full image - Repost: The Human Artificial Hivemind Part 201: Ruslir's Findings (from Reddit.com, The Human Artificial Hivemind Part 201: Ruslir's Findings)
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First Previous Wiki*Should we send the payment, Hive Emperor?\*The fleet he'd sent to the Sol system was waiting for his response. Calanii had kept a careful watch on the proceedings of the Alliance but made no additional actions regarding it. They didn't need a statement from him or anything, so all he had to do was to respond.*Yes.\**Sending now.\*Calanii watched a small ship detach from the main battlecruiser. The Alliance still couldn't interfere with the communications of the Royal Navy, which had luckily been installed in every state-owned corporate fleet.Massive amounts of psychic energy were starting to flare from Earth, particularly around the northern regions. He called in several officials from the Bureau of Military Affairs to monitor the situation, and then he left the room. His guards followed, their guns and spears an ever-present reality in the life of the Hive Emperor. He met Ashnav'viinir near his throne, and they left to visit a critical area.Deeper in the palace, a hidden room was located. There, Calanii held some of the Vinarii Empire's greatest treasures. But in particular, there was one device that he wished to use above all here. A psychic projector. It was only for use in situations where the utmost secrecy was required.He placed the helmet on his head and back, securing it with straps around his chest. Ashnav'viinir knew what he was doing here, so there was little worry about her in this situation. He gave her an affectionate pat on the arm, which she returned. The serrated portions had grown sharper due to her attempts to file them.She sat down on her hind legs to keep watch as he sunk into the stupor of the mindscape. His mental body crossed thousands of star systems to reach his desired target.Gar noticed him quickly. With a turn of his scaly tail, he motioned for Calanii to wait. The Hive Emperor couldn't help but be reminded of the battle they'd had all that time ago. The Ascendant psychic form had been massive then and able to fight Brey on a somewhat equal footing. He wondered whether that was still possible with the level of development both she and the Alliance had gone through.Finally, Gar approached Calanii. Neither of them bowed, they simply stood across from each other. They were equals or at least were considered so for the necessity of the diplomatic relationship. Gar had been willing to forgive the transgressions of Ashnad'darii against the Trikkec mainly due to Calanii's extensive work on securing him as an ally.Currently, he wasn't much more than neutral on most matters. The tariffs were still going strong, and their corporations were still battling for dominance in each other's markets. Border tensions were still high, and sanctions on larger economic policies were in effect. But both nations were focused on rebuilding, which required some decisions to be made.Ultimately, there was a single matter in which both Gar and Calanii agreed: the Sprilnav. Their influence had grown far too large and needed to be removed. Calanii had been figuring out ways to weed them out, though Gar usually just killed them. He continued to watch Calanii carefully, clearly calculating how a fight would go against him."Greetings, Ascendant Gar.""Greetings, Hive Emperor Calanii. Does your mate wish to remain distanced from me?""She does not wish to bring up certain memories regarding the previous rulership.""She is a clone, after all. So I suppose that makes sense. What did you wish to discuss?"Calanii pushed down his feelings about Gar's words about Ashnav'viinir. "The Alliance.""We agreed that they were your matter to handle, not mine. They likely still dislike my people, and I do not wish to have to deal with them.""You have not heard, then?""What has happened?""They just admitted a new species into membership. They're called the Acuarfar.""Why does that concern me?""Because that means that along with the 21 billion Dreedeen, 2 billion Breyyanik, and 13 billion members of Humanity, they now have access to the labor and skills of 270 billion Acuarfar.""So they're now over seven times their previous size," Gar said. "I see how that may be problematic.""You fail to see the scale of the issue. They are already producing ships that are on par with the corporations, and at large scale. Their AI and Gaia are enabling them to make shipyards basically appear around their planets. They're outpacing the central shipyard hubs of both my Empire and your Ascendancy, though only on a single ranking scale. But that will not last. With access to many more systems, and their increasing psychic power...""Then they may grow into an actual military threat," Gar mused. "Now they have the people to staff their fleets.""Exactly. You know of the damage that they can do already. Imagine if they had massive fleets at their backs, with the guidance of an AI?"Gar dug his claws into the stone of the mindscape. "What are you asking me to do, Calanii? It was your Hive Empress that glassed our homeworld, not the Alliance. In a way, they paved the way for me to take control of the failing Autonomous Systems. So I do not hold as much animosity toward them as you think. If you are suggesting an attack, know that it may not go the way you plan.""We have contingencies in place for their dreadnaught.""Have you forgotten about