18 - The Lights in the Sky are Battlestations
Chaos was almost glad of the slow rate of organic processes. Events had proceeded along lines that were close to its original intent, but there was, however, a potential problem. Its initial contact among the quadrupeds, the one that self-identified as Fusion Pulse TC4668, worried Chaos. That particular organic had been efficient at teaching the automata wormhole commands to others of its kind, and its kin was also proving to be an effective disruptive agent among the bipeds... but the relatively rapid spread of the wormhole function was now giving the quadrupeds too much of an advantage.
It was fortunate indeed that the pair of quadrupeds had failed to transfer their deep-level connectivity to any others of their own kind. Those particular subsets of automata were only taking instructions from one particular mind, if that ability had spread at the same rate...
The problem was not intractable, but the solution did present some degree of risk. Although its decoy was still proving to be a distraction for the Guardians, they were starting to adapt to its strategies and movements; Chaos had needed to partition more of its own intellect into that remote part of itself. Especially troublesome was the one it had maimed during its disastrous attempt to fight rather than to run. This Guardian, the one Chaos had labelled Scar, was in constant communion with its fellows, and wherever it passed, those Guardians became more difficult to deal with.
This rise in difficulty could be modelled, and Chaos had done just that: without a more permanent solution, this whole pocket universe might become inhospitable. It cast outwards, feeling the subtle variations in the quantum foam, all the myriad impressions of other domains sitting just behind the brane walls, waiting for it to find a way to reach them.
Long moments of introspection passed while, on the planetary surface, the ripples of multiple wormhole transits spread through space-time, easily detectable by Chaos' distributed self. Parts of it watched the creeping failure of armour and other condensed-phase materials under the lash of metal moving at multiples of the speed of sound in the solid state; at those speeds the atoms could not move out of each other's way, and ablated into energetic plasmas with a variety of interesting emission lines.
The Guardians, at least those not patrolling randomly or pursuing the decoy, seemed to prefer to linger near the original pair of quadrupeds. The reason was becoming painfully obvious. Every time it visited to check on this project's progress, Chaos found that the taste of their minds had shifted a little closer to that of the Stones. It was getting to the point where anything more than the most fleeting interaction risked entrapment, and Chaos spun and twisted in the quantum foam, hunting for a way to remove this new threat. For long moments it watched the quadrupeds steal their kin from the bipeds, becoming more alarmed as the numbers mounted.
It would be a disaster if the two unusually skilful quadrupeds were able to teach their combat and relocation functions to that many others, but getting close enough to terminate the minds would be too difficult. Perhaps...
Chaos sampled the bipedal minds connected to the unfolding events, following the strands of electromagnetic communication and direct, acausal automata-to-automata links, modelling the control hierarchy amid the military forces in the area. Here was the force commander, obvious by the thick and converging web of data, in an aircraft at high altitude, here was a team of soldiers entering the lower levels of the quadruped's breeding structure, but there was a scientist, one Chaos had touched before. The creature was working with a group of its fellows, connected to a data network that was tracking the slow-motion fight.
The location was distant from the Guardian swarm, so there was nothing stopping Chaos from sinking deep into the biped's mind and moving a complete neuronal duplicate into the quantum foam. The biped almost had the right answer, but almost wasn't good enough. During complex events such as this, a single idea could be made to propagate to a great extent -- if delivered at the right time and in the right way. Rapid simulations followed, prodding the uploaded mind along different pathways to test the results of any manipulation, then it was reset and the experiments started again. Long milliseconds passed, enough time to run thousands of scenarios with hundreds of parallel copies, before Chaos was satisfied. It wiped every version of the mind, then leaned into the real one and twisted--
===
Vanca watched the assembled pack of Security's technical staff occupying the nearest quadrant of the situation room and curled her lips to expose sharp, white teeth. This lot would never survive in academia, she thought. They have spent too long in the protected shelter of secrecy... this one would like to see even one of their research conclusions get past a proper peer-review. At the moment, most of the group's effort was going towards finding strategies to deal with the rogue currently reducing the Pit to slagged rubble.
The chamber was a large one, and outfitted with every convenience needed for large-scale command and control. Bowl-shaped and ringed by arrays of flat screens, it was centred on a substantial thaumographic display. The various Security teams occupied quadrants in the desk-strewn torus -- all with their own sets of screens and paraphernalia -- and the place hummed with the steady chatter of urgent voices. Vanca sat a little apart from the others; every Person present knew she was a prisoner, and they kept their distance from her and the Security minder shadow, as if afraid of contamination.
The academician shivered. Quite where she was, she didn't know, but it obviously wasn't the Pit; even the deepest parts of that installation would be rent by tremors by now. The data she could see, coming back from personal comms units and sensors seeded by the few remaining troopers, was quite unbelievable. Vanca had seen the truth almost a kilosecond ago; there was nothing at the Security base that could slow the rogue down without Arclight. Or the Hammer. Her eyes drifted to one of the conference suites, walled off behind sheets of glass made hazy by privacy systems embedded between the layers. What was going on inside that room was no mystery, though. The head of the World Court's Audit Team was in virtual discussion with members of the Synod and Security heads of staff, a meeting that was obviously getting quite heated, if the sharp movements of the figures inside were anything to go by.
Involuntarily, Vanca glanced up at the ceiling. Somewhere above, up past the layers of armourcrete, service levels, storage bunkers, and just plain dirt and rock, was the Hammer. She snorted and shook her head. Luna won't be above the horizon for another ten kiloseconds; this one has at least that long to live. Any thought that the command room, no matter how deeply buried, would survive the World Court's ire, should events go that badly wrong, wasn't even worth considering. Even now, Vanca expects the accelerator is running, those thousand-tonne projectiles flicking around the moon's equator and ready to be released...
She sat a little back from the scrum and rubbed her muzzle with her paws, listening with half an ear to their prattling. It was distracting, but there was little chance of being allowed to have her own space to work. Sighing, she thought back over her work to this point, all of which was focused on the theoretical requirements for transit through a macro-scale wormhole. It was because of this that her Security minders had put her to work examining methods to block the servitor's method of transport.
The display in front of her played a looped video of the three servitors arriving in the Pit's hangar. It wasn't the best of images, but had been put together from the dropship's missile-defence sensors, which were at least blessed with a high frame rate. On it, a brief spherical distortion, like the sudden appearance of a globe of glass, made the background of relaxing gryphon troops swim and change almost beyond all recognition. "The space-time curvature must be intense," she muttered, tapping the screen with one claw, then expanded a section with a gesture. The distorted globe-image only appeared for a single fleeting frame; after that there was a flare of violet light -- the flash completely overwhelming the simple camera -- then the three ponies had appeared. She ignored the subsequent thaumomagnetic pulse event; there was far better data from the pulse that had destroyed the Institute. Switching back to that single useful frame, Vanca made a few measurements of the distortions, trying to calculate the geometry of the exotic matter required to create the effect.
The main screen, an over-sized three-dimensional synthetic view of the airspace above corral twenty-seven, currently looked like a scene from a war drama... one leading up to armageddon. Tiny models, highlighted by unit designators and other more esoteric icons, flew in complex orbits at a variety of altitudes, covering all possible aerial approaches to the tiny cluster of brightly-coloured shelters on the ground. Other icons clustered amid the shelters, the things they represented too small to see at this scale. Secondary screens showed these details, but Vanca steadfastly refused to examine the far more personal violence taking place on them.
Something new appeared in the display volume and the models reacted like a kicked nest of wasps. Vanca leaned forwards, fascinated, all her own work forgotten, as a smooth teardrop-shape manoeuvred violently, lances of coloured light reaching from it to strike the nearest attack carrier. Warnings flared, and the carrier's attendant cloud of status markers changed from green to amber, but it didn't fall. Another lance of light, just one this time, and faster than the previous shots, sprang out and caught the carrier amidships. A groan, a near simultaneous exhalation from a hundred throats, ran through the silent watchers as the carrier broke apart in a series of internal explosions.
The other aircraft in the flight finally responded, green laser threads striking the intruder while railguns were brought to bear, but their target didn't die either. Glowing like an emerald star, the object abruptly vanished. "Vanca really created a monster, didn't she?" Agent Lilla said from behind the academician's shoulder.
Vanca spared her Security minder a glance, lip curling once more. "This particular monster is all Security's making." Lilla started to speak, but Vanca cut her off with a sharp wave of a paw. "...and no, it is not dead." A slow motion replay of the last moments of the battle appeared on one of the big flat screens; it clearly showed a pulse of violet light mixed in with the green. "The creature will be back."
"Arclight six is weapons free." called out one of the techs controlling the master display, just as more designators appeared.
Let's see how smart that servitor is... Vanca thought, as the pair of aircraft that comprised Arclight six held their thaumic arrays in standby mode and focused on the place where the pony had been. ...smart enough, obviously. An airtank in a completely different area detonated, then there was another flash of violet light and the pony was gone, long before the Arclight beams converged on that new site. Vanca let some of her breath out, realising she'd been just as caught up in the fight as the rest, then turned her back on the big display and returned to work.
===
"No more Blessings, starting now. Control over our own breeding. The immediate cessation of all experimental work involving ponies and gryphons. I know ponies are vital to your industry and civilization, so we will still work for you, but on our terms. Make us your partners, not your slaves."
