611918 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. That's all you can say? I wanted to show a side to the H.L.F. I don't think has been seen yet. Especially for the more religious minded members. Hopefully I was able to do so without being too graphic. Did you care for any other parts of the chapter?
611966 Thanks for your comments, I wanted to feature religion as meaningfully as I could in this story. From the way Tinman betrayed his own faith, to the way Brother Jacob has corrupted his faith into some wicked and twisted. I plan to show case others as well.
Ten hours of research? That kind of dedication is commendable!
I can only say one thing: Need more chapters pronto!
Dare I say perfect chapter?
The character interaction in this fic is pure gold! I've not actually laughed out loud in a long while when reading a fanfic. That is a good sign. How many chapters of awesomeness do we have left?
“Watch your mouth you round eye bitch!” Fujin rumbled, from deep inside the warehouse. “She could kill ever miserable pony in the bureau and come back here to finish you off and you wouldn’t know any better until you’ve met your dishonorable ancestors.”
“Angela,” Jacob said with a warm smile, “it’s unwise to upset our friend Fujin. Besides we should all be friends here. We’re all on the same side after all.”
612026 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Well it certainly wasn't planned that way. I started researching for the article and well one thing led to another and bam a week was used up. As far as chapters I think I can squeeze at least another 100k out of this story. It depends where the story wants to go you know. Plus we still have to have giant robots fighting each other!
612031 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Alas to my everlasting shame I have released a chapter with such an egregious error such as this. I shall commit seppuku for this great dishonor. I have corrected it and hope to never experience the shame again.
Beyond my mistake did you like anything in particular about the chapter?
612086 Indeed except as the camera pans over Tinman the front of the bureau falls forward revealing an empty burned out shell of a building. Near the outskirts of the city the barrier approaches the city, the silhouette of the massive war machine can be seen from the sun rising in the east, and atop a lone pole a stale rock hard muffin still stands waiting.
612119 Thank you for reading gentlereader. Were there too many or not enough for you liking, Though in retrospect, I probably shouldn't have edited it before I went to sleep. Sometimes mistakes get made. Big mistakes.
612136 no, no, nothing was wrong with the amount, its just that the placement could have used a bit of work. here are a few examples
Each of them was silently crying to Celestia to aid them, and fearful for their lives, as they waited in darkness for a rescue that would never come. should be like this: Each of them was silently crying to Celestia to aid them, fearful for their lives, as they waited in darkness for a rescue that would never come. lust take out the and for that one. this one here, "The dust floating in the air shone, when it passed through the muted sunlight filtering through the filthy windows." dosent need a comma at all.
As for the story, I'm quite enjoying it. I just hope Fuijin's hacking is something practical instead of the Hollywood hacking we see a lot in modern media where some dude with a computer could hack my frigging toilet. And by practical, I mean I hope it isn't like Fujn hacks into Tinman's machine and starts rampaging around. That'd be like hacking into a M1Abrahms.
612286 Well shes just doing surveillance currently, right now they have to disarm the the new security that Tinman installed and Winston is in charge of that. Fujin will have to figure out how to out smart him. Tinman and the other HWS's are unhackable, its part of their design to prevent just such an occurrence. basically if you want to control an HWS frame you have to plug your braincase into it. So without preforming surgery she couldn't do it. But she could attempt sabotaging him or maybe kill or kidnap someone. What she plans on doing should be an interesting story. Have you figured out how she managed to get inside yet?
612354 Well she is Keiko. For an infiltrator she's rather obvious. I was actually thinking when I read that part the biggest loop the readers could be thrown for would be for Keiko to actually be a convertee and not a disguise.
I imagine Sugar Pie will spot her since Tinman has told her about human-sized HWS prompting Keiko to grab her.
612491 You seem so certain of that. Perhaps your instincts have served you well, or perhaps the plot is twisting and turning like worm on a hook. You caught what I was telegraphing to the readers, but I like M Night what hisname love the tweeest.
612526 I am certain of many things...and proven wrong on more than a few. Depends on how it rolls. Called the entire ending of one fic awhile back before it even ended. But then again the author wanted it to be similar to an actual episode that the creators might make so they were stuck to the formula.
Here? Heck Sugar Pie could BE Fujin and she's masking her hacking attempt behind trying to become friends with Tinman via ponytar.
