He sat staring at the display, scared to say or do anything . The glow faded after ten seconds and about thirty seconds after that the text faded as well. After staring into space for a while he did something he had meant to do daily but the lack of privacy combined with being run off his feet all the time had made him forget. Voice?
Help functions available. Would you like to see your status Y/N
Hello voice, no I would not like to see my status. Can you communicate with other monitoring systems?
Yes.
Ok how is that achieved?
Via established communication protocols or in case of emergency physical contact
Good good. Can you override control, command or otherwise influence other monitoring systems?
Yes. Override authority is designated by numerical designator. Higher numbers designate higher authority.
If a K11 system was present and currently causing harm to a test subject could you order it to remove itself from the test subject?
Yes.
Ok. Lets think about this. Can you establish communications with a K11 system in this room?
No.
He stared over at Annie who was staring at him wild eyed. She was pale and sweating and seemed to be going through some kind of ordeal. When she noticed him looking she snarled “oh now you’re paying attention – painkillers” Coming to a decision he said “excuse me” walking over to grasp the protruding piece of alien tech. Voice can you communicate with a K11 system now?
Yes.
Ok voice is it functioning properly?
No. Analysing. This System was moved without recalibration. DANGER this course of action could cause inaccurate results and damage to test subject.
Ok voice. How would you recommend dealing with this whilst minimising damage to the test subject?
This situation should be dealt with in three stages.
Stage 1 – Remove all inactive sensor probes from other monitoring systems still present for reasons unknown
Stage 2 – Remove all active sensor probes by retracting them to the K11 system installed
Stage 3 – Power down System then remove it.
WARNING – Current system has been in place longer than designed product life. Power systems need recharging prior to instruction.
WARNING – Current test subject is experiencing extreme trauma. Termination is advised. Should test subject termination be unacceptable build Far Recon has e2 unused cores. At least one core should be assigned to health prior to instigation of procedure.
How is a health core assigned? How long does it take? How is the system powered up?
Core status is assigned after build assigned either by a user who has unlocked edit controls or by any external monitoring system with physical access to the build. The system is powered up by accessing power bleed. High levels of power bleed are occasionally controlled by attaching multiple monitoring systems. This system is also sometimes used to keep field equipment charged in the absence of charging facilities.
Ok Assign a health core now if you can to the test subject with a faulty monitoring system attached which you currently have direct contact with. Once that is done initiate power up. Maintain control of the K11 until the process is complete and the system is safely removed.
Annie gasped as metal filaments started to extrude from her. From her everywhere, there was remarkably little blood but both she and Morgan looked on horrified as what looked like copper wires snaked out of her. Particularly horrific to Morgan was the wire coming out of her eyes but she clutched her crotch with her one good arm and roared. The rooms door shot open and Dr Scott came through followed by two nurses and Channing who all tried to pile through the door at once. Wendy rushed over staring in shocked horror at the writhing form of Annie. Ignoring her Morgan maintained a vice like grip on her dead arm. He shouted at the room “I’m fixing her” and looked at Channing who had made it through the door first with one nurse lying on the floor groaning who was staring back with fury in his eyes and going for his sidearm. This seemed like a good time to hide behind the bed.
Process complete – Test subject will require time to recover whilst health core restores function.
Looking at the large coin sized disc that had come free in his hand he proffered it to Channing “does this help?” he asked. Channing rushed over and took it. Examining it he snarled “this better do something or you’re going to a jail so deep you’ll get two minutes of sunlight a month for good behaviour”. Morgan mentally queried voice will this function?
No. It will require a power source and a reset.
Holding up his hand Morgan waved at Channing to stop. Voice how do I do those?
This unit will perform a reset once power is applied
Ok any particular power source or is it not picky? Can it be damaged by over or underloading it?
Performance will be affected by insufficient power supply. The system is buffered against overload. Any power source will suffice, mains power will take 36 hours to charge and with continual charge will function for 24 hours before ceasing due to power shortage. These numbers will change as charging facility changes.