the hivemind itself, or that Brey is now somehow orders of magnitude more powerful than she was when we last ventured into the Sol system? She hates both of us for what we did to the Breyyanik on the way there. And they do as well. If you ask me to order an attack, your Royal Navy will be coming along for the ride. And if we fail, she kills us and the people in our nations. Of course, what their hivemind will do is another question."Calanii knew all of that. "I am not suggesting that you attack. I am suggesting that you send intel to me regarding the Westic Empire."Gar laughed. "There's no reason to- Wait. You're serious?""I am. The Alliance is going after them soon.""And you see an opportunity to rid us of an annoying neighbor.""Exactly," Calanii said. "That is why what the Alliance does will matter.""What if they lose?""Then nothing we have is at stake. Their ships are on the line, not ours.""You are interesting, Calanii. I do have a request of you. I have heard... rumors from the Westic Empire from our spies. It's unconfirmed, but there's a Sprilnav visiting them.""Only one?""She's an Elder."Calanii's wings twitched. "I'm sorry, what?"= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ="So I'd like to show you something," Jason said."Fine.""See these buildings?" He asked. Ruslir looked at them. They were quite large, with multiple 'stories.' They were windowless and had many areas for trucks to enter. Heavy duty power lines connected to each one and continued off into the forested surroundings. A few guards were walking about, watching for threats. But there wouldn't likely be any.Out in the middle of the Canadian forests, few people were in the area. There was a town of around 50,000 humans about thirty miles east, though. One of the Guulin communities being set up for their freed slaves was being built by Gaia nearby. They were adding every amenity that the humans had, which surprised Ruslir. For most species, they would have simply taken them in and forgotten about them. But it seemed like the Alliance actually cared.Two of the new Acuarfar aliens were also present. They weren't exactly large, but with their abdomens included, they weren't small. She saw them have a sort of honor duel, which they'd explained was a ceremonial pastime of their people. It was traditional, but not in the way that she was familiar with.They also didn't worship anything. No Devourer or any sort of god. All they believed in was their honor codes. At first, the revelation had worried her. What would anchor their morals, and what did they hold themselves accountable to? But they weren't just going around and murdering people either. The Muscar Empire didn't have slaves. The Frawdar Empire was getting rid of them entirely after their loss of the war.Another thing was that they could fly. Earth's gravity was about normal, but for creatures that large to fly meant that they had very strong muscles. Ruslir's tentacles were composed of many muscles, as well as thin bones which were able to bend in response to blunt trauma. She'd found that out as well, during her own time as a slave."Did you know that we can also cut chunks out of metal?""Really?" Ruslir asked. The pair of Acuarfar were named Fridir and Nalia. Fridir's markings were distinct, which made identification easier. His antennae bent in some unknown gesture, and he said, "It takes some doing, though. It's like adrenaline for the humans, but more potent. Our muscles can energize, using their full power to do much mroe damage with our claws. The problem with that is that our natura limits are there for a reason, and doing it commonly is very risky for our bone structures. Done wrong, and you could tear a muscle right off the bone.""Humans can do that too?""In a way," Jason said. "Though it's very rare, there's been tales going back to antiquity of people performing feats of incredible strength when they are very passionate. Mothers lifting cars to get to their childen, or siblings pushing aside logs. Even before the discovery of psychic energy, they were able to accomplish some things by the power of will alone.""That's really awesome," Ruslir replied. "Would the hivemind now also fix those issues? If it knows where everyone is, then wouldn't disasters no longer becoem a problem?""For the most part, they already aren't. Gaia controls the weather, which means that the most dangerous storms now are only very low category hurricanes. They don't reach the shore, but there's a lot of extreme weather surfers who like to use the waves underneath them. There's an interesting application of shield technology where they can be used to capture bubbles of air, to ensure that a ship or a person stays upright. It's a variant on the personal shield.""So you have people willingly going into a roiling ocean, who can't fly out to escape, and surfing down the waves?"Jason nodded. "Look up 'Hurricane Teddy 2276 Extreme Surfing'."The Acuarfar pulled out a tablet from the backpack on his left side. Ruslir watched as a human slid down a wave easily tall enough to swallow a whole frigate underneath it. The flare of shields was visible as the wave came crashing down, and she was even more surprised to see the surfer still standing afterward. Humans were crazy."They're opening up some places on Luna, too. With the shields in place, the wave pools can generate truly massive ones. Tourism's booming there.""How much?""About 90 million people a year.""No, I mean how much does it cost?""At the Grand Opening, which