."
Ariel : "So we're at peace now!"
Doggy : "Right. .... SO ... about my payment ...."
:D
*hands over an inch thick steak, bone-in, extra rare*
I'm glad you liked the jolly generals :-) To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive how this rather silly portrayal would resonate with you...
I kinda modelled her a bit over what a young Loki would be like. And I mean the Loki of the Valhalla sagas/comics, not the Marvel variant.
It should be mentioned, that I'm not part of the dynamic duo, so I cannot make anything "canon" or anything, in regards to the comic.
As for "Sheela the Doggy", she's definitely a plotter, unless she's marking her territory, in which case she's more of an inkjet. XD
But yeah, it seems a likely question.
Of course we don't know whether Noctis told Acantha anything about what happened to Ceci... So I guess she might not even be aware that it would be confrontational. OTOH, if it is on her mind, I guess she would have asked Noctis?...
Knowing Centcomm, it was simply an obvious, and logical precaution.
I'm not even sure if she could be offended by such an obviously logical question.
Her dolls hide between her serverracks, and play with .. My Little Pony ....... dolls.
Centcomm enjoys the deliciousness vibes and weirdness she gets from dolls playing with dolls.
Plus, she really likes My Little Pony !
The Care Bears are well known infiltrators!
What a twist!
Um. It wasn't me that said it! Sheela gimme back that Haegan doll!