RP: Freespacers [Irregulars] Meeting at Port Hope

[Zack]

As Drei responded she included the files about the C series construction and the limited collaboration between NAM and the Free State that had occurred thus far.

 “Thank you for your assistance, I will forward this information to my crew.

Our Junker drones are designed to several sets of specifications provided by your people. Shortly after the first contact as part of an effort to build up a relationship. I will have the historical files transferred over to you about the C series ship development project. I am fairly certain that these drones are compatible with your systems though I am aware or the lack of standardization in Free State construction.”

Attached File>> historicalNAMFreeStateinteraction.awesome

Wazu would get a kick out of seeing the Nepleslian sector, thinking that no Nepleslian engineer would have come up with something like this without an extraordinary set of circumstances. He decided to leave a warning with his engineering staff, “Go ahead and help out where you want just be careful. It looks like spacer-logic is contagious.”

With that he turned to address the spacer. “Yes, I did,” He responded, “I wanted to see someone in person so I could get a response, and assistance, without the network listening in.” He paused for a moment and took a look at his engineering staff whom had gotten to work, leaving the two alone. “Why is it that you run from Yamatai? I am aware of your species conventions on survival that it is often best to run rather than stay but how would your species respond if it was capable of defending itself? Would you seek co-existence? Revenge? Or would you simply let your entire population choose for itself with what technology you have to seek out their own response regardless of the effect on the others?” He asked, reaching into his tan pockets so that he could hold onto a small data disk in his free hand.

 

[Nyton]

Shannon's outward expression was to nod as she followed along with Kin's explanation for the reason of Port Hope. At the same time she hid her excitement as the data from the Spacers was flowing at her in a disorganized mess. "Tom, geht yer ahrse ohn th' same link al'redy. Yeh wohn't believe all th' data these Spacehs be givin' us." she quickly telegraphed to Thomas. Shannon was having difficulty sorting through the mess of information, even with her computerized brain routing and data selectors. The files of visual, navigational, technical, and various intel resulting from the personnel were enormous. She even saved all data pertaining to interactions with the Yamataian personnel to glean any further data from such. There were sections of her memory systems that were specially designed for storing and isolating files until a full sweep for malicious software could be completed. While she believed in the enthusiasm of the Spacers for sharing information, she also knew they were chaotic and random. It was standard procedure not to just consume any outside data without making sure it was safe, even if she had made her body capable of resisting any sort of hacking. The Irregulars had already dealt with that problem a long time ago.

Meanwhile Thomas had finally linked up and after a sort of greeting identifying him to be along with Shannon, began to sift through, following the same procedure to ensure the data was safe to store. "Aye they be lahk ah tremehndous telegraphy system. 'Ow do they manage to 'ave the poweh t' transmit it?" he telegraphed back to Shannon.

Thank you Polysentience for all of your help thus far. However, may I also ask your Hacker Cult for some assistance with a certain task? We are in possession of a key that allows us into the 'backdoor' of PANTHEON. However it is an old key and the hinges to the backdoor are also becoming less reliable with age. Our Coder would appreciate it if you could help us to refine the key and make it as powerful yet undetectable as it formerly was. We understand if you reject such a request. We do not wish to risk implicating your kind in any actions that would be deemed aggressive by the Yamatai facism. Your suffering has been great and we are all too familiar with that pain.

During this interface, Shannon continued to speak to Kin simultaneously so as to maintain appearances. "I am humbled that you would think so greatly of the Nepleslians to wish to maintain contact with us despite our proximity to Yamatai. I can only express my deepest sympathies at such a staggering loss. I pray those who were returned to you are a small light of hope in such a dark time."

They murdered our CHILDREN!

Despite keeping a composed posture outside, the telegraphed message conveyed tremendous grief from Shannon. It was filled with image files of her five young children, dead from the Plague.

"Easy now, lass. Don' leht them think ye be crehzy now. If'n they don' alrehdy doo." Thomas telegraphed to her. Without looking at them via his full awareness spectrum, he had also took note of the new arrivals from the Potemkin. Data files were run across the faces of all the people to ensure there was no danger, not to mention scans for possible weapons. "Aye, it's gettin' a wee bit crowded in 'ere. We should go mingle wi' th' res' of th' workers."

