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The Nature of Predators 2-94
🕑 Added 2024-12-13 12:00:19 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Taylor Trench, Human Colonist
Date [standardized human time]: March 18, 2161
Agh, my head. I felt disoriented, though of course, I’d heard concussions could do that. Everything had a dreamlike hue, down to my fingers feeling like they were a mile away from me. The explosions kept crackling off around me, as sheer rage at the unfairness of the universe coursed through me. The Krev Consortium was breaking into the cavern to drive us out by first, catching us completely blindsided! Everyone knew what would happen when the herbivores saw our faces, but maybe we needed that to frighten them off.
God, was there anywhere a hapless predator could find safe haven? We couldn’t even have a life at one percent, because of my failure to furnish up the rent payments. Giant pink birds had drilled through the walls, and upon closer inspection…inspection…it seemed that some humans were species traitors siding with them to attack us, just to save their own hides. What were they promised, to give up everything we’d suffered so much to protect? I hated the xenos who persecuted us in every corner of the galaxy we ever dared to exist, but our own people killing the last vestige of our kind—they were worse.
I just want to go back home to Earth, and live a life where I could be authentic and happy. There is nothing but misery in my existence. What is the point of survival, and why does everyone universally agree that we deserve to fucking die?!
Through blurry vision, like the fog that sealed over a mirror from shower steam, I could see the cowards hiding. The fact that they must’ve learned we were predators from the sellouts was why they’d advanced the raid, since they hated us. The Krev had more courage than the Federation. To still fight us and maintain their tactics. Surely the humans helping them knew their safety blanket wouldn’t last past the minute our bodies hit the floor? Grief threatened to envelop me at my failure, that our entire mission wouldn’t succeed at furthering our species.
This was the end of everything if we failed but…I didn’t know how to shoot a gun, not really. I was so afraid of dying, and I didn’t know why. The lights and the shrapnel were overwhelming, but I was desperate and cornered like an animal in this little tunnel; this was the last chance to fight. Maybe I could take some of them down with us, even as we faltered. I hurled a grenade through the opening in the wall, not knowing how it found its way into my hand. Before I knew it, one came clattering back; those human traitor weasels!
Why…why was I reacting so slowly? It was like my mind was lagging under the stress…
The explosion knocked me back on my ass, and I could feel that my limbs were no longer responding. I couldn’t feel any of my lower extremities; oh God, I was going to die! A fuck ton of my body had just been blown off, and I tried to gasp and wriggle. I attempted to plead for help, but I must’ve been too mangled. Even the tears weren’t falling, though I could feel them trying to claw their way out of me. I looked down at the floor, wondering where the blood was. My head wouldn’t move. I turned my eyes up as the Consortium and the traitor humans walked in, stepping over bodies.
It’s like the drilling accident all over again. So many humans killed senselessly, lives that no alien would ever care about! I wish I could butcher these bastards like the predator they want!
It was so difficult to string together any thoughts that weren’t just angry. I was confused by the absence of pain, but maybe I was in shock. That was something that happened to be when they lost a lot of blood, and my head had already been fuzzy. I tried to gasp as the traitors led the way into the cavern, having the gall to not only spearhead the pack but to wear the blue helmets of the United Nations. They were mocking the history of the long-gone planet Earth!
I tried with the last of my willpower to move toward the traitors, until I caught a glimpse of one’s face. It was…my own, with longer hair and healthier, tanner skin. What the actual fuck? This Taylor Trench was walking side-by-side with Gress, blue binocular eyes focused on me and filled with disgust. How could the Krev have cloned me through the concealment gear and everything, just from going out to the landing pad? Maybe there weren’t traitors among the colonists.
I didn’t understand—wait, why was his gun still drawn? I didn’t want to die, I didn’t want to die, I didn’t want to die! I surrendered!
“You know…” Was that Cherise’s voice? She’s whispering to someone, not to other me. She sounded like she was underwater. Maybe a few tough security guards could mount a better fight, but I thought she’d already been with us. “Not that many ark colonists went through the brain scanner checkpoints, Zefriss. I’d bet any robohumans are mostly just mes and Taylors.”
A gargled voice responded. “That is unnatural to think about. I will help you take them all offline.”
Robohumans…talking about me. Saying there’s lots of mes, but I’m not a robot. No, that must be the “other” Taylor. What the…
With hate in his eyes that I recognized all too well, the other Taylor angled his gun at me. I tried to speak, yet I couldn’t say a word. I was already starting to forget what thoughts had just crossed my head, and what happened to me in the first place. Guns. Invasion. Hurt. Wish I…was never born.
There was a trace of something like pity on the doppelgänger Trench’s face, which gave me a glimmer of hope. That was erased in an instant as several cracking sounds permeated the fog, and the world switched off before I could blink.
Memory Transcription Subject: Taylor Trench, Human Colonist
Date [standardized human time]: March 18, 2161
Fighting through waves of robots was made manageable by high-powered explosives. The problem was when they all started retreating toward the bunker, hoping to reach it before us; the legion was programmed under some delusion to hide among or execute the civilians. We started flying through encounters, needing to catch up to the bots. I couldn’t imagine what was going on in their heads, assuming there was anything at all. I still thought about the way the first robot that I’d executed point-blank had twitched, and how I’d felt stepping over its body. All of the Krev metal soldiers’ data was likely being streamed back to the Consortium’s central headquarters down here, wherever that might be.
Perhaps humanity could access the logs and learn more about how their control had worked, to ensure there was no chance of breaking it for any future encounters. Right now, there was no other option but to destroy them and not get tangled up in sympathies. General Radai was right: many of the Resket soldiers were likely built after him. It weirded me out, the more I thought that these things—that I was shooting—might be me. The Earth humans didn’t need to worry about the evil empire using their brains for their machinations. I tried to focus on other details to distract myself.
There is a distinct lack of Smiglis and Ulchids in the fighting army, since they’re not very solid combatants. Krev, Jaslips, humans, and Reskets are the ones who they think could hold their own in a fight.
Some soldiers had rode off on motorcycles to catch up with hostiles, though I wouldn’t have a clue on how to handle such a vehicle; it looked cool though, to try if I ever got back to Earth. Now that I had met my biological father as an adult, enough to know both his face and his mannerisms, I could picture him teaching me how to ride a bike. I could imagine little Taylor taking a tumble in the street, and him stonewalling me and insisting to get back up. Maybe that was the paternal voice I was missing to harden me up a bit. It was what I needed to hear now, when I couldn’t afford to stumble.