The room was silent for a moment, then erupted into shouts and curses, the majority of faces filled with revulsion and hate. What the Maker... She smiled a bitter little smile and felt her stomach clench. Obvious in hindsight, she thought, listening to some of the exclamations; one of the favourites was 'an affront to the Maker'. What does this one believe? Certainly not that anymore. This one had forgotten how prevalent the belief is.
She thought back through her early life and how science had supplanted her parent's, and the Church's, teachings. Many of this one's colleagues think the same way as Vanca, but not the general population. She stared up at the servitor, now occupying one of the big flat screens. The view was distorted by the wide-angle lens, and the creature loomed over the room; one eye was a flat white and quite unsettling to look at. Such a good simulation of sapience; it almost sounds like a Person.
A very good simulation. So good that this one could almost believe... In a daze, Vanca felt behind her for the chair, then sank down into it. This is what a servitor really thinks like, given a mind not manipulated by the Blessing. What if they truly are sapient, what if they really are people, and not just smart animals... She bit down on her tongue, willing the pain to give some clarity to her thoughts. How many servitors has Vanca killed in her experiments? This one never took the time to talk to the creatures; that was always Korn's job. This is why he acted the way he did... he saw the truth before Vanca did. Shoulders sagging, she lifted her paws to her eyes and pressed hard on both sides of her muzzle. This one sounds like one of those Maker's Path fanatics. Where is the Student now? Is he still in Naraka with that pony?
There was a tentative tap on her shoulder, which she ignored. "Academician Vanca? The Synod wants to know if the servitor's threat is real. These ones have--"
"How should Vanca know?" she snapped, glaring at the person standing a few paces away. Vanca didn't know his name, but he was one of the researchers. Behind him were a few others, all looking at her like she was their saviour.
"What about those detector things Vanca designed? Can't these ones use them to find out where the bomb is being hidden?" Lilla said, ignoring Vanca's glare when it was turned on her.
"The range isn't good enough; too much noise--"
"Then the Academician can at least reduce the search area," Lilla said, gesturing to a map of Lacunae territory on one of the many screens.
"And who's to say the other rogues are not in some other Hive's lands?" Vanca snarled, standing up and jabbing at Lilla's chest with one claw.
The Agent looked down at the paw, eyes narrowed, then smiled, an expression that seemed to contain more teeth than even one of the People should possess. "Then that's their problem, isn't it? If the pony can do what it says, then it will be war. At the very least, the World Court will allow Baur to retaliate, before placing the whole of Lacunae into administration. If Vanca thinks an audit will be bad, direct administration will effectively make us a puppet state to be strip mined by whichever Hive teams they choose... much-vaunted World Court neutrality or no. We will cease to exist." Her smile vanished. "Imagine living in an arcology under Baur rule. This is not something this Agent wants to experience."
Vanca stared at Lilla, her jaw working. "Propaganda. This one has seen those reports. Those stories are just... stories, put about by Security as an excuse for its activities. They have a monarch, but this one can't believe things are that bad--"
"Vanca isn't privy to the primary sources. If she thinks Security is restrictive, then Vanca hasn't seen anything."
The academician balled her paws into fists, ignoring the pain as her blunt claws dug into her palms, then looked back at her workstation. This one really wants to talk to the servitor and find out how it does what it does... but it will never talk to Vanca now, not after what-- Her breathing accelerated. No. Cannot think about that. With one shaky paw, she called up the complete list of detected teleport jumps, staring at the list without actually seeing it. "This one will work on the problem. Come back in..." Jaw half open, she trailed off, a sudden idea appearing half-formed in her mind.
There was a pattern to the jumps. No, not a pattern, but an underlying limitation. There, when the blue one had jumped inside the Security Hub... it could have appeared anywhere, but it chose the exact same place it had first arrived. And that place... Vanca, paws suddenly trembling, called up one of the intelligence reports she'd glanced at earlier. There. It was the exact hangar that Fusion Pulse had visited Random Walk for training.
That is the only place in the Pit that Fusion Pulse has seen. She went through the rest of the records. The airspace over their home corral -- highly familiar. Naraka -- visited by that medic, Spiral Fracture. Security had said the ponies can see through each other's eyes, so it may have been possible for the medic to show Fusion the location. Vanca sat back, gaze switching to the giant face of Fusion on the main screen. The sound was off, but it was having a heated discussion with someone, if the ear position was anything to go by.
The servitor is bluffing... Vanca opened her mouth to tell Lilla, but froze. This one almost wants it to succeed. Its terms are reasonable, considering what has been done to its kind. Given the power it possesses, it could easily have just gone on a rampage and been near-impossible to stop, yet it didn't. Despite everything, it is trying to negotiate... it just doesn't understand what it is up against. Not for the first time, Vanca wished for the purity of science-driven policy decisions.
In the end it won't make any difference. She sighed, looking at the list of ponies assigned to the now-empty corral; many worked in the Hive industrial zones, and several paid regular visits to various Lacunae arcologies. Perhaps it will pick a military target... the desire to preserve life is obviously strong, and nuking an arcology wouldn't actually help them. Perhaps this way Vanca will get to talk to the creature after all. She inhaled deeply, then waved over the other academic, who was still waiting a few paces away. "Listen carefully to Vanca. There is a pattern..."
===
Laika hooked one paw around the foot loop and looked out of the maintenance bay's small window, her tool kit floating on its short tether by her side. The vast plane of Solar Transmission Authority Reflector number five showed distorted images of the rest of the debris ring coupled with patches of the planet below. Sunlight glared off the fine control guys and trusses that linked the flexible mirror-panels, making it look like the world was trapped within a yellow-hot spider's web. The view was mesmerising, and it was possible to lose large chunks of time to just watching.
Half in orbit and half in powered flight, STAR-5 surfed the currents of photons streaming out from Celestia, balanced on the edge of the planet's shadow-cone, and sending the portion it intercepted back down to the surface. That came with a price in terms of momentum, and the heliostat spent its 'off kiloseconds' -- when Lacunae was over the horizon -- feeding smelters in orbits that allowed it to correct its own position.
The view downwards was more interesting and far easier to interpret. Sunlight striking the command and control pod that hung below the mirror like a seed below a dandelion's parasol made seeing the delicate sprays of night-time lights impossible, but the multiple illuminated areas were easy to spot. Fifty heliostats were currently working Lacunae territory, the two hundred-kilolength patches of reflected daylight showing up as circles of brilliant green against the darkness. One was moving, flashing white as it crossed a snowy mountain range or sparkling off some lake or river, finally coming to rest on one of the many farms.
"If Laika has finished with the view, it would be good if these ones could have full control of petal fifteen's tensioning system."
The voice was sweet and light, but Laika was well familiar with her supervisor's tone. "Yes, Dezik. This one was just checking the alignment of the mirror segments by eye," she said, turning carefully and smiling at Dezik. The deputy engineer was young for her rank, and ambitious. That shapely frame and striking brown-and-cream blotched coat hid a sharp mind that had little sympathy for any weakness. Especially if it made her look bad. "After all, if the feedback mechanism can't be trusted--"
Dezik snorted and shook her head, arresting the slight twisting motion that created with a touch of a paw against one of the ubiquitous grab-rails. "This is not the first time Laika has been caught doing this. This has affected the Technician's work... The problem should have been fixed by now."
Placidly, Laika smiled back, stopping the expression from changing to a wide grin as she saw irritation flash across Dezik's face. "This one is nearly done; she was just waiting for the internal calibration to finish." A legitimate reason for not working; that is bound to be frustrating. She waved at the diagnostics display, currently showing a schematic of petal fifteen and its multitude of control lines. Most were coloured green, with the remaining few red lines changing hue as the system checked each one in turn. There was a tingle at her wrist, and she glanced down to read the message that scrolled across her comms bracer's display. What? Things are that bad? She schooled her expression back into one of polite contrition as Dezik spoke again.
"And Laika couldn't have found something useful to do in the meantime? What about the--"
With a quick motion, Laika tensed her legs and struck out with one paw, the digits held rigid and claws outstretched, stabbing them into Dezik's throat. There was a nasty snap, and the impact knocked the supervisor away from the paw-hold and sent her tumbling in the space. Paws at her throat, she made choking noises, near silent even in the deserted maintenance bay. A quick jump put Laika at her side, and she unclipped Dezik's comms bracer, setting it to 'do not disturb', before pitching it to the other end of the chamber. Paws moving weakly at her crushed throat, Dezik stared at Laika in horror, trying to speak. "Sorry about that," she murmured. "Duty calls."
Laika towed Dezik to the window, making sure her increasingly frantic motions didn't send her bouncing around the room, and dug through the tool kit for certain items that had functions not part of their declared design specifications while, by her side, Dezik quickly stilled and became limp. Work complete, Laika patted her on the shoulder and jumped back to the console, plugging a portable terminal into it. A few nonstandard commands later and it had infiltrated the mirror control system, taking advantage of the backdoors she'd installed megaseconds ago.
