200911/Upload
From Multiverse Crisis MUSH
| Upload | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 20 September 2012 |
| Location: | Staren's Lab |
| Synopsis: | Staren believes he's finally found a way to conquer death. But it relies on mind-transferring technology which must be tested first... |
| Cast of Characters: | Staren, 411, Maya, Dell Conagher, Untamed Breeze |
Multiverse Crisis - Thursday, September 20, 2012, 9:44 PM
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Staren's Lab <SL>(#1645Ten)
Staren's house itself is normal enough, containing a living room, a kitchen, a rec room, a basement with washer and dryer (such chores are done by robots of course), an office, a bathroom, one bedroom for Staren and one for his parents. However, hidden lifts can take one to the huge underground rooms filled with computer systems, maintenance and assembly robots, a supply of raw materials, and innumerable machines large and small.
The recorded message gave directions and a time -- Staren's father waits on the platform, currently in the lawn in front of Staren's house, that the mecha normally launches from. A middle-aged catboy with similar clothes, and darker brown hair streaked with grey. The city of Lazlo and its lights glow in the distance. He greets Staren's friends by name, and once they've assembled, the platform begins to move down like a massive elevator, another massive panel sliding into place above to cover the hole as the lift moves down to the lab, a massive underground room filled with shelves and machines.
Twilight's eyes widen as such a large platform begins sinking down into the ground, and her eyes widen even more at seeing the laboratory. "Oh my. And I thought my lab was advanced!" she says as she stands near the edge of the platform, waiting for it to stop.
Dell wasn't exactly sure what to expect when Staren gave him an invitation to come to his house. Well, actually, he had an /idea/ of what to expect, but Staren didn't /specify/, so there's always some doubt. In any case, when he reaches the boy's house and greets his father, he notices that they're not alone.
"Er...howdy." he says to Twilight, looking her over as if not quite sure what to make of her. "Yer one o' those, er, magic talkin' ponies, right?" And suddenly the ground underneath him starts sinking into the ground, causing him to drop down in a panic before he realizes what's going on. As he stands up, dusting himself off with an embarrassed blush on his face, he looks around.
"So...where is the boy, anyway? I got a letter sayin' he wanted ta show me somethin'."
Maya had arrived isn't wearing her normal post apoch fashion she looks almost like a normal earth gar barring the visable tattoos on her arm and the clearly natural blue hair she's got as she rides down the lift. "No idea where he's got to Dell..."
Untamed Breeze isn't so comfortable with this craziness that Staren's pulling,. Body transfers? Risky as hell, who can say what might go wrong? So when she arrives at the given coordiantes, it's with the mightiest frown to show, wings folded over her shoulders and mood quite evident.
Unhappy.
She beelines near Maya. "I've got some ideas... hope this works out alright..."
Staren's father chuckles to Twilight. "Well... This is three decades of work, and I had some help starting out." He turns and looks out over the lab as the platform lowers. The three mecha (metallic grey, red, and blue) can be seen not far away. "We're getting to that, Mr. Conagher. Nice to meet you all by the way, I'm Staren's father." He offers to shake hands, or hand-and-hoof, with anyone who wishes.
The lift reaches the ground level and Staren's father walks off, leading the party through the lab. Silence is awkward. He talks to fill it. "Obviously, we wouldn't allow him to do this without a lot of safety and testing. But you probably would have been bored by that, so it's already done... Well, he can explain himself. Here we go." In a clearing of sorts between the shelves of gadgets and computers, there are several chairs, something like an MRI machine that an unconscious Staren is lying in, and a table next to it with some sort of humanoid robot -- Obviously metal, painted white and sea green divided down the middle, with the colors on opposite sides on the head, with half of the upper head made of some tough clear material, showing the mechanical brain within. The eyes look more like some kind of lights, though they're currently off.
Staren's mother is in one of the chairs, with a black-furred, rabbit-size creature in her lap. Rabi the cabbit looks at the approaching group curiously. Staren's mom nods a greeting, but before she can say anything, a holographic Staren appears in front of them.
"Greetings! ...Man, I hate recordings, but... It seemed like the best way to do this. Before anyone gets mad and tries to put a stop to this -- It's already begun, and will be finishing at any moment, and I've taken every safety precaution I can. I really mean that, I've been analyzing this technology and running tests since days after Viridian Sunrise was defeated."
"For those of you who haven't guessed... You are, I hope, about to witness the first successful, reliable, repeatable mind transfer to another body! That robot lying there on the table." He gestures to it. "First of all, to address concerns: This process is non-destructive and there is no risk of accidentally destroying my mind instead. If the transfer fails my original body can be revived with me still in it. In fact the plan is to put me _back_ in it when we're done, but I'll get to that. I didn't invite you here to see the whole procedure because it would be long, awkward waiting. This machine takes like a half-hour to copy me. Now you might ask, why not just use the copy that resides in my cortical stack? Well, as a security measure, there's no way to access it without surgically, or not-so-surgically, removing it from me, and a little inconvenience seems worth it for making it harder for anyone to, oh, steal me, or destroy the backup. So, we're making a new scan. I've been sedated, of course, so that I won't be conscious for the transfer -- that would raise issues I don't want to deal with, after all."
