Singular and plural possessive exercises
Singular They
2020.09.13 04:17 YM_Industries Singular They
> Singular they is the use in English of the pronoun they or its inflected or derivative forms, them, their, theirs, and themselves (or themself), as an epicene (gender-neutral) singular pronoun. You can learn more from Wikipedia's [excellent article on the subject](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they). This subreddit is dedicated to promoting awareness of the grammatical validity and commonplace usage of singular they.
2011.03.27 05:30 odded deal with it
deal with it
2015.09.22 05:55 Phinaeus anasheed
A nasheed (Arabic: singular نشيد nashīd, plural أناشيد anāshīd) meaning: "chants" is a work of vocal music that is sung a cappella In general, Islamic anasheed do not contain lamellaphone instruments, string instruments, or wind and brass instruments.
2024.05.19 09:19 AdTrick7283 The Bollywood film ‘Mohabbatein’ (2000) is a groundbreaking sex-ed film about male masturbation.
Spoilers ahead.
Bollywood’s roster of adult films is a barren wasteland, dotted by the occasional Tusshar KapooMilap Zaveri release. Yet, there may be hope for the genre as long as trailblazing production house YRF keeps churning out experimental masterpieces. For well before there were Kyaa Kool Hain Hum, Masti, and Ragini MMS, there was Mohabbatein. As on several other occasions, YRF embraced the role of innovator and at the turn of the millennium brought to Bollywood what is till date the industry’s only sex-ed film. Unlike Bollywood’s other attempts at adult cinema, Mohabbatein seeks to educate—not titillate—as moustachioed maestro Aditya Chopra examines attitudes towards male masturbation, specially amongst adolescents. To avoid offending conservative sensibilities, this sociological examination is cleverly hidden within a family-friendly romantic drama tale and presented in allegorical terms.
Mohabbatein features an ensemble cast, led by Amitabh Bachchan and DDLJ background actor Shah Rukh Khan, with Aishwarya Rai as a guest star. Although the cast also includes celebrated thespians Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj, and Shamita Shetty, a complete listing is omitted here for the sake of brevity. Bachchan plays Narayan Shankar, headmaster of the prestigious Gurukul boys’ college. Shankar is a stickler for rules, and imposes upon his students the need for tradition, prestige, and discipline. His rules extend to a blanket ban on romantic relationships, which forms the crux of the film’s conflict. SRK plays Raj Aryan, a music teacher and disgraced Gurukul alumnus who has returned to the institute under anonymity, with the single goal of melting Shankar’s icy heart and impressing upon him the power of love. Finally, Aishwarya Rai plays the deceased Megha, Shankar’s late daughter and the love interest of Raj Aryan.
In a figurative sense, Gurukul—with its forced confinement, all-male student body, and rigid rules—is a portrayal of restrictive societies that enforce adolescent sexual repression through gender segregation and harsh oversight. Narayan Shankar, as headmaster, is the enforcer of said oversight and abides by his oppressive regulations to set an example. Gurukul’s official motto—‘Parampara Prathishta Anushasan’—may be shortened to ‘PP Anushasan’, the word ‘PP’ being slang for a man’s meat pole of love and ‘Anushasan’ meaning discipline or regulation. Thus through its motto, the institution reveals its intention to exercise total control over its students’ genitalia.
Metaphorically, Narayan Shankar’s rejection of all things romantic/sexual, and his stubborn opposition to any form of change—stated by him multiple times throughout the film—is an allusion to his opposition to puberty and the sexual changes it brings along with it. His choice of garments throughout the film—dull black trousers coupled with matching black sherwanis—prevents viewers from getting a view of his lush curves and adds to his thoroughly sexless demeanour. Additionally, Shankar takes pride in his habit of staring right at the sun for several minutes every morning, which is a clever allusion to the popular myth about masturbation causing damage to eyesight—a lifetime of total abstinence from masturbation has prevented Shankar’s eyes from taking any damage, and therefore he can stare full-bore into the sun for as long as he pleases. Given all this, it is unknown how he fathered a daughter in his state of permanent prepubescence, so it may be deduced that he somehow reproduced asexually. In sum, Shankar is a man struggling to indefinitely delay his own sexual maturity, and thereby desperately clinging on to a simple, childlike innocence of all sexual matters. Raj Aryan exists as the foil to Narayan Shankar, having arrived at Gurukul with the singular purpose of altering Shankar’s stunted outlook towards sexual maturity. In an allegorical sense, he portrays the biological agents and changes that act as messengers of puberty and sexual maturity, such as gonadotropin-releasing hormones and testosterone. Visually, his urbane, well-dressed appearance, along with his suave and cultured manner, stands in contrast to the dull cluelessness of Narayan Shankar and his wards, and is indicative of his sexual confidence and maturity.
