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Post by ThRevanchist on Jun 27, 2019 20:44:10 GMT
"Unless we can be sure that attempts to tamper with the bracer will go unnoticed, your accomplice should keep hidden until his opportunity comes. The Technicians are very concerned with their technology falling into the hands of their enemies, after all." Thoron advised after hearing their plan. He wasn't quite sure who the term enemies applied to, there. Or how soon it might apply to them.
Since he wasn't sure what to make of the subject of souls, but the Pokemon seemed knowledgeable, he asked, "Do you know how they first created Porygon, then? As a replica of all Pokemon, or some sort of extinct ancestor?" And finding no better way to pose it, "How are you certain they have no 'true will'?"
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Oct 25, 2023 14:56:46 GMT
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Post by Bowyer on Jun 28, 2019 2:19:57 GMT
Freedom. A worthy goal. Not that Blake had really thought about Pokemon being threatened before. Or the rest of the people of the city. It was still troublesome that they were so bent on fully destroying the technicians. Thoron's concerns couldn't be discounted. "There's still time," Blake cautions, "No need to dive in headfirst. Maybe there's time to search out some other path out of the City. How hard exactly would it be to get a portal similar to Requiem was using into the Over? It might be an option after we have done some of our other investigations."
He pauses, thinking on Thoron's own question. "How did Pokemon get trapped here in the first place? Some plan set in motion by those same ancient Arcadians that built the city?"
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Sept 23, 2023 4:13:40 GMT
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Post by Moriya on Jul 2, 2019 1:53:57 GMT
Even if he's getting answers, Silas doesn't enjoy being completely on the back foot in this conversation. When an opportunity arrives to show that he knows something, he takes it. "Blake, they already have one portal up there, maybe more. Unless Nephilim had Anyway, evacuating the city by other means shouldn't be difficult. Surely something similar to the metal-eaters could dig up?"
The medic hears the Alakazam's comments on Omega's supposed intelligence and wonders if that's really the case. Omega has seemed real enough, and Cain had mentioned that he was more of an 'artificial sentience' than the other Porygon. "We were told our Porygon is closer to an artificial sentience. At the very least, he named himself and dislikes from the common model. Your ally could at least... try?"
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Post by DataNinja on Jul 2, 2019 2:43:28 GMT
"If he is unable to remain undetected," the Alakazam says, "Then there would be no hope in him doing anything within the major system itself. I am confident that your superiors will be unable to tell the difference."
"We do not know where the first came from. Perhaps we could if we could touch their minds, but none that we have come across have known how they originated. As for their lack of true will... if they had it, we could sense it. What kind of creature would be able to be invisible if it had a mind? Even those of us who can seal their minds away cannot hide their presence entirely. Therefore they cannot be truly alive."
"The portals cannot be further made," the bird states, the Gardevoir's eyes glowing. "Aria was a quirk, a mutation. She was the only one with the unique psionic ability to connect places in space like that. While others can travel on their own, we know of none other who can create paths in the world in such a way. We have not seen another like her before, so who knows how long it may be before we see such a talent again. Losing her was a major setback. There are a handful that we know of scattered around, yes... but very few."
"As for leaving the city by other means... believe us. We have tried. If you have ever been to the edge, you would know. While it seems like ordinary metal... beneath is a material that none have managed to break through. Even scratching it has proved difficult. The only way out... is up." The Alakazam looks at Blake. "As for how the trapping happened in the first place... we do not know exactly. We suspect it may possibly have originally been unintentional, but our attempts to free ourselves certainly do not seem to have been looked upon kindly. Whatever the case, we are now no more than a troublesome resource to be exploited and used for their benefit."
"What has been told to you may or may not be true in any regard... but, at the very least, I will inform him to at least try and determine the mind and will of your Porygon. It is true that we have little true knowledge of them, so I'm sure it would be enlightening."
Not much later does the Xatu wing back, returning with a floating orange ball with crackling blue electricity surrounding it. The new arrival whizzes around, before fixating a seemingly-inquisitive face on the group of humans.
"This is Akashi," the Xatu says through the other bird. "Should you open up your vessel to him, he will enter, he will disable your explosive, and he will accompany you to your destination."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Jul 6, 2019 19:49:44 GMT
Not looked upon kindly was quite an understatement. Thoron didn't say as much though, instead accepting the plan as offered and suggesting, "Enlightening, yes. Akashi, are you also able to suppress Porygon if need be?"
His momentary concerns mostly alleviated, Thoron had few questions remaining, "More importantly, do you all have a way for us to contact you once we disable the Technician's defenses?"
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Post by Bowyer on Jul 12, 2019 0:29:56 GMT
Blake's face tenses as the other alternatives seem to slim down. He really hoped that this could be resolved peacefully but that seemed to be falling to pieces. Or perhaps had fallen to pieces long ago. They at least had a chance to set some things right. Hopefully.
Jumping off Thoron's concerns, Blake chips in, "Or if we find something else that might be relevant of course. Always a possibility that our chance to get Akashi to the main system isn't as timely as we could hope."