A quick push and Laika was drifting towards the hatch, while altering her very special thaumic probe with one paw. Now through and into the transfer tube, she closed and locked the hatch behind her, fusing the mechanism so it couldn't be opened without cutting equipment. There were a hundred lengths of pressurised tube between the maintenance hub and its massed mirror control lines, and the actual control station. While she drifted, touching the walls on occasion to correct her path, Laika tapped out a message on her bracer, sending it off to a dating site specialising in mature couples.
A dozen replies to the post followed, and the systems buried in the bracer extracted her updated orders. It was the comms location of a satellite she knew to be part of the military command and control network, and Laika nodded. They want full remote override. At least the target has to be inside Lacunae territory, given where STAR-5 is... now this one just has to wonder why we need to go this far. The final hatch was approaching fast, and she held the thaumic probe loosely in one paw, while flipping her body over and landing feet-first on the hatch. A flick at the controls and Laika was through and making her way along the corridors to the control room. There were a few other people on the short route, all known to her, and she greeted them with friendly nods.
The control room, a small space lined with screens showing the mirror array and with only enough tie-downs for the two operators, was at the centre of the heliostat. She closed the hatch, smiling when Tsygen, the World Court representative, turned and frowned. "Technician Laika knows that she's not supposed to--" Laika squeezed one of the controls on her thaumic probe just so, and a tensioned-fullerene needle flicked out and punched a tiny hole in Tsygen's sternum. It was little more than a pinprick, but the operator convulsed, blood pooling between his sharp, white teeth. Air leaked from Tsygen's nostrils, bringing with it more blood that sprayed out in shining droplets, and he didn't inhale again.
Laika quietly locked the hatch to the control room, jamming the lock so it couldn't be opened from the outside. "Please, don't..." The other operator, a Lacunae national by the name of Gordo, held up his paws and shrank back from the controls.
"Don't worry; it's very quick." The concealed gun twitched in her paw, firing another needle, this one into Gordo's throat. "This better be worth it," Laika muttered. "The World Court will not be amused." She checked the system status panels, then connected her comms bracer to one of the consoles. The display shifted, controls going dark as they were subverted by the satellite she'd linked to. On the screens the mirrors started to move, the tensioning cables shortening far more than they were supposed to for this orientation, while the whole heliostat started to shift. Alarms sounded, but she cleared them and watched as the system moved well past its focal length and orientation parameters, all safety cut-outs overridden by the alterations being made to the control software.
Someone started to pound on the hatch, but Laika ignored it and focused on the displays. One screen showed the dark surface of the world, with one of the bright circles shifting rapidly across its surface. The spot stopped at a new location, then started to contract, brightening all the while.
===
Nalka, pressed against the window of the airtruck by the crush of bodies, looked out over the darkened expanse of Naraka. Down in the wide collar of forest that surrounded the inner ring of fields were occasional glimmers of pastel light, little firefly flares that illuminated the clearings. The sight was curiously calming, even as she listened to the unsteady warble of the overloaded airtruck's ducted fans. At least someone is having a better night than Nalka, she thought, then the slight smile faded. "Has anyone thought about evacuating the servitors who are here for their procreation sessions? This one can see that the covering glades are still occupied."
"This one tried, but Security is blocking our comms," said Bellui, up front in the pilot's seat. His voice, tense and distracted, trembled slightly. "These ones are still instructed to hold our position and not to land... Bellui doesn't like the readings from the starboard fan set, but they don't care that this thing might fall out of the sky by itself."
She lifted her eyes from the ground, following the moving lights of the other four airtrucks, two of which were large cargo models; these appeared to be having more trouble than their own vehicle, with obvious dips and wobbles of their flight paths. There had been no one on the night staff really trained to operate the big vehicles, and being able to fly a normal aircar didn't really prepare you for those lumbering things. Fly them they had, though, packing the cargo bays with scientists and engineers in a bid to leave before the pony -- or the gryphons it had released -- killed them all.
"It looks like Olam is making a break for it, Bellui wonders what..." There was a pause, the grim silence in the airtruck becoming deeper. "Wait, this one can see--" There was a gasp, and the deck tilted, pushing Nalka into the window-frame. In the distance, one of the lights that had been heading directly away from the pyramid abruptly brightened and turned into an expanding spray of fire. There was a collective gasp from the rest of the passengers, and whatever else Bellui was trying to say was lost in the sudden panicked gabble of shouts and screams.
Nalka turned her head away, staring down at the fields and trying to shut out the rising panic. Can't get away and can't go back. There's no escape. A calm settled over her, then she blinked in wonder as the darkness below was abruptly replaced by brilliant sunshine. What... The fields, empty now the subjects were inside for the night, grew brighter and brighter, until they were painful to look at. Heat started to seep through the window, and she raised one paw to touch it in confusion. She closed her eyes, colourful afterimages dancing in the red-lit darkness, as the temperature suddenly jumped and the cabin filled with smoke.
The airtruck accelerated and twisted violently, trying to escape the concentrated sunlight, but something failed in the already overburdened drive train. There was a sudden mechanical shriek from beneath her paws, loud enough to drown out the screams and shouts from the passengers, and the aircraft dropped, completely out of control. "The levitation drive has failed!" Bellui shouted. The cries of distress redoubled, but Nalka was transfixed by the scene through the window.
The sky was alight; a great contracting cone, made visible where the scattered dust and smoke in the air was caught and heated, stretched down from the heavens. Below them was a circle of illuminated ground, centred on the Naraka pyramid, that was steadily tightening. In this zone the ground flashed into instant flame, trees and bushes exploding like they were the flimsiest tinder, great streamers of smoke and flame pulled inwards by the building firestorm. At the very core of the conflagration was the black pyramid, the once-polished sides marred by the sudden blossoming of explosions. The whole structure had softened, the sharp edges blurred and rounded as molten rock started to flow.
The ground, shadowed now that the cone of light had contracted past their orbit, still glowed with the embers of a thousand fires, and rushed up to greet the airtruck, striking it and plunging Nalka into a permanent darkness.
===
"The Security forces below Naraka are still holding their positions," Orgon said, one paw coming up to touch the burns on the side of his muzzle, "but the pony must ask the other one, TP5325, to stop its attacks on Lacunae aerial forces."
"My sister has a name, Sector Chief!"
The dog's ears flicked. "...yes. If Gravity does not stop its attacks, it is likely that any negotiations will fail."
Fusion gritted her teeth and nodded. It had taken an inordinate amount of time to get even this far. She reached back through the sharing connections for her sister, feeling the rush of air past over-heated feathers and seeing the flicker-flash of exploding superconductors in the darkness. A feeling of fatigue as a lenticular aircraft spun nearby, sheared in half and trailing smoke and fire, while magic probed its innards and extracted bundles of metal needles. A familiar pattern was formed, then Gravity pushed--
The connection shut off suddenly, and Fusion sighed inside and hunted for Gravity again. This time the air was quiet, and she was surrounded by massed ranks of stolen railgun projectiles. The wind was cool and refreshing, a salve for sweat-soaked flanks that stung from a multitude of small burns and cuts. Grav, don't jump. I'm talking to the dogs about--
They've got Scalar and Elliptic. The rest of the corral is clear, but they were taken before I could reach them, Gravity snapped.
Along with the thoughts came a wavering image of frightened ponies in the back of an airtruck, each with a suppressor ring over their horn. Fusion's stomach twisted. Do you know where they are?
No. Still looking. Got to find the airtruck before it gets to a tunnel nexus.
Please try not to destroy any more Security aircraft. I am talking with one of the dogs in charge, and we might be able to negotiate with them.
I will not stop! The dog on the ground tortured Elliptic to get Scalar to give up our plans... you know what will happen to them!
Fusion nodded to herself, ignoring the slightly nervous look Orgon was giving her. Keep looking. I will try from this end. Her brows furrowed and she glared at the Sector Chief. "You have two of my ponies. Give them back or I will not be able to stop Gravity."
"This one doesn't--"
"Do not try to lie to me!" Fusion snarled. "Scalar Product and Elliptic Curve were flown away in a Security airtruck from my home corral after your forces attacked." Her jaw worked and she leaned forward, dipping her head towards the camera on Rthar's comms bracer. "I have seen what you did and how many innocents died, and I will not have Scalar and Elliptic in your paws."
"One moment, this one is not privy to all operational details--" He cocked his head and pressed one claw on the earpiece, but his eyes never left hers." His ears drooped. "That event did happen, but the airtruck in question suffered a near miss from a missile detonation and is believed to have crashed. These ones have not had any contact with it, and the search will get underway as soon as combat operations can be paused."
Fusion hesitated, trying to read Orgon's expression. Ever since she'd started to speak to the dog, there had been little in the way of useful facial cues, and she suspected that what was there was only there because Orgon wanted it to be. Gravity? she thought, but the mare had gone again. "My sister will join your search. Keep out of her way and she may not attack you in return."
"That is scarcely a reasonable--" Orgon broke off, and for a moment Fusion thought she saw a flash of anger, then it was gone. "Very well. Under the circumstances, Security will not fire unless attacked first."
Trying to pin down Gravity for long enough to tell her the news was like trying to catch smoke, so Fusion left that job to Lilac. "You know what I want, Sector Chief."
