<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=243016.msg12371157#msg12371157">Quote from: Kunoichi on 01-06-2016, 09:24:44</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Since you've all talked to me about your origins, would you like to know mine?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Have at it," Dio said.  "Fair trade and all that."<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=243016.msg12371157#msg12371157">Quote from: Kunoichi on 01-06-2016, 09:24:44</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Well, first things first, have you all heard of Project Futura?  That little top-secret black project that Cognite started up at the tail end of the Fall, where they tried to see if they could mass-produce human beings by taking a bunch of infants, sticking them in a time-accelerated simulspace, and having them experience 18 years of life in a mere 3 years of real-world time?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"You're one of the Lost Generation."  That came from Stoker.  "I got to know a couple of them in my time in the Commonwealth Marines; they were...pretty broken, at least in the head."  That made sense - a substantial portion of the Lost that hadn't been recaptured had chosen to flee the inner planets, heading to the Belt, the Jovian Trojans, or Titan in order to escape.  It meant leaving behind anything familiar, but those that had - like American slaves pre-Fall who had made it to Canada - never worried about knocks on their door, the prospect of being found and taken back by Cognite.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=243016.msg12371157#msg12371157">Quote from: Kunoichi on 01-06-2016, 09:24:44</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Ah, good, then I won't have to go into more detail.  Yes, I'm one of the Lost.  After I escaped from my corporate caretakers, I traded away my Futura morph for an Exalt and spent my time blending in and living quietly in society.  I had managed to get a job that was a lot like the one Rayearth is going to pretend to have when Firewall found me, and everything after that, you've probably already read about."<br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"We're definitely aware of the history that's known to Firewall," Dio replied.  "We got to know it quite well when we were considering who to bring on to help reconstitute a fully-operational second cell.  Normally, we would only give a bit of a check to it - but since we didn't get to run you through Million Year Echo, it was one of the things we had to go on."<br/><br/>"Dio?"  Rayearth interjected.  "She'll need to meet the Bodhisattvas before we have the Round Table.  Should we have that taken care of now?"<br/><br/>The octomorph shook his head.  "Not yet.  Technically speaking, we won't need to handle that until the Round Table is over.  Besides, there's a few things I think we should handle before that."  He turned to Lucy.  "If it's alright with you, I'd like to go over some of the basics about the server before we go on to our next task, which will be moving you into a space on the<em>Hacienda</em>."  Assuming it was alright by her, the former Extropian would proceed.<br/><br/>"You've heard us use a few unfamiliar terms, and I would think it's clear to you by now that we don't operate like most other servers within Firewall.  That being said, let me give you the general overview of it."  He pressed a few buttons on the console, and images started to appear from the projector.  "Your typical Firewall server operates on a local level - they handle issues for a given area, minus your more specialized ones that focus on a specific task.  Cells from a server may go 'off-reservation' - heading to places outside their normal AO - but that is the exception, not the rule.  Egocasting may not require fuel, but it requires a body on the other end."<br/><br/>As he spoke, the images shifted - before, they had shown the inner planets, and travel between them was shown via waveforms, which presumably were meant to stand for egocasts.  Now, the waveforms disappeared, and a little model of the<em>Hacienda</em>appeared.  "Triarch works differently.  We do not egocast, unless in extreme emergency.  The body we have, the body we keep, until we get killed.  Traveling by ship can take days or weeks - as opposed to the hours for egocasting - but that change is to our benefit.  We don't need to have a ready body bank on the other end, or access to fabbers and feedstock, or any of the typical logistical issues Firewall faces when it comes to egocasts.  Plus, we evaluated the ability of the<em>Hacienda</em>to take on additional passengers.  At present, we can fit up to three times our current capacity in passengers without needing to impair our functional capabilities in any way."  Dio actually sounded proud about that.<br/><br/>"You've heard us use the term Round Table - it's an event that we have.  When we're in port, we'll sit down every so often and discuss whether it's time to move onto another planet; that's the Round Table.  We'll evaluate calls for investigation or assistance from our server by others within Firewall, and decide whether to stay or leave.  Historically, Round Tables have seven people there - two from each operational cell, and three from the Bodhisattvas.  As the leader of this cell, I'm expected to be there...and normally, since Stoker is the second most experienced, he would, too.  I want you to see one, though, so you'll be attending it in his place."<br/><br/>Stoker took over, elaborated a bit more about the Round Table.  "They're not just a standard mission briefing.  Round Tables end up more as a debate - you can and will be expected to defend positions you take there.  Usually to Tremor, or Fawkes, our lead Bodhisattva.  At the end, it's put to a vote whether we leave or stay, and if we leave, where to leave to."<br/><br/>"For the most part," Dio picked up, "we stay inside of Mars.  Depending on the job, we might head out to the Belt, but really no further than that, as traveling to the Belt can take near to a month, depending on where we go."<br/><br/>"Boys, can we save all this stuff for later?"  Rayearth poked into the conversation.<br/><br/>"Yeah, I think we've overloaded you enough, Naiad.  Come on."  Dio got out of his chair, switching off the table.  "Let's go get your possessions, find you a room, and then go grab something to eat for a celebration!"