Furthermore, his choice of musical instrument—the violin—is hardly coincidental. A violin requires precise, well-timed stroke-like movements to be made using a long, cylindrical piece of wood. The sight of Raj Aryan lounging comfortably in a chair and playing the violin with long, languid strokes, whilst wearing an expression of both contentment and pleasurable exertion, is certainly suggestive without appearing crass. The fact that his lover Megha is deceased does not decrease Raj Aryan’s passion in the slightest, as she makes an appearance in his imagination every time he leans back, closes his eyes, and handles his violin. Through such a combination of clever visual double entendres, the film conveys Raj Aryan’s use of masturbation and masturbatory fantasies as a healthy outlet for sexual expression and release.
To Gurukul’s ignorant masses, Raj Aryan is nothing short of a revelation. Like a masturbatory Pied Piper, he draws the ignorant, curious, and hypnotized students to his lessons, where he impresses upon them the need to break free of Gurukul’s restrictive confinements and open their hearts and prostate glands to the power of love. In a metaphorical sense, he encourages the students to accept the changes coursing through their bodies, and let puberty begin to run its course.
To best educate Gurukul’s students, Raj Aryan organises a secret dance ball, inviting over students from a neighbouring women’s college. Considering the allegorical nature of storytelling in Mohabbatein, the college and its students are likely imaginary, and the secret dance ball is actually an educational musical lesson on some of the more practical and logistical aspects of masturbation. YRF films have always been renowned for making their song-and-dance routines an integral part of the story, and Mohabbatein is no exception to this tradition of artistic excellence. As Gurukul’s students shuffle into the dance ball, Raj Aryan takes the centre stage and croons, ‘Aankhein khuli ho ya ho band/Deedar unka hota hai/Kaise kahoon main o yaara ye/Pyaar kaise hota hai’, with the lyrics making it clear that while there are many paths to self-pleasure, the path one takes does not matter so long as the destination is the same. With sufficient practice, a master of the art may hone his skills to the point where imagination is all that is required. Meanwhile, the less-skilled are free to keep their eyes open and rely on whatever visual aids they may prefer. Bearing in mind the wide variety of means and techniques employed, it is not for one man to tell another how best to beat his meat.
This educational demonstration, however, is cut short upon the surprise appearance of Narayan Shankar, who discovers Raj Aryan's attempt to arouse Gurukul’s pupils to rebellion against his rules. Shankar uses his authority to turn Raj Aryan’s movement temporarily flaccid, but a defiant Raj Aryan takes up Shankar’s opposition as a challenge, and vows to bring about love in every heart, a cramp in every right hand, and a scraggly hair sprouting from every smooth chin. Raj Aryan begins his campaign by asking Gurukul’s pupils to each write a love letter upon orange maple leaves. The orange maple leaf is a common visual theme throughout the movie, and for good reason—a maple leaf with its five lobes bears an uncanny resemblance to an outstretched palm with its five fingers, coloured an inflamed red perhaps due to excessive use. Thus, the act of writing a love letter upon an orange maple leaf is a clever visual metaphor for the students actually expressing gratitude and affection towards their own hands for the newly-discovered joys their hands have provided them with.
However, the ever-vigilant Narayan Shankar eventually catches onto Raj Aryan’s actions, and realizes that his fearsome gaze is no longer capable of wilting students’ defiant boners. Faced with this prospect, a desperate Shankar begins expelling students, hoping to discourage their peers and Raj Aryan, and therefore stave off the advent of puberty and sexual maturity amongst his wards. This leads to the film’s climax, wherein a gratuitously dripping-wet Raj Aryan meets Shankar, and defiantly tells him that whilst he may have won the battle, he has lost the war, for despite all his authority, Shankar will be forever left alone, because he lacks the powers of imagination and fantasizing that Raj Aryan possesses. Raj Aryan then reveals to Shankar that despite the death of Megha (Shankar’s daughter, it may be remembered), he still fantasizes about her with perfect clarity. However, as previously mentioned, Shankar had likely reproduced asexually to sire Megha, and asexual reproduction leads to genetically-identical offspring. A horrified Shankar realizes that therefore, by masturbating to Megha—his clone—Raj Aryan has been indirectly masturbating to Shankar himself for the past several years. Left shaken by this discovery of the transitive properties of masturbation, a broken Shankar is unable to recover from his shock and resigns as headmaster of Gurukul, leaving Raj Aryan to take the helm and finally bring about his purpose to a glorious conclusion.