Holo-Staren rubs the back of his neck. "Ahh... I hope not too many of you are all pissed at me, now. Well, I'll find out soon enough. The scan should finish any moment now -- once it's done, downloading my brain into the robot body will take almost no time. See you on the other side!" he disappears.
Maya has been scouting or more correcly helping with wedding related thing given she's unlikely to have her own kids given how her lovelife's gone then agian it seems her world isn't aging so who the hell knows with her. She does howrver pause at Breeze "Oh What do thou think he's doing?" She pauses at the message "Whelp Thanaotos may be getting annoyed soon and i'll have to hear all about it." she doesn't explain any more than that.
Twilight blinks at Dell as he hits the deck, then giggles softly as he gets back up before she smiles. "Yes, though you could probably save yourself some time and effort by refering to us as Equestrians. I am Twilight Sparkle. And you are?" she says before looking to Maya and Breeze. "It is worrisome, I'll admit, but...Staren seems quite capable. I am certain he would not put himself at risk unnecessarily."
Once they have reached the bottom, Twilight's trust in Staren seems well-placed. She moves to one of the seats and hops up, seating herself just like any human. As she listens to Staren's speech, she gets a bit of a disturbed look. But, she decides to wait until Staren is revived to say anything.
Strolling in with others only to hear about THIS.. that Staren's already gone off the dep end, Breeze clenches her teeth. Really, what cAn she say to that? All she can do now is look towards the prepared body with INCREDIBLE SUSPICION.
"No idea who that is, Maya, but this had better work or I'm going to be very pissed. So many things that could go WRONG..." She has given both the parents a rather worried look - and this is a person who is CENTURIES OLD and she's worried about this. She's someone who knows the things that are worth worrying about beyond just paranoia!
"I don't suppose the rest of you--" She peers at the Pony and Dell. "Know the story that I do about this?"
Dell shakes Staren's father's hand and introduces himself, then, apart from some greetings and introductions to the others in their group, remains silent as the lift moves down into Staren's lab. He quietly follows Staren's father, listening to his speech as he admires the giant robots. He makes a note to ask about those later, and maybe the possibility of getting one for himself...
But when they come to the clearing, his eye is drawn toward the MRI and the table, more specifically the robot on the table. "I'm guessin'...that's what he's gonna put himself in?" he asks Staren's father, but the hologram pops on just then and answers his question for him. Afterwards, he turns to Breeze. "Ah, not the details, sorry miss. All I know is he got some kinda technology from another universe that lets him put his brain in a new body. I don't see how it's a problem as long as he's taken proper safety measures, but then again I'm kinda used ta havin' my consciousness transplanted inta a new body whenever I die, so maybe I jes' have a different pointa view."
Staren's dad takes a seat next to his mother, holding her hand. Yes, according to all test data and understanding of the technology, the two worst outcomes do _not_ include the death of their son. It's not that the transfer will fail that they're worried about, but what comes after... They hold a neutral expression as holo-Staren explains. Rabi hops down to sniff and bat at the hologram, but loses interest when she realizes it's not real.
The Ego Bridge beeps, and Staren's parents look at it, then at the table with the robot on it, possibly reading Augmented Reality displays noone else here can see.
Sensitive ears may pick up sounds from the robot on the table -- the high-pitched whine of electronics, very soft clicks and whirrs of optics... And then the head moves a bit, turning to look at the Ego Bridge. "Woah." The synthesized voice _sounds_ just like Staren's. He sits up, and looks down at himself. "I did it? It worked? It's not just a dream, right? No, I shouldn't be dreaming..." he holds a hand up and looks at it, then taps at his chest, making a metallic clicking.
And then he looks up and sees his friends gathered here. "It works, it works!" He sounds pretty happy about that.
Twilight sits quietly as she waits, watching and listening. She smiles softly as she watches Staren's parents. It's so cute when older couples are all lovey-dovey. Of course, they probably aren't that old, it just seems like it to a young one like Twilight.
Twilight flinches in surprise as the robot suddenly speaks. "Eep!" She blinks a few times afterward, then stands. "St-staren?" she says cautiously. "Are you alright? Were your memories and personality copied successfully?" She wants to make sure everything is okay before she tells Staren what she thinks of the experiment.
Dell watches nonetheless with bated breath, unsure of what might happen. While the effect is /similar/ to the Respawn System, the process as far as he can tell is completely different...or is it? He doesn't know, but if it's similar technology, then maybe, just maybe, the boy will come out perfectly fine and there won't be anything to worry about.
He watches.
He waits.