"Aye, Big Tom. Ah reed a heavy rad section tha' has moostly Spacehs. We c'n continoo negotiatn' there." Shannon telegraphed back.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but we should start getting a physical view of the layout." Thomas then stated out loud to Shannon. With a nod of her head she then looked at Kin. "Are you needed elsewhere or can you guide us a little further, Puppetmaster Kin?"

While the Nepleslian section was in less danger of radiation exposure, Thomas and Shannon intended to navigate them to one of the more hazardous areas where Nepleslian eyes would be less likely to watch them. "It'll be like th' days we bo'hrded th' Elysian ships. Didn' need shuttles back then. An' these soldiers should be easiah t' ditch then a Seraph." Thomas telegraphed as the two Irregulars coordinated their tactical net.

 

[Zack]

The crew of the Potemkin was lightly armed with only a handful carrying the standard issue sidearm. Wazu, who was standing closest to the individual conducting the scans had a datapad attached to his belt instead of the sidearm for his uniform. The closest thing he had to a weapon was a sturdy metal cane which he was using to help him move about. Scans might also pick up a massive amount of metal and electronics throughout his body with the majority of it in his right leg and lungs.

The personnel bios on the engineering staff were probably fairly easy to get a hold of. They were mainly new recruits and engineers who transferred into the navy from NAM.

Wazu’s bio, on the other hand, would probably be harder to get their hands on. His Yamatai bio would show him as an ex-Taisho that had been dishonorably discharged from service during the draconian war. It would list some of his exploits ranging from some minor starship designs to the destruction of Ralfaris’ original solar system. In addition to this a Nepleslian bio would show him currently the captain of the Potemkin. He had joined nepleslian special forces shortly before the ‘formation’ of the Nepleslian Empire a few years ago. If they had access to the juicy stuff the bio would show that this was the man who designed and built a majority of the Nepleslian’s space forces and put in place their interplanetary transportation infrastructure. He oversaw first contact with the Free State, the assault on Kennewes that all but wiped out the Red faction and even been instrumental in the special forces operation that led to the assassination of the leader of the black faction on Nepleslia.

Despite his past, the largest part of his file was his medical history. The Yamatai bio would list numerous elective surgeries installing various cybernetics while the Nepleslian bio would list a massive amount of injuries and repairs to his body. His right leg and lungs had nearly been entirely replaced while numerous other body parts that had been repaired. All of these injuries were sustained at the same time but the bio wouldn’t list exactly how.

 

[Nyton]

"Th' crew checks out fine. We should be alrigh' an' nae hav' t' worry any. Wazu there 'as quite the rec'rd tho. Ye sure Cody has all th' latest personnel intel?" Thomas telegraphed to Shannon.

"O' corse he do. He's only hacked into th' datanet ev'ry day o' his life. Ah cannae help but think ah mi'ta known a few o' their grandfathers back when ah was a Red ohperative." Shannon replied. "Ah did some o' me bes' wohrk undehcovah ye know."

"Aye, back when ye had a body wohrth lookin' at." came back Thomas's snide telegraph. "Shame th' Forge isnae aroun' to recruit no more. This Wazu would mek a fine Tekker."

"Ye never were a good joodge o' charakter. Ah never knew what me sistah saw in ye." Shannon telegraphed, with just a hint of spite. "Jest be careful aroon' him. We need t' move on now."

 

[Della]

Polysentience response got a lot more chaotic. Some Freespacers agreed, others refused, other ideas and projects were tossed around...

In the middle of the chaos, a couple of them contacted Shannon:

Sorry, it's complex. This is no longer personal choice, but something that could involve the whole Free State, so we need to vote on this before answering. It could take a while.

Polysentience discussions raged amazingly fast shifting temporarily away from Shannon as they debated his proposal.

Meanwhile, Kin nodded at Thomas. "Why, sure. The Nepleslian area is quite large, and at least half of it is fully assembled. Among other things, it also has a hydroponic greenhouse for growing Nepleslian-type crops, since most of our food is poisonous for you. Once the station will be completed, it will be capable of sustaining more than two hundred visitors at a time. Meat is... a bit harder to come by." He began to explain, showing the way to the greenhouse down a corridor.



Dante stared at Wazu for a while. It was a bit unsettling, not being able to read his eyes.

