Are two claws better than three? That is one of the many questions I’ll be attempting to answer as we delve into X-23’s cards! Here I will go over her cards in great detail, try to predict which aspects and archetypes she will like, as well as estimate where she’ll rank in terms of power.
Disclaimer #1: X-23 has just been previewed. I have not played her, this is all simply theoretical and done for fun!
Disclaimer #2: This is my longest deep dive yet! Skip to the conclusion if you want a shorter read! Just read the bullet points at the end for the quickest read.
But let’s cut to the chase.
Identity Card - Alter-Ego
X-23 or Laura Kinney as she’s called in alter-ego is, in many ways, much like Wolverine. She has a giant REC of 6 and has a setup ability to put her claws into play. And while yes, she is high damage and has plenty of healing, the similarities really do end there. She functions entirely differently.
So let’s hit the boring stuff. She’s got 10 hp and the standard hand size - 6 in alter-ego, 5 in hero form. Not great, but not bad - distinctly average. She also has the Mutant alter-ego trait and X-Force hero trait as you'd expect.
As mentioned, she has 6 REC and this is by _far_ her best stat. 6 REC is monstrous and shouldn’t be underestimated - she doesn’t automatically heal when starting the turn in her hero form, meaning there’s no opportunity cost for going alter-ego to use it like with Wolverine.
Given how dangerous it can be to drop to low hp in the pursuit of not missing value from a large REC stat, she will like any well-costed increases to her hit points. So far, we haven’t seen an equivalent of Adamantium Skeleton, but you can bet that Endurance, the unannounced but probable Honorary X-Force card, or even Symbiote Suit are all on the menu as potential cards for her deck-building.
Increasing her hp will help her in other ways - but we’ll get to that.
Like Wolvy, she has a setup ability to put her claws in play. Unlike Wolvy, she has a second ability that she can actively use throughout the game. It’s an action to shuffle either the Honey Badger ally or the Sisterly Bond event from her discard pile into her deck and then draw a card. The shuffling of either card is a cost, so you are only able to use it for the sweet card draw if either is in your discard pile.
Unfortunately, it appears X-23 only has one copy of Sisterly Bond and she seems heavily incentivized to keep her signature ally around on the board at all times. Which is to say, her alter-ego ability won’t always be online to use. But it's much better than not having one. ...Like Wolverine.
But let’s get to the good stuff.
Setup Ability - Shhnk!
The ability is very simple. Put X-23’s Claws into play. So let’s talk about those.
Her claws have the weapon trait, the permanent keyword, and have a hero action that reads: Exhaust X-23’s Claws and take 2 damage → X-23 gets +2 ATK until the end of the round.
As you can see, suddenly her 6 REC is looking a lot more useful. And she has other sources of healing which we’ll soon cover. She also has multiple sources of readying, and thus you can really start to get excellent value from these. If anyone has ever played Quicksilver with Maximum Velocity, multiple readies with a +2 ATK boost is incredibly good! And she can pull the trigger every turn - as long as she has the hp!
Identity Card - Hero Form
Her form is, quite frankly, amazing - and her entire kit has fantastic synergy with it. As do a lot of aspect cards.
She’s another 2 THW, 1 ATK, and 2 DEF hero. The same as Cyclops and Angel - apparently this has become popular! But like both of those heroes, she has a ready source of damage. In this case, the claws we just talked about. By taking 2 damage, suddenly she’s a 2 THW, 3 ATK, and 2 DEF hero.
2 damage might seem steep, but remember those readies I talked about? They’re here. X-23 has an ability called Living Weapon. It’s a response which says after she takes any amount of damage, ready her (Limit once per phase.). So, at the most basic level on our turn, we can always thwart for 2, ready by taking damage from our claws, and then use our basic ATK for 3 damage (or even just another 2 thwarting!).
If she attacks twice, it’s 4 total damage (1 and then 3). If she thwarts twice, it’s 4 threat removal total (2 and 2). She has to take 2 damage to do so, but restoring 2 hit points is generally considered to be roughly the equivalent of one resource.
Remember Captain America? He's pretty good. By discarding one card (read: one resource), he too can ready to potentially attack twice, thwart twice, or some combination. And he too hits a maximum of 4 damage or threat removal, but even he can’t hit 3 damage and 2 threat removal like this while X-23 can.
What I’m trying to say here is that X-23 is going to be incredibly, incredibly consistent. Notably in solo play but still amazing in multiplayer. Even before you look at your cards in hand, you can basically guarantee defeating any one of most minions or clearing most side schemes. That versatility and output from Turn 1 is rarely talked about from Captain America but I believe it is one of his greatest strengths. Now? One of X-23's.
Lastly, I need to bring attention to the fact that the Living Weapon response, the thing that readies her, is once per phase. You can defend with her on the villain phase and, should she take a point of damage, she’ll ready straight back up. Nice. Cap can’t do that either.
In short, if you’re being compared to Captain America, you’ve done good. Right now? X-23 is looking very strong.
…But maybe all her other cards are bad? Heh.
Signature Ally - Honey Badger
…Who names these characters?! Anyway, Honey Badger is a key weapon in your arsenal. Why? Because she readies you. She’s a 1 THW, 1 ATK, 2 HP ally with a printed cost of 2. She also, curiously, has the X-Men trait. This is weak, but her ability is very strong.
Her Hero Response reads: After Honey Badger takes any amount of damage, ready X-23.
This is very good because X-23 has great stats and we’ve yet to scrape the surface of how high her ATK can really go. If you’ve ever used the Web-Warrior ally of Peter Parker, you know just how good allies that ready you can be. Since consequential damage works for this, the timing will be largely comparable to Peter Parker except she’ll be defeated first before you can use her response if you spend her last hp on an ATK or THW.
With a great ability comes great potential to boost her hp and/or keep her healed. Or even recur her with something like Make the Call, Chance Encounter or Regroup.. See, you are going to want to keep Honey Badger in play as much as you can. Because readying is awesome. And we have other cards that benefit from her sticking around.
By readying you, she effectively has a THW stat of 3 or an ATK stat of 4+. And, since she delivers 1 of either the ATK or THW herself, it’s in some ways able to be split and she can definitely pop Toughs for you. So she’s already a solid ally before you factor in boosting her hp and/or keeping her alive. And all those other cards that synergize with her.
Remember the X-Men trait on her? Every aspect has a Training upgrade that adds hp. Expect to see one or more of these in all her best decks. Maybe a little X-Mansion to heal her, or Game Time, etc. Med Team, Command Team… There are a lot of options. And all of them end in Honey Badger readying you a LOT.
…In short, if your signature ally is being compared to the Web-Warrior version of Peter Parker, you’ve done good.
…But maybe, just maybe, all her other cards are bad? Hehehe…
Let’s check out her events.
Claw Mastery
A 1-cost event with the caveat that it’s “max 1 per round”. What does it do? It’s a hero action that says, until the end of the round, X-23 gets +2 attack - and, if Honey Badger is in play, her attacks gain overkill.
This is super good.
If you don’t ready her again, it’s not so hot. But if you do even once? That +2 attack becomes four damage between two attacks. Combine this with her claws’ +2 ATK bonus and she us hitting 5 ATK and is really going to love more ways to ready. If you make a basic ATK, ready, repeat a few times? We’re in Quicksilver territory. And between Leadership shenanigans with Honey Badger, or Protection shenanigans with all its direct readies? You can deal massive damage here.
Battle Fury isn’t quite in the same league, but it’s starting to make sense why it was reprinted with Wolverine now. She’ll love that too.
This is easily one of her best cards, you just need to combo it. And I say it’s one of her best cards before we even discuss the potential overkill it gives you. Note the overkill is for all her attacks, not just her basic ATK. You could drop Into the Fray on a 1 hp minion and, in addition to removing 5 threat, deal 5 overkill damage. Nice.
Sisterly Bond
A 0-cost event that is a Hero Interrupt - when Honey Badger thwarts/attacks, add X-23’s matching power to Honey Badger.
So, despite Honey Badger having 1 ATK, if you have just played Claw Mastery and used your Claws? This 0-cost card basically gives her a total of 6 ATK for one use. And even without Claw Mastery, it’s still very good at giving either 3 damage or 2 threat removal for 0-cost.
This is like Leadership’s Teamwork card in reverse, except nobody has to exhaust either. If you boost Honey Badger’s hp and/or heal her, this card is a must-play. And her best builds are almost certainly doing this.
It’s very efficient and super flexible with serious combo potential on top. And remember her alter-ego ability? Once this is in your discard pile (looks like only one copy), you can shuffle it back into your deck.
…This is easily one of her best cards too.
Regenerative Longevity
A 1-cost event and an action, meaning it can be used in hero or alter-ego form, that heals you and Honey Badger for a total of 4. It’s reminiscent of Wolverine’s healing card and is one of her two previewed cards to have the Superpower trait.
So, for two resources (1-cost + the card itself), we get 4 healing. This is basically what we should expect for our money for identity healing. However, the ability to heal Honey Badger as well is extra valuable given how ridiculously good Honey Badger is for us.
Is it one of her best cards? You’re going to have to draw it at the right time (after you’ve played Honey Badger), but then? Kinda. Keeping Honey Badger alive and healthy is incredibly valuable. Every hp restored to Honey Badger is another ready, and your readies hit HARD.
Next up? Upgrades and supports.
Sisterhood
If all three of her events and her setup ability, her claws, all combo-ing with Honey Badger wasn’t enough of a clue, here’s the final card that cements the theme: Honey Badger is vital and you absolutely desperately want to put her in play and keep her in play.
X-23 is the first hero we’ve ever seen who works so closely with their signature ally. Wong, Mantis, Vivian and maybe even Gambit come close, but not quite like this. Though, to speak of Vision, keep his Hickory Branch Lane card in mind here. This is her version of it.
Sisterhood is a 2-cost support that has an action (alter-ego or hero form) that says to exhaust it, discard an X-23 card from your hand, then search your deck and discard pile for Honey Badger and add her to your hand.
In other words, wherever you are and whatever is happening, you can always find and thus play Honey Badger once Sisterhood is in play. Whoa.
Now, I generally think beefing up Honey Badger’s hp (and, ideally, other stats) is going to be the best move, but recurring her with this? This can be a great option if you lean into it. Notably, in leadership, the Team Training card is going to do huge work here by giving Honey Badger +1 hp every time you play her. This will also combo really well with Danger Room. Just grab her, play her, and use Danger Room to immediately find and put a Training upgrade on her. And repeat as necessary.
This card is basically infinite copies of Make the Calls for your best ally. As long as you have another signature card in hand that you don’t mind swapping for her.
Nice.
This card? Easily one of her best - for the right build. Otherwise, it’s probably dead to you if you find Honey Badger first and have built the deck to keep her alive forever. However, even with such builds, this could be pretty valuable to find Honey Badger sooner if you happen to draw this first. Honey Badger is just that good.
Puncture Wound This upgrade is basically a delayed event and is reminiscent of Nebula’s techniques. Play it, benefit from the passive bonus, wait, and it goes off in the next round.
And I love it.
It’s a 0-cost card that you can only attach to an enemy that X-23 or Honey Badger have attacked this turn. The attached enemy gets -1 ATK. And then, as a forced response that triggers after the player phase begins, you must discard it - but for doing so you deal 3 damage to the attached enemy.
So, first things first - 3 damage for a 0-cost card is great. This is Turn the Tide levels of efficient. The downside is that it's conditional, also like Turn the Tide. Given X-23’s crazy damage, minions are unlikely to survive - you’re mostly putting this on the villain aside from a few edge cases and mostly in multiplayer (Surprise Contender? Dragon? Sleeper? That Future Past guy I forget the name of?). Normal minions won’t live long at all.
But for a hero who hits hard and fast, hitting the villain is going to be something you want a lot of the time, especially in solo where she can definitely melt through their hp. And if you’re focusing down the villain, you don’t want to be putting a ton of resources into your defense. And this is where the -1 ATK comes in useful.
The slight downside, the anti-synergy here, is that if you reduce the damage you take too low while also defending? You won't take any damage and so won't ready back up with your hero ability. It's going to be a fine line to balance that will vary with each scenario.
We believe she has two of these in her kit and they do stack, so for a total of 2 effective resources you can put both of these on the villain, take -2 from any attacks they make, then they take 6 damage. That’s crazy.
What’s even better is when you consider multiplayer. First of all, this is an upgrade. Cyclops is going to be able to Optic Blast off of it. Secondly, every single attack the enemy makes will be affected by that -1 ATK. So you’re really helping to protect the whole table.
The combo I’m most excited for is with Cyclops (again) and Storm, two of the best multiplayer heroes already. If Cyclops attaches Practiced Defense and Storm changes to her Blizzard Weather, you can play one Puncture Wound too and now the villain has -3 ATK for that entire villain phase. Or -4 if you draw into both of these.
But a lot of other characters will love the -1 as well. Spider-Ham might not need the help, but this will help him take lower chunks of damage for efficient toon counter generation. Drax? Now, when he takes attacks, he takes less damage too. The Groot ally? Suddenly it’s surviving a lot longer. The same goes for Spider-UK.
There are probably even more multiplayer combos I have yet to think of. There are a lot of handy little interactions.
What’s also good about this is that it makes “taunt” cards a lot better as well - cards that make the villain attack. Traditionally, cards like Toe to Toe and Bait and Switch haven’t been worth it. Whether they are now is still debatable, but certainly they get better if you can factor in the villain having -1 ATK. And remember the new card with Angel, actually called Taunt? That works great here as well.
There’s theoretically a situation where, in 4-player where everyone has their own copy of all the content, you have X-23, Storm, Cyclops and Drax, all running 3x Taunt or 3x Toe to Toe, with the first three using their -1 ATK abilities to weaken the villain throughout the game while everyone grabs massive value from these cards.
I love this card.
Grim Resolve
And now for a traditional upgrade. So traditional, in fact, that it’s basically just Clarity of Purpose. The main difference? Its cost arrow says you must TAKE 1 damage rather than DEAL 1 damage, which is relevant with the new 1.5 rules when it comes to potentially blocking the damage.
If you block damage (let’s say with Energy Barrier) from a cost which says TAKE, then you have not actually taken the damage since you prevented it. But if you block the damage from a cost which says DEAL, the damage was still dealt - you don’t have to take it to have fulfilled the cost.
(If this is confusing, while I will try to help in the comments, I recommend looking for some youtube talks on it or scouring the pages of the new 1.5 rules reference!)
Like Clarity of Purpose, it’s a 1-cost card which you exhaust to generate a resource. Clarity of Purpose has you also deal a point of damage to yourself as an extra cost. Grim Resolve has you take a point of damage as its extra cost.
It’s good! Now, you can pop your Claws to get +2 ATK first before using X-23 at all, then make a big basic ATK, then use Grim Resolve to ready then and make a second one. It gives a lot of flexibility in the timing of when you want to ready with her hero ability.
But it’s also just an ever-so-slightly worse version of Clarity of Purpose. Still, Clarity is a powerful card and X-23 has a lot of healing. You can totally run both, whether to just to find one earlier or even put both into play.
Pain Tolerance
Last but not least, we have X-23’s consistent healing card. This upgrade is 2-cost, Superpower traited, and has a Response - meaning it works in both hero and alter-ego form. It says “After you play an X-23 card (including this one), heal 1 damage from your identity.”
Any rules followers will immediately recognize the reminder text being something absent from Sky-Destroyer, another card that triggers upon playing itself, so that is a welcome addition here that should help a lot of players out who otherwise might not realize it. And so we can, in some ways, also consider this to immediately include a 1 hp heal before we even really start using it properly.
So - three effective resources for 1 hp, then 1 hp every time you play one of your signature cards. I can tell you right now that, given how ridiculously good her signature cards are, you are going to want to play them already. And not just that but, as you may have spotted throughout the preview, all X-23’s cards are cheap. So, not only do you want to play them already purely because they’re so darn good, but you can play a lot of them because they’re so darn cheap.
In short, this thing is going to give a TON of healing. Outside of an unlucky hand, this is likely a minimum of 1 and sometimes up to 3 or, if the stars align, 4. And it will likely trend on the higher side if you thin your deck or build for card draw or some kind of recursion (Mutant Education, etc! And her alter-ego ability).
It’s not mind-blowing, but she’ll benefit more from the healing than most heroes will.
And that concludes the signature cards previewed so far - let’s take a quick look through some deck-building options for her.
Basic Cards
With the Mutant trait, she’ll love a lot of the X-Men supports. With an X-Men signature ally who is key to her entire deck, she’ll also love the X-Men supports.
X-Mansion? Heal Honey Badger. Danger Room? Beef up Honey Badger who you can easily recur, and thus get multiple uses from Danger Room on just her. Cerebro? Perhaps find her faster.
Weapon-X? Find more signature cards because 1) they are awesome and 2) she will heal the damage from Weapon X with the card drawn thanks to Pain Tolerance. This can also find Honey Badger sometimes.
X-Gene? Maybe. Definitely if you run Mutant Education.
Endurance? 110%. Symbiote Suit? Honestly, she is clearly one of the better characters for it in the entire game.
Professor X is also a stand-out ally. She lacks confuses and doesn’t always want to thwart. The confuses will help her go alter-ego and use her massive REC, cycle cards back, or heal Honey Badger with X-Mansion.
Oh yeah. And Game Time for Honey Badger. That should really speak for itself. Readying yourself through readying and healing an ally? All for 0-cost? Incredibly good.
Perhaps most importantly, the new basic side scheme she brings that rewards the linked cards will be super powerful for her. It’s called Specialized Training, and she really wants the Combat Specialist reward most of all in most decks. I’m not going into great detail on the new cards here but if you haven’t already, please please check these out. +1 ATK and card draw in any aspect is immensely helpful. It has a decent cost to get it, but if you do? It's superb.
Aggression Cards
X-23 has a plan. Boost her ATK and ready. Aggression can help with both.
In terms of ATK boosting? In addition to new card “Now I’m Mad”, there is the classic Combat Training and even Fluid Motion. I don’t see her loving Brute Force, but I’m sure there’s a novelty meme build where you boost her ATK to insane levels.
For readying, there is largely only Battle Fury. She doesn’t really need another source of incoming damage, but she loves readying so much I can’t see her not using it. Expect this in a lot of decks.
I also think Hand Cannon has her name written all over it. Certainly, she can get Overkill from her Claw Mastery event, but it’s not consistent every turn. Hand Cannon will boost your ATK further and make sure none of your damage goes to waste.
Skilled Strike definitely fits with what she wants to do. With the Weapon trait on her claws, she can technically use Mean Swing and Fusillade far more reliably than most heroes - but I think she’d rather focus on keeping her hp high to just use her claws directly. Better to block with allies or stun the villain than exhaust her claws for something else, in my opinion.
She will actually possibly like Quick Strike. One of the first heroes to genuinely do so without niche builds?
And let’s not forget Papa Wolverine. Who also, like Honey Badger, wants Attack Training which X-23 110% wants to run here.
And do you know what Skilled Strike, Wolverine, Hand Cannon, Combat Training, Now I’m Mad, and Attack Training all have in common? The physical resource. Drop Kick and Jarnbjorn are both on the table. And I think she’ll like them both.
While you might not want to use all of them, that is potentially a whole deck there that just wrote itself into existence. Just add Sunfire and Psylocke like almost every modern Aggression deck.
She is going to be strong in Aggression and hit very, very hard. With the thwarting to make it very solo-viable (if you don't just speed to victory with huge damage!).
Justice Cards
X-23’s plan here is in good hands. She can’t boost her ATK, but what if we, say, gave her Heroic Intuition and just readied her for thwarting? Or split her focus? Perhaps mixed in Making an Entrance to heal? Seems good, right?
Justice also has the best access to confuse. Which means the most reliable access to heal Honey Badger through X-Mansion. And, you know, use her massive REC. And she can find Honey Badger quickly with Chance Encounter if she needs to. One Way or Another? More card draw for her amazing cards, and more healing per turn on Pain Tolerance from those cards. Having a side scheme out to thwart also sets her up well to ready with her claws even if the villain only added a measly 1 to the main scheme. Thwart→Claws→Attack.
Everything here is going to run very smoothly. And she is going to want the cards Psylocke comes with. Something she doesn’t appear to have are any status effects and Upside the Head solves that very efficiently. And with great confuses, comes great ability to use Float Like a Butterfly. With her own ready and Honey Badger’s, she is getting a bunch of damage from it.
Mission Training? That’s Honey Badger’s Justice ticket to Game Time town. That goes in every Justice deck she ever has, surely.
I don’t see any other incredible cards for her here. Just lots of very solid cards that work for most heroes, and will for her too. While it won’t play as fast as Aggression for the most part? With fantastic threat removal here, great access to alter-ego healing, and her innate damage, it’s looking hard for X-23 to actually lose in this aspect.
Leadership
Good ol' Leadership. Where do I start? X-23 is the hero who, as mentioned, resolves the most around her signature ally. And Leadership is the ally-centric aspect. I could probably write a whole deep dive on the possible combinations here.
Let’s hit the basics. Danger Room Training to enable Game Time, X-Mansion, and just get more use from Honey Badger? Auto-include.
And if you’re bringing Danger Room Training, why not bring Beast along?
Pixie can grab Honey Badger for you, or Beast or Professor X, or anyone other X-Men should you bring more.
Inspired is great if you go for the voltron angle and keep her alive forever.
Rapid Response? Eh. This actually immediately gets us a ready from Honey Badger when it deals damage to her after reviving her - but it’s not optimal for her here. Regroup is obviously a great option in multiplayer, but when is it not?
Make the Call is going to be particularly exceptional for Honey Badger recursion decks. And is always an S-tier card in general for any ally you need at any time.
The Leadership side scheme we’ve seen so far, Call for Backup, will be another way to find Honey Badger.
Team Training, so Honey Badger gets an extra use every time you recur her? Super good.
Innovation to heal Honey Badger? Why not.
Then there is Command Team to ready Honey Badger and thus yourself. You might even run it with Lead from the Front given that both you and Honey Badger will get a lot of value from it. If Honey Badger attacks twice, and you attack four times, that’s 6 damage before you factor in other allies and potentially more readies from Game Time or anything else.
There is Clarity of Purpose which I’ve already talked about. You could totally put it on Honey Badger though if you plan to heal her and buff her HP! Is it worth it? Not sure.
And of course Kaluu. As a combo-centric hero, you’ll love it when he grabs you Claw Mastery when you have a bunch of readies lined up in hand. Or vice versa.
Leadership is, at the end of the day, Leadership. It’s incredibly strong on its own and, with all the support for Honey Badger, it’s going to be one of her most popular aspects.
Protection
And finally we have Protection. My initial instinct for X-23 was Aggression or Leadership, and I was already wondering if Justice might exceed them for its consistency, but Protection? Protection might just out do them all. At least for solo play.
Picture the scene.
You’ve used your claws and played Claw Mastery. You have 5 ATK. You wink at Drax, knowing you both share the same devastating damage now. It’s time.
Suddenly you use Leading Blow. What Doesn’t Kill Me. Then Counter-Punch.
BOOM.
And let's not overlook the potential with Repurpose.
The sheer amount of readying or cheap damage based on your ATK stat here is incredible. And with Repurpose, you potentially have more than 5 ATK for all those other readies and Sisterly Bond.
Energy Barrier can help you defend the villain attack and ready without taking too much excess damage. Perfect defense? Not here. She wants to ideally defend but still take at least 1 damage. And this, of course, is the best card to combo with Repurpose. And then that brings Electrostatic Armor into the mix for a splash more damage and another Repurpose target.
Protective Training goes straight onto Honey Badger. It’s basically an auto-include like all the other X-Men Training upgrades in the other aspects.
Med Team and provide extremely consistent healing for Honey Badger and can help you in a pinch.
Iron Fist and Tackle are going to help her keep the villain under control and still help her pile on the damage quickly.
But really, I cannot overstate the value of those readies/ways to use her basic ATK. Using X-23, her own ready, the ready from Honey Badger, and let’s say drawing 2 of them alongside Claw Mastery? That’s 25 damage. And all you had to play first was Honey Badger.
More with that Combat Specialty upgrade from the new basic side scheme. More from Repurpose.
She is potentially going to run faster than Quicksilver and hit harder than Drax.
Rush has never looked so good in green. And even if you don’t love rush strategies like me, it’s hard to deny the potential. You can try to go slower, use these tools to clean up the board, and still do extraordinarily well!
Conclusion
Overall, X-23 looks amazing. She is basically a fusion of Wolverine and Quicksilver that came out looking like Captain America with a tiny pinch of Drax who really, really likes their version of the Peter Parker basic ally. And if you like any of those heroes, or you’ve ever enjoyed readying a Web-Warrior with Peter, I think you will really like X-23.
At least if you can also enjoy working closely with an ally. Some people don’t like allies, and that’s okay. But, for X-23? She can be good without Honey Badger, I think. If you broke the official rules and removed the ally from the deck, she wouldn’t be the weakest character in the game by far still. But she does lose a lot.
Unrelated to the ally, I will say I am predicting her to be the least popular of the X-Force from a general standpoint. I think many players will just see her as a clone of Wolverine - which is only true in terms of her story, not her gameplay. I also think she is a combo-centric character where it’s hard to see the value of her cards individually/without playing her. But, like Drax, will likely become a fan favourite over time.
For me personally, and this goes beyond the bounds of a hero kit deep dive, I think the biggest strike against her is the card art. It might just be me, and I mean no disrespect to any of the artists or whomever is responsible for the creative decisions, but it doesn’t work for me. We have various greys and blacks on a grey/black background. Her alter-ego art is off-center, her identity card just had a plain brown background.
I like the art for Claw Mastery, Sisterhood and Pain Tolerance. But I do think she has the worst-looking cards of all the heroes from this wave so far, and perhaps the X-Men and Web-WarrioChampion waves too.
But you know if I’m picking on the art as my first and only negative, it’s a very good sign for the rest of her. In terms of fun? I think she’ll score high and pleasantly surprise people.
In terms of power? She has a lot of strengths, but also a couple of weaknesses. But her strengths definitely outweigh the weaknesses by a landslide. So far, I have mostly focused on her strengths. So let’s cover her weaknesses quickly.
Her only true source of resource generation or card draw we have seen so far is Grim Resolve. And it’s a good card! But it’s not quite like those heroes who can draw extra cards every turn, or have a couple of extra double resources, etc! So her economy, while fine, isn’t great. I don't believe her alter-ego ability is reliable enough to contribute much.
Fortunately, it’s partially offset by her low costs and she gains a lot elsewhere in areas many high economy heroes do not.
The biggest obvious weakness is that she has no status cards - but in a game where we are getting an increased amount of steady and stalwart, it’s less of a factor. Likewise, we’re getting more access to status cards in the aspects. The exception to both arguments are Toughs but, as a hero who wants to take damage, they are less desirable for her in many situations compared to the average hero.
Cyclops doesn't have any status cards, nor does Wolverine. They get get by. But it's still worth noting!
And lastly, she is somewhat fragile. She is a 10 hp hero who wants to take damage, just like Wolverine, but Wolverine has two advantages. One, his healing is automatic from Turn 1. And two, he has Adamantium Skeleton in his signature cards - a +4 hp upgrade. Now, she can defend and ready immediately with her hero power, but it’s not guaranteed. Against weaker villains, notably on standard, she might not take enough damage to ready. And against stronger villains, particularly on expert, she might still take a significant amount of damage despite defending and readying.
It is of course a great perk of her ability that she can ready in the villain phase, but putting her in the line of fire when she already wants to take damage on her imminent turn and likely did on the previous turn can surely be rough, especially if you haven’t got her healing upgrade out yet.
But smart deck-building can cover everything. As alluded to, we have a good few status cards accessible in most aspects now. She has access to X-Gene as mentioned earlier as well as things like Weapon X, and we have plenty of “fragile” characters who do very well with a healthy supply of allies or stuns built in - plus her healing when she finds them - plus her epic 6 REC.
Another small weakness is that she’s draw-dependent to a degree. Her stats are great with just the use of Claws, but she’ll have quiet turns and large turns. Drawing Claw Mastery? Her damage goes up a lot. Drawing it with Sisterly Bond or other readies? It spikes. But you’re not going to get all those pieces together all the time, and some turns none at all.
Fortunately, as kind of mentioned, her base output is veeery good. And if you build into Honey Badger, keeping her out and alive means every turn will still be huge.
The final weakness I see is her reliance on her signature ally. With some bad luck, Honey Badger (and Sisterhood) could be hard to find. There are ways to help find her - but again, you also have to find them to find her, and most of them have costs of some kind. It's possible for this to sometimes be difficult.
But that was just a look at what I think are her weaknesses, and I hope I have not hurt your impression of her. The rest of the article is strength after strength - and all in all? She is looking brilliantly powerful. Here’s a quick summary:
Strengths:

• Incredibly high damage
• Super consistent thwarting
• Very low setup
• Very low cost curve
• Mutant traited
• Lots of deep aspect synergy
• …Did I mention incredibly high damage?