Morgan relayed all of this to Channing phrasing it as if this was something he just knew. Channing stared at him for a few seconds and then left clutching the disc as if it was more valuable than he was. Maybe it was? This just left two medical staff including Dr Scott in the room with him and Annie. The hospital doctor was examining her and muttering something about shock. Dr Scott stalked up “I thought your family was dead” she accused. Morgan tore his gaze from a twitching Annie as a nurse entered and changed the IV bags. “And I told you your records were wrong. Is it so hard to accept that I did what I had planned to do and found my family? I mean not how I had planned to but I found her anyway”. Doctor Scott tapped her heel distractedly and then “We were listening in. This rooms wired for sound. You sound like the kind of father who provides practical support and then wonders why its not enough. Not a crime lots of you out there. She needs and needed more. Traumatic events are confusing. It will take a lot of work for her head to have anything like an accurate recollection and most of the work is going to be making sure nobody puts a sanitised version in her head. Can I ask you to not make my work harder? Don’t talk to her about the bunker. Preferably never but at least wait for her to talk ok? Also regard anything she said or says as rubbish until she has thought it through.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Morgan nodded, vaguely insulted but not quite clear where in that barrage the insult had been. ‘So what are you doing here then? Follow me? Miss me?’ That got a reaction from her and mostly it was impolite. More staff arrived and they allowed themselves to be led out.
When he left the room Channing was nowhere to be seen. Dr Scott escorted him to the family waiting room then left him. Looking out of the window he saw Channing drive off and wondered how long people would forget about him. Hopefully a while, he had got a long list of questions to ask voice now he knew it was back and hopefully his situation would improve once he knew how to control it.
The next 2 hours was enlightening. His training had included lectures about how cores worked and the best ways to use them. The problem had been covered in the second lecture. Nobody knew how they worked and as such all the advice was guesswork at best. Obviously informed by case studies but still guesswork. The lecturer had started by quoting Clarks maxim about advanced science and magic being indistinguishable to the layman and then listed case studies. Several in particular frustrated researchers. The Korean Boy with the poison gas was discussed (how did the gas get through the filters) but also an Israeli stage magician who could make lightning bolts turn 90 degree corners and a Russian soldier whose kit cleaned itself but never anybody elses even if his own kit was replaced without his knowledge. Voice explained all of this. Then when it was incomprehensible tried again with smaller words, several iterations later Morgan asked for it to stop.
So Voice lets see if I have summarised this properly. Two types of cores. An internal core and an effect core. An internal core is used to create a system of nanites that infuse the person they are in. They are used to help healing, increase strength, athleticism, make people live longer, remember better and all sorts of things. They cannot be upgraded and to improve them just put more in. I have an unusually large number and further augmentation is just useless. On those we are past diminishing returns and into net negatives. Skill cores are effect cores reassigned to make a person better at a specific task rather than the general augmentation of internals. For example a javelin thrower might benefit from internal cores augmenting strength and coordination but a skill core will improve his technique at throwing. Same principle for shooting brawling etc.
A core is actually four separate systems – no belay that an effect core is four systems. Those systems work together to create and control nanites which are dispersed through a target area. Once a sufficient concentration is in the area those nanites create the effect they were designed for. Those systems are the Function core which inserts the circuitry or whatever by which the nanites function, The library core which has records of how that function is to be used, the battery core which controls how many charges or uses each nanite is capable of being used for and the power core which determines how much effect each nanite in the wild will produce? Ok so far?
Incomplete but accurate. The power for example will determine the charge of a lightning bolt or the energy in an explosion. The battery will allow for a second bolt or explosion.
Right. Ok using my squad as examples Arthur projects jets of fire whilst Ronnie looks at things and makes them combust. So if I understand both have fire function cores but the library applies different criteria’s. Arthur sheds nanites that essentially form a tube pointing where he wants it to go then ignites the tubes contents looking like a stream of fire. Ronnie directs nanites to coat something he is looking at and then to set fire to it. The guy with the 90 degree turn in his lightning has just arranged a tube with a turn in it?
Correct
Ok you talked about levelling up and how each level up was actually an opportunity to customise a single cores functions. So for example if Arthur levelled up he could increase his fire function core for dominance, whatever that is. He could upgrade his library to get a second effect for example copy Ronnie and set fire to things by looking at them. He could upgrade his battery and effectively double his rate of fire or upgrade his battery and burn hotter. Is that correct?