is in about two months, they'll be free for thirty days.""I'm going," Ruslir said. She wanted to see such a wave in person, to know just how well her maneuverability would fare."I think you have to be official to get the bigger waves, Ruslir. Sorry.""You guys do know that the Guulin are amphibious, right?""You can swim underwater and hold your breath for a long time, but not forever.""Well, neither can they," Ruslir retorted."With psychic energy nowadays...""No.""Yep." Jason laughed and rubbed her side. "But don't worry. We could always go skydiving or something.""Is that cheaper?""Somewhat. Airplanes are pretty easy to make now, and very cost efficient. With ultralight alloys being pumped out of the factories, within a few years prices will plummet even more.""You're saying it may be years?" Ruslir asked."Well, I am. Anyway, the facility. They've got the ability to produce about five tons of meat an hour, but with the expansions planned that should increase further. It's all lab-grown, so it's humane. Better yet, we can pack it with nutrients. The hivemind's working on a model for every species' nutritional needs.""The hivemind, and not Phoebe?""Phoebe's got a lot on her plate. While she is good at a lot of things, we don't want to drive her crazy with work. So what Humanity can do, we do instead. She's there to help with organization, logistics, and finding new topics for us to explore. She's the forefront. The tip of the spear, if you would. But without the shaft, there's no weight behind it.""Your species doesn't use spears," Nalia said. She adjusted her stance as the group began walking through the facility. "I mean, I haven't seen any.""We still keep a lot of conventions from our medieval times. Sayings involving arrowheads, spears, and armor are still prevalent in many languages. Even some of our names, like Smith and Mason come from older jobs that machines mostly do now.""That is very interesting. Are there still humans which practice with swords and spears?""Yep," Jason said. "Fencing is still an Olympic sport.""Olympic?""It's a contest every four years, meant to see who is the best of the best, and strongest of the strong. Running the furthers, swimming the fastest, and so on. There's two branches on Earth, the Winter and Summer Olympics. They're two years apart from the other branch. Luna has them as well, though they have them scheduled to occur on the off years for Earth. So far, I don't think any alien species are allowed to compete.""Why not?""Because it's about humans," Jason said. "Though there is some interest for a separate league for the Dreedeen and the Breyyanik.""Why separate?""You know what a staring contest is, Ruslir?""Of course. Whoever looks away first loses.""Try doing that with a Dreedeen.""Why-oh. Yeah, I can see that now. And they also don't need to breathe, which would be an unfair advantage in long distance water trials.""They could just run along the bottom of a river," Jason agreed. He pointed at a series of massive cylinders to their left, filled with special fluid meant to accelerate the cell growth. It was safe to eat, though it didn't taste the best, so it was drained from the meat cells before the items were packaged. A few people waved to them and continued on their way, holding tablets with data on them."Anyway, these large tanks are where the actual meat itself is grown. When they become full, the large crane arm that you see above descends. Shields cut the meat into equal cubes, where it is moved up and sorted onto that conveyor belt you see there. The belt goes through a sanitation area where the meat is cleaned of impurities using natural and safe procedures, which do not impede nutritional content at all. The system then packages them and sends them out in trucks, to go where they are needed. In this case, that would likely be your people's homes.""How many of these facilities would feed all those you plan to save?""Well, I'm not exactly high on the totem pole when it comes to the Alliance's plans, so I wouldn't know. But I get the feeling that we won't stop until resources themselves constrict us. Your people are deserving of every liberty and right that humans have.""Why?" Ruslir asked."I've explained it several times.""What she means is why do your people risk yourselves for others?" Nalia asked. "Why did you come to aid the Muscar Empire against the Frawdar Empire, and risk annihilation if your medding with the Guulin United Legions becomes known?""Because that is the right thing to do. Humanity isn't perfect. We're far from it. But even with the hivemind's creation, many still disagree with our actions. The reason that we do our best to help you is because we can empathize with you. Your bodies and minds are made different, but we are all equal. You Acuarfar can spit acid or healing gel, and have great strength and can fly around. Your compound eyes also allow you to see around easier. The Guulin can move quickly in water and on land and handle many tools and tasks at once. But that doesn't mean that one of you is better than the other. It certainly doesn't mean that you deserve to be enslaved.""The Breyyanik hate us.""The Breyyanik fear your appearances. They would have also had to vote to have such an operation start.""So if the Guulin reach the Sol system and access your networks, what then?""Phoebe monitors all contacts to our networks. She lets many of the spies from other nations think they aren't detected, though she manipulates what they can see. For