This was a hell of a chapter, and the sacrifice section served to remind me why I hate and despise organized religion so much. Not that I need reminding, but whoa. Voltair was right.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
Tinman is, as always, awesome, and Sugar Pie is lovely. But you have me on edge with Fujin. Eeek. Jackaroo is just such a fun character. I like him, the bastard.
I love your worldbuilding with regard to electrons versus thaumatic radiation. Awesome sauce!!!
I loved this line: "because you know better than sex muffins don’t bake themselves." That was wunderbar.
One complaint, of sorts: burning a pony sacrifice completely to bone and ashes would take longer than ten minutes. It would take about two hours. Think of it in terms of making a roast, or cooking over a campfire - there is a lot of wet meat there, and even with a great deal of fuel, it takes time to render it beyond well done, burnt and crispy, all the way to ash. Even in a high-tech crematorium, burning a body takes a couple of hours. On a pyre, it will take at least that long. I suppose I am being picky, but the heart of science fiction is accuracy and verisimilitude.
Oh, and the 'sweet smoke' from one of these would leave most of the congregation vomiting. Apparently God has a strong stomach, or an psychopathically evil sense of what smells good. Or both. Voltaire... oh Voltaire.
This was a really good chapter and I really appreciated all the background research and knowledge to make the HWSs realistic. I did spot one error however.
"the Hellkite Mk VI is completely invisible to all known active detection systems, and even passive detection systems have had difficulty detecting its cross section."
Active and passive are the wrong way round it should read:
"the Hellkite Mk VI is completely invisible to all known passive detection systems, and even active detection systems have had difficulty detecting its cross section."
613382 Thank you for your most kind and generous comments Lady Chatoyance. I'd decided that I wanted to focus on each of the main H.L.F. villains at least once and I thought how would a devoted religious fanatic act? Coming up with the idea of offering up a pony for a burnt offering. Regarding the length of time t would take to consume Enduring Flame's corpse, I felt a little fudging of physics for thematic benefits would be alright. So I beg your forgiveness for not taking the water weight of the pony into account. The sweet smoke was more from the burning incense rather then the fires burning the sacrifice.
What about Fujin did you not enjoy? If it's the character Itself I'll assume your referring to Keiko. Keiko's haltingly broken English dialogue I was trying to emulate some of the Japanese films I'd seen from the 1970's I enjoyed writing her dialogue and found it fun. But if it's the thought of an assassin wandering around freely and unchecked in the conversion bureau then I'm pleased you found the situation disheartening.
Yes I'd originally written the five new HWS's as a foil to Tinman, but determined that they probably don't like people any more then Tinman does. Especially with the end of the world approaching, so I figured they'd be just there for the paycheck and to hell with the H.L.F., once the job was done.
Regarding magic versus technology I was trying to figure out a plausible reason why technology would spontaneously self combust or turn into pudding etc. upon hitting the barrier. After being unable to determine a valid reason except its magic, I decided why not make it so that electrons are replaced by magic particles. If that's the case that would explain why humans can't use magic. However if that's the case then passing into Equestria should prove fatal to all non native species. But what can you do Jackson isn't a theoretical physicist.
Well thank you once again for reading my story Lady Chatoyance, additionally thank you for honoring me with a place in your favorite stories bar. I only hope I don't disappoint in future releases. Until next time.
613746 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Thank you for pointing out my error, I have already corrected it, but my apologies for letting such a blatant error through. I shall endeavor to do better next time. Was there anything about the chapter you enjoyed specifically? I personally enjoyed writing the whole better then sex muffin bit, originally I had planned on making it a running gag where Sugar Pie offered you a muffin but made you answer if you were a virgin or not. After two encounter I felt perhaps that would be stretching out the joke to far so decided to segueway to the ponytar.
i must say out of all the bearu stories i've written this is the most endearing. i find myself on edge to find out if tinman and sugar pie well work out! too bad about endearing flame but there is still a chance to save his charges right? from what i've read it would not be impossible to ponify tinman, he'd just need convertable matter added to his brain, alot of convertable matter but still. anyway i find your work amazing please keep going! your awsome!
oh also, earlier you mentioned tinmans model was superior to the point that it could take down other models in mass with relative ease. seeing as he is currently at the top of the game is this really just all fun to him?
614601 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Ponification is indeed possible but not likely for Tinman, mainly due to the powers that be or T.P.B. for future reference would have to be willing to clone him a new body for the process.
