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Through the Living Heir

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  1. Through the Living Heir
  2. Through the Living Heir
    Yeah - Rebus has more clones, after all. Interesting, Rebus thought to himself. The screaming man attacking him was a more immediate concern, though. Rebus blocked the charge with another wall of utility fog. It swept him off his feet and lifted him into the air, Rebus trying his best to immobilize the Horror. “I can help, you know. I don’t feel pain.” Rebus thought for a moment. “We were trying to find people, I think. Get back to the wider world, or find somewhere here we wanted to stay.” Hmm… Now I need to think of something. The copy of Bat was still searching for Tam, getting more and more panicked and desperate as she didn’t appear.
  3. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus - one of his clones, at least - had gone into a sort of trance, watching and sorting through data from all over his empire. He stood - eyes open, straight-backed - in parade rest, but it was the closest he ever got to sleep. Rebus sighed. “Mischief - if you can hear me, please continue interfering; it’s actually rather helpful. As for you, Agony - do you want the pain to stop?”
  4. Through the Living Heir
    The slowly rotating line of Laykium grew thicker still, picking up all the loose dust as the day went on. Suddenly, a new line branched out, forming a loop around the planet that moved even slower, matching the position of Uviab. Invention’s excitement grew further, and he watched with great interest.
  5. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus hardened a wall of utility fog in between himself and the man, but the impact refreshed Agony’s strength. This Horror would be far more difficult to surmount - even Rebus’s utility fog sedative caused a little bit of prickling. The salt fused together into a singular block, stuck in its container. No. Rebus spoke into her mind, the word infused with an equal mix between resignation and unrelentingly patient authority. Rebus looked around himself, as Keys and potentially the ninjas were presumably still there. “Do we have a destination?” I can come up with something if you’d like. Rebus was fine with that - this meant he could think of a device and then say that Mr. Whitlock had designed it. Rebus doesn’t sleep. If it’s some sort of dream magic, he could still pick it up while mentally managing his network.
  6. Through the Living Heir
    The wiki should have some information, too - I might make a “Rebus’s technology” page, actually. The whole planet was full of nanomachines - and he could control every one of them. Rebus’s teleportation network opened up to him too, showing the full extent of places that had been already conquered.
  7. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus smiled again - that had been fun, getting a chance to dramatically monologue about his superiority. This one, on the other hand, did not seem like it would be fun. Wailing was rarely a good sign. Rebus issued a command to the nanomachine network. "You'll have priority two - only priority one, which at the moment is only me and my clones, will be able to override you." I assume you know how these work enough to play them?
  8. Through the Living Heir
    *squints at past few pages* I'm not sure there are any left... We might have to put together a new plotline - show what Rebus and his forces are doing so that Authors can mobilize. Rebus smiled back, having guessed Atreides would appreciate such an order. "My army shall be yours to command."
  9. Through the Living Heir
    "Go on a rampage. Conquer things in my name and make them fear us."
  10. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus placed the Plotblade into his hand. "Then rise as my general, Atreides." Rebus grinned - his utility fog absorbing the lightning and actually extracting useful energy from it - and turned on the light. A crack of thunder and rush of blinding light - which utility fog shielded Rebus's companions from - emanated from the flashlight as it opened a portal to the core of a star. Though the portal only let light pass through it, a wave of superheated air blasted forwards, turned to plasma by sheer luminosity. Metal would be melted and stone vaporized from the sheer amount of light Rebus's device emitted. And then Rebus turned the light off, to view the devastation he had caused and avoid causing a runaway cloud of plasma. His mirrored glasses - made from the same protective force-fields that the utility fog was using for the Horrors he traveled with - flickered out of existence, and he smirked. "I am more overkill than you shall ever be, Calamities. Light may not be your weakness, you may be incorporeal, but even if you aren't blinded, you are overshadowed."