"...we're nomads. We're not attached to a place, and everything we have and everything we are can be carried away with us. We can simply go away." He made a short pause. "If we HAD the power to defend ourselves, we would have done so. But the time for that has passed. Now, as it has always been, every one of us will choose for himself. It's pretty clear there can be no coexistence, and revenge will not give us back what we've lost. Some of us think that we should just go away, leave them alone, and live in peace. Others believe that we have the moral duty to destroy the great evil that is Yamatai in order to save others from suffering our fate."

His gaze shifted to the hand in Wazu's pocket. "Are you offering us something?"

 

[Zack]

“I am… trying to.” Wazu responded, fiddling with the disk in his pocket.

“It is a shame to see a species with such an affinity for technology be destroyed.” Wazu paused for a bit, trying to come up with the exact words that he wanted to use. “And ultimately after such an event it would be logical to assume that you would narrow mindedly seek revenge immediately, especially if one were to give you the means to do so. It is good to hear you say otherwise but I believe ultimately running away will simply postpone the inevitable for your race. You’ve lost many ships, you will loose more as time goes on, and with the seeming majority of your ships looking out for their own self preservation to the exclusion of expansion it would seem you are destined to die out.”

Wazu paused again, finally pulling the disk out of his pocket.

“This contains,” he said, grinning slightly, “Information that wants to be,” It was a stupid joke, but he had learned anything from his first encounter it was that one can easily become to serious when dealing with spacers. “Specifications and plans for various devices like, FTL assisted computers, stronger materials, armors, theory and mechanics on how the universe works, even how to build our shield generators and a few basic weapon systems. Everything that Nepleslia did not hand over during the collaboration to build the C2 cruiser and then some.” Of course a few things about the C2, like how the Nepleslian Drei system worked, was left out for safety reasons but there were plenty of instructions as to how to build comparable machines and how to hook up FTL systems to conventional computers to squeeze out magnitudes more clock cycles. Wazu then straightened up a bit, returning to a more serious posture.

“At the very least this should help you vastly increase your industrial output and processing power for your ships though I’m sure you would find a way to put this to good use. Ultimately I am worried that such a free society would have elements that seek to antagonize Yamatai to the point where they would view a effort to exterminate you as necessary.”

 

[Nyton]

"That sounds incredible, Kin." Shannon said while she and Thomas continued to steer deeper into the crowd. "Even we can appreciate such a feat."

Meanwhile, as the debate continued in the Polysentience, Shannon and Thomas continued to process the data they had already taken in.

Take all the time you need. We understand your need for debate. Standing up to the Yamatai is not a choice easily made.

 

[Della]

Dante shrugged. "Revenge is an emotive response, not a logical one. This doesn't make it any more or any less desirable, of course, but... you're thinking like a planetdweller. You're thinking in terms of politics and territory and control."

He tapped on one of the wide windows showing the scattered stars of deep space and the countless colorful vessels drifting slowly.

"We're nomads. If we don't like a place, we go somewhere else. It's that simple. Those of us that want to stay behind and fight Yamatai either do so out of bitterness, or out of idealism. Not out of hope for any material gain. It's... complex."

He paused for a moment. He was either looking at the disk or at Wasu's face, hard to tell.
"You see, what Yamatai has done to us maybe is not particularly impressive to you. Oh, yes, it has been horrible, a lot of people died, humanitarians of the known galaxy rallied, et cetera. But the damage it has done to us transcends the mere loss of men and material. Never before the Free State has been split like this, with one part so hungry for war and destruction, and another so paranoid and terrified. Everyone is so full of fear and hatred."

He leaned against the window.

"They killed our innocence. No one will ever want to forgive them, at least no one from this generation."

He sighed, deeply. "Would you like to make a statement or a request to Polysentience? I can only speak for myself."

Polysentience itself was, in the meanwhile, clogged with the frenetic casting of votes and raging discussions.
And Kin was going on ranting on how the station's technical specifics, which he apparently knew all too well.

 

[Nyton]

Thomas and Shannon continued to listen, their attentions fully capable of multi-tasking even while sifting through the intel data from the Spacers. They also kept tabs on which direction the voting was going as this would possibly determine whether they would receive any help. "Th' votin' looks t' be close, ye think?" telegraphed Shannon. Her eyes shifted a few colors as she walked, the only indication that she was becoming slightly anxious to the results.

"Keep yer nerve about ye, lass. Just wait for th' righ' mooment. We'll bantah off hand in a minute." Thomas telegraphed back. "Th' data we got so far makes me concloode we'll need that key t' PANTHEON. That, an' th' bes' chance t' strike will be when 'e's not in th' Military Sector."