I refused to duck for cover as we reached the bunker, firing at the metal bodies who were seconds from cutting a large enough opening in the compartment. I could hear screaming civilians trapped inside, as UN soldiers shouted at them to stay away from the automaton guns poking through the gap and spraying anything nearby. I chucked every last grenade that I had clipped to my belt, then kept spewing bullets at anything silver for good measure. Gress nearly ran out in front of me, charging for the entrance mere seconds after the automaton group were downed.
“Lecca!” Gress screamed, loud and shrill enough that it sounded like he was tearing his vocal cords.
I sprinted after him without thinking of my safety, glad to have longer legs. “Wait for us, please! You’re not helping anyone if you charge off without thinking.”
Cherise shot a sideways look at Quana. “You could say that again.”
Cala took flight as she matched my steps, soaring to a higher vantage point to scan for Lecca; as tough as it was to believe, I was glad to have a Krakotl’s aerial aid. The Krev citizens were elated to hear the United Nations announce themselves and promise a rescue, as we hurried them back toward the escape shaft. I ran up to every child passing by to be sure, but none of them were the one we were looking for. There was no response to Gress screaming her name.
General Radai wasn’t far behind us, forming a protective shield with his own body between himself and escaping civilians. If advancing robots shot them to spite us, the Resket was ensuring that he’d take the bullet.
“You!” a civilian screamed in an agitated voice, shoving the pink avian. “You’re one of them! You’re the Consortium’s military leader; a fucking delegate!”
Radai didn’t fight back, simply gesturing the way out. “Once, I was. I was a puppet as much as any of the robots; I would’ve never gone along with this, but they took any control I had away. All I ever wanted to protect the people, so please…let me protect the few we have left.”
“It wasn’t Radai’s fault,” Quana barked, to my surprise. “I don’t trust Reskets not to fuck us over, but he isn’t capable of this. Just go: this is your only chance to get off-world. There’s little time. Follow the humans to their shuttles.”
The Jaslip and Arxur alliance hadn’t been intending to hurry Krev civilians to safety in their march on Avor, but I could see Zefriss allowing Krev children to ride on his tail as he made a detour back toward the ship. Cherise had it right: he was secretly a softie, not wanting any younglings to get left behind. None of the kids the gray was toting were Lecca, however, squashing my last hope. I turned my head toward a landing Cala, who shook her head in the negative. I bit my lip, walking up to a hysterical Gress.
“She’s not there, Taylor!” the Krev screamed, after wandering through the empty bunker listlessly. “Humans rescued everyone here.”
I wrapped an arm around him. “There are other bunkers. A few shuttles even got off the orbital rings, before they exploded. This was the largest and closest safe spot to where she might’ve been, but it isn’t the only one. No stone left unturned, right? We’re not giving up.”
“They took everything from me!”
“Gress, they didn’t take me. We have each other. We have a chance to make them pay, right? Don’t you feel so damn angry, even if it’s far beneath that grief? You want to be sure they’re fucking wiped out for what they did to you. I know it.”
“I’m with you, Taylor. For what they did to the Jaslips…and I suppose, also to others…they must die!” Quana growled. “Our suffering does matter.”
“They used all of us. They think they own us, down to our very minds.” Gress blinked away tears, his eyes hardened as he raised his gun. “Not today. I’ll save whatever hostages I can, and I’ll take them down with me. I’ll run my claws through them for what they did: just like Mafani.”
The Krev stomped off without leaving any room for argument, following the path that led deeper down to a sealed off complex that UN drones had found; I could piggyback off of his outrage, heaping more onto my own. We had to lower ourselves from a catwalk at one point, similar to rappelling down toward the Sivkit bunkers. This time, the hidden secrets underground had been unearthed before our boots touched cement. All that we were untangling now was where their tunnel network led, connecting their legion to any points of interest.
The Underscales central hub didn’t impress as we battered through the walls, and found our point of entry to be eerily vacant. Sapient Coalition forces stood shoulder-to-shoulder, sweeping through the dingy corridors for any signs of Consortium activity. Inside each room where we poked our heads, we saw walls of screens depicting various feeds from across the globe, though most were dead. This must’ve been where the surveillance operatives watched their citizenry. The robotic clones likely were all that made it possible to monitor all of this, even with AI flagging things.
Their defenses sprung to life as we opened the door to the server room, where we sought the opportunity to hijack the Consortium’s remote control of their automated assets near and afar. Before we buried this cursed legion, it would help us bring their entire scheme to a close if the United Nations could assume control of their drones. While it was most likely that the other planets had already been bombed to a crisp, this would stop the KC from continuing their glassings against their own people. It might save a few lives that would’ve otherwise been lost.
Our foes, of course, didn’t want us to snatch that small victory away from them. Automated turrets blasted a flurry of bullets at us, tearing through walls and flesh alike. It caught my eye how Quana and Gress didn’t shy back even in the hurricane of incoming munitions; neither of them feared death, though they expressed that in unique ways. If Radai hadn’t stayed back to shield the civilians en route to evac, I imagined he’d been in the same boat. It felt like I was in the minority wanting to survive this bout, though I understood what it was like to feel that it wasn’t worth it—that the world was better off without me.
“Why did the wall guns curse randomly?” Hysran shouted, not fitting the mood as she crouched at the back with Cherise.
Cherise grunted, tucking her body off in a side room. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Because they have Turrets!”
“Ohhh…okay, where the fuck did you even learn that?”
“I have my ways.”
I crawled forward, finding that the quip did help me to take the turrets less seriously. The armor-piercing rounds for the legion ripped a mechanical gun off its hinge just fine, as I picked it off just as it swiveled toward Gress. My boots scrabbled on the slick floor, while I darted to catch up. The robots sent a fuck ton of bullets sizzling by, with a few replicant humans in their midst to throw grenades. UN forces led at the front lines, using shields to deflect grenades, shrapnel, and bullets alike.
Every second that we let the Krev Consortium remain at the helm of these automatons, we’re stuck in this fight…and more people will die to them.
