Capital Habitat, Deep Kingdom of Subnautica, Leviathan’s Trench
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
January 5th, 2981 AD
I watched as Devlin gave the construction drone a good look, his hand on his chin while the other was on his hip. Already a drone controller, who I ordered to bring another worker drone using older technology with him to show it wasn’t something new, entered into the room and acted like he was irritated.
“My Sovereign, I deeply apologize. It got away from me.”
I gazed at the controller, and he was one of the “average” looking ones the Synth Constructor randomized, but would be considered above average by any measure.
“This one equipped with the advanced camouflage?”
Questioning looks filled the expressions of the guests. The controller nodded.
“Yeah, this is the first test of the light bending camouflage system on this unit. It caused a hiccup though, as there were errors in the priority list of orders and it just…wandered from one target location to another trying to reach one before stopping to go to another.”
I nodded. Thankfully, the Biosynths were on the same wavelength due to various technologies, so we were able to seamlessly make bullshit up on the spot.
“Power usage.”
“Yes, my liege.”
“Alright. Take it to the primary laboratory, and they’ll see what is what. The lack of power shouldn’t interact with the CPU like that.”
I looked at the Tau Drone who was looking at me for orders. I already had its command signal on my arm PDA, and I ordered it to go to my lab. Breeze, Emma, and I will look at it later.
“There, authorization confirmed. Go forth.”
The Tech saluted and then took the Drone, which allowed itself to be led away.
Turning back, having avoided a disaster, I now had to deal with the fallout. The questioning and somewhat suspicious looks I was given was expected. Even warranted. I just shrugged.
“One of the biggest things about surviving the depths with creatures that want to eat you, is being hidden. Cloaking systems is one of our old technologies.”
“Bending light?” Carson asked.
“That’s new. We used to use photoreactive panels until we learned to bend light waves. Quantum Physics again.”
Devlin, Carson, and Carson’s Man-at-Arms accepted it, as did the guards, but the Regent looked at me like I was full of it. He hid it well, but thanks to Dune, once more, I read him pretty well.
Carson asked the question anyways.
“And you don’t have any such hidden units in my domain?”
“No. But I do in many other nations.” I admitted, and looked at Devlin.
“That includes yours. I didn’t know you before today, and wasn’t aware of your friendship with Carson before two days ago.”
The Regent and Carson looked shocked at my admission, and were starting to get mad at my audacity. My guards, and theirs, were tense despite being subtle about it. I did not need to have a fire fight here, but being honest with Devlin was a sure bet given how hands on he was.
Devlin just stared at me, and I could tell he was reading me. He must have found something because he smiled and slapped my shoulder.
“I forgive you. I’d have done the same. But…you’ll have to make it up to me.”
I snort. “You still want in?”
“Duh.” He said, as if I was being an idiot.
“Fine.”
“That easy?” he asked.
“The simulation was more than just fun, and you’re smart enough to figure that out.”
Devlin paused and nodded. “Not a bad test of character.”
“That’s right. So, I’ll give you a boon on top of what you are going to get just being in this Alliance. Just nothing stupidly over the top.”
“What? I can’t have that mech?” He asked with a pout.
“No, you can have one of those, as soon as I make the improved production model. I mean something like a mech that looks exactly like you, or something.”
Devlin stared before cracking up at the image of a giant him fighting other mechs.
“I’m a proud sort, but that level of vanity suicide is more than I could handle!”
I rolled my eyes, placing my hands on my hips. “You’d be surprised at how many morons want something like that. As if a statue wasn’t enough. They want a statue that you can pilot, that looks like you.”
Now Devlin gave me an incredulous look, as did the others who had calmed down.
“Bullshit.”
I gave him a flat look.
“…No.” he said with an open-mouthed grin at the idea.
“Let’s just say there’s a reason you haven’t seen any nobility outside myself just yet.”
From there the situation stabilized, the drone event mostly forgotten, but interest was now thoroughly shifted to the “stealth tech” instead of the drone itself.
The group was led back to the Tram and taken back into the city while I finished work on the prototype. In truth, the prototype was already being handled remotely by a team of techs and auto-repair drones, and being overlooked by other teams who possessed knowledge of what to improve and how. They would never match me, Breeze or Emma, but they did good work and made our job easier. Plus, they came up with ideas even I hadn’t considered.