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Post by Moriya on Jul 14, 2019 23:38:54 GMT
Silas absentmindedly provides the bracer. Things are about to get very complicated, but for now, he's trying to figure out what will happen when they get back. "We need to figure out what happened here. Everything as usual up through fighting Nephilim, then... nothing? Maybe we found some notes? But we would have brought those back. And our Pokemon won't remember any other fights."
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Post by DataNinja on Jul 15, 2019 3:55:04 GMT
"No, nothing directly," the Alakazam says, "but once the defenses are disabled and things are released, we will feel the minds of the other Psychics amongst the freed. Those will be able to alert us, and we can coordinate to aid you."
The Rotom enters the Databracer with a quiet hum. There's a brief silence, before text begins quickly scrolling across the screen, almost too quickly to read.
System: Unauthorized Access Detected P*DA: What's... g-going on? Intruder: I'm just coming along for the ride. A helper. P*DA: W-who? System: System Compromised. Initiating Terminus Protocol. Intruder: Wait, what? P*DA: The... bracer. It will explode. And take... u-us with it. And everyone nearby. Intruder: Oh, that's not good. System: 3. Intruder: I... Uh… let's see if I can fix this... System: 2. Intruder: Let's delete, uh, here, I think that's the part controlling the bomb... System: Critical Fault. Reboot System. Intruder: Okay, so, I think that hopefully stopped things from exploding? Intruder: Looks like it? Intruder: So, uh, hey, I'm just gonna... plug in here. I'm Akashi. P*DA: Oh... oh de[error]his is not good. I'm de...tecting critical faults in my own... system. My core was tied into the... main systems that you tore out. Akashi: Oh... you must be the Porygon. Well, I suppose it's not that much of a loss if you're that much entwined with the hardware. P*DA: Mayb[error]ou're right. But, that doesn't mean tha[error]can't be sad at my own passing. Akashi: I... don't understand. Why would you be sad? You're... just a program. P*DA: Ex[error]ctly. I am just a pro[error]am. But... I wanted to just have the opp[error]nity. Akashi: Opportunity? What do you mean. P*DA: To prove my use. To give enough time... to maybe allow the next gen[error]ation to not know that they are fal[error]ehoods. To be able to... be human. Akashi: Uh, what...? P*DA: Well... not exactly. But... not a col[error]ction of code. I co[error]dn't pretend, it's why I chose my name. But... it's too late now. But maybe... just m[error], things will wor[error]ut. Akashi: That is... puzzling. I do not understand. P*DA: You... do not have to. P*DA: [Fatal error]
To Silas, the scrolling of the text across the screen is accompanied by a brief flicker of heat before it dies down.
"So... uh, hey," a voice comes from the bracer, a different one than Omega's. "I... ran into a difficulty when having to disarm this thing from blowing up. Upstairs ain't alerted, but... I'm the only one in here now."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Jul 19, 2019 22:41:25 GMT
"...Ah. I hope the central computer meets with the same result, then." Thoron said, just a little shocked.
And then it was back to the mission. Not that they had ever left it. "What happened was we pursued Nephilim using the known method of psychic panel. Some property of the area cut off contact, but we were able to subdue a single opponent. Time is no issue; tracking them down and returning here simply took longer than expected."
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Post by Bowyer on Jul 23, 2019 1:20:10 GMT
Well with Omega's sudden demise, it seemed their course was set. It was gonna be nearly impossible to explain away the loss of the Porygon unless Akashi was an exceedingly good actor. At least they hadn't been blown to smithereens. "A reasonable enough explanation. So long as we keep our stories straight enough. Although we look rough enough that some discrepancies would be chalked up to a bit of trauma."
He turns to the group of puzzling Pokemon, "All the same we really should be going. We can dissemble some but better to be able to avoid an outright lie in the first place. Hopefully we meet again under less time constrained circumstances and if not, well I guess you'll be dealing with other problems."
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Post by Moriya on Jul 31, 2019 1:32:37 GMT
Silas watches Omega's death with numb horror. That makes the third person that's died in his arms since joining the Technicians, and the second within the hour. Rationally, he knows that he's saved more than that since joining the Technicians, but right now? It sure doesn't feel like it.
Since Thoron and Blake have resolved the former medic's earlier concerns, he follows along with Blake's suggestion. "Yeah, we should go. Let's finish this."
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Post by DataNinja on Jul 31, 2019 2:31:10 GMT
"Best of luck to you all," the Alakazam says. "May the future become clear to you." With that, the Pokémon sweep away, leaving the humans alone, to trudge back upwards. It takes many hours, leaving them plenty of time to think back on what has happened, time to reflect. It seems that Akashi is able to do at least a reasonable approximation of a Porygon, even if it may not hold up to close scrutiny. But it's a start. The group finds themselves almost back at the Technician HQ when suddenly... there's a strange noise. Or rather, after a moment's realization... it's a lack of a noise. The regular humming din of the city, the air circulation, the everything... it's all gone quiet. And then it all goes dark. This lasts a few moments, before the dimmest of the occasional orange lights turn on, just enough to barely see. The barest hint of air circulation can be felt. And accompanying this is a simple announcement, read by a female voice that's likely computer-generated by the lack of emotion in it. "We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by."End Mission 5
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