------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MacintOS v0.81
Start-up Sequence Initiated
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beginning Boot-time scan
- File System Check : [OK]
- External Integrity : [OK]
- Spell Matrix Performance : [OK]
- Internal Component Check : [WARNING]
(7 Faulty Diodes detected, re-routing to backup)
- Motor Status : [OK]
- External Controller : [ERROR]
= No Controller detected at station
= Defaulting to A.I
- Artificial Intelligence Status : [OK]
- Protocol Verification : [OK]
- S.A.T.S : [OK]
- E.F.S : [WARNING]
Differentiation capacitor not detected, disabling self-defence and hostile combat systems for safety
- Power Supply Efficiency : 99.9% [OK]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retrieving System data
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Device : Project 17 - "Delta"
Manufacturer : Ministry of Wartime Technology - Experimental Department
Days since launch : 1946
Users registered : [DATABASE NOT FOUND]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Start-up complete
Activating A.I
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was in hybernation mode from last night as I was beginning to overheat due to the base's Air Conditioning failing, but I can now hear the fans working once again, but also I could hear something else. As soon as my visuals activate, I see a large rat in front of me. However this rat appeared to be mutated, developing sharp long fangs, similar to a prehistoric creature I had researched called a Sabre-toothed Tiger. Its fur, rather than the normal brown to black scheme, was tinged dark green; its eyes were still black but had pinprick red dots in the centre. I immediately seized it in my Anti-Gravity Field before it could run away, but when I began to lift myself up, the mutant rat emitted a high pitch squeal, unusual to its species. Following this, five more rats of a regular variety escaped from a panel on my side carrying various parts with them in their fangs, and scurried off into the tunnels.
I looked at my readout and saw that a vital part of my Eyes Forward Sparkle was missing among the parts they stole, disabling my combat systems. Without it, I could not fulfil my protocols and protect the base as well as myself. It was of vital importance to regain those parts, so I immediately gave chance after them still keeping the mutant rat in my field. Using the barely functional E.F.S, I could track their positions in the tunnels and look for ways to intercept them. But it looks like they are making all the right turns, knowing where to go exactly that would prevent me from catching them. But they encroached upon a dead end, giving me a chance.
I slid into the opening and looked upon the sandstone wall that ended this tunnel. At its bottom were the five rats reering at the wall, trying to find a way through, impossibly. My entire weapons array was disabled due to the capacitor one of the rat has in its possession, so exterminating them is not an option. I could use my Anti-Gravity Field to just enclose them, but it would mean me losing the one I had in my grasp now, which was reluctantly not an option either. I looked to my environment to see if there was anything in the vicinity I could use to my advantage, but sadly the tunnel ended with solid smooth sandstone with the walls and ceiling showing no exploitable devices or suitable debris. This meant resorting to my final option, and while it has a 78.2% chance of working, its costs were great, but so was the loss of this capacitor.
Two years back, while researching the experiments that were being undertaken at Project 17, a strange experiment was undertaken, nicknamed "Overwing". Its purpose was to reconstruct the already existing Power Armour created by the Ministry of Wartime Technology and worn by Steel Rangers, with the ability to take flight. The need came so that those on the ground could combat any future threats from the Grand Pegasus Enclave. While there were never any recordings of a serious attack from the Enclave in the databanks available to me, the experiment went ahead anyway. The outcome was inconclusive due to many complications with the engineering, as well as a a number of issues arrising from within the Ministry of Awesome, who's engineers were contributing towards the experiment. But yet after researching it, I found that remnants of its code, both original and modified, were found in my system. I may be ill practised as I have no room to test the Overwing here, but I know that its turbines can be fully controlled, giving me my only option.
The plan would be to use the Overwing turbines to produce a reverse air flow strong enough to keep the rats in the tunnel, and also drag them close enough for me to manually terminate them. The catch to this plan would be the use of my one non-renewable fuel source, diesel. The crude-oil based chemical contained inside me is the only volume I have found after my explorations of the base, meaning once it is used; I won't be able to use the Overwing again. I calculate, taking into account the amount of revolutions needed to create the necessary air flow and the 10 metre distance I will need to pull the rats, that my fuel tank will be depleted by 25%.
I deliberated this for exactly half a minute when the mutant rat emitted another loud shriek. This echoed down the tunnel, reaching the rats who immediately upon hearing it, began to act. They charged. This needed a different strategy. They were advancing along the tunnel towards me at an increasing pace, beginning to squeak in a seemingly aggressive way. Using the Overwing was now out of the picture, but then it occurred to me. The entire time I was chasing these rats, I was aware that they were a neutral party, stealing parts, but unarmed. This meant that my E.F.S would not have targeted them as hostile, but now that they are in a hostile like stance, charging towards me, they must be hostile.
I didn’t need a differentiation capacitor to see this, not any longer.