614604 The main reason why Tinman has been so successful is partly due to his construction the Land Behemoth is ultimate HWS ever conceived, designed, and built by the military industrial complex. Due to the fact that his initial manufacture occurred in the former United States, the Land Behemoth series of HWS was envisioned as being the Ultimate Weapon by the P.T.B. Prior to the appearance of Equestria there were plans for Land Behemoths Mk VII and VIII. Which would have been classified as continent killers, (i.e. enough firepower, that when used in tandem with other continent killers could significantly do damage to large population centers etc.).
Tinman originally didn't start out as a Land Behemoth, future chapters will show bit of his past and how he ended up owning himself outright due to some clever scheme he cooked up. Suffice it to say that Tinman was originally a child of the 20th century, suffered an accident and woke up as a brain in the bottle. As of the telling of this story, he is well over 100 years old. Due to the unique circumstances of his construction he doesn't really know anything else. War and violence is all he has left, loosing the one thing he has left that he can make any sense of is absolutely terrifying to him. In his own way, he probably envies the fleshbags more then hating them.
The only reason Tinman was even willing took the job at the conversion bureau in the first place was due to the loop hole he discovered in the laws. Otherwise he probably would have held out for something better or even eventually took up the offer that Edmund Price was going to offer him. To him, being full metal as he puts it is his identity, loosing his weapons would diminish him. So in all actuality keeping his weapons is more a way of preserving who he thinks he is: Tinman, a god of war.
Regarding HWS combat, Tinman facing these five other HWS in tandem without any support would mean he would loose badly. Tinman's style of combat depended on his combat protocols, but the Land Behemoth series of HWS is a lot like US aircraft carriers. The carriers are extremely powerful but vulnerable, as we saw in chapter 1. Usually Tinman would be supported by at least 3 battalions or about 9000 men, maybe another Land Behemoth or two, a few wings of flying HWS's, several tank HWS's, and front line HWS's like Jackaroo. Currently with only Jackson to perform field repairs and his inventory that he brought with him from Virginia Beach, he is at a severe disadvantage should the other five HWS's all attack simultaneously, Now you might ask why don;t they, well they are interested in surviving the encounter and so have opted for espionage, misdirection, and ambushes.
Hopefully my long winded explanation cleared up the questions you may have had about the world Tinman inhabits. Additionally if you just can't wait for the next exciting chapter of The Conversion Bureau: The Reluctant Cyborg. My other story The Great Slave King is a fun read and nearly completed. While The reluctant Cyborg deals with the theme of redemption and second chances, The Great Slave King deals more with friendship. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as The Reluctant Cyborg.
Once again thank you for reading gentlereader, until next time!
I'm honestly kind of surprised Tinman can't just copy his awareness into the drone or employ an AI of some sort. You'd think some kind of drone autonomy would be a priority for the designers...
Aside from that quibble, this was a fantastic chapter. Technobabble, sex muffins, robot ninja, and a plan to bring vodka to Equestria. What's not to like? Well, aside from the burnt offering. Excellent work, as always.
621249 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Under normal operation conditions those drones would be controlled by his forward operating base. Without one of them to operate the drone, Tinman is forced to upload himself into it to operate the drone properly. He could allow the drone's own A.I. handle things but then it wouldn't be able to perform the search as well and as quickly as he normally could.
I'm pleased you enjoyed that latest offering gentlereader, until next time!
Yay, again another great chapter from you, this time your longest. In just two days you became one of my favourite authors, not just in the TCB universe also in general (Story of slave king). I like your style of writing and how you care about your readers. And also thank you Chatoyance, without the cameo of Tinman in your story I would've missed this great writer
623541 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. What did you enjoy the most about this latest chapter? I personally love the feedback I get conversing with my readers. I feel that thanking and replying with a meaningful comment to everyone who leaves a meaningful comment is the least I can do. Hopefully the banter adds to the storytelling experience, plus little background details that just don't get to make it into the chapter sort of a director's or in this case an author's commentary.
Once again thanks for your kind words, I hope that you enjoy the rest of the The Conversion Bureau: The Reluctant Cyborg, as well as the closing chapters of The Great Slave King, until next time!
691959 Because I prefer using polite speech. You spent the time reading and commenting on my story. It's the least I can do, to show my respect and appreciation for my readers.