Orgon nodded. "This one does, but the pony does not understand how hard a task this will be. It should be prepared for long delays, as not all the decisions can be made by Lacunae. The World Court has overriding control over servitor legislation, and the Blessing is part of their minimum requirements. Then there is also the issue of removing existing Blessings, and what that will do to the ponies in question. Some will have been under the Blessing for several gigaseconds, and it is not known what effects that will have..."
Fusion felt her knees wobble as Orgon carried on speaking, and she made a conscious effort to stop from sinking to the floor. So much! I never even considered that other Hives might get involved -- and I could never stop at just Lacunae's ponies. "One step at a time, Sector Chief. You have halted the advance of your forces, but now I want you to pull them ba--"
Fusion's mouth snapped shut as a great weight descended on her magic, an effort to crush her power from the outside. The sharing links wavered and failed, the distant feelings of other evaporating and leaving her alone in her head. She dropped Salrath and the captured gryphon, the latter flapping his wings and falling heavily to the ground when they didn't bite the air the way they were supposed to. Salrath curled into a ball and rolled away, coming unsteadily to her feet with a snarl, then bolting for the door.
In the haze of effort it now took to hold onto her connection with the sun, Fusion staggered sideways to intercept the Agent, but the gryphon jumped her, beak closing around her throat and armoured talons wrenching at her foreleg, She staggered, gasping for breath as the gorget partially collapsed, then rolled forwards to fall on her struggling attacker. No! She can't-- Ignoring the gryphon, she reached out for Salrath with her magic, but the simple spell, something she'd been able to use near-instinctively from when she'd been a foal, was weak and feeble. The Agent struggled in her grasp, wriggling wildly, then slipped free and was away down the corridor.
Ellisif was moving within moments, bowling the gryphon over and gripping him at throat and amputated gun mount. In a single fluid motion she slammed his head into the floor, then threw him to land in a heap under one console. Another jump had her at the other dog's side -- he'd made his own dive to reach the pistol Fusion had taken from him -- and she swept his legs out from under him, then wrapped one set of talons around his head, the others splayed to be driven into his eyes.
"Don't kill!" Fusion wheezed, the fine aurora-coloured strands of her mane dimming and shading towards pink. She fought the pressure, applying what she'd learned from Gravity's encounter with this weapon and holding on to a tenuous link to the sun. There was a rumbling groan from somewhere overhead, and a sudden feeling of familiar power, as if Celestia was only just above her head and within reach, but the sucking, draining Arclight weapon blocked her attempts to access that energy.
"I can't keep them both prisoner!" Ellisif snarled, giving the dog a shove that sent him to bouncing off the stunned gryphon. "They were just playing for time!"
Fusion nodded shakily. "Yes. We have to leave; they are doing something above us. I almost expected a missile strike, but--"
"This one will give his surrender willingly," Captain Rthar said, wrapping his paws around the gryphon's armour haul-loops and pulling hard. "Flysoldat Olvir Bergthor will obey this one's orders."
Fusion nodded. "Very well, but--"
"You can't tell me-- Fine!" Ellisif took the little railgun pistol and ripped out the power pack, scattering components across the floor before throwing the remains away. "Get going," she shouted, "one stupid move and I'll rip your Maker-damned head off and feed you to the inmates!" She gestured to the door and Rthar scrambled to his paws, dragging a groggy Olvir after him. "They will have resumed their attack," she said to Fusion, her voice tight, as they both trotted for the door.
"Yes," Fusion said. "I can't see them anymore, but you must be right. I will be able to help a little, but..."
"Understood." Ellisif tapped something on her comms interface. "Svartr, Adigard. Treat this like we are on our own; backup is questionable. The Agent got loose. Kill on sight." She glared at Fusion. "I take it that is allowed?" she said, then snorted at the pony's jerky nod. "Good. What is going on above us? A good earth penetrator warhead would have killed us all long ago."
"I can feel the sun, really strong..." Fusion lengthened her stride; with each step it got a little easier. There was still the sense of suction, but at least she was holding on to her limited remaining power without expending too much extra effort. At most I'm as strong as a foal just into her magic, she thought, trying to reinforce the shield that was insulating her from the weapon's effects. There's no way I can risk anything complex; every time I try something I lose a little bit of control.
"There was a plan to use the heliostats as weapons," Rthar said, nudging Olvir to keep him moving. They had reached the bank of spiral ramps and were skidding down the slopes. The rumble above was louder, and thick plumes of smoke were starting to spew from the ventilation system. "This one imagines they didn't want to risk giving the pony more nuclear weapons."
"Fantastic." Ellisif gave a single harsh caw of laughter. "Fire from above and guns from below.”
===
Gravity, surrounded by force-field constructs, threw the air behind her. Intense compression heated it to incandescence, leaving her at the tip of a plume of fire that lit the ground a lurid orange. Shockwaves rippled out, shaking the trees and throwing spume up from rivers, as she flew her curved course at a high multiple of the speed of sound. There were plenty of vehicles to examine -- some were even the sort of airtruck that had taken Scalar and Elliptic -- but nothing that contained any trace of pony.
Airtanks and the larger delta-shaped carriers circled the corral in a complex, three-dimensional pattern that reminded her of a swarm of bees, or flies over an animal corpse. Higher up were the unknown vehicles, the ones that were obviously part of the dog's antimagic weapon system; they were not active, but still swam in her shadow sight like they were distant mirages. They are ready to be used... much like everything else. The pattern of smaller vehicles distorted as she passed, bunching to keep as many near her as possible.
She scanned the air and ground, alternating between shadow sight and her normal eyes, but there was nothing that matched what she was looking for. Another tunnel nexus hove into view, but there was no traffic in or out of the funnel opening. Even below, where the deep tunnels normally seethed with activity, there was nothing.
Grav, Fusion has just--
~~~discontinuity~~~
There had been panic in Lilac's mental tone, and Gravity didn't stop to think or even hear the rest of the message. She jumped, the change in air slamming at her body for the brief moment it took for her force field to re-establish itself. Telekinesis, always easier to perform than any other magic, held her body rigid and prevented the huge forces from smashing her into paste.
She was high, looking down on the corral from several tens of kilolengths, and in the midst of the upper echelons of the aerial formations. The ordered patterns of aircraft converged on her, hot green light stabbing upwards as she manoeuvred violently. Air was running out, not so much from the altitude, but from the iron grip she had on her body that prevented her lungs from moving and inertia from snapping bones like twigs. Heat washed over her flanks from glancing hits, but the range was too great for the small mirrors that dotted the airtank's hulls, and they could not put out enough energy to get through her armour. Blue-white flares sprouted from several of her enemies, propelling dark objects that curved to follow her path.
She spat her own weapons back towards the launch points, but there were too many, and the black heat-haze shimmer of the antimagic weapon was reaching for her once more--
~~~discontinuity~~~
--out and distant, staring back at the corral. Further on, over the horizon and in the direction of Fusion's vanished mind, light had bloomed. A slender, glowing column reached down from the heavens, touching down at what must have been Naraka. A mushroom of incandescent smoke sprang up, the distance making it seem small and slow. It glowed a fierce white, lit by scattered light pouring down from above. Fusion, are you still alive? She probed the mental space where the other mare had been, but her magic was swallowed by a now-familiar alien presence, and in the depths of her shadow sight was the tell-tale light-and-shadow glimmer of another of the antimagic weapons. Gravity's stomach twisted, a sick fury filling her eyes with tears. I knew the dogs could never be trusted! What is there left for me if she's gone? Gravity accelerated, reaching for the moons and letting the power flood through her mind and out into the world. Ahead, visible only by shadow sight, a new sun ignited; a harsh glare of magic that was the only indicator of the grinding twist she was preparing to apply to space-time.
The spell, the same one she'd used to down the dropship at the Institute, burst into the real a kilolength from her muzzle tip. She was suddenly falling forwards, accelerating towards the simulated mass like the world had been tipped on its side. The draining pull of the power started to seep into her bones, but she ignored it, pushing the locus away as far as she could. This time she held onto the magic, not giving way to the temptation to put all she had into it, but keeping it at the same level. Mind singing with the effort, she tightened the twist, pulling the synthetic mass in towards an unachievable dimensionless point.
The feeling of falling lessened, but the patch of air where the spell resided distorted slightly, like a patch of free-floating heat haze. She held it, feeling the fatigue get worse, then level off, like she'd been galloping and found some compromise between speed and endurance. Breathing deeply, Gravity gritted her teeth and smiled. Should have done this before... magic is nothing to be feared as long as you don't let it control you. Tentatively, she built another pattern in her head, working around the flood of power that still roared through her. I wonder if I can--
~~~discontinuity~~~
--reappearing a dozen lengths away. There was a surge of dizziness and pain, like a vice squeezing her head as the rushing torrent of energy from the moons had nowhere to go except in, then she found the fraying patterns out in the void. The reins of magic, loosened by her brief absence, snapped tight as she gripped them once more, the brutally simple spell reforming and carrying on with hardly a pause. Gravity jumped again, and the task became a little easier, so she swung about to face the corral and its fleet of aircraft, then pushed--
~~~discontinuity~~~
--and pushed and pushed, making little jumps towards the corral, the spell locus dragged to each new location with a twitch of her will. Each jump took a little more of her waning strength, and the power of the spell, though still terrible, started to dwindle. Have I made a mistake? Should I be trying to kill whatever weapon is doing this? Then what? There is so much stuff in orbit -- can I even find it? The thought was fleeting, barely registering as ahead were the formations of airtanks. They were dispersed and watchful, no doubt already detecting her chain of teleports, their pilots likely wondering exactly where--
~~~discontinuity~~~
--swarming about her, as she appeared in a void within the formations. Courses curved in her direction, but she dragged the immaterial spell locus through their ranks like a scythe through a field of wheat. Airtanks almost a tenth of a kilolength away suddenly veered towards it or lost power and fell from the sky. Those closest to its line of flight, and those dragged within its sphere of influence, simply exploded, detonating with silent blue-white flashes that smote her exposed skin with synchronous pulses of furnace heat, as their superconducting storage banks failed catastrophically. This! This is what I should have done from the start! Gravity laughed, feeling drunk with fatigue and power, rearing in the air as darkness congealed out of nothing to surround her.