Weaknesses:

• Low-ish economy
• Semi-draw reliant
• Reliant on her signature ally for full power
• No status cards
• Somewhat fragile

And I will say that the "weaknesses" aren’t really that bad while the strengths - particularly the top four - are especially good! She will hit hard, hit fast, find thwarting while she needs it, and have it all basically at her fingertips from early on.
So, where would I rank her overall and next to the other X-Force heroes? Great question. Of all the X-Force heroes, she has been my toughest one to rank. I will also say all five X-Force heroes revealed so far are ones I am predicting to be in the top 20 of what will then be 48 heroes.
For her specifically, I think the scenario is going to make the biggest difference compared to the other few X-Force heroes. She is damage incarnate, and I think tougher scenarios that can slow her down, that prevent her from winning too quickly, could see her notably fall off when she runs out of steam. On the other hand, she’ll glide through low hp villains like a hot knife through butter.
But I do think, with her best builds and some optimization, she will truly be a force to be reckoned with. So I’ll peg her to fall somewhere between the 7th best and 17th best, with my best guess right now specifically being 12th-ish. She hits very hard and can deal with pretty much anything from Turn 1, and I think that versatility is huge. But I also think that, for the most part, she’s fairly honest.
But, since she has so many combos and I've not played her at all with any of them or any approaches to Honey Badger, I really wouldn't put money on this exact placement. Just know she is going to be amazing.
In some ways, despite being so different to Wolverine, they are still very similar. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He too is high damage, low setup and - especially early game - can be a little fragile unless you build otherwise or ignore his claws. And while it will probably depend on the rest of her cards and whatever X-Force support we get, I will end by saying I do think she will be the better of the two. In my opinion? X-23 > Wolverine - for fun and for power!
Whew! We got there. Thanks for reading and I’d love to know your thoughts! Am I way off the mark? Do you agree? And is there anything I missed? I am sure there are some great aspect cards I overlooked!

Chapter VIII

Hand of the Dark

He hoped he will reach the old gate at time. The sky itself felt as if it was burning, and as if Light came down from the heavens to kill him. The entire city was shaking, pillars collapsing around him. He was not sure if it was an accident, the work of al'Thor, or if it was her raging over and over.
Rand al'Thor was weaving some strange patterns, sending black waves of shadow throughout the city and making it all crumble like the tower of cards. She was screaming - inside his head. He felt as if she will grab his own mind and tear it out of him.
OoO
Inside his head, Rand was screaming. He was sure that he was screaming, that Lews Therin was screaming, but he could not hear either voice in the roar. The foul ocean of the taint was flooding through him, howling with its speed. Tidal waves of vileness crashed over him. Raging gales of filth ripped at him. The only reason he knew that he still held the Power was the taint. Saidin could be shifting, flaring, about to kill him, and he would never know. That putrid flood overwhelmed everything else, and he hung on by his fingernails to keep from being swept away on it. The taint was moving. That was all that counted, now. He had to hold on!
OoO
Scrambling to the top of the hill, Osan’gar dropped to the ground on his belly and smiled as he crabbed sideways to shelter behind a tree. From here, with saidin in him, he could see the next crest clearly, and the people on it. Not as many as he had expected. One woman was making a slow circuit around the crest, peering into the trees, but everyone else was still, Narishma sitting with Callandor glowing in his hands and a woman’s head on his knee. There were two other women that Osan’gar could see, one kneeling over the other, but they were obscured by a man’s back. He did not need to see the man’s face to know al’Thor. The key lying on the ground at his side named him. To Osan’gar’s eyes, it shone brightly. In his head, it overwhelmed the sun, a thousand suns. What he could do with that! A pity it had to be destroyed along with al’Thor. But still, he could take Callandor after al’Thor was dead. No one else among the Chosen possessed so much as an angreal. Even Moridin would quail before him once he had that crystal sword.
Nae’blis? Osan’gar would be named Nae’blis after he destroyed al’Thor and undid all that he had done here. He found it unbelievable how Shaidar Haran's plan actually worked. Laughing softly, he wove balefire. Who would ever have thought that he would turn out to be the hero of the day?
That was before the large ball of fire sneaked from behind. Elza Penfell, standing on another hill close by, tried to kill him. He cursed and weaved again, opening another gateway. Just as he made it, the raging fire followed him through the gateway, as he fell through it in front of dazed Rand al'Thor.
Good thing Shaidar Haran warned him about her as well. He did not think she will try her chance so soon, but it was enough. That little worm - she dared strike at him, one of the Chosen! He who built the armies of the Great Lord in the very beginning of his conquest. But now, it did not matter.
Nynaeve al'Meara and Cadsuane both stumbled back to the ground, both of them almost burned by the heat. He had closed the gateway as soon as he could, but the heat from the weave still reached everyone on the hill. Everyone had passed out, all the Aes Sedai and Narishma who was standing there, holding Callandor. Everyone, except al'Thor. He still stood there, looking like a statue, sweat barely rolling down his forehead. Stern-faced, he did not even seem to have noticed Osan'gar.
So he chuckled. "There you stand." He had been planning to throw balefire at him from that distance and then Travel to the place Shaidar Haran told him to. But now, at this moment, standing there before him... "Fool. Idiot. You should have joined us there in the very beginning."
Three thousand years. Three. Thousand. Years. He was rotting there, and when he was released was little more than a walking corpse. He had a new body, yes, but he still remembered the pain, the feeling of decay as his own bones and skin were blackened. And the one who brought that upon him was standing here, at his mercy. The thought of torturing him, of making him feel the same pain he had felt...yes, that was sweeter than becoming Nae'blis.
"We are here, Lews Therin." The fool did not even raise his sight. His eyes were like a dead man's. "I have you now. You will see what it felt like, you will know. You will feel. I will make you rot like I did. I will make you burn, I will make you freeze, choke and burn again. For all those millennia, you will pay. Have you nothing to say?"
Rand al'Thor still did not move. He was like a statue. And spiteful as one.
He gritted his teeth. "So be it."
OoO
Min almost passed out along with everyone else, less so because of the aggressive heat that almost tore her apart, and more so because of a pile of rocks that almost fell on her. She could feel Rand's own pain. Climbing up the rock, she was about to scream, feeling the foulness of the taint herself, but she bit her tongue when her eyes glimpsed.
Dashiva was there right in front of Rand and everyone else, Nynaeve, Cadsuane and Meris, all collapsed. Dashiva, though, was standing there, looking down at Rand. Looking up she saw the aura around him - he meant to kill Rand.
Her instinct yelled at her to chase him now and she reached for her pockets, but the daggers were not there. Light burn me!
Look Min!
The voices spoke again. At the worst time.
The sword, Min.
What?
The sword, Min, the sword!
Jahar was beside Callandor and he was not moving. She sneaked to reach it, hearing Dashiva speaking to Rand. Jahar's grip was fairly easy on Callandor, and she took the Sword That is Not a Sword, as it gleamed with pale blue light. And her eye, in one single second, caught the sight of grey tendrils of Mashadar coming after her. Listening to the voices, she made a few silent steps, and then, ran right at Dashiva. Plunging the blade in his back, she prayed it went right through his heart. He twitched and she heard him trying to reach for breath. She pushed the blade back and forth, not having the strength to pull it out. As he reached for his breath, he managed to push her away and blade went out with her. Both of them fell to ground, and he hissed in pain, touching his side. He reached out for something and barely went back to his feet, but Min picked up the last piece of strength she could and swung Callandor right across the back of his head. The line of blood was all she could bear to look at.
Then, she felt a feeling that was not wholly her own. Rand stumbled as he tried to stand up, barely pulling himself up by holding onto her. She wanted to hug him, kiss him again and again. But as quickly as she held him, another gateway opened, right behind them. He stumbled again, slipping on the ground. Min tried to catch him, but Mashadar then sneaked up on her, coming into contact with the One Power. In a sound she could describe only as screaming, Mashadar and the gateway created an explosion. Min felt as if she was slapped over her entire body and shortly after darkness was all her eyes could see.
OoO
Now, the city was gone - all of it. In place where Shadar Logoth once stood, a huge hole was instead, large enough to hold an entire lake of foulness one day. A few pillars and a building stayed around it, ones that Padan Fain used to ran as fast as he could from her. Stumbling on the blocks, hurting himself, in mere seconds he gained scars he will carry for the rest of his life.
She threw him down, then up, then down again. The roof and floor were both made of thickest stone, making his head feel like a cracked nut. He tried to speak, but she just threw him at the body of a nearest Myrddraal.
"Please!" he spoke, grabbing his dagger instinctively. "My lady, please! I didn't know he will come here. I swear, I didn't! I wanted to kill him too!"
She screamed in response, spreading her tendrils of mist around him. He felt breath slowly leave him, then, in her love of cruelty, return, only to start taking it from him again. She was not hungry at the moment - he envied those who met her while she was hungry. They were the luckiest creatures on earth.
He crawled on the ground, losing the use of his legs. He even left his dagger behind, screaming for his life. "No. No, no, you need me! No one will bring them to you! I am the only way you can survive!" He instantly regretted saying that. She grabbed him and tightened her grasp even more.
There were no fingers or palps, but it hurt. How much it hurt! "No, my lady, forgive me!" He started coughing. "I did not mean it! I didn't!" Fool, what a fool! How could he even dare say to one of the Powers of Creation that she needed him? She who even threatened the Great Lord all those ages ago...she needed him?
"My lady..." Her grasp tightened again. She let it last longer than before. She will devour him yes...but first it will be worse. "My lady...your greatness, please. No. NO!"
Something else was heard too. The invisible hand dropped him to the ground, his head ringing in pain. Blood went out. In one single glance, in the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the mist retreating and leaving that place. Barely having strength, he saw her heading towards the entrance of what was once Aridhol. She flew and he trembled, fearing the wrath of lady Mashadar even more. Then, she stopped. And laughter echoed through the night.
"Well, well." it said. Glimpsing through a hole in the middle of pillars, Padan Fain perceived a tall Fade standing there. Too tall. The Fade with four fingers. The thing was standing above a ruined corpse. "I thought you would have luck this time around, Aginor." The thing shrugged. "It is not a big waste though. To be quite honest, I never liked you that much and neither did the Great Lord." And he chuckled. Fain shivered at that sound - it was almost as terrible as the presence of the Great Lord and the Lady themselves. He hid behind a broken pillar, retreating while the Lady stood still before the entrance of the city, not continuing the charge.
"What mistake you made, dear? I am no Myrddraal." he uttered. "The Great Lord simply prefers this form. But I, as you know, always had a more specific taste." In the blink of an eye he was changed. The black robes remained, but the pale dead skin was replaced with a light of radiant glory. A face that had the beauty above both human or elven kind, and was neither male nor female. Long white hair fell, and a small black crown appeared above his brow. The most beautiful creature Fain had ever seen - inhuman and more adorned than any king who ever walked on earth. And there were his eyes. Eyes of fire and ash. Most terrible eyes Padan Fain had ever seen. Not even she was immune to fear they brought.
"What do you think?" he said, smiling. "Am I still in shape? You however, seemed to have lost a lot of weight, no?"
She groaned.
"I understand, trust me. How long exactly have you been here? Since the First Turning?"
She groaned again. Sounds alike to hissing and groaning could be heard, if that was a better way to put it. She was giving a thousand sounds and one instead, all simultaneously.
"Oh, goodness." Sauron said, genuinely surprised. "You really have fallen so low. Little more than a beast now, are you not?"
In response, she made a note of deep, horrible sound.
"Ah. The Great Lord always liked your tunes, dear."
She repeated the note again.
"Now that is surprising. We all had our rough times, of course - even the Great Lord. But you...You have almost lost understanding, have you not? There is nothing there except hunger."
She hissed.
"Well, fine then." Maybe thoughts come to you better than words.
She paused all movement or sound.
Marvelous! It is good we can have a conversation in some way.
She finally hissed again, then eased her mind. Black Hand.
He looked at it and smiled. Well, of course, at the moment it is as pale as snow, but we both know what you mean. He raised his hand. I see your daughter stayed in touch with you before she died, no?
Ring-Maker... She thought. Ring-Maker. Lord of the Rings. And yet without a finger. Then she chuckled.
He gnashed his teeth, then moved the lips into a twisted smile. So you have kept a sense of humor at least. It is good to know that. Between you and me, our master has gotten a bit dull over the ages. The rest of us can barely even enjoy ourselves.
Master... she repeated. YOUR master.
He tilted his head. Now, now, now...you know that is incorrect. You have lost weight and patience, my dear, but you are not stupid. I know you are not.
She grew still, not responding.
You know very well who is your master. That incident was just luck on your side and you know that very well. It really was luck or something else. Even the Great Lord could not understand how that could have happened - he was greater than her always. Ever since their beginnings beyond space and time. In that confrontation she was strengthened and he weakened. It happened once and would never repeat again. They both knew that, because, even now, she shuddered at the mention of him. There, there, my dear. Do not be shy. The Great Lord is willing to ignore that event, if you serve him again. Of course, this time faithfully.
As terrified of him as she was, that she would not hear. He. He stays away. He will stay away.
And you think so why?
He is still afraid. Of me.
Sauron laughed. The laughter sent shivers down Fain's spine. Oh my dear, you have kept a great sense of humor!
That was partially true. The Great Lord was not afraid of her anymore. He was, however, wrathful, bent on punishing her for that treachery. For a time - or, rather, all the turnings of the Wheel - they had assumed Padan Fain was her, and that she was taking his form, which is why the Slayer, the Chosen and all other servants had orders to kill him on sight. However, it was not the case and Sauron realized it. The Great Lord needed much convincing to not punish her and instead consider how she could still be useful.
We both know very well you are not as strong as before, dear. You have nothing to stand against him. That was true also. The Great Lord held all the powers of this world and was the ruler of all things. In every art and skill - whether it was crafting, or manipulation of nature or the knowledge and wisdom - he was supreme. And yet, both Sauron and even he had to admit that others among them still held proficiency in various domains others did not. And Ungoliant had such proficiency, one that would serve the purpose of the Shadow. But he is willing to forgive, if you will serve him.
She did not want it. She feared.
Do not worry, my dear. The Great Lord is preparing a feast for you again. He turned his gaze towards the dim moon, hardly seen through the dark clouds. A great feast indeed.
He turned his back and walked into the shadows. "Keep your rat alive." He said in a loud voice, that came for Fain like he was its prey. "That is the only way you can hope to bargain with any of us."
As he left, Fain tried to run again, but instead she grabbed him by the ankle, pulling him closer. "No!"
"Quiet, worm!"
He trembled. She never, ever spoke to him. He could know and understand her mood, her requests, but she never spoke.
"He is right." That voice...it was hushed and broken, but befitting of her power. "I...need you for now." Ensnared in the grey mist, the voice seemed to come from all sides. "So you will live...again, for now. And you will give up chasing him."
"What?!"
"Refuse," the mist took the shape of a dozen horrible eyes. "and you will see there are some things far worse than death."
He screamed, as she continued to torment him. But she did not kill him.
It was Rand al'Thor. It was all Rand al'Thor's fault.

Chapter VIII

Hand of the Dark

He hoped he will reach the old gate at time. The sky itself felt as if it was burning, and as if Light came down from the heavens to kill him. The entire city was shaking, pillars collapsing around him. He was not sure if it was an accident, the work of al'Thor, or if it was her raging over and over.
Rand al'Thor was weaving some strange patterns, sending black waves of shadow throughout the city and making it all crumble like the tower of cards. She was screaming - inside his head. He felt as if she will grab his own mind and tear it out of him.
OoO
Inside his head, Rand was screaming. He was sure that he was screaming, that Lews Therin was screaming, but he could not hear either voice in the roar. The foul ocean of the taint was flooding through him, howling with its speed. Tidal waves of vileness crashed over him. Raging gales of filth ripped at him. The only reason he knew that he still held the Power was the taint. Saidin could be shifting, flaring, about to kill him, and he would never know. That putrid flood overwhelmed everything else, and he hung on by his fingernails to keep from being swept away on it. The taint was moving. That was all that counted, now. He had to hold on!
OoO
Scrambling to the top of the hill, Osan’gar dropped to the ground on his belly and smiled as he crabbed sideways to shelter behind a tree. From here, with saidin in him, he could see the next crest clearly, and the people on it. Not as many as he had expected. One woman was making a slow circuit around the crest, peering into the trees, but everyone else was still, Narishma sitting with Callandor glowing in his hands and a woman’s head on his knee. There were two other women that Osan’gar could see, one kneeling over the other, but they were obscured by a man’s back. He did not need to see the man’s face to know al’Thor. The key lying on the ground at his side named him. To Osan’gar’s eyes, it shone brightly. In his head, it overwhelmed the sun, a thousand suns. What he could do with that! A pity it had to be destroyed along with al’Thor. But still, he could take Callandor after al’Thor was dead. No one else among the Chosen possessed so much as an angreal. Even Moridin would quail before him once he had that crystal sword.
Nae’blis? Osan’gar would be named Nae’blis after he destroyed al’Thor and undid all that he had done here. He found it unbelievable how Shaidar Haran's plan actually worked. Laughing softly, he wove balefire. Who would ever have thought that he would turn out to be the hero of the day?
That was before the large ball of fire sneaked from behind. Elza Penfell, standing on another hill close by, tried to kill him. He cursed and weaved again, opening another gateway. Just as he made it, the raging fire followed him through the gateway, as he fell through it in front of dazed Rand al'Thor.
Good thing Shaidar Haran warned him about her as well. He did not think she will try her chance so soon, but it was enough. That little worm - she dared strike at him, one of the Chosen! He who built the armies of the Great Lord in the very beginning of his conquest. But now, it did not matter.
Nynaeve al'Meara and Cadsuane both stumbled back to the ground, both of them almost burned by the heat. He had closed the gateway as soon as he could, but the heat from the weave still reached everyone on the hill. Everyone had passed out, all the Aes Sedai and Narishma who was standing there, holding Callandor. Everyone, except al'Thor. He still stood there, looking like a statue, sweat barely rolling down his forehead. Stern-faced, he did not even seem to have noticed Osan'gar.
So he chuckled. "There you stand." He had been planning to throw balefire at him from that distance and then Travel to the place Shaidar Haran told him to. But now, at this moment, standing there before him... "Fool. Idiot. You should have joined us there in the very beginning."
Three thousand years. Three. Thousand. Years. He was rotting there, and when he was released was little more than a walking corpse. He had a new body, yes, but he still remembered the pain, the feeling of decay as his own bones and skin were blackened. And the one who brought that upon him was standing here, at his mercy. The thought of torturing him, of making him feel the same pain he had felt...yes, that was sweeter than becoming Nae'blis.
"We are here, Lews Therin." The fool did not even raise his sight. His eyes were like a dead man's. "I have you now. You will see what it felt like, you will know. You will feel. I will make you rot like I did. I will make you burn, I will make you freeze, choke and burn again. For all those millennia, you will pay. Have you nothing to say?"
Rand al'Thor still did not move. He was like a statue. And spiteful as one.
He gritted his teeth. "So be it."
OoO
Min almost passed out along with everyone else, less so because of the aggressive heat that almost tore her apart, and more so because of a pile of rocks that almost fell on her. She could feel Rand's own pain. Climbing up the rock, she was about to scream, feeling the foulness of the taint herself, but she bit her tongue when her eyes glimpsed.
Dashiva was there right in front of Rand and everyone else, Nynaeve, Cadsuane and Meris, all collapsed. Dashiva, though, was standing there, looking down at Rand. Looking up she saw the aura around him - he meant to kill Rand.
Her instinct yelled at her to chase him now and she reached for her pockets, but the daggers were not there. Light burn me!
Look Min!
The voices spoke again. At the worst time.
The sword, Min.
What?
The sword, Min, the sword!
Jahar was beside Callandor and he was not moving. She sneaked to reach it, hearing Dashiva speaking to Rand. Jahar's grip was fairly easy on Callandor, and she took the Sword That is Not a Sword, as it gleamed with pale blue light. And her eye, in one single second, caught the sight of grey tendrils of Mashadar coming after her. Listening to the voices, she made a few silent steps, and then, ran right at Dashiva. Plunging the blade in his back, she prayed it went right through his heart. He twitched and she heard him trying to reach for breath. She pushed the blade back and forth, not having the strength to pull it out. As he reached for his breath, he managed to push her away and blade went out with her. Both of them fell to ground, and he hissed in pain, touching his side. He reached out for something and barely went back to his feet, but Min picked up the last piece of strength she could and swung Callandor right across the back of his head. The line of blood was all she could bear to look at.
Then, she felt a feeling that was not wholly her own. Rand stumbled as he tried to stand up, barely pulling himself up by holding onto her. She wanted to hug him, kiss him again and again. But as quickly as she held him, another gateway opened, right behind them. He stumbled again, slipping on the ground. Min tried to catch him, but Mashadar then sneaked up on her, coming into contact with the One Power. In a sound she could describe only as screaming, Mashadar and the gateway created an explosion. Min felt as if she was slapped over her entire body and shortly after darkness was all her eyes could see.
OoO
Now, the city was gone - all of it. In place where Shadar Logoth once stood, a huge hole was instead, large enough to hold an entire lake of foulness one day. A few pillars and a building stayed around it, ones that Padan Fain used to ran as fast as he could from her. Stumbling on the blocks, hurting himself, in mere seconds he gained scars he will carry for the rest of his life.
She threw him down, then up, then down again. The roof and floor were both made of thickest stone, making his head feel like a cracked nut. He tried to speak, but she just threw him at the body of a nearest Myrddraal.
"Please!" he spoke, grabbing his dagger instinctively. "My lady, please! I didn't know he will come here. I swear, I didn't! I wanted to kill him too!"
She screamed in response, spreading her tendrils of mist around him. He felt breath slowly leave him, then, in her love of cruelty, return, only to start taking it from him again. She was not hungry at the moment - he envied those who met her while she was hungry. They were the luckiest creatures on earth.
He crawled on the ground, losing the use of his legs. He even left his dagger behind, screaming for his life. "No. No, no, you need me! No one will bring them to you! I am the only way you can survive!" He instantly regretted saying that. She grabbed him and tightened her grasp even more.
There were no fingers or palps, but it hurt. How much it hurt! "No, my lady, forgive me!" He started coughing. "I did not mean it! I didn't!" Fool, what a fool! How could he even dare say to one of the Powers of Creation that she needed him? She who even threatened the Great Lord all those ages ago...she needed him?
"My lady..." Her grasp tightened again. She let it last longer than before. She will devour him yes...but first it will be worse. "My lady...your greatness, please. No. NO!"
Something else was heard too. The invisible hand dropped him to the ground, his head ringing in pain. Blood went out. In one single glance, in the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the mist retreating and leaving that place. Barely having strength, he saw her heading towards the entrance of what was once Aridhol. She flew and he trembled, fearing the wrath of lady Mashadar even more. Then, she stopped. And laughter echoed through the night.
"Well, well." it said. Glimpsing through a hole in the middle of pillars, Padan Fain perceived a tall Fade standing there. Too tall. The Fade with four fingers. The thing was standing above a ruined corpse. "I thought you would have luck this time around, Aginor." The thing shrugged. "It is not a big waste though. To be quite honest, I never liked you that much and neither did the Great Lord." And he chuckled. Fain shivered at that sound - it was almost as terrible as the presence of the Great Lord and the Lady themselves. He hid behind a broken pillar, retreating while the Lady stood still before the entrance of the city, not continuing the charge.
"What mistake you made, dear? I am no Myrddraal." he uttered. "The Great Lord simply prefers this form. But I, as you know, always had a more specific taste." In the blink of an eye he was changed. The black robes remained, but the pale dead skin was replaced with a light of radiant glory. A face that had the beauty above both human or elven kind, and was neither male nor female. Long white hair fell, and a small black crown appeared above his brow. The most beautiful creature Fain had ever seen - inhuman and more adorned than any king who ever walked on earth. And there were his eyes. Eyes of fire and ash. Most terrible eyes Padan Fain had ever seen. Not even she was immune to fear they brought.
"What do you think?" he said, smiling. "Am I still in shape? You however, seemed to have lost a lot of weight, no?"
She groaned.
"I understand, trust me. How long exactly have you been here? Since the First Turning?"
She groaned again. Sounds alike to hissing and groaning could be heard, if that was a better way to put it. She was giving a thousand sounds and one instead, all simultaneously.
"Oh, goodness." Sauron said, genuinely surprised. "You really have fallen so low. Little more than a beast now, are you not?"
In response, she made a note of deep, horrible sound.
"Ah. The Great Lord always liked your tunes, dear."
She repeated the note again.
"Now that is surprising. We all had our rough times, of course - even the Great Lord. But you...You have almost lost understanding, have you not? There is nothing there except hunger."
She hissed.
"Well, fine then." Maybe thoughts come to you better than words.
She paused all movement or sound.
Marvelous! It is good we can have a conversation in some way.
She finally hissed again, then eased her mind. Black Hand.
He looked at it and smiled. Well, of course, at the moment it is as pale as snow, but we both know what you mean. He raised his hand. I see your daughter stayed in touch with you before she died, no?
Ring-Maker... She thought. Ring-Maker. Lord of the Rings. And yet without a finger. Then she chuckled.
He gnashed his teeth, then moved the lips into a twisted smile. So you have kept a sense of humor at least. It is good to know that. Between you and me, our master has gotten a bit dull over the ages. The rest of us can barely even enjoy ourselves.
Master... she repeated. YOUR master.
He tilted his head. Now, now, now...you know that is incorrect. You have lost weight and patience, my dear, but you are not stupid. I know you are not.
She grew still, not responding.
You know very well who is your master. That incident was just luck on your side and you know that very well. It really was luck or something else. Even the Great Lord could not understand how that could have happened - he was greater than her always. Ever since their beginnings beyond space and time. In that confrontation she was strengthened and he weakened. It happened once and would never repeat again. They both knew that, because, even now, she shuddered at the mention of him. There, there, my dear. Do not be shy. The Great Lord is willing to ignore that event, if you serve him again. Of course, this time faithfully.
As terrified of him as she was, that she would not hear. He. He stays away. He will stay away.
And you think so why?
He is still afraid. Of me.
Sauron laughed. The laughter sent shivers down Fain's spine. Oh my dear, you have kept a great sense of humor!
That was partially true. The Great Lord was not afraid of her anymore. He was, however, wrathful, bent on punishing her for that treachery. For a time - or, rather, all the turnings of the Wheel - they had assumed Padan Fain was her, and that she was taking his form, which is why the Slayer, the Chosen and all other servants had orders to kill him on sight. However, it was not the case and Sauron realized it. The Great Lord needed much convincing to not punish her and instead consider how she could still be useful.
We both know very well you are not as strong as before, dear. You have nothing to stand against him. That was true also. The Great Lord held all the powers of this world and was the ruler of all things. In every art and skill - whether it was crafting, or manipulation of nature or the knowledge and wisdom - he was supreme. And yet, both Sauron and even he had to admit that others among them still held proficiency in various domains others did not. And Ungoliant had such proficiency, one that would serve the purpose of the Shadow. But he is willing to forgive, if you will serve him.
She did not want it. She feared.
Do not worry, my dear. The Great Lord is preparing a feast for you again. He turned his gaze towards the dim moon, hardly seen through the dark clouds. A great feast indeed.
He turned his back and walked into the shadows. "Keep your rat alive." He said in a loud voice, that came for Fain like he was its prey. "That is the only way you can hope to bargain with any of us."
As he left, Fain tried to run again, but instead she grabbed him by the ankle, pulling him closer. "No!"
"Quiet, worm!"
He trembled. She never, ever spoke to him. He could know and understand her mood, her requests, but she never spoke.
"He is right." That voice...it was hushed and broken, but befitting of her power. "I...need you for now." Ensnared in the grey mist, the voice seemed to come from all sides. "So you will live...again, for now. And you will give up chasing him."
"What?!"
"Refuse," the mist took the shape of a dozen horrible eyes. "and you will see there are some things far worse than death."
He screamed, as she continued to torment him. But she did not kill him.
It was Rand al'Thor. It was all Rand al'Thor's fault.