With the new understanding of exotic energies, and Bloodborne equipment, I can make far more…crazy stuff now.
For the moment however, I leaned back into a wall and sighed.
“Fuck!” I grunted. “That was too fucking close. God Dammit! I knew something like that could happen, but fuck!”
I rubbed my eyes and face before taking a deep breath.
Alright. That’s just the way the game is played. This comes with risks. Gotta take the blows and roll with it.”
I began to walk back towards the mech bay to give that prototype a work over, and see if I can modify the technologies to make new weapons. Replacing the Plasma Repeater with one that can be a repeater, a blade, and an arm shield if you switch the modes.
As if to mock my near exposure, another star fell and the forge grabbed it. It was a small one, but all the same…
-Engine-sister (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (100CP)
Voluminous red robes cannot hide the curves beneath, to this woman's eternal embarrassment. Friendly and perky in conversation to both man and machine, she is torn between her desire to be closer to the machine and her attachment to humanity. The possibility of a harmonious union between the two has inspired her to follow you. She has all 100, 200, and 400cp enginseer perks. She also has 'subtle bionics' 'artisan' and one pick of 'magos designation.'
-Cranial implants (Warhammer 40k: Adeptus Mechanicus) (100CP)
The brain of every magos undergoes extensive modification over time, but you have put great care into preparing your mind for the Machine God's mysteries. Beyond the gene-alterations and bionic sub-systems that have boosted your intelligence, regulated neuro-chemistry reduces the influence that hunger, pain, fear and other flesh-distractions can have upon your thoughts. Your ability to enjoy these things are not impeded. Further neurological modifications will be faster and easier to adapt to with less worry of rejection.
-Wonders of the machine god (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (100CP)
Machinery is as mysterious as the workings of the warp to the average Imperial - it would take all day to explain why even the simplest rituals are performed and what they do. So by necessity you've become very good at getting people to shut up and let you work in peace. A few curt words is enough to satisfy anyone's curiosity, or to make someone less technically-inclined understand why certain things need doing and to justify the time and expense of doing so.
-Rites of Maintenance (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (100CP)
While already designed to be incredibly robust, Imperial equipment inevitably requires maintenance. You can locate and identify problems within a machine in a fraction of the time it would take other adepts. Not knowing how a machine functions does not make fixing it any more difficult so long as you have the proper parts, tools, and rituals to guide your hands.
-Reclaimer (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (200CP)
Rare is the heretek with wealth or connections enough to acquire the resources to pursue innovation without raising suspicion. Most must make do with whatever they can scavenge or build for themselves, and fortune seems to often favor them when harvesting useful components from wrecked machines. More often than not, the most delicate and valuable pieces of technology can be pulled intact from wrecks you find or create.
-Impossible precision (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (200CP)
Behind the mighty engines and clanking gears of Imperial armor are smaller yet no less important components. Servicing those delicate elements requires a fine touch, and you work with steadiness and precision. Your hands and other appendages will not twitch from surprise or adrenaline, and they will exert the exact amount of force you desire and no more. Exactly how precisely you can work is subject only to the limits of your perceptions.
-Technical knock (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (200CP)
You have mastered the ancient technical rite of 'if it doesn't work, smack it with a wrench until it does.' Small problems like loose gears can be quickly and permanently fixed with one good whack. When a larger problem impedes a machine's function, continuous pounding and irate prayer can cajole it to miraculously perform one last, brief task, but no more. At that point, this rite will have no more effect until the device receives proper attention.
-Imperial logistics (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (400CP)
The scale of the Imperial war machine is incomprehensible to most minds. It is nothing less than a miracle that the Guard and Navy can function at all, given the myriad logistical issues involved. But miracles are something you can provide, as long as you are directly involved in overseeing the distribution or production of a needed resource. You'll always seem to somehow end up with more than with what you started, and this effect increases the greater the scale that you work with. An hour of overseeing the fabrication of lasrifles may net you a dozen extra units at no extra cost, while distributing the output of an agri-world may produce a year's worth of extra rations for an entire Guard regiment.