  11. Through the Living Heir
    “I have. Though I still suspect you may betray me, I wish to make you my general and standard bearer.” Rebus held out Conquest. “Do you swear fealty to me?” “Sir,” Rebus said to the Horror of Betrayal, “I appreciate the effort, and the demonstration of what Calamities could do to someone not from a time when one in every two people was a reality warper, but it isn’t necessary at the moment.” He offhandedly vaporized the incoming rock into nanomachines and equalized the charges caused by both Horrors. “As for you, Calamities, I am not sure you understand your situation. I am connected on a deep level to all four of you thus far. Mordite will work, but I think you’ll want to go out in a manner more suited to you.” Rebus held up what appeared to be a sleek flashlight, the utility fog behind him turning reflective to protect his companions. “You heard what I said about the power of stars?” A thought experiment that shows why superintelligent AI are impossible to contain - theoretically, the AI would be so smart that if released, it could do practically anything, and so in order to prevent it from rebelling it could be kept in a “box”, where it can only send benign text to the outside world. Even if then box was impenetrable, the AI - being superintelligent - would be able to talk someone into letting it out. They’ve tested it experimentally, with the person who thinks they wouldn’t be convinced being sent messages through text by the person who wants to prove their point. Even with actual money wagered on the outcome, after a couple hours the subject usually releases the AI. The point being that it takes only a moment to let Rebus through, and if he’s stubborn and clever enough, that moment will eventually arrive.
  12. Through the Living Heir
    Supposedly they’re metastable, but it doesn’t really matter - if strange matter existed we would have noticed it by now. Uh… Firstly, this would entail structures closer to that of nuclei (which are really dense, as you presumably know); secondly, it would likely still undergo epic amounts of fission (which could potentially explain why it’s not one big nucleus - and I suppose part of fission is caused by electromagnetic repulsion); and thirdly, a field that turns off electromagnetism would have catastrophic effects - chemistry would cease to exist, then reassert itself as soon as the field was exited. It’s still an interesting plot device, but like many things in science fiction it doesn’t quite work when you apply full science (cough cough FTL causality cough cough). Yup (mad scientist me has the power of comedy to protect him, and is not the wisest of people). In retrospect, there were many problems with my plan. Hence, once I ensure I haven’t been horribly irradiated, I set to work on a new device - one that will simply turn off the strong nuclear force instead. This is, of course, a brilliant idea that will not end horribly at all.
  13. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus raised an eyebrow, but did not teleport there. Metafiction is stories that uses breaking the fourth wall as a plot element. Rebus had said another ingredient would be required for the Intent change, had he not? Summoning Antagonist as a crown once more, Rebus placed it on his head and dropped some of the antiteleportation fields, calling Atredies to him.
  14. Through the Living Heir
    It might still work. Threatening Symbol is a good way to get Rebus to do something, though it might not be the thing you want. I look forwards to it. There isn’t very much fourth wall left - metafiction shenanigans are usually fun. “I am Rebus. I am mastermind - even if I lose, I win. I am scientist - I push magic to ever-further heights and exploit the structure of reality itself. I am Narrator, wielder of legendary weapons, and intellect of my Author unleashed. I am interstellar emperor - gods answer to me, serving under my rule. I am paragon of technology - I reform worlds and destroy entire planets, bringing the power of stars to bear against my enemies. I am seeker of darkness and manipulator of the Authors themselves. You are outclassed.” Rebus held up his tiny shard of Mordite - the metal that could strike a killing blow on any creature. “And you are not invincible.” The meat was disassembled back into air. Rebus had left with a bit of Bacon’s fundamental Baconness, extracted from the sandwich he had been given. He was surely doing nebulously ominous things with it at this very moment.
  15. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus’s shield of utility fog deflected all the various projectiles. He sighed, noting once again how comparatively overpowered he was. “Your powers of destruction are nothing compared to what I can do. Give up.” Rebus conjured a steak, molecularly assembling it from the air around him. It tasted better than his boots, and probably monster eyeballs. You are indeed correct. The Witherlord was sealed away thousands of pages ago, requiring some entities called the Skeins to heroically sacrifice themselves - they were some of the last examples of Ordered Light that existed. Meanwhile, Rebus had transformed a portion of his laboratory - which was composed of many modules spread out across an entire star system, given the potential for enormous explosions - into a futuristic forge. Numerous robotic arms and high-tech gadgets manipulated pieces of the shattered Plotblade, soldering them together. The new Blade began to take shape, reforged into a long spear. Rebus, summoning Antagonist as a halberd, strode forwards. The final piece was slotted into place, and Rebus slammed Antagonist down on it. Dark glow ran down the length of the new weapon, reaching its end and unfurling into a banner. Conquest was reforged. What input do you need? Apologies for the Rebus-induced trolley problem - I would take the deal (since the Scribe is still helpful, and Rebus already has multiple other people looking for the page, you gain a little more than you lose) and then put together a resistance. Of course, I have ulterior motives, such as the fact that Rebus needs some people to actually try stopping him. Nope, it was me. And Xino/Fate, who made Rebus embark on such a quest so he could save Symbol from Bat. All Hawks did was speed it up a bit.