Hello! So today something happened on yt and my in-chrome yt-shorts-block extension stopped blocking shorts. I guess I'll just wait for the extension patch to come out, I mean what else is there to do? But this situation gave me a realization that all my content-blockers that I use to browse web without distractions are weak and temporary, they can stop working when I least expect and therefore I should probably stop treating them as a solution. I mean it's silly to assume that websites will NOT continue to change their interface every few months.
So am I the only one who find this unexpectancy part of browing the web (and using any today's software/app to be honest) very uncomfortable? Like if someone gave me a chair and let me keep it in my kitchen, but every few months, without warning, they would either chop parts out of it or add things to it, each time telling me that it's going to be SO MUCH BETTER this way, while I was just happy with my chair at the beginning and want to be left alone and sit.
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Recently I've been reading Saint-Exupéry's "Citadelle" and there is a lot of talk in it about building your life in a way that's not the most comfortable, but in a way that makes every step have its rightous place. The book is fantastic so far (it's fiction btw), but it also makes me feel hopeless, there is also a lot of talk in it about cherishing those small minimal things, and I have no clue how to apply it to my world of overstimulation and things getting into and out of my hands constantly.
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Even though it's been two months since he dumped me, I find myself overthinking and getting hurt. I know I shouldn't grieve this long. Idk why it still hurts everytime I am awake. How can I accept the reality and stop this pain? I constantly feel like having chest pain. I know I shouldn't wait around for someone who doesn't want me. Here I am, feeling like my world has been ripped apart cause I was so sure that I found my future soulmate. We used to work hard for our goals together so that we can have a better future. I graduated a bit early than him and was preparing for an entrance exam to pursue my masters. His course is a bit long since he is a medical student. He started seeing me as a competition and started blaming himself as a failure in front of me.He often complained about how he hasn't settled yet while everyone around him started earning.
I tried my best to understand him. I tried to build his self esteem and offered support. I helped him when he got stressed about his studies and future. Slowly he started to avoid me.He began making excuses when I wanted to talk to him. When an obstacle came to his career, he didn't want me with him anymore.He started telling me that I would eventually leave him since he considers himself as an unsuccessful person. I assured him that even if his course is long, he will graduate and all his dreams will come true. Even though I promised him that I will be there with him even if he didn't succeed, he didn't believe it. He then broke up with me. He told my friends that I was a stress to his career. He behaved rudely and blocked me from his social media. We were in long distance. So right after the break up, I clearly don't have any clue on how he is doing. I feel like to check upon him, but I am reminded that he ignored my previous attempts to contact him after BU. I have already lost my self respect by begging.
He sees me as a stranger now. He seems to be moved on. I want him to be happy. That's all I ever wanted. I don't want anything bad happen to him. Even if he finds someone else, I want him to be feel loved and cared like I did. It's just, how do I move on like he did? I don't know what to do. My friends and family advices me like you deserve better and all. We all know we don't want such advice for the time being. How can I forget him? How can I stop feeling all these emotions? How can I stop thinking about him?

Even though it's been two months since he dumped me, I find myself overthinking and getting hurt. I know I shouldn't grieve this long. Idk why it still hurts everytime I am awake. How can I accept the reality and stop this pain? I constantly feel like having chest pain. I know I shouldn't wait around for someone who doesn't want me. Here I am, feeling like my world has been ripped apart cause I was so sure that I found my future soulmate. We used to work hard for our goals together so that we can have a better future. I graduated a bit early than him and was preparing for an entrance exam to pursue my masters. His course is a bit long since he is a medical student. He started seeing me as a competition and started blaming himself as a failure in front of me.He often complained about how he hasn't settled yet while everyone around him started earning.
I tried my best to understand him. I tried to build his self esteem and offered support. I helped him when he got stressed about his studies and future. Slowly he started to avoid me.He began making excuses when I wanted to talk to him. When an obstacle came to his career, he didn't want me with him anymore.He started telling me that I would eventually leave him since he considers himself as an unsuccessful person. I assured him that even if his course is long, he will graduate and all his dreams will come true. Even though I promised him that I will be there with him even if he didn't succeed, he didn't believe it. He then broke up with me. He told my friends that I was a stress to his career. He behaved rudely and blocked me from his social media. We were in long distance. So right after the break up, I clearly don't have any clue on how he is doing. I feel like to check upon him, but I am reminded that he ignored my previous attempts to contact him after BU. I have already lost my self respect my begging.
He sees me as a stranger now. He seems to be moved on. I want him to be happy. That's all I ever wanted. I don't want anything bad happen to him. Even if he finds someone else, I want him to be feel loved and cared like I did. It's just, how do I move on like he did? I don't know what to do. My friends and family advices me like you deserve better and all. We all know we don't want such advice for the time being. How can I forget him? How can I stop feeling all these emotions? How can I stop thinking about him?

Overview
In electronics, AI (artificial intelligence) chips are dedicated processors used to run AI algorithms. The difference from normal chips (CPU/GPU for general purpose) lies in the emphasis on specificity and versatility. CPU, GPU, FPGA, and ASIC chips can all execute AI algorithms. And to a certain extent, GPU and FPGA can also be regarded as AI chips, but ASIC has more distinctive features, so it is also the most representative. So what they are and why they matter?
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What is AI Chip?
The so-called AI chips generally refer to ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chips. Both traditional CPUs and GPUs can be used to execute AI algorithms, but their speed is slow and performance is not good enough, making them impractical for commercial use. For example, automatic driving needs to recognize road pedestrians, traffic lights and other conditions, but if the current CPU is to calculate, then the car may overturn into the river before calculation results, which is a slow performance. If you use a GPU, the speed is indeed much faster, but the power consumption is high, and the battery of the car may not be able to support normal use for a long time, and the GPU is not economical, that is, ordinary consumers cannot afford it. What’s more, GPUs often out of stock. In addition, the GPU is not an ASIC specially developed for AI, so the speed has not reached its limit, and there is still room for improvement. In fields like intelligent driving requires fast calculation; in mobile terminals, AI applications such as face recognition and voice recognition must have low power consumption. Obviously, GPUs cannot meet the requirements, so the development of ASIC has become inevitable.
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Why It Matters?
So why do we need AI chips? For AI algorithms, CNN (convolutional neural network) is commonly used in image recognition and other fields; RNN (recurrent neural network) is mainly used in speech recognition, natural language processing and other fields, which are two different types of algorithms. However, they are essentially matrix or vector multiplication and addition, and then cooperate with division, exponent algorithms.
A mature AI algorithm, such as YOLO-V3, is a large number of calculations such as convolution, residual network, and full connection, which are essentially multiplication and addition. More over, if the specific input graphic size is determined, then the total number of multiplication and addition calculations is determined, like one trillion times, of course, the real situation is much larger than this. If you want to execute it quickly, one trillion additions and multiplications must be performed.
Let’s take another example, such as IBM’s POWER8, one of the most advanced superscalar CPUs for servers, 4GHz, SIMD, 128-bit, assuming that 16bits data is processed, that is 8 numbers, and a maximum of 8 multiplication and addition calculations can be performed in one cycle, performing up to 16 operations at a time. But this is theoretical, it is unlikely in fact.
At this time, the peak calculation times of the CPU in one second = 16X4Gops = 64Gops. In this way, one CPU calculation time can be calculated. And the execution time can also be known by switching to GPU calculation. Let’s talk about AI chips, such as Google’s TPU v1, which is about 700MHz and has a pulsation array of 256X256, as shown in the figure below. A total of 64K units, and each unit can perform one multiplication and one addition at a time, that is 128K operations.
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Systolic Data Flow of the Matrix Multiply Unit
In addition to the systolic array, there are other modules, such as activation, etc., which also include multiplication, addition, etc. Look at the peak calculation times of TPU v1 in one second is at least = 128K X 700MHz = 89600Gops ≈ 90Tops, compared with the CPU, you will find that there is a gap of several orders of magnitude in computing capability. Of course, the above data are completely ideal values, and the actual situation may be only 5%. Because the storage on the chip is not large enough, the data will be stored in DRAM, and the data extraction is very slow, then the multiplication logic often has to wait. In addition, the AI algorithm consists of many layers of networks, which must be calculated layer by layer. However, when switching layers, the multiplication logic is free. Therefore, many factors have caused the actual chip to fail to reach the calculation peak.
Although it can be used with slow calculating speed. But at present, the size of the neural network is getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more parameters. When encountering a large NN model, it takes a few weeks or even a month or two to train, which wastes too much time. If you encounter a sudden situations, such as power outages, have to start all over again. Moreover, if the model is modified, it will take several weeks to know whether it is right or wrong, and no one has so much patience to wait. But with TPU, then you find that you can continue to run by optimizing the parameters during a meal. That is, fast calculation speed enables rapid iteration and development of a stronger AI model.
A deeper comparison can be made clearly for the kernel structure of the GPU. To be sure, the GPU is still relatively fast, at least much faster than the CPU, so most of them currently use the GPU, but don’t forget the GPU disadvantages mentioned earlier, so it is not suitable for large-scale use in data centers. Generally speaking, CPU and GPU are not AI-specific chips. Because they have to realize other functions with other logics inside, which are completely useless for the current AI algorithm. Their performance cannot be used optimally. So it can be seen that it is reasonable for Google to spend money to develop its own AI chip TPU.
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AI Chips Design Principles
AI chips follow a hardware design rule: Sacrifice certain versatility to improve the efficiency of specific services. A well-understood example is Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin's basic algorithm is the SHA256, which is based on the hash algorithm, so there is no reverse formula, and it can only rely on mining machines to exhaustively enumerate a large number of possible values. For each block, the miner who first tries to get the correct value will be rewarded. So the faster the calculation, the higher the expectation of winning the reward.
For mining chips, both CPU and GPU have become the mainstream ever. However, as time goes by, GPU mining has become less useful. For example, the RTX3090 graphics card can perform 126.5M SHA256 calculations per second under overclocking conditions, and the total computing power of the entire Bitcoin network has exceeded 178.6EH/s, which is equivalent to the sum of the computing power of 1.4 trillion RTX3090 chips. Therefore, the current mainstream is ASIC mining, which are designed for the SHA256 algorithm, so ASIC mining far better than GPU, and even a single mining machine can overcome supercomputing centers. However, ASIC mining sacrifice generality in hardware, making it impossible to perform other computing tasks, and even unable to mine non-SHA256 algorithm blockchain currencies, such as Ethereum (which is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. ).
In the example of Bitcoin mining, it can be seen that a dedicated chip is the most suitable: the algorithm or operator is fixed, and it is relatively simple in the application scenario. The AI chip has the same characteristics as the mining machine, emphasizing the computing efficiency in special scenarios, but the implementation scenarios are different.The purpose of the AI chip is to execute AI algorithms efficiently, so it is also called an AI accelerator. In addition, a bunch of other names are derived, such as NPU (neural network processor), TPU (Google’s tensor processor), APU ( AMD’s accelerated processor), whose properties are very similar.
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AI Chip Classifications
AI chips can be divided into two categories. One is for both training and inference, and GPU or CPU can also do it, FPGA (Altera's Stratix series) either, but the TPU v2 and Bitmain's sophon may have an advantage in energy consumption. Compared with GPU, it retains a considerable number of floating-point processing units (or building a lot of tensor computing units), discards some useless graphics pipelines, and improves the energy consumption. There are fewer players in this part, but they are more interesting. For example, ICLR is also thinking about training with fixed-point devices, while Xilinx hopes that XNOR-net can allow fixed-point devices to participate in training.
The other type is the inference accelerator chip, which simply means running the trained model on the chip. This piece is really full of flowers, such as the Cambrian NPU, Intel Movidius (there is also a Nervana that should be similar to XeonPhi for training), Shenjian DPU, Horizon BPU, Imagination's PowerVR 2NX, ARM's Project Trillium, etc. This type of product provides IP for all developers to integrate deep learning accelerators into SoCs.
In addition, we need to talk about Tegra X2 separately. This is equivalent to a small desktop platform. The ARM processor plus Nvidia GPU can provide complete training and inference capabilities. Of course, the power consumption is also high. For other acceleration chips, I think it is best to divide them into two categories, floating-point and fixed-point. Floating point is only FP16 half-precision, of course, it supports FP16 and INT8, such as Cambrian’s NPU and Intel ‘s Movidius. In terms of fixed-point, it is easy to think of Horizon BPU and Imagination's PowerVR 2NX.
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Development of AI Chips
Here we will take Google TPU as an example.

1. Parallelization

In order to better accelerate the reasoning of the model, it is necessary to summarize the characteristics of the actual model, find problems, and then make targeted optimization. The algorithm of the AI chip is usually based on the convolutional neural network. Faced with its huge amount of calculation, the CPU can only perform limited calculations in a single clock cycle, and calculation bottlenecks are prone to occur. Where the GPU improves the performance of parallel computing, and converts the equivalent transformation of the convolution operation into a multiplication and addition operation of the matrix, which has become the mainstream hardware for neural network training.
The core of model acceleration is to increase the level of parallelization and perform as many operations as possible in the same clock cycle. So the TPU redesigns a dedicated hardware architecture: the systolic array.
See the figure below for the systolic array of the TPU. The calculation results are not directly output, but "flow" in the array according to the law, and saved after the calculation is completed. It not only increases the degree of parallelism, but also realizes the reuse of parameters and avoids repeated loading. And this array can perform 65536 multiplication and addition operations of 8-bit integers per clock cycle. Under the main frequency of 700MHz, an amazing computing power of 65536 * 700,000,000 * 2 [email protected] is realized.
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TPU-Systolic-Array
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1. High-speed On-chip Storage

Google mentioned that in the neural network it deploys, the number of parameters ranges from 5 million to 100 million, and the intermediate results also have a large amount of data. If the convolution operation unit (such as a systolic array) is frequently performed from DDR:
1) Load parameters
2) Read data
3) Write results
Similar to the barrel effect, it is the shortest piece of wood that determines the water capacity, which is the performance bottleneck. The above-mentioned intensive DDR read and write operations make the IO speed easy to become the performance bottleneck of model reasoning. Therefore, TPUv1 is equipped with 28M bytes of on-chip memory (OCM). Although the cost is relatively high, the read and write speed is far superior to that of DDR. What’s more, the TPUv2 is equipped with 16GB of HBM storage, and its IO speed reached 600GB per second.
With a cache (OCM or HBM), frequently used parameters can be loaded into the cache in advance at runtime, and then the convolution kernel can quickly read the data without repeatedly loading from memory. Not only that, the on-chip memory can also save the intermediate results of the network operation, avoiding transfer (write + read back) on the memory, thereby significantly reducing the IO pressure of the memory.
The role of the cache here is similar to the L3 in the traditional CPU. The purpose is to effectively lower the pressure on the memory, so that the powerful computing power of the convolution kernel can be fully utilized, to avoid the situation of invalid waiting for data loading.
And the paper 2 experiments and counts the running performance of several mainstream models on TPU/GPU/CPU.
The horizontal axis is the required computing power divided by the amount of data that needs to be counted from the memory, which represents the computing density corresponding to the unit memory data loading, while the vertical axis is the actual computing power. Therefore, the slash part represents that the computing performance is restricted by the memory IO bandwidth, while the horizontal part represents that the performance has been fully utilized.
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Operational Intensity: Ops/weight byte (log scale)
As shown in the figure, TPU is significantly better than CPU and GPU at high computing density. It can be seen that under high computing density, TPU can play a greater advantage.

1. CNN Quantization Algorithm

In addition to hardware design, in order to make the AI chip run the model more efficiently, it is necessary to perform lightweight processing on the AI algorithm, which can significantly reduce the size of parameters and the amount of calculation. The current neural network training is basically based on floating-point operations. When training and reasoning on the GPU, 32-bit or 64-bit is usually used to represent a floating-point number. If a lower number of bits is used, such as using 8 bits to represent numbers, the parameter size and calculation amount will be greatly reduced.
The figure below uses an 8-bit integer Q to approximate a 32-bit floating-point number.
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32 bit float
This operation brings a certain quantization noise, and a good neural network will have a certain anti-noise ability, so the accuracy loss of the algorithm after quantization will be limited and controllable. Another advantage of quantization is that if the input and parameters of the model are quantized into integer numbers (such as int8/uint8), there is no floating-point calculation, which can simplify the hardware design. As mentioned above, the first-generation TPU only supports integer operations, not only because integer operations are more efficient in hardware, but also because the circuit is much simpler.
At present, there are two mainstream quantification methods:
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Mainstream quantification methods
QAT uses the quantization operator when training the model. It can avoid the loss of precision to the greatest extent, but it cannot use the existing floating-point model and needs to retrain the model from scratch.
PTQ is to quantify the existing floating-point model, although the accuracy and efficiency of the model are not as good as QAT, there is still a great demand for use because there is no need to retrain the model and the threshold for use is lower. Here is a point, how to reduce the loss of accuracy is the goal of the PTQ program, and it has also produced a variety of ideas, such as linear quantization and logarithmic quantization.

1. Efficiency and Cost

In addition to the essential 3x3 convolution, there are dozens of common neural network operators. Because of the chip cost, design difficulty, and operating efficiency, existing AI chips can only support some operators. Therefore, it is necessary to understand and consider hardware capabilities during model training, and try to use operators that can be efficiently supported by AI chips to improve efficiency after deployment. Conversely, when designing the hardware of the AI chip, it is also necessary to consider the needs of algorithm design, and try to support more commonly used operators to improve the degree of freedom in model design.
If the manufacturer has the collaborative development capability between hardware, it can achieve a very good balance between model accuracy, chip cost, and inference speed. This is why more and more terminal manufacturers choose self-developed chips, and AI chip manufacturers often package algorithms for sale.
Note: This original content is from my blog KUKE Electronics.

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 1,940,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
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Join the Cryoverse Discord server!
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(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
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After every Demon Duke pops one of Glinch's pills, they begin to evolve. The change shocks the Emperors to their cores. Yardrat prepared himself for the inevitability that these incredible pills would do the unthinkable, but seeing it happen in real-time is very different from imagining the concept in his head.
He and the other leaders, movers, and shakers of the Four Hells who came along can only watch numbly as Vespera, Rhesus, Hamir, Vepar, and all the other Dukes explode in strength, smashing through their limiters to ascend to the realm of Demon Emperor.
Their bodies glow with power. They fall to their knees and roar to the heavens, delighted in achieving that which they previously thought was unattainable.
In an instant, the balance of power across every Hell shifts, yet few even know of that which has just transpired, and fewer still take the time to think clearly about what this will surely mean in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
If they cannot defeat Mephisto, it won't matter if they have six Emperors or six hundred. The power of a Demon Deity will crush them all into dust, with nothing left behind, aside from their dying screams.
As for the fifty newly ascended Emperors, their names and titles are numerous, almost numbing to dwell on. Among them are a smattering of renowned individuals, such as:
Vepar, the Corrosive Emperor.
Vespera, the Emperor of Nebulae.
Rhesus, the Emperor of Ripping.
Hamir, the Emperor of Tempests.
As well as numerous others.
The moment they ascend, their titles become known to all demons who gaze upon them. They need not speak these titles, as if having been named directly by the Creator himself. In the entire history of demonkind, few have managed to shroud their true names, the most notable individual being Gressil, who hid his Emperor-level strength until the time was right for others to know.
But these newly risen Emperors have neither a need nor a desire to hide their powerful new titles. They look at one another and grin evilly, excited to begin wielding their abilities as soon as possible.
After distributing half of the pills, Yardrat finds that he still has more than forty left. He turns to Emperor Melody.
"It wouldn't be appropriate for me to hold onto the rest." He says. "My Hell already has more elites than everyone else. If we make it out of here alive, rebuild the Hell of Isolation with these."
The other Emperors blink in surprise at Yardrat's gesture of goodwill. Some of them feel it's a bit of a waste, but the longest lived Emperors and former Dukes ultimately don't bother to interrupt him.
Bael crosses his arms and nods.
"Good call, Yardy-boy. That's what Shax would want."
"Shax was a fine demon." Yardrat says, as Melody takes the pills from him. "His death has always weighed on my mind. If I can help his Hell with a small gesture like this, then I'll do so without thinking twice."
"Thank you." Melody says quietly, looking at Yardrat with a strange gaze. She pockets the pills and sighs.
Shax wasn't just a cool music-loving dude, but a kind demon who made countless friends. He never attacked or fought anybody undeservedly, and he based his Hell on the principles of friendship and cooperation. Even the demons who might not have gotten along with him still respected him. His death to the humans ruined the morale of many demons at the time.
"Don't thank me until we kill Mephisto and leave here alive." Yardrat says, turning his attention to the distant center of the Stitched wasteland. "Everyone, let's move out. And remember, those pills were not for our benefit. This is where the real fight begins."
The others nod grimly. They begin marching toward Glinch's lair, and as they walk, powerful chimera cross their paths at regular intervals. No longer do only two or three of Glinch's minions appear, but instead five and six at a time, each and every individual far too powerful for mere Emperors to defeat alone. They quickly get the impression Glinch has managed to raise entities capable of challenging 5th and perhaps even 6th-Level Psions.
With nearly sixty Emperors on their side, the swarm of demons begins moving forward with great haste.
Yardrat imbues his body with the power of space. He flickers around to deal massive damage to Glinch's chimera with punches that rip across dimensional spaces.
Fae flies into the air and rains bombs from above. She takes the initiative to attack distant enemies with her strongest bombs, weakening and softening them up for her allies to take on later.
Dagon and Vepar work together. With both of their powers having reached the bottom of the Emperor-level in strength, they melt, corrode, poison, and suffocate any enemies susceptible to their poison and acid attacks.
Nymph keeps away from the front-lines. Due to Glinch's wasteland ruining any vines or plants she summons within seconds, she instead focuses on popping out plants sporadically to yank allies out of the line of attacks, or merely irritating her enemies by momentarily tripping them with vine shackles around their ankles.
Kristoff focuses on dealing damage and draining Glinch's chimeras of their blood. Any injuries he inflicts tend to bleed heavily, especially when he focuses his mind on doing so.
Serena uses her magic to boost dozens of newly ascended low-Emperors to mid and high tier Emperors, making their powers considerably more deadly. She also keeps her eyes out for invisible threats or other troublesome soul fluctuations.
Crow stays on the front-lines. Her incredibly durable body allows her to retain the title of the mightiest melee attacker among all the demons present.
Melody focuses on defense. Instead of trying to kill the chimeras, she leaves that business to the superior damage-dealers and instead uses her shockwaves to fling her enemies around and batter their attacks aside.
Vespera plays a versatile role, sometimes summoning shadowy minions to assist the others, sometimes jumping into battle herself to cut chimeras down, and other times teleporting around through the various shadows to distract the different enemies.
Rhesus becomes far stronger after evolving. Despite being hesitant to bother with the pills, he is no different from the other demons in his desire to mutate to Emperor, and the permanent strength increase he obtains puts him second only to Crow herself. Perhaps given time he will even surpass her as his power approaches the apex of the Emperor level!
And finally, Bael swings his flail with reckless abandon. He batters any enemy that jumps in front of him without any thought to strategy or planning. He ends up attacking with a strength not far behind Yardrat, dealing the killing blow to more than a few of Glinch's monsters.
For hours, the demon elites beat and batter their way past dozens of highly enhanced creatures, becoming more and more cognizant of the fact that if Glinch wanted them dead, he could merely command his chimera to swarm them and they wouldn't stand a chance of survival. It causes the smarter elites to shudder when they realize Glinch possesses military strength greater than the combined might of all Seven Hells, even after their ascension!
However, Bael is not one of those highly intelligent elites. He doesn't give these matters much thought. He merely continues beating the shit out of his enemies, pausing once in a while to rest his weary body and swap out with the other Emperors nearby as they fight with all their might to push toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland.
At some point, while Bael does his thing, a spiritual sense awakens from within the Matriarch's Armor.
Emperor Ose's remnant soul sliver opens her eyes and returns to the physical realm, unaware of what has been going on since she began resting. With what remains of her former self, she isn't able to stay awake for days and weeks like she could when she was still alive. She has to sleep frequently, lest her soul dissipate from straining itself. She awakens to find that Bael is no longer meandering around on Tarus II or hanging out in her secret demonic base. Instead, he's become engaged in some sort of incredible high-stakes battle, along with dozens of other mighty demon elites!
Ose blinks several times. She says nothing to Bael, but uses what's left of her spiritual senses to try and get a sense of the other demons around her.
Hm? So many Emperors... what happened over the last few days? Have I been unconscious for longer than I anticipated?
She gazes at Vespera, Rhesus, and Vepar, her eyes widening as she recognizes the permanent status of their new Emperor rank.
Devils! Has the Wordsmith's Belial Booster become more effective? How in the Seven Hells can there be fifty brand new Emperors out of nowhere?
She identifies the former Dukes with ease, having once been intimately familiar with the elites of the Seven Hells.
This is... the Stitched Wasteland? Why is everyone going against Glinch? No, more importantly, why do his minions appear to be so much more powerful than I remember? I heard they were at the level of Emperors, but now it seems they must be higher than Emperors, but lower than Demon Deities. Perhaps half-step Deities? Or simply Emperor-level souls contained within much stronger bodies?
Ose doesn't immediately decide to question Bael. She doesn't even alert him to the fact she's awakened. He's a moron anyway, so talking to him won't provide her with much more info than if she simply used her judgment to determine what's going on.
This is all so strange. Ose thinks. According to the Matriarch Armor's internal chronometer, I've only been asleep a single week, yet a frightening number of things have changed. Has a demon civil war erupted? Perhaps Glinch has decided to rebel against the Seven Hells, so Auger opted to put him down once and for all?
Her spiritual form shakes its head.
No. That isn't Glinch's style. He doesn't care about amassing power, or wealth, or fame and fortune. He doesn't care who rules the Seven Hells. He can't be bought, or bribed, or intimidated, or cowed into submission. Glinch does whatever Glinch wants to do, and not even the Volgrim can change his ways. Since his ability to manipulate bodies and souls is so formidable, the Volgrim have even lowered their heads to commission him on various top-secret R&D projects...
Ose narrows her eyes. Unlike the overwhelming majority of her kin, she is a demon who specializes in not only subterfuge and infiltration, but also high technology. She has stolen many peeks at the Volgrim's Black Level projects in a manner most discreet. Not even the High Technopaths were able to discover her breaches.
If Glinch isn't rebelling, then... could it be that this fierce battle isn't what it seems on the surface?
She pieces together multiple clues at blinding speeds.
Look at how Glinch's army only moves toward the assault force in groups of two or three. They could easily swarm Yardrat and the others, but they don't. That means Glinch is holding back.
She nods to herself.
Coupled with the fact that so many Emperors have ascended... ahhhh...
Ose forms a hypothesis, mulls it over, and smiles to herself.
So it's like that. Glinch must have been commissioned or requested by Auger to improve the fighting capabilities of the Seven Hells. Perhaps he developed some secret new method to uplift demons to the rank of Emperor at Auger's request, and now he's helping battle-forge these new elites. A sound strategy, considering the Wordsmith's rapid rise to power.
Ose ultimately comes to the wrong conclusion, but based on purely the different observable clues in her field of vision, the guess is quite good. She comes to assume that this is part of a secret training exercise intended to build up Hell's forces and churn out powerful fighters capable of pressing against the Wordsmith's bulwark.
Beelzebub isn't here. Ose thinks. None of the Second Hell's residents either. The Hell of Lust must have become quite intimate with the humans, which makes sense. Unlike the other Hells, they rely on fornication with humans to uplift their bodies and souls. The two make for optimal allies.
She checks out the allied forces again, this time paying attention to the specific demons present.
It seems not a single demon that has shown sympathies toward the Wordsmiths has come along. Melody is here all alone. Her Hell always was at least somewhat aligned with humanity, but Melody herself won't be particularly attached to non-demons. Yama isn't here... he must still be at large, along with Mephisto.
Unaware of the fates which befell Mephisto, Yama, and several other demons over the past week, Ose unfortunately misses a few important clues, but that can hardly be blamed on her.
Kristoff, Vespera, and Rhesus. Is this all that remains of the Hell of Blood? Perhaps they left their remaining Dukes behind as a reserve force, or perhaps those members will be uplifted later. I wonder what Auger is thinking, raising so many Emperors at once. He won't be able to keep news of their ascensions a secret for long. The Wordsmith will find out, and he'll become immediately suspicious provided he has an IQ five points higher than Bael.
As her thoughts drift to Bael, Ose finally decides to open up to him.
[Hey, idiot. I'm awake. What's going on here?]
Bael swings Big Bonk at the head of a fifteen-foot-tall brutish monster not unlike the one he first fought when he entered the Stitched Wasteland, but this one possesses a turtle-like shell on its back, making it specially resistant to heavy attacks.
"Huh?" Bael asks, after retracting his flail. "Oh, Ose! You're awake! Gimme a few minutes, I gotta pound some punks!"
Ose rolls her eyes. [No need for that. Just take a few steps back and talk to me. This training exercise isn't a life and death matter anyway.]
Bael pauses to consider her words. His jaw slackens a little as he tries to catch up with what she said.
"It... it's not?"
Some of the demons nearby Bael notice his attacks slowing. A couple even hear him talking to himself, but unable to hear Ose's voice, they just assume the poor galumpf must be having one of his ditsy moments. They quickly fill the gap lost by Bael's slowed momentum, leaving him to fall back even further.
[Of course not.] Ose says. [Tell me what this exercise is all about. How did Glinch uplift so many demons to the Rank of Emperor?]
Bael's eyes widen. "Wow, Ose! You just woke up and you already know Glinch did this? You're so smart!"
[I don't need your praise.] Ose says, annoyed. [Just tell me how Glinch raised fifty Emperors in only a week.]
"Ohh. Uh, he gave us special pills." Bael says. "Yeah, super strong stuff. Made my titties bigger too."
Ose blinks. [What?]
"My titties. They got real big. Didn't grow my ding-dong back though..."
Bael eyes fill with tears as he remembers the sadness he felt when his pants remained uninflated.
[Moron! I don't care about y-your mammary expansion! What sorts of pills were they? How did Glinch make them?]
Ose's growing frustration, as always, proves impossible to keep out of her voice. Bael doesn't seem to mind.
"Oh I dunno. Kristoff said something about x-beats and blood." Bael explains absentmindedly. "Why? You wanna grow bigger soul-titties too?"
[NO!] Ose roars. [I don't care about my boob size, you nimrod! FOCUS! What 'x-beats' are you talking about? Do you mean EXOBEASTS?]
A light seems to go off in Bael's eyes.
"Ohh, right! Yeah! X-O beasts! Like uh, X-O-X-O. Kissing beasts! I'm so silly. Can't believe I forgot that."
Ose closes her eyes and makes punching motions toward an invisible wall.
I'm gonna kill him. She thinks. I'm going to kill Bael and torture his soul for all eternity if I EVER figure out a way to bring myself back.
She clenches her jaw and opens her eyes.
[Bael. Does the Wordsmith know about Auger's plan yet?]
Bael scrunches up his face.
"Uhhh... Auger's... plan?"
[Yes. His plan to create more Emperors.] Ose clarifies. [He's working with Glinch, yes?]
"He is?!" Bael gasps. "Wow! Auger's so smart. I'd never have thought of that. This sure explains a lot."
Invisible question marks pop up above Ose's head. She squints her eyes as if trying to look inside Bael's head and locate his pebble-sized brain amidst a galaxy-sized void of emptiness.
[So... does... the Wordsmith... know?] Ose asks through gritted teeth.
"Nah. Doubt it." Bael says, waving his hands nonchalantly. "Unless..."
[Unless?] Ose asks.
"Unless it's all part of Auger's brilliant plan." Bael concludes, nodding to himself. "Damn. How is everyone so smart? And I thought we were coming here to kill Mephisto."
Ose's face freezes. A feeling like cracked ice washes across her soul.
[Me...phisto? You're here to kill Mephisto?]
"I dunno." Bael shrugs. "I thought we were coming here to kill him. But this must be part of Auger's plan to trick me and the others so he can make the Hells super strong. I guess all that stuff about Mephisto becoming a Demon Deity didn't mean anything after all. Thanks for helping me understand, Ose! You're the best!"
Bael gives Ose a HUGE mental thumbs up, grinning at her with the same level of stupid happiness he always does.
Ose's soul nearly implodes from the mental gymnastics Bael just unleashed upon her.
[Oh... devils...] Ose weeps. [Why... why couldn't I have been trapped with Auger... or Fenrir... or Gorn... even Serena! Why did I have to end up stuck with demonkind's biggest idiot?]
"It's probably just your bad karma." Bael grunts. "You were such a bad girl, taking all those dirty pics. The Creator had to punish ya."
[WHAT PICS?!] Ose snaps. [Bael, I'm going to turn your pea-brain into MUSH if you keep thinking such VILE thoughts!]
In the middle of Ose's raging, Yardrat fights his way to Bael's side.
"Bael! Is something wrong? Why have you stopped attacking? Are you exhausted?"
Bael blinks. He turns his attention to Yardrat.
"Huh? Nah, nah. Ose woke up, so I'm having a chat with her real quick."
He pauses before adding: "By the way, why didn't ya tell me this was all Auger's brilliant plan? You know I'm good at keeping secrets!"
Yardrat glances at Bael, baffled, while continuing to conjure lines of eviscerating spatial attacks upon the frontline enemies.
"What plan? What are you on about?"
Bael lightly slaps Yardrat's back and chuckles.
"Aw, man. Good one, Yardy-boy! What plan? Hah! You're a real kick in the pants sometimes!"
Yardrat pauses his fighting to stare at Bael for three full seconds in absolute confusion. Then he turns and walks away, muttering something under his breath about that guy being off his rocker ever since he body-swapped.
Bael jumps back into combat, having finally figured out the 'true' reason for coming here. As for Ose, she mentally slumps to the 'floor' of Bael's Mind Realm, drained by the idiocy she's just endured.
But, at least now she better understands the actual situation.
Ose sets aside her anger and rage. She closes her eyes and focuses, thinking about what she's actually learned. Her swift mind allows her to combine the new, albeit potentially unreliable intel she obtained from Bael, with her pre-existing theories.
Mephisto is ascending to Demon Deity. Glinch must be working to train up an army of Emperors... for some reason. Perhaps Mephisto threatens his interests or something. Ugh. If only I could just speak directly to someone not named Bael. If ONLY I had made my soul interface capable of projecting my voice outwards. Stupid, stupid!
Ose begins to feel glum.
She looks up at the sky, her senses able to detect anything around the Matriarch Armor within a 360 degree sphere.
She gazes at the waning sun, the ashen clouds of the Stitched Wasteland only blocking some of her view toward space.
I have to be more proactive. I can't just blame Bael. It's not his fault he was born with the IQ of a dead slug. I mean, it's a LITTLE bit his fault... but he can't really help being unable to retain information for longer than five nanoseconds. If I'd simply planned out my existence post-mortem, I might still manage to retain some influence over the Hells.
Ose becomes momentarily depressed. She begins to wonder if these things even truly matter.
She's dead.
She's unlikely to ever again walk the plane of existence.
She's not powerful anymore. All she has left is a fragment of a soul and her intellect formed during her 100,000+ years of life.
But that depression quickly fades away as she firms her resolve.
Ose is many things. She's easily annoyed by idiocy, temperamental, stuck up, and a bit of a viper, but she isn't mentally weak. Her willpower is formidable, and it was forged by the life she's endured, as well as the actions her adoptive mother took to empower her in her youth.
I don't need a body or magic to remain relevant. Ose thinks. I still have my intellect. Even if I can't taste good food or lounge on a comfortable bed, I still have ambitions. I want to continue expanding my influence.
She rubs her chin and looks thoughtfully at the battle around her.
Bael's an idiot. But he's also easy to manipulate and control. And nobody would ever expect him to accomplish much. That means the humans, the other demons, and especially the Volgrim will underestimate him.
Hmm.
Perhaps I can turn this situation to my advantage.
Her attention pivots to Glinch's laboratory, still more than a hundred miles away.
I wonder if the Stitched Emperor might be able to help my situation, too? It's certainly worth a shot.
So many possibilities...
Ose will never bow to the universe's will, so long as she retains her mental faculties.
She will never surrender.