- Armorbane (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (400CP)
Long experience with putting things together inevitably teaches one the best way to take something apart. Whether disabling an unruly machine or cracking open a heretek's fortress, you can quickly pick out design flaws, blind spots, and points of failure. Exploiting these weaknesses makes your actions many times more effective. Structures crumble, armor buckles, systems seize up, power surges dangerously out of control, and ammo stores seem to cook off at the slightest provocation. Should you show mercy and attempt to repair what you have laid low, the damage will be far less than it appears and restoring the machine to service will be much less difficult than expected.
-Binaric weaving (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (400CP)
The skills gained during long years plumbing data-vaults as a humble logistican have only improved over time. You excel at writing code, understanding machine-script better than native grammar structures. You can understand simple programs with a mere glance and correct any errors you find within seconds, and scrutinizing longer lines of more complex coding for a single misplaced byte can take mere minutes with your skills. Scrapcode crashes ineffectually against your data-barriers, its transmission doing nothing but opening the offending heretek's systems to a counter-intrusion. Interfacing with a system infested with a daemon or true AI would be unwise, but with your skills emerging unscathed from such an encounter is only highly unlikely rather than completely impossible.
-Machine empathy (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (400CP)
Long exposure to strange energies and abstract thought inevitably leave their mark on a heretek. Usually, these changes are debilitating or disfiguring, but you have only benefited from these alterations. A tiny glimmer of psychic power has awakened within you, one that will demand careful use and strict discipline to cultivate safely. As your power develops, machines will come to increasingly favor you, completing desired tasks without needing to be asked, performing faster and more efficiently. Machines in the hands of others will rebel when directed to harm you, guns jamming and sensors refusing to lock on. Many other ways to manipulate the mechanical will be revealed in due time, if you have the strength of will and ingenuity to discover them.
-Magos Designation: Engineering (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (100CP)
You have attained and been recognized for your comprehension of some of the Machine God's mysteries. Choose a field of Imperial technology such as genetic manipulation, voidship construction, cybernetics or plasma technology. You are among the noted masters of your purview, and can easily create the most common templates of your field. With time, effort and discretion you could even modify and improve upon your specialty as needed. Those few things beyond your full understanding can still be built and maintained by carefully following STC blueprints.
*Cybernetics Specialization
-Artisan (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (100CP)
Unlike many in the machine cult who care not for appearances, your equipment and visible bionics are shelled with precious metals and etched with devotional symbols. Every object you craft or possess for a prolonged period of time acquires a bit of extra flair with no effort and without detriment to their functions. Though seen by many in the cult as wasteful or vain this attention to appearance can endear one to those in the higher ranks of Imperial society who value such affectations. You may choose to suppress this perk entirely or only for specific items.
-Subtle bionics (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (100CP)
From hesitance at abandoning the human form or the acquisition of high-grade miniaturized components, there is little outward sign of your integrated cybernetics. Cables are subdermal and woven to follow existing muscle groups, cyber-limbs are hidden beneath a layer of synth-skin, and artificial eyes resemble the organic model closely enough that sight alone cannot recognize them as anything but. Only large external bionics like mechadendrites are plainly visible, and the smaller models can be hidden beneath the folds of a thick robe. While hiding the blessings of the omnissiah would normally offend even the most emotionless magi, there are occasions where concealing one's affiliations and abilities can be advantageous.
My eyes widened comically. “THAT’S NOT SMALL AT ALL!”
The sound of metal crinkling shifted my gaze to the hallway, and I could only describe what I was seeing as a mechanical gateway opened up from zero, to one, to two, and then three-dimensional space. It was full of cogs, steel, gold, and skulls.
Stolen novel; please report.
I took a moment to analyze it. Beyond what it represented, it was…beautiful to look at, despite the macabre iconography. It all fit in place as each piece had a purpose that the multiple perks I had attested to. The gate opened up like a wormhole from Stargate, leaving a shimmering surface lighting the hallway like sun reflecting off the water.
Then a woman stumbled through, almost like she was kicked through. Actually…she was! I can see the boot of what could only be a TechMarine’s foot. She was about to trip and fall on her face, only for me to reach out and grab her before she could. I was caught off guard by the weight however, realizing she had mechadendrites and other things like a heavy tool pack on her back. I fell onto my back, and she fell on top of me, straddling my body closely.