Thomas checked their tactical map that he and Shannon were sharing. The battle net was full of blips from workers running back and forth as they worked all around them. The escort team was following but were getting slowed down by the crowd as Thomas and Shannon continued to subliminaly guide Kin into the denser parts of the crowd. Shannon would point and ask about something that would move them in just the right direction that timed the workcrews to cut off the soldiers and delay them further. Meanwhile they played the role of innocently curious technicians. If they could be seperated from the crowd enough then by the time they reached the higher radiation areas they could just step through there and force the escort to double back and assume they missed them.

To Puppetmaster Kin: Should the decision to help us pass we will need to lose our escort in the crowd. We are steering towards a higher radiation area close to the edge of the Nepleslian safe zone. We have our own means of surviving radiation and plan to cross in there to prevent them from following us.

Thomas messaged through the Polysentience.

The radiation should not prevent us from communicating with our Coder. He is standing by to receive our signal and should be able to link up with you via our connection point. There won't even be a need for face to face, our uplink will be secure and untraceable. Once this program is refined we will not risk your involvement any further.

Shannon followed up in the Polysentience.

A call from the tech crew came across for Shannon and she answered it quickly, apologizing for to Kin for the interruption. "Yes, begin work on the system. We're currently examining the layout. Once you're done give me a call if we're still touring. Alright, good job." she said in conclusion before closing up her comm unit.

"Again I apologize for the interruption. Now as you were saying..." Shannon said, two seperate worlds as she communicated via vocal and Polysentience simultaneously.

"Al'righ lass, get ready. 'Ere we go." Thomas telegraphed to Shannon.

Thomas: You know, its not like we would need a lot of help. From what I have heard, the Hacker Cultists are so good even the PANTHEON fears them.

Shannon: There was that rumor going around in the Coder circles. Besides, with the help of our key, the PANTHEON would be laid open enough for us make the key completely untraceable. Even if other people used it, no one would know it was being used.

Thomas: That is the general idea behind this key, at least the theory our Coder was going with. Even just the help of one Hacker Cultist would likely be enough.

Shannon: Would probably be fun too.

Thomas and Shannon carefully crafted their words to hopefully entice even just one Hacker to assist. After all, the Freestate was not a nation like others.

 

[Zack]

“Your people’s first real foray into deep space led to a massive genocide, the destruction of your people’s beliefs, ways, ships, bodies, and homes. Your species is more jaded now in the ways of interstellar politics but ultimately wherever you go there will be creatures that will seek domination or destruction. Your gravitational wake and energy release will act like a massive trail to where your ships eventually go should Yamatai seek you out to finish what they started. You could also get lucky and end up in deep space. Your ships will function to keep themselves operational but you’ll loose one every now and then to accidental collisions, equipment failure, resource shortages, or outright bad luck. Without an industrial base to replace these losses and the resources to continue such production your entire race will survive for a time but will eventually die out.” Wazu paused for a bit before adding:

“Of course the other obvious course of action, simply fighting back and waging a war is just as futile. Without a much greater level of industry Yamatai could throw away hundreds of ships for every one of yours and they would still exterminate you completely.”

Despite the grim picture he was trying to paint with his words Wazu was now smiling.

“Though you are right, the problems the Free State is facing is much more complex than what I outline and I can only hope to understand a fraction of what is going on without an extensive study of your people and resources. Though I may disagree with your policies I am always impressed by the intelligence exhibited by those of your Free State that I speak to and believe that it will be those individuals that will end up saving the Free State from a myriad of unpleasant fates.”

Wazu extended his hand with the disk in it to hand it to the Spacer hacker in front of him.

“You have told me what I wanted to hear. I can hand this over to you in complete confidence that you will use it to the benefit of your people however that may be.”

 

[Della]

Dante grinned at Wazu. "You're trying to scare us, and I can understand why. You're trying to remind us that the Darkening might not be over yet. But don't worry."

He brushed his hair backwards. "We're not loosening up. And after we leave Nepleslian space, if Yamatai really wants to exterminate us, they'll need a million ships and a million years. Space is large, we have no planets or fixed bases of importance, our ships are small and scattered, their energy signature isn't higher than an asteroid's, and our ECM and electronic warfare capabilities have no equals even for Yamatai."