After every Demon Duke pops one of Glinch's pills, they begin to evolve. The change shocks the Emperors to their cores. Yardrat prepared himself for the inevitability that these incredible pills would do the unthinkable, but seeing it happen in real-time is very different from imagining the concept in his head.
He and the other leaders, movers, and shakers of the Four Hells who came along can only watch numbly as Vespera, Rhesus, Hamir, Vepar, and all the other Dukes explode in strength, smashing through their limiters to ascend to the realm of Demon Emperor.
Their bodies glow with power. They fall to their knees and roar to the heavens, delighted in achieving that which they previously thought was unattainable.
In an instant, the balance of power across every Hell shifts, yet few even know of that which has just transpired, and fewer still take the time to think clearly about what this will surely mean in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
If they cannot defeat Mephisto, it won't matter if they have six Emperors or six hundred. The power of a Demon Deity will crush them all into dust, with nothing left behind, aside from their dying screams.
As for the fifty newly ascended Emperors, their names and titles are numerous, almost numbing to dwell on. Among them are a smattering of renowned individuals, such as:
Vepar, the Corrosive Emperor.
Vespera, the Emperor of Nebulae.
Rhesus, the Emperor of Ripping.
Hamir, the Emperor of Tempests.
As well as numerous others.
The moment they ascend, their titles become known to all demons who gaze upon them. They need not speak these titles, as if having been named directly by the Creator himself. In the entire history of demonkind, few have managed to shroud their true names, the most notable individual being Gressil, who hid his Emperor-level strength until the time was right for others to know.
But these newly risen Emperors have neither a need nor a desire to hide their powerful new titles. They look at one another and grin evilly, excited to begin wielding their abilities as soon as possible.
After distributing half of the pills, Yardrat finds that he still has more than forty left. He turns to Emperor Melody.
"It wouldn't be appropriate for me to hold onto the rest." He says. "My Hell already has more elites than everyone else. If we make it out of here alive, rebuild the Hell of Isolation with these."
The other Emperors blink in surprise at Yardrat's gesture of goodwill. Some of them feel it's a bit of a waste, but the longest lived Emperors and former Dukes ultimately don't bother to interrupt him.
Bael crosses his arms and nods.
"Good call, Yardy-boy. That's what Shax would want."
"Shax was a fine demon." Yardrat says, as Melody takes the pills from him. "His death has always weighed on my mind. If I can help his Hell with a small gesture like this, then I'll do so without thinking twice."
"Thank you." Melody says quietly, looking at Yardrat with a strange gaze. She pockets the pills and sighs.
Shax wasn't just a cool music-loving dude, but a kind demon who made countless friends. He never attacked or fought anybody undeservedly, and he based his Hell on the principles of friendship and cooperation. Even the demons who might not have gotten along with him still respected him. His death to the humans ruined the morale of many demons at the time.
"Don't thank me until we kill Mephisto and leave here alive." Yardrat says, turning his attention to the distant center of the Stitched wasteland. "Everyone, let's move out. And remember, those pills were not for our benefit. This is where the real fight begins."
The others nod grimly. They begin marching toward Glinch's lair, and as they walk, powerful chimera cross their paths at regular intervals. No longer do only two or three of Glinch's minions appear, but instead five and six at a time, each and every individual far too powerful for mere Emperors to defeat alone. They quickly get the impression Glinch has managed to raise entities capable of challenging 5th and perhaps even 6th-Level Psions.
With nearly sixty Emperors on their side, the swarm of demons begins moving forward with great haste.
Yardrat imbues his body with the power of space. He flickers around to deal massive damage to Glinch's chimera with punches that rip across dimensional spaces.
Fae flies into the air and rains bombs from above. She takes the initiative to attack distant enemies with her strongest bombs, weakening and softening them up for her allies to take on later.
Dagon and Vepar work together. With both of their powers having reached the bottom of the Emperor-level in strength, they melt, corrode, poison, and suffocate any enemies susceptible to their poison and acid attacks.
Nymph keeps away from the front-lines. Due to Glinch's wasteland ruining any vines or plants she summons within seconds, she instead focuses on popping out plants sporadically to yank allies out of the line of attacks, or merely irritating her enemies by momentarily tripping them with vine shackles around their ankles.
Kristoff focuses on dealing damage and draining Glinch's chimeras of their blood. Any injuries he inflicts tend to bleed heavily, especially when he focuses his mind on doing so.
Serena uses her magic to boost dozens of newly ascended low-Emperors to mid and high tier Emperors, making their powers considerably more deadly. She also keeps her eyes out for invisible threats or other troublesome soul fluctuations.
Crow stays on the front-lines. Her incredibly durable body allows her to retain the title of the mightiest melee attacker among all the demons present.
Melody focuses on defense. Instead of trying to kill the chimeras, she leaves that business to the superior damage-dealers and instead uses her shockwaves to fling her enemies around and batter their attacks aside.
Vespera plays a versatile role, sometimes summoning shadowy minions to assist the others, sometimes jumping into battle herself to cut chimeras down, and other times teleporting around through the various shadows to distract the different enemies.
Rhesus becomes far stronger after evolving. Despite being hesitant to bother with the pills, he is no different from the other demons in his desire to mutate to Emperor, and the permanent strength increase he obtains puts him second only to Crow herself. Perhaps given time he will even surpass her as his power approaches the apex of the Emperor level!
And finally, Bael swings his flail with reckless abandon. He batters any enemy that jumps in front of him without any thought to strategy or planning. He ends up attacking with a strength not far behind Yardrat, dealing the killing blow to more than a few of Glinch's monsters.
For hours, the demon elites beat and batter their way past dozens of highly enhanced creatures, becoming more and more cognizant of the fact that if Glinch wanted them dead, he could merely command his chimera to swarm them and they wouldn't stand a chance of survival. It causes the smarter elites to shudder when they realize Glinch possesses military strength greater than the combined might of all Seven Hells, even after their ascension!
However, Bael is not one of those highly intelligent elites. He doesn't give these matters much thought. He merely continues beating the shit out of his enemies, pausing once in a while to rest his weary body and swap out with the other Emperors nearby as they fight with all their might to push toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland.
At some point, while Bael does his thing, a spiritual sense awakens from within the Matriarch's Armor.
Emperor Ose's remnant soul sliver opens her eyes and returns to the physical realm, unaware of what has been going on since she began resting. With what remains of her former self, she isn't able to stay awake for days and weeks like she could when she was still alive. She has to sleep frequently, lest her soul dissipate from straining itself. She awakens to find that Bael is no longer meandering around on Tarus II or hanging out in her secret demonic base. Instead, he's become engaged in some sort of incredible high-stakes battle, along with dozens of other mighty demon elites!
Ose blinks several times. She says nothing to Bael, but uses what's left of her spiritual senses to try and get a sense of the other demons around her.
Hm? So many Emperors... what happened over the last few days? Have I been unconscious for longer than I anticipated?
She gazes at Vespera, Rhesus, and Vepar, her eyes widening as she recognizes the permanent status of their new Emperor rank.
Devils! Has the Wordsmith's Belial Booster become more effective? How in the Seven Hells can there be fifty brand new Emperors out of nowhere?
She identifies the former Dukes with ease, having once been intimately familiar with the elites of the Seven Hells.
This is... the Stitched Wasteland? Why is everyone going against Glinch? No, more importantly, why do his minions appear to be so much more powerful than I remember? I heard they were at the level of Emperors, but now it seems they must be higher than Emperors, but lower than Demon Deities. Perhaps half-step Deities? Or simply Emperor-level souls contained within much stronger bodies?
Ose doesn't immediately decide to question Bael. She doesn't even alert him to the fact she's awakened. He's a moron anyway, so talking to him won't provide her with much more info than if she simply used her judgment to determine what's going on.
This is all so strange. Ose thinks. According to the Matriarch Armor's internal chronometer, I've only been asleep a single week, yet a frightening number of things have changed. Has a demon civil war erupted? Perhaps Glinch has decided to rebel against the Seven Hells, so Auger opted to put him down once and for all?
Her spiritual form shakes its head.
No. That isn't Glinch's style. He doesn't care about amassing power, or wealth, or fame and fortune. He doesn't care who rules the Seven Hells. He can't be bought, or bribed, or intimidated, or cowed into submission. Glinch does whatever Glinch wants to do, and not even the Volgrim can change his ways. Since his ability to manipulate bodies and souls is so formidable, the Volgrim have even lowered their heads to commission him on various top-secret R&D projects...
Ose narrows her eyes. Unlike the overwhelming majority of her kin, she is a demon who specializes in not only subterfuge and infiltration, but also high technology. She has stolen many peeks at the Volgrim's Black Level projects in a manner most discreet. Not even the High Technopaths were able to discover her breaches.
If Glinch isn't rebelling, then... could it be that this fierce battle isn't what it seems on the surface?
She pieces together multiple clues at blinding speeds.
Look at how Glinch's army only moves toward the assault force in groups of two or three. They could easily swarm Yardrat and the others, but they don't. That means Glinch is holding back.
She nods to herself.
Coupled with the fact that so many Emperors have ascended... ahhhh...
Ose forms a hypothesis, mulls it over, and smiles to herself.
So it's like that. Glinch must have been commissioned or requested by Auger to improve the fighting capabilities of the Seven Hells. Perhaps he developed some secret new method to uplift demons to the rank of Emperor at Auger's request, and now he's helping battle-forge these new elites. A sound strategy, considering the Wordsmith's rapid rise to power.
Ose ultimately comes to the wrong conclusion, but based on purely the different observable clues in her field of vision, the guess is quite good. She comes to assume that this is part of a secret training exercise intended to build up Hell's forces and churn out powerful fighters capable of pressing against the Wordsmith's bulwark.
Beelzebub isn't here. Ose thinks. None of the Second Hell's residents either. The Hell of Lust must have become quite intimate with the humans, which makes sense. Unlike the other Hells, they rely on fornication with humans to uplift their bodies and souls. The two make for optimal allies.
She checks out the allied forces again, this time paying attention to the specific demons present.
It seems not a single demon that has shown sympathies toward the Wordsmiths has come along. Melody is here all alone. Her Hell always was at least somewhat aligned with humanity, but Melody herself won't be particularly attached to non-demons. Yama isn't here... he must still be at large, along with Mephisto.
Unaware of the fates which befell Mephisto, Yama, and several other demons over the past week, Ose unfortunately misses a few important clues, but that can hardly be blamed on her.
Kristoff, Vespera, and Rhesus. Is this all that remains of the Hell of Blood? Perhaps they left their remaining Dukes behind as a reserve force, or perhaps those members will be uplifted later. I wonder what Auger is thinking, raising so many Emperors at once. He won't be able to keep news of their ascensions a secret for long. The Wordsmith will find out, and he'll become immediately suspicious provided he has an IQ five points higher than Bael.
As her thoughts drift to Bael, Ose finally decides to open up to him.
[Hey, idiot. I'm awake. What's going on here?]
Bael swings Big Bonk at the head of a fifteen-foot-tall brutish monster not unlike the one he first fought when he entered the Stitched Wasteland, but this one possesses a turtle-like shell on its back, making it specially resistant to heavy attacks.
"Huh?" Bael asks, after retracting his flail. "Oh, Ose! You're awake! Gimme a few minutes, I gotta pound some punks!"
Ose rolls her eyes. [No need for that. Just take a few steps back and talk to me. This training exercise isn't a life and death matter anyway.]
Bael pauses to consider her words. His jaw slackens a little as he tries to catch up with what she said.
"It... it's not?"
Some of the demons nearby Bael notice his attacks slowing. A couple even hear him talking to himself, but unable to hear Ose's voice, they just assume the poor galumpf must be having one of his ditsy moments. They quickly fill the gap lost by Bael's slowed momentum, leaving him to fall back even further.
[Of course not.] Ose says. [Tell me what this exercise is all about. How did Glinch uplift so many demons to the Rank of Emperor?]
Bael's eyes widen. "Wow, Ose! You just woke up and you already know Glinch did this? You're so smart!"
[I don't need your praise.] Ose says, annoyed. [Just tell me how Glinch raised fifty Emperors in only a week.]
"Ohh. Uh, he gave us special pills." Bael says. "Yeah, super strong stuff. Made my titties bigger too."
Ose blinks. [What?]
"My titties. They got real big. Didn't grow my ding-dong back though..."
Bael eyes fill with tears as he remembers the sadness he felt when his pants remained uninflated.
[Moron! I don't care about y-your mammary expansion! What sorts of pills were they? How did Glinch make them?]
Ose's growing frustration, as always, proves impossible to keep out of her voice. Bael doesn't seem to mind.
"Oh I dunno. Kristoff said something about x-beats and blood." Bael explains absentmindedly. "Why? You wanna grow bigger soul-titties too?"
[NO!] Ose roars. [I don't care about my boob size, you nimrod! FOCUS! What 'x-beats' are you talking about? Do you mean EXOBEASTS?]
A light seems to go off in Bael's eyes.
"Ohh, right! Yeah! X-O beasts! Like uh, X-O-X-O. Kissing beasts! I'm so silly. Can't believe I forgot that."
Ose closes her eyes and makes punching motions toward an invisible wall.
I'm gonna kill him. She thinks. I'm going to kill Bael and torture his soul for all eternity if I EVER figure out a way to bring myself back.
She clenches her jaw and opens her eyes.
[Bael. Does the Wordsmith know about Auger's plan yet?]
Bael scrunches up his face.
"Uhhh... Auger's... plan?"
[Yes. His plan to create more Emperors.] Ose clarifies. [He's working with Glinch, yes?]
"He is?!" Bael gasps. "Wow! Auger's so smart. I'd never have thought of that. This sure explains a lot."
Invisible question marks pop up above Ose's head. She squints her eyes as if trying to look inside Bael's head and locate his pebble-sized brain amidst a galaxy-sized void of emptiness.
[So... does... the Wordsmith... know?] Ose asks through gritted teeth.
"Nah. Doubt it." Bael says, waving his hands nonchalantly. "Unless..."
[Unless?] Ose asks.
"Unless it's all part of Auger's brilliant plan." Bael concludes, nodding to himself. "Damn. How is everyone so smart? And I thought we were coming here to kill Mephisto."
Ose's face freezes. A feeling like cracked ice washes across her soul.
[Me...phisto? You're here to kill Mephisto?]
"I dunno." Bael shrugs. "I thought we were coming here to kill him. But this must be part of Auger's plan to trick me and the others so he can make the Hells super strong. I guess all that stuff about Mephisto becoming a Demon Deity didn't mean anything after all. Thanks for helping me understand, Ose! You're the best!"
Bael gives Ose a HUGE mental thumbs up, grinning at her with the same level of stupid happiness he always does.
Ose's soul nearly implodes from the mental gymnastics Bael just unleashed upon her.
[Oh... devils...] Ose weeps. [Why... why couldn't I have been trapped with Auger... or Fenrir... or Gorn... even Serena! Why did I have to end up stuck with demonkind's biggest idiot?]
"It's probably just your bad karma." Bael grunts. "You were such a bad girl, taking all those dirty pics. The Creator had to punish ya."
[WHAT PICS?!] Ose snaps. [Bael, I'm going to turn your pea-brain into MUSH if you keep thinking such VILE thoughts!]
In the middle of Ose's raging, Yardrat fights his way to Bael's side.
"Bael! Is something wrong? Why have you stopped attacking? Are you exhausted?"
Bael blinks. He turns his attention to Yardrat.
"Huh? Nah, nah. Ose woke up, so I'm having a chat with her real quick."
He pauses before adding: "By the way, why didn't ya tell me this was all Auger's brilliant plan? You know I'm good at keeping secrets!"
Yardrat glances at Bael, baffled, while continuing to conjure lines of eviscerating spatial attacks upon the frontline enemies.
"What plan? What are you on about?"
Bael lightly slaps Yardrat's back and chuckles.
"Aw, man. Good one, Yardy-boy! What plan? Hah! You're a real kick in the pants sometimes!"
Yardrat pauses his fighting to stare at Bael for three full seconds in absolute confusion. Then he turns and walks away, muttering something under his breath about that guy being off his rocker ever since he body-swapped.
Bael jumps back into combat, having finally figured out the 'true' reason for coming here. As for Ose, she mentally slumps to the 'floor' of Bael's Mind Realm, drained by the idiocy she's just endured.
But, at least now she better understands the actual situation.
Ose sets aside her anger and rage. She closes her eyes and focuses, thinking about what she's actually learned. Her swift mind allows her to combine the new, albeit potentially unreliable intel she obtained from Bael, with her pre-existing theories.
Mephisto is ascending to Demon Deity. Glinch must be working to train up an army of Emperors... for some reason. Perhaps Mephisto threatens his interests or something. Ugh. If only I could just speak directly to someone not named Bael. If ONLY I had made my soul interface capable of projecting my voice outwards. Stupid, stupid!
Ose begins to feel glum.
She looks up at the sky, her senses able to detect anything around the Matriarch Armor within a 360 degree sphere.
She gazes at the waning sun, the ashen clouds of the Stitched Wasteland only blocking some of her view toward space.
I have to be more proactive. I can't just blame Bael. It's not his fault he was born with the IQ of a dead slug. I mean, it's a LITTLE bit his fault... but he can't really help being unable to retain information for longer than five nanoseconds. If I'd simply planned out my existence post-mortem, I might still manage to retain some influence over the Hells.
Ose becomes momentarily depressed. She begins to wonder if these things even truly matter.
She's dead.
She's unlikely to ever again walk the plane of existence.
She's not powerful anymore. All she has left is a fragment of a soul and her intellect formed during her 100,000+ years of life.
But that depression quickly fades away as she firms her resolve.
Ose is many things. She's easily annoyed by idiocy, temperamental, stuck up, and a bit of a viper, but she isn't mentally weak. Her willpower is formidable, and it was forged by the life she's endured, as well as the actions her adoptive mother took to empower her in her youth.
I don't need a body or magic to remain relevant. Ose thinks. I still have my intellect. Even if I can't taste good food or lounge on a comfortable bed, I still have ambitions. I want to continue expanding my influence.
She rubs her chin and looks thoughtfully at the battle around her.
Bael's an idiot. But he's also easy to manipulate and control. And nobody would ever expect him to accomplish much. That means the humans, the other demons, and especially the Volgrim will underestimate him.
Hmm.
Perhaps I can turn this situation to my advantage.
Her attention pivots to Glinch's laboratory, still more than a hundred miles away.
I wonder if the Stitched Emperor might be able to help my situation, too? It's certainly worth a shot.
So many possibilities...
Ose will never bow to the universe's will, so long as she retains her mental faculties.
She will never surrender.

hese are concepts ideas I had for an Metal Gear (1987) remake which I would dub as Metal Gear Solid 6: Outer Haven. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990) would be called Metal Gear Solid 7: Zanzibarland. Both games would be long and give a lot of depth on Solid Snake's past and his relationship with Big Boss, Campbell and Gray Fox. Another game I would push for is Metal Gear Solid: The Philanthropy Chronicles.It would allow players to play as Solid Snake and his supporting cast after the events of Metal Gear Solid 2. Snake’s mission to continue taking out metal gears and track down the Patriots along with Revolver Ocelot. It would lead up to the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I will be working on Metal Gear Solid 7: Zanzibarland concepts soon.
The concept for a Metal Gear Solid 6: Outer Haven (MGS6: OH):
I know its long as Metal Gear (1987) would have to be a game that is remade from the bottom up. A remake of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake would be easier since it was a rock solid game. One wouldn't have to change much from it just expand on the story, elements and characterization it has already. I would love to get feed back from fans here.
Story:
The storytelling aspect is inspired by how MGS (1998) told its story. The game would start with Otacon, a ghost writer that wrote the novel of Snake’s exploits and those that work with Snake during Operation Intrude N313 telling the events of Metal Gear Solid 6: Outer Heaven to journalist they trust. We learn that Snake is paradon for his crimes and is buried as a war hero next to the grave of Big Boss. Given a Medal of Honor award and other awards from other countries for saving the world several times. The world is now knowing about his story and thus even more interested to learn of Snakes exploits during his youth. David Hayter voice being used as a recorded message from a dying Solid Snake giving accounts on what happened in Metal Gear Solid 6 and 7 along with most of his life. Snake hopes that his message and story will inspire others to be better and fight for what is right.
David Hayter wouldn’t voice a young Solid Snake as I feel a voice actor that is younger but can emulate David Hayter mannerism and his voice should do it. A young Solid Snake having a hint of innocence, nativity, vulnerability and self doubt at times.
David Hayter would voice Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 7: Zanzibarland since Snake is supposed to be older and wiser. David would be able to give us this voice range and kick it out of the park including the duel against the real Big Boss.
Plot:
The year is 1995, the Soviet Union has collapsed and the Cold War is now over. The threat of nuclear war is gone and the world embraces this newfound peace. However, this peace is short-lived as there are those that don’t want it. The world is engulfed with the threat of terrorism and rogue states that want to get their hands on nuclear weapons. The free world is now being threatened once again. The US Government works to combat this threat with its covert U.S. Army unit known as Fox-Hound under the leadership of the legendary war hero known as Big Boss. However, when a government agent goes missing during a mission…The agent last reports a weapon that can shake the foundations of the world known as “Metal Gear”. Big Boss sends in a rookie but talented Fox-Hound agent known as Solid Snake to learn of this new weapon. Will Snake learn the truth about this new weapon or will the world find out what Metal Gear will do if it's unleashed?
Mission:
Like MGS3 there would be a Virtuous Mission in MGS6:OH.