I glanced at the far side of the room, following Gress’ eyes. I could hazard a guess at his thoughts, after what he’d said aloud about sticking his claws through the legion’s heart. This was their heart, in all of the “glory” of rows of stacked towers. Someone needed to get to their servers and plant the bug, before they could sabotage it. I didn’t want to watch Gress sacrifice himself in a final cry of defiance for Lecca, to “take them down with him.” I all but tackled him, preventing him from running off with Quana.
“No! I won’t let you go,” I hissed.
Gress writhed in my grip. “Let me do this one fucking thing!”
“I will, and I’ll do it alongside you, but I’m not letting you throw your life away! You wouldn’t give up on me, even when I deserved it.”
“Dammit, she doesn’t deserve it, but…” Cherise sighed, before cupping her hands to her face. “Quana? Come back!”
The Jaslip charged ahead as we all watched with horror; explosives were clamped in her jaw. She looked like she could’ve been the one to bomb Delegates Tower, almost—and that made me wonder about several things, after seeing how possessed she was with anger. Much like spiraling Taylor, she’d been willing to direct it at anyone. Quana ignored Cherise’s shout, and continued on despite the violet blood erupting across her stark white fur. This was a suicide mission if I’d ever seen one, the same as when I charged Cala because my face had been revealed.
With the last glimmer of light in her eyes, Quana leapt into the robots’ midst and let go of an impressive mouthful of explosives. Cherise and I both gasped in horror, witnessing the friend we’d endured boot camp with choose a suicide bombing as her ultimate end. Even after not seeing the Jaslip for a long time, it was shocking; it stabbed at my heart. Was this how Gress felt watching me charge the UN, defiant to the end? The grisly plan worked to blast dozens of metal soldiers to bits, after the payloads roll and clatter throughout the room.
The robots weren’t expecting that play, so they didn’t have time to bring the roof down before our sabotage. I can’t deny that it worked, but just…why? Was she that lost that she no longer wanted to live, only to take them out en masse for what they did?
Cherise choked back sobs. “I…cared about her so much. I would’ve followed her to the fucking Federation’s heart! Why did she have to blame everyone and everything—to value revenge above her friends and her life?”
“I wish I could say I didn’t understand, but I was there once. You’re not to blame, Cherise, for her demons,” I responded, hearing my own voice crack. “That wasn’t going to happen to Gress though: I’ll cling to every second I have in this universe with him, whether he likes it or not. If we’re chasing revenge here, it’ll be more methodical than that.”
Hysran seemed a bit taken aback, but tried to keep Cherise in a cautious position. “I agree. Cherise didn’t have to be dragged down with her on a jealousy-fueled descent. You don’t have to let the things you’ve done and seen take your soul.”
“I second that,” Cala chirped. “Quana made her choice. Let’s not speak ill of her any further. We make it count, and ensure that we’re never so fanatical about anything—because that’s the real danger.”
General Radai had arrived to support our group, having sprinted at Resket speeds to rejoin us after escorting the Krev civilians to safety; I took it that was a piece of good news to soothe us, since that must’ve meant their departure had gone well. Zefriss had not yet reappeared, since Arxur were several paces slower. For Gress’ sake, I had no intention of waiting for anyone else to join. I crept ahead toward the door to a small control room, where we’d insert the code and get the fuck out of here.
“Maybe once we tap into the Krev’s system, we can use their surveillance to look for Lecca. The UN was supposed to get her out before they learned the truth. They could’ve gotten a message to your ex-wife, and perhaps succeeded in that somehow.” I tried to press the horrifying image of chunks of Quana’s torso arcing out onto the wall from my mind, and steadied my voice. I pressed a hand to the door handle, tensing my legs. “Our answers are here. We’ll find her.”
“You already have,” a mechanical voice spoke, the second I pushed it open.
Even in robotic form, it was obvious which sadistic monster I was speaking to; he’d painted his skeleton in the hopes of looking like his prior form. Mafani was holding Lecca up in front of him with a gun to her skull, which caused my breath to hitch in my throat. The irony was that the prospects of Gress’ daughter getting out from Avor had been slim. It was the Underscale’s personalized torment that kept her alive to this point.
“Daddy! Obor Daddy!” Lecca screamed, knifing my heart.
Gress felt to his knees. “Please, let her go. I’ll…give you whatever you want to do with your servers. Why are you doing this?”
“I expected you,” Mafani chuckled. “I knew I’d get my victory in the end. I would be brought back and I could ruin your life from the shadows, when you least expected it! Perhaps at her wedding, or…no, no need for her to make it that long now. Ah, to be free to do it to your face is a joy.”
Radai recoiled with disgust. “You’re truly free, aren’t you? The Underscales are brought back as themselves.”
“Obviously. We’re the rulers, and the rest of the people in the Consortium: just games for our amusement. Or mine anyway. We wanted you to know about the Sivkit bunker, since it makes the Federation look scarier. I chose to do it in my own way—telling you about the Jaslips was just so you’d know what a joke you are, that there’s nothing you can do to stop us if we kill a few people here and there.”
“How can you call yourself a Resket?!”
“Quite easily. I don’t grovel for their approval like you: a sad, old man who does what he’s told and thinks himself the pinnacle of moral supremacy. And no, I won’t duel you this time. How will your honor handle that?”
“My honor means nothing to me. I wouldn’t be working with stealthy Arxur operatives if I had any left, would I?”
“Hrrr. No, he wouldn’t be,” Zefriss chuckled.
The Arxur’s shadow had blended in perfectly with the darkness, as Radai seemed to have forwarded our location to him. He’d crawled through the ceiling and popped out behind Mafani in silence, slipping the bug into the control panel undetected. The Underscale had been so distracted watching us that he’d taken his eyes off of the prize. With the off-button for the entirety of the robot legion and the drone fleet now in human hands, we could take the Consortium’s forces down. Metal Mafani shut off in an instant, falling lifeless to the ground and releasing Lecca. His gun also clattered away.
We did it—all of us as a team. Humanity got the bastards, swiped the rug right out from under them. The outpost they used to control everything left them vulnerable to having it all taken away.
Lecca ran toward Gress, bawling her little eyes out. “Daddy! You came.”
“Of course I did, my precious darling. I didn’t leave you; I hope you know that.” Gress embraced her, shooting a grateful glance at Zefriss and Radai. “I couldn’t come home, but I’ve missed you so, so much, and you fill me with more love and joy than I could’ve imagined. You make me the proudest father in the galaxy.”