He took the disk with a slow, almost solemn motion. "And, with this, they'll need two million ships and two million years. You're right, you don't really understand us completely. That's ok, we don't understand you people completely either. We have chosen different paths and will survive through different means. But thank you."

Meanwhile, on polysentience, the ebb and flow of votes and discussions was reaching its end. Most of the voices were against any direct involvement, mostly because they feared Yamatai retorsion. A lot of people, the overwhelming majority, voted against helping Thomas and Shannon's team solely to avoid a second Yamataian attack, though none voted that way out of love for them.

However, Thomas received a message directed specifically to him, and not coming from Polysentience but rather some sort of direct communication. A mix of gibberish, junk streams and meatflaps, utterly nonsensical.

It was probably some kind of heavily encrypted message. No one on polysentience seemed to notice it or mention it, not even Shannon.

 

[Nyton]

Shannon's eyes flashed red for a second as the results came forward but she knew it could not be helped. "Ah figur'd they'd be too wooried abou' an attack if they helped us. Still, ah have t' admit I had a lot'a hope they would come aroun' t' th' idea." she telegraphed to Thomas. The other cyborg however was silent as he ran over the encrypted message with a few light scans by his internal OS.

"Hold up a moment, Shannon. Ah think ah ha' something. It's heavily encrypted tho'. Ah'll have t' have Cody look at it." Thomas telegraphed back. He went over the battlenet and studied the crowds movement along with their escort. They had seperated far enough now that they could pick up their pace a little without being too obvious. He made his plan known to Shannon through their shared net.

We understand and respect your decision. If you don't mind, we need to discuss amongst ourselves for a few moments.

To Puppetmaster Kin: We want to enter one of the heavy radiation zones so we can lose the escort. Can you lead us to one and prepare yourself before they catch up to us?

Thomas messaged through the Polysentience.

 

[Zack]

“I am always impressed by the intelligence of those of your people that I speak to.” Wazu replied, bringing his cane over to the side so that he could prepare to depart.

“I wish you good luck.”

 

[Della]

Dante nodded a greeting, stuffing the disk in his coat's deep pocket. "Thank ya, pal." He said, simply. "Best of luck in life."

Meanwhile, Kin, feigning innocence, simply walked up to an unmarked door barring the corridor they were in while still talking about inane technical details. The door slid open and closed behind them, leaving them in a long, characteristically Freespacer corridor, a few meters wide and several dozens tall until it ended in a glass-like roof showing outer space and the gathering fleet. Metal ladders ran up the moss-covered walls here and there, leading to numerous small doors.

"This section is marked as a radiation hazard, and it can't be opened without requesting it to the operative SIs of the station. And we have eight, so they'll have to contact and persuade all of them. He smirked, brushing his moustache and looking very proud of himself. "They'll be busy for about fifteen, twenty minutes. We can still pass it off as a distraction, but any more and it would be suspicious. So, where do you want to go?"

 

[Nyton]

The two Irregulars' bodies had activated the internal shielding units that protected them from the radiation before stepping into the corridor. The hazards were a familiar sensation they had grown accustomed to, a result of having to keep up in the technological race after Powered Armor.

Thomas looked out at the Freespacer fleet and found himself almost staring back in time. "Ye'd think th' Vordachibean were back t' look at this." he telegraphed before looking back at Kin. "Can we somehow loop around and arrive at the other end of the Nepleslian section from here? That way we can just say we turned around and lost sight in the crowd. If not then we can always manage a space walk."

"Alrigh' Big Tom, what did ye find?" Shannon telegraphed.

"Aye du'nno yet. Some kinda file. Aye think ah th' free spirited naychur o' th' Spacehs is comin' in t' play 'ere." Thomas telegraphed back before pulling out a small communication device. It was one of their old Irregular model communicators, small enough to tuck away within a compartment of his body. It was keyed to communicate via telegraphy rather then regular audio, as it was set to pick up their own machinery signal system. It literally boosted the telegraphy signal that they communicated with but was only receiveable by a subject that was keyed into the code. It could also perform long range data transfers but those had to be made secure by their Coders. Thomas activated the communicator and began to transmit. "Cody, are ye there, mate?"

A gravelly 'voice' began to come across from the telegraphy communicator. Not so much a voice but a unique mechanical signal that could only be their old compatriot. "I read ya loud and clear, pardner. Ya got them Spacers to support us or what?"