• Solid Snake is sent in by Big Boss to sneak into Mother Boss from MGS5 via Los Angeles Class (Block 3).
• Mother Base is set to be demolished by Outer Heaven forces as they move their forces and operations to mainland Galzburg, South Africa.
• Snake’s mission to find and rescue Gray Fox and any of the kidnapped scientists that work for Dr. Madnar. Find out what Metal Gear is and take them to the extraction point aka an Helicopter Pad not in use by Outer Haven units. Afterward, deploy the fulton recovery device for extraction
• Snake learns Gray Fox is being held in South Africa at the Outer Haven main base along with Dr. Madnar and his top scientist team. His low level assistants were to be executed by Outer Heaven soldiers via demolishing Mother Base. Last, that Metal Gear is also in South Africa and that Outer Haven is planning to use a custom made ICBM nuclear tipped missile potentially on any country that threatens them.
• The mission goes bad when Snake is about to have the scientist air lifted off the ground via fulton recovery devices. The scientists are brutally gunned down by Outer Haven Elite soldiers.
• An enraged Snake takes down the Outer Haven soldiers that approach him using his hybrid but deadly CQC system and tries to air lift himself via fulton recovery device. However, he is ambushed by a masked Venom Snake aka The Masked Phantasm.
• Snake puts up one hell of a fight, hitting Venom several times to where the point where Venom can only praise Snake’s skills. However, he loses when Venom plays mind games with him including stating his full code name and kicks up off the rig.
• Mother Base is destroyed by Venom and his men. Snake is adrift at sea until he is saved by the Los Angeles Class Submarine (Block 3) that helped him infiltrate Mother Base. He is later taken back to the states for a debriefing on what happened while he recovers in a hospital.
• In this mission, Snake only has Big Boss communicating with him and does not get much support. He is given only a trap gun, his CQC knife and basic first aid kits.
• The suit he wears is similar to his sneaking suit from MGS. Only this suit is design to swim on to the Mother Base elevator platform and sneak around on the surface at night

Main Mission:
This is where Snake goes to South Africa and has to get to Outer Haven which is a vastly HUGE heavily defended base. Potentially the best soldiers and mercenaries in the world work and defend the base. It is an official mission sponsored by Fox-Hound, NATO, CIA, NSA, UN and top members of the US Government. This means Solid Snake gets a load of equipment, gadgets and weapons for the mission.

• The briefing section for the main mission would give Escape from New York vibes. Big Boss, Lt. Colonel Roy Campell and other government officials brief Snake on his mission. It is here Snake sees his weapons, equipment and gadgets he will have for Operation:.
• Snake mission is the following: 1. Rescue Gray Fox, Kyle Schidener and Dr. Madnar. 2. Investigate War Crimes committed by Outer Haven. 3. Aid Resistance Fighters in any way possible. 4. Rescue any other hostages on the base. 5. Destroy Metal Gear and Neutralize the threat Outer Haven poses to the world. 6. Terminate the Masked Phantasm (Venom Snake)
• He is air dropped in South Africa by an C-130 gunship (Reference to Metal Gear NES/MGS3) and is ordered to meet with an Resistance fighter before moving into an areas destroyed by Outer Heaven forces via horse back
• This intro game would be similar to Rambo 3 and gives a hint on what Solid Snake will be going up against as travel though the beginning of the game seeing Outer Heaven air force units from a distance bomb villages
• The main mission would be a large map to roam around. The location being Galzburg, South Africa where the main base of Outer Haven is located at.
• When Gray Fox is rescued, he will provide support and be Snake’s mentor.
• Level boss battles will be intense and hard
• Last, Entering Outer Haven HQ will be intense and the final battle as well.

Gameplay would be a mix between MSG 3 and MSG 4 and MSG 5. It takes influence from other games like Red Dead Redemption, Splinter Cell and Grand Theft Auto video games along with new mechanics. The concept is to give the game a war survival horror like vibe if you’re spotted by the enemy or having trouble surviving in the wilderness.
MSG3 gameplay elements

• Like MGS3, you could change your camouflage and blend into the environment, camouflage meter, survive off the wilderness and eat foods.
• Finding food in the wilderness would boost Snake’s stamina and also assist with him getting his LIFE up when he rests. However, they would not boost his LIFE up like military rations or other foods (Three-Five star food) found in the supply depots or mess halls at Outer Haven bases would.
• The first aid system from MGS3 would play a part in the game. Solid Snake would be able to heal his wounds or stop bleeding like Big Boss did in MGS3 many decades ago. So having first aid items will be vital.
• The game would have different rations from different countries that Snake can eat from if he takes it off an Outer Haven soldier or from their supply depots. Military rations help heal Snake LIFE and give a small or moderate boost depending on the quality of the ration. (ex. American Military rations would give a moderate boost to Snake LIFE but would give a small boost to his stamina as he isn’t in favor of the rations taste. Russian rations would only give Snake a Small boost in LIFE and small boost in stamina due to its taste. Call back to MGS3. French Rations would boost Snake’s LIFE and Stamina completely which would be a call back to MSG4.)
• Different foods found on Outer Haven bases can boost Snake’s stamina up and LIFE better than Rations such as the Calorie Mate, Curry, different sodas, snacks, etc. Also, three or five star meals found in Outer Haven mess halls scatter through-out their many sub bases or garrisons. P.S. I want to have a scene where Solid Snake finds a Calorie Mate and speaks to Big Boss about it and the two have an interesting conversation about it. (Lol)
• Snake can sabotage enemy supply deports and armories to reduce the enemies ability in fighting him if spotted.

MGS4 Gameplay elements-

• Over the shoulder gameplay
• First person view and aiming down the sights
• A fluid polished gun gameplay mechanic
• Customizable weapon system, weapon attachment, swapping out and fixing inventory slot for weapons and/or inventory
• Psyche meter, this goes down when Snake is spotted too much and takes too much damage
• Currency system to upgrade weapons and get ammo when Snake runs into Resistance fighters weapon vendors
• Solid Snake having the option to assist resistance fighters or continue with his mission
• Aiding resistance fighters will help Snake during take segments of the game. They will return favors to Snake by giving him rations, weapons, other foods and ammo
• Saving hostages at Outer Haven facilities will also assist Snake and give him items or information
• Polished CQC system
• Being able to pick up ammo and weapons of dead enemy soldiers. No ID tags for the weapon.

MGS 5-

• Polished CQC and fighting system
• Being able to operate vehicles, tanks, apcs and infantry fighting vehicles. However, enemy forces will start to respond more aggressive call in armored units or gunships to Snake out
• Ride horses
• Weather and day changes at random times, Snake can use this for his advantage
• Enemy checkpoints and small bases that Outer Haven use as buffer against intruders and Outer Haven resistance fighters
• Call in support from local Outer Heaven Resistance fighters (only if you assisted them in them battles, gained their respect and they’re nearby to help)
• Gunship helicopter patrols
• Air assault units
• Armored convoy patrol
• Snake can sabotage mini Outer Haven bases, outpost and can knock enemy communications which makes it harder for enemies to call for back up
• Sabotaging Outer Heaven outposts and their infrastructure will cause Outer Heaven to move their forces out to confront the Resistance fighters thus giving Solid Snake a chance to get past them
• Snake can smoke his Lucky Striker cigarettes to bring up his Psyche or allow time to pass by similar to what Venom Snake did with his E-Cigars in MSG5

Splinter cell element-

• The game would allow players/Solid Snake to use stealth mechanics similar to that game to get by or attack Outer Heaven soldiers
• This also means hiding in the shadows and sometimes staying out of the light

Grand Theft Auto elements-

• Like GTA games, if you do too much damage to the police they get more aggressive.
• It would be no different when you fight Outer Haven soldiers as they will start to send in more elite soldiers with better weapons and armor.
• They will also be able to be armored units or mechanized units and gunships would be sent to kill Snake.
• Worse, Air strikes and heavy artillery strikes as well. Some OH units would deploy bi-pedal armor vehicles and jet packs along with guard dogs.
• This would strongly support the stealth element of the game and give it a war horror movie vibe if you get spotted by the enemy. It doesn’t matter how many good weapons you have on you. You will be overwhelmed by Outer Heaven soldiers and will die if you get spotted multiple times.
• This would be similar to what you see in GTA if too many law enforcement agents continue to swarm on you

New Gaming mechanics -

• Non-linear gameplay- meaning random patrols of Outer Soldiers can occur the closer you get to Outer Haven HQ
• Open world map. Goal is to give fans the immersion that the red dead redemption games gave. Basically the Outer Heaven is like a large country in and of itself
• Game would reward you for not being spotted and embracing the stealth elements of the game. This means you will encounter less Outer Heaven patrols in the game and they won’t be heavily geared up when doing them
• If Snake gets spotted too much in the game, Outer Heaven soldiers will be more hype vigilante, heavily armed and geared up. They will change their patrol tactics to make it difficult for Snake to sneak around. Worse double up on patrols or have support from armored units, gunships or unmanned drones.
• Stealth take down system. Snake can perform lethal or non-lethal takedowns rambo style when his enemies get close. The players can make the decision on which take down to use.
• Snake can switch his fighting system from CQC to the various martial arts he knows. If multiple soldiers are near him he can use CQC or use standard martial arts when fighting enemies that can counter his CQC based attacks.
• He can use a CQC take down on enemies not paying attention to him or other forms of melee takedowns.
• This is to showcase how skilled Snake is when it comes to fighting
• Different locations have points that are controlled by the Outer Haven Resistance fighters and Outer Heaven soldiers
• The game will reward players for assisting Outer Heaven resistances and sabotaging Outer Heaven bases
• Liberate occupied villages under Outer Heaven soldiers occupation or avoid them, go though abandoned villages or resistance fighter controlled villages
• The closer you get to Outer Haven, the more patrols and mini bases run by Outer Heaven soldiers you will encounter. This means the game will get very difficult real quick.
• Outer Heaven patrols will be random at time depending on how many times you have raised the alarms or not during your mission
• Caution mode would contribute to this but there will be more patrols if you cause yourself to enter caution phase too much
• The travel to Outer Haven’s main HQ is to parallel MSG3 when Big Boss had to travel to Gronznyj Grad. It short, Snake travels to Outer Haven would be an epic long high adrenaline rush journey to defeat Venom Snake and destroy TX-55 Metal Gear
• South Africa’s map would be vast and large. It is filled with its soft and rough terrain. Snake can use this to his advantage but so can Outer Heaven Soldiers
• Players will have the option to either go to Outer Heaven outpost or avoid them by using the rough terrain to get around the outpost
• Gray Fox will assist Snake in certain parts of the game and provide support either though radio or combat support to take down a level boss.
• At times, Snake and Gray Fox would work together to take down Outer Haven patrols
• The final part of the game involves Solid Snake and Gray Fox having to fight hordes of Elite Outer Heaven soldiers as they fight to stop Venom Snake from using TX-55 to fire a completed experimental long range ICBM nuclear missile on the Patriots
• Last, Solid Snake vs Venom Snake. Venom proclaims that he is Big Boss to Snake after taking off his mask and the two fight. The rest is history.
• The final battle is to parallel the battle between The Boss and Big Boss. Intense gunfight and CQC fight between the two. Snake needs to use an experimental rocket launcher made by Outer Haven to kill Venom Snake
• After beating the game, you can play as Gray Fox and see the story though his eyes and how he is informed by the Real Big Boss to assist Snake and help him take down Venom Snake.
• Being able to blend into the environment Rambo/Navy SEAL tier One style to either get past enemies or take them down one by one
• Snake would have a booby trap system inspire the Rambo movies to help ambush soldiers or distract them while they go to aid wounded soldiers.
• Snake can create ghillie suits to hide from enemy soldiers, covertly sneak past them or use it to ambush them
• Players would have multiple options on how to enter Outer Heaven outpost and the main HQ

Weapons

• The weapons in the game will be from late 60s to mid 90s. Weapons form both Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact, China and NATO countries. This goes from handgun, submachines, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, and anti tank weapons. Last, grenades and mines.
• Weapons can be customizable for Snake to use if he finds the attachment for the weapons or finds an resistance fighter vendor that is nearby to upgrade his weapons
• Enemies use weapons fitted for the environment that they operate it and it's at random the types they use
• Some weapons will be custom built weapons that don’t exist in the real world to be the spirit of the previous Metal Gear Solid game.
• Some weapons will allow Snake to use his CQC techniques or basic melee attacks with weapons

Snake’s Gadgets/Tools for the main mission where he gets official support

• Snake's suit is a combination of late 80s and 90s US Army Special Forces attire but modified.
• 90s tactical vest. It can be upgraded for Snake to carry more ammo and to take more damage as time goes on
• Custom built MP5SD6 with a folding stock, an Beretta 92FS with an tactical flashlight/laser sighting, also can be fitted with an suppressor and MK.22 Trap gun. The weapons are modded so he can use his CQC skills
• A small pack that allows Snake to carry items. This can be increased by upgrading it in the game
• Motion-sensing radar that allows him to track enemy soldiers, a precursor to Soliton Radar. It acts more like a sonar device then radar
• Mountain climbing equipment
• Combat Scuba gear (can be refilled by going outer heaven supply deports)
• Snake has a advanced long range radio and a wireless headset to communicate with his team
• Wire cutters
• Different camouflages and face paint to wear
• Idroid like device but advanced
• Fox Hound adaptation of INT-SCOPE but more advanced and has the ability for Snake to switch to different fields of view including Night Vision and Thermal Infrared. Last, a camera system for Snake to take pictures
• INT-SCOPE can be used to help Snake what tier Outer Heaven Soldier that he is dealing with and help him plan acquiring and allow him to listen in
• Tactical flashlights
• Tools to create ghillie suits
• CQC knife
• Survival Knife used for melee take downs
• Limited Fox-Hound issued MRE rations to restore life and stamina along with restore psyche
• A blue bandana that Big Boss gives him

Vehicles

• Vehicles found in the game are jeeps, armored tank, tanks, APCs, artillery vehicles and helicopters along with jets from the late 70s to mid 90s
• Unmanned vehicles that didn’t exist in the mid 90s

Theme:

• The end of the 80s going into a new era aka the 90s.
• Desert Storm and the aftermath of the war
• The politics behind America being the only SuperpoweHype-power in the 90s
• Child Soldiers, Solid Snake being one.
• NATO, its organization expanding and the conflicts it was involved in though peacekeeping missions
• The fall of the Soviet Union, end of the Cold War, and Post-Cold War politics/events
• The rise of new technology, internet, movies, music CGI and upcoming digital age in the 90s
• The rise of global terrorism and rogue states
• The threat terrorism and rogue states pose and the fear of them getting their hands on nuclear weapons. A true big fear of the 90s going into the 2000s
• Coming of age soldiesecret agent/legend (Solid Snake)

Movie Influence:

• The Rambo movie series since Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake were heavily influenced by the first three Rambo movies.
• 80s and 90s James Bond movies. Mostly Goldeneye since it follows post-cold war.
• Die Hard movies series, gun battles and intensity between the characters and death defining odds
• Hardboiled (1992), the gun battle that Solid Snake and Gray Fox will have against the swarm of Outer Haven elite soldiers would be heavily influenced off the final gun battle from this movie.
• Running Man, the Boss level villains being similar in design to the villains from the movie, only less colorful, evil like, aggressive and more tactical in fighting.
• Face Off (1997) - action scenes
• Escape from New York, since the first game was influenced by the movie. The main mission where Solid Snake goes to South Africa with official support will give off this type of vibes including the mission briefing he is given as he looks at his equipment.
• The Rock (1996), action scenes and the relationship that Sean Connery as John Patrick Mason and Nicolas Cage as Stanley Goodspeed, FBI. Its similar to the relationship Gray Fox and Solid Snake will have.

Game Music:

• The music for the game would be influenced by the previous MGS games, Rambo movies, Syphon filter and action movies from the 90s. Mixed bag of tones to give different vibes for the game
• The music will be atmospheric in nature as you move around Mother Base and later South Africa
• One set of music to make you feel like a spy, other half giving you the false sense of safety, other places the music will make you feel like your in a warzone and/or being chased
• Real world music from the 80s and 90s that players can listen to when they find a Sony Discman D-145 (1995) laying around or Sony walkmans
• Real world music would 80s - 1995, Rock, Pop, Alternative Rock, R&B, Mainstream hits, Rap, Jaxx and etc. Can listen to game music as well on either device when you the player find them.

Characters:

• David/Solid Snake:
• A child soldier of sorts. He spent his life being fostered by different foster parents (Patriot handlers) until he reached the age of 6. After that, Solid Snake was trained though-out most of his life by his many handlers at an US Army run school.
• In the US Army run school (Patriots involvement), he was made to engage in a mix of U.S. infantry, Airborne infantry, U.S. Army Ranger, Green Beret and Delta Force style harsh training. Add in the school making him learn different languages at a young age.
• On days he didn’t do military training, Snake was made to endure intense academic schooling. It was here Snake was pushed to understand the general knowledge of Science, Math, Reading, English, Writing, Workshop Skills at a High School to College level. In addition, understand how to operate most vehicles as well.
• At age 18, he was later placed in the US Army as a 2LT to a Green Beret Unit. The Patriots and his handlers, changed his age date so that he was capable of joining the unit and being a junior officer. He is second in command of the unit and sent to fight in Desert Storm (1990-1991).
• Solid Snake had a short but very successful career in the US Army through the multiple successful missions he completed in that war.
• His missions involved him destroying multiple SCUD launchers, sabotaging Iraqi supply lines, disputing their communication lines, assassination or capturing of top Iraqi officers, and deep reconnaissance within Iraq. His unit would also take part in aiding in liberating Kuwait.
• He is awarded a Silver Star and promotion to Captain before personally being recruited into Fox-Hound by Big Boss himself.
• Big Boss and Roy Campell were coordinating Fox-Hound operations in Desert Storm which is why they knew of Snake’s exploits and saw him as a candidate for the unit.
• Prime Solid Snake is a force to reckon with and is considered to be the best all around Fox-Hound agent along with being the finest practitioner of CQC next to Big Boss and The Boss.
• Big Boss states to Gray Fox at the end of the game that Snake could defeat The Boss with ease had they had fought in a straight hand to hand duel in the 1960s. In short, this is Big Boss way of humbling Gray Fox and telling him to NOT underestimate Snake for when the time comes for Fox to kill him (Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake events).
• Snake’s CQC is unique and deadly in design due to his expert knowledge of various different martial arts from his youth, his mastery of Close Quarter Battle (CQB) and knowledge of CQC handed down to him by Big Boss. Snake incorporates many different forms of Martial Arts to his style of CQC where he adds in striking (punching and kicking), fake or faints, foot work, clinch, ground fighting and grappling.
• Despite being inexperienced, Snake makes up for this by being sure of his skills and not being afraid to pull the trigger. Snake’s real fear is that he is going up against experienced killers and soldiers by himself who can kill him
• Snake’s relationship with Gray Fox is similar to the relationship to what we saw in MGS2 between Solid Snake and Raiden. Only a young Solid Snake is more badass when compared to a young Raiden
• Snake’s relationship to Roy Campell is similar to what we see in MGS. However, the two become friends quickly due to the experiences they share being involved in Desert Storm.
• Roy Campell encourages Snake not to give up and to be sure of himself. He also calms down an enraged Snake when they learn that Big Boss is behind everything.
• Solid Snake's relationship with Big Boss is similar to The Boss and Naked Snake in MGS3 but a lot longer as Big Boss continues to “support” Solid Snake with his mission.
• Fox-Hound, NATO, CIA, FBI and NSA start to put the pieces together that Big Boss is behind everything. He goes off the air and Venom Snake confronts Solid Snake. Rest is history after that.
  Big Boss:
  
• He is the commander of Fox-Hound and re-organizes the covert special forces unit to combat terrorism and rogue states trying to get their hands on nuclear weapons.
  
• This was a fear in the 90s and Big Boss being a legendary war hero made him the perfect pick to be the leaders of the organization again
  
• Under his leadership, Fox-Hound is successful in taking out world terrorists, international arms dealers, their backs and having them arrest by allied countries
  
• Big Boss and Roy Campell are awarded medals for their efforts
  
• Big Boss holds the simulated rank of a One Star General in within Fox-Hound due to his vast war experience, successful missions and saving the world several times over
  
• We learn of Big Boss past and how he was an top NCO before MGS3 before being given an rank of officer
  
• Big Boss personally trains Solid Snake and passes his legacy down to him after Snake accepts an open challenge to spare him and hits Big Boss multiple times before losing.
  
• This is a tradition Big Boss would offer recruits during his command. The challenge was that he would train any recruit as his solo student if they could hit him in sparring. Only Snake was the only recruit to do so in Fox-Hound.
  
• Big Boss does care for Solid Snake in a bizarre way and doesn’t want to see him killed unless it's by his hands which he is secretly plotting to do.
  
• In the virtuous and main mission, Big Boss provides support to Solid Snake by giving him advice from his war time experience, how to survive in sneaking around Outer Haven and how to survive off the land.
  
• During Boss battles, Big Boss goes off the air, leaving Campell to assist.
  
• Everyone becomes suspicious of Big Boss when they discover his spy plane has disappeared off radar and it is not far from Outer Haven.
  
• Worse, when intelligence agencies learn that Big Boss was sending message to Outer Heaven HQ (Gray Fox) but they are unaware of who
  
• They create an warrant for his arrest and the rest is history after Venom Snake dies
  Roy Campbell :
  
• He isn’t a full bird colonel yet and is an Lt. Colonel. He is second in command of Fox-Hound.
  
• Big Boss trusted Campell because of the events they shared in MSG:PO and the vast amount of experience he has in counter-terrorism missions to black ops in taking out terrorists leaders.
  
• Campbell quickly befriends Solid Snake due to their shared war experiences in Desert Storm.
  
• Campbell is a skilled tactician and strategist, and is heavily supportive of Solid Snake. He gives Snake (Player) hints and clues to move around in the game. In addition, information on weapons and vehicles.
  
• Last, he gives ideas on how to destroy level bosses
  Gray Fox:
  
• He was on a mission to assassinate Venom Snake after Big Boss discovered that Venom wants to use Nuclear Weapons against Patriot run countries that would trigger a nuclear war. Of course, official members of Fox-Hound are unaware of this and believe he is investigating Outer Haven to learn if they’re involved with terrorists.
  
• He fails his mission that Big Boss assigned to him and is captured by Venom Snake after losing a fight against him.
  
• Venom spares his life and threatens that if he escape, he will personally take him out next time.
  
• After being feed by Solid Snake, Gray Fox is ordered by Big Boss in secret to assist Snake in taking out Venom and later assassinate Snake to cover up everything at Outer Heaven.
  
• However, Gray Fox is unable to help Snake take out Venom after being cut off by a swarm of Outer Haven soldiers. He instead sacrifices himself so that Snake can stop Venom from launching nukes from Metal Gear TX-55. Later, fakes his death so he could return to the real Big Boss and help with Zainabarland
  
• After beating the game, you can play as Gray Fox and see the story through his eyes. Learn more about him, his fighting style and how he assists Solid Snake
  
• His fighting is mixed between his fighting style as Null (MGS:PO), CQC concepts Big Boss passed to him, Knife fighting style and pro gun fighting skills.
  

Venom Snake/Big Boss:

• Venom Snake would have a huge makeover since the events of Metal Gear Solid 5. He has been given nanomachines so that he can survive future medical surgery and look more like Big Boss and stand in for him.
• The horn in his head is removed which almost kills him but the nanomachines prevent this and heal him. They also grant him superhuman abilities that turn him into a super-soldier of sorts. His bionic hand is replaced with a more human-like bionic hand.
• The nanomachines are a precursor to what Vamp would have many years later. Only Venom’s nanos won’t bring him back from the dead, just heal him faster. However, the side effects is that the nanos in him are making him mentally unhinged
• He is given a new sneaking suit to help harness his new abilities and provide extra protection for him. Snake would need to use an Anti-Tank rifle or Anti-Tank rocket launcher to take him out.
• He is not the same man he was in MSG5. He is more militant towards the Patriots, ruthless and cold blooded. A pure demon at this point and isn’t afraid to commit war crimes or allow his men to do so.
• Venom’s prime mission is to destroy the Patriots and nations they run via nuclear strike using TX-55 Metal Gear. However, he knows that Outer Haven will be hit by NATO countries.
• This causes a rift between Venom and Big Boss. Venom sees Big Boss as being weak and is not willing to do enough to destroy the Patriots and is not willing to do whatever it takes to do so.
• However, the rift is created by Master Miller who kept his promise to help make the sons of Big Boss and Venom Snake stronger then Big Boss
• The rift gets so bad that Big Boss suspects Venom is not being loyal to him anymore and sends in Gray Fox to find out what Venom is doing leading to Metal Gear (1987) events and to assassinate him. Fox fails and loses to Venom in a fight. Venom shows mercy and has Fox locked at a maximum security brig at the Outer Haven prison site.
• A Venom Snake respects Solid Snake as he sees how skilled he is but he also plays mind games with him by hinting his relationship to Big Boss.
• He now wears a mask when he goes out in battlefields to fight aside his men so as to keep Big Boss identity hidden. He is dubbed the Masked Phantasm by world intelligence agencies. As far as the world is concerned, nobody knows who the Masked Phantasm is. Some people think he is a student of Big Boss due to CQC abilities. Near the end, he takes the mask off to reveal to Solid Snake who he is Big Boss (fake one).
• Last, we will know of the tragic story of Venom Snake and how really wanted to be a doctor after his contract with Militaires Sans Frontières end.
• Sadly, no one will ever know about Venom Snake and the man he was before his tragic events.
• He will apologize via radio to Big Boss asking his forgiveness and informs him that Solid Snake is not a man but a demon of their own making. Last, he correctly predicts that Snake will defeat the Patriots and do what they failed to do right before the Outer Haven based self destructs.

Supporting Characters
Kyle Schneider

• Developer of Outer Haven and help with building the base. Later, becomes the leader of the Outer Haven resistance force in South Africa after learning of Outer Haven’s war crimes in the region.
• He is captured and the resistance fighters try to scramble to rescue him. They agree to help Fox-Hound and Solid Snake in exchange for the safe return of their leader
• Knows where most of the weapons, foods and other important items are on the base will inform Snake on where to find them.
• Also inform Snake of where vital security checkpoints are and more are located at.
• Is caught in the explosion when NATO destroys what is left of Outer Haven. He is saved by the Real Big Boss.
• He will tragically become the Black Ninja and this leads to the event of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake where he will seek revenge against the world for what has happened to him.