“I understand! You were taken away by the big obors, just like Mafani took me away! I wish I was taken away by Taylor too. Did you find Mom? The metal bird grabbed me at school, and I don’t know where she is.”
I cleared my throat, as Gress looked to me for help. “I think she might’ve been taken away too. If the United Nations didn’t rescue her, we might not be able to…get her back for a long time, because she’s too far away for the big obors to reach.”
“Is…Juvre gone too?”
“Probably. I’m sorry. We’re very happy that we could rescue you though, and I’m going to try to help you feel better. We can have a wonderful life as a family back on the big obor planet. Does that sound good to you?”
“Yes!”
“Then it’s settled. What do you say we get the hell out of here, Gress?”
“Please,” the Krev sniffled.
Radai stomped a foot emphatically. “We have what we need. Blow this place up, and don’t leave a thing standing.”
Relieved to have gotten Gress’ daughter out of this nightmarish place, and to have kept him going long enough to find her, I hurried back toward the shuttles that would take us home—to Earth. I hoped that with the Consortium gone, we’d be able to put the Federation’s legacy behind us one and for all, and live the peaceful life I dreamed about.
A/N - A nice, long chapter with tons of crazy twists, excitement, stakes, death, a disturbing POV: what more can you ask for? Hopefully you guys agree this is a worthy trade-off for not launching straight into a new bonus series yesterday (this chapter is the longest in NOP), and what else to say, it all just speaks for itself!
We start off with a point of view from roboTaylor, as the United Nations is breaking in and he is eventually shot by…himself. We see what it’s like to be under the Krev’s control, since he believes that Tellus is being raided by the Krev and finds himself unable to think or speak. How do you feel about the wretched existence of those automaton people, input to believe whatever and whenever the KC wants them to see? Was it truly impossible to save any of them?
The entire prime posse continues on past the robots, and goes to rescue Krev civilians, who remember exactly who Radai is. We see each character participate as they press toward the central hub, to try to hijack the Consortium’s remote control of the fleet and the bots. Quana goes out in a blaze of glory to clear out the legion, so her friends could get through before they sabotaged the servers. We then meet robot Mafani, who is completely self-aware…but accidentally saves Lecca by trying to torment Gress, and completely losing the house with his inattention.
What do you think about the shift in Radai’s motives and strategies? How do you feel about Quana’s chosen end and what it says about her, as well as the contrast between how quick Taylor was to save Gress versus Cherise? What do you think about Mafani’s “great plan” going out with a whimper, and Taylor and Gress saving Lecca to have a family back on Earth? What will humanity do next, with the KC war ended, the Fed remnants in shambles from the blitz attacks, and lots of KC worlds/species in tatters?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
pogman
And i'm talking about the first part, the robot Taylor. I think I'm fr grieving
pogman
this chapter is the best one in the entirety of NOP 2, just for the record. I have lots of words but I don't like to write so uhhh, I'll try to comemorate this one day, somehow.
DrewTheHobo
Holy shit, I was way behind. Poor Quana, but I’m glad they finally got Lecca back! I wonder if there’s a way to decompile Mafani while he’s awake and aware and slowly seeing his existence sizzling away. “I don’t feel so good Mr. Stark”
Adam Myers
It seems the most likely given what we have seen.
kabhes
I expected the civilians to be near the entrance. After all they needed a quick access from the surface to the bunkers. Especially since you don't want a shit load of random civilians walking through your secret underground base.
kabhes
A lead lined fridge.
kabhes
An another thing where they prevent growth is in colonisation. Avor was heavily overcrowded and they refused to make a second planet their home. Instead they built extremely expensive orbital rings just to house more people.
kabhes
I really hope that this is a fake out. It would be an unsatisfying ending.
kabhes
I think the robots work much better with transcripts than regular AI. It not only makes each robot much more unpredictable, but also better at coming up with strategies.
kabhes
Why do you think that?
Some Lvm
@PhycoKrusk: oooh, than is one good conspiracy! I am not sure it can be substantiated from the chapters conclusively, but it does make too much sense to be ignored, and I admit, I did not think of such a possibility... Also, are you implying the Consortium has the ability to make actual cyborgs or androids good enough to pass close inspection? We know Terra Corp isn't there yet, but there is no reason why Consortium couldn't be ahead of them...
PhycoKrusk
@Lvm Just some thoughts, no idea of they actually help, hinder, or are just there: You're looking at this from the perspective of the Consortium trying to win. Remember, in this sector of Orion, the Krev Consortium is not the true power behind everything; the Underscales are. Additionally, enough time passed that they would have learned how little resistance the UN faced when they took Aafa (after actually getting down to the surface, that is). Lastly, once the information about the Ghosts made it out, the entire sector was in open rebellion. If you were the Bad Guy, what would make more sense to you: Putting in high effort to try and win a fight that, based on everything in front of you, you are almost certainly going to lose, or putting in just enough effort to sell the "victory" to an enemy that you know will most likely buy it due to their experiential biases, and set everything on fire while you sneak out the back? Like I said, just thoughts, and so far, my track record predicting things like this is not-so-good. Mafani is a liability to the 'scales; he has been for a long time. But he's just useful enough that he might do some damage to the Coalition, and since the fight is thrown anyway, nobody has to clean him up. Much like the Jaslip kits, he was just a loose end to be tied off, and this was a convenient way to do it. What makes you so sure that's Lecca?
PhycoKrusk
Why would to assume this is where her story ends? They still have her brain scans, after all....
PhycoKrusk
They committed a pretty big error with regards to seeking more and more control: They lost sight of the goal. At some point, they stopped seeking control in pursuit of a goal (ostensibly, to best the Federation), and seeking control became the goal. When the means become the end, evil flourishes.