And when the robot finally moves and Staren's voice comes from its mouth, with nothing indicating that he's hurt or turned evil or anything, he finally lets go of that breath he was holding. "See there? Ain't nothin' ta worry about, the boy's jes' fine." he reassures the others, walking over to Staren and offering a hand to shake. "Congrats on yer success, Staren. Lemme tell ya, I was a mite worried fer a second or two, but..."
"... It works, but boy do I prefer flesh and blood." Breeze exclaims with a gasp of relief after Staren's finished getting his awareness situated. She does, in fact, sag where she stands a little, and makes a foul face. After all, this is REALLY putting her on edge with worry. Still... "Yeah, something like that!" She asides to Twilight and Dell in response, but her eyes are on Robo!Staren. and her mind is wondering just what the hell it is to have two of the same person wandering around... beyond just creepy.
Maya is here watching for a moment and she wonders just what's going on with Starens thing has it worked or will she be getting told by Thanatos, he's leading Staren on to where ever. Or pewehaops it works and she tilts her head a little bit raising an blue eyebrow as she does so and is otherwise quiet.
Staren briefly takes a slightly defensive posture -- worried that particularly pissed friends might hit him-- (although, that's more likely to hurt _them_...)
But it seems that he has nothing to fear. He smiles, "Yup, I'm me! Although I guess it would be hard to tell if I wasn't..." he swings his feet off the table, standing up -- and stumbling a little. "Woah... it's okay, I'm okay. New legs." He feels for his lack of tail and ears. "Huh..."
Parents rush to hug him, "Aww Mom, Dad, I'm fine..." "We know, we know..." They back off as a drone wheels up, carrying a full-length mirror for Staren to look in. He's surprised, then stares, then leans forward a bit, tapping his head with a finger.
/That's right. A body isn't me. A brain isn't even me -- they're just hardware. I am a program, data. All people are. Data, programs, living and dreaming and hoping and loving and caring and dying... That most think of themselves as a body, that is an artificial, or rather, unnecessary, limitation./
He then looks at his original body, unconscious and in stasis in the ego bridge, and shares a nervous look with his parents. They're not truly out of the woods safely just yet, but that bridge will be crossed _after_ he talks with his friends.
Robo-Staren turns to his friends, walking a bit unsteadily and then more naturally as he approaches them. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. First off... This is a test, to make sure that the whole thing even /works/. It's not that I want or intend to spend the rest of my life as a robot or anything. But it would suck if I was depending on this technology to revive me and then we found out that, despite all my previous tests, it didn't _actually_ work. So, other than that... hit me. I hope I haven't..." He frowns and looks away briefly, "disturbed you too much. This body can take a more normal appearance, too -- I just felt that, at least at first, it should be immediately clear that this is a robot body. I can look more like myself if that would make you more comfortable. So... any questions?" He looks between the group gathered here.
His parents wordlessly run diagnostics on the equipment, just to be extra super sure. They've already had ample opportunity to talk with him.
Twilight listens to Staren, blinking a bit as it seems he requests to be hit. She isn't going to hit him, of course. "I have a concern." Twilight starts. "If you have not actually left your body, but are copied into this new body, have you not essentially...made a new lifeform? What will you do with this now conscious robot? We cannot simply throw it away like a broken broom." she says.
Twilight looks to the unconscious original Staren, then to the new robot Staren. "After all...if I had been the experiment, would you be able to throw the new me away? I know I would not." she says, then looks to the others to see if they agree.
Dell steps back to let the family have their 'thank science our son is still alive' moment, then nods as Staren gives further explanation. "As someone who's part robot myself," he replies, rapping a nearby shelf with his right hand to make a muffled clunk sound that is most definitely not organic. "I don't imagine it'd be too troublesome, 'less a Spy tries ta sap ya or somethin'. But, well, I do miss my old, flesh and blood hand sometimes. Ya could probably replicate the nerves fer feelin' things, but it still feels a little awkward when I expect the give o' soft skin and muscle and instead get the hard inflexibility o' metal."
A pause. "Er...well, I guess mosta you here wouldn't be familiar with the feelin'. Anyway, what's it like? Seems ya need ta get used ta bein' in an unfamiliar body, but apart from that, how's it feel?"
Untamed Breeze walks right up next to Staren, reaches out... and flicks her finger right at his nose.
Well, he did ask them to hit him, and she decided to interpret it the other way.
Well, sort of. After that, she folds her arms. "Are you going to do crazy things like make lots of clones of yourself or hang out in a giant blob of goo later? Keep this to just the basics and I'll be happy, anyways... but yeah... I can see why you did it this way!"
Robo-staren stares at Twilight for a moment. The thought that anyone might look at it that way didn't even /occur/ to him. Of course he plans to go /back/ to his body! "That's why my original body is sedated and in stasis and is absolutely positively not conscious or dreaming. I went to sleep in there, and woke up in here... And after I talk with you guys and test this body, I go to sleep in here and the latest copy of me is written back into my _old_ body."