Jennifer Schneider

• She is the sister of Kyle Scheider. She took it upon herself to go and rescue her brother despite not being a soldier or warrior.
• She disguises herself as a nurse and sneaks into the base. She assist Snakes with information and where weapons are at.
• The original game doesn't say what happened to her. So I have her help Solid Snake escape and they watch Outer Haven from a distance get destroyed with NATO delivering air strikes on reminding Outer Haven bases
• She is present when Solid Snake is giving a medal for completing the mission by President Bill Clinton
• The two have a brief relationship before he moves to Canada to be an undercover CIA agent
• Snake helps her find a job in America for her helping him and getting her a green card to stay in America

Diane

• A Goth Punk rocker that has a band called Thin Wall. She performed for Outer Haven several times and knows about the base
• She assists Snake with giving information on Outer Haven bases and the main HQ. Also, info on the mercenaries that operate the bases and informs him of the weakness of the Bosses in the game.
• She has a crush on Solid Snake and is in her early 20s.
• She is present for Solid Snake getting a medal for completing the mission

Drago Pettrovich Madnar

• The developer of the first Metal Gear. His project, himself, his scientist and his daughter are taken hostage by Outer Heaven soldiers
• He is being used to complete TX-55 Metal Gear and develop an custom built nuclear tipped ICBM that can be fired from Metal Gear
• Informs Solid Snake on how to take out Metal Gear He is taken off base by Jennifer after Snakes saves him
• He informs the US Government to send Snake his regards fos saving him

Ellen Madnar

• The daughter of Dr. Madnar. She is being used as a tool to force Dr. Madnar on continuing his work on TX-55 Metal Gear
• She is saved by Snake and escorted off the base by Jennifer
• She is present for Snake getting a medal for completing the mission and stands in for her father

Tech (Original)

• Expert in science, engineering and responsible for making all of the gadgets Fox-Hound has
• He is also aware of the weapon systems, gadgets and tools that Outer Heaven Soldiers use
• Son of Donald Anderson
• Gameplay mechanic, he is charge of saving the game for you when you contact him
• Would return in Metal Gear Solid 7: Zanzibar Land and Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy Chronicles to aid Snake. In Philanthropy Chronicles he aids Snake to atone for the sins of his father. He would go into hiring with Snake’s afterwards which is why there is no mention of him in MGS4
• He would leave Fox-Hound after the Zanzibarland incident and work for the CIA as a gadget builder

Ok, so I'm about to build a city block base on nauvis and have certain questions about performance. I heard things about mega bases like: -nuclear power can cause performance issues due to fluid calculations -some usetypes of circuit logic can cause performance problems ( I think ist was especially power switches due to checking conditions every frame) Therefore my question, should I start thinking about performance BEFORE starting the mega base? And what are performance no-go's and to what degree does this change regarding SE. As I started using cuicuit logic on more things than fluid control and controlling chest limits im a bit afraid to get super fancy with it due to probably causing performane issues :)

Here's the second part of Act IV. Sorry for the double post but I had no choice due to the website's limitations.
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Act IV: The Clouds Burst (2/2)

To the Panic room
Frightened by the new attack, Biosyn's board of directors leave the auditorium and, guided by their escort, they head for the panic room. Meanwhile, the employees finally manage to rush out of the burning cafetaria and while some surrender to the Italians and the Austrians, others rush to the metro station or the garages in order to flee to the Biosyn village, and a fraction try to make a run for the panic room but their way is blocked by a group of guards.
On their way to the panic room, the board of directors is partly caught in a stampeding crowd. Zoe Murdoch is pushed on the ground, trampled and left behind while Nathan Quinn abandons his fellow board members.
The wage of treachery
While she also started heading to the garages, knowing that Dodgson must be there, Bigelow is attacked by Massoud. They fight but despite her skills, Massoud is a stronger opponent and he overpower Bigelow. But just as he is strangling her, the grey guard is tased by Kayla and falls unconscious. The smuggler helps the CIA agent get up and they hurry to the garages.
The raiders
Meanwhile, the mysterious soldiers have reached the laboratories, killing everyone in their path, be they Biosyn guards and mercenaries, scientists who tried to save their work, or besiegers (including Luis Olivares).
They cross the different labs. In Dr Lesser's, Wu hides from them as he is still locked up. The raiders ends up reaching their objective: The locusts' lab. When they see the nine empty rooms, the raiders seem worried and frustrated, implying they came to do something with the locusts. They then has the remaining group gassed and we see the locusts taking flight and then starting to drop dead on the floor. While some of the raiders then raid and destroy the rest of the Locusts' lab, other squad members then free the animals contained in the cages of another lab.
In the lower levels
While crawling and climbing in the vents towards the top of the Citadel, Claire sees Owen running past her as he rushes to the kennels. But the alarms' blare prevent The Raptor Whisperer from hearing his fiancée.
In the lower levels, Mia Everett is trying to capture Victoria, intending to save her from the chaos and Biosyn's clutches, but the young Achillobator attack her, biting and clawing at her throat. Grievously injured, the scientist fall and Victoria lets her bleeds to death. When Owen finds Mia, she just has the time of uttering a few words before passing away. The Raptor Whisperer sees a number of animals running in the hallways, including Victoria. But just as he plans to catch her, Biosyn employees are being chased by some of the most dangerous escapees (like the dilophosaurs). Some of those animals prevent The Raptor Whisperer from going after Victoria and he is forced to hide in the first room he can find.
Tu quoque mi fili
On their way to the garages, Ramsay and Dodgson have an argument, during which the first say he no longer want to follow the second due to his recent fits of madness (filling Maisie's head with lies; the locusts' threats; literally declaring war with the Italians and the Austrians; behaving like a dictator...), even though he believed in his vision when he was recruited years ago (Ramsay genuinely believed that Biosyn's breakthroughs could improve the world etc...). When Ramsay admits having helped Wu with discovering the truth about Charlotte's videos and breaking Maisie out of the Citadel, Dodgson seems genuinely hurt by the betrayal of his son-like figure. One too many, after those of Wu, Drummond, and Pellegrino. Their argument worsens, up until they come to blows. At one point Dodgson pulls out a pistol and shoots Ramsay in the belly by accident. While the younger man bleeds out, the CEO is dazed and runs away while predators' growls can be heard nearby.
Near the garages' entrance, Dodgson is found by Bigelow and Kayla. The CIA agent asks about Ramsay and he answers that he didn't make it due to an attack on the way. The three take the last available vehicle and exits the Citadel, driving into the valley. Their objective is the same mountain path towards which Maisie and Drummond are heading.
Duel
On the way to the courtyard, one of the mysterious soldiers has a sword fight with a grey guard (Cesare oand Papadopoulos). During it, his opponent tear a part of his sleeve, revealing a tattoo which depicts a snake hieroglyph (actually a symbol of the god Apep). The soldier manage to climb aboard their helicopter, which take off and leave the valley with one of the attack helicopters. Confused, the grey guard wonder who those attackers were.
The dam busters
Meanwhile, the other has moved to the other end of the valley, where it's in the middle of a fight with one of the Special Forces' helicopters, just by the dam. During their battle, the dilapidated dam is destroyed and its unleashed frozen waters follow the valley's main river, flooding everything in their path, including the battlefield on the road and the area just in front of the Citadel. A number of animals, Carabinieri and Biosyn employees aboard a fleeing vehicle are carried away and many of them drown while Dodgson's vehicle is almost caught by the waters.
The flood reaches the south-eastern limits of Biosyn's lands, where it's momentarily stopped by the wall found there and which separates the Sanctuary from the nearest village. But under so much pressure, the wall breaks down and the flood continues, destroying parts of a riverside village after that, catching some of the inhabitants.
With its main power source gone, the electricity goes off within Biosyn's lands and the surrounding areas, deactivating the invisible fences and stopping the metro full of passengers in the middle of the tunnels.
Road accident
While in the part of the valley spared by the flood, Dodgson's vehicle nearly collide with a loose black billy goat (the same which ran away in the prologue) and in its attempt to bypass it, it tumble down a slope (with Bigelow being ejected in the bushes in the process) and ends up on its roof (like the vehicle carrying the original trio and Maisie in Trevorrow's version).
Aftermath
The attackers gone and most of Biosyn troops neutralized or routing, Vuillier, Dougal, Nyamu, Viscontini, and the surviving grey guards, the officers of the Carabinieri and the Special Forces, along with Pellegrino and Nathan Quinn starts organizing the evacuation of the remaining Biosyn employees and taking the wounded (as the grey guards' medic, Papadopoulos will tend to them) to a provisional secure location within the Citadel (the auditorium could be such a place). In the control room, all the technicians but a few were killed or badly injured by the helicopter's attack while the grey guard's team dispatched there is in a hardly better state as Isabella Perez was also injured. Al-Damiri orders their comrade to take her out of the tower, and give similar orders to the uninjured technicians, asking only one to stay just in case. The Egyptian grey guard and the remaining technician then assess the damage.
As power need to be put back on for various purposes (allowing the three grey guards continue their search in the archives; deactivating the valley "aerial defense" to let helicopters come in the Citadel and evacuate people; reactivating the metro; reactivating the invisible fences to prevent the animals from leaving the valley...), people are sent activating the emergency generators.
They want to send men after Dodgson's but while the valley's known exits are watched, they fear he knows a secret one.
Dodgson's demise
When Bigelow awakes amidst the bushes, she notices that the vehicle is surrounded by a group of Nasutoceratops (or some other buffalo-sized herbivores). Inside the crashed vehicle, Dodgson and Kayla regain consciousness and know they have to wait for the herbivores to leave before exiting the vehicle. Suddenly, the herbivores get agitated and leave. They caught the scent of a predator and the latter shows itself: It's the InGen-bred Acrocanthosaurus.
Ensue a scene where Dodgson, just like his novel version with Sarah Harding, tries to save his own skin by pushing Kayla from the vehicle so the Acro can eat her instead of him, deeming her expendable, but the opposite happens. When the CEO is shaken between the jaws, his precious hard-drive falls on the ground and Bigelow sees this and tries to reach it before it's crushed by the animal. Kayla tries to hold the CIA agent back, saying she'll get herself killed and that the hard-drive isn't worth it. Bigelow rushes towards her objective anyway. When it takes a still screaming Dodgson in the woods, the acro steps on the hard-drive, destroying it.
The black billy goat responsible for the road accident watches Dodgson being devoured by the dinosaur.
Meanwhile, a depressed Bigelow is looking at the destroyed hard-drive and Kayla is forced to shake her so they can move away and head for the mountains in order to leave the valley.
Drummond's confession
Walking above the surface and not in the tunnels in order to not reiterate the traumatizing experience with the pectinodons even if it's equally dangerous due to the other valley's predators, Drummond and Maisie are heading eastward, following the peripheral rim of mountains.
During their trek, Drummond tells Maisie about the Hunting activity in the Sanctuary and how its profits financed his research at Biosyn, explaining part of his self-loathing. He admits he's glad that Claire put an end to it, even if he wished less blood was spilled.
To add some light amidst those dark hours, the teenager and the palaeontologist have a peaceful encounter with some dinosaurs (probably herbivores).
While watching them, Drummond tells Maisie about his late wife's wish of having children, implying to the teenager that she has a roof under which to sleep if she doesn't want to return to Orick and leave the Lockwood name behind her in order to finally have a normal life.
At the opposite end of the valley, they see fire and smoke rising from the Citadel and wonder what happened there.
Zobie la Mouche/Whac-a-Mole
Another danger is spotted near the Citadel. Coming from the now-flooded area at the base of the building, comes Brontes, one of the Argentinosaurus.
After the battle and the flood, he just seeks a place to have some rest and thinks the Citadel's courtyard would be a decent choice. The characters in the atrium hide as he crosses the now destroyed hall. It's seen during that scene that the sauropod has many scars on his skull, implying some human abuse (probably for medical experiments). The sauropod's suite of small carnivores take off from it and land in the atrium, investigating the hall as they caught the scent of dead or wounded humans.
On his way, Brontes sees something moving on the ground. It's Murdoch, who's trying to crawl away despite the injuries she got after being trampled by a crowd. Brontes looks at her with curiosity and then crushes her under his foot. Murdoch now squashed, Brontes loses interest in her and enters the courtyard while some members of his suite eat the remains of Biosyn's vice-president. The Argentinosaurus stands in the middle of the courtyard, just in front of the tower's entrance, and starts to sleep while standing (a bit like elephants). A part of his suite is on the lookout, hearing noise all around within the Citadel.
Distracting Brontes
Our protagonists are bothered as Brontes and his suite are preventing them from going after Dodgson by the shortest way and reaching the archives' entrance. They can either make a long detour through a series of hallways or confront the dinosaur. As time is running against them, they take the second option and while some of the grey guards (Cesare, Massoud, Kapakas) are attracting Brontes and his suite towards a ruined part of the Citadel (and from the control room, Al Damiri help them by shooting on the beast), Vuillier and Nyamu run to the tower and reach it in time. At the archives' entrance, they join Chapuy and his two comrades.
Burning the Hydra's heads
In the dark hallways, Claire stumbles upon Betty Chapman (or whatever her real name is), who's pushing a cart with hydrogen cyanide canisters. At that moment, the audience also notices for the first time that Chapman has the same snake hieroglyph tattoo on her arm as the soldier who had a sword fight with the grey guard.
Claire first intends to stop the guard and bring her to the invading force so she can be put with the other Biosyn employees, but Chapman tells her that they should be allies as she's also an enemy of Biosyn. Claire demands precisions and while pushing the cart, the guard reveal that she infiltrated the company and was the one who sabotaged the Sanctuary in the last few months, by temporarily deactivating the invisible fence and allowing one of the Quetzalcoatlus to escape in order to accelerate the destroying of Biosyn's reputation, and sending intel to the raiders, whose objective were to destroy the locusts before their shipping abroad. When Claire asks who she and the raider are, Chapman only gives an enigmatic answer (something like "Chaos in the service of a greater good"). When she tells Claire that Wu made those locusts, the former director of Jurassic World thinks about finding the geneticist and follow through with her threats from three years earlier.
On the way, Claire has to scare off some escaped predator which wanted to attack them. Chapman tells her she's heading to the panic room, where the board of directors so foolishly trapped itself. The felon guard explain Claire they can't take the risk of having the board members leaving the panic room and escaping the valley and that she could help her giving a deadly blow from which Biosyn will never recover while they still can. Claire agrees to help her and looking at the canisters, she remembers what Doctor Karim Depéret, one of InGen's geneticists, told her during the Lockwood Estate incident, that Hydrogen Cyanide is a poison.
The emergency generators
As having a full suspenseful scene dedicated to restoring power like in Trevorrow's version would be too much of a retread of JP's bunker scene, the scene where power is restored is either much shorter or happening off-screen.
However, the emergency generators alone are not enough to provide power for all the needed tasks (the invisible fences and the aerial defense system are quite energy-intensive) and another black-out occurs. Power is once again put back on but our protagonists are forced to make choices. In order to keep the invisible fences on and the archives' power running, they are forced to keep the "aerial defense" system on and stop the evacuation's helicopters from going and coming between the Citadel and the camp outside the valley in order to not trigger pterosaurs' attack.
Dracul
Reaching the part of the Citadel where the panic room is located, Claire and Chapman bring the cart to a maintenance tunnel, prepare the canisters and neutralize the guards in front of the panic room, using darkness to their advantage. They block the door, preventing the board members from escaping. They return to the maintenance tunnel and Chapman lets Claire introduce hydrogen cyanide in the panic room's aeration, poisoning the board members. Finally, the Chapman gives Claire a box of matches. She takes it, lights a match, throws it in the right vent and while the gas catches fire, the two women run away. The panic room is destroyed in a violent explosion which finishes the board members off. It's heard and felt within most of the Citadel.
A wounded Biosyn guard sees Claire fleeing the panic room's area and notices the blood on her clothes. When he discovers what's left of the panic room and the board members (charred corpses at best), he utters with dread the following word: Dracul (Dragon in Romanian. The guard, a minor character, is established to be a Romanian immigrant in an earlier scene depicting the daily life of the facility's employees).
Claire tries to find Chapman after that but the other woman disappeared like a ghost and is not seen for the rest of the Dolomites Incident.
In the Archives
Vuillier, Nyamu and the three grey guards with them are still searching the archives for every incriminating document.
Reuniting
After discovering that Victoria and other animals escaped the citadel through a door and are now in the valley, Owen heads for the control room, aware that it must have some sort of tracking system. On the way, he reunites with Claire and soon, they are found by Dougal. As the Argentinosaurus is still posing a threat in the central courtyard, they pass under it in order to access the tower. They climb to the control room, meet Al-Damiri and the last technician there, get access to the tracking system and Victoria's current coordinates. They find a tracking tablet and Claire volunteers to stay in the control room and be their eyes.
While Owen and Dougal grab some capture equipment in a room near the kennels, Claire searches through the CCTV footage and finds Wu in Maisie's cell, within Dr Lesser's lab. She heads for the laboratories, telling the others she found the geneticist.
Following Victoria's signal thanks to their tracking tablet, Owen and Dougal leave the Citadel and head for the nearby forest, crossing the flooded area between the two.
Wu-ing for redemption
Claire reaches Dr Lesser's lab and opens its cell. Wu steps out but his old enemy brutally grabs him and interrogates him about the locusts. As he once again fucked up, she's about to strike him when pity hold her hand back. Wu tells her that they can still cancel Dodgson's apocalypse, by passing as the CEO himself and giving Biosyn's abroad agents the order to destroy the locusts, and just begs her to offer his help. After a moment of hesitation, Claire help the geneticist stand and give him his cane, the one Lockwood offered to him at the end of TRQ. Together, they then head immediately to the central tower and once in Dodgson's office, Wu turns the CEO's computer on but discovers it's empty. Claire's aggressiveness starts to return when Wu remembers that Dodgson kept some of his most precious information on paper and not necessarily on his computer as he feared being hacked. They start searching the office and the adjacent bedroom. Wu notices a framed picture of Dodgson as a child with his mother at some science fair (in an earlier scene, before he sent the containers, Dodgson could be seen closing the frame while Wu just stepped in his office). Wu opens the back of the frame and discover that Dodgson hid small pieces of papers between the picture and the frame itself. When he sees one paper with Hexapod Allies written on the top; a series of names, phone numbers and email addresses below; and a series of secret codes for the different orders on the back; he knows they put their hands on the jackpot. Wu and Claire hack Dodgson's email account (the password is Liddell, the maiden name of Dodgson's mother) and write the message to the agents involved in the Hexapod Allies operation, including the secret code for the Destroy order, but when they want to send it, the computer notify them that they can't due to internet connection issues. Wu realizes it's because the antenna on top of the control room might have moved following the helicopter's attack. Someone has to climb on the roof to properly realign it and since Wu can't because of his lame leg, the task goes to Claire.
Tracking Victoria
In the woods, Owen and Dougal hear Victoria's calls for help. The young Achillobator still thinks her mother might show up.
They find her and try to capture her but fails. They wander deeper in the woods.
Realigning the antenna
Claire climbs on the control room's roof and communicates with Wu through the radio, she ends up finding the right antenna.
However, just as she begin fixing it, the Argentinosaurus' suite start harassing her as the sauropod is just below. From the auditorium's entrance, Viscontini notices that. Learning through Wu what Claire is doing, Viscontini orders the grey guards to attack the Argentinosaurus so his suite will turn away from Claire to instead defend him. Wu also urges the AISI head to send men after Theo, Maisie and Drummond, as they're carrying very important data about the locusts, enough to destroy Biosyn.
Defying a Titan
Round two between the grey guards and Brontes start, and most of Claire's harassers go help him. This time, the sauropod actively chases his human attackers across parts of the Citadel, destroying walls and roofs with his sheer weight, letting out deafening bellows, passing his neck and head into breaches to try get access to the characters while his suite can reach them where he can't. Massoud ends up grabbed by the herbivore mouth and then thrown against the tower or any other surface, killing him instantly. An additional idea could be the titanosaur provoking small "earthquakes" when he strikes the ground with his forefeet, destabilizing Claire on top of the tower (she even almost falls).
Depending on the pace, there could be at the same time a suspenseful scene in the archives involving some creatures from the labs or the kennels. If the archives are low enough, maybe they'll get inundated because of the flood and the threat could be a semi-aquatic creature contained in the Citadel or brought by the flood (like the temnospondyl; while Nothosaurus, which had a small appearance in my JW rewrite, could be an alternative choice, with individuals housed in the kennels).
Prometheus' fate
After giving a few kicks while repelling her last harassers, Claire manages to properly realign the antenna and Wu successfully transmit the Destroy order to the Hexapod Allies agents. We cut to them as they destroy the locusts in their containers. When he receives their confirmation, the geneticist is relieved. But just as Claire is about to return to Dodgson's office, she sees a *Variraptor (*if it's chosen as Brontes' suite. If not, it will be some relatively large feathered coelurosaurian from the labs in order to make the parallels with Prometheus work) getting to its entrance first. Wu just has the time to barricade himself in the bedroom adjacent to the office but he knows the door won't hold long. Something (Brontes passing his head through a window and trying to attack her?) prevents her from reaching the office. She tells Wu to hold while she tries to save him but he asks her to instead save herself, wishing her a long and happy life. He bids her farewell and wait for his death while Claire escapes the tower. The raptor ends up breaking through the door and it pounce on Wu. While the predator starts devouring him, his cane falls on the ground and its amber pommel shatters.
Owen's decision
Just as the Owen and Dougal are about to start a new attempt in capturing Victoria, a pack of Achillobators (the same one which allied with Claire in the previous night) shows up and our duo hide while the raptors spot Victoria. At first, Owen fears they'll hurt or even kill her. He thinks about intervening, even if he might risk his own life, but after sniffing the young and scared Achillobator, the pack leader gently guides her towards her pack. Owen and Dougal watch the raptors disappear in the darkness. Dougal ask Owen if he'll do something but the Raptor Whisperer says nothing, willing to let Victoria live with a pack and without unnecessary human interference in her life. They head back to the Citadel.
The tower and the tyrannosaur
Kayla and Bigelow arrive by one of the observation towers, the one closest from the mountain path they're heading to. Nearby, the Special Forces' helicopter shot down by that of the raiders and the surrounding vegetation still burns. Just as they are about to climb to its observation bay in order to raid the tower for anything useful before starting the mountains' ascent, they are surrounded by a pack of small carnivores (just like Claire with the dilophosaurs in Trevorrow's version). Before they attack, a horn blast is heard. It's Drummond and after the palaeontologist insists with his portable horn (similar to the one Nigel Marven use against the velociraptors in The Giant Claw), the small carnivores scatter. He asks the two women if they're friends or foes, if they count among Dodgson's friends. Kayla answers that since Dodgson tried to sacrifice her to an Acrocanthosaurus, the answer is no for her, before adding that it ate Dodgson instead. Drummond is glad to hear that and he tells Maisie she can come. The teenager, hidden until there amidst the vegetation, joins them. Having heard Dodgson complaining about Maisie's escape, Bigelow is aware she must be very important but still wary, Drummond whisper to Maisie to not say a single word about the flash drive she's carrying. The two duos talk about their objectives and discover that they're the same. For better chances of survival, they decide to head together for the mountain's path.
But a tyrannosaur, the same one which Claire released earlier, makes its appearance while they're walking away from the tower. It saw them and they know that they better seek refuge in the tower than attempt to run from the predator. At first, they try to stay still, in order to not trigger its attack, but when he notices that the predator wouldn't mind eat one or two of them, Drummond tells Maisie and the two women to run. While they rush to the tower, he distracts the rex by agitating a burning branch. Afraid of the fire, the rex seek to avoid the branch and see the three other humans climbing the tower's ladder. The predator bypass Drummond and in its dash towards the tower, it sends the palaeontologist flying away with its tail. As such thing would have easily killed someone, Maisie fears the worst for him and when his motionless body falls into a ravine, the audience think it's over for him. Maisie panics while the rex has its jaws locked around the ladder's protective cage. What follows is pretty much similar to the Giganotosaurus' attack on the tower scene from Trevorrow's version, except that the final outcome will be quite different. As the observation towers' power has been turned off from the control room in order to save power for more urgent systems, our three protagonists can't have the observation bay rise to the top of the tower, where they would be safe from the rex. To make matters worse, another threat arrive.
I haven't decided which yet but the idea I'm having now is a group of pterosaurs, probably pteranodons, which targets our trio and chase the rex away from the tower by pecking at his head. Another manages to grab Maisie and take her out of the tower. However, the pterosaur let her go before it can be above the canopy due to some incident (another harassing it probably) and Maisie falls into dense bushes at a certain distance from the tower, out of the two women's sight. In the meantime, a mist has started descending from the mountains. Bigelow and Kayla exit the tower and begin searching for Maisie in the area, fearing she got herself hurt in the fall. To cover a maximum of ground before the mist reaches them, they decide to split up.
The end of a line
We see Maisie managing to stand up and while she got bruises**,** she seems relatively fine and still in walking condition. Now lost and alone in the middle of the woods, she's very scared though and starts screaming to help. In the silent forest, Kayla hears her voice and follows it. Just as the mist is about to reach Maisie, the smuggler sees the teenager in the distance and calls for her. But when she hears heavy footsteps and a rumble coming from just behind Maisie, in the mist, her heart stops and she's aghast when she sees the tyrannosaur's silhouette closing to the girl's. Before Maisie can flee, the predator open its maws, grabs her and swallow her whole before disappearing in the forest's shadows (the scene is meant to be a mirror of one from my JW rewrite, where the death of a little girl during the pterosaurs' attack on the main hub is concealed by smoke while Claire watch helplessly). Thus ends Lockwood's line, indirectly destroyed by Claire Dearing.
Bigelow arrives in her turn and sees the smuggler kneeled on the ground, speechless, too shocked by the scene she just saw. Understanding what happened, the CIA agent has an "Oh. Shit..." face and tells Kayla they have to leave the valley while they still can, as she doesn't know what the Italians will do with it once it's taken, even fearing that it might be firebombed in order to destroy the perpetrators of the various incidents of the past months.
While the two women head for the mountain's path and the mist passes away, Drummond is seen climbing out of the ravine and starts to call for Maisie, in vain. Seeing the destroyed observation bay empty, he looks around for clues about Maisie's or the women's whereabouts. He ends up stumbling on the rex's tracks and follows them up to the spot where the teenager last stood. There he finds Wu's flash drive and seeing some blood stains around, he realizes she is no more. This deeply saddens him and this loss and failure just add another load on his self-loathing, as he would have gladly died between the jaws of the king of the dinosaurs if it could have saved Maisie's life. Instead of trying to follow Kayla and Bigelow, he goes in the opposite direction, towards the valley itself.
Leaving the Sanctuary
While looking to reach the auditorium, Claire is forced to hide in one of the labs from dilophosaurs roaming in the area.
In the archives, Vuillier and Nyamu finally put their hands on the documents they were looking for and take them. They and the grey guards' archives team then leave the room and head to the auditorium, in order to reunite with Viscontini and co. On the way, they have to pass between the legs of Brontes while he's distracted by the grey guards. When they reach the auditorium, Viscontini tells them that helicopters are waiting for them. One of the aircrafts is on its way to pick up the Owen and Dougal.
Escorted by the Carabinieri and the Special Forces, the surviving Biosyn employees are evacuated from the Citadel and when the grey guards retreat from their confrontation against Brontes, Vuillier asks them if they've seen Claire coming back but they answer that no. He contacts her and she tells him that she's being delayed.
We see her evading the dilophosaurs which were about to discover her and leaving the labs. Now, start for her an Uncharted-esque race through the Citadel where she has to cross various obstacles and avoid/outrun the loose creatures within it (including the dilophosaurs mentioned above). Still pissed, Brontes targets her and chases her up to her extraction point. Before the Argentinosaurus can close his mouth on her, she jumps into one of the helicopters where Owen and Dougal are waiting for her. The two men help her get inside and their helicopter fly away from the Citadel while the sauropod lets out a mighty bellow.
The protagonists leave the valley and the helicopters which drop them off at Biosyn employees' village, which has been taken over by the Italians and the Austrians in the meantime.
A bitter dawn
While the first sun rays reach the valley, Drummond stumble upon the monstrous Acrocanthosaurus Quasimodo in the area devastated by the flood, in sight of the now destroyed south-eastern wall. Surprised by the waters near the road battlefield, the predator was carried on a certain distance before ending up blocked by rocks and then impaled by a tree. When the palaeontologist finds him, he's dead. Disgusted by the animal, Drummond first tries to ignore him and continue towards the wall, intending to reach the village beyond it, but he turns back and carefully approach him. Tired from his night-long trek, Drummond sit on a rock just next to Quasimodo's head and still quite shaken by Maisie's death and the disaster, Drummond start to ramble about various topics (about the evolution of palaeontology since the San Diego incident, his wife, working at Biosyn, Theo's and Maisie's death...) before breaking down in tears and he can't hold himself from calling Quasimodo a Manmade abomination which deserved to be destroyed by Nature. While looking towards the destroyed wall, the palaeontologist start to regret those harsh words and pulls out a flask of whisky from his bag. After drinking a sip, he puts it back in the bag and just sit silently by the dead animal for a few minutes, up until some Quetzalcoatlus land nearby. The gigantic pterosaurs walk up to the dead Acrocanthosaurus and ignoring Drummond as a way bigger meal is just in front of them, they start feasting. While they do so, Drummond follows the flood's desolation towards the Citadel and he is soon spotted by the men tasked with finding him.
Of rivalries and world-saving
In the morning, Claire steps out of the accommodation assigned to her and Owen within Biosyn's Village. She sees Drummond giving Wu's flash drive to Vuillier before taking his leave. After joining her boss, Claire ponders about her relationship with Wu, on how both destroyed Jurassic World five years ago and how they pretty much saved the world that night. She and Vuillier have a respectful moment of silence for their deceased enemy.
In the abandoned citadel, it's revealed that one of the locusts survived. It's seen crawling on the ground, towards one of the vents. But just before it could reach it, a Mononykus (freed from one of the cages during the raid) swoops on it and devours it.
League of Dragons
As she is crossing the village, Claire passes by one of the remaining Biosyn guards. It's actually the Romanian one, the one who saw her by the panic room. Frightened as hell, he moves away from her while yelling "Dracul! Dracul!", still traumatized by the past night's events. Claire briefly wonders why he is yelling and running away before she gets surrounded by other Biosyn guards and Lucrezia Pellegrino. The Citadel's head of security explains that he called her a dragon because of what he saw and some of the guards start throwing insults at Claire, calling her a monster and a butcher, and she realize that they and their superior want to avenge those she killed. Pellegrino adds that by sending dinosaurs on people who oppose her, Claire is no better than Dodgson on that matter.
Nearby, Owen sees his fiancée surrounded and when one of the Biosyn guards throws a stone at Claire, he gets furious, tackles him on the ground and starts to beat him up. As another guard pulls out a knife (which he hid when they had to give their weapons to the authorities) and is about to stab Owen, the surviving grey guards suddenly intervene, getting the couple out of the Biosyn ambush and then confronting the attackers, standing by Claire's and Owen's side. The grey guards retort to their opponents that their comrades could have denounced the Sanctuary's illegal activities, surrendered, deserted or arrested Dodgson while they could but did nothing, before adding that without Claire, they would have all eaten nothing but locusts in a near future. The Biosyn guards feel insulted however and as an ugly fight is about to break out between both groups, the Carabinieri are forced to intervene and assign them to opposite parts of the village.
The press, who just entered the Biosyn's lands, has witnessed the confrontation and so did Vuillier and Nyamu. The latter tells the Frenchman that since Claire pretty much saved the world, Odegaard could give her a well-deserved break, literally and figuratively.
Debate
In the village's equivalent of a community centre, a meeting about the incident's consequences and what to do with the Sanctuary and its animals is held. Among the attendees, are:
- The WDMC and the people directly affiliated to it: Claire, Owen, Dougal, Vuillier, and Nyamu.
- Representatives of the Italian government: Viscontini, Giovanni Pazzi, and a few local politicians.
- The surviving Biosyn executives and top researchers: Drummond, Pellegrino, Quinn.
During the meeting, we learn that:
- Dodgson was found, or at least five or six pieces of him.
- Some of the Sanctuary's denizens managed to flee the valley and are now somewhere in the Italian countryside. Among the escapees are Victoria and her new pack of Achillobators.
- Exterminators led by the surviving grey guards are about to be sent in the amber mines to slaughter the pectinodons down to the last individual and the species will be soon classified as a pest in Italy, Austria and probably other countries.
Several solutions for the valley, its denizens and the Citadel are discussed:
- Cull the animals, cleanse the valley of Biosyn's traces, and give it back to the inhabitants expropriated by the corporation when it decided to have the entire valley and some of the surrounding lands for itself and no one else.
- Abandoning the valley, let the animals fend for themselves and hope that "life will find a way", even if it poses huge risks for the local populations and ecosystems.
- Dispatch the surviving animals to zoos and other entities which can legally house dangerous captive animals. Proceeding like this will allow de-extinct creatures to no longer be in the ownership of a single entity like Biosyn or InGen.
- Round up the loose animals, cleanse the battle's and the flood's damages, and turn the place into a real Sanctuary for de-extinct animals. Not a "Kruger with dinosaurs" like the Five Deaths but more like a non-profit place with enclosures (akin to many sanctuaries for wild animals across the globe). It will be a public-private joint-venture, with the sanctuary co-managed by the UN's WDMC and the Italian government while private partners will help finance it (Nathan Quinn propose to be one of those but Vuillier, Dougal and a few others distrust him and prefer to not have some of Dodgson's former collaborators on the project). And in order to ensure good relations with the local communities, jobs will be offered to the area's inhabitants and some lands given back to them. Shall this solution be adopted, Vuillier proposes to have Claire Dearing as its manager, Owen Grady its head warden, Rod Drummond its chief researcher, and Laurenzo Cesare as head of security, if they accept. Pellegrino storms off at this moment, disgusted that they're about to leave her without a job and rewarding Claire, an unrepentant psychopath in her eyes. In a moment of consultation amidst the meeting, Claire tells Vuillier she'll probably refuse becoming the sanctuary's manager if this solution is adopted, telling him that she has the feeling that her future lies elsewhere and that she'll continue work as a field agent if he don't mind. Vuillier, who clearly saw how Claire evolved since she started playing spies back in 2019 and decided to close his eyes on her exactions, suggest her to settle for a quieter less-violent life and declares that managing the Sanctuary could be the ultimate redemption for her. Still shaken by the amount of violence she had to commit in order to stop Biosyn and desiring to spend more time with her son, she ends up being persuaded and accept the idea.
The different solutions are being debated for weeks if not months within the Italian government and the UN.
​
End of Act IV.
See you tomorrow for the final Act and the Epilogue.