Some Lvm
@Elias: "The Consortium either uses copies of Taylor and the other few humans they have, or none at all" Non at all would make more sense - you were the one who argued the Consortium would face a materials shortage when building bots, so why not use the materials to build bots for people who are actually well trained to fight? Why waste them on individuals who not only have no training, but also need a lot of perception filters to do the fighting in the first place, which undoubtedly would impact their performance anyway. (The processing power for the filters has to come from somewhere). "My guess is there IS a filter for allies, but they couldn’t make one for enemies, since hiding certain enemy species from view/changing their species would make the robots worse at fighting them." Plausible, but than again when robo Taylor realized he was fighting him self it caused confusion, so at the very least we can say with confidence this was a bad plan. If he wasn't dying already, the surprise encounter might have been enough for real Taylor or some other soldier near by to get the drop on robo Taylor. "Given that Mafani’s mind is based on an organic brain, and that we have to seen any synth possess superhuman reflexes, my guess is he was so surprised that someone snuck behind him that he turned around to face his foe rather than remember to kill Lecca." Mafani is a trained operative, who should not startle easily. And disgusting as it is, he has a thing for killing children. Also - how fast did the bug work? I mean - there is an entire server farm, Zefriss just plugged it in, and in seconds at best all the bots went down together? This is like one of those "kill the boss the army drops dead" scifi tropes you can only ignore in movies overloaded with explosions and other effects. The only good book I know to get away with it was Ender's game, and that's probably because the element wasn't even central to the story. As for him falling on Lecca, that would depend on how he was holding her - if his arm was even somewhat outstretched, it would have shifted his center mass towards her. But again- what I was really looking for was not Lecca suffering, but some kind of daring rescue, or Gress using his skills and years of experience and pulling off a clever negotiation. Not the main bad guy just turning off and every one happy... I remembered when in NoP 1 Marcel and company stormed that exterminator building on the Tillfish home world. By all accounts that building should have been taken out with an air strike, but they sent infantry in, and somehow exterminators - basically civilians who are used to burning defenseless animals, got the better of fully armed professional soldiers, inflicting more casualties and giving the UN troops a much harder time than these robots designed for warfare and powered by the best military minds of the Consortium! This just stretches my suspension of disbelief too much...
EliasArt2Life
@Yonael Blackwood I’m honestly torn on that subject: Story-wise, it makes sense for this to be a fake out. It was too easy. Almost too obviously so. However, writer-wise… Space Paladin missed an upload day of a well liked miniseries, without giving any warning (at least on Patreon) in order to work on this chapter, making it extra long and thorough. This is the guy who we have to PRESSURE to take days off. I could see him taking a day off for a REAL climax. Not as much for a fake out one. Hard to say. I’d say 65% odds on this being real. Regardless of outcome, though, I’m excited to see where this is going next.
Yonael Blackwood
Finally! I was the only person on discord who thought this was a fake out. Glad to see someone else thinks so as well.
zangooseOO
I would maybe argue they were backed into a corner here. Their long term plan was making everyone into robots but that was probably decades if not centuries off. Their hand was forced by the SC showing up and too much getting out into the public
Adam Myers
I still think mad Sivkit AI is to blame, and I suspect that there is now a an ancient corrupted Sivkit AI controlling an Ark ship, to keep the Consortium going.
Roscuro
Running on 2 hours of sleep, so I hope this comes out right. The underscales have the federation beat at being ridiculously comically evil. The feds at least had the fear of prions to be the method to their madness, the underscales didn't even have a plan, they were just sadistic control freaks. Making robot soldiers of brain scans was ultimately meaningless since they had no free will to begin with. If they made an army of droids they'd have probably been better off. Was Mafani actually a bigwig in the underscales? I'd figured he was just a mook, but this is reading like he was the one in charge. I do like that the fighting didn't drag on. The SC is going to have its hands full. Finishing off the fed rem, figuring out what to do with kc refugees if their planets are indeed glass, dealing with the sivkits, and getting restrictions on digitizing human minds in place lickity split.
Shajenko
Ah, so they were connected wirelessly, down to his dying thought. Possible return of roboTyler!
Space Paladin
They tapped into the server at the end
EliasArt2Life
To avoid getting into more debates than I can keep track of right now, I’m just going to stick to things I can use cited evidence with or things that I feel can be explained easily. “Why did they use Taylor and his ilk for bots?” As Cherise mentions, “Not that many ark colonists went through the brain scanner checkpoints, Zefriss. I’d bet any robohumans are mostly just mes and Taylors.” The Consortium either uses copies of Taylor and the other few humans they have, or none at all. “How did they manage to convince robo Taylor and Cherise to fight along side robo Reskets and robo Krev?” Robo-Taylor didn’t mention any Krev or aliens fighting alongside him, so we can assume he didn’t see any. My guess is there IS a filter for allies, but they couldn’t make one for enemies, since hiding certain enemy species from view/changing their species would make the robots worse at fighting them. Better to just add forced reasoning as to why Taylor sees humans fighting with his enemy. “How was robo Mafani not fast enough to stab, shoot, or crash Leca before the servers went down, since he had a verbal warning from Zefriss. Also, how did he not crash her when he fell???” Given that Mafani’s mind is based on an organic brain, and that we have to seen any synth possess superhuman reflexes, my guess is he was so surprised that someone snuck behind him that he turned around to face his foe rather than remember to kill Lecca. A little contrived, but possible. As for why he didn’t smash Lecca, he just fell away from her. Why does he need to fall in Lecca’s direction. There are many other ways to fall, you know.
Zachary J. Dom
Ah man, I really wanted for Quana to have a happy ending. At the very least, she died a martyr. May her memory be honored by her people forever.
Some Lvm
This is a weird chapter... Quana's appropriate end is the only thing that makes sense, the rest is... * Why was the civilian evacuation bunker right next to the servers? This is even more convenient than that prison on Aafa being right next to the Shadow Cate's leader quarters, which were right under the official government building. Honestly, I would expect more from the Consortium's top secret agencies. * Why were there so few bots guarding the most important target? I feels like the Coalition forces got in way too easy, even though individual bots were properly tough. * Why did they use Taylor and his ilk for bots? The ability to "throw good" can't possibly trump proper military training, and would hand eye coordination even survive being turned in to a robot? Robo Meir wasn't exactly graceful... * How did they manage to convince robo Taylor and Cherise to fight along side robo Reskets and robo Krev? They didn't program in a filter to hide humans in the ranks of the UN, so it does not seem plausible they made all the friendly robo-xenos to look like humans to robo humans. * No backup C&C server farm, really? Also, security cracked instantly with some "bug"? * I can now understand why original Mafani wasn't afraid to die - he believed he would be resurrected, but him being right there with Leca still feels too convenient. * How was robo Mafani not fast enough to stab, shoot, or crash Leca before the servers went down, since he had a verbal warning from Zefriss. Also, how did he not crash her when he fell??? Given Reskets average height, and how small Leca is, even if the bot didn't lend on her when it crumpled, just a fall from that height could be lethal, or at least cause an injury. Sure, Krev have their "curl in to ball ability" but that wouldn't help as much with fall damage as you might expect! Don't get me wrong, I don't want her to get hurt, but overall this is a too fast, too easy, too nice of an ending. In some respects, its more of a letdown than the Aafa finale. With so much build up going in to it, I just somehow expected more...