He frowns, and folds his arms. "If the rewriting process ruins my brain in the process, I have a problem, but one that I can, eventually, fix and try again -- the healing vat will repair my brain to a blank state if needed -- until I get it right. I've made sure the nanites do what they're supposed to do to tissue samples, but writing a copy of me into an organic brain is a test I simply haven't been able to do, for obvious reasons. Second-worst case scenario, I'm stuck in robots until I get the process working."
Staren looks at his body in the ego bridge. "Worst case scenario is the write not working at all and /that/ me waking up. Then we have a /worse/ problem because there would be two of me, who have the same right to continue my life. That's why I am making sure my original body doesn't wake up until I'm back in it."
Staren looks at Dell. "Actually... the interface software is very good, it feels almost natural, except for not breathing. The cameras are high-resolution, but... I can digital zoom to see the pixels if I want. Having a computer in my head is no change," he shakes his head, "since I had the cybernetics. This body should be stronger, and tougher, and heavier, but I haven't really gotten to put that to the test yet."
Robo-Staren turns to Breeze and gets flicked. He blinks. "...Pain's still on by default, but I guess I can turn it off if I want." He looks directly at her. "No, no, no! Making a bunch of myself... Then we'd have a problem, since all of me would be people who deserve to live. There is... technology that can put us back together as long as we've been independant for no more than four hours... but if that doesn't work, I have an unfixable problem. I'd rather not risk it unless it's absolutely necessary for some reason -- I honestly hadn't really _thought_ about it because I have no desire to do it. And I don't want to be goo, although I suppose I may have some occasions to try new bodies. Primarily this technology is to make sure I can survive in some form if I die, which I will still, you know, try to avoid just as before. I don't _want_ to lose my body and be stuck in a robot, it's just better than being gone forever. There may also be the occasional situation where temporarily transferring myself to another body is useful -- to fight a threat that only harms organics, for instance."
Staren scratches his neck and looks between them. "Next questions."
"Heh, figures. You an' yer future tech." Dell says, watching Staren's reactions to everything...including the neck scratching. "Even physical habits get carried over, huh? I guess it's jes' like bein' in yer original body, except...well, like ya described. Have ta say, it's more advanced than anythin' I've ever seen, an' I've seen flyin' cars."
Then, a thought. "Outta curiosity, whaddya suppose would happen if I were ta hit ya with my wrench? Or maybe punch you with the Gunslinger? Would it upgrade ya? Repair any damage you've taken? Fer that matter, how would ya come outta the Respawn System? Er, not that I want ta kill ya or anythin', jes' wonderin'."
"Well, that's a relief!" Breeze cracks a relieved grin and shares it with Maya, Twilight, and Deell, before retreating again to put some distance here between them all. "The Multiverse doesn't need ten of you running around. The rest of us might get even more confused than you would." She teases a moment later.
Twilight headshakes to Staren. "But...don't you see? Even if one of you is asleep, there are still two of you now. You yourself said you copied yourself, not that you transfered your consciousness. And you just said that if the original you woke up...there would be two yous. How is it different simply because one of you is asleep?" Twilight asks, then sighs. "I'm sorry...I guess I thought you would completely transfer yourself. But..." She looks at the sleeping Staren, then at robot Staren. "Have...I misunderstood the process?" she asks, looking up at Staren.
Maya has never met Twilight in person before untill today and she has to agree with the Pony's statement. "That is a point and if you pull the plug on the other your killing them pretty much." She seems to be lost in thought at this point.
Staren looks at Dell and raises his hands in a shrug. "Hey, this is leagues ahead of _my_ world, too. But, it was important to get and learn how to use. It will save lives, one day." He tilts his head as the Engineer thinks of possibilities. "I don't know. Does your wrench normally repair things on impact? We can try it, just don't hit my head please." He shakes his head and raises a hand dismissively at the 'not that I want to kill you' bit "It's fine, I wonder things that make people uncomfortable all the time, I understand completely. Wondering about something unsafe doesn't mean yer gonna _do_ it, I _know_ that... I hope everyone else here does too." He looks around.
And settles on Breeze, smiling at her relief and nodding.
Twilight makes him look a bit more uncomfortable. "Err..." He looks at the other him. "As long as that body is in stasis, the copy of 'me' in that brain isn't running. It's the same as a dormant copy stored in a computer, like the backups I've made for the emergency case where my body and stack are unrecoverable. There is no seperate experience..."
He strokes his chin, thinking of another way to explain it. "Okay, let's look at it this way: If he wakes up, experiences anything, then he starts having experiences I haven't. But right now... I remember, I've experienced, every single thing he has, and more. I'm a future version of what's in that brain, rather than an alternate version. So, nothing is lost if we overwrite that instance with the new, updated me from now. I went to sleep in there, woke up in here, and I'm gonna go back."