Over two decades after release, Mohabbatein stands alone in Indian cinema. Few films have ever attempted such deftly-layered storytelling in treatment of such delicate subject matter. Indeed, if the bar were ever raised, it was only by YRF’s own other creations in subsequent years. No other films, however, have ever had the courage and wit to portray sex-ed as Mohabbatein so well did, and if the subject shall ever make an appearance in the educational curriculum, there can be no doubt that Mohabbatein shall be required viewing for all students, educators, and educational policymakers.
submitted by AdTrick7283 to bollywoodmemes [link] [comments]
Bollywood’s roster of adult films is a barren wasteland, dotted by the occasional Tusshar KapooMilap Zaveri release. Yet, there may be hope for the genre as long as trailblazing production house YRF keeps churning out experimental masterpieces. For well before there were Kyaa Kool Hain Hum, Masti, and Ragini MMS, there was Mohabbatein. As on several other occasions, YRF embraced the role of innovator and at the turn of the millennium brought to Bollywood what is till date the industry’s only sex-ed film. Unlike Bollywood’s other attempts at adult cinema, Mohabbatein seeks to educate—not titillate—as moustachioed maestro Aditya Chopra examines attitudes towards male masturbation, specially amongst adolescents. To avoid offending conservative sensibilities, this sociological examination is cleverly hidden within a family-friendly romantic drama tale and presented in allegorical terms.
Mohabbatein features an ensemble cast, led by Amitabh Bachchan and DDLJ background actor Shah Rukh Khan, with Aishwarya Rai as a guest star. Although the cast also includes celebrated thespians Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj, and Shamita Shetty, a complete listing is omitted here for the sake of brevity. Bachchan plays Narayan Shankar, headmaster of the prestigious Gurukul boys’ college. Shankar is a stickler for rules, and imposes upon his students the need for tradition, prestige, and discipline. His rules extend to a blanket ban on romantic relationships, which forms the crux of the film’s conflict. SRK plays Raj Aryan, a music teacher and disgraced Gurukul alumnus who has returned to the institute under anonymity, with the single goal of melting Shankar’s icy heart and impressing upon him the power of love. Finally, Aishwarya Rai plays the deceased Megha, Shankar’s late daughter and the love interest of Raj Aryan.
In a figurative sense, Gurukul—with its forced confinement, all-male student body, and rigid rules—is a portrayal of restrictive societies that enforce adolescent sexual repression through gender segregation and harsh oversight. Narayan Shankar, as headmaster, is the enforcer of said oversight and abides by his oppressive regulations to set an example. Gurukul’s official motto—‘Parampara Prathishta Anushasan’—may be shortened to ‘PP Anushasan’, the word ‘PP’ being slang for a man’s meat pole of love and ‘Anushasan’ meaning discipline or regulation. Thus through its motto, the institution reveals its intention to exercise total control over its students’ genitalia.
Metaphorically, Narayan Shankar’s rejection of all things romantic/sexual, and his stubborn opposition to any form of change—stated by him multiple times throughout the film—is an allusion to his opposition to puberty and the sexual changes it brings along with it. His choice of garments throughout the film—dull black trousers coupled with matching black sherwanis—prevents viewers from getting a view of his lush curves and adds to his thoroughly sexless demeanour. Additionally, Shankar takes pride in his habit of staring right at the sun for several minutes every morning, which is a clever allusion to the popular myth about masturbation causing damage to eyesight—a lifetime of total abstinence from masturbation has prevented Shankar’s eyes from taking any damage, and therefore he can stare full-bore into the sun for as long as he pleases. Given all this, it is unknown how he fathered a daughter in his state of permanent prepubescence, so it may be deduced that he somehow reproduced asexually. In sum, Shankar is a man struggling to indefinitely delay his own sexual maturity, and thereby desperately clinging on to a simple, childlike innocence of all sexual matters. Raj Aryan exists as the foil to Narayan Shankar, having arrived at Gurukul with the singular purpose of altering Shankar’s stunted outlook towards sexual maturity. In an allegorical sense, he portrays the biological agents and changes that act as messengers of puberty and sexual maturity, such as gonadotropin-releasing hormones and testosterone. Visually, his urbane, well-dressed appearance, along with his suave and cultured manner, stands in contrast to the dull cluelessness of Narayan Shankar and his wards, and is indicative of his sexual confidence and maturity.