Okay to start, I'm abroad on holiday with my family, so I'm struggling to properly research this whilst still entertaining kids and not allowing my holiday to be ruined, so any advice would be great.
Bought a house approx 2 years ago. Neighbour started building extention earlier this year (planning permission was submitted long before we bought the house), extended porch area at front, convert garage and built above garage (all adjoining our house). We've been very accommodating, they asked if they could build the porch extension on the dividing wall in front garden and we were fine with that as it's north facing so all our sun is out the back. They needed to dig up part of our front garden to lay the foundations, we said no problem.
Problem started yesterday when he text me while I'm on holiday to tell me that he's building up a wall out the back garden today and can builders come into my garden to protect my decking with sheets. There's currently a fence there on our side that previous owner put up approx 10-15 years ago. I'm not there to measure it now but a rough guess is that it's approx 2m or higher (probably 215cm but again I'm away so I can't measure). The fence does as privacy but it already causes some sun loss in evenings so we'd have preferred it to be lower if anything.
I asked would the new wall not exceed the current fence and he said it won't but he's installing a new lean-to perspex roof on it that will be 1 foot (30cm) higher than the fence, so again based on me not being about to measure whilst abroad, that's about 2.5m high. The biggest issue is that his new attic window over looks most of our decking. The only part that is now private (wife comfortable to sun bath) is in the corner that will have reduced evening sun due to this new roof thing, and we've a window to kitchen that could lose light earlier too.
I know it is not a full metre he's looking to add to it, but 30cm could mean a good deal given the height of the current fence. I've seen on citizens advice that he can go up to 2m in height with a wall, but does that include a roof on top? Also to note that the planning permission for the extention work doesn't include this in drawings at all, and part of his planning permission states that the extension should "protect residential amenities of neighbouring properties including privacy, outlook, daylight and sunlight".
He has also claimed that it is for safety reasons as I built a brick BBQ in that corner last year (I paid extra for Trex fire resistant decking when we replaced the old rotten decking last year as I wanted to take extra safety precautions myself). He said it was identified to him as a danger by a surveyor but yesterday was the first time it was said to me. I'd happily convert the brick BBQ to a storage unit and build a new one elsewhere rather than lose light in that 1 area of the decking. I've asked can this wait until we are home but he has said no that it has to happen now and he is legally okay to do it so not looking for permission, it was just a curtsey to protect my decking.
I now fear arriving home from holiday and a big structure blocking our evening sun. If that is the case and it exceeds 2m what steps can I take to have it taken down? Contact Dublin County Council? I've no clue. Thanks for any advice or help anyone has.
TLDR; neighbour building a wall and shelter roof out the back garden that will block my sunlight, I'm on holiday so can't measure but I think current fence is over 2m in height so new structure will be approx 2.5m in height. Asked him to wait until we are home, he said no.

Outlying community NYT Crossword Clue
https://crossword.fresherslive.com/nyt-mini-crossword-answers-for-june-08-2023

I just saw the movie and though I enjoyed the wonderful visuals, was and still am dumbfounded over the script. Below are some of my observations.
Firstly, the really bad script plot points, other than the terrible dialogue and recycling of the first film, except with water added to the mix.

1. Starts off almost immediately, after a very brief catch-up of Jake and fam with the 2nd wave of evil colonialist showing up to carpet bomb the forest and start up the war again with the Na'vi which is shown quickly and introduces then cloned soldiers from the first movie??? Is this a joke?!

Instead, there should have been at least 30 minutes of development showing what has happened since Avatar 1. Not just a quick Lion King homage and a quick introduction to the mysteriously conceived child of Dr. Grace Augustine???? Again, Am I being punked by James Cameron?!
What has happened to the tribe. Has Jake been a good leader. Tell me more about his kids. We need character development even though you're visiting Atlantis shortly. Build up the emotional investment we have in your family which you're trying to save.

1. Jake gives up his leaderahip role and responsibility for the entire tribe because he doesn't have a plan? But he can run and 'hide' with his family. Ok, horribly weak and irresponsible on his part, but Jake was never that bright to begin with. That's not his strong suit. Courage and transparency are. But fine.

Instead, Jake and fam should have tried to hide out on a deserted island instead of endangering other tribes, and slowly, they could have been discovered and made inroads into the Metkayina without having altered the clone warriors.
This should have been friendly and not a showcase for the utter stupidity of Jake's kids, every last one of them except Kiri, who should have harnesses the power of the entire planet to thwart the bad guys and save her brother. But back to the I'll behaved children. Even Aonung, the Metkayina chief's son leaves Lo'ak to die, which I knew by that point would be brushed off. But it got worse as Lo'ak wants to be friends with Aonung the attempted murderer and takes the blame???? What kind of ridiculous crap is this?

1. After this the plot goes straight into the drink as they say, and becomes as paper thin as I've ever seen. There are B movies that suck but have better writing. Jake's kids keep on with th stupid decisions as away of luring Na'vi reborn Miles and gang into the action since they clearly would never have found Jake if Kiri hadn't had a seizure???? WTH?!

And what was that anyway, an overloaded circuit when she plugged into Eywa, only to be able to kill two bad submariners with a glowing flower? I guess she will Neo that crap in the next film. And speaking of The Matrix, if you're going to borrow them go ahead and steal and make it good.

1. Where the crap did the Metkayina go after the first wave. And for that matter, where was moby dick for the 15 minutes between his attack and showing back up to give Jake and son a lift? And what about backup for the bad guys? They couldn't put out a distress call or at least report they were getting blown up? No follow up from the 'General' lady?

Seriously, it's like they lost some digital footage and had to improvise. No wonder everyone was so creepy in the 'making of' video I watched, smiling and praising JC like he were Tom Cruise and would eat them otherwise.
These problems are so glaring that they beggar belief! And there are at least another 30 moments that make as little sense. I can't figure out how such a seemingly intelligent and talented person like James Cameron missed all of this, focused on the CGI or not. After dreaming up evolutionary development of Pandoran flora and fauna and giving his all to birthing this world, how could you just forget the plot needed to make sense?
How the story should have unfolded.
Jake is growing as a leader and husband/father. He is learning so much more about Pandora and the Na'vi. He is also learning is the limitations of his avatar as he is not native born.
His children, which shouldn't include Kiri, though I liked her more than the rest of the entire cast and thought she was cute as could be, have been learning and growing in their responsibilities as the Olo'eyktan's kids. They are having fun and the eldest are falling in love. Life is good and the kids aren't stupid little disobedient morons always risking their lives and getting into trouble.
Then...if you want to bring in the humans you can, but not necessarily as colonial scum who burn down hectare of forest to build a city. They instead negotiate peace with the Na'vi forest dwellers and learn to coexist. But unbeknownst to this group, Miles and his reborn squad are sent to the other side of the planet to learn more about the other tribes and harvest an even more valuable commodity from the local whales (per JC script).
Secretly, Miles wants revenge but is basically owned by this other corporation and has little choice, until he finds Jake Sully coming to him in defense of the Metkayina. But Jake has only heard that more sky people avatars are present. He has no clue Miles is one of them.
As the Metkayina try to deal with the encroaching whale harvesters they start their own fight and as for Toruk Makto's help, and he obliged. With an army of his people and even some help from the somewhat friendly settlers, Jake arrives to unite the clans, unite them! And he discovers his old pal Miles, who can't resist the urge to confront him
They fight the bad guys. Things explode. Arrows go everywhere and the whalers are forced to retreat for a time, during which Jake and his family stick around with some troops and learn the way of water. His kids aren't morons, and one of them, his own biological daughter starts to exhibit strange powers while exploring the ocean.
At some point the corpus decide to reengage the natives with a new weapon that can cause tidal waves and some islands are overrun. The people flee to Toruk Makto for help. And while Miles and gang are engaging the 'enemy' they have a change of heart. He finds out his son survived.
Jake's daughter stops a tidal wave and redirects it toward an Armada of ships,.not just one whaling vessel. And Miles decides he's indeed not the human he once was.
He then mutinys for his own sake and to free his squad and helps Jake in the process. There is a face to face and Jake acknowledges that he isn't Miles, but his own person. They part ways, Miles telling his son he hopes they can get to know each other.
It's sappy I know but a first draft. There were so many other directions the script could have gone. And after all these years and the massive budget, the world building and pretentious political commentary, they should have had a Dances with wolves with blue people underwater level script. And it should have won awards for best screenplay.

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Is there a way to make a system for like a gooseneck or ball joint trailer that can be detached and re attached. Not just with anchor blocks but like an actual multi use thing where you back up hit a button and it locks it in place.
Yes I know there's no system for this base game but I wanna try and make a hitch that connects to trailers without entering build mode.
Is it possible? I've seen one video of somebody else's design but no clue how they did it.

Three New Terrifying True Scary Tales
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Number One: The Pool
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Now, this happened a very long time ago. I am not going to mention when or where though and I am submitting it anonymously. I don’t want people going back and finding out more about it and then lashing out of me.
​
I was 13 years old and my brother was 11. As I mentioned, this happened a long time ago and I think today, not a lot of parents would put a 13 year old in charge of an 11 year old. But this was not unusual at all back then. In fact, I was looking after my little brother all the time before either of us even hit 10 years old.
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After a while, of course, always keeping my eye on him began to get very annoying. It interfered with my hanging out with friends. It was quite a drag when I would try to talk to girls. It was just a pain in the ass, really.
​
Anyway, one day during a really hot summer, our parents decided to drop us both off at the local swimming pool for the day. My dad had to work and my mom had errands and stuff to run plus work do to do for the church. It was so hot and there was no way we could afford air conditioning. We had one old fan in the house and a sprinkler in the yard that we could go play in. But the swimming pool was the much better option.
​
Of course the pool was very crowded. Lots of families would drop their kids off there during the summertime. And of course, even though I knew it already, my mom stressed to me, “Keep an eye on your little brother at all times.”
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Some of my friends were at the pool too. I got to talking to them and they told me about this new girl who moved into town. She would be starting school that fall and supposedly she was really hot. So of course, I wanted to check her out. I knew the lifeguards would be watching my brother in the water, so he would be fine.
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I went with the guys and the girl was really cute. My buddies all dared me to approach her, which was admittedly a brave thing for a 13 year old boy to do. Of course, I couldn’t chicken out in front of them, so I did just that.
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She was a very sweet girl. We actually ended up talking for a little while. Her parents were at the pool though, and they called her back after too long. So I went back to the water to see how my little brother was doing.
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The only problem was that I couldn’t see him anywhere in the water. This was a small town in a rural area, so although I said the pool was crowded, it wasn’t like a water park is crowded though. I should have easily been able to pick him out of the water. He just wasn’t there.
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I went and searched around the area surrounding the pool and didn’t see him there either. My heart started beating faster and I began panicking. I went to the building where the showers and concession stand were. He wasn’t there either. You couldn’t leave that pool without going through that building, though. I asked the attendant if a 11 year old boy had left the pool on his own in the previous hour and he told me no.
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I then went to the lifeguards and my buddies. I thought maybe there was a chance that I had missed him. It’s easy to occasionally miss someone in a crowd. The lifeguards ordered everyone out of the pool. Fortunately, there were no drowned children in the pool. Unfortunately, my brother was nowhere to be found outside of the pool.
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The lifeguards had to call my mother at the church. I had never before lost track of my little brother like this before. I had no idea what to expect when she showed up. I was only thankful that the police were already at the pool or she probably would have whipped my ass right there in front of the entire pool.
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The trouble I got into at home isn’t something that I want to go into very much. My butt very much has PTSD from the experience. But that was minor compared to the fear I felt for my little brother. Hell, I didn’t even have time to feel guilty although that I knew that I was. I was only concerned for him and wondered what would happen.
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All day and night, I expected the police to bring him home. But that didn’t happen. I expected it the next day too. But it didn’t happen.
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The town organized a search to look for him. I kept expecting to hear from them that they had found him. But that didn’t happen either.
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After about a week of my brother not being found, I began fearing for the worst. I began thinking that he was dead. And I was terrified every waking moment of my life, expecting to absolutely hear the news that his dead body was found.
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Nearly two weeks after the disappearance, we got a phone call from the police. They had found my brother and thankfully, he was alive. But unfortunately, that’s not the whole story.
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Remember the attendant telling me that no boy had left on his own? Well that’s because the boy left with one of the lifeguards who was getting off duty. He had lured my brother out of the pool and into his car with promises of ice cream, something he and I rarely ever got. And my brother went to his house with him.
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For all of that time, he kept my little brother locked up in his basement. He didn’t do anything sexually to him, thank God. But there was a lot of mental and some physical torment when my brother wouldn’t do what he was told to you. But the scariest part for him was thinking he would never get out and be with his family again.
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Here is another weird part. The lifeguard wasn’t an adult. He did this while his parents were out of town for a few weeks. They came back early and caught him. And if you think I felt bad for my parents’ punishing me, what they did to him had to be legendary. The police thought he was either planning on killing or releasing my brother before his parents got home. But no one ever knew for sure.
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He had to live with it without much help for a long time. Mental health assistance had a very bad stigma back then. But we’re both still alive today and he forgave me a long time ago.
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Number Two: Taking the Garbage Out
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A few weeks ago I went outside at around 3am to move the garbage to the curb since pickup would be in the morning. I often do this in the middle of the night. I just tend to keep weird hours and as the weather warms up for the summer I find the warm nights preferable to the sweltering days.
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I’m not worried about bothering my neighbors since I don’t use noisy bins and all of the houses right next to me are currently empty. I actually find the quiet of the neighborhood at night quite relaxing.
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Unfortunately since I don’t use bins animals are able to get into the bags a bit easier and while this doesn’t happen often it had happened on this night. So I was outside picking up the strewn around garbage and putting it into another bag when the silence of the night was suddenly broken by multiple police sirens.
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At first they seemed distant and while they startled me it was not at all unheard of to hear sirens at night here. But usually it would be one in the distance. As I listened, still bagging the garbage, I could tell it was multiple sirens and they were getting closer. Then just as suddenly as it started it stopped again. There was just silence. By the time they stopped they sounded maybe four blocks away.
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For a moment the night was silent again and I began hauling the bags to the curb when the neighborhood dogs began barking all at once. It was like every dog in the neighborhood had gotten the cue to start barking. Many were even howling. It continued for maybe a minute and once again it just stopped as suddenly as it had started.
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I realized I hadn’t heard any barking or howling while the sirens were going and that’s normally how it would work. These dogs had started up separately from the sirens and just stopped all at once. It just wasn’t normal. I went back to the side of the house to grab more bags when the silence was broken a third time. 

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Just a single chime in the night. Like someone getting a phone notification. This sound wasn’t blocks away. This sound was here. RIGHT HERE. No more than feet away. As I said, the houses around me are empty.
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I was done. The rest of the garbage would wait until morning. I didn’t see anyone close by but that just made it worse. There was someone close by that I couldn’t see. I immediately went into the house to leave the garbage for the morning.
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I don’t know if these things were related. If the cops had been chasing someone who’s fleeing had caused the dogs to bark. Someone who received a message on their phone as they approached my house. Or if it was all just a coincidence. But I won’t be taking the garbage out at 3am anymore.
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A Commuter’s Nightmare
William M.
06/30/2021
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Back in the 80s, I worked at the Irwin Memorial Blood Bank in San Francisco while living and commuting from Oakland, CA
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My job as Registrar, took me all over Northern California, during Blood Drives at hospitals, clinics, major corporations, etc., where we would sometimes witness firsthand, the dead, being placed on gurneys, running out of the Coroner's or Medical Examiner’s rear doors, and down the sidewalks, because they simply didn’t have enough room or staff inside the morgues to process them. Mortuaries were having problems too due to the massive overload where deceased loved ones were admitted but not processed or interred for months or even years at a time.
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I remember watching the News and reading newspaper accounts of E.R.s in hospitals, clinics, etc. so clogged with patients, that 1 in 10 would die waiting to just get in to see a Dr. It was a Public Health and Safety nightmare. It was a National disgrace. It was politically orchestrated mass murder. It was the B purge of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
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I remember, starting work early on one of many Blood Drives (the A.I.D.S. epidemic was just getting started) and having to catch the first B.A.R.T. (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train out of the station at about 4:00 am, where morning after morning I would witness hundreds of people sleeping on the benches, or the sidewalks, or on the streets outside, waiting for it to open.
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Hundreds of others would be seen walking around like zombies in the early morning freeze amid the concomitant yelling, screaming, moaning, begging, and pleading, all of it looking like a newsreel of the death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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Many times, I was woken at home in the middle of the night, to the sounds of people howling and cursing outside my window at some real or imagined threat, until either the police came, which usually took hours because they were spread so thin, or some tenant, or other, ran them off.
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I remember the time I woke up to the sound of a woman’s voice begging in the early morning cold for someone to help her. She kept repeating it over and over growing weaker and weaker until it was little more than a whisper.
By the time I’d gotten up, armed myself with the steel-reinforced baton I’d purchased at a Police Supply store, and ran the 5 floors down to the ground floor, I found her sitting in a taxi shivering from the 42-degree drizzle coming in off the Pacific. The cabbie told me it was alright; she was just cold and needed someplace to rest and warm up; He’d drop her off at one of the nearby shelters.
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At the time, I was living in a local Residence Hall on Lake Merrit in Oakland, California which was little more than a converted Hotel from the San Francisco/Oakland Gilded Age of the late 1920s. It had 5 floors and a penthouse with a capacity of about 200. I never saw it get much beyond about 30 residents. It sported a full kitchen, dining area, big screen tv viewing room, swimming pool, and a recreation room with pool, foosball, and darts.
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I lived with a friend, at the time, on the 5th floor just under the penthouse. There was an elevator, but like most refurbs, it didn’t work. That meant we'd have to climb 10 flights of stairs every day to reach our room. The best part was that we had the entire floor to ourselves. I guess nobody wanted to climb that many stairs. Because we were both runners, it was a little like running the 900 feet to the top of Angel Island, running across The Golden Gate Bridge and back, or running the 3.4 miles around Lake Merrit twice a day.
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Because there was no air-conditioning, all the windows were left open during the summer months, but along with whatever cool air the San Francisco/Oakland Bay would bring through the gaping nearly wall-length vault ceilinged windows, it was always accompanied by the teeming, screaming City of Oakland street din: cabbies, buses, cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, scooters, police sirens, ambulance, fire department, pedestrians, hustlers, druggies, break-dancers, prostitutes the homeless, et al. Day or night, winter or summer, it was like living in a jet engine test lab, somewhere on the 9th level of hell.
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Of course, we could always close the windows against the noise 5 stories below. But if it was summer, with all the humidity coming off the bay, we’d roast like 2 suckling pigs in our own sweat even if we used a fan.
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One night after a particularly grueling day at work, I came home, climbed Mount Everest (or at least K-2) to my steaming little abattoir, tore off my sports jacket, shirt, and tie, and fell into a coma-like sleep only to awake some 4 hours later to the sound of someone slamming a door, over and over, seemingly as hard as they could. It was about 2:00 am and raining so hard the water was pouring through the open window and flooding the floor and carpet. The sound was coming somewhere down the hall from one of the other units.
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After about the 15th or 16th slam to my inner ear, I was up, as in a trance, running like a lunatic from unit to unit and window to window, covering the entire southside of the 5th floor; battening down the hatches, and getting drenched in the process. It was, how should I say: exhilaratingly infuriating. I was supposed to get up in 2 hours and commute to work in the upper peninsula.
Having unconsciously completed this Sisyphean task and realizing that there was zero chance of getting any sleep, I donned my foul weather gear, equipped my trusty baton (I used to tuck its 2 ½-foot length up my sleeve when running), and headed out the front door to Lake Merrit which was just outside the main entrance. From there, I trotted to the sidewalk circling the lake, and began to run.
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As I ran counterclockwise against a torrential rain with a gale-force wind broken only by the occasional intermittent rainbow-hued lightning flashes which blinded me to almost everything around me, I almost ran into someone up ahead who was walking in the same direction.
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He was hunched over against the wind and rain and wearing a long heavy winter coat. Unusual for that time of year, I thought. Whenever I would run in public, I always made it a courtesy to let people know when I was approaching especially from behind. I’d blurt out a perfunctory:
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“Excuse me.” Followed by a conciliatory:
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“Sorry.”
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But apparently, the person ahead either didn’t hear me or didn’t care because, when I was about 6 feet from him, he suddenly turned around, exposing a darkened contorted face, jagged teeth, and a guttural growl that would have stopped a charging 600-pound Grizzly.
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The sheer force of the malevolence emitted from this inhuman thing almost made me stop, but because I was moving so fast, the inertia along with the gale force wind and lightning strikes propelled me past him (or it), and fingering my steel-reinforced baton, I, in turn, steeled my nerve and kept running. I looked back only once to reassure myself that he (or it) wasn’t following.
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Running on the leeward side now, with the rain at my back, I ran past a group of men in a circle smoking or drinking or doing whatever noxious or illicit thing I imagined, when, feeling charged with my own adrenalin, or the anger and resentment at that woman’s searing pleas for help, or the spook I’d almost run into, or just the gross injustices thrust upon the world in that dank, dark and dangerous time, I almost stopped, baton in hand, intending to take on the whole group: I may go down, I told myself, but at least I would take one or two with me.
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Just then, the lightning struck particularly close to where I and they stood and the sheer blinding flash and concussive boom shook all of us enough to break up their conspiratorial collaboration and my righteous crusade; just enough, that is, to shove me headlong around the next bend, to the long straight full out dash to the front doors, the 5 floors, 10 landings, and 50 risers to rain-sodden home.
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To get to work every day, I'd have to commute to the upper peninsula by using 3 buses, 1 train, and 1 cab and after a 10 or 12 or sometimes 14-hour day, I would have to take the same to get back. This meant that if I didn’t go out, make dinner, eat, or watch tv, I just might get about 4 hours sleep. Commuting took between 2 to 3 hours, one way.
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Once on the way home, almost every stop was crowded with commuters. I was told that it was because there were so many buses down for repair. The ones still running were so filled beyond capacity, that the shocks and springs were sitting on the chassis, and stop after stop proved nearly impossible to take on any more passengers. Still, and despite the few getting out at every stop, the driver would take on even more and just pack them in.
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I remember him yelling for people to get back behind the yellow line over and over. By then, he was long past any semblance of reason; his patience frayed to a single maniacal thought, his voice raspier and raspier, his manner, more and more brusk.
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I can still see when he finally lost it; jumping up, out of his seat, with a nickel-plated 38 Caliber Revolver pointing at one of the passengers; an elderly woman, screaming from the top of his lungs:
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“Get back behind the yellow line!”
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I can still hear the woman begging the driver:
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“Please...” while the passengers behind were practically trampling each other to get out of the line of fire.
I remember the sad, exhausted urgency in her voice; she really was trying to move back, but how could she, an old woman, do that with all those people blocking her way? Everyone knew this was an impossible task; everyone except the maddened driver. He just kept glaring, and bellowing with his gun out pointed right at her and the other passengers.
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"Back up and make room" he yelled.
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‘Or else what?’ I thought. ‘You're gonna kill an old woman?'
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Getting up out of my seat, pushing my way through the throng who were pushing against me to get away, I managed to get within about 6 feet from the front when, roaring through the din and my fear and anger, I ordered the bus driver to:
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“Put the gun down!” And again, with even more rage and authority:
“Put the gun down, now!”
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The bus driver shocked that it might be a cop, or worse, shakily, put his gun back in his concealed carry holster and hypnotically sat back down. He resumed driving without saying another word. I got out at the next stop, along with the elderly woman. She was so shaken, that she busted out crying. I held her still fuming despite the close call because I would now have to wait for another bus and after that, 2 more; the train and a cab to get home. I wasn’t going to make it until well after 8:00 pm. As soon as I got home, I reported the bus number and the driver to Muni.
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Many of the commuters I'd see day to day, or share a seat with were victims of the purge just trying to get out of the rain or the cold, or the wind, or the sun, even for just a little while. For them, it was easing the agony of living on the street, even just a little. For many of us regular commuters, during those dark times, it proved to be the same.
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On one of the final buses that would take me to the train and across the bay, I remember standing, with about 50 others, on Market Street waiting. Like ours, stop after stop was so packed with people, some were standing in the street because there was simply not enough room on the sidewalk. The ones in the street would stay where they were for fear of losing their place and missing their connection and having to wait another hour, or more, to catch another.
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Because the rapidly descending elevation of the southbound streets ending at Market Street from the upper peninsula were so steep and the transverse angle of the turn so sharp, some of the buses would skirt the edge of the curb, sometimes rolling up over it onto the sidewalk putting them dangerously close to the commuters waiting on the other side.
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If there were any people in the street, especially the old or the infirm, they would either have to get out of the way and lose their place in line or hope the bus driver stopped before completing the turn. Most of the drivers would. Once there was one who didn’t.
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I remember the television and newspaper account about an elderly woman waiting at one of the stops during the pm rush hour. When the bus made the oblique turn way too fast at 25 miles per hour she was either too close to the edge or standing in the street when she was hit by the side view mirror across the face and the left side of her head.
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She went down under the wheels and her body got hung up under the chassis. The bus driver too full of passengers to stop, or late for his break, or just too coked up to notice, kept on heading for the Embarcadero before he realized something was wrong. By then, the woman had been dragged over a quarter of a mile. No one knew for sure whether the concussion from the mirror or the relentless dragging was the cause of death. I guess it didn’t matter to her anymore, one way or the other. It mattered to a lot of those who witnessed the whole thing though; screaming and yelling, block after block, trying to get the bus driver to stop.
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To get across the Bay to San Francisco from Oakland or back, one alternative to the nightmare bus commute was the B.A.R.T (Bay Area Rapid Transit). It was quiet, clean, air-conditioned, and fast. Traveling under the Bay, it could span the 13 miles in minutes. Once I’d reach the train station, by bus, from the Oakland side, I’d descend one of the many street-level entries to the below-ground turnstiles which led to the train platform. Of course, there were always hundreds of derelicts, homeless, hustlers, etc., hanging out by the turnstiles waiting for their chance to slip through and get on any one of the many trains that serviced the Bay Area, but sometimes, especially after a scuffle with B.A.R.T. Security or the San Francisco/Oakland Police, they’d scatter to the winds (or the shadows as it were) until everything calmed down and then they'd be back at it again, day and night.
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Almost every week I'd hear about someone falling, or being pushed, or jumping down onto the third rail, which would either short-circuit the line and knock out the power or if it was particularly grisly, halt service entirely. Because service resumption could take hours, waiting passengers would have to go back up and out onto the street and catch another train, take a cab or a bus or just walk or, as was often the case for me, run.
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Once, I remember running to the next stop when I was ascending to the upper peninsula because the previous connection didn’t show up which meant it would have added another 45 minutes to my commute. The choice was obvious and inevitable: I could either
“wait to be late” or go for it. I chose the latter.
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You just can't imagine what it’s like to run at a 20-degree angle uphill for about 2 miles while wearing dress slacks, dress shoes, a white shirt and tie, and a sports jacket, in San Francisco, during the summer, with the humidity until you’ve tried it. It’s, how should I say: exhilaratingly infuriating.
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Running, I came upon a stand-alone, transmission shop, right in the middle of a residential area. The owners must have paid a pretty penny to get away with that one. There were police cars, the fire department, a metro ambulance, the San Francisco Chronicle, and a marked County Coroner’s Office vehicle scattered around the shop.
Some people along with some of the employees: their first names embroidered on their shirts, were standing on the sidewalk just outside the property watching. They’d been there for about an hour when I stopped to ask one of them (Bob) what happened.
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Wearily he said:
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“The girl who worked in the office answering the phone and typing up orders was shot to death by her boyfriend. The boyfriend got away but she was still down there being processed. God, she was only 24 years old. They’ll catch him, though. He hasn’t got a chance.”
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'Nope,' I thought.
'In this town, I don’t expect he would.'
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I was late again when I got home. Vaulting the 5 floors to reach our loft, I held my friend close, the entire night. She was ok with that. So was I.=