I'm enjoying this, and am really warming up to Winston. It's too bad he apparently has no hope of surviving the end of the world, unlike the HWS's. The interplay between Boris and Jack was great, too.
That article was a lot of fun, too. The amount of time you put into it really shows. Good job, there, mate.
Having come into this late, I have to say that beyond the stray typo and odd grammar quirks, I'm enjoying the world-building you've done, the characters you've crafted, and the intricacies therein. I'm wondering what's next. Fujin may be hacking her way in, but there's no way Jackson won't notice...
I'm late to this too, and am still kicking myself for it. A carefully woven tale of intrigue and action, and I think you've done a great job of capturing the personality of a fully cyberized personality. Looking forward to the showdown between the HWS'
1116268 Fear not gentlereader my current story The Great Slave King is almost completed and once it's done i plan on resuming Tinman's tale. In the meantime the story of the Great Slave King might be just up your alley. In fact here's a secret I'm almost ready to post the second to last chapter. With the finale and epilogue posted hopefully tomorrow night.
1116345 And why no warning to the readers of this story? I mean I only noticed this because I was going through my favorites and trimming out the stories that had shriveled up and died prematurely. Anything, like a small chapter update saying what's going on or a journal about it. I mean just leaving readers hanging and not even mentioning it is a bit unfair. It's not the wait thats bad, it's being left in the dark completely.
That poor NBE teacher!
611918 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. That's all you can say? I wanted to show a side to the H.L.F. I don't think has been seen yet. Especially for the more religious minded members. Hopefully I was able to do so without being too graphic. Did you care for any other parts of the chapter?
611932
Well, I'd been reading it right along and as I didn't see anything jarringly wrong I held my piece. I wanted to hold judgment until the very end.
That said, might be nice to find a Spiritual Human in TCB that isn't a nutsoid. thatoneshruggingpony.jpg
611966 Thanks for your comments, I wanted to feature religion as meaningfully as I could in this story. From the way Tinman betrayed his own faith, to the way Brother Jacob has corrupted his faith into some wicked and twisted. I plan to show case others as well.
Ten hours of research? That kind of dedication is commendable!
I can only say one thing: Need more chapters pronto!
Dare I say perfect chapter?
The character interaction in this fic is pure gold! I've not actually laughed out loud in a long while when reading a fanfic. That is a good sign. How many chapters of awesomeness do we have left?
“Watch your mouth you round eye bitch!” Fujin rumbled, from deep inside the warehouse. “She could kill ever miserable pony in the bureau and come back here to finish you off and you wouldn’t know any better until you’ve met your dishonorable ancestors.”
“Angela,” Jacob said with a warm smile, “it’s unwise to upset our friend Fujin. Besides we should all be friends here. We’re all on the same side after all.”
Shouldn't that be Raijin talking?
612026 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Well it certainly wasn't planned that way. I started researching for the article and well one thing led to another and bam a week was used up. As far as chapters I think I can squeeze at least another 100k out of this story. It depends where the story wants to go you know. Plus we still have to have giant robots fighting each other!
612031 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Alas to my everlasting shame I have released a chapter with such an egregious error such as this. I shall commit seppuku for this great dishonor. I have corrected it and hope to never experience the shame again.
Beyond my mistake did you like anything in particular about the chapter?
612059
In the charred wasteland, that used to be the city of Phoenix, only one thing remains standing... the Conversion Bureau.
612086 Indeed except as the camera pans over Tinman the front of the bureau falls forward revealing an empty burned out shell of a building. Near the outskirts of the city the barrier approaches the city, the silhouette of the massive war machine can be seen from the sun rising in the east, and atop a lone pole a stale rock hard muffin still stands waiting.
612102
None shall find that muffin wanting!
well, as good as it was, the comma usage could have used a bit of work. thats my only complaint.
612119 Thank you for reading gentlereader. Were there too many or not enough for you liking, Though in retrospect, I probably shouldn't have edited it before I went to sleep. Sometimes mistakes get made. Big mistakes.
612136
no, no, nothing was wrong with the amount, its just that the placement could have used a bit of work. here are a few examples
Each of them was silently crying to Celestia to aid them, and fearful for their lives, as they waited in darkness for a rescue that would never come.
should be like this: Each of them was silently crying to Celestia to aid them, fearful for their lives, as they waited in darkness for a rescue that would never come.
lust take out the and for that one.
this one here, "The dust floating in the air shone, when it passed through the muted sunlight filtering through the filthy windows." dosent need a comma at all.