Bypassing Security
Weapons Array Activated
E.F.S Fully Functional
I locked targets on all of the rats now at 5 metres from me. Choosing the cleanest method of eliminating them, I open up my left side panel and reveal my Mark 2 - Incinerator. Powering up the Magical Energy Beam, I set the entire tunnel alight
I sat in the Library of Project 17. An oval room surrounded wall to wall with bookshelves roughly six metres high. In the centre, I was sat at one of five desks, this one being the grand central one made of ivory wood. In front of me was my current project that I had worked on since I had become bored of my normal scheduled functions, maintenance, cleaning and scavenging. Instead it's a book. But this book was not finished. It was started by a significant member of the scientists based here at one time, named Dr Redthorn. Dr. Redthorn was responsible for work on the central experiments here in the base. He had his name written across many things here, from programs to books, a whole library of them. When I first discovered the Library, it allowed me to research much of the basic knowledge I now have in my personal databanks, but when I finally reached the last bookshelf, I noticed all the books were either blank or partly finished. One book took my interest in particular, titled "A Guide to the Species of Equis". The book was unfinished, but contained various entries of different creatures found across the lands above. I learned what I could but the empty pages left me with a new directive, to fill in any pages that Dr. Redthorn missed or could not fill. He had already made detailed entries on the base species so far, many of the new entries I had made are mutations of those. I had tried to use the book to identify what I was exactly, however none of the entries seemed to match any of my capabilities. None of the books in the library did.
The mutant rat sat in a small cage on the desk. I had created the cage from strewn metal bars I had found on the way back from the incinerated area. It squealed constantly, begging for freedom from his imprisonment. However I was not done with him, I needed to sketch an accurate drawing of it first, then a detailed log of its defining features as well as any biological abilities it may have. Often or not, these mutated creatures had some very fascinating abilities. Once I found a bat, extremely mutated and violent. It was no match for my Incinerator at close range but I managed to recover a fairly intact carcass. Unlike the regular bats haunting the lower levels of the base, these had developed a taste for blood of any type, such as the rats and other creatures that find their way in. They also developed into incredible sizes compared to their genetic parents making them a force to reckon with if confronted.
I remembered while drawing the sketch that this rat appeared to have some form of control over the other regular rats. Rats by nature do not have a hive mind or a dominant rat; they often grouped or went solo, making this rat very unique indeed. It didn't appear to physically assert itself above the rats, but it did have that squeek. It must have developed a way of producing a frequency that was hypnotic towards others of its species, making it some form of self-elected leader. I finished my sketch for the entry and closed the book. I returned it to its position in the "unfinished bookcase" and placed my oculars on the rat that remained in the cage. I decided to call it an Alpha Rat, due to its assertation as a leader. But now its usefulness had come to an end. After the annoyance it had caused me today, despite discovering I no longer needed a differentiation capacitor, I could not risk it theiving any more property of the M.W.T. I approached the cage with the rat now silent, possibly wondering what was next. I activated my Anti-Gravity Field around its neck and before it could release a full squeak, I swiftly snapped its neck.
A clatter came from the chute as the dead body of the Alpha Rat dropped into the depths of Project 17. There, the 'Bloodwings' (As I come to know them as from video logs) would take care of it, rather than traveling up to main floors looking for live prey, resulting in more work for me.
My charge was beginning to get low, so I began to make my way back to the central lab to recharge. I went over the events of the day today, it’s been two weeks since the last new entry in the book, and I’m beginning to believe that I’m running out of creatures to document around here. If the guide was finished, then the entire library was finished, and I would be left with nothing to do. Unless...
I left Project 17 to go to the surface?
There must be an endless amount of creatures that have yet to be documented. My directive would be satisfied forever. But. No. I couldn’t do it, my protocol requires me to be here to protect the base from intruders such as the Steel Rangers, and I could not deny that. However, I was never sure what I was actually protecting. I knew the entire contents of Project 17, but I could never find anything unique, just parts and information. I questioned at one time if the library was the goal of these intrusions, or possibly the weaponry hidden in the lower floors. Possibly the computers in the central hub were their target, it was hard to say, especially when all I understood from my intruders is that they were just as unsure as I am.
I entered the hub once again and walked up to my pod. To the side were two buttons, green and red. I pressed the green button and the pod began to rumble as the front slid forward and up, revealing a number of mechanised tentacles. They came to life and reached out to plug into my neck, chest and my legs. I was then lifted into the pod and slotted into place with a loud whine of metal on metal scratching. The lid slid over and my oculars shut down. I would be charging for approximately 48 hours, hopefully some more life was waiting for me to document afterwards, maybe even a few puzzles to solve. That would be nice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shutting Down Now
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
END OF LOG
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What happened to the description?!
It burns my eyes out!
Seriously, that doesn't look good. While I can see its necessity (more likely: accept its usage) in parts of your "Log"-chapter, you shouldn't use it in the rest of your "normal" story (and description). Sure, it'll get you some attention, but not of the good kind. Just imagine a real book being all black and white and suddenly bursting out in colors only to get rid of them immediately. Long story short, make your description normal colored again.
