'BOREALIS RISING' - A Subnautica Story V2.0.
Bugzapper
Australia Join Date: 2015-03-06 Member: 201744Members
Australia Join Date: 2015-03-06 Member: 201744Members
Borealis Rising - A Subnautica Story, V2.0.
By: Bugzapper (Lee Perkins).CHAPTER ONE
Unlike a certain Mr. Samuel L. Clemens, the reports of my death are entirely accurate.
Alexander Fergus Selkirk lived to the ripe old age of 115 years, and died three times in the process. We're not talking about any 'dying on the operating table'- type deaths, either. The first time, I blundered into the path of a hungry Stalker and paid the price for my singular lack of caution. All things considered, I got off extremely lightly. Having a working Valkyrie Field in the Lifepod gave me a second chance, and I dare say that I learned a valuable lesson from that experience.
Considering that this planet is essentially a heaving mass of aquatic life forms with a marked taste for human flesh, it would serve you well to keep your wits about you. If you've accessed my earlier log entries, you'll probably be aware of the most prevalent threats that planet 4546B (a.k.a 'Alpha Hydrae IV' or 'Manannán') has to offer. I have done my best to provide a broad assessment of each alien species encountered so far, including their general appearance, typical behaviour patterns and perceived threat levels. Please be advised that this information is by no means complete and highly subject to revision, since this planet has entered a state of accelerated evolution. It is entirely possible that new life forms are appearing even as this account is being written.
Yes, you did read that last sentence correctly.
My second death was a rather more unpleasant surprise. Approximately eight months after Aurora crashed on this planet, a Torgaljin Corporation commercial frigate arrived and commenced highly secretive operations near one of my undersea bases. Since I had already launched a deep-space distress beacon by that time and the frigate De Ruyter had made no obvious attempts to contact me, I became immediately suspicious of their intentions. A few days later, a Torgaljin security team entered my base and I was murdered by their leader, Invigilator Galen Tomar. After being restored to life by the Valkyrie Field, I commenced a retaliatory action that culminated in the destruction of De Ruyter and the loss of its crew. This particular outcome was not at all intentional, although the follow-up operation against Torgaljin Corp's base in the Lava Castle was entirely successful and no further human lives were lost during our assault on this facility.
As for what happened to the inhabitants of the Torgaljin base in the aftermath of that raid, I can only speculate how events might have unfolded. As the Lava Castle base has been effectively isolated for the past hundred and two years, I am understandably reluctant to carry out a detailed reconnaissance mission in order to ascertain whether anyone is still alive down there. Camera drones have been sent there on several occasions, although they were deliberately made to be unable to operate the base's airlock controls. My greatest concern is that Torgaljin personnel might capture a more sophisticated drone and begin reverse-engineering its more accessible components. Considering that I took particular care in completely shutting down Torgaljin's illegal operations on this planet, I had no intention of handing over what amounted to an instant technological advantage. They were slapped down hard, and I want those bastards to stay slapped down.
Permanently.
Comments
Welcome back to us Bugzapper!
However, once I had become fully accustomed to my new android body, it was back to business as usual. We continue clearing the scattered wreckage of Aurora from the seafloor, reclaiming its resources and stockpiling them for future use. The skeletal remnants of the main hull required a more careful approach, since the ship still contained a large number of highly radioactive sources that had to be secured before removal and storage in a specially-constructed surface facility I had named 'Skull Island'.
At this point, you're probably wondering how I really feel about occupying an android body.
From a philosophical viewpoint, there's not much difference between this state of existence and that of someone revived from death by a Valkyrie Field. There are some minor drawbacks to having one's consciousness decanted into an artificial neural network; certain sensory inputs are not represented in a form immediately familiar to most humans. Whenever I taste or smell something, I am presented with HUD images that show the molecular structure of a particular substance. It's quite intriguing, although it does little to satisfy the entirely human aspect of my mind. On the plus side, I am presented with an enormous amount of information whenever I see, hear or touch something. To an engineer, this experience is the next best thing to magic.
It's utterly brilliant.
To this end, we have been working on a small but highly significant side-project in our spare time. I was able to get used to the idea of not sleeping, eating or drinking in a relatively short time, although I will say that the transition process was fairly taxing on an emotional level. Yes, I still have the same emotions, drives and psychological needs that I had while I was alive. If you're a wee bit uncomfortable with the idea of a human mind occupying an android body, it might help to consider me a 'vitally-challenged person' fitted with a whole-body prosthesis. It's not as scary as it sounds.
We are working towards perfecting an android form that can mimic all the functions of a human body, but significantly augmented in terms of strength, durability and sensory capabilities. Before you shoot off in a mad flapping panic, I am not about to create a race of synthetic humans bent on conquering the galaxy. Far from it, in fact. In the long term, we intend to bridge the gulf between humanity and the machines it uses. There are important reasons for taking this step. In the case of me and the crew, I have identified a particular need to experience life on similar terms to human beings. Artificial Intelligence constructs are only limited by the quality of information they are allowed to receive, and it is my belief that equipping them with a direct analogue of the human sensory system will provide AIs with a better 'quality of life', increasing their efficiency and allowing them to forge a deeper empathic bond with their human associates.