612210 Ugh editing it when I was tired was a bad idea. Was reading the article in italics hard on the eyes or were you okay with it?
612229
oh, it was fine. that part was alright. under different circumstances, it might have been bad, but i was fine with it.
As for the story, I'm quite enjoying it. I just hope Fuijin's hacking is something practical instead of the Hollywood hacking we see a lot in modern media where some dude with a computer could hack my frigging toilet. And by practical, I mean I hope it isn't like Fujn hacks into Tinman's machine and starts rampaging around. That'd be like hacking into a M1Abrahms.
612286 Well shes just doing surveillance currently, right now they have to disarm the the new security that Tinman installed and Winston is in charge of that. Fujin will have to figure out how to out smart him. Tinman and the other HWS's are unhackable, its part of their design to prevent just such an occurrence. basically if you want to control an HWS frame you have to plug your braincase into it. So without preforming surgery she couldn't do it. But she could attempt sabotaging him or maybe kill or kidnap someone. What she plans on doing should be an interesting story. Have you figured out how she managed to get inside yet?
612354 Well she is Keiko. For an infiltrator she's rather obvious. I was actually thinking when I read that part the biggest loop the readers could be thrown for would be for Keiko to actually be a convertee and not a disguise.
I imagine Sugar Pie will spot her since Tinman has told her about human-sized HWS prompting Keiko to grab her.
612491 You seem so certain of that. Perhaps your instincts have served you well, or perhaps the plot is twisting and turning like worm on a hook. You caught what I was telegraphing to the readers, but I like M Night what hisname love the tweeest.
612526 I am certain of many things...and proven wrong on more than a few. Depends on how it rolls. Called the entire ending of one fic awhile back before it even ended. But then again the author wanted it to be similar to an actual episode that the creators might make so they were stuck to the formula.
Here? Heck Sugar Pie could BE Fujin and she's masking her hacking attempt behind trying to become friends with Tinman via ponytar.
This was a hell of a chapter, and the sacrifice section served to remind me why I hate and despise organized religion so much. Not that I need reminding, but whoa. Voltair was right.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
Tinman is, as always, awesome, and Sugar Pie is lovely. But you have me on edge with Fujin. Eeek. Jackaroo is just such a fun character. I like him, the bastard.
I love your worldbuilding with regard to electrons versus thaumatic radiation. Awesome sauce!!!
I loved this line: "because you know better than sex muffins don’t bake themselves." That was wunderbar.
One complaint, of sorts: burning a pony sacrifice completely to bone and ashes would take longer than ten minutes. It would take about two hours. Think of it in terms of making a roast, or cooking over a campfire - there is a lot of wet meat there, and even with a great deal of fuel, it takes time to render it beyond well done, burnt and crispy, all the way to ash. Even in a high-tech crematorium, burning a body takes a couple of hours. On a pyre, it will take at least that long. I suppose I am being picky, but the heart of science fiction is accuracy and verisimilitude.
Oh, and the 'sweet smoke' from one of these would leave most of the congregation vomiting. Apparently God has a strong stomach, or an psychopathically evil sense of what smells good. Or both. Voltaire... oh Voltaire.
This was a really good chapter and I really appreciated all the background research and knowledge to make the HWSs realistic. I did spot one error however.
"the Hellkite Mk VI is completely invisible to all known active detection systems, and even passive detection systems have had difficulty detecting its cross section."
Active and passive are the wrong way round it should read:
"the Hellkite Mk VI is completely invisible to all known passive detection systems, and even active detection systems have had difficulty detecting its cross section."
613382 Thank you for your most kind and generous comments Lady Chatoyance. I'd decided that I wanted to focus on each of the main H.L.F. villains at least once and I thought how would a devoted religious fanatic act? Coming up with the idea of offering up a pony for a burnt offering. Regarding the length of time t would take to consume Enduring Flame's corpse, I felt a little fudging of physics for thematic benefits would be alright. So I beg your forgiveness for not taking the water weight of the pony into account. The sweet smoke was more from the burning incense rather then the fires burning the sacrifice.
What about Fujin did you not enjoy? If it's the character Itself I'll assume your referring to Keiko. Keiko's haltingly broken English dialogue I was trying to emulate some of the Japanese films I'd seen from the 1970's I enjoyed writing her dialogue and found it fun. But if it's the thought of an assassin wandering around freely and unchecked in the conversion bureau then I'm pleased you found the situation disheartening.