I immediately realized three things. One, she was a tall one. Nearly as tall as myself. Two, she was more flesh than not, unless the bionics just felt that way by design. Three…she wasn’t wearing anything under that robe, and it left nothing to imagination as to what she had going for her.
The moment of analysis ended when the gate cracked, and suddenly shut off, before falling apart into a mess of scrap metal with nothing but rusted dust.
A soft groan pulled my eyes away from the reality defying event and into the face of…a machine person. No…a face mask? A mask with multiple optics that allowed her to see who knew what.
We stared for a moment before she squeaked in realization and leaned up, sitting on my pelvis instead of laying on me. It did no favors as her butt was…yeah.
She quickly looked about, noticing her surroundings for the first time before shivering and then cheering, her arms pushed over her head, doing…things…to her form.
“Well…I’m glad you’re happy…can you-“
“Oh! Oh yes! I’m sorry!” She said in accented English. Very posh British. Her mechadendrites lifted her off of me and I was able to slowly stand and face her as she hovered in the air as her artificial limbs held her up. Once more, her robes covered her completely, but left very little to the imagination as to her curvy figure.
The box that was on her back was oversized for her and likely held tools and…stuff. Religious stuff? Maybe an STC? She also wore multiple tool belts with different tools…including a very familiar pressure washer gun adapter. Well…either the Warhammer 40k DLC for Power Washer Simulator is real, or this is more multiversal bullshit in play. Likely the latter.
Then I got a look at her machadendrites. They were…very Doctor Octopus like. They looked almost exactly like the arms from those the Spider-Man movies with Toby Maguire, only far more refined with Ad-Mech and Imperium iconography stenciled to extreme detail on every single panel.
Her mask was itself a work of art now that I got a real look at it. Not just a blank or skull like faceplate with sensors and optics. It was worked with extreme effort to look like a master craft. I can see symbols and writing upon it, but it all flowed and fitted in a way to increase the aesthetic appeal of it. It would be fine just putting this in a glass case and leaving it to show off, despite it being a fully functional piece of equipment.
She removed the mask, revealing the face beneath, and holy crap. This woman had a face that would have made Helen of Troy look like the average one. She would give Emma a run for her money.
Her expression was a bit shy and embarrassed, but she smiled regardless.
“Hello. I am…well, it’s a bit difficult to explain…” She pauses in thought, wondering how to put it.
“Well...firstly, are you aware of who I am?” I asked. A bit rude interrupting her line of thought, but it would be easier for her to start with that, I think.
“Eh? Oh….OH!” she cried out, pointing at me. “Are…are you the…Star Forger?”
Huh…I guess that’s my title than. “I am he, yes.”
A wide smile grew on her face, and in a moment, she was face to face with me, her robe covered chest pressing into mine, pushing me back a bit.
“You are the one! The One I saw in my visions! The ones the Omnissiah said to seek out! You’re really here! I really made it!” she squealed as her mechadendrites bounced her about. This is really awkward. Nice…but awkward. Also, apparently the Emperor is a thing now. A given since she’s here, but fuck a duck, I did NOT need Chaos in this universe.
“Uh…good…good to know. Glad to help a servant of the Emperor.” I said, gently pushing her back by her shoulders.
Only to push right against me again, and into a wall. Squishy. Not to mention some cleavage is now showing. Huh…so it is flesh…or at least looks it.
“Oh! So you know about us? That makes this way easier!” She said happily.
“Yes. I do.” I replied, pushing her back a bit more again. She finally realized what she was doing and squeaked embarrassed and…covered herself up despite already being covered.
“Sorry, it’s just, I’m so happy it all worked.” She said as she tightened her robe, which only made her figure cut more…a figure. God she’s awkward!
“How are you here exactly? Cross-Universe travel isn’t exactly common in that universe, the Warp being the exception to this rule.”
“Oh! Well, it’s kinda hard to explain simply but…huh?”
I paused at her sudden shift in expression, and realized there was a star falling, and the Forge grabbed it.