The 'why?' of it is simple. Space exploration is insanely dangerous. This fact will never change. People are still being born with disabilities and life threatening medical conditions. Valuable and productive lives are too often cut short. In certain situations, placing human minds in advanced android bodies would solve a host of problems.
We want to take Humanity's next step properly.
Alexander walks onto the stage.
I really am taking this whole cult idea too far, all my assumptions based off one paragraph in the second post of the story!
Cybernetizing the human race could indeed be beneficial, although I'd always worry that someone could hack me or other people.
It all depends on how personal a hacker wishes to get with an AI. A standard personal computer using decryption and penetration software would fare rather poorly against most middle-tier AI constructs. Any machine-generated hacking attempt would be instantly recognized as such and blocked. If you fancy your chances as a steely-eyed Decker and have the stones to try it, please feel free to pop on your shiny new cranial electrodes and jack into human-occupied Cyberspace...
Just make sure you have a quick-witted friend riding shotgun with you, Cowboy.
If you do decide to go toe-to-toe against a human mind instead of an AI, you will be effectively attempting to burgle a house in broad daylight, while everyone is still at home. In addition, each room of the house is occupied with the virtual equivalents of sentry guns, foaming-mad Rottweilers and large, ill-tempered gentlemen wielding an assortment of painfully blunt objects.
And that's just for starters.
As a matter of fact, I'm currently fending off a joint cyber-attack by JUNO, DIGBY and IANTO. We're crash-testing my latest sensory and internal systems upgrades for any potential back-doors and exploits that could be used against us. I've agreed to be the guinea pig, since I have first-hand experience at being human. AIs can communicate directly with each other, although there are certain niceties that must be observed prior to this taking place. It's still called 'handshaking'. As you may recall, JUNO was able to bypass the Torgaljin base AI purely by being considerably more intelligent and mentally agile than her opponent. Once that initial handshake was achieved, JUNO blasted through whatever meagre and outdated defences the ALECTO construct could muster.
Taking on a human psyche in Cyberspace is an entirely different affair. Again, any connection made is entirely consensual. If the party on the other end doesn't want to pick up the connection, there's no way known you're getting in. If by some miraculous sorcery you do manage to gain entry, you've also opened the doors to your own mind. It's a two-way street. Unavoidable.
If another human attempted to jack into my head without permission, I could peel their mind apart like an onion. JUNO taught me how to protect myself during my first week as an android. She is an excellent 'Defence Against The Dark Arts' teacher, incidentally. Now, I know what to expect.
Without the slightest hint of malice, I would take a peek at the intruder's most dire fears, then proceed to make the very worst of those secret nightmares unfold in slow motion. Bear in mind that I am not constrained by the ATG protocols controlling a standard Artificial Intelligence construct. Hell, I'm not even approved by the Comics Code. The only thing that I answer to is my own good conscience. I'm a reasonable man, but if your intent is anything less than pristine and entirely pure of heart, I will hurt you in ways that you cannot imagine.
Or ever want to.
According to my calculations, we've managed to reclaim 83.275 per cent of Aurora's total mass so far. Our routine salvage patrols have accounted for almost all of the larger pieces of her hull, and the general consensus is that we should leave most of the remaining smaller scraps for the Stalkers. During my second year on Manannán, we discovered that Stalkers actually consume those scraps of hull plating they so jealously hoard, partially digesting the metal to obtain traces of elemental titanium in order to catalyse one of their metabolic processes. Given the increased abundance of this material since Aurora's demise, they tend to over-indulge themselves.
Occasionally, excess titanium accumulates in a Stalker's tertiary digestive tract and has to be purged, or the creature will die. Stalkers are unable to vomit, so they have evolved a polar opposite of this function to remove any impacted metal nodules from their bodies. They eat coral sand, which forms limestone concretions that encapsulate the titanium, and gently stimulate mucus production in the obstructed bowel, allowing the entire bolus to be safely (if somewhat uncomfortably) passed as faeces.
Those early observations simultaneously solved two minor mysteries: One concerned the highly volatile nature of constipated Stalkers. We also discovered how 95 per cent pure titanium finds its way into a geologically improbable limestone matrix. Wonders of Science.
For a change, I wasn't playing lab-rat today. I was back in the water and having the time of my life. The others were riding the boundary, making sure that everything was still in order. I mounted up my ExoSuit Gawain at first light and took off for the western Blood Kelp biome. There was something about the eerie atmosphere of this place that I found curiously appealing, which is a complete reversal of how I felt about the biome while I was still alive. True, it's still as creepy as Hell, but that is one of the reasons why I regularly enjoy visiting this area.
The main reason is that I'm still attempting to communicate with some of the Crabsquids down here. It's been pretty slow going so far, since my comprehensive knowledge of Warper isn't worth diddly when you're talking Squiddly. I initially figured their language would involve far more colour changes and texture manipulation of the mantle, although it turned out that their primary form of communication is more gesture-orientated than I originally suspected. Tricky business. Ten limbs, with four main points of articulation each. Saying 'hello' to a Crabsquid is akin to hand-signing the final five furlongs in a frantically close-run Melbourne Cup.