"But if we woke him up... then he'd have new experiences. There would be a version of me that went to sleep and woke up in here, and a version of me that went to sleep and woke up in there. We'd be different, and destroying either one of us would lose something unique forever. But right now... the only _consciousness_ that remembers being me is in here. And as long as there's only one active me at a time, or rather, one me experiencing new things, and all other copies are dormant copies of earlier versions of that me, of which _one_ will be revived _only_ in the event that I am destroyed... we should be good. Did that make sense?" He looks to Twilight. "Remember, I planned all this, and went to sleep knowing this was the plan in the first place."
Staren adds, "For reference, there's _only_ still a copy in that brain this time because we haven't proven writing a new me into an organic brain works yet. That will not be the case in any future transfers -- if everything goes as planned, and yes, I know that's an if... then in the future there will never be any risk of the wrong me 'waking up' while another me is still around. Well, barring some rather catastrophic failures of the backup system, but if something's gone that wrong then I probably have worse problems to deal with."
"Well, can't say I know much about computers. They still ain't very advanced in my world, so that analogy doesn't really work fer me...no offense." Dell says, lifting his helmet to scratch his head a bit. "Anyhow, my wrench is a Build-O-Matic. Anythin' it hits, as long as it's mechanical an' I have spare metal, will get upgraded or repaired dependin' on the circumstances. Least, that's how it works where I'm from."
He plucks his wrench from his toolbelt and raises it. "Beggin' yer pardon. You said ya could turn off yer pain receptors, right? Now might be a good time." And with that, he swings the wrench down at Staren's arm, pretending for the moment that it's one of his sentries.
Twilight's hooves shuffle uncomfortably, but she nods. "I think I understand. It's just...hard not to think there are more than one Staren now." she says, but smiles softly afterword. "But, I trust you, so if you say that there is not a unique individual in danger, then...that is good enough for me." she says.
Just before Dell swings his wrench! "Hey! What are you doing?!" she exclaims, her horn glowing quickly to try and stop that wrench from impacting. She doesn't know that he can fix things by hitting them!
"Either way you swing it, it's plain creepy even to me. And I've done things you'd think of as creepy that you'll NEVER imagine, Staren." Breeze announces with a finger pointed at him. "Right, Maya?" Yes, she's going to ask the Junker, but she doesn't wait on a response. instead she folds her arms, cocks her head, and stares a little. "I mean it, it's creepy just thinking about multiple splits of the same person."
Twilight hesitates, then nods lightly in agreement. "..it...is a bit unsettling. However, these experiments could lead to wonderful medical advances."
Dell suddenly finds his wrench being forcibly stopped by pink...sparkly...light. He looks back at the little purple unicorn, adjusting his goggles with his free hand as he stares at her horn. "I'd heard y'all had magic, but I didn't believe it until now. Guess I still have a lot ta learn." he says, then, in a more reassuring voice, "It's alright, miss. I ain't gonna hurt him. This wrench is specially built ta /fix/ machines by hittin' 'em, an' even make them stronger in some cases. Worst thing that'll happen is he'll get a dent."
Staren shrugs to Dell. Wait, upgrades? How would that even work? The wrench is going to interact with a robot body, very complex, that it has never encountered before, and give it upgrades that work perfectly and include the software needed to control them? That's practically MAGIC! "Huh. Interest--woah!" He holds up his arm to block, but he doesn't actually recall _how_ to shut off pain off the top of his head! But then Twilight grabs the wrench with magic.
Tense moment over, he nods to Breeze. "Yeah, well, like I said... I never intend to have two of me around, I don't wanna deal with it either." And then he smiles at Twilight. "Thank you. I was worried that some of you might... Not accept this, but... I had to know. If something went wrong, I wanted you to know what had happened, and..." he scratches his head. "Well, if someone thought this kind of thing was evil, better to find out sooner rather than later. Thank you... I'm glad you're still my friends!"
He steps forward to hug Twilight -- maybe a little too hard for a split second before he relaxes, being extra gentle as he's unsure of his robot strength. When he steps back, he comments, "Oh, maybe this will make things less weird..." and turns a little circle positioned like a belt buckle on his robot body, which is briefly engulfed in light... and then there appears to stand a human version of Staren, in his normal clothes. He looks at his hands. "Nifty."
Maya says "I can always call up Thanatos if you like." She notes palming a few fate cards she looks at Staren for a moment for a moment. "I hope that so, its your own choice and your life Staren." maya's being quite diplomatic all things considered and she thinks more and more about what the technology could mean from Bec's world. she thinks of old reports of a race of clones and a race of transfered minds with powerful nanotech building abilities and the ability to copy someone's mind. She shakes her head wondeing if this technology could lead to more carnage like they sowed.
Twilight blinks at Dell's explanation, and the purple sparkly glow fades from his wrench. "Oh...that's incredible, if it actually works!" she says with a smile. She blinks as she is hugged by robot Staren, then smiles and hugs back. Then...he activates a holoemitter or something and her eyes widen. "Oh my! Some sort of disguise spell?" she says, looking Staren over.