"Not exactly. Aye'm sendin' ye ah heavily encrypted data file Aye received. Need ye t' run through it and open it up so we can find out what it is." Thomas replied before attaching the communication device into a slot on his chest. "Transmitting th' data t' ye now."

After a few seconds Cody replied back. "Got it. My outlanders are tearing through it now. Safety protocols in place. I'll let ya know what it is in a few more ticks."

On Cody's side of the receiver there was an obvious difference in scenery. He was inside a small shack in a desert that was being overshadowed by a mountain. The shack had what looked like an armed posse standing around it. Men wearing cowboy hats, dusty long coats, pants, shirts, and bandanas covering their faces kept a steady watch on the events in the shack. Cody himself was dressed in similar attire with a bandana covering his face and two ammo bandoliers across his chest. With what looked like a set of tools he was carefully opening what looked like a locked strong box.

After a few moments he began to notice the lock was starting to give. Immediately more vultures began to fly overhead, tracking programs to ensure nothing sneaky was being released as it was being decrypted. After a few more moments the lock began to release and the box opened up. Cody immediately brought his hand down to a holstered pistol while the rest of the posse readied their own firearms. "Well well, whatcha got in here, Mr. Spacer man?" Cody said as the data file began to open up and reveal it's contents.

 

[Della]

...And inside, there was just a sheet of old, yellowish paper. Someone had sketched on it, in black ink, what looked like a treasure map from some old pirate story. It had a dotted line and the X that marks the spot and all.

The only difference was that there was a communication laser transcriber where the dotted line began, and the X was on the roughly sketched (but recoglizable) blueprint of a Freespacer scout ship.

Some side notes detailed the exact time (in about 12 minutes) and precisely on which one of the many receiving lenses the laser should be fired, and a encoded password with which to open the communication.

Looks like they were playing it very safe.

 

[Nyton]

Upon finding the sheet of parchment in the box Cody pulled out an old magnifying glass and scanned it to ensure it was safe. Pulling the data from it he then gave it a stamp to 'tag' the file and monitor it and ensure there wasn't anything hidden beneath the layers of code. It was around this time though that Thomas began to grow impatient.

"Have ye foun' anything yet, mate? We're gettin' rusty waitin' for ye here." came Thomas's voice. Cody just grinned and rolled up the data file in a gloved hand. "Ah got yer data right here partner, just hold yer horses. Patching you a sanitized copy, Ah just need to make sure this file is secure. Whoever this is, Ah don't think they want the Polysent ta know who they is." Cody replied in his gravelly western twang. It was strange to 'hear' these off dialects but it was unavoidable given that the telegraphed signals came from the individual's unique coding.

After a few more moments Thomas received the file as well as a timer to let him know how much longer he had until it was time to broadcast. Going over the file quickly, Thomas nodded over to Shannon. "Aye, let's go. We need t' keep movin' so we c'n find another entrance back." he telegraphed to her. They checked the battlenet and found the direction where the ship was currently orbiting. "Cody, c'n ye link up wi' our mystery Spacehr from your point?" Thomas telegraphed back.

Cody unrolled a blueprint on his table and looked over it for a second. "Yeah partner, Ah got this. Ah can transmit through one a my sats and sublink through a couple'a other sats nearby to get a clear shot at that scout ship." he telegraphed back before putting a hand to his mouth and whistling at the posse outside. They immediately began to scramble about as they jumped up on horses and began to ride off into the distance. Before too long an old style telephone in the corner of the shack began to ring. When Cody answered it a voice came across to inform him of their status. "We're in position boss." Cody nodded before sitting down to a telegraph machine which was hooked up to an old style film projector which would provide any visual data if there were any being sent. "All set here, Big Tom. Ah'll patch ya through soon as we establish contact."

Meanwhile, back at Port Hope Thomas then looked over at Kin. "Puppetmaster Kin, could you oblige us in directing us through to another passage where we can enter the Nepleslian sector from another angle so that our escort does not see us appear where we had originally seperated? By the way, how is it you are able to live in such highly radioactive environements like you do?" Thomas asked as he tried to track down different passages and their directions via his scanners.