Yes I'd originally written the five new HWS's as a foil to Tinman, but determined that they probably don't like people any more then Tinman does. Especially with the end of the world approaching, so I figured they'd be just there for the paycheck and to hell with the H.L.F., once the job was done.
Regarding magic versus technology I was trying to figure out a plausible reason why technology would spontaneously self combust or turn into pudding etc. upon hitting the barrier. After being unable to determine a valid reason except its magic, I decided why not make it so that electrons are replaced by magic particles. If that's the case that would explain why humans can't use magic. However if that's the case then passing into Equestria should prove fatal to all non native species. But what can you do Jackson isn't a theoretical physicist.
Well thank you once again for reading my story Lady Chatoyance, additionally thank you for honoring me with a place in your favorite stories bar. I only hope I don't disappoint in future releases. Until next time.
613746 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Thank you for pointing out my error, I have already corrected it, but my apologies for letting such a blatant error through. I shall endeavor to do better next time. Was there anything about the chapter you enjoyed specifically? I personally enjoyed writing the whole better then sex muffin bit, originally I had planned on making it a running gag where Sugar Pie offered you a muffin but made you answer if you were a virgin or not. After two encounter I felt perhaps that would be stretching out the joke to far so decided to segueway to the ponytar.
i must say out of all the bearu stories i've written this is the most endearing. i find myself on edge to find out if tinman and sugar pie well work out! too bad about endearing flame but there is still a chance to save his charges right? from what i've read it would not be impossible to ponify tinman, he'd just need convertable matter added to his brain, alot of convertable matter but still. anyway i find your work amazing please keep going! your awsome!
oh also, earlier you mentioned tinmans model was superior to the point that it could take down other models in mass with relative ease. seeing as he is currently at the top of the game is this really just all fun to him?
614601 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Ponification is indeed possible but not likely for Tinman, mainly due to the powers that be or T.P.B. for future reference would have to be willing to clone him a new body for the process.
614604 The main reason why Tinman has been so successful is partly due to his construction the Land Behemoth is ultimate HWS ever conceived, designed, and built by the military industrial complex. Due to the fact that his initial manufacture occurred in the former United States, the Land Behemoth series of HWS was envisioned as being the Ultimate Weapon by the P.T.B. Prior to the appearance of Equestria there were plans for Land Behemoths Mk VII and VIII. Which would have been classified as continent killers, (i.e. enough firepower, that when used in tandem with other continent killers could significantly do damage to large population centers etc.).
Tinman originally didn't start out as a Land Behemoth, future chapters will show bit of his past and how he ended up owning himself outright due to some clever scheme he cooked up. Suffice it to say that Tinman was originally a child of the 20th century, suffered an accident and woke up as a brain in the bottle. As of the telling of this story, he is well over 100 years old. Due to the unique circumstances of his construction he doesn't really know anything else. War and violence is all he has left, loosing the one thing he has left that he can make any sense of is absolutely terrifying to him. In his own way, he probably envies the fleshbags more then hating them.
The only reason Tinman was even willing took the job at the conversion bureau in the first place was due to the loop hole he discovered in the laws. Otherwise he probably would have held out for something better or even eventually took up the offer that Edmund Price was going to offer him. To him, being full metal as he puts it is his identity, loosing his weapons would diminish him. So in all actuality keeping his weapons is more a way of preserving who he thinks he is: Tinman, a god of war.
Regarding HWS combat, Tinman facing these five other HWS in tandem without any support would mean he would loose badly. Tinman's style of combat depended on his combat protocols, but the Land Behemoth series of HWS is a lot like US aircraft carriers. The carriers are extremely powerful but vulnerable, as we saw in chapter 1. Usually Tinman would be supported by at least 3 battalions or about 9000 men, maybe another Land Behemoth or two, a few wings of flying HWS's, several tank HWS's, and front line HWS's like Jackaroo. Currently with only Jackson to perform field repairs and his inventory that he brought with him from Virginia Beach, he is at a severe disadvantage should the other five HWS's all attack simultaneously, Now you might ask why don;t they, well they are interested in surviving the encounter and so have opted for espionage, misdirection, and ambushes.