Once that's done, she smiles. "Well, it seems the experiment was a grand success so far. But, we still need to see if you can integrate back into your other body without any problems. You probably shouldn't stay in this body too long if it isn't meant to be permanent."
"Something like that." Staren replies, re: Disguise Spell. Re: Not staying long... "You think so? I figured I should find out more about being in this body, just for curiousity's sake..." He looks between them. "...But I suppose, if this works, I can do that later. Not that I intend to do this routinely, in any case. You guys want me to go back now? I'm afraid there isn't much to watch... The Ego Bridge will take awhile. I could give you videogames or books or something, if you want me to do it now while you're here..."
"By Yu-Shan, do you really have to? What if it being metal and so on messes up your thought balance? Brains are really delicate things, the body doesn't work right without them even if the soul does." Breeze exclaims, aggravated, wings shaking and ruffling irritably.
"Well, I've tested it more times than I can count on machines in my own world, an' it's worked fine on them." Dell says to Twilight, but lowers his wrench anyway. "Still, might be better ta wait until yer back in yer own body before I try it. Dunno what kinda effect it'll have on a machine with a living consciousness."
And then, with a somewhat panicked expression, he suddenly checks his watch. "Oh, dang blang dammit! I completely fergot, we have a mission scheduled fer tonight!" he says, then looks back up at Staren. "Where's the closest exit? The Administrator ain't gonna appreciate me bein' late."
Twilight once again seems to agree with Breeze. "It may be tempting to stay that way for a while, but your mind is surely not used to being in this sort of body. I would suggest returning to your normal body as soon as possible." she says with a gently, but urgent, smile.
As Dell declares he must leave, she waves a hoof. "The lift is probably the only way back to the surface."
"If it does mess me up, that's something we need to know, isn't it? By Rebecca's account it doesn't, though." He looks to Dell and extends a hand to shake. "Thanks for coming, man. And we'll have you out of here in a jif. Just follow the drone and stand under the giant raygun, it's a teleporter, we'll send you back to the warpgate."
A little maintenance drone does roll up to Dell, and then off between the shelves.
The teleporter totally does look like a giant freaking raygun pointed at a large departure pad. The Engineer is probably fine with things like that, though.
Staren, meanwhile, walks back to the table, laying down on it. "Hmm. Not comfortable. But I guess I don't really need a bed. I can just put myself to sleep." His parents rush over from the ego bridge to hold his hand. He looks up at them, they nod, and then he closes his eyes and goes limp. They set the hand down on the table and rush back to the Ego Bridge.
"I hate waiting." Staren's father mutters, tapping his foot and folding his arms. "But at this point, it's all automated. Either everything goes right, or... Something goes wrong."
The MRI-like Ego Bridge holding Staren inside is a sealed container, and fills up with some kind of gel, supplying more than enough nanomachines to keep his body healthy and alive and begin the delicate work of rewriting his brain. His parents make sure everything is running smoothly before returning to their seats. Some prepared snacks (cookies, sandwiches) are offered to their guests, as is conversation -- other than that, they read, although no book or computer is needed because of their implants.
As the hour-long process nears its end, Staren's parents become more antsy, watching the machine.
And then it beeps, and the the gel drains away (it doesn't even leave him or his clothes wet...) and he's pushed out of the MRI-like portion of the machine. And he begins to stir, his parents watching uneasily, sitting up and looking at his hand, wiggling his fingers. And then grinning wide before raising his fists in the air. "I did it! It works!" That gets him another hug, before parents step back to let him talk to friends. "You did. Congratulations...!"
Twilight Sparkle almost always has a few books with her, and so she is settled comfortably on the floor nearby, reading through the latest Daring Do adventure novel. She has brought enough books that Maya and Breeze can read if they want. And if they are still around.
When the machine stops, she looks up, then stands and slips her book back into her saddlebags before she approaches the machine and the Staren emerging from it. She gallops up and hugs Staren. "You're alright! I was a bit worried!" she says, smiling as she steps back, looking up at Staren.
Staren is kind of expecting a Twi-hug! He turns towards her as she gallops and hugs back. "I was... well, I was unconscious, but until this moment occured, I was worried it wouldn't. Returning to my body was the part I could least prepare for going wrong." His breathing becomes more forced for a moment as he pays attention to it. "It's good to be back... But this is all a miracle of technology, if you think about it. Think... how many people actually get the experience of transferring to another body, and back? And of course, the implications... We now know for certain, as long as someone can recover my stack," he taps the back of his neck, "I will never die. And even if I do... you will not have to lose me." He smiles and hugs Twilight again. Before meeting her gaze. "That's good, right?"
Untamed Breeze has been anxiously sitting in a chair-- BACKWARDS, due to her wings-- and apparently sleeping or otherwise meditating. It's hard to say, because both wings covered her torso.
