A computer generated room housing a cartoon Yamataian and caricature Nepleslian could be seen following the glitzy title sequences announcing the GeekFeed, a publication that covered games, civilian technology news and celebrity rumours in relation to movies.
"Wake up and look alive my little geeks!" The Yamataian hologram shouted. She was a girl in her twenties wearing a dark bodysuit with lots of glowing lines in a shade of lightish red, "GeekFeed is downrange with the latest in tech news, rumours and games - coming straight to you from the Digital World! I'm Akikko Yamada,"
"And I'm Jack Mallory," The Neplslian confirmed. He was dressed similarly, but the lines on his suit were less curvy and more of a straight system, and they were green, "Today on the GeekFeed, we've got Quasiperiodic Crystalline Materials hitting the computer market, a statement from Luca Pavone himself after emerging from hiding, and we have question time with the award winning Yamataian composer, Aoi Tanaka."
-
Akkiko was standing on front of a computer shop, and her voice could be heard narrating the scene: "In this cosy computer repair and construction shop in downtown Kyoto, something amazing is happening with new materials from the Lazarus Consortium. I'll be here today to talk to Ikkiki Ichirou to see what's being made here that's got so many people and the government interested."
Ikkiki Ichirou was a Yamataian man in his mid twenties with mousey brown hair in a neatly parted wedge, some light chin fluff, a pair of spectacles for show and a black tweed jacket over a striped shirt. He seemed a little nervous to be in front of a camera, but he was smiling and rolling with the holographic girl. "I'm here with Mr. Ikkiki, and he's onto something big. Ikkiki-san, is there a word that summarises your experiences with using these new materials?"
Ikkiki sucked on his teeth for a moment and his eyes wandered away from Akkiko before he settled on: "Eye opening." He stated simply, his head raising slightly as he looked into the camera, mouth slightly away from the microphone. "Its a completely different ball game with Quasiperiodics. So many constraints inherent to a lot of current generation processor materials are simply gone. I don't know how high I can go, so I have to hardline my own constraints for safety."
Akkiko whistled, eyebrow raised in interest as the team was motioned to start heading into the computer shop. Ikkiki walked and talked with the holographic girl. "So what exactly are Quasiperiodic Materials, in your own words?"
"I spent at least two weeks trying to figure them out before trying anything with them," They walked past his desk, which was stacked with ring-binded printouts and hand-written notes, as well as a computer operating with these materials (presumed to belong to Ikkiki) and some half-assembled computers steadily swapping out old parts and testing the new ones. There was a tray with burnt out and destroyed crystalline parts in it that'd exceeded parameters. "The guys over at Lazarus were very helpful through the whole process. I probably wouldn't have been able to get a circuit going without them!"
Akkiko was curious about the destroyed parts. It was clear that whatever he was working with was volatile in unskilled hands. However, after seeing the assembled computer on his desk, he'd figured it out eventually and that there was some merit in this. "So, walk me through what the computer sitting in front of me does differently from a normal computer."
"Sure, this one is running Kessaku Civilian Pro Edition," He knelt down to show the cameras the transparent case that it was housed in. All of the parts inside were of original make. The screen was very strange to look at since it appeared to have a 3D picture despite being a flat surface - as though you could reach in and grab an icon, "But first, let me show you what it can do..."
He opened a benchmarking program and ran it for the cameras. It went on full resolution and maximum settings on rails, and was a few steps ahead of current generation, top-end computer hardware. Given that the hardware pulling this was made by only a handful of people with support from afar, one only had to boggle what it was capable of in the hands of a true engineer.
...
"...So how many of these super computers have you made for customers?" Akkiko asked.
"I've made six computers using these materials so far, and they've been for commercial corporate applications, mostly doing number crunching. I haven't heard a bad word from them since I sold them. I believe one place, a games arcade located here," He pointed to a dot on a map, "and they love how smoothly their game servers now run on this hardware."
"Meanwhile, this office block here has been using one," He pointed to another dot, "and they say that their charts and data tables compile at least four times faster than their previous setup."
"And I've heard that the Government wants to talk to you about this too. Are you scared?"
"As a matter of fact," Ikkiki replied, pushing his fingers together and fidgeting with some paperclips on his desk. "Yeah... I mean, I've got happy customers and we can see that the systems work great. I don't want to have to relocate my business or give up what I'm doing, and I have no reason to betray or shortchange my clients."
"Let's hope the Government has some good news for your business, Mr. Ikkiki. I wish you the best of luck. Over to you, Jack!"