The fast-burning streaks of missiles closed towards her, but she batted them aside with flashes of violet that turned white as warheads exploded with flat cracks that reached her out of time with the flashes. Gravity moved again, accelerated past the speed of sound in an instant by the drag of her own weapon. The remaining airtanks scattered, fleeing with the delta-shaped carrier, but she flung the locus in their direction, pushing it square through the big aircraft like a hot needle through wax.
The outriders must have sensed the locus' approach, because they fanned out, firing missiles and railgun projectiles in her direction. Gravity moved, changing course and speed, but there was just not enough time for the weapons to reach her. The magic defences on the delta flared and died before her spell even came into their range, the harsh gravitational gradient pulling some machines from their mounts and disrupting delicate alignments within others. The locus passed cleanly through the rear hull, and the metal crumpled, stretching and falling inwards like it was nothing more than light packing material.
In less time than it took to blink, the whole aircraft was wadded up, wide wings pulled towards the centre, then its own power stores failed. There was a white flash, dazzlingly bright even through Gravity's closed eyes--
~~~discontinuity~~~
--the silent pulse of light lit the land from horizon to horizon, for a moment revealing every flying thing and all the little puffs of smoke and falling debris her attack had left in its wake. Where is it... there! A concentration of aircraft, denser than any other formation, was close by. Airtanks and carriers surrounding something ungainly and oversized, a flying cylinder with wings that looked like it had swallowed a sphere.
The aircraft and its commensals were curving away, accelerating towards Naraka. Is it running? Have I won? There was a moment of joy, then the reason became obvious. It is reinforcing the one attacking Fusion, to protect it from me. Switching to shadow sight confirmed it; a trembling spear of darkness came from this bolus, swinging around to find her, matching up with another from a similar vehicle a hundred kilolengths away. Where the beams intersected there was nothing.
Quick as thought, Gravity flung her region of twisted space-time in its direction, but the patch of darkness found her weapon first. The simple spell, despite all its brute power, unravelled in an instant. Nothing she tried could hold it together -- the distance was too great and the energy of the spell too high -- and for a moment all that power was diverted into the real as random, short-lived arcana. The thaumic wavefront, visible as complex fractals that branched and bloomed like surf blended with time-lapsed flowers, surged towards her and--
~~~discontinuity~~~
--from ten kilolengths away, the slap of uncontrolled magic made her horn and wings vibrate with unsettling harmonics, but Gravity recovered quickly. The swarm of aircraft was much depleted on the side she'd attacked; through atmospheric lensing she could see the distortions often produced by such accidents. The smooth lines of some airtanks had shifted to strange out-growths and excrescences, chaotic fern-like branches that fell apart as the aircraft tumbled. Others had melted, the refractory and unreasonably tough ceramics and alloys turned liquid as if molten, even though they remained at the low temperature of high altitude.
The antimagic weapon was still functioning.
Gravity felt weak; now the heady, drug-like rush of power was gone, the effort of keeping the spell going and under control flooded up from her belly to leave limbs leaden and head aching. I can't get to it, she thought, turning to look at Naraka. The mushroom cloud had grown dramatically, fed from below by a plume of vapour that looked like a giant, upturned rocket motor. I can't kill this one, and I won't be able to kill the other one. It's moving towards Naraka; it will be able to hit me even if I go to help Fusion. Tears of frustration whipped away from her cheeks, scoring stinging lines along her abraded flesh. "I'll make them pay for what they've done to you; I'll burn every dog and every arcology on the surface of this miserable world--"
Eyes suddenly wide, Gravity's breath hitched. Burn... yes, that's it! The sharing link, long ignored as a distraction and never reopened after the last series of jumps, reconnected under her frantic proddings. Lilac, tell me you still have that bomb!
"--no! That cannot be what she intended!"
Trocar's voice was sharp, full of anger and... horror? The rest of Lilac's sensorium snapped into place over her own; the once-empty chambers now filled with the smell and sight and bustle of many, many ponies, all of whom were at least slightly familiar. There was shouting from a score of throats, but the words were obscured by the din and Lilac's attention being on other things. Magic flared, Lilac's own, but was deflected and neutralised by the medic.
"But you heard what she said! You've been watching through Fusion's eyes, just like everypony else here, you saw what was in that place! All those foals were like me. I think... I think that would have been me when my experiments were finished!"
"What good would it do!?" There was frustration in Trocar's voice, and more than a little fear. "To kill so many for no gain other than revenge -- send it to the Pit, like she originally intended. It's a military target and--"
Give it to me! Gravity screamed the thought down the sharing link, and enough of her dwindling power leaked through to stun the others into silence. I can use it to--
Lilac recovered his senses before Trocar, and the bomb disappeared in a flash of pale purple before the medic could focus his magic again. The thing appeared, flicking away from her so fast that she nearly missed her catch, and while she pulled it back, Lilac showed her how to trigger it.
--break this connection here and you have about ten seconds. The sharing flickered and faded, but not before Gravity had the impression of an angry Trocar knocking the youngster sideways.
Later, Trocar. The thought was fleeting, just something filed away for future action. She lined herself up on the inferno that was Naraka, letting the teleport pattern build. Smoke and ash was starting to fill the horizon, a bank of red-tinted storm clouds with a core the colour of flame. By shadow sight the area was a patch of total darkness, connected to the jewels of the antimagic weapons by bars of black haze. Other jewels spun around them, whole constellations of colour, like clouds of fireflies on a warm summer evening -- at least as many as she'd faced over the corral.
Ahead, midway between her old home and Naraka, was the weapon she'd failed to destroy. One chance, Gravity thought, skimming the ground and dragging up a mass of stone and rubble from under the farmland, arranging it into manageable portions. She curved up towards her target, following its path as it moved towards Naraka at just under the speed of sound. Its escorts swarmed nearby, refusing to be drawn to her. In the real world, lights popped and flashed from the defenders, fast points of fire tipped with shadow accelerating in her direction. Too slow, she thought with some satisfaction, her ears folding back.
Climbing steeply, Gravity cracked the sound barrier, guiding the air past her body and massed cargo, pushing her speed higher and higher, until the rush of wind became a howling, screaming thing. For a moment, she stared at the bomb floating before her, serene and dark, showing no hint of the energies it contained, then reached inside and broke the connection Lilac had shown her.
One, two, three, four--
Taking a deep breath, Gravity made the final changes to the waiting magic, then pushed--
~~~discontinuity~~~
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Under EU law, I'm allowed 1-2 'mortal peril' cliffhangers per year. As with many things, if the right to do this is not exercised, it might get taken away.
I just might not read this chapter until the next one is out...
but you know you want to
....
reaaaad ittt!
Fine! Just don't come crying to me when you regret not waiting for the resolved cliffhanger.
Oh my gosh! Yes! !!!! Oh thank Celestia yes.
My stuff has come in and it's a good shipment!
Oh my god its early. Nothing has ever mattered this much.
I was listening to *Stranglehold* by Ted Nugent for that last bit.
Excellent chapter!!!!
6210973
I don't regret a thing
Great chapter! Cant wait for more.
These two read a bit awkardly - I'd consider removing the "however" and starting a new sentence at "If that"...
Another one of those really chilling passages.
A dog astronaut. I see what you did there.
I'm surprised that she's being so lethal instead of incapacitating them - using the heliostat as an orbital weapon is going to be pretty obvious whether or not she leaves witnesses.
I love the concept, by the way. It also came up in Schlock Mercenary last year.
Fortunately, a weapon like that is easily defeated when you can, for instance, turn off the sun. Or I suppose that Gravity could just wipe those heliostats clean out of orbit...
I would've liked to see more negotiation interactions, but still a very good chapter — definitely one of my favorites in the whole story so far.
Is she playing Katamari Damacy with an artificial black hole?
Oh crap. ......... cliffhanger. ....
you play the game well.
Those attack moves of Gravity's need to be named. For history.
EDIT: Dark Sweeper, Pulsing Punishment, White Eclipse?
So the sisters are becoming more aligned with the guardians. I wonder if they prefer ponies to dogs...
Also, nice Gurren Lagann title reference. Gravity's is the horn that will bring down the vault of heaven!
6211509
Naaa-na-na-na-na-na-naa-naa-na mini black hole damacy!
Naaa-na-na-na-na-na-naa-naa-na mini black hole damacy!