-Attendants (Warhammer 40k - Adeptus Mechanicus) (0CP)
Choose: A dozen servo skulls, a five-servitor workforce, or a trio of personalized cherubs. All are dull but reliable servants, coming equipped for a variety of tasks. The patterns of each are easy to re-fit for more specialized work.
Out of thin air, from what appeared to be cogs acting as portals, twelve floating skulls appeared and whirled about the Admech Enginseer. She laughed with joy and giggled as she poked one in its red robotic eye, and it seemed to…shudder. Do these have machine spirits? Crud…
I sighed. “Well at least you have something familiar.”
She smiled widely as she held a skull in her arms and between her…on her chest.
“I sensed it just now. That power. The clang that resounds across the universe!”
I stared at her for a moment in thought, remembering what I could about the Admech and realized…they were mystics…plus that Machine Empath ability of hers. So, she could sense such things.
“Yes…but who are you? You came for a reason beyond learning what this clanging was.”
She bowed her head before releasing the skull into the air, and then curtseyed with her mechadendrites holding her aloft as she held her robe out like a dress, exposing her legs a little.
Wow…thighs save/take lives.
“I am Artisan Enginseer/Cybersmith, representative of his majesty’s Imperium of Mankind and blessed chosen of the Omnissiah’s Adeptus Mechanicus. My identifier is #Binary#, but my given name is Ariel-Omicron-7.”
I bowed my head in return. I could tell Simple Words were at play once more as it sounded far more simplified then it actually would be given how their titles actually worked.
“A pleasure to meet you. As for myself, I am the Star Forger, Sovereign of the Deep-Sea Kingdom of Subnautica, and overall survivor in general.”
We released ourselves and she swayed as she did a happy dance.
“Oh! This is so exciting! I can’t wait to learn everything about you and this ability.”
I held my hand up. “Before that, I need to ask you a…somewhat difficult question.”
“Mhmm?” She nodded, agreeing with a smile.
“…yeah, so…what exactly are your…loyalties? I mean…there’s the Emperor slash Omnissiah, and then there’s me, and yourself, so?...”
She looked at me with a moment of blankness before thinking, and in a moment she shrugged.
“I am of course loyal to my lord and god, but I volunteered to traverse into this universe. So, my loyalty is…to you I guess. Unless you do something…horrible…like betray humanity, or become a Heretic.”
There was a sudden heavy weight in the room when she said that last word, despite the smile and kindly expression on her face.
“And Hereteks?” I asked, firmly standing before her despite the weight. That weight left in an instant.
“Oh, that only counts in my universe. I can…barely feel anything of the Warp here. Let alone anything daemonic. In fact…aside form yourself, I feel no supernatural forces around at all.”
Well, that’s good to know.
“So, you won’t freak out if Xenotech is in my possession?”
She gave a frown, and was thinking about it.
“It depends on the tech, as most Xenotech is based off of something that is counter to the Omnissiah’s design and will.”
I quirked a brow. “Can you give me an example of what you mean exactly?”
She gave a pouty frown as she wracked her mind for an example. Swaying back and forth before coming upon something.
“Okay. Let’s say there was a…anti-gravity bike…and it’s engines lifted and provided propulsion.”
She paused to see if I was keeping up. “Okay.” I can sense simple words was working its magic here.
She looked pleased I understood. “Good! Now…imagine that the propulsion was powered by electricity. That electricity came from the core of the engine.”
She paused again, and I nodded. “Core of the engine. Okay.”
“But…instead of a normal thing like…a battery, or a fuel cell of some kind…it was powered from electricity from another dimension where a daemonic entity was feeding his corrupting force into the engine, and in turn corrupting the rider and those who interacted with them.”
I paused…and quirked my head like a dog. In the Imperium, there were as many interpretations of what was Heresy, as there were stars in the galaxy. Maybe this is the correct one, of maybe it’s just the version she adopted from her training. I didn’t know.
“So…Xenotech that is inherently corrupting as part of its design is Heretekal?”
“It’s more complicated, but yes essentially!” She cheered at my understanding.
I nodded. “Well, fortunately nothing we have does that. I’d have burned it if it did.”
She nodded in approval. “A good start. Glad you understand!”
I nodded. “Alright. The…Ariel, I accept you as a part of my…thing here. Welcome aboard.”