 

[Della]

"We're not just able to, we need alpha, beta and, mostly, gamma radiation to survive." He explained, leading the small group sideways down a dark secondary corridor. "We have many symbionts living on us and inside us, and some of them require radiation for several internal biochemical processes, from a bacteria living in our lymphatic system that, despite being internal, can undergo a photosyntesis-like process when hit by a gamma ray, to other unicellular irganisms residing in our intestine that use the energy from gamma radiation impacts to kickstart their mitosis." He explained. "Plus, unlike your 46 chromosomes, our genome is stored in 6 redundant copies of 80 chromosomes each, for a total of 320 chromosomes, most of which is unused genetic code that envelopes around the sensitive parts, protecting them. And, of course, DNA repair enzymes that routinely compare the six copies we have and check them for errors."

Meanwhile, the telegraph machine began to tick. It was a simple text communication, heavily encoded itself (which was really pushing the borders of paranoia, since it was a laser comm and therefore uninterceptable).

Greetings. You may call me Sphinx. I might be interested in assisting you in your endeavor. I am not, however, part of the Hacker Cult, nor a Freespacer. You might call me an independent. I can mantain control of this communication channel only for a short while before my activities raise any suspects: therefore, if you accept my offer, please transmit me everything related, close this communication, and pretend nothing has happened. Name a place, and time in the future you deem reasonable: I will contact you again once the job is done. During this time, if you will ask questions about me or try to find me, I will disappear forever and our agreement will be void. Upon delivery of the key, I might require a favour from you as payment for my services.

 

[Nyton]

Cody whistled as he read out the telegraph machine, which sent a signal back to Thomas as he relayed it back into telegraphy. "Well well, he makes quite the presumption. You get all that pardner?" Cody chuckled to Thomas.

Thomas meanwhile had relayed the information to Shannon while they both listened intently on Kin's explanation of Spacer biology. "Aye, tha' Ah did." he replied. He was simultaneously studying the layout and it's random chaos, finding a sort of peace in the confusion. It was comparable to the chaos of the battlefield which he found so much more soothing than that of peacetime. "That's quite a bit of evolution there to have so many chromosome protection systems. And to even feed off of radiation like that is even more amazing. I take it this is all genetically programmed, not natural birth, right?" Thomas replied to Kin as he made idle chatter. "Would you prefer we continue to speak audibly or do you prefer speaking through the Polysentience?" he then asked.

"Tha' Sphinx fellow cannae be serious if a' he be expectin' us t' sen' him ALL of oor data t' him." Shannon cursed.

"Cody, le' him kno' a little more abou' our 'key' an' see wha' he says. Ah don' believe he und'rstahnds jus' what ye got." Thomas ordered.

"Gotcha Big Tom." Cody replied before he began to tap back on his telegraph machine. Our of respect for Sphinx he did not attempt any tracing whatsover but he kept his line tightly secured to ensure not even a stray bit of code slipped by unnoticed.

Well its nice to meet you Sphinx. I'm Cody part of Thomas's little group. You'll forgive his not replying directly, I'm sort of the resident expert in these matters for us. Your help would be greatly appreciated and while I 'trust' your offer is genuine its not that simple. Our key into the PANTHEON system is not merely a string of code that breaks through their firewalls. We just call it a key for a lack of better explanation. Basically what we would need from you is processing power, and a lot more than I can muster. In order to make this work I would need about two starbases worth to 'revive' our key. In case you're wondering just why so much is necessary, its because the key needs it's dataframe reuploaded and it's a complicated dataframe. On top of that it needs to be completed so fast that the safeties around the system do not detect the surge for more than a few seconds. Unfortunately because it needs so much power if I attempt to do it as I am now I would be discovered before I could complete the work. Either by PANTHEON or the IPG. Originally I was hoping the Polysentience would push the power given how big it is. If not then I'll need some help hijacking the systems long enough to do so.

Anyways, that's the plan. You want a favor in return I think we can swing that. We scratch each other's and all that. Think you can handle the job? If not that's fine, we won't go spilling secrets. We're in the same business of being paranoid too.

 

[Della]

Another turn brought them back in the main corridor.
"You're right, it's all programmed. Our race didn't have natural births in countless generations. We're all functionally sterile and, even if we weren't, the radioactivity we live in, despite our genetic protections, would cause an enormous miscarriage rate. So, in order to survive and live peaceful and happy lives, we engineered ourselves over the course of the centuries. Making ourselves capable of living permanently on starships and in radiation, adapting the brain structure to neural implants and the connection to polysentience, shortening our personal lifespan in order to produce a more ascetic and less materialistic society."

Worry not. I can bring to bear an amount of processing power  equivalent to a significant fraction of the total parallel processing of Polysentience on my own.