Alekss Žukovskis
the slowness must have been from hacking, and the necessary protections. remember that no plan survives contact. and hackware can get really advanced even in the current age. its plausible that this is the victory.
Alekss Žukovskis
my issue is that, with my speed of reading, she, being the critical race representative character, with emotional bonds with our characters, and everything, dies in 5 seconds, and without fanfare. its just "*DEAD*, so anyway, we will have to repaint these halls." ITS WAY TO SHORT.
mitsos_pr
Yes, by a KC drone fleet:(
Some Lvm
Yea, it is concerning to me how they did it, as it can have all kinds of implications in universe...
Wesley Rigg
I do feel SP needs to take a LONG break, but I don't think Quana's death is a symptom of burnout. Of course she wouldn't tell anyone what she was planning, they never would have let her go into battle.
Wesley Rigg
To contribute to the trope of contrived WW2 comparisons, nope, this isn't the end. Berlin has fallen, time to go give the land of the rising sun a couple more suns than they bargained for.
Willy
Just for clarity was Afaa glassed? 😔
Shajenko
So we got roboTaylor's transcript... somehow. Doesn't seem like they're recovering bodies, so maybe they're wirelessly connected to the server they hacked? And they downloaded everything before blowing it up?
Kevo
Reskets and Arxur both should respect and learn from eachother a lot from this and more coming I hope, and of course SC and HFY, kinda cool to see them all working together, wish we could see some pov from them. Also I wonder what happened to the other underscales
PassengerNo
"An empire of stagnation" That is a good line. That also makes my think of Hathaway. He want to stay put. Keep the status quo.
EliasArt2Life
Yeah. I outright called them “fools” in the comments of that chapter, but I thought that they’d at least last a LITTLE longer. Just… wow… I don’t think it’s a bad story choice, it’s just … shocking. Somehow, their pathetic resistance just makes me dislike them more. Like; they thought they were better than us, but got taken down THIS fast?!? If they wanted to stake a claim to being the apex civilization, they should have done better than that.
EliasArt2Life
This is a fake out win, right? I mean, I thought they had no chance against us; I thought that their entire plan was incredibly flawed, but this is almost TOO quick. I want to go back to the chapter they announced themselves and type “HA!” In the comments. But I probably shouldn’t to avoid spoiling anyone who looks in there later. I’m sorry for Quana. Despite everything, I had hoped that she’d better herself at the last minute. I’m just glad that we didn’t have to see her memory transcript of it. I hope the bombings on the other planets left enough survivors. Will the Ghosts turn into the REAL end game boss, or is the climax going to focus on the politics this time. There’s definitely enough stuff to make a good ending with it. We have the Arxur, the refugees, the SC is likely going to have to exert a little more influence on the Remnants, probably dissolving them as a collective, bombing of Avor, restorations, restoring Esquo, making decisions on synthetic lifeforms, figuring out what to do with the Ghosts, Hathaway…, working on relations with the Bissems, fighting anti-predator sentiments now that there are 4 predatory species in the galaxy, and a while lot more!
jetpacksuperman
That’s the thing, it’s too easy
EliasArt2Life
Well, she didn’t shut down alongside Mafani and the other bots, so it’s a good guess that she’s real.
EliasArt2Life
I think that I’ve pinned down what I hate about the Consortium so much; they prevent growth. I believe that growth is one of the focal points of life. All living things grow. More basic life grow through evolution, more complex life can also grow through learning and behavioral changes. Humans often actively seek out things to improve and grow within themselves. The Consortium goes against that. Take robo-Taylor, for instance; they could have used any instance of Taylor after his mind scan. There was no need to convince him that he was fighting the Consortium when they could have convinced him that he was fighting the Federation. They could’ve pinned the humans on the SC side as traitors, just like they already did, and it would’ve been easier to explain why he was fighting alongside Consortium species (it appears they had to blank his ability to process his fellow combatants to avoid THAT disaster). However, they chose a pre-unmasking instance of Taylor. They chose that instance because he was easier to control. They undid his growth because it made him easier to control. And even when robo-Taylor is starting to figure things out, on the brink of growing and understanding, the Consortium servers just zap those memories away, preventing growth. And robo-Taylor is a worse soldier for it. Robo-Taylor threw a grenade. Human Taylor knew to kick it back. He knew and was able to do that because of his month in boot camp, which were removed from Robo-Taylor. All the control of the robots seems to be slowing down their thinking speed to sub-human levels; the fog and stutters in robo-Taylor’s feed are not concurrent with what we see in Taylor’s memory transcriptions. Under Consortium rule, all growth would be rolled back in favor of maintaining control, and everyone would be a few shades below par from all the monitoring. Mafani also demonstrates this problem; he was the guy who studied Gress’ transcripts enough to manipulate him into ruining his life. He should have been able to do the same with Radai. They had his transcripts. But Radai has been off the grid for months, and during that time he has come to realize that he can’t fight a dishonorable foe with honor. That’s why he’s willing to use Arxur subterfuge. But Mafani doesn’t give Radai credit for having the ability to grow; he expects that Radai is the same as his last transcript, and is thus unable to predict Radai’s true goal. And that leads me to my final point; the Consortium leaders are also not growing. They have surrounded themselves with people unable to grow, and in doing so, have removed outside pressures to grow. They have surrounded themselves with stagnation and have become stagnant as a result. Mafani is the same disgusting, aberrant, abominable sadist he was at the start of this. While all the other characters have grown, he has not. He has stagnated. And that led to his downfall. The Consortium prevents growth. They are an empire of stagnation, doomed before they even took their first step.
Gumcel
"We’re infinite, humans…unkillable! Do your worst.” 4 chapters later, instantly loses. Rest in peace Quana, and rest in peace Mafani's chance of screentime.