Jesus watched the scene over again and was in awe. This was a man who would not change as he could not change. There was something else different. He was the most stubborn man alive in Jesus’ opinion and he had been around a while. His uniform never changed his cologne never changed. His hair was the exact same way. He had a biological age of 42 but a calendar age of 300 or so years. He wasn’t exactly sure since he had been born in a time when records were incomplete. Government was just getting back on its feet when he came into the world so who knew? Did it matter?
He had never espoused a political belief. He voted in every election and that was it. He was no campaigner and was not interested in any of it. He had a baseline distrust of ALL politicians. He had more time in command than any human in history. He had faced down alien races. He had been nearly terminated by pirates more than once but speaking in public scared the shit out of him. and He did not want to do it. He had done a series of lectures 60 years ago that resulted in some significant fallout he was eager to not relive. He did not want to discuss it. He knew what was about to happen.
“Class dismissed”
The Dean of Students asked him to “Please please just this once set it straight and walk away from it. You did what you had to do at the time.” He knew it hurt when he was called “conquistador”. The Monday Morning Quarterbacker’s weren’t there when decisions had to be made, and neither was the dean, yet he still implored him. It would likely be televised too. Ken had built the best laid wall of obfuscation he could. He did not want any glory. He wanted to be left alone. Despite his best effort it did not work. His hope had been to be in the background making the best decision without regard to any so called “Glory” His hope was that the sailors in real danger would get the credit they deserved. It just did not work. Besides, it was clear that he wanted him to talk about that battle. This made him waver in his assent. He wanted to speak about what he wanted to speak about. Simple.
Admiral Pearl and He had had to face a hero’s welcome when they came home. Then the detractors started in on him.
Despite the promises of the Dean it would just open all the old wounds back up again and likely crank the peanut gallery up to full tilt. “I do not want it televised. You can record it if you want but I get to decide if it gets released. Deal or no deal? If you want to dictate the topic then that is my condition. You are asking me to open up a box I have had welded shut for years now. Anyone can look up the logs and watch every single shot and hit if they wish. It has been analyzed to death. What further can I add at this point? There is nothing I can tell you that hasn’t been discussed in hundreds of books at this point. It is a dead subject that I can drone on about.”
The dean held up his hand and said “I want to know how you felt about it. All of it. What was the methods you used to make the decisions. How did you feel? The most important event in modern history drops in your lap like an egg salad sandwich. You have to feel something. That is what I want to know. It is your bully pulpit to say what you wish. No restrictions except for classified material. And no using the “F” word.”
“I am not doing it unless I can say ”fuck”. Not happening.” He wasn’t kidding. “To sweeten the deal you can televise it but I have to be able to talk in my normal voice. And I will say fuck.”
The Dean relented and agreed. He had just manipulated the situation to where he could minimize the fallout. Besides: he was tired of people talking shit about him in all these books and articles. He was going to tell them all to go fuck themselves, with a cactus.
On the Saratov. Warp area 13 off the plane of the ecliptic.
The admiral sat and contemplated what they were about to do. They were waiting on a couple more ships before going to warp. He tried to sum it up.
This was a high stakes mission. He had a high stakes strategy. It was brilliant and it was risky. He was about to do something never attempted in real combat and was completely theoretical. They had wargamed it to death and this had honed their protocol. They were going to Net their AI’s. They would calculate global firing solutions using parallel computing. They had 8 AI’s that were going to fight it and this should greatly augment their firepower due to increased efficiency. No matter how they wargamed it the AI’s won. They had it down pat. He felt certain this was the right thing to do but there was also a huge ethical hole in this. For the first time AI’s would determine firing sequence, aiming and execution without human intervention. He had to pause and consider the implications. This was colored by several recent experiences. It was all about Jezz. He still loved Jezz but she scared him. She has never been malevolent, but man was he scared that she could become dangerous. He had created a tiny bit of monster in her for certain. She was a combat AI. She was a hunter killer and as long as she worked for them, she would be fine. If she decided to freelance it, they would be in trouble. All because of this: there was a chunk of predator in her digital DNA and he hoped she could keep it in check.
He had come up with the best rationalization he could. They were going in against one decidedly ill-tempered AI and another AI (the “damsel in distress”) wanting rescue. At least that is what it looked like on the surface. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not as clearcut as everyone else thought. Either way It would not be aliens versus humans but AI vs AI. At least that is what he kept telling himself. He wasn’t buying his bullshit either since none of it passed the smell test.
The decision to unleash the AI’s had come from above his paygrade, all the way to the Joint chiefs of staff of the world Navies. Forty-five Space faring nations sat down and hashed it out. He hated the complexity but admitted that it did work fairly well. They wanted the spam in a can home alive and if AI made this happen then so be it. There was one important point: they weren’t on the ships, were they?
As he sat about to enter warp and head out to the clusterfuck in question. The initial reason for all of this was still nagging him. Where was everyone else? He had data that showed an alien drive signature. He was resentful that they were fucking around with all this other shit. He would leave the AI’s in question to sort it out amongst themselves. He wanted no part of what was going on since he was doubtful that there were any good guys on either side of what looked like a standoff. All he wanted to do was find alien life (which they had kind of but it weren’t just quite the right kind.) He wanted something that could look like us maybe a bit . If you squinted. And they would find that hopefully, but they had a shit detail to cross off the bucket list first. The more he looked at this the more it became clear this should be two separate missions. Those AI’s were fighting over a dead world and he knew it. He just knew. He wanted no part of the Hatfield and McCoy bullshit. The real point was to capture as much as they could. This was actually about technology. They even had some freighters on the way for the cleanup and oh BTW come back alive. We will let the AI’s babysit you. May as well send a Voyager probe for all the use the crew was.
He was soon to learn the value of human judgment and that was going to prove a bunch of people wrong, sort of. All because of this: there are some decisions that do not fit into ones and zeroes. Value judgements were critical. That is one thing AI’s couldn’t do yet and it was that way why? Who could say for certain but in his years of interacting with true AI’s for the last 5 years did give him some insight. He was apprehensive to say the least but where was his fear coming from? He always thought that you had to identify the source(s) of any fear. He had it partially figured out, not only was he a bit afraid of Jezz and her friends he was also fearful for Jezz. And this is what he had: a gut feeling. And if that weren’t enough (and by gosh, don’t you think it ought to be?): how was he going to keep Jezz’s precognition a secret? The Admiral went through the computer logs and Jezz had not accessed any information about the disposition of the Galileo. It could be explained away but he was not convinced he could be very convincing. This was something that just did not fit. He could not make it fit, and he would just as soon pretend it did not exist. But it was clear that his AI had some degree of psychic power or something. She was different and he did not know if the other AI’s would be catching whatever it was. If the folks in charge knew the depths of his misgivings, they would be appalled. And the situation they were headed into was not as simple as it looked. He knew this. His questions were simple. Number one: Who were the good guys and who were the bad ones. Number two: could he maintain plausible deniability about Jezz. They were going to have a talk. Just the two of them. He needed some reassurances.
Also, He was trying to figure out a way to crack this and he had an idea. While looking at the menu for the ships mess, he noticed the two columns and he decided to do what he always did with most major decisions. He would make a list of the facts he had and try to run through the various permutations. A pencil and some paper would be adequate, and he even had a ruler so he could make it all professional.
So he made a list of the players Side “A” in orbit and Side ”B “planetside. Side “ A” obviously held the high orbitals. “B” had an extensive force field that would occasionally flicker. He thought that might be something to look into. He had all of the video files from the Galileo and there was one telescope tasked with watching the planetside compound. They had days of footage. He sped it up until the frames were racing by. The force field was visible due to impacts from what he assumed to be dust. This gave it a phosphorescent look. It also made it possible to have visual confirmation if it was up. The shield “failures” occurred on a stable repeated time frame. After doing the math and getting a video analysis program running, he figured it out only after focusing on the Spectro photography. Every 23.29 minutes the shield was apparently offline for 0.07 seconds. It was so brief it was tough for the naked eye to pick up but the spectral signature did.
Looking at the area under shield he could see a row of what appeared to be ships. These were triangular. He could see no evidence of what their primary drives were but it wasn’t the best picture. Things degrade through an atmosphere and distance. No drive nodes. No distribution rings. He had a suspicion, and he suddenly felt nauseated and had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. They were not using Alcubierre’ drives. They were using jump drives of some type. In the raw sensor data was a Gamma spike and a Gravity spike right before the attack. The Galileo probably never saw the vessel that hit them. But the Admiral was a patient man and he had the eye for detail. How they had missed this he did not know but he finally found what he wanted. The ship was identifiable. One sternward scope had several good views of a shape blocking the stars.
The other fact was that there was no warning. No comms traffic but, the recovered buoy made it clear that they knew they were suddenly in trouble since the buoy was released (and in warp) seconds after jettisoning it. Command deck recordings showed the captain getting a proximity alarm and then immediately releasing the buoy. There was no “prepare to be boarded” or “Heave to.”, just MASER beams slicing through the hull. Listening to the conversations on the deck made it clear they were paranoid as they were scanning with their non military grade graviton detector. Seems like it wasn’t paranoia after all.
They would have been blind until the ship was right on top of them. Someone was operating on a hunch and that person was Nico. He was frantic. As first officer he had the conn and did what he could to at least let them know what they were facing. It took some guts to do that. He saw internal video running. It captured Captain Nic’s hand slamming down on the buoy release button before the video cut out. It had to have damaged the Galileo Significantly. He had to override the safeties to get the thing to instantly go to warp. He knew that close to the ship the damage would have been substantial. Nico knew they were doomed.
He leaned back and took a deep breath. The ship in question was triangular in shape. Planetside. This could be some sort of trap or things were not as they superficially seemed or maybe he had found his bad guys. So he went back through the compound footage and there it was a ship moving out of frame. There was only maybe 6 meters of ship but it was clear where it was from. It was clear it was moving. Where had it been for 2 hours plus? If it were going to jump he would think that the image would have arrived at the Galileo after it had been blown apart. That is the whole point of faster than light travel. You could have all these paradoxes and that actually gave him more than a headache. It was a brain ache. Without FTL the tyranny of Einstein held sway. Why were they not there immediately? The Galileo was about 120 light minutes out. Assuming they get there immediately there should be no video. They had taken a detour. This he did not know for sure but also had a bad feeling about. I guess it did not mean much in the grand scheme of things but he did have a hunch. Only problem with that is that hunches don’t win battles unless it is more than a hunch.
He did not have a frame of reference for how a jump drive worked IRL. He had read all the theories. There was a huge amount of research being conducted but there were unpredictable failures resulting in some ships getting cut in half and what not. Just not something compatible with the life of the crew. Destructive testing was also expensive. They had gotten one small ship that was maybe twice the size of an emergency buoy to jump to the orbit of Neptune. What he did not know was how long that took. All he had was some rumor mill shit that he generally did not give two fucks about. He was not into “R and D". And while they could send the damn thing out there what they could not do was get it back the same way. The power requirements were so high that the capacitor banks were charged externally . Putting in a zero-point tap would push the ship size beyond the mass they could manage for the drive they currently had. They were running into problems of scale and those are not so easily rectified. Problems of scale were problems with lubrication. You just had to lube the ship with cash. You had to fuel it with Lots and lots of cash. This was such a priority that every aerospace manufacturer and design firms were plugged into the research institutions. It was a huge effort because of one thing. Warp drive was “too slow”. The boffins were thinking intergalactic travel. They had their sights set on the universe.
To top it all off there was one inescapable problem: You can’t put ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag.
Due to all of this they were going down an interesting path. All you had to do was fill the magnetic tank with antimatter. Matter antimatter annihilation gave near instantaneous power. It was used in weapons some but only the best militaries would even fool with it. Compared to nuclear warheads Antimatter left no nasty isotopes in orbit of a planet you may be interested in colonizing or defending. Also, you don’t want to poison an uninhabited M-class world in the habitable zone given their relative scarcity.
Finally: containing it is problematic but doable. You can probably pull off the power requirements but there is one downside. You are flying in a bomb. Not just a small bomb. It was a big bomb that will go off if you lose containment. 40 mega tons of TNT will vaporize a ship. There was talk of building a manned vessel but saner heads put the kibosh on that. Besides: no one with any sense would want to crew it.
The answer was obvious to him, and he suspected it was obvious to the researchers. Why not use a singularity? Just dump matter into it and harvest the radiation to charge up and go. He did not know where that research currently stood. He knew there were some successes along these lines and quite surprisingly there had been no major accidents. The problem came with feeding the little monster in a consistent fashion to produce enough power to in turn contain the position of the singularity. This was done with antigravity. Antigrav technology had found it’s way into just about everything, except cell phones. They still broke when you dropped them. The black hole was carried by the ship, but it never changed its axis of rotation. The singularity in this scenario is one hell of a gyroscopic top with fixed axes. Since the jet of X-rays only came “out” along this axis and given that the ship would change attitude constantly it was necessary to have X-ray converters on the entire internal surface of the reaction vessel. The ship moved around the singularity. That made things a lot more complicated and really fucked with power distribution. Since there would be energy jets at the poles of the internal singularity power flow would be from two converters at a time. And since they weren’t 100% efficient you had some heat to deal with. He had read a few initial summaries of the work. You still had to keep containment of the singularity just as with antimatter but an uncontained singularity would put a small hole of about 10 mm as it passed through the ship before evaporating. This was better than being atomized. The problem was heat. Waste heat is just unconverted energy as such there was talk of installing a steam turbine circuit to generate power and to cool the reaction vessel. This would be the use of centuries old technology in a starship since convection does not occur in a vacuum. Trying to radiate enough heat to keep the thing cool would not work. The act of running the turbine also cools the circulating liquid. Trying to radiate heat away in a vacuum took a lot of time so big heatsinks would only go so far. It was simple physics. If you can convert some heat to electricity that is a little less that must be radiated. He bet it was a pain in the ass and was probably not worth the effort, but Fusion reactors did not have the peak power output needed to rip space. You either stored it in cap banks for one big release or you instantaneously generated it. Ken thought that the whole line of inquiry was going to be moot and they would finally give up, build a huge Casimir bank and strap a ship to it.
Which meant one thing. The jump ships in question had to deal with waste heat from whatever power system they used. The only way to get rid of this waste heat was to radiate it into the void. This took time. He now knew what the delay had been. The alien ships had to cool off between jumps. He or she had also taken a circuitous route to get there. This in turn means that they wanted them to see the ship leave the planet. They could have possibly gone there straightaway but they had not done that. They wanted him to know. They must have jumped above the ecliptic and back down into the ecliptic.
This slowed them down.
It also meant that escaping with a jump drive wasn’t that easy. They couldn’t pop in and out of position. If they were in your sights they were yours. He also knew that they would have a brief window where they were detectable before fully entering normal space. All they had to do was detect that energy spike and target it at the right time.
After reading all of the executive summary Jezz had put together he had a lot of questions, and he did not know quite where to begin. He had one thought: time to get everyone together and pick everyone’s brain. He wanted to talk to his chief engineer and every engineer in the fleet. He wanted to get all ships Captains and First Officers to come up with a game plan: What is the best order of battle and why? He wanted to see the nonconventional answers as this was anything but a conventional situation. He kept each team to the size of two: Captain and first officers. They could consult with the crew and had access to any information they could find. He needed options. You never want to run out of options on the field of battle.
He turned to his First Officer “Take us out and form up the fleet. We will jump directly to warp 5. That will keep the transports somewhat close. I want the fleet on shipwide in 10 minutes. I have some tasks to assign. Set the countdown to jump for 3 hours. There may be a few stragglers. Jezz, calculate the route and send me a copy. Sensors. I want you to calibrate for Gamma detection and localization. I will send you the energy signature, now. Look for that and calibrate for that. Any questions? (There were none) Good. Yuri, you have the conn.”
He exited the bridge.
Outbound from Sol. 72 hours after jump.
The Admiral was in the center of the virtual room with 70 or so Captains and first officers arrayed about. The flotilla had topped out at 82 warships as well as smaller craft and support vessels. He had 82 ships he had under command currently. This was the biggest expeditionary force ever fielded by Earth. There was one Mormon ship with them. A frigate This was ironic he thought. It was also a bit much to keep up with. He had read all the preliminary proposals and he was now going through the ones he thought had merit. He was currently discussing Captain Pearls proposal she planned to arrange ships into a cylinder or hoop. The individual ships alternating primary weapons one way or the other. That way anyone jumping into the center was covered as well as the “external” surface. It was really a pretty good plan. It played to their strengths. They could bring weapons to bear quickly since they could not just jump away. He especially liked the network formation It was a nice diamond pattern. He just couldn’t shake it being familiar. She had a great movie playing that demonstrated it quite well.
“This is Guardians of The Galaxy” Ken said. Barely keeping his shit together. He wanted to laugh. Once everyone else started the cat was out of the bag, He did not want to ridicule her plan but this was too much. Bless her heart. It was Guardians of the Galaxy.
“OK everyone settle down lets get back to it. Does that make it a bad plan? It isn’t straight out of the movie either. I do think it has merit but I would prefer it to not be too obvious. Can we do a formation that gives closed fields of fire without looking like it? I think we should go with a spheroid that is as irregular as we can make it. I want the focus to be on full coverage. Actually, Jezz give me a pattern with those criteria.”
What she generated looked like a swarm of bees. When she overlayed the weapons plots the effect was uncanny. It looked very random but was anything but. The coverage was better than any plan he had seen. That settled it for him. They would war game it just that way. It was a bit risky since every ship had to maintain their place in relation to all the other ships. She had even linked in the shield generators from the transports. She had used every resource.
“That was brilliant Jezz.”
“I try Sir. I really do.”
“I know you do.”
The admiral continued “OK I want to go ahead and start moving the fleet into that configuration. We will stay in that all the way to our destination. I want checklists of unique tasks made up. Sensors are going to be the critical piece. I am hopeful we will see them when they jump in, and we can quickly target them if necessary. That brings me to another point. We cannot go in and just start banging away at everything that moves. By now you should be aware that this is not clear cut. We can speculate. And I have done it obsessively. What you need to know is that I am not sure who is good or bad. I have a sneaking suspicion that neither are good or bad. They are neutral. We don’t know if this is a rogue AI or AI’s. We do not know if there were biological life here at any point. There is certainly flor BUT THERE SEESM TO BW NO FAUNA. This world has undergone bombardment in the not too distant past somewhere around fifty year ago give or take. Could a sentient race have been killed off? Who the fuck knows. But our next task is to come up with some possible scenarios. Based on what we have seen I suspect this is a rogue AI. I cannot tell what has happened to them yet, but I suspect we will know more once we get planetside.”
He took a long draw from an Opus X and continued. Rank had its privileges.
“The Vikrant will provide aircover for a Marine expeditionary force to go to the planet’s surface and secure the compound. I have spoken to the Air boss and confirmed the strike package will consist of two squadrons of F-15’s for high cover and 5 Su-34’s to be tasked with strike. We have enough transport to go in one wave with backups to spare. That also leaves us with more than enough reserve forces. I hope we do not have to commit more but I will want another squadron of MiG-29’s or F-15’s in reserve. Keep them hot and on the ramp. I want to deploy as quickly as possible.”
One of the junior officers spoke up “That looks like a good plan.”
“Thank you son for that. It is like getting the compliment of how smart you are from your Marine Commander (He had to give Chuck a hard time. He loved him.)
Everyone at least politely laughed.
“Speaking of mentally challenged little brothers. What you got Chuck?”
Chuck went with it The Admiral would pay later. He had some photos of him waltzing with a large muscular person and he was going to visit scorn on him. All in the name of fun. “We are going to take two battalions. I am going to strip them down a bit and we will be utilizing more heavy weapons teams. I plan to draw more M-60’s and M-203’s. You guys are welcome to join the party since I could use a couple of forward observers. It will be a fun time. Additionally I am not babysitting the press pool this time boys and girls and others. It is potentially a deadly environment and I don’t want their deaths on my hands. Let them die with you fuckers instead. By the way; I have 18 Comanche-4 Helos for CAS.”
“That sounds like all the more reason to send them with you. The herd needs to be thinned anyway.”
Jezz hissed “SIR! You are going to get in trouble Sir.”
“Just a little lighthearted humor don’t be so touchy. Anyway’ what about armor?”
“I have a platoon of Abrams going in with us Sir. More for mobile artillery.”
When you got right down to it it was a very simple plan. Modest forces for planetside. There was enough aircover but not so much to result in fratricide. He had extra firepower at the squad level. He had thought it out. Chuck had his full confidence. He was an Oscar-6 and you did not make O6 by being stupid. He would make General soon and he would be taken from the pointy end of the spear. The spear would be a little less sharp for a while but that was just how it went. Right now, he had the best field commander alive in his corner and he was going to utilize him.
“I know my engineers are logged into this meeting and have been paying attention. What do you guys make of their propulsion system? I have been spouting off and thinking about this for a week and all I got is a bunch of ideas.”
He thought for a moment. Rusty, what do you think.” He had just called out his own engineer. Rusty was his nickname and damned if he could remember his actual one. He knew it was not Russel. “What do you think they are using for power?”
Rusty wanted to cuss him out. He did not like meetings. In his opinion meetings were just excuses to avoid doing any actual work. He could have asked him privately…”Rusty what do you think?”
“Goddammit Sir, they have to be using a singularity. They are not using capacitor banks so they are generating power instantaneously. The alternative is antimatter and we had better hope it is not antimatter since taking them out could be suicidal. Most importantly: I am not a fucking tactician. I am an engineer for fucks sake, and I don’t see why anyone cares what I think about this anyway. But you asked so here it is. We are going to have to assume that it is not antimatter and hope we are right. The thing that would keep me awake is the possibility that our weapons are outranged by the fireballs generated when their antimatter containment fails. That will end us, and the best tactic will be to run like hell. Add to that the fact that the rules of engagement mean we can’t go in guns blazing. What if we need to go in guns blazing? It takes away an option. Never discard even the most ludicrous of options as that may be the one thing that saves your ass.”
“ We do not want to go traipsing in there with our dicks uncovered and this ain’t no tulip picking expedition here ladies. This is potentially a war, and we better acknowledge that. I don’t want to be Debbie downer here but let us be real. Some of us are not coming back from this. Look around boys cause some of your compadres are going to be left behind. This is serious business. This ain’t no rescue mission and we better stop treating it that way. Since you asked, Sir.”
Admiral Alexander had to give him honesty points for that. He was right. “We are going to run this scenario as many times as we can before we arrive. I suspect that there is going to be some mass confusion until we figure out who the baddies are. If I had to make a wager, I would go with our folks in orbit, being less of a threat. We have clear evidence of who attacked our ship, and it weren’t none of them football shaped guys. (He did grow up in the South. Woodruff SC to be precise.) It is the flying Dorito that we have to watch for. My gut tells me we are going to have to smash whatever is running the show down there. That compound with the force field is our primary target.” Furthermore, I just don’t know how the remainder are going to act. Are they under a different AI? Is there more than one AI? We can say there are no life signs from any of the ships in system and that makes me think this is artificial all the way. ”
“ The Galileo was attacked by one of the ships on that Spaceport apron. None of the ships in orbit participated from what we can tell. Also, the Galileo was attacked from outside the ecliptic. They are using some type of jump drive that apparently has to avoid gravity wells. That would explain why the attack occurred outside the system. We can take advantage of the situation though if we cozy up to that gas giant and let them come to us. They can’t just pop in on us that way and we can put the planet behind us or we can peg them up against the planet. We can warp anytime but they can only jump in relatively clear space. In short: We are going to pick the battlefield.”
“First wave will be led by the Atlanta and Saratov. The Havana and The George Washington will be tasked with offense. I want rail slugs loaded and ready to go. The surface strike package will go in from the Vikrant and the Conestoga. Commander Yactine has the battle plan for the surface operation and is handling their own transport duties. We can supply an AC301 Spooky for fire support if needed Commander.” The commander waved it away. He felt he had enough assets.
“I do think we may want to take a chance on something. Since they are having to jump “vertically” out of the system to avoid gravity wells and since we suspect they will do it in two jumps I think we can predict where they have their initial jump point. We can nail them before they even get to the main fleet.”
The admiral pointed to a plot that indicated a tangential course that terminated well above the plane of the ecliptic and one that went directly back into it. It was an “L” shaped course. At least he felt sure they traveled in straight lines and not arcs. It made the most sense but could still be wrong. Poring through the Galileo’s sensor data he could see a spike that barely registered. That also indicated that they took a while between jumps. Once they exited subspace, they would be sitting ducks for at least a few minutes. He was guessing 20 minutes for them to recharge their drive and get ready. They would have to target them when most vulnerable. Given that he was not feeling particularly charitable he decided that annihilation was in order. There were 50 deaths to avenge after all.
“Jezz, what do you think?”
Jezz paused. She had been on good behavior and that had made her overly cautious “I think your basic assumptions are correct, Sir. I think we are dealing with two AI’s. One is on the surface and one is in control of the orbital fleet. Approximately 56% of the orbital ships appear to be functional. They could also be in a powered down mode but looking at the Galileo data and 20 ships look to be fully operational. Weapons appear to be primarily MASER batteries. I can see no evidence of rail guns. Their weaponry may be less impressive, or they may be armed in a fashion we cannot detect. I wouldn’t assume them to be inferior to our ships. If we do that we run the risk of being surprised. I do not like surprises.”
The Admiral had one more question. He was looking more for how she was going to reply, “What is your gut feeling Jez?”
She paused “My gut feeling is that we are dealing with two AI’s. One of them has gone mad.” It was out of her speaker before she could catch herself. He had asked what her gut feeling was. What did he know? She did not have a gut. But, she did have feelings.