Perseverance and sleeping ponies 37%
Twilight had a bad feeling about what she was about to do.
There was no arguing with the hunger for information in her gut, the quiet flame that had stayed burning since her first expedition into the Memorial. Twilight had been leading this expedition in ignorance for long enough—it was time to rectify the situation.
She started with a trip to visit Node, in the workshop they’d given the machine more to placate it than because they thought they would get anything useful. Node sucked up more fabricator rations than were allocated to the ship’s captain, and was always dumping huge batches of waste parts into the recycler.
But as tolerant as Twilight could try to be, they needed the machine today. She knocked on the door with one hoof, standing straight. “Node, it’s me.”
There was a brief silence, then Starlight Glimmer’s voice. “I am not sure I can receive visitors today.”
The same as always. Twilight grunted, aiming her horn at the locked door. “I’m not asking permission today. We’re all leaving to the memorial in ten minutes. You’re coming with us, and I’m coming in.” She didn’t force the door right away, though—she could wait politely for another minute or so, so Node could rush and finish whatever those sounds of crumbling plastic and sparking electronics were inside. The building itself was really just one of the underground houses, though Node’s lacked an airlock or a tunnel connection to the other buildings.
Then Twilight stepped inside. The stink of melted plastic was thick in the air, along with the harsh ozone of energy. To her surprise, it wasn’t Node’s voice she heard first, but… Rainbow Dash?
“Yeah, I think that’s pretty good. Not as awesome as me, but I don’t think that was ever the goal.”
Twilight lit up her horn in the gloom. There was light coming from the far side of the room, past a wall of equipment. Custom fabricators, not entirely unlike the things Spike had made. Actually some of these looked like those exact units, complete with dragon claw prints in not-quite-hardened plastic.
“I’m not sure the captain will approve.” Node, sounding… nervous? Why would it be?
Twilight sped up, hurrying around the wall of equipment.
There were two ponies on the other side, Rainbow Dash with her uniform and rifle slung over her shoulder, ready for their mission, and… another one.
She—there was no dying a mare’s outline when she saw one—was almost Rainbow’s twin in basic outline, right down to the contours on some of her “feathers.” The entire pony was made of standard molded plastic, with metal joints near the bottom of the hooves and obviously removeable covers on the torso. Twilight didn’t have to guess what was inside the body there—judging by the removed bits of Node’s frame on a workbench, the central “mind” unit was in there, along with all its “arms” repurposed into… legs?
The two of them were frozen, looking more than a little guilty. Node’s “wings” were solid plastic pieces, not even jointed, and they moved more like an animatronic bird than the real thing. But she was able to take a few steps without too much difficulty. The mouth even moved when she spoke, though having a body made from 3D printed plastic machined to the lowest grade, with deposition lines throughout, made her look more than a little uncanny.
“I have to admit, this was not what I was expecting,” Twilight said. “This is what you’ve been using half our plastic for two months to build?”
“I believed it would be easier for me to interface with organics this way,” Node said. “Your procedural bias has been… increasingly obvious. Isn’t this an improvement?”
“You better say yes,” Rainbow said, glowering. “You may notice some similarities. She wanted the best pony ever to use as a model. Can’t blame her.”
“It’s… I guess it’s fine,” Twilight didn’t even know what to think. Unblinking glass lenses for eyes, a face of off-white recycled plastic in layers, a mouth that opened and closed awkwardly. “Do you think you can deploy with us? We’re going to the memorial in less than an hour. Everypony is coming.”
“Yes,” Node answered. “Rainbow already informed me. I will be putting this body to a practical test in a controlled environment. Better the memorial than combat deployment.”
And so they went.
Everypony was in the memorial now, as far as she knew. They would be reviving Apple Bloom first—but thanks to everything they had learned, Applejack didn’t need her help to get her sister out. What happened after that, Twilight wouldn’t immediately witness. She had her own mysteries to solve.
Of all the members of her crew, she had only two companions: Node and Rainbow Dash. She could hardly blame the rest of the crew for not coming. If she had wanted more company, she could’ve spread their missions apart. But she hadn’t—through most of this expedition, edging her way into one kind of investigation often took so much of their time from then on that other avenues were closed. Not this time. Instead of crowding the room with ponies who weren’t needed, they were going to get things done.
“This glass stuff, it’s really cool,” Rainbow said, as they were nearing their destination. She kept her rifle in her hooves at all times, one magazine of real bullets loaded at every moment. But they hadn’t used it, and apparently didn’t need to. “Like… cloud walking, almost. I bet it works in space.”
“It does,” Node said, conversationally. “Not so much for starships, but convenient for permanent installations. Safe enough for micrometeorite impacts, clear enough for a glimpse outside when there is something to see. Useful material. Beyond your chemistry to produce.”