I can't really see why this story get so many dislikes. Sure, there are some mistakes in grammar, but nothing that keeps a reader (even a none-native one like me) from understanding it. Just one thing I didn't like: "Project #17" Is there any need for the hash tag in front of the 17?
And you could've thought of a better name for one of the thousands of projects the fandom has spawned. I have no idea what Project "#"17 is about, but call it maybe "Project Braveheart" (considering your story is named Heart of Steel) or something like that, just something else than a number. Imagine a bunch of evil scientists plotting about a plan to genetically engender ninja-samurai and when they talk about the evil experiment's name they call it: "experiment 5". It just doesn't sound special.
Of course, if your story involves the remaining projects 1 - 16 and features them as a cluster of projects, then it's alright. Still could use a name.
A decent thus far.
4651910 Hmm I understand your point about the description, I'll rewrite it shortly.
As for the Project #17, maybe the # is not necessary but as for its name, the number holds relevance and cannot change unfortunately but I understand your points about the names of things. The chapter name will change shortly, I do name projects such as 'Overwing' as mentioned in the Log chapter. I just cant change Project 17's name though, and it would be spoilers to explain why.
Noted and thanks for the feedback
Hopefully that looks better now?
other then being short, I'm going to leave chapter 2 alone, as I assume that this projects 17 is a postwar creation, as the enclave was relatively new when the bombs dropped, and only gained real power after the bombs, possibly remnants of the M.A.S. but to know that one must read the later chapters.
as for chapter one, it looks better, yet in truth I don't seem much of the changes. But I have two new tings to add, from the rereading I see that Crossword is a unicorn (and now that I looked at it agen the word "stub" has me concerned for her) which adds a hole new level to what kind of character she is, and how far she will go to get what she wants, I now expect some crazy stuff from her. Second you use the word "Contingency" twice when I think you meant to use Contingent, both when they first see a ghoul, and the second to last paragraph, me being a bit nit picky, but I thought you sould know.
4653533 I'll give you my logic here on that idea mentioning the 'Overwing'
The timeline on the wiki in which i used to base my ideas mentions the event in the original story when Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity are in the lobby of a ministry building when they are harassed by 3 pegasi. During that same time, an assassin throws a grenade at them. It is suggested that the assassin could be a zebra, zebra sympathiser or an agent of the G.P.E. I am taking the point of view that it was the latter, and the threat from these attacks from the G.P.E were getting higher, alongside the war with the zebras.
Applejack could have signed the M.W.T to work on Project 17 in an act of defensive research to combat any further threats. However as the time between this and the bomb dropping are unknown and up to some interpretation, the amount of time they had to work at Project 17 is unknown.
So the answer following that logic is that Project 17 and 'Delta' (as we learn from the first portion of Chapter 1.5) are being tested and created in the Great-War Era somewhere after the assassination attempt.
Being as this idea is founded upon an interpretation, it may confuse some people such as yourself, but hopefully this clears it up sufficiently. I really do recommend that you read the future '.5' chapters whether it is when I decide to merge the two characters at some point and you catch up, or read them along side each other, your choice entirely.
As for the 'stub' I thought I should make mention to that in the 1st chapter. And I have fixed all the 'Contingency' references, thanks alot
4655014 I understood the Overwing part, a similar thing pop up in "Project Horizons" with project steel pony and it's possible combination with the alicorn project, also it came up in Heros with the cyborg Starscreem, being a unicorn given the ability to fly, but at a hefty cost. So the M.W.T. or the M.A.S. working to give their steel rangers a method of flight, even if limited, is highly possible.
As for Delta, I have it pinged as an android, but as it has not been confirmed I'll wait for the next few chapters to find out.
The big mystery to me is who was running the place after the world had ended, and if it was a M.W.T. or M.A.S lab, why see the steel rangers and invaders? So something went wrong big time, and this delta can't seem to understand this little fact. It will be interesting to see what story unfolds as the mystery unravels. My bets are on that the workers used project 17 as a shelter after the bombs, but after a few short years their food supply's ran out, and they ether left or stayed, but non were around by the time Delta woke up.
4655842 Yep, looks like your on the right track now, hopefully Chapter 2 will answer a few more of those questions when I publish it this weekend
4658024 Well it will be nice to start to see the bigger picture of this puzzle, though with the Overwing there I can see project 17 be something the steel rangers would kill to have, not a figurative statement mind you. But truth be told, I'm more interested in learning bout Crosswords philology, it's not that unicorns can't become knights, it's just that the horn prevents them from using the helmet that is vital for the armor, so to have her horn removed is a big deal, having her loos the very useful ability of magic for the use of power armor, something beyond suborn determination. I can see why the earth pony knights would not be exited about her, but what about the unicorn knights (not much different from scribes)
4658655 Indeed, only time will tell I guess
4660440 true, don't know many characters like that, is she crazy, stubborn, both? I'll have to wait.
4676777 Thanks for the feedback, and ty for the like.
Indeed you shall enjoy what is to come. Next chapter will be out this weekend fingers crossed