6212412
I'm not yet clear on what the guardians are, assuming they're still around in modern times. The Elements of Harmony are presumably the six Creation Stones...
Hey, awesome to see what Chaos has been up to!
About this section:
I'm not exactly sure what to make of the heliostat's orbit. Is it supposed to be orbiting the planet with the sun almost dipping behind the planet for a few hours? Also, what surface area would the mirrors take up, roughly? I wonder what effects such an enormous amount of energy dumped into the atmosphere has on the climate there...
As always, I love your incredibly detailed writing. The mechanisms of the world you create are so intricate and allow for so many exciting events to take place... It reads like quality science fiction.
I can't stop thinking about ways to correct heliostat orbits now, lol.
6210973
That horrible, horrible temptation. Just a few words, just a taste... it can't hurt.
6210998
Heh, what timezone are you in, Alaska?
6211398
Fair point; glad you liked the rest of it.
6211360
Chaos is a bit of a bugger to write for; I take your point.
Ah, you spotted Laika, did you spot the others?
I do like Schlock. I knew that as soon I mentioned the things (waaay back at the start of Wasp), I'd be using them as weapons. Not to mention that I think having a giant burning-glass is cool.
6211509
Not a mini black hole at this stage, but still a deep gravity well. It's lucky the fight is taking place so high -- local gravity drops by 20% as the weapon passes overhead (yes, I really did those calculations).
6212412
Not something I've ever head of -- in this case, I took it from Pratchett's Strata, which refers to a book called 'The Lights in the Sky are Photofloods'.
6212450
It's a sort-of geosynchronous orbit, constantly nudged into the right position by light pressure. I could just have them completely out of orbit and 'floating', but this way lets me have more (a greater volume of space to operate within), and I can use them for other things.
The mirrors are ~400km in diameter; normally the beam is much more diffuse, obviously. There would be a certain amount of heating, but the actual area (vs. the globe) isn't that large. Also they don't have a global warming problem to worry about.
I'm a real hard SF/science fan, so I try to put as much of this into my writing. If that has come through, then I'm happy.
===
Thanks for the comments, folks...
...and I seem to have escaped too much abuse for that brutal cliffhanger!
6212902
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is, quite possibly, the most awesomely hot-blooded anime ever. It starts out as a deconstruction of the super robot anime genre, and then becomes a reconstruction of the same. One of the first lines was "All of the lights in the sky are our enemies." One of the final lines was "All of the lights in the sky are our friends." I thought the chapter title may have been a reference to that.
I'd link you the trope page, but I don't want to be responsible for delaying the chapter via extended wiki walk.
6212902
I suspect everyone on the ground would suddenly remember what they last ate, not to mention the dogs on those ships... (Schlock again)
And no, I didn't recognize any of the other names...
Edit: Ah, Dezik and Tsygen were also space dogs, and Gordo was a space monkey. Your references are out of control!
6212902 That cliff hanger was pretty brutal. I haven't kept up for the last five chapters and when I do catch up I am treated with this. You wound me.
New awesome story chapter time! YAY! Let's hope things keep going good for the ponies, and Fusion sees Organ's sudden yet inevitable betrayal coming and avoids it. Now, that title.... damn. I've given up getting tense or worried over the title's, given how little they apply directly. They do make some sense, but in a rather vague or abstract way. Not a direct "this is what the chapter is about" way. So yeah, something bad, but not sure THAT bad. Plus... freaking Gurran Lagann reference? HELL YES!
"The fire in our hearts yearns for freedom."
"The power of our spirits shall break any bond you try and chain us with!"
"SISTERLY COMBINING! LUNA FUSION!!"
"Just who the hell do you think we are!?"
Okay.. I'm pumped LET'S DO THIS!
Oh... that thing is back... yeah been awhile... knew it wasn't gone but.. it popping back into the story now... cannot be anything but bad.. very very bad... for both sides.
And now, thanks to that title getting me thinking about TTGL, all I can picture is Fusion making her horn grow to a freaking absurd size, and drilling it right through Chaos, causing it to explode at least three to five time while she just ignores the pyrotechnics behind her.
OH OH! They already have Spiral Power!!
sorry.
Yeah that one was bad.....
Well fuck. Now they got Chaos about to screw them over. Just be glad that makes sense for him to do that or could come off like a cheap way to make the Ponies struggle harder. Though let's see what he does first, there is only so much he can directly effect.
..........
Well, that could mean any number of things, and all of them good. Though the question is how and why. Just a result of them having that much power? Or are the Guardians taking some kind of action too? Influencing the Sisters subtly? Bringing them in tune with the Elements to counter the touch of Chaos? Or, is their deep connection to the world and to magic, to the very foundation of the entire 'verse simply saucing them to be more in tune with the Stones that are keyed right into that very foundation?
That's some good news at least, he can't even do the limited amount he could before to the Sisters.
Well fuck. So... he just give the Dogs a way to better track the ponies and find the Herd, or to block their Teleporting? Whatever it is...
"OH COME ON!!"
Give the Ponies a break, things had JUST started getting good, they stil had a long road, but they had a success, were getting away, and now this before they have a chance to end one issue? Just give them a few days... and us a chapter or two... without the threat getting worse and worse. A bot of time to decompress and not relax a little.
So.. is this during Gravity's assault on the Pitt, like it sounded at first, or Fusion's demand? How close are those two? Gravity already leave the Pitt to save the Corral, and Security just hadn't realized it yet? Bit confused here.
BURN!! And, yeah totally true, if your sadistic little pet hadn't been allowed to be what she is, Fusion and Grav wouldn't have been pushed so far so fast. So yeah, Vanka's test gave her the power and freedom. Security's vileness gave her the drive to use those to wipe out your race if that's what it takes to end the torment of her people.
Okay, so after her demands, and while Luna is tearing apart the forces around the Corral. The opening made it feel like we went back in time a bit to when Luna was still in the Pitt tearing shit up. So, guessing Chaos gave Vanka the little push to workout how to block teleports, but over how large an area? And how fast can she get something set up?
........ Okay, I knew they looked down on ponies, and saw them as lesser, but outright not even seeing them as sapient creatures? That.. makes things all the worse. Yeah they are NEVER going to agree to this.. at all. Sooner Fusion realizes it, sooner she can get the fuck out of there.
.... and yet, so quick to begin to question. To take in the new information, process it, apply it to what was known. And instantly feeling guilty over it if the new idea is right. Hints that, if she had known Ponies were sapient creatures, she wouldn't have done what she did, already understanding why Korn would.... You know, I still really like Vanca. At least as a character, still has issues with her as a being. But, hints there is hope, that as with Korn, most of her disregard for ponies and treatment of them came from society, from being told this is what they are for and nothing more so long it stuck. Not any innate sadism or desire for power over them.
Okay, so the maker's Path are Dogs that believe ponies are sapient creatures that shouldn't be treated like Livestock. Good to know. Now, when will they enter the story proper......
Okay.. so it's not an overall method of detecting or defeating teleports, merely realizing they are limited to places the pony can directly visualize. Which yeah, called that last chapter as an issue with Fusion's plan. So, Chaos just screwed with this one plan, not there overall plans. So Fusion just needs to get the hell out of there, and things will be good.
Tech speak for "I'm waiting for my code to compile?
So, why are we up here? They going to see something? Or.. well wait and see.
Ooookay. So, Maker's Path operative snuck on board for something? Security specialist there to take over in the event of something going wring? Mole from another hive? Not sure of enough about how the orbital stuff works, who is in charge all that to be sure what is going on. But.... alright then... really interested in finding out.
A Dog dating site... that is, so normal seeming, so mundane, so... realistic, it almsot feels out of place here and yet.. kind of love it all the more for that. More signs that, for the most part, the Dogs are people, just trying to live their lives.
Though while it might be a good cover, still has to leave some questions why someone stuck in orbit is trying to set up some dates.
Full remote override, for a military C&C satellite? So, World Court mole sent to ensure they can easily overpower lacunae should they need to, or maker's Path operative. Has to be one or the other. Leaning more towards Maker's Path given they were JUST brought up for the first time in how long? Could still be another Hive, but seems unlikely they would move right now like this, rather then wait for the World Court's decision.
And there goes one option out the window if they already have official World Court officers on board. So yeah Maker's Path.
... Okay, other Hive is still in the running now. Or, could be Maker's Path still. If till now they had been small enough, local enough that they weren't an issue the WC would notice, but doing this is a direct strike at them so would call in their attention.
Okay, so not World Court, or wouldn't be worried about making the World Court mad. Maker's Path... trying to destroy Naraka now that it's vulnerable? Or, trying to provoke Fusion for some reason? Either way, this would give her plenty of time to get out. Plus, yeah trying to use the power of the Sun against the being that freaking CONTROLS it's power? Still few options up for who and why this is being done.
Delaying tactic? Oh, or, could that operative up there be Security, there to override.... gah SO many possibilities.... Maker's Path makes the most sense, but still a lot of other options.
Okay, so yeah no moment by moment for that scene cuase... didn't want to break the flow. Fusion... you had to know they they would screw you over. Well she has some power.. though the Dogs are about to send her a LOT more. But she still needs to get to some place she can get away from Arclite. Or have Gravity pop in behind and wipe them out.