They reached the chair. Twilight ignored the chorus of alien voices even as Node translated them for Rainbow Dash. She already knew their warnings. Warnings that she intended to ignore. It was time for someone to use the chair…
1. Twilight uses the Perseverance. My mind and magic are the strongest, I’m the one most likely to retain their sanity through this.
2. Rainbow Dash uses the Perseverance. Rainbow’s combat experience has trained her to be resistant to torture and mental magic. What I learned in a classroom, she perfected in the field. She’s the best choice.
3. Node uses the Perseverance. Node is a machine, and she’s already outfitted for communication with her creator species Besides, that body is creepy…
(Certainty 220 required.)
Hmm...
Twilight is our eyes so if she used it we'd get to learn directly what happens but in doing so we risk losing or changing her.
Personal bias says node is the most disposable and least risky choice because of their origin but node hasnt been the best at communicating or translating so far. If they used it we might just get more vague answers and riddles.
Dash seems like a meh choice. Also not the best at getting their point across and just as risky as twilight.
I must admit i have a hard time deciding between node and twilight here.
Didn't expect to see TF/TG here for sure.
But I'm sure not against it ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
RoboDash, neat.
It does make sense.
None of these are good choices, but it's interesting that none are marked Dangerous. Maybe we should just understand that it holds over from the previous times this choice was presented. 1, I suppose.
Definitely not Rainbow Dash.
But between Node and Twilight? It is an interesting choice, for sure. I'm assuming the chair is meant to be sat on by a biological being, which an assembled plastic body is not. But Node would definitely be more familiar with such technology and might be able to use that knowledge to interface itself easier.
In the end, I chose Twilight. Rainbow Dash is a practiced tactician and warrior, and such skills aren't easily transferred, especially if there's no valid teacher. Node is a unique entity, the only active and friendly evidence of the Signalers, and a repository of knowledge that both it and the crew can use. Twilight is a powerful magic-user, of which only one other crew member even has the capability of attempting to compare to her, and is also the current captain of the crew. Ultimately, a powerful magic-user likely won't be needed, especially if the future shapes up to mess with Twilight more, and every other job Twilight could do, someone else does better, even including whomever is chosen as the new captain. She is expendable and can afford taking the risk, but also presumably has a strong enough will to weather whatever she experiences. No-one else is worth risking like that.
EDIT: I guess I just needed a refresher on another chapter. Thanks to Dragonwaz for that. Guess Node wouldn't have difficulty interfacing after all... maybe.
My decision still stands-- especially since I can't change my own vote. Twilight is worth risking, and the benefits of that risk may be combining both her crew's trust in her and a new understanding of the Signalers-- a way to bridge the gap between the ponies and robot. And Node wouldn't be so non-expendable anymore.
This situation comes down to expendability. The Captain and Security Officer are not expendable assets. Node is. Further node could potentially come through with an increased ability to interface with the other ponies.
This is the least risk filed option.
Gonna have to be either Twi or Node here. I'm not sure Dash would be able to navigate their way through whatever the Preserverence is intact.
For anyone who needs a refresher on this decision.
Oh wow. Talk about a close race.
So do I.
Heh. Node-Dash may be just the bit of levity we needed.
All things considered, especially given Node's description of how the PoI works, I think it's best if we feed the robot into this particular woodchipper. The lowest risk does mean the lowest reward if it all works out—interfacing with the Ancients won't improve Node's fluency in Ponish—but it also means we won't accidentally lobotomize or upload a critical member of the crew.
Node has the failsafe, so she's out.
Rainbow is the military officer and could probably beat Twilight in a fight... which might be necessary if it drives the subject insane. Also, if it drives her insane, then the whole mission is basically a trap and they're probably better with a military response.
So Twilight it is.
Something tells me that, despite assurances to the contrary, it won't work for a mechanical entity. If we MUST risk someone, might as well maximize the chance of success. Option 1.
9482203
I mean ... realistically there is no way Rainbow (or anyone from the crew really) beats Twilight in an actual fight, but considering these rolls run off of stats and modifiers ... maybe? Especially since Twilight has a penchant for failing hers
Twilight is still probably the best option though. Chances are Rainbow simply wouldn't "get" any complex information presented to her and Node has issues communicating with the crew, so even if it understands the information I wouldn't trust it to convey it to the crew in a timely and usable manner.
So ... Twilight it is, for better or worse.
9482259
The characters in this story aren't the characters from the show, and Twilight in particular seems pretty damn fragile. I think this Rainbow could beat this Twilight.
: "And yet she used you..."
: "..."
: "..."