“Yay!” she cheered, her parts bouncing again. Really need to get her something else than a semi-tight robe.
“There are three things though. Three rules if you want to stay here.”
She paused and leaned towards me, listening intently. “Yes?”
I held out my index finger. “One; none of that inhumane bullshit. By which I mean turning people into servitors, using skulls for stuff…” I said eyeing the Servo-skulls. “No killing people on the spot for having a different opinion that doesn’t fit with the Imperial Truth or the Mysteries and Warnings. This universe is…softer than yours because it can afford to be. I don’t think Chaos even exists here. The Warp does in a way, I think, and there are things in there, but nothing like the ruinous powers.”
I glared at her. “So, none of that! If something is wrong, you bring it to me, otherwise, don’t.”
She looked at me wide eyed, and just nodded. I could tell already she is just going along with it. She is still very much a hardcore cultist from a terrible, terrifying universe where the things they do are, unfortunately, very necessary lest Chaos Noms everything.
I held up the index and middle fingers. “Two; My power brings Xenos and Xenotech into the fold. Along with Xeno-knowledge. I cannot prevent this. What comes through is in some way tied and loyal to me, so no killing, destroying, deleting until we see if it is a threat or not. I already have a Xeno here, and they are adorable, and I will not tolerate killing attempts on them. Understood?”
She nodded again, less certain, but willing to cooperate. I would have to put a lot of effort in protecting these things since it’s necessary to succeed. Then again, the Imperium might have technology and knowledge already that are similar and better. So we will see.
I held up three fingers. “Lastly, I’m keeping this ability a secret from the locals of this universe. They are not privy to the power, nor to its benefits. Everyone here in Subnautica is in on it due to their…unique situation. I would appreciate if you did the same. Obfuscate, lie, fabricate, etc, but do not reveal the truth unless I say otherwise or there’s no choice due to circumstances beyond my control.”
I crossed my arms. “Prior to your coming here, literally in the last hour, a Tau constructor drone appeared. I managed to redirect my local guests away from the truth by posing it as another one of my toys, but ended up having to reveal another piece of technology most of them were unaware of, cloaking tech.”
“So, in short, keep this to yourself unless told or forced otherwise. Can you do that?”
She nodded once more, with a hint of a sly grin.
“Wow, you are a sneaky type aren’t you?”
I sigh loudly. “I’m dealing with all kinds of things in this universe, and I have to be careful lest it blows up in my face. So yes, sneaky sneaker.”
She giggled at my silliness before bowing again. “I find your requirements acceptable. I will do as you ask, and handle things...differently than I would in my universe. I only in turn ask for your patience as my ways are different, and change comes with time.”
I nodded. “Agreed.” I held out a hand, and she blinked before taking it and shaking it vigorously.
“Well, once more, welcome aboard the crazy train…first thing though…we have to get you more appropriate clothes. You would really stick out here with that. Then again, Comstar would find a kinship I think.”
She quirked her head. “Comstar?”
I was about to open my mouth when another star fell. Sarah’s eyes widened as she felt it and look about as if she might see it.
It came…and passed. It’s energy leaking into me. I sighed in relief.
Then I got jumped.
“You can store celestial power!? Let me examine you!” Sarah said with fervor as she pressed herself against me, her skulls crowding me with their optics bright red, and one of her Mechadendrites all pointing at me with an optic in its center.
I groaned. Is this gonna be a thing now?
===
Capital Habitat, Deep Kingdom of Subnautica, Leviathan’s Trench
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
January 5th, 2981 AD
Caelin Demonte gazed upon the wonderous work that was the Imperial Palace. Not only was it the center of the power and nation that was Subnautica, it was literally the center of the structure that they, and all of the Subnauticans currently moved about in.
It reached up to the ceiling of the dome that separated them all from a black abyss, and oblivion should it be destroyed. Acting like a pillar to hold up the rest and stay off the dark.
The symbolism was not lost on him. The Sovereign was clearly the pillar holding up the whole place, given the lack of noble houses and elites that were so common place across this world. A direct monarchy that functioned because of advanced technology making the lives of everyone under him easy to the point of being fantastical.