Furthermore, his choice of musical instrument—the violin—is hardly coincidental. A violin requires precise, well-timed stroke-like movements to be made using a long, cylindrical piece of wood. The sight of Raj Aryan lounging comfortably in a chair and playing the violin with long, languid strokes, whilst wearing an expression of both contentment and pleasurable exertion, is certainly suggestive without appearing crass. The fact that his lover Megha is deceased does not decrease Raj Aryan’s passion in the slightest, as she makes an appearance in his imagination every time he leans back, closes his eyes, and handles his violin. Through such a combination of clever visual double entendres, the film conveys Raj Aryan’s use of masturbation and masturbatory fantasies as a healthy outlet for sexual expression and release.
To Gurukul’s ignorant masses, Raj Aryan is nothing short of a revelation. Like a masturbatory Pied Piper, he draws the ignorant, curious, and hypnotized students to his lessons, where he impresses upon them the need to break free of Gurukul’s restrictive confinements and open their hearts and prostate glands to the power of love. In a metaphorical sense, he encourages the students to accept the changes coursing through their bodies, and let puberty begin to run its course.
To best educate Gurukul’s students, Raj Aryan organises a secret dance ball, inviting over students from a neighbouring women’s college. Considering the allegorical nature of storytelling in Mohabbatein, the college and its students are likely imaginary, and the secret dance ball is actually an educational musical lesson on some of the more practical and logistical aspects of masturbation. YRF films have always been renowned for making their song-and-dance routines an integral part of the story, and Mohabbatein is no exception to this tradition of artistic excellence. As Gurukul’s students shuffle into the dance ball, Raj Aryan takes the centre stage and croons, ‘Aankhein khuli ho ya ho band/Deedar unka hota hai/Kaise kahoon main o yaara ye/Pyaar kaise hota hai’, with the lyrics making it clear that while there are many paths to self-pleasure, the path one takes does not matter so long as the destination is the same. With sufficient practice, a master of the art may hone his skills to the point where imagination is all that is required. Meanwhile, the less-skilled are free to keep their eyes open and rely on whatever visual aids they may prefer. Bearing in mind the wide variety of means and techniques employed, it is not for one man to tell another how best to beat his meat.
This educational demonstration, however, is cut short upon the surprise appearance of Narayan Shankar, who discovers Raj Aryan's attempt to arouse Gurukul’s pupils to rebellion against his rules. Shankar uses his authority to turn Raj Aryan’s movement temporarily flaccid, but a defiant Raj Aryan takes up Shankar’s opposition as a challenge, and vows to bring about love in every heart, a cramp in every right hand, and a scraggly hair sprouting from every smooth chin. Raj Aryan begins his campaign by asking Gurukul’s pupils to each write a love letter upon orange maple leaves. The orange maple leaf is a common visual theme throughout the movie, and for good reason—a maple leaf with its five lobes bears an uncanny resemblance to an outstretched palm with its five fingers, coloured an inflamed red perhaps due to excessive use. Thus, the act of writing a love letter upon an orange maple leaf is a clever visual metaphor for the students actually expressing gratitude and affection towards their own hands for the newly-discovered joys their hands have provided them with.
However, the ever-vigilant Narayan Shankar eventually catches onto Raj Aryan’s actions, and realizes that his fearsome gaze is no longer capable of wilting students’ defiant boners. Faced with this prospect, a desperate Shankar begins expelling students, hoping to discourage their peers and Raj Aryan, and therefore stave off the advent of puberty and sexual maturity amongst his wards. This leads to the film’s climax, wherein a gratuitously dripping-wet Raj Aryan meets Shankar, and defiantly tells him that whilst he may have won the battle, he has lost the war, for despite all his authority, Shankar will be forever left alone, because he lacks the powers of imagination and fantasizing that Raj Aryan possesses. Raj Aryan then reveals to Shankar that despite the death of Megha (Shankar’s daughter, it may be remembered), he still fantasizes about her with perfect clarity. However, as previously mentioned, Shankar had likely reproduced asexually to sire Megha, and asexual reproduction leads to genetically-identical offspring. A horrified Shankar realizes that therefore, by masturbating to Megha—his clone—Raj Aryan has been indirectly masturbating to Shankar himself for the past several years. Left shaken by this discovery of the transitive properties of masturbation, a broken Shankar is unable to recover from his shock and resigns as headmaster of Gurukul, leaving Raj Aryan to take the helm and finally bring about his purpose to a glorious conclusion.