: "Did you really had to be that hard to her? Twilight won't be able to leave the medical station for the next few weeks..."
: "Yes Flutters. I had no other choice."
9482267
What makes you say that? I can't check the stat pages because I'm on phone right now, but if memory serves Twilight is the most durable crew member of them all thanks to her alicorn biology, even including Spike. It's Pegasi who have been noted as the most fragile in the story IIRC - it's why Cozy glow quickly ended up with broken/dislocated legs after attempting to tussle with an even magicless Twilight, thanks to Twilight's earth pony/alicorn strength and durability.
9482158
What a very academic term for Node to chose at the end of that paragraph.
Almost makes their chair sound like a school. Like it was the toughest classes with the most brutally judgmental teachers teaching them.
Well if school is about to go into session, then Twilight would be the pony to take the classes. Besides her brains, her body is probably going to be far more adaptable to what is going to happen. Being an Alicorn and all.
Though one thing besides the possible brain burn she might get is if Twilight starts to transform. I'd hate to think we could get a Nightmare Magic.
Thanks. I hate it.
Like seriously, it's like this was a bonus chapter between what I was hoping for designed for me to go 'eugh'. It's as if fate has had a laugh at my dislike of Rainbow Dash, giving us a second one and no better options for the chair. Mocking me for wanting to give Node a chance.
... like, seriously, why would Twilight think this was the best use of crew??? Did she think leaving Pinkie to WHATEVER was a better idea? The others make sense given the task, but man, Pinkie would have been a way better option than what we have here.
Rnnng... I wouldn't trust RD's brain with 20 piece puzzle let alone this. Node is the safest but possibly least useful choice. Twilight has the best chance of being useful / understsanding and surviving. Plus the captain has to be willing to take risks themselves sometimes or they may lose their crew's respect. Twilight it is...
9482322
Judging by previous language used by the probe that gave them the instructions for node I have a feeling graduate is closer to ascend to a higher form of life. They said that Twilight and crew barely met the criteria for a form of evolved life to them.
9482306
To be fair I 100% agree with you that Twilight is more durable but Cozy Glow was said to be a spaceborn Pegasus. Elongated limbs, weaker bones from low gravity, etc. Not sure if Rainbow Dash is Equus born or spaceborn in this story.
Alright Node, time to make yourself useful!
I don't understand why Twilight is winning???? That is a MASSIVE RISK, she's the captain and their strongest magical resource. We have no idea what that machine will do to a brain. I'm totally voting for Node, it/she is a machine that comes from this world, it seems WAY safer for it/her. It'll certainly be interesting to see what happens if Twilight gets it, but I'm sticking to my vote because it seems wisest.
Node. Using the machine at all is risky, and Node is the most (only) expendable crew member. Her new body is...interesting, but I don't think it'll really solve the communication issues Node's been having.
A lot of animosity for Rainbow Dash in this little corner of the fandom.
We don’t know anything about this incarnation of the character. She was just awakened, offscreen, and has had... I think two appearances? We do know she has had rigorous military training and has been exposed to/taught to defend against mental manipulation. The only other thing we know about her is that she still has a healthy dose of her hallmark ego. Everyone saying she’s too dumb to interact with the chair are filling in the (admittedly large number) blanks with their own biases against the character. /These/ versions of the mane 6 are all competent, intelligent mares that seem to have grown up in a much harsher reality.
I’m one of the very small number to vote for Dash here. In a setting where the pasts of the main characters are largely omitted, the fact it gets specifically laid out that Dash has mental defense training seems pretty darn valid.
Twilight is an alicorn and has some level of plot armor, so I don’t think it will be the end of things if it goes pear-shaped with her in the chair. Well, unless she goes Dr. Manhattan and just starts erasing people into little Rorschach smears on the floor.
9482363
Well it does mention knowledge, so the chair probably simply transfers some type of data into the brain.
Though being an alicorn doesn't mean Twilight might not go through physical changes. Heck, she even had a temporary transformation after trying to figure out Pinkie sense. Hmmm... thinking about it that way, I wonder if that plant like monster is really a mutated Chrysalis, or maybe Cadance or Flurry Heart after using the chair?
Could failure to use the chair right lead to something like that?
I have a feeling this is the end.
9482112
I think that if the ones who built the device had wanted Node to use it then Node would know about it. She doesn't, therefore I want it to be a crewmember. Between Twilight and Rainbow, it seems wrong to me, both for us and for Twilight's character, for her not to be the one in the hot seat.
I didn't want us to even be here, but given that fact I'm surprisingly sanguine about the option I've chosen. Maybe it's fatalism. Twilight seems to have a touch of that, too. Bad sign? Well, there's no backing out now, and she and I aren't the type to throw someone else under the bus at the scent of danger.