Food was practically free, as it was its preparation that costed money. Equipment wasn’t purchased, but rather materials or a design that you can put into your own fabricator at home. Purchasing prefabricated equipment only happened if you didn’t have the time or means.
If you didn’t have money, you could go out and get materials yourself as payment. Or, in his case, provide an item to scan, and if the schematic didn’t exist in the databank, you would be able to trade it for money based on potential purchases based on popular trends. If Swords were in season, you would get more money. Less if not. It was based on aggregated data over a period which are stored in algorithms.
It didn’t make a lot of sense to him, but he was able to trade a scan of his family heirloom, a pulse laser pistol, for nine thousand units.
That was another thing. The money system here was based on a universal credit system, but also legal tender notes of paper for those who have no credit savings account. As a non-citizen, he couldn’t have one, even as a dignitary. Joining the Alliance would change that. The tender is in denominations of one, five, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, five hundred, one thousand, and ten thousand.
Each had a picture of a famous structure of water craft on one side, and either an aquatic location or creature on the other. The Shallows, and the Sea Moth on the One note. An underwater grass field on one side, and a Prawn suit drilling some rock on the other for a Five note. A coral Reef with schools of fish on one side, and the Cyclops submarine on the other for the Ten note.
A strange, alien looking location called a Deep Reef with crab spider looking creatures on one side, and on the other a vicious looking shark creature chasing a diver who held a spear with electricity coming off it, for the fifty note. For the one hundred note, one side had a Humpback Whale, and the other had Subnautica on the other.
For the thousand Note, one side had the “Aurora”, a Leviathan Class Colony Submarine, an enormous machine he had never seen before. The other possessed a picture of the Trench cliff leading from the light, and into the darkness.
He was then shown a ten-thousand-unit bill, and it different than the others. It features a ruined city with a shining lighthouse on the surface of the waves, with…sickly looking girls and men in strange diving suits in portraits alongside the city picture. On the top of the bill, above the light house, it had words that said “No Gods, or Kings.” and on the bottom it said “Only Man.”
On the other, a picture of a proud if dour looking man name Andrew Ryan, with an injector and glowing bottle of some kind on one side of him, and a bloodied rabbit mask on the other, with a bloodied wrench and golf club crossed beneath his portrait. On the top it said “A Man Chooses, A Slave Obeys.” While the bottom said “Would you Kindly”.
The he learned the summarized story behind these things on the tour, and the story behind this depiction. It was chilling to the soul. They held little back as they showed how they were a free-market out of control near the end of its existence, making life almost impossible for any who were not as vicious as a pirate king.
Then came the Genetic Modifications. Gene-mods utilizing animal DNA that gave people who took injections incredible abilities, Adam as it was called. Eve being the stabilizer that allowed the genes to function. People didn’t regulate how many mods they got and how quickly. They went wild. That in turn led to the descent, into total insanity.
He still shivered as he saw ancient recordings of madmen and women screaming about Adam, dragging clawed hooks as they laid into one another in a ruined husk of a darkened terminal. They were told, and shown reenactments of notable people of Rapture.
Sander Cohen…the source of the Rabbit mask. Caelin felt his face blanche as he remembered the safer images of his…art. He knew of men in other kingdoms who are little better than animals, but Cohen was on another level. That man was a monster in human skin.
In the End, the sane people escaped, and went over to the various outposts to survive. Subnautica being the biggest one. Left on their own, they had to make hard choices and do acts of incredible bravery in the abyss to survive. The Abyssals, wandering divers seeking resources without submarines to help them. One was depicted on the fifty note.
Thus, he and others were told that the ten-thousand tender note was made to remind people with such wealth the costs of having such wealth if not possessed with restraint. He was certain many details had been withheld for the tour, but what was said is enough.
Somewhere out there, in that black darkness, were the ruins of a city, named Rapture. Named for the Heaven it was built to be, but had descended into Hell.
After that portion of the tour was over, he needed to sit and have a drink. The small bar near the Tram Line served him Vodka with a fruit twist. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t help that much.
He looked up when his lord and protégé, Devlin Fields wandered over and sat down next to him.
“Ale for me!” he called out. The bartender nodded and handed him a large glass of the golden drink.
The young Lord turns towards him, and gives him an inquisitive gaze as he drank a mouthful before placing it back on the bar.