-
"A few months ago, you would've gotten a cryptic message from an address that you've never heard of, and you would've dismissed it and put it in the bin." Jack opened as the lights went dark, his tone grave. "But, this was one message that got everywhere, just once. Intelligence agencies reported this message bypassing all of their firewalls and it was interpreted as a virus, but this was its only payload - a message."
He made the Phoenix Man salute, standing with his legs apart, his right hand on his hip and his left hand in a salute. He gave the camera an upwards nod.
-
"So, the Wandering Samurai Suite has gone Platinum in Yamataian space, and Gold in Nepleslian Space!" Jack was seen talking to the elegant and refined Aoi Tanaka, a former Yamataian war heroine and now an avid composer. "You must be proud of yourself!"
She laughed Jack's comment off as politely as she could, her voice was like fine wine to the ears. Having aged gracefully and bearing herself as such at all times, she'd cultivated an image of the stoic noblewoman, never indulging in excess or letting her success cloud her judgement. "I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. Its good to see men like you with a taste for classical music."
"Indeed, critics have said that you have breathed new life into the genre with your compositions." A softer version of the 5th Movement, her most popular in the suite was playing in the background for the audience. "What were you inspired by?"
"I was inspired by our history, sharp and sudden when we were at war, and simmering and tense when things were at peace." She stated simply. Indeed, it reflected in what she composed and played, playing the main violin for her classical band, which deviated from a normal mini-orchestra by including a full fledged drum kit with a star Nepleslian rock and roll drummer.
Jack was impressed by how succinct her answers were. She said what needed to be said, and let it hang in the other person's mind. "So what do you have in mind for the future?"
Aoi paused for thought, crossing one of her legs. "I believe the more recent events in our history have yielded great tragedies and beautiful stories. I may collaborate with a Lorath composer for assistance."
That made Jack and a couple of the cameramen pause.
She continued unperturbed: "I wish to get into contact with the lead guitarist for Aethersperm, too. I believe his ... raw sounds could be useful." Her choice of words was very deliberate.
Jack and the Cameraman exchanged a nervous glance. However, this woman never went back on her word. Chances were she was going to do this. "Fascinating to see how you're branching out," Jack replied as the cameraman made a neck-cutting motion. "We'll be back with more after the break."
"Wake up and look alive my little geeks!" The Yamataian hologram shouted. She was a girl in her twenties wearing a dark bodysuit with lots of glowing lines in a shade of lightish red, "GeekFeed is downrange with the latest in tech news, rumours and games - coming straight to you from the Digital World! I'm Akikko Yamada,"
"And I'm Jack Mallory," The Neplslian confirmed. He was dressed similarly, but the lines on his suit were less curvy and more of a straight system, and they were green, "Today on the GeekFeed, we've got Quasiperiodic Crystalline Materials hitting the computer market, a statement from Luca Pavone himself after emerging from hiding, and we have question time with the award winning Yamataian composer, Aoi Tanaka."
-
Akkiko was standing on front of a computer shop, and her voice could be heard narrating the scene: "In this cosy computer repair and construction shop in downtown Kyoto, something amazing is happening with new materials from the Lazarus Consortium. I'll be here today to talk to Ikkiki Ichirou to see what's being made here that's got so many people and the government interested."
Ikkiki Ichirou was a Yamataian man in his mid twenties with mousey brown hair in a neatly parted wedge, some light chin fluff, a pair of spectacles for show and a black tweed jacket over a striped shirt. He seemed a little nervous to be in front of a camera, but he was smiling and rolling with the holographic girl. "I'm here with Mr. Ikkiki, and he's onto something big. Ikkiki-san, is there a word that summarises your experiences with using these new materials?"
Ikkiki sucked on his teeth for a moment and his eyes wandered away from Akkiko before he settled on: "Eye opening." He stated simply, his head raising slightly as he looked into the camera, mouth slightly away from the microphone. "Its a completely different ball game with Quasiperiodics. So many constraints inherent to a lot of current generation processor materials are simply gone. I don't know how high I can go, so I have to hardline my own constraints for safety."
Akkiko whistled, eyebrow raised in interest as the team was motioned to start heading into the computer shop. Ikkiki walked and talked with the holographic girl. "So what exactly are Quasiperiodic Materials, in your own words?"
"I spent at least two weeks trying to figure them out before trying anything with them," They walked past his desk, which was stacked with ring-binded printouts and hand-written notes, as well as a computer operating with these materials (presumed to belong to Ikkiki) and some half-assembled computers steadily swapping out old parts and testing the new ones. There was a tray with burnt out and destroyed crystalline parts in it that'd exceeded parameters. "The guys over at Lazarus were very helpful through the whole process. I probably wouldn't have been able to get a circuit going without them!"