9482598
I completely agree with your counterpoint, and yet from another perspective I think it's reasonable to suppose Rainbow Dash's expertise is a lot more narrow than Twilight's. Depending on what the chair's "gift" is (assuming it works out), if it is a deepening effect, or in any way multiplicative or exponential, then it would be much better for Twilight to get it, not because Rainbow is stupid but because she is (likely) narrowly specialized. If it's an additive effect, then you'd want Rainbow to have it, unless it did a "turn into a real boy" job on Node. Absent more info, I'm going Twilight.
Well, I think all choices are bad and they shouldn't be doing this now, but, here we are, no choice that says "no". So, number 1, Twilight, she has the best chance of processing what's happening. Just as long as she doesn't start babbling about "Monsters! Monsters from the id!!!"
9482829
Not exactly, given this snippet from a previous chapter:
It might alter personality or morals or philosophy, for all we know.
I voted for Twilight to be the one to interface with the technology. My reasons for doing so, were because Node already struggles to communicate concepts to the crew. Obviously not all its concepts, since it got Dash to help with its new body, but Node is a machine intelligence and I'm not sure it could interface properly with the device. I almost voted for Rainbow, but I wasn't sure if she would be the right choice, we haven't seen enough of her in the story to decide that yet.
Plus this is likely the only chance we get to use it, and dangit, Twilight should get to do something that could change her for the better or worse.
Missing period!
I'm against using the Perseverance of Insight, but alas, I cannot choose to go back.
We know whoever enters that thing will come out changed, graduated, ascended. A way of thinking Node called it. It doesn't include just information. It'll change how the character thinks, its philosophy and willingness to keep going.
Honestly, I'm kinda afraid of what might come out. I'm choosing Twilight for two reasons. One, she is the one we have more control over. No matter how much she changes, the voices in the void will still be there. The other, Twilight has the most potential to accept and adapt into it, become not something else, but something bigger, greater than the sum of its parts.
Rainbow Dash's training would probably allow her to withstand the Insight, and resist it. But I'm not sure that is going to be useful.
Node is a bad option now. It's expendable, but the only thing we would get out of this would be giving it importance, and making it unexpendable. Or not changing anything at all.
Another option, is that it teaches the Signaler's language. Language changes the way we think, it would make perfect sense to call "graduating" the act of learning a lenguage. Learning the differences between human tonges is eye opening, and it comes with a lot of insight. Imagine the mind expanding experience it would be to learn an alien language.
In this second option, Node is unnafected. Rainbow Dash would get the role of translator, giving her more stuff to do during the more social encounters with the Signalers.
Oh but Twilight is heckin' perfect for new languages! She is amply trained in a variety of fields, of wich I assume philosophy, diplomacy, math and programming (wich all are languages on themselves) are included. She most likely knows how a big deal is to know a tonge. (she is also already the party face, so giving her a way to be more effective in that field is good).
fuck go back
9483675
She’s pregnant!!!
When we first came across the chair I thought it was an intelligence buff. That is not what it is. Best case scenario it implants a bunch of information dorectly into the users subconscious.
I want no part of this one. Worst case is an i-told-you-so. Best case is that you shouldn't have been taking my advice in the first place.
So I'm tactically voting for the last-place choice, to increase certainty without affecting the results.
Aww, Node is trying to fit in! How cute!
In for a penny in for a pound. Let's see what our curiosity rewards us...
How the buck was this the voted for option? Not what I voted for :/
I'm super out - there's no way I'd risk actual crew for this. This was literally the last thing we should do after exhausting every other option.
Buuuut, since we're only given three terrible choices, Node, you're the chosen one.
The first rule of leadership is you don’t risk the leadership. Twilight is probably not going to be suitable for command after this: who is second in command?
I’m 100% against this but to be fair I’ve been against almost every choice so far :/
9488450
Leadership that takes no personal risks is rarely trusted at all, particularly on such a small scale. Sure, the risks should be as sensible as possible, and if it's much less risky for someone else you let them handle it instead. But if the leader just never is willing to take one for the team then the team doesn't really think of the leader as a member of the team.
I'm "new" to this story, and almost caught up. I have not seen the result of the chair yet.
But the one big thing that strikes me as odd: If this is about a chair of "insight" into the now vanished race, why not Pinkie?
One obvious choice is "Wait until Pinkie is healed/healthy, and then let her take the chair". Uncanny insight is her thing.
Yet that choice is not on the list. So, simply put: Why not / how are the choices for the poll determined / what if the readers have an idea that isn't on the list?
Meanwhile, I'm now on the discord, and plan on following the dice rolls on later chapters so I can understand how this works.