Wingit98
Honestly, everyone should go through an x-ray before they are allowed to do anything or go anywhere but the cargo hold
jetpacksuperman
CHECK IF SHE’S A ROBOT PLEASE PLEEEEEAAAAASE
Alicja
It’s strange seeing Taylor with such a victim mindset again, shows how far he really moved forward from the beginning. And I’m so happy Lecca is safe, and her calling Taylor obor daddy 😭😭 my heart melted
PhycoKrusk
I made the same observation about it being too easy, and I figured out why: Because it was. The Consortium figured out FTL on their own, figured out memory transcription on their own, and figured it out how to put a memory transcription into a robotic body, with the necessary edits and modifications so that the transcription not only believed that it was the real thing, but believed that the reality of its situation was different than the actual reality of its situation. Are we really going to assume that this was the only place in the galaxy where they had everybody backed up? If the Ghosts managed to hide out for as long as they did without the benefit of an entire empire behind them, then what about a faction that does have such resources? Oh, and don't forget: Look at all the complaints that Robo-Taylor was making about moving so slowly. Are we really and honestly to believe that at this most critical moment, which the under scales almost certainly knew was coming, that they overloaded their network infrastructure? Is that the sensible answer? Or is the sensible answer that this robot force wasn't there to defeat the Coalition, but simply to delay them?
DDDragoni
Quana.... 😭😭😭😭😭 And that first section is *deliciously* fucked up, I love it
Heroman3003
Oh boy, this chapter is a lot to unpack, so Imma start out of order. We storm the Consortium bunkers... The true ones. Mafani being back as a robot was almost expected considering how unafraid of death he was. Holding Lecca specifically hostage though? Shows that he's actively petty. Wouldn't be surprised if the bastard intentionally seeked out the daughter of the guy who killed him, and then specifically went to find him all to gloat and boast and get 'revenge' or whatever. And aparently he was the best the Underscales had for the final line of defense. Between their first tactic being "nuke ourselves", second tactic being "swarm of terribly inefficient robots" and third tactic being "pscyho pink bird". They really seem like they thought digital immortality really was all they needed and nothing else. Though it does seem a bit too easy. Not in a "they shouldn't have been able to defeat the army like that", that seems par for the course. More in a "they got more dirty tricks/dark secrets up their sleeve, don't they?" kind of way. Like one last Fuck You we are yet to only consider. Something on Tellus, perhaps? Either way, it sounds like we're really close to the end. I imagine we will have to confront at least someone from in charge of the Underscales and the Listeners. Hear their whole story. And then will be the hard part - cleaning everything up without creating a new Aafa situation in process, while also properly setting the future for the proper, ethical use of mindscans and robo-people. Now to specific moments in the chapter-- God, Non-meat Taylor POV is just sad. It's sad to see, especially in comparison to the current day Taylor, how much more bitter, hateful and immature he used to be, since they didn't just rewind him to his early Consortium military days - they went extra mile and sent him to before they actually revealed themselves. Probably to make them fight like everything is truly on the line (and to make fooling them about who they are fighting easier. With reskets and jaslips and humans, its easier to convince the brains that it's Consortium attacking than it is that it's Federation. And the way that every time he gets close to questioning what's happening, his mind gets reset... It's painful. Part of me almost wanted to see his desperate attempt at surrender get accepted, but after that, it might be better that way. Then there's Quana... Oh, Quana. It was coming. It was expected that she'd go out in a blaze of hateful glory. She found the enemy responsible for her and her people's suffering and she went out fighting them. Except she went out believing that was all she had, failing to see all the people who cared for her and didn't want her to go, and only failed to stop her because she herself kept pushing them away rather than listening. Maybe Cherise could have tried harder to notice that issue wasn't just Quana being a dick, but Quana needing help, but Cherise was the only one that could notice and she had all the same issues. Difference being, Cherise got a lot of good news, while Quana just kept seeing how meaningless the struggle and suffering was. At least, for our poor Jaslip, there's hope of revival. Maybe after the dust settles, she'll get the chance to actually come back, to the world where Esquo is being rebuilt and Jaslips have their freedom and where she can finally find peace. And, on smaller, but very important note... Lecca is precious. "Obor Daddy" oh my god, she accepted Taylor as dad already. I love her. This child did not deserve to go through all the shit she probably did during this battle. I hope her mom and Juvre are okay, mostly just so that she doesn't have to be sad. Anyway, great work! As always looking forward to more, excited to see where all this goes from here~
Space Paladin
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it, roboTaylor was a fun addition
Soheils
I do appreciate the rare opportunity to see the arxur be ambush predators
DemonVee
Possible, but it was already mentioned that they will be x-rayed
craig spaulding
Hmmm, I’m not convinced it’s over that smoothly, the fact the final bunker was nearly empty until the end feels especially suspicious. My only thought is that there are underscale spies or robots hidden in the civilian rescues.
Garrett Knox
I will riot if we don’t get a scene of them visiting Gress’ old home and Juvre somehow survived in some odd human item Taylor had left there
Garrett Knox
This is an awesome chapter, especially the opening with robot Taylor and the tension at the end with the hostage situation
Alekss Žukovskis
wait a minute. Krev DnD episodes. they didn't hook up with a smigli in this universe right? crack theory: Quanas mind be uploaded. and that was from future, where cherise learned to love the unlovable.
PhycoKrusk
This all feels... too easy....
Kevo
Atleast mafani was kind enough to save lecca… and that’s a beautiful thing to say cheesy power yet sad
Cheesy Power
All she had left in her heart was anger- yet she decided to use that to help her friends one last time.
TheDudeAbides
Have any other members of the underscales or is mafsni the only one that's been shown so far?
Kevo
Excellent chapter! Despite what others think I’m sad qauna died, and jeez the Robo Taylor pov really got me! I liked Qauna though, I was hoping she’d make up but it is what it is, she went out like a G on her own terms and saved the day. Poor doggo ;(
DreamEnvoy
Okay, that robo-Taylor pov at the start was a nice touch. I gotta say that I'm surprised they reached and rescued the civilians as fast as they did. “I’m with you, Taylor. For what they did to the Jaslips…and I suppose, also to others…they must die!” I wanted to state something about how everyone's suffering is second to hers, but then she immediately performed a suicide bombing to protect others. In the end she DID live and die in a similar style to Slanek (unhinged behavior sabotaging their friendship, leading themselves to suicide). But this feels more like Carlos's death with how sudden it was. Ooookay. Not quite robo-Lecca like I predicted, but a revived Mafani holding her hostage managed to be scarier until Zefriss took him out laughably easy. Overall, this chapter feels very much like a final climax. Remind me, aren't the Ghost Farsuls still a threat? This can't be the end already.