Akkiko was curious about the destroyed parts. It was clear that whatever he was working with was volatile in unskilled hands. However, after seeing the assembled computer on his desk, he'd figured it out eventually and that there was some merit in this. "So, walk me through what the computer sitting in front of me does differently from a normal computer."
"Sure, this one is running Kessaku Civilian Pro Edition," He knelt down to show the cameras the transparent case that it was housed in. All of the parts inside were of original make. The screen was very strange to look at since it appeared to have a 3D picture despite being a flat surface - as though you could reach in and grab an icon, "But first, let me show you what it can do..."
He opened a benchmarking program and ran it for the cameras. It went on full resolution and maximum settings on rails, and was a few steps ahead of current generation, top-end computer hardware. Given that the hardware pulling this was made by only a handful of people with support from afar, one only had to boggle what it was capable of in the hands of a true engineer.
...
"...So how many of these super computers have you made for customers?" Akkiko asked.
"I've made six computers using these materials so far, and they've been for commercial corporate applications, mostly doing number crunching. I haven't heard a bad word from them since I sold them. I believe one place, a games arcade located here," He pointed to a dot on a map, "and they love how smoothly their game servers now run on this hardware."
"Meanwhile, this office block here has been using one," He pointed to another dot, "and they say that their charts and data tables compile at least four times faster than their previous setup."
"And I've heard that the Government wants to talk to you about this too. Are you scared?"
"As a matter of fact," Ikkiki replied, pushing his fingers together and fidgeting with some paperclips on his desk. "Yeah... I mean, I've got happy customers and we can see that the systems work great. I don't want to have to relocate my business or give up what I'm doing, and I have no reason to betray or shortchange my clients."
"Let's hope the Government has some good news for your business, Mr. Ikkiki. I wish you the best of luck. Over to you, Jack!"
-
"A few months ago, you would've gotten a cryptic message from an address that you've never heard of, and you would've dismissed it and put it in the bin." Jack opened as the lights went dark, his tone grave. "But, this was one message that got everywhere, just once. Intelligence agencies reported this message bypassing all of their firewalls and it was interpreted as a virus, but this was its only payload - a message."
Jack seemed positively flabbergasted from narrating the message, and took a moment to catch his breath. "Sources have confirmed that Luca Pavone is indeed alive and kicking." Photos of the man in question appeared on screen, each of them was somewhat grainy. "And that he is performing good deeds. All I can say is that I wish him more power and the best of luck."I Return said:
He made the Phoenix Man salute, standing with his legs apart, his right hand on his hip and his left hand in a salute. He gave the camera an upwards nod.
-
"So, the Wandering Samurai Suite has gone Platinum in Yamataian space, and Gold in Nepleslian Space!" Jack was seen talking to the elegant and refined Aoi Tanaka, a former Yamataian war heroine and now an avid composer. "You must be proud of yourself!"
She laughed Jack's comment off as politely as she could, her voice was like fine wine to the ears. Having aged gracefully and bearing herself as such at all times, she'd cultivated an image of the stoic noblewoman, never indulging in excess or letting her success cloud her judgement. "I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. Its good to see men like you with a taste for classical music."
"Indeed, critics have said that you have breathed new life into the genre with your compositions." A softer version of the 5th Movement, her most popular in the suite was playing in the background for the audience. "What were you inspired by?"
"I was inspired by our history, sharp and sudden when we were at war, and simmering and tense when things were at peace." She stated simply. Indeed, it reflected in what she composed and played, playing the main violin for her classical band, which deviated from a normal mini-orchestra by including a full fledged drum kit with a star Nepleslian rock and roll drummer.
Jack was impressed by how succinct her answers were. She said what needed to be said, and let it hang in the other person's mind. "So what do you have in mind for the future?"
Aoi paused for thought, crossing one of her legs. "I believe the more recent events in our history have yielded great tragedies and beautiful stories. I may collaborate with a Lorath composer for assistance."
That made Jack and a couple of the cameramen pause.
She continued unperturbed: "I wish to get into contact with the lead guitarist for Aethersperm, too. I believe his ... raw sounds could be useful." Her choice of words was very deliberate.
Jack and the Cameraman exchanged a nervous glance. However, this woman never went back on her word. Chances were she was going to do this. "Fascinating to see how you're branching out," Jack replied as the cameraman made a neck-cutting motion. "We'll be back with more after the break."