  16. Through the Living Heir
    Meat the Minstrel is Rebus’s backup plan for getting the paper. If you look at Xino’s Unwinding Thread blog, the first one is there. Sounds like it - I’m sure Rebus can AI box test his way to victory, though.
  17. Through the Living Heir
    This doesn’t mean Rebus isn’t being nefarious, but he wouldn’t lie that the contract wouldn’t require killing somebody. “You could ask, you could trade, you could look at the paper and copy it down, you could find another copy from somewhere else - there are plenty of options.”
  18. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus doesn’t need to do it yet, but all he would have to do is contact them. Wrath is misunderstanding, I think. While the thing Rebus wants is in Bacon’s possession, you would not have to kill Bacon to get it. “I told the truth - you will not have to kill anyone. The worst you agreed to is potentially stealing from Bacon, and even that can be avoided.” “Atredies, most likely.”
  19. Through the Living Heir
    That’s his plan - or to convince me to make a separate crossover, to cause a crossover-crossover. I’ve noticed. Rebus would have answered, but the Scribe beat him to it. Rebus’s bubble of utility fog shrunk and strengthened, shielding him and his companions from the acid. He lifted them a little off the ground, to avoid both the crumbling earth and the alarmingly red moat. Rebus’s shoes were not very palatable - in fact, they were reinforced and hence couldn’t really be bitten through. Perhaps. Thanks! Rebus can’t lie, so it lets him tell people honesty is his middle name. Rebus nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose I can find another quest to prove his worth and trustworthiness.” It’s not as bad as that.
  20. Through the Living Heir
    Neutron star cores are a different kind of degenerate matter, if I recall - though a google search says they might contain some strange matter. It’s theoretically made from strange quarks in addition to up and down, and theories suggest it’s even more stable than normal matter, but really hard to make. Once you have it, though, it sets off a chain reaction that turns everything it touches into strange matter. And already existing hyperdense materials sound alarmingly close to the required conditions (and also sound as though they’d gravitationally rip your blood out if you touched them, but that’s a different problem). I attempt to build a weak force amplifier to break through the SIM - and any strange matter that may arise due to it. When I test it, though… let’s just say my laboratory is no longer in existence. I run away from the explosion, wall of hydrogen plasma, and additional explosion.
  21. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus grins. “In that case, I accept the deal. I shall not willingly approach Atlas, and I shall spare a shadow of the Scribe. Good night - we should both likely go to bed. Oh, it will be, at least if Rebus has anything to say about it. That shall be very cool…
  22. Through the Living Heir
    Uh oh. How familiar are you with strange matter? I abruptly exist, foreshadowing a terrible event yet to come. Multiple, actual. I also almost eat a normal sandwich, then change my mind and order a burrito bowl instead.
  23. Through the Living Heir
    Rebus wondered how that had happened - where had their conversation stopped? “That is my hope - I think I need one more piece. Both to tweak the plot element, and because actual plot demands it.” Sadly, I must sleep soon. “Dr. Rebus Honesty Clarke dares - Narrator, Archvillain, and wielder of the Plotblade Antagonist!” Rebus declared. He hovered above the ground, prepared - hopefully - to deal with Calamity. As for Mischief, Rebus registered the smell the same way he would register pain - without frustration or negative effects, merely an acknowledgment that something was abnormal and maybe harmful. Yay! Yup, that would fulfill the contract. (The paper is also in Xino’s blog, but Rebus wants the canonical copy) He would also accept a different requirement for the ritual - he needs to know what the knife and the sacrifice actually are, then acquire them, and he needs help from three Authors.
  24. Through the Living Heir
    “The ritual from that paper I was referring to earlier.” It’s fine - without context, I can see how that was confusing.
  25. Through the Living Heir
    “I have it right here - I want you to confirm it will work, and if it shall not, assist in finding something which will.”
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