Byron Ritchie
Oh look more man (well I guess Krev) horrors beyond my comprehension! Also I will admit I do think quana’s end was a little abrupt but it is still sad 😞
Space Paladin
Thank you!
Michael Halpern
Quarna's end made sense. both from a tactical and emotional perspective, she wasn't in a good place emotionally, but tactically the irrationality was hard to anticipate and counter
Rod
Amazing chapter!
Mike Rees
Well, I honestly feel indifference to Quana's end. It makes sense to me that no one could talk any sense into her, because that's what she devolved into.
Alekss Žukovskis
Quanas death was a bit fast. i feel the author is getting burned out.
Alekss Žukovskis
"hey, you're finally awake. what KC war? we're just simulating Federation strategies."
Clippy Clippy
That RoboTaylor opening startled me lol
Cheesy Power
It was an easy victory because this wasn’t a true means of victory for the Underscales- just the last desperate gasp of tyrants who had already lost.
REDemon14
Man, the fact that the bots are basically just Taylor and Cherise is rather heartbreaking. It is interesting that the bots seem to be lagging in reaction time, at least that’s the case with the Taylor bots. God, the fact that this one was willing to surrender! Deactivating them truly is the a mercy. The recovered transcripts will be a great source for intel and to show future generations the dangers and horrors of those who would abuse this tech like the KC. Nice little call back to the boot camp days where there was a lack of Smigli and Ulchids in the barracks. Their bodies or mindsets really didn’t seem too well suited for military service or combat. I can imagine Taylor getting on a bicycle only to flop onto his side. I don’t know, it’s just a funny image to me XD They reach the section where the civilians are and yet there seems to be no sign of Lecca. Can’t say I blame the one civilian for being upset with the Radai, even though he didn’t have as much power as people thought. Surprisingly, Quana is the one who stood up for Radai. Never thought I’d see that. Guess she just wants to get the people off world. Wonder what will become of them. Zeffy really is just a softie! Letting a bunch of little Krev ride on his tail. Reminds me of when Nulia was playing with Siffy. (She was the one to name him that too). Lecca wasn’t among the people, sending Gress further down the mental spiral. Luckily he has Taylor to stop him from going too far. Taylor and Quana convince Gress to pull himself together long enough to take down the Underscales. I’m fearful that that drive could go too far. God, watching *all* the citizens must have been a Herculean task, even with the robo-copies. Of course the room with the controls is the one with the turrets and robot death squads. If only they had EMPs. God dammit, Hysran! I love you. She is dedicated to her craft. You gotta admit that. Aww, Quana! Both Gress and Quana are possessed by hatred at the moment and luckily for Gress, he has Taylor to keep him from being swallowed by it. Quana however, destroyed the bond she had with her support. As she said around the time she and Cherise committed the bombing; “When you kill someone, you kill your conscience.” The existence of her transcript is an interesting bit though. Last chapter from her view was chapter 89 which took place Feb. 16. If we have that transcript, that means she got scanned somewhere in a one month time frame. Maybe she expects to be brought back? Everyone takes a quick moment to mourn for her, especially Cherise, who *had* been her closest friend. The best they could do now is to make her sacrifice worth it. I called it when I said they would've kept Lecca alive if only to torment Gress. Of course Mafani would be the one to take her. Always was spiteful. Also explains why he was so willing to die back at the sivkit bunker, he knew he would be brought back. Zeffy coming out of the darkness from the ceiling is really cool. Mafani was caught monologuing and went out like a bitch, again! I wonder if Zefriss could've gotten to the switch without Quana's sacrifice or if she was just too far gone. With that, Gress’ ultimate mission in saving Lecca has been achieved! I find it cute that Lecca referred to Taylor as “Obor Daddy”. I wonder what was going through the minds of the teachers at Lecca's school when a giant robot bird came to take her away. Gress’ ex and Juvre may not have been spared from Avors's destruction, which is tragic for Gress and Lecca, but at least they made it out in one peice. With that, the KC is finally over. All that's left is to see what the SC will do with the survivors, if the other planets survived, and if any scans of the population survived to be brought back. Well, there's also the last of the Fed. Remnant and Ghost Farsul, but without the drone fleet, they are a quick cleanup operation at best. Lot of tragedies and victories in this extended chapter. I quite enjoyed it! NoP 2’s ending is in sight. All that's really left to see is how everyone transitions to a new era of peace.
Yonael Blackwood
Killing the drones really is a mercy it seems. The term "blind idiot" from Azathoth's monicker comes to mind. They are so mentally neutered they can't see or process the truth of their own existence, their senses and thoughts dulled to almost nothing. Like a terrible dream state (again like Azathoth).
Alekss Žukovskis
Hooray! Scrap for scrap orcs!
Matthew Mclemore
The zefriss radai duo goes hard. Rest in peace Quana
Swan
Now I'm curious about when Quana got her last brainscan; her last POV was like a month before this, while she was on an Arxur ship, and I didn't get the impression that her or Cherise were keen on getting those voluntarily at that point. Maybe I'm parnoid, but this just feels like too easy a victory, and I'm a little scared that the consortium might have some tech to do brain scans through the (consortium) translator chips or something, which they are gonna use for some type of backup plan...
Sci-fi reader
Enjoyed the part from robo Taylor's POV. An army made up of RoboTaylors can't be very effective. Horrible though.
John Benjamin Cate
Oh dam. That pov of Taylorbot is dark. They can barely think, with an excuse for the fight loaded instantly. I must say that death at the end was a mercy. And Quana! Poor girl, she found an enemy to hate and nobody was close enough to stop her. A tragic end for someone who had pushed everyone away. And ha! Suck it Mafani! You had a whole plan in mind, to taunt those you think you have power over. But you are utterly DENIED! Ha! A fitting fate for someone who caused so much hurt.
Cheesy Power
Darkness and tragedy all around this chapter! It is sad to see Quana go out like that, but it strikes a balance between the tragic end I dreaded for her, while still being... bittersweet? In that in her darkest moment, she went out doing something to help others. So despite her tragic, self-destructive end, it also reinforces that at her core, she was a good person- she just never had the chance to get the help she needed, and was consumed by the pain she spent her whole life enduring.