So it was a Security mole planted just for this... last ditch effort to deal with a threat to large to normally, before The Hammer was brought to bare?
Salrath is free and alive... of course... should have killed her when you could. Rthar is still awesome. And time for the gryphons to kick some ass. But still Dogs, you have no idea how BAD you fucked up on this one.
See, a habit of acting on impulse can be a really really good thing at times. Now, go smack those arclights out of the sky.
... Wait...
Moons? Plural? Both of them? not just Luna, but whatever that other odd one is too?
Also.. is she about to show them the idiocy of trying to use something, in ORBIT against a being that makes gravity itself her own personal servant?
Or.. is she.... Is she creating a freaking Black Hole, directly in front of her, and using it's gravtic pull to accelerate and fly, while keeping it the same distance from herself? that much pull, she'd only need to pass close to some of those ships to really fuck them up. So yeah you are dealing with someone who can create freaking black holes at will. Dogs, you really don't realize who you are fucking with.
Also, taking a page from Orson Scott Card with that idea, or just a coincidence?
Okay, good point. And good idea for why she didn't just swat it down. The space around the planet is so cluttered, as so much junk up there, hard to pinpoint just one little spot.
..... Oh yeeeeessss.. Ohhh sooo much yeees. Even more then using a freaking Black hole as a weapon. Smart, very very VERY smart, now the question is, how many cn she take out with it? You have four Arclights, and need to take down three to have any effect.....
Seriously? Trocar... yeah.. later.
And freaking CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!!!
GAHAAHAHHHHAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay WAY to pumped and frantic and tense and trembling and and and.. nervouscited right now to be coherent. FUCK YES GRAVITY!
Fusion, you should have known better
Chaos' little intervention was better done then I thought
Trocar... fuck you.
DAMN YOU FOR THE CLIFF HANGER!!!!
6211509 ......... You win... again.. not sure what, but that line... you win something.
6212412 GIGAAAAA! BLAAACK HOOOOLE! BREEEEEEAAAAAAAK!
6212902
wait wait wait... so she's not creating an outright black hole.. but using an even more powerful and refined version of Harry Dresden's "GRAVIGA!" Spell? Just when you think it can't get any more awesome!
6213001 I'm shocked it wasn't a reference too, screw it I'm counting it as one, cause adding TTGL to the mix can only make this even MORE awesome. And seconding his recommendation, TTGL is pure, undiluted AWESOME in it's rawest form. Just, leave any sense of reality, or the laws of physics behind, you won't need them when giant mecha are beating the crap out of each other.. while being so massive, they are literally standing on a galactic plane, and one of the attacks, is literally Galaxy Shurkin.
Yeah, Team Dei Gurran's motto is "Kick reality to the curb and go beyond the impossible!" for a reason.
Plus, not only is it the mostly hot blooded, epic thing ever.. it still tells an amazing, rather deep and incredibly well done story.
Hmmm...
So the sisters have the ability to move massive objects on large scales. At least to the extent that momentum and structure allows.
Now the sisters know about the heliostats.
I'm envisioning the sisters commandeering the heliostats to fire at the moon. Give them freedom or face righteous fire, dogs!
P.S. I'm actually hoping that Salrath gets a rather anticlimactic, ignoble death like that one gryphon who bled out during Gravity's fight to save Fusion. Furious revenge is a nice idea, but forgotten, helpless, and alone just has a nice ring to it.
So what is she trying to do with the nuke? Blow up the Arclight?
6213993 That would be rather hard. Using the helio stats like that. They are aimed downward, to reflect onto the moon, would require some positioning where the moon is between it and the sun in some fashion... yeah be really hard to get them to do that.
6214057 That's what it looks like. Though given how spread out they likely are, be really hard to get three of them in one blast. Maybe one group easy. Or, they have to fly on pure mundane power, no magic drives...... how good is the EMP shielding on those things? Might not be able to catch them all in the blast itself, but so a high altitude detonation.. could create a pretty decent EMP that could hit a lot of them.
6214438
Well, theoretically there are heliostats all around the world for use by all the various hives. Luna and Celestia are already tapping into the sun and other moon so it might not be incredibly hard to nab some heliostat, somewhere, that's in a prime position to hit the moon. I mean, there's really nowhere for the moon to hide except behind another moon, so some point around Equestria should always have a good angle.
Also, Gravity may only need to hit one in order to give herself range and time to hit others. As they fall Fusion should be able to start helping.
6210944
lol
6214438
Edit: nvm, misread, thought you were referring to the heliostat satellites.
Are there still three Arclight ships left, though? I remember you need two beams for the field to work, so I suppose she doesn't have to get all of them.
6214942 Four are left, so she needs to take out three. You have the two that are currently suppressing Fusion at Narraka, plus the two that were trying to pin down Gravity which are on their way to reinforce those two.
Though really, she only needs to take out one of the two at Narraka right now and give Fusion time to port out.
6213105
Heh, talk about bad luck -- one more month and you would have been safe.
6213484
Vanca is behaving like a good scientist, the sort of person who won't hold onto an idea once enough data is in to discredit it. It's bugged me for a while; if you have any empathy at all, how can you treat a person as a thing -- and I can't believe in a race of Salraths -- and still have a functioning society. This is also why I object so much to stories which have gryphons using ponies as a food source (that, and it's just unworkable).
Laika -- she's Lacunae Hive Security (there was never supposed to be any mystery about this -- the timing of the attack and the resources used were supposed to point to this; guess I should have been more obvious!). The heliostats are nominally owned by each Hive, but the WC has staff present for overwatch.
Gravity's power in this story comes from the kinetic energy of everything in orbit, so both moons and all of the debris ring (asteroid belt), as well as anything artificial. The moons are the most massive, so that's where most of the energy comes from.
Not read much OSC (not keen on his style), so no. It's an obvious incremental step forwards in her powers (there are others I'm keeping back for later).
Also, on the subject of TTGL -- I'm generally not a fan of anime, but I might be able to stomach it if it's that over the top!
6216670
Well, there would still be a difference between using them as lab animals like Vanca, where the death is simply a side effect of the goal, and one she'd prefer didn't happen, and Salrath, where the pain and suffering is the goal in and of itself. Yeah I can totally buy them simply seeing Ponies as lesser life forms, not the same as them, not having the same right to life. Just a bit shocked at it going so far as to out right not even see them as sapient. That... kind of seems to be stretching things a bit. But yes do love her overall attitude, and the "I just want to fucking get back to my lab and study how the world works in peace." Thing. So yeah really liking her as a character.
I have never actually seen this, and yeah using ponies as a primary food source is just... stupid on so many levels. Now, some griffons being willing to eat them regardless... that's possible.
Yeah, I really thought it was supposed to be a "Whoa, who is she working for, what is going on" mystery. There were four options I could see, all made some sense right at first. World Court taking over to use it as a lesser response then The Hammer. Another Hive using it as a chance to strike at Lacunea while they are weak or distracted. Maker's path for.. something. Or, I really did not see Lacunea Security as an option at first. Becuase it made little sense right at first why they would need to kill their own to take over their own station.
It does make sense afterwards, and knowing there was WC oversight. But yeah it really wasn't clear at first. The " the timing of the attack and the resources used" bit didn't help, because we know so little about The Maker's Path, we don't know what resources they do or do not have, and if they might have operatives in place in high enough levels to do this, and know what is going on. Plus, pretty sure the main reason my mind went right to them, is that, (Not knowing that this isn't something they could pull off) plus the fact the story went out of it's way to mention them again after how long? just before this happened.
Makes sense, just seem to remember the first time she tried, she touched that other moon and had an odd reaction to it, didn't actually tap into her power till switching to Luna.
Only read the first four Ender-Verse books. Yeah, his style does have a lot of issues. Some good ideas but... yeah..... not really a fan beyond Ender's Game itself. But that was one bit that was interesting and haven't seen elsewhere. They handle interstellar travel by doing just that. Creating a small singularity right in front of the ship, causing it to 'fall' into it, while pushing it ahead of them. Letting them accelerate to a good fraction of c. The trips still take decades in real time, but the ship is going fast enough for relativity to make it pass a lot faster for those on board.
Over the top.. does not even begin to describe Gurran Laggan. Yes watch it, it is simply amazing. Oddly enough, it's by the same people who did Evangellian, the show the mercilessly deconstructed the entire idea of giant mech shows to the point nearly the entire genre became darker, somber, more 'realistic and followed it's lead. This is pretty much their apology for that, and them reconstructing the idea on the most glorious fashion. Yeah, IRL, this type of thing would suck, the tension, the stress, the physics, just everything about it would be traumatizing and terrifying. But it's not IRL, it's something you can do ANYTHING with, embrace that and have fun.
Just a small sample.. you have one guy inventing how to teleport out of nowhere through shear force of will, just so he could punch someone in the face. The aforementioned mecha's so huge, they are fighting on a galaxy... and in the movie, they go even bigger, to one that's scale can only be told as being the size of 1.8% of the entire known universe. Yeah it embraces the ability to do whatever the hell the animators can come up with. While still having an amazingly good story.
What exactly happened here to make the weapon kill so quickly? Did the needle fragment inside his chest?