the Guulin, there would be absolutely no ability to access any content and features containing even a mention of the freed slaves. Part of the reason they're being moved to Canada and Russia is that they have a lot of space for them, which can be hidden with shields.""How would you know when we're being observed?" Ruslir asked. As far as she knew, that was impossible."We won't. The shields won't be the only measure we use to hide everything. Holograms are very useful.""You'd hide millions of... refugees using holograms?"Jason smiled. "And we'd feed them, give them places to live, adequate methods of quality travel, and ensure they have a safe place to work. We're cool like that.""We have monorails too," Fridir said, flapping his wings and twitching his antennae."We had them before we sent any humans to Mars, though.""Well, we haven't sent any Acuarfar to Mars either," Fridir said."Now you're being ridiculous. By the way, how do you feel about the proposed regulations on flying species?""Well, it's not like your human police can fly up to arrest me for going too high.""Ever heard of a jetpack?""Those are for use in space."Jason laughed. "Oh, you wish, buddy."= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ="A little to the left, Gaia."The human beside her was wearing a high-visibility jacket and a hard hat. Gerald was responsible for making sure that Gaia didn't mess with anything they didn't need to while Phoebe was busy with her very important business with the Legion of Prosperity. Gaia had been continuing to build infrastructure for the Alliance for the past few months, and after the Charon had helped with the creation of the Attack Fleet.The official point had been two days after the Acuarfar had joined the Alliance. Gaia had been given a day off and had celebrated with the humans and Breyyanik. They'd had a multi-species drinking contest on Luna, which had incorporated equal amounts of the other species' intoxicants. Breyyanik wine was interesting to humans, and the Breyyanik really loved vodka and beer.Brey herself had made a brief appearance at Frelney'Brey's celebration when he'd incorporated a remembrance ceremony on Brey's Embrace, the Breyyanik's holy cremation ship. It held the ashes of billions of Breyyanik, which was a truly incredible thought. During the battle with the Wisselen, the Breyyanik had fought with more than everything they had to protect the hidden ship.Gaia had enjoyed the celebrations massively and had partied with Max and Jane as well. The couple was happy to see them after all the years. Even Max's cold attitude toward Gaia had been eliminated by the hand of time. Or perhaps he really missed them. Gaia made a miniature snowstorm for his children to play in after they requested one.Gaia could also feel the hivemind press more energy onto them to lift the heavy slab of rock. The massive quarry would also become another doomsday facility, meant to be an emergency shelter in case of the glassing of Earth. Now that the Alliance was preparing for total war with the Westic Empire, such measures needed to be taken.Gaia had been telekinetically shrinking the pieces of rock and sliding them out, sometimes to put pillars or walls back in. The shelter was constructed like a long tunnel, which headed far under the city above. The bedrock would easily support the facility. After getting the first batch of slaves freed from the Guulin United Legions, Brey would move supplies of non-perishable food there. Several water purifiers would be installed to take water from some of the underground caves in the area."There you go!" The pillar slid into place, and several humans came over to secure it against the ceiling and floor. Gaia held it in place until they were finished and moved to the next one. They could feel their minds around them, along with their worry about the dark environment. Humans were cute sometimes with their emotions, despite how they tried to hide them.Gaia's connection was still quite strong with them, though the hivemind had mostly asked them not to interfere. Gaia didn't really care for fighting as much as they thought, so this was the way that they could help. The whole system was preparing for the war in its own way. More gun and shield emplacements were being built on Luna and Earth. Ceres was being fortified immensely by the Breyyanik.Overall, everyone was waiting. The Westic Empire's fleet was drawing closer. After it was defeated, the Alliance would take the war to the Wisselen. Many of the prisoners that the Alliance had captured were worried about how the events would play out. Reports of attempted hate crimes were rising steadily. Xenophobia wasn't becoming mainstream, but after the Acuarfar's admittance to the Alliance, the humans and Breyyanik that disliked outsiders were turning to easier battles.Though Phoebe, Gaia, Brey, and the rest of the Alliance would stand against their goals. Each of them alone was enough to ensure that xenophobia continued to be a problem of the past, but together, the Alliance would continue to move forward.Gaia was wary of the Acuarfar, though Fha Charn Izkrala seemed to have good intentions. They'd resisted the urge to look inside her mind for confirmation of their fears, though. While Gaia might not be able to be punished for it, it would certainly damage the Alliance's reputation.So, for now, they would sit on the sidelines, watching keenly. Humanity would be safe under Gaia's watch.
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