Correct. He could have other options with oversight but what you listed is correct
Heads already buzzing. Now dominance. If two people again lets say Ronnie and Arthur want to use fire cores to light a match the one who succeeds is the one who has dominance right. Dominance is established by who has the most nanites in a given area.
Or who has the most effective power. Somebody with a low function core but a high battery could also establish dominance. A more typical example is two force core users one creates a sword the other a shield, the size and shape of the sword or the thickness of the shield are irrelevant. Whichever force core has dominance will determine whether a stabbing occurs.
Alright. Not sure I got that but alright. You mentioned as an aside that one of the main differences between an internal and external core is that an internal core is not subject to dominance. A persons internal augmentations are not prone to suppression like the affects of on external core are so dominance only applies to external core functions yes?
Yes. In addition an internal core cannot use modification functions during level up. These must be either reassigned or lost.
So now a function core once assigned cannot be changed you said. So you can level up and expand your library but a fire function core is always going to produce fire function effects? Strange non intuitive effects are often due to combinations of function cores. I mentioned Patels domes for example and you suggested two functions in concert. One barrier function and one irradiater function. Put the irradiaters inside the barrier and you get Patels kill domes?
Yes
And that implies it could be easily altered, for example put the irradiaters outside the dome and keep those inside safe? Furthermore that could probably be done with a single alteration to the Library on the irradiater leaving her free to get new barrier functions or shapes at the same time?
Yes
Because when you level all functional cores are updated independently but at the same time. Right. For those with a lot of cores this needs planning, in particular you need to make sure that none of the augments will clash with each other. For example if you had a core that affects weight and you gave it two functions one to increase weight and the other to lower it problems happen? Usually indicated by high power bleed numbers as it fights itself.
That is a source of inefficiency that would require further management
And just so I am clear thats why I am screwed? This time he got no response so decided to rephrase it. I have over a million cores. Each of those will need to have a function assigned and to get sufficient whatever before it can level. I refuse to call it XP no matter what your translator wants to call it. No Levelling will take place until all cores are assigned and the whatever is available correct?
Yes.
So I have to assign a million cores, plan the upgrade route for each one collect sufficient whatever to level a million cores and only then will I reach level one where the majority of those cores will first start to function?
Yes.
Assuming I do it all perfectly so that no functions contradict each other I will survive the event. And even then I will have a million level 1 cores whereas somebody who has lets say 400 cores will have 400 level 2,500 cores with the same whatever?
No. Levelling gets more complex and therefore more ‘whatever’ is required. The individual described would have 400 level 140 cores.
Side question, what is the average level of core in the society you come from? Give me the average and the most common value.
Due to large number of societies using this system for growth and control there is a large variance. Current user average level is 1A. Current median user level is C.
Hexadecimal makes my head hurt. I think that means average of 26 with the most common being 12? Don’t answer its unimportant. Nearly there. So presumably at the point of reaching Level 1 I will be the most versatile cripple around. You said that I had an unusually high number of internal cores augmenting my health, mental, physical abilities and longevity. Can you explain that?
During your initial evaluation you requested sufficient time to master everything. This was projected as taking a long time so a large number of cores were assigned to longevity. In addition you requested to be as strong, capable and healthy as possible
I confess to some surprise that you listened. How long is a long time in this context and will I be healthy and strong for all of it?
Mastery has been arbitrarily defined as level 20. By passive growth alone you would need 6 times ten to the 9 years to reach this level. Ten percent inefficiency was applied so your projected healthy life barring incident such as your sun dying would be 6.8 times E to the 9 years.
That, whew ok that sounds like a lot but hexadecimal again so I’ll do that in base ten later . Right why does anybody have unassigned cores then? Is it an oversight or are we being deliberately hampered?
Unassigned cores are often used to prevent growth for various reasons. Children who do not understand, convicts who need to be controlled, Laboratory tests that will need to be exterminated once testing is complete.
Dare I ask which humans come under?
All three.