Dangit,
DiscordChaos!Interesting, I hadn't quite cottoned on to the fact that the dogs have been considering the ponies (and griffons too, I assume) non-people this entire time. I suppose it makes a certain sense, if you uplift a species, making the jump to seeing that species as a fellow race of sapient beings with all the rights that should imply might not happen immediately.
Crap. Though to be honest, it's not a particularly good pattern since Fusion and Gravity have spent a substantial amount of time off the reservation by this point, Security really cannot assume they know all of the places that they have been.
A Solar Transmission Authority Reflector + a hostile takeover? Someone is about to get an unsanctioned beam of concentrated well lite death from the sky.
Speaking of which, apparently Naraka and everybody on the premises. Looks like they've decided to call Celestia's bluff with the power of the sun. I'm uncertain, but this might not end exactly like they're expecting it to.
Crap x2. And Salrath got free? Arrrgh, that slippery bastard is going to wiggle out of this again I bet. On the other hand, it would be really funny if feeding the sun directly into Celestia from above will allow her to break through the effect of the arclight.
A couple other thoughts: a Luna with no sister to live for is probably 10x dangerous, and it was probably unwise to call her attention to the satellite network as containing a threat that needs to be dealt with.
Holy crap, so Gravity is using a magical black hole as a weapon?
Luna be ~scary. Edit: According to the comments, no not yet.
So she's using the nuke on one of the arclights? That probably counts as a tactically sound target, but the real question is how much collateral damage it'll cause.
Which parent?
(Also, I kinda like how even Vanca gets to look like a good guy compared to a lot of the rest.)
Looks like negotiations worked out the way I thought they would. But it was thanks to Chaos giving the dogs the advantage first and I can hardly guess what that advantage was. I think Chaos gave them a way to track teleportations right? That was vital for their counterattack right? I hope Gravity can topple their advantage with her plan soon but I still wonder if this will be the part where Celestia saves her group from the attack and reveal her multicolored mane and tail to the world at the same time
Another heck of a chapter, and a diabolical cliffhanger! Let's hope Fusion & co. get out before they're fully cooked...
6219274
The "tensioned fullerene" description makes me think that it did, yes.
Very nice chapter :) I liked the character building of Vanca, and its rationalisation of "intelligent animals that are not really sentient".
Kind of weird, anyway. Is it even possible to be intelligent and not sentient at the same time? The only example I can imagine is a computer AI.
What is the point of using the Word Court super-ilegal-weapon-giant-hourglass, against a thing that is underground in the moment of the attack and that can teleport? I meant, it will only teleport to safety, isn't it? The only possibility I can imagine, its if you can see where they teleport, move the hourglass there. But the Masters can't do that at this point in the story (or I have read wrong...).
6217398
You'll just have to wait and see.
As to the general view of 'non sapience' of the client species -- they are kind of regarded as biological AIs (you notice that the People don't have in silico AI; the client species fill that role). So, although it sounds like you are having a conversation with them, it's viewed like a sophisticated chatbot; there's nothing going on inside. They are all made things, from the dog's POV.
6219274
Yes. This is another version of Orgon's concealed weapon; you have fullerene springs inside a diamondiod capsule. It's explosive without the need for chemical reactions, just pure stored strain 'energy'.
6221047
Ah! you found that missing apostrophe! I was wondering where I left it.
6221346
Correct; not so much track, as knowing that the potential teleport targets could only be within Lacunae Hive. They decided that the risk was worth it to contain the ponies.
6222588
Intelligence/sapience is a tricky thing to get a grip on. A computer AI is a good comparison -- at what point is a Turing machine actually alive?
In this case, the heliostat/burning glass (I assume that is what you mean, as you used the word 'hourglass') can be used because the ponies are trapped by Arclight; there would be no point otherwise (like you say: blink and they are gone). Considering most of the dog's infrastructure is below ground, it's not actually that useful for hitting planetary targets (not the original intent for the system).
6222865 Except the difference between living organisms such as the ponies, and a computer AI are... so vast just on the most basic levels... how can they even be compared?
I mean, yeah I totally get the Dogs seeing the ponies as "Lesser" as not the same, as not having the same right to not be brutally vivisected on a whim.... wait, no no, the Dogs would totally do that to other dogs if they had a good reason. But still. I was fine with how they saw the ponies. It did make sense. But going all the way to outright not even being able to believe they are sapient? That just... seems too far out of left field, too counter to the most basic of evidence, just, such a blatantly false observation.. I can't wrap my head around how it's possible. It just.. sound too farfetched too ridiculous.. .
I was fine with how it was till that line, and really don't see why it had to be added, it didn't really change anything except making the dogs look even more completely and utterly idiotic then I thought it was possible for them to be. Then again given what they turn into..... But still, it really didn't need to be there. Yeah make it clear not all are like Salrath but.. that was already clear. I could totally buy Vanca and those like her having no qualms about using ponies as test subjects like this. Not seeing them as having worth, having the same level of being as Dogs. Without having to outright ignore something that is blatantly obvious. Again unlike Salrath, the pain and suffering wasn't the end goal, simply a side effect of the true purpose.
Also in your response to 6219274 about the needle gun. Huh... I just figured the needle had some type of really fast acting poison coating it.
6222865 Missing? If she had more than one parent involved, it's only a character out of place.
6222865
So as of right now, the Hive is being destroyed or being hit with the anti magic wave to contain Gravity and Fusion?
6220819 Honestly? I think Discord is Scar. NOT Chaos.
Just my theory.
6222911
Fair enough; I look at it like a really good chatbot -- you can talk to it, but there's no mind in there. Personally, I think this is going to be an issue when/if we build an in silico AI. It's a made thing, so why believe it's a person, and not just a machine? They are just biological, rather than mineral. I'd argue that it is really not obvious that an entity is a person -- after all, you don't have access to their internal states.
6223353
You got me there. That is what happens when I reply without much sleep.
6224387
Yes and yes, sort of. Fusion is trapped in Naraka (by Arclight), while the heliostat burns the site from the ground down. Gravity is outside, trying to break at least one of the Arclight units and set her free. 'Hive' is a bit misleading; this is only an outlying research base (the Hive is a wide thing, a collection of linked arcologies, sort of like cities amid urban sprawl).
6225225 Nah, Discord is the decoy Chaos created to distract the Guardians.
6227140 Perhaps they merge?
6226302
I'd still find that dubious. I mean, it's like how we regard...Chimps or Gorillas or something. Are they equal to humans? No. But they possess the same basic qualities as humans and if we were able to augment their intelligence to the point they could actually communicate with us in complete English only crazies would be calling them non-sentient.
The dogs don't have to be a race of Salraths to allow for mass-enslavement and mass-vivisection. Humans have done that plenty. All the horrors of Germany & Japan in WW2 in terms of 'science' are an easy example, but even our 'righteous' countries like the US have done plenty of horrible things to people in the name of science. It doesn't require a sociopath, just someone able to turn off the mental 'This person matters as a person' switch.
6232035
OK, so 'race of Salraths' is overstating it a bit. What you mention -- the 'depersonnification' of other humans -- I consider as a kind of sociopathy, as it requires the ability to ignore suffering in others. It's not quite the same, as you are rendering the victim a 'nonperson', thus their suffering isn't on the same level as that of a 'real person'.
That's pretty much what I'm aiming for -- they are not people, thus can be property, do not suffer in the same way, and so on. I think that, for a social species, this would be necessary belief to maintain the system as-is for the required lengths of historical time (also aided by the fact that the dogs are the literal children of God, and at some level they know this).
6233903
It's a bit different from sociopathy, because it's more an extreme form of in-group out-group-ing. But yea - the 'They aren't sentient' bit seems taking it rather far. Hell, we're only 150 years out from the end of the US Civil War where around half my country fought for the right to keep people enslaved, where they could do whatever they wanted to them.
So with the Dogs and Ponies I would just say it's...well, sort of how scientists in the 50s ultimately were willing to experiment on dogs just fine. The dog might suffer, but it's 'just a dog', and ultimately the ends justify the means, yadda yadda. Ponies possessing enforced docility would continually reinforce that, since the entire species is constantly self-affirming the way of things. I mean, when your pet is thanking you for the 'mercy' of putting it down because it can't work any longer, it's pretty darn easy to see that as 'good', especially if it's been that way your entire life. Indoctrination is a hell of a thing!
6222911 It's simple really. the dog = Nazis ponies = Jews
As you can see, there is a real-world analogy. Many of the evil, maniacal, sinister, demonic, vile Krauts disbelieved Jews were even human, despite the rather overt evidence.
Which is why we had to firebomb their cities, to cleanse their unholy wickedness with FIRE!!!
I love vanca, she is the perfect anti villain, and I can't help but be reminded of franziska from phoenix or Moira Vahlen from stardust.
I hope she lives to serve as a kind of abrasive "ally"
6222911
I think the key here is that they view them like we do dolphins and the like, we believe they are sapient to a great extent, but we still hunt whales, and we still keep them in fish tanks. its likely a situation similar to that.
6287918 But Whales and dolphins can't talk, prove to be able to understand severely abstract ideas like higher order math and theoretical physics, and all the other things ponies can do that should be utterly impossible for a non-sapient being.