Hopefully my long winded explanation cleared up the questions you may have had about the world Tinman inhabits. Additionally if you just can't wait for the next exciting chapter of The Conversion Bureau: The Reluctant Cyborg. My other story The Great Slave King is a fun read and nearly completed. While The reluctant Cyborg deals with the theme of redemption and second chances, The Great Slave King deals more with friendship. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as The Reluctant Cyborg.
Once again thank you for reading gentlereader, until next time!
I'm honestly kind of surprised Tinman can't just copy his awareness into the drone or employ an AI of some sort. You'd think some kind of drone autonomy would be a priority for the designers...
Aside from that quibble, this was a fantastic chapter. Technobabble, sex muffins, robot ninja, and a plan to bring vodka to Equestria. What's not to like? Well, aside from the burnt offering. Excellent work, as always.
621249 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Under normal operation conditions those drones would be controlled by his forward operating base. Without one of them to operate the drone, Tinman is forced to upload himself into it to operate the drone properly. He could allow the drone's own A.I. handle things but then it wouldn't be able to perform the search as well and as quickly as he normally could.
I'm pleased you enjoyed that latest offering gentlereader, until next time!
Yay, again another great chapter from you, this time your longest.
In just two days you became one of my favourite authors, not just in the TCB universe also in general (Story of slave king).
I like your style of writing and how you care about your readers.
And also thank you Chatoyance, without the cameo of Tinman in your story I would've missed this great writer
623541 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. What did you enjoy the most about this latest chapter? I personally love the feedback I get conversing with my readers. I feel that thanking and replying with a meaningful comment to everyone who leaves a meaningful comment is the least I can do. Hopefully the banter adds to the storytelling experience, plus little background details that just don't get to make it into the chapter sort of a director's or in this case an author's commentary.
Once again thanks for your kind words, I hope that you enjoy the rest of the The Conversion Bureau: The Reluctant Cyborg, as well as the closing chapters of The Great Slave King, until next time!
i like this story. you may live, for now....
623586 "I wonder if it works like Battlestar Galactica" Hehe, that reminded me of an image I found on the interwebs a while back...
google.co.uk/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/2012/01/BSG-RPG.jpg&sa=X&ei=OTS_T_-kJsj08QPI84D1Cg&ved=0CAkQ8wc4EA&usg=AFQjCNHwffYSooTNPEvwHWvQhpLg5WqdEw
It's from College humor's "Battlestar Galactica RPG" spoof.
Just don't make everyone religious a nut. I like this fic, because it has a great level of light meets dark.
alright you got me to read it, twice now, when will there be more?
691889 Thank you for your comments gentlereader. Hopefully I'll have another chapter in a day or two.
691927 thanks. why do you call everyone gentlereader?
691959 Because I prefer using polite speech. You spent the time reading and commenting on my story. It's the least I can do, to show my respect and appreciation for my readers.
691967 well there ya go. very well, from now on i will call you the talented mister/madam mach.
FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU---
I'm enjoying this, and am really warming up to Winston. It's too bad he apparently has no hope of surviving the end of the world, unlike the HWS's. The interplay between Boris and Jack was great, too.
That article was a lot of fun, too. The amount of time you put into it really shows. Good job, there, mate.
Having come into this late, I have to say that beyond the stray typo and odd grammar quirks, I'm enjoying the world-building you've done, the characters you've crafted, and the intricacies therein. I'm wondering what's next. Fujin may be hacking her way in, but there's no way Jackson won't notice...
I'm late to this too, and am still kicking myself for it. A carefully woven tale of intrigue and action, and I think you've done a great job of capturing the personality of a fully cyberized personality. Looking forward to the showdown between the HWS'
1116268 Fear not gentlereader my current story The Great Slave King is almost completed and once it's done i plan on resuming Tinman's tale. In the meantime the story of the Great Slave King might be just up your alley. In fact here's a secret I'm almost ready to post the second to last chapter. With the finale and epilogue posted hopefully tomorrow night.
1116345 Cool, I'll try to give it a look
1116345 And why no warning to the readers of this story? I mean I only noticed this because I was going through my favorites and trimming out the stories that had shriveled up and died prematurely. Anything, like a small chapter update saying what's going on or a journal about it. I mean just leaving readers hanging and not even mentioning it is a bit unfair. It's not the wait thats bad, it's being left in the dark completely.
1116552 My apologies then gentlereader I will correct this over site immediately.
I sad now. No more to read.