But when the boy genius rises, she lifts a wing and peeks through it, eyes cracking open-- and a grin spreading on her face. "Hah! ... now isn't THAT a relief." Rocketing up from the chair, she-- she LANDS ON IT with one foot, on the EDGE of its bakc, without toppling it. Somehow.
From that precarious position she somersaults forward and lands near Staren, leaning in and planting both fists on her sides to stare at him. "We're going to have to talk later, but for now..." A smile. "Amazing work!"
Staren flashes Breeze a smile, though he looks concerned about the mention of having to have a talk. Oh well. He'll have to deal with that bridge when he comes to it. He smiles again at the compliment. "Thanks!"
Twilight looks over toward Breeze when she speaks, then her eyes widen at the display of acrobatics. "Oh my!" she says in amazement. "That was impressive!" Twilight then looks back to Staren and smiles. "Good work, by the way. It is so amazing that you were able to transfer your mind into a different body!" She gives Staren another hug. "I hope you won't ever have to use it, of course, but it is an...impressive step forward."
Staren nods. Today is a very huggy day! "Yes... Recent experiences made clear the importance of being prepared for the unpleasant. ...Thanks, again, for not..." he looks away. "Thinking this was monstrous, or playing god, or whatever. A lot of people... don't like the idea of doing things so unnatural. I'm sure I've told you my opinions on such issues, but... they don't make me many friends."
Noticing the twitch in Staren's expression, Breeze grins mischeviously. "Nothing to be worried about, just things that need to be said." This is said as she hops back into the chair with a mighty backflip, apparently just because she can, and again... somehow doesn't topple the chair.
The winged woman flashes a smile over aT Twilight! "Thank you!"
But she frowns at Staren. "... well, that's just going to be that. It took me decades sometimes to win trust from some backwater, superstitious folks."
Staren tilts his head. Things that need to be said? He nods to Breeze. "You were the first, actually, to understand once I explained my support of the unnatural. Morg didn't need me to explain it to him, of course."
Twilight hesitates. "Well...I cannot say I am comfortable with it, but...I can see the good that can come from it." she says as she releases the hug. she says, then looks to Breeze before back at Staren. "The unnatural is anything that allows us to control our environment."
"I was chosen by the Unconquered Sun--" Breeze begins, folding her arms and standing proud with wings outstretched. "To use the tools of brilliance, knowledge, and innovation to bring justice, health, enlightenment, and comfort to a world of needless suffering... the world 'unnatural' has a lot narrower meaning to me than the paranoia of most people."
Staren nods a little. "You can at least understand what I'm trying to do here. Friends don't have to agree or be comfortable with _everything_. And... yes, you get it right away. Unnatural isn't bad. I suppose someone from a world where people make the weather and the seasons themselves would see that as common sense, though." He nods to Breeze. "Most people mean 'different from what I grew up with', really. They don't recognize that the cities and societies they live in and the technology that makes their lifestyle possible were once just as unnatural to people of earlier times."
Twilight nods to Staren. "I see. Then, you should probably not go around announcing you can successfully copy yourself into another body." she says in a teasing tone, offering a soft smile. "It would probably benefit the multiverse if they realized that almost all of civilization is unnatural."
Staren nods. "Well... that is why I contacted you all privately. And yes, it would, but... people won't. Talking with the few who are not confused on the issue goes much more smoothly... it's always a pleasure talking to you." he smiles back.
"... you make a really good point." Breeze remarks, surprise evident in her voice as she turns to peek over at the Pony. "You know, that's something I hadn't even thought of before, and I'm prob/ably centuries your elder."
Staren blinks. "You continue to be amazing. Hey, any ideas how we could _get_ people to realize that? Or is it truly beyond hope?"
Twilight blinks as well when Breeze says that, then smiles a bit shyly. "W-well...getting them to realize it may be as easy as simply pointing it out. Most people are rational to some degree. It is only the most closed minded that words alone will not reach." she says, then sighs. "Getting people to accept it by extention accept unconventional forms of research that do not impede on any rights but still walk a line that most would prefer not be walked...well, that may never happen. Research that stretches boundries so greatly is probably better done in secret. I can only imagine what the Space Wolves might think of this lab and the equipment and research herein."
Staren sighs. "Somehow, I doubt that simply pointing out that civilization is unnatural will work. They'll argue it isn't, because they grew up with it. They'll argue that the level of civilization they're used to is a natural evolution, possibly even the intent of their deity of choice, but that anything else is unnatural. And... the Space Wolves don't know. I take it I should not tell them, then..."
Twilight nods lightly. "I am not certain, but they seem to persecute anything that is not in line with their All-Father's teachings. They may not attack you, but they may find your work to be inappropriate, which could lead to misunderstandings." she says, then sighs softly. "I hope I am wrong."
