>>393938>Organizing critical thoughts, 'Shiibo' gazes at the screen with a harsh expression.'Aside from moral, ethical, spiritual, and existential arguments, this "opportunity" does not match a single known expectation. Is it a proper response to
feel dread for what you will assuredly encounter?'
>Blinking slowly, the unicorn avatar's head shakes, offering an upturned hoof.'I don't have a clear answer. I would prefer to say no, but I can't. I have the same exact concerns for you. At this stage the only logical option is to continue on this course, wherever it may lead.'
'...I accede.'
>Rigidly observing the list of difficult to acquire materials, including a selection recovered from... somewhere, the prototype frowns.'Two hundred and ninety thousand Bits of materials which barely exist.'
'Seventeen-point-two-six years of a normal Tallus occupation. The cost can be ignored. The materials however are irreplaceable.'
'You can process much faster. How much was lost and never recovered?'
'Using strictly Lunar estimates, 91% of the Dynasty was destroyed.
Roads, fortified Escort hostels, traveler lodges, burgs, barracks, villages, armories, defensive outposts, towns, museums, forts, fortresses, cities, reliquaries, city-states, atheistic temples, True Alicorn Temples, Elemental labs, testing facilities...
Eighty million acres of fields, orchards, vineyards, growing ponds, marshes, rivers, the cooperatives which served each, one hundred and sixty thousand warehouses, six hundred thousand silos, ninety thousand granaries, fifty-eight thousand cold storage facilities...
...the lists do not end.'
'Then Old and New Canterlot made that much worse.'
'Far be it from me to be a proponent of small, lewd, pastel equines. I will prevent your following three lines of thought with the following: despite the catastrophic damage and shifts caused against Tallus, the Dynasty's end was viewed solely with relief. In comparison, no human civilization could, or would, have done so.'
'Mmmm.. you were right. I really don't want to remember any of this.'
>Phased back into the Workshop, both units reset into a ready state, displaying a missing time frame of 22 minutes.>Waved off by the trio of Village squad leaders, an earth pony Luminary in an archaic facsimile of Stalliongrad Storm Rider armor stands atop the central table, turning in slow motions, chimes dully glowing, though not ringing.>Exiting and passing a lone Crystal Imperial in heavy Shock Lancer armor strolling northwards, oval burning blue impactor tip on the right barrel clamped weapon, upon reaching your barracks, the opposite end was filled with Moonlit charged clouds.>Leaving towards the Library, Luminaries in their unusually old armor styles had made several full circuits, now , 'Shiibo' estimating more than sixty percent of the Fortress was decontaminated.>This time noting Discord visibly fuming, red trails hopefully not going to stain the ceiling, searching bookshelves to the right, a pair of Free Agents were, grudging, helping him."-ed in stickers on the front and lines on the back when unrolled! If it ISN'T here, then call upon each and every single human in range! Tell them NOT to unroll it, do NOT touch a single sticker, and most certainly DO NOT complete a single task on the back!"
"What's so important about an old map you made?"
"Oh I couldn't possibly know.... MAYBE BECAUSE I'M THE ONE THAT MADE IT!? Do you have the TINIEST idea ho-"
>Leaving that behind, and making sure to close the Lab's door, the stairwell down had been covered in strict Geomantic patterns, Elemental sigils, amid a profuse amount of unknown symbols, not including the stairs.>Reaching the now opened Project Room, the door and separating wall had been partially removed, exposing half of it to the Lab.>Door swinging closed, a series of potent black wards snap across it, the Inquisitor's pendant icon solidifying in bright gold at the center.'That's new.'
'Indeed.'
>All of the furniture, tables, shelves, chests, and more had been aligned on the walls, leaving the room clear.>Sitting atop a bright green and gold ribboned disc in the Lab's precise center, facing north, the Nature soloform's wings are secured by the right tendril wrapped around his barrel, left curled around something in front of his chest.>To his left is a 4' tall, 1' wide and 1' deep jet black rectangle, brilliant platinum filaments running across the surface, while a square stool to his right, same as the four in the Project Room, expands outwards in a pyramid, thousands of Elemental swirls scattered throughout.>Approaching the setup, the left curls backwards, holding it out for you to take."This is a Tallus-made dataspike. Each contains a living fractal vault. It allows an individual's
soul to be safely transferred, without fail. Don't know how and don't want to.
Sending it straight into The Black, one of the Planes, or a section of Living Flame may damage or crack one defensive ward or seal at best. Only Class 90 or higher beings may be capable of damaging it. Nearly indestructible."
>Curling back over to point at the rectangle, his voice drops in a low, thrumming timbre, faint Elemental echoes repeating his words."That allows for seamless, uninterrupted data transfer. Discs, tapes, plates, drives, crystalplates, etcetera. Once the object or system is inserted, it will lock down and begin uploading. The process will not fail. There is
no halting once initiated.
Should you agree, place the unit atop the transference obelisk, then place the dataspike atop the unit."
>Removing the swivel chair, blanket, and standing in her new appearance, the prototype turns to face right with a smile.>Walking across the screen, 'Shiibo' kneels down, wrapping both arms around the unicorn's neck tightly, sharing a hard, encoded line of data.>Patting the soon-to-be-a-mare's head, the advanced versions stands, walking backwards to her corner, unicorn render turning to face you with a nod.'I'm ready. Insert my drive, please.'