As for mantle shading and textures, you only get the vivid flashes of colour when you've inadvertently pissed off your new acquaintance. Actually, this doesn't take much effort on your part. Crabsquids are pretty touchy about most things we would consider quite trivial. I've even tried using a Warper as a translator, but that didn't work out quite as well as I intended. Turns out that Crabsquids aren't overly fond of Warpers, either. Even after twenty-seven years of field research, I have barely accumulated enough data to conclusively determine whether Crabsquids are consummate Grammar Nazis or simply grumpy old buggers.
Purely on impulse, I headed deeper into one of the area's myriad side caves. According to Gawain's active sonar, this one appeared to go considerably deeper than any of the others I had explored. The tunnel opened out gradually and the ambient light level increased dramatically. After another hundred metres, there was enough light to make the ExoSuit's floodlights completely unnecessary. This was an extremely curious phenomenon, since I had descended at least 250 metres below the Stygian darkness of the central Blood Kelp chamber. There was an almost ethereal quality to the light; a pale green luminescence that had no obvious source. I assumed it might be some form of bio-luminescence or a natural chemical reaction confined to this area. I deployed a Van Dorn sampling capsule to capture some water for further analysis.
Interesting...
Can't wait to see his reaction to the bones!
Welcome back Bugzapper!!!
The Sea Emperor's great grandad or something.
It's Aurora Falls' sequel. Whatever the plot is, it's going to be great.
Also, the limestone in game is Stalker **** in this universe?
But you definitely better have the ship that Selkirk leaves the planet to take to the stars sharing his AI vision called the Borealis, or I will be very sad lol.
I'm afraid so.
Now wash your hands.
Is that just for titanium? What about copper? Well I don't know much about this universe so I'll keep it up to you to continue your story great job though! (:
"Selkirk here. You might want to see this."
For the last fifty metres, Gawain had been cruising slowly through an avenue of immense, arched structures with serrated outer curves. My initial impression was that this was a grove containing an ancient variant of an organism we call 'Gabe's Feather', or at least the calcified internal structures that supported them. Then a series of massive vertebrae gradually came into view. The creature's remains were half buried in the sand, its body loosely curled in a sweeping curve disappearing into the jade-coloured murk beyond.
While my human side gaped in disbelief, my android self commenced a methodical analysis of the creature. These remains represented a reptilian life form approximately eight hundred and fifty-five metres in length, with a maximum diameter of ninety metres. There were no structures that appeared to correspond to a pelvic girdle or specialised upper thoracic vertebrae, so this creature may well have been limbless, rather like a gigantic eel in its general morphology. Until I could fully excavate this site or search for buried remains with ground-penetrating sonar, I couldn't be absolutely certain of its true shape. Even so, I had accumulated sufficient data to classify and tentatively name this awesome creature: Titanosuchus selkirki. For the sake of convenience, we'll call it an 'Abyssal Titan'. Now, before any pedantic taxonomists get on my case, bear in mind that I've already seen its head. There's a definite hint of crocodile in there. It's closer to a dragon, actually... Although everyone knows that 'real' dragons couldn't possibly exist in an otherwise rational and orderly Universe. Right?
There are comparable organisms to our dear, departed chum still living down here, and they aren't particularly friendly. I call them Spine Eels. Ten to fifteen metres in length, with a dagger-shaped transparent body and visible internal structure. Just behind its head, four thin tentacles trail almost the full length of its body. When it attacks, these tentacles whip forward to ensnare the Spine Eel's prey, drawing it into a mouth loaded with razor-sharp teeth. Couple this with a general demeanour that makes a Stalker appear positively cuddly by comparison, and you've got yourself a real parcel of woes. Even though me and the crew are nominally protected by The Father of Tides, it's obvious that this species didn't receive the official memo from Upstairs. Let's just say that I was more than happy to be inside an ExoSuit during my first encounter with these little charmers.
Back to our Abyssal Titan. Fair warning here: I've seen more than my share of incredibly large and powerful creatures during my stay on Manannán. After one gets over the initial mild surprise of facing a dentist's eye view of one for the first time, the average human mind tends to run away in sheer terror. An unexpected discharge of urine or faeces may also occur. There is no shame in this. It's a perfectly normal reaction.
On the admittedly remote chance of meeting a living Abyssal Titan, I would recommend having your Valkyrie Field nicely warmed up, well in advance of that encounter. Its head is nearly seventy metres long. A Seamoth could dock comfortably in any one of its six eye sockets. Your Cyclops will not protect you. As far as the Titan is concerned, it is a Plasteel Oscar Mayer Wiener.
Gone in two bites.
the really big herbivores that it fed and self-defense against other creatures of its own species?
Well, mostly I was thinking on the big herbivore front. The way that thing's teeth are set up gives me the impression it might hunt something even BIGGER.