Twilight then smiles. "I should be going. I am sure Spike is starting to worry. And it is about his bedtime anyway." She hugs Staren again. "I am glad you are alright." she says, then clops toward the teleporter.
Staren nods. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the warning. I honestly don't intend people outside the Union to find out about this... Seeya 'round, Twilight."
"That pony has a good amount of sense!" Breeze comments when Twilight Sparkle has left. She reaches out again, this time... to gently flick Staren on the nose. Much, much more gently. "flesh feels a lot better."
Staren chuckles. "I guess that's what they mean by horse sense! Heheheh..." He blinks at the flick. "Well. They do make robot bodies that feel like flesh. Like I said, a clearly robot body made for a better demonstration..." He lies back on the table and sighs. "I'm sorry the world had to be such, that just getting the technology working, and testing it, to make sure I _can't die_, is such a huge deal. I must visit Rebecca's world sometime... see what it does to a culture, when this is everyday and normal." He turns his head to look at Breeze again. "You have to admit, you can't really begrudge me immortality when you've lived hundreds of years and been granted a body with supernatural toughness... I've always had to rely on what technology I could take. The unnatural, as we said..."
"Exaltations were made by the Gods and the Great Maker Autocthon, who wished for the ultimate weapons and champions to tear down the other Primordials from their thrones in Heaven." Breeze points out. "In the end there's not a whole lot of difference between this... trickery of yours to get around your limitations, and what happened to me. The idea that it's a divine blessing doesn't somehow put it in a 'more right' category, you know!" Breeze points out with a faint giggle. "To build on the horse sense."
Staren looks back up at the ceiling, and puts his hands behind his head. He listens, and smiles wider as Breeze finishes speaking. "It's good that you realize that. We need to hang out more often, Breeze. Talk more. I don't get to talk with reasonable people much. It's a very pleasant change. You and Twilight..."
"Of course--" She reaches out to wiggle a finger before the boy's eyes, and twitches it back and forth in a 'nuh uh!' gesture. "If you were to say that to people with great faith in the gods, like Huang Dao, or other strong Convictions, they'll see you as a heretic or an enemy. The way they see it's pretty different, and there's a lot to be said about powerful Convictions. ... I don't think you should blow off their ideals either, just because they don't make sense to you. It's kept them alive and successful, after all." The hand's withdrawn... and she grins at Staren's expression. "Heh, first time I've seen YOU so relaxed, oddly enough."
The 'party' as such breaking up, Staren's parents left to show Twilight to the teleporter, and have gone to tend to their own things. They can read the ego bridge's log remotely if they want, anyway. Staren watches the finger. "What good are convictions, if they don't stand for something that brings people good? I want people to lead better lives. I want to help people. That's compassion. Conviction's only good in support of it -- sometimes you have to shut up and multiply... but it's only because sometimes, by following reason instead of emotion, you can save more people. A lot of people can be kept alive and successful, by greed and dishonesty and taking advantage of others. And I'm relaxed because you've shown, before and today, that you can understand. I don't have to be on my guard, worry that if I say the wrong thing you'll jump down my throat. I can be me. I'm glad to have such friends, even if I only have three of them. Morg, you, and Twilight... Pfffffffhhh." He lets out a long breath, then stares out into space. "I wonder if most people are themselves all the time, or if they have their own fears that others would see them as monstrous? Well... I guess I don't know for certain about you until we've had that 'talk' you mentioned." He looks back at Breeze. "Wanna have it now?"
Breeze shines a mischevious smile and shakes her head. "Later. The things necessary to get the point across the right way aren't here. But well, you have NO idea Staren. Everyone does that. It's called trying to get along with society. Idea kind of drives me nuts, but I was raised a lot differently than most..."
Staren sits up. "Well, it sucks." He hops off the table and paces. "As you say, constantly having to hide my thoughts, less I be seen as a heretic or an enemy. Having to track the falsehoods and politenesses expected, instead of just being honest. It's a frikking pain in the ass."
Staren stops and stares into the distance again. "When I began to think you were really dead and I would never see you again... I knew this tragedy could never be allowed again. I couldn't put this sort of thing off. I called Morg, and asked if we could find Wire's old brain-uploading technology. Make it work right. Then Rebecca came and made it academic. I worked for weeks to study this technology, learn how it worked, learn how to adapt it to other people." He resumes pacing, gesturing with his hands now for emphasis. "But what now? Okay, I've secured _my_ immortality, but those other people... the lesson of death is so quickly forgotten, the terrible truth so quickly turned away from... I can't save the rest of the Union." he sighs and shakes his head. "They can't be helped, sometimes. It's hard to care about the war, when you're worried that saying the wrong thing could make your allies turn on you at any moment. Then again, Loki got kicked out in less time than it took me to annoy people, so I guess there's something they see as worse than me. Then again, I never pretended to be a monster to prove a point." He sits on the table again.
(OOC: And then everyone fell asleep.)