“Still freaking out?” he asked bluntly, but with a hint of teasing.
Caelin snorted. “I do not freak out brat. I become rightfully concerned.”
Devlin shrugged. “Well, there’s not much we can do about it. It is what it is. They are more powerful than anyone could imagine, with technology we barely have been given a glimpse of, and they have a very twisted beginning, whose memory they keep alive in order to avoid it again.”
He made it sound so simple, but it was hardly ever the case. Devlin waved his hand to ease him, once more reading him as he had for many years now.
“With what he has shown us, and demonstrated here and on the surface, it’s a given that he can roll over anyone he wanted.”
Crossing his arms, and turning to look upon the palace. Devlin’s expression became contemplative. Caelin contemplated as well. The Sovereign didn’t have to reveal his toys to them at all, but he did easily when he had no choice, and revealed a card in his deck to show just how extensive his reach and strategy was.
On one hand…the young leader was honest and open about his ways and means, but at the same time he kept things close to the chest. That made him dangerous in more than a few ways to their Kingdom. Worse, as Devlin said, there wasn’t much anyone could do about it as they lacked the power to.
Caelin sighed with a slight growl.
Devlin, once more, read him like an open book and grinned a bit.
“The real reason you are this way is because you see it for the choice it is. I do too.”
Caelin looked his protégé in the eye. He did, didn’t he? Sometimes the young, brash, hot blooded man before him reveals his is as much a Lord as his father. His firebrand of a Mother took some of that finish off that his father provided, but it was there when he needed it.
“There’s no real choice here. Join or eventually be overtaken.”
Devlin lost the grin and shook his head. “It’s more than that. It’s ‘join and become like us, or don’t and be forced to later’. Don’t tell me you hadn’t noticed? The fervor these people have, that the people of the Empire are gaining.”
Caelin frowned as his eyes narrowed. “I had, but it didn’t make sense until coming here. It’s like it all gets into your head. How could it not? This place is straight out of the Golden Age, beyond that even, and the things people say, how they say it, the sheer….faith they have that their ways are the best. It is infectious.”
Devlin’s expression became one of deep thought.
“It’s more than that. An infection implies that its something bad that you need to resist. In this case…they argue for something that has merit, and prove that it works, despite everything we ever knew showing it could never be. The question we are presented, is whether we agree with the argument or not.”
Caelin frowned. Again, Devlin showed why he was given Lordship. Part of him was proud of his young student, but another hated that he hit the target so well. Only because of what it meant.
“The real question, and what I believe you are fearful of, is whether you want to give up our own freedom to join in this path of theirs.” Devlin finished.
Devlin turn to him again and finished his Ale in one large down. He placed it back on the bar loudly.
“Another Barkeep.”
As it was refilled, Devlin grinned and looked at Caelin.
“That’s why I am choosing to join. I see it differently. I see it as taking a hold of the reins of our destiny before it is taken from us, and becoming a part of something greater, which in turn will make us greater. If they try to change us from who we are as a people, we possess a voice to remind them that we are not one voice, but many that make one. We work to keep who we are, while accepting what is given.”
Caelin shook his head.
“It won’t be as easy as that.”
“Of course not. I can’t foresee the future, but I know that if we don’t have a foot in the door now, we will become just another stone in that road they are building. You have seen the works in the Empire, what they have here. Who would say no to that once they realize how much they benefit from being a part of the whole? Best we start now, and become one of the bigger voices than just another small tone mixed with a choir.”
Caelin hated it. The boy was right, in many ways. There are things, implications he hadn’t mentioned, but they need not be said. The ability to make war, not through fire and mech, but through word and benefits. It wasn’t anything this world had ever dealt with before. Nations would normally take, or destroy what other had to make their own.
Here, in this case, was a nation that could simply give it to them and do so quickly and easily. All you had to do, was join in as a part of a bigger whole, for the Greater Good. It was insidious. It was genius. It was terrifying. It was Awe inspiring.
Things were going to change, and knowing history as he did, he could see the tsunami coming.
Did he let it hit, or did he take the hand given and rise above it?
It was his Lord’s choice, and he has made it. Caelin could only hope they don’t lose more than just their own path to destiny.