Over two decades after release, Mohabbatein stands alone in Indian cinema. Few films have ever attempted such deftly-layered storytelling in treatment of such delicate subject matter. Indeed, if the bar were ever raised, it was only by YRF’s own other creations in subsequent years. No other films, however, have ever had the courage and wit to portray sex-ed as Mohabbatein so well did, and if the subject shall ever make an appearance in the educational curriculum, there can be no doubt that Mohabbatein shall be required viewing for all students, educators, and educational policymakers.
2024.05.19 06:03 miki6048 Phrases that start with "the" followed by "of" should use singular or plural verb?
I have asked ChatGPT the above question, and it said the the key is to look at the noun or concept after "of" and make the verb agree with whether it is singular or plural in that context.
However, the examples that ChatGPT provided makes me feel more confused. For example, 1. The details of the conference have been released.
If I use the rule from ChatGPT, I should look at the word "conference", and use "has". However, it said the correct verb form is "have".
Another example like: 2. The list of ingredients calls for many spices.
According to the rule from ChatGPT, "Ingredients" is plural, then the verb follow this phrase should be "call" instead of "calls". But it said "calls" is the correct one.
I really mixed up by ChatGPT.
submitted by miki6048 to grammar [link] [comments]
However, the examples that ChatGPT provided makes me feel more confused. For example, 1. The details of the conference have been released.
If I use the rule from ChatGPT, I should look at the word "conference", and use "has". However, it said the correct verb form is "have".
Another example like: 2. The list of ingredients calls for many spices.
According to the rule from ChatGPT, "Ingredients" is plural, then the verb follow this phrase should be "call" instead of "calls". But it said "calls" is the correct one.
I really mixed up by ChatGPT.
2024.05.19 05:30 T1mbuk1 An Idea for a Protolang
I'm thinking of a protolang mixing PIE with Proto-Taqva-miir.
PIE Consonants: m, n, p, b, bʰ, t, d, dʰ, kʲ, gʲ, gʲʰ, k, g, gʰ, kʷ, gʷ, gʷʰ, s, h1, h2, h3, r, l, j, w
Proto-Taqva-miir Consonants: m, n, ɲ, b, t, tʼ, d, c, cʼ, ɟ, k, kʼ, g, q, qʼ, ɢ, ʔ, s, z, ɕ, ʑ, ç, ʝ, x, ɣ, ħ, ʕ, h, r, l, ʎ, j, w
PIE Vowels: e, eː, o, oː(Though a, aː, i, iː, u, uː might've also existed with them.)
Proto-Taqva-miir Vowels: a, aː, i, iː, u, uː
For the consonants, I added the two amounts from each language, then divided by two, meaning that 29 consonants should be the amount for this protolang. Matching them, I could add whatever consonants from each set correspond the most neatly with whatever consonants from the other. PIE's syllable structure was (C)CVC(C), which allowed nasals and liquids in the nucleus alongside the vowels. PTM's structure was (C)V(R), meaning that only nasals and liquids, grouped as resonants, can end syllables and words. In terms of stress, PIE used a pitch accent, while PTM's stress system was the same as Finnish at first, with stress falling on the first syllable all the time, with the modern language's system being the same as Latin, meaning that stress falls on the third-to-last syllable by default, with the second-to-last one being stressed instead as long as it contains a long vowel or is closed.
For syntax, PIE word order is debated. Mixing the two hypotheses could lead to PIE having used a free word order still classified as strictly subject initial. PTM would utilize SOV as the word order, utilizing postpositions derived from verbs. PIE used prepositions, and adjectives before nouns, while PTM's adjectives are also derived from nouns. In terms of grammar, both PIE and PTM were going to share the same grammatical number system: singular, dual, and plural, though PTM, in the end, used singular and plural, which evolved into a singulative/dual/plural system with an inverse marker. I'm considering this mixture using an inverse marker alongside singular, dual, and plural markings.
Regarding the tense systems, PIE is said to have two tenses: past and present. It might've used an auxiliary as an indicator of the future tense. It also used three aspects: imperfective ("present"), perfective ("aorist"), and stative ("perfect"). There were also four moods, or five: indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative. An injunctive mood might've also been possible. PTM utilized an unmarked imperfective, a marked perfective via reduplication, and an infinitive. Reduplication plus the [i] vowel was used for the perfective converb, and an -in suffix was used for the imperfective converb, the -su suffix marking the infinitive. The standard copula, derived from "live", and the locative copula, derived from "stand", would be utilized to create a new tense system:
PIE only utilized one copula: h1es-. They might've also used others like the following: bʰuh₂-(maybe "grow" and "become"), h2wes-(maybe "live"), h1er-, and (s)teh2-("stand").
Regarding valency-changing operations, PIE is said only to use a causative, while PTM utilizes a mediopassive derived from "take/get" and a causative/commitative derived from "lead". At least that was the original plan. The modern form uses the following operations: detransitive, causative, reflexive, reciprocal, mediopassive (detransitive + Dative), and antipassive (detransitive + Genitive). And via morphology.
And speaking of morphology and synthesis, while Proto-Taqva-miir is somewhat agglutinative, the eventual modern language being fusional, PIE was fusional. At least I think so, though I need better clarity. PIE lacks a dominant order regarding comparatives(superlatives, sublatives, etc.). However, PTM utilized auxiliaries and later a morphological system to indicate everything: comparative, superlative, sublative, intensive, excessive, equative, and contrastive. Unfortunately, there is no paucative marking as far as I'm aware. I'd need to look at the other Conlang Case Study videos. Let me make a list, and I keep the following distinct and antonymous with augmentatives and diminutives, which relate to size descriptions of nouns unrelated to other nouns.
Comparative: ???
Superlative: highest degree
Sublative: lowest degree
Equative: equal value
Contrastive: different value
Intensive: stronger
Excessive: too much of something
???: weaker
Paucative: too few of something
What is supposed to go where the triple question marks are? I'd like to know. Here's a bonus question: Which of these have been reconstructed and are theorized to have existed in Proto-Indo-European?
I'm also thinking of looking into the question words of PIE, and seeing what I should do from there, as Biblaridion is thinking of auxiliary question words like "what+thing", "what+place", "what+person", etc. And I have ideas for the languages it could split into. It's for a hypothetical(either actual or fictional) D&D campaign.
submitted by T1mbuk1 to conlangs [link] [comments]
PIE Consonants: m, n, p, b, bʰ, t, d, dʰ, kʲ, gʲ, gʲʰ, k, g, gʰ, kʷ, gʷ, gʷʰ, s, h1, h2, h3, r, l, j, w
Proto-Taqva-miir Consonants: m, n, ɲ, b, t, tʼ, d, c, cʼ, ɟ, k, kʼ, g, q, qʼ, ɢ, ʔ, s, z, ɕ, ʑ, ç, ʝ, x, ɣ, ħ, ʕ, h, r, l, ʎ, j, w
PIE Vowels: e, eː, o, oː(Though a, aː, i, iː, u, uː might've also existed with them.)
Proto-Taqva-miir Vowels: a, aː, i, iː, u, uː
For the consonants, I added the two amounts from each language, then divided by two, meaning that 29 consonants should be the amount for this protolang. Matching them, I could add whatever consonants from each set correspond the most neatly with whatever consonants from the other. PIE's syllable structure was (C)CVC(C), which allowed nasals and liquids in the nucleus alongside the vowels. PTM's structure was (C)V(R), meaning that only nasals and liquids, grouped as resonants, can end syllables and words. In terms of stress, PIE used a pitch accent, while PTM's stress system was the same as Finnish at first, with stress falling on the first syllable all the time, with the modern language's system being the same as Latin, meaning that stress falls on the third-to-last syllable by default, with the second-to-last one being stressed instead as long as it contains a long vowel or is closed.
For syntax, PIE word order is debated. Mixing the two hypotheses could lead to PIE having used a free word order still classified as strictly subject initial. PTM would utilize SOV as the word order, utilizing postpositions derived from verbs. PIE used prepositions, and adjectives before nouns, while PTM's adjectives are also derived from nouns. In terms of grammar, both PIE and PTM were going to share the same grammatical number system: singular, dual, and plural, though PTM, in the end, used singular and plural, which evolved into a singulative/dual/plural system with an inverse marker. I'm considering this mixture using an inverse marker alongside singular, dual, and plural markings.
Regarding the tense systems, PIE is said to have two tenses: past and present. It might've used an auxiliary as an indicator of the future tense. It also used three aspects: imperfective ("present"), perfective ("aorist"), and stative ("perfect"). There were also four moods, or five: indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative. An injunctive mood might've also been possible. PTM utilized an unmarked imperfective, a marked perfective via reduplication, and an infinitive. Reduplication plus the [i] vowel was used for the perfective converb, and an -in suffix was used for the imperfective converb, the -su suffix marking the infinitive. The standard copula, derived from "live", and the locative copula, derived from "stand", would be utilized to create a new tense system:
- Imperfect + Standard Copula = Continuous
- Perfect + Standard Copula = Past Continuous
- Imperfect + Locative Copula = Future
- Perfect + Locative Copula = Future in the Past
PIE only utilized one copula: h1es-. They might've also used others like the following: bʰuh₂-(maybe "grow" and "become"), h2wes-(maybe "live"), h1er-, and (s)teh2-("stand").
Regarding valency-changing operations, PIE is said only to use a causative, while PTM utilizes a mediopassive derived from "take/get" and a causative/commitative derived from "lead". At least that was the original plan. The modern form uses the following operations: detransitive, causative, reflexive, reciprocal, mediopassive (detransitive + Dative), and antipassive (detransitive + Genitive). And via morphology.
And speaking of morphology and synthesis, while Proto-Taqva-miir is somewhat agglutinative, the eventual modern language being fusional, PIE was fusional. At least I think so, though I need better clarity. PIE lacks a dominant order regarding comparatives(superlatives, sublatives, etc.). However, PTM utilized auxiliaries and later a morphological system to indicate everything: comparative, superlative, sublative, intensive, excessive, equative, and contrastive. Unfortunately, there is no paucative marking as far as I'm aware. I'd need to look at the other Conlang Case Study videos. Let me make a list, and I keep the following distinct and antonymous with augmentatives and diminutives, which relate to size descriptions of nouns unrelated to other nouns.
Comparative: ???
Superlative: highest degree
Sublative: lowest degree
Equative: equal value
Contrastive: different value
Intensive: stronger
Excessive: too much of something
???: weaker
Paucative: too few of something
What is supposed to go where the triple question marks are? I'd like to know. Here's a bonus question: Which of these have been reconstructed and are theorized to have existed in Proto-Indo-European?
I'm also thinking of looking into the question words of PIE, and seeing what I should do from there, as Biblaridion is thinking of auxiliary question words like "what+thing", "what+place", "what+person", etc. And I have ideas for the languages it could split into. It's for a hypothetical(either actual or fictional) D&D campaign.
2024.05.19 05:01 DELFINEON Answering the INC on the Trinity
The trinity is one of the main topics the INC focuses on, and in every argument/debate i've seen is nothing but a misrepresentation of what Christians (Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants) believe in the Trinity. This thread is for this purpose of denouncing the lies of the INC in regards to this topic.
I will not give everything off in one post so that people will not get turned off with being introduced to a wall of text so as this thread progresses, more content will drop in.
In the Bible, it was called "the Godhead" Colossians 2:9-10 - In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead.
When the INC uses this verse, they are misrepresenting and being dishonest as to what we believe the Trinity to be. We believe the Trinity is 1 God.
Matt 28:19: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It says "Name" (singular) not "Names"
John 10:30, I and the Father are one.
John 1:1 - The Word was with God and the Word was God
The Bible shows that there is only 1 God, but it describes 3 different essences of this one God. Therefore since the Bible teaches the Father, Son, and HS to be one God then obvious Isaiah 45:5 is applicable (has always been applicable) to the triune God. Again, go back to the hebrew word for God being "ElohIM".
This is a complicated one, because it will require to understand the nature of Jesus. Being God and Man. When Jesus became man, he took our nature and became submissive to the Father
Hebrews 2:9 - What we do see is Jesus, *who for a little while was given a position 'a little lower than the angels'
Yes, Jesus called the Father God, and likewise God the Father calls Jesus God.
Hebrews 1: 8 - But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.....
Now, the INC posted a "rebuttal" to this https://incmedia.org/does-hebrews-18-call-jesus-god/
First, this Bob guy doesn't explain is what/who that Psalms 45 prophecy is about. It's a Messianic Prophecy, so even back then in Psalms Jesus is already being called God. This INC minister is not answering as to who is that "God" and why is the Father using that prophecy in reference to the son.
V10: HE (God) ALSO SAYS: In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Who is the Father referring to as Lord, who laid the foundations of the earth?
then in v13, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies, a footstool for your feet" This is quoting Psalm 110:1, which begins with "and the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand..." Who is this Lord?
Another reason why this Bob person is wrong is because even the muslims will say Hebrews 1 has the Father calling Jesus God. If you go to the Muslim sub and ask them what do they think of Paul, they will bash him for being a false prophet. The muslims think Paul is the guy who started the belief of the trinity and they use this verse as an example of the "corruption" made by Paul . That is why they reject the NT, that is why they claim the Quran was sent by God --because the NT was corrupted. So even they know what the actual message of this chapter is.
The INC will play games as much as they want, but in the end they have to prove why their church has credibility. They are a church made by filipinos and believed by only filipinos, and they are not only contending with 2000 years of christian teachings but they are basing their stance on a bunch of books that were compiled and translated by churches they consider as "false teachers".
I'll leave this for now, there are other things such as Matthew 24:36 and other verses which i will get through some other time.
submitted by DELFINEON to exIglesiaNiCristo [link] [comments]
I will not give everything off in one post so that people will not get turned off with being introduced to a wall of text so as this thread progresses, more content will drop in.
1) Is the word Trinity in the Bible?
Answer is no. However, this is not a good argument because the word "Bible" and "Epistles" are not found in scripture either. These are words were later made to give a name for certain things taught in the Bible. "Epistle" was made to give a name to all of paul's letters, the word "Bible" was made to give a word for the compiled OT and NT. Likewise, the word "Trinity" was made to have a word for the 3 different persons of God described in the bible.In the Bible, it was called "the Godhead" Colossians 2:9-10 - In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead.
- The word "God" in hebrew is Elohim. In one of James_Readme's threads, I asked him as to what the hebrew word for God is, which he chose not respond to. Here is the reason why, if you read the book of Isaiah, you'll see a class of angels such as Cherub and Cherubim, the difference between the two is that Cherub is singular while Cherubim is plural. Same thing with Seraph and Seraphim. In hebrew, anything that ends with an IM is masculine plural, there ElohIM is plural. God is a plural word.
2) Isaiah 45:5
I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.When the INC uses this verse, they are misrepresenting and being dishonest as to what we believe the Trinity to be. We believe the Trinity is 1 God.
Matt 28:19: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It says "Name" (singular) not "Names"
John 10:30, I and the Father are one.
John 1:1 - The Word was with God and the Word was God
The Bible shows that there is only 1 God, but it describes 3 different essences of this one God. Therefore since the Bible teaches the Father, Son, and HS to be one God then obvious Isaiah 45:5 is applicable (has always been applicable) to the triune God. Again, go back to the hebrew word for God being "ElohIM".
3) Jesus says the Father is my God
John 20:17 - ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”This is a complicated one, because it will require to understand the nature of Jesus. Being God and Man. When Jesus became man, he took our nature and became submissive to the Father
Hebrews 2:9 - What we do see is Jesus, *who for a little while was given a position 'a little lower than the angels'
Yes, Jesus called the Father God, and likewise God the Father calls Jesus God.
Hebrews 1: 8 - But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.....
Now, the INC posted a "rebuttal" to this https://incmedia.org/does-hebrews-18-call-jesus-god/
Brother Bob: So dear friends, who is this prophecy all about? In Hebrews 1:8, Apostle Paul was simply quoting this: Psalm 45:6-7, “to the Son He says ‘Your throne, O God**,**” and you know, it’s in this portion of the verse is why people draw the conclusion and think that God is calling Jesus God. But, let’s go back again to Hebrews 1:8 and include verse 9 with it this time, because that is so very important to do, it reads this way, including verse 9:This is a poor rebuttal.
First, this Bob guy doesn't explain is what/who that Psalms 45 prophecy is about. It's a Messianic Prophecy, so even back then in Psalms Jesus is already being called God. This INC minister is not answering as to who is that "God" and why is the Father using that prophecy in reference to the son.
Now, False preachers, they will only read verse 8, leave out verse 9, You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”Verse 9 just proves our point. This isn't implying "another God" but both the Father and the Son to be God. Next, this guy leaves out v10-13 that helps affirm that this entire chapter is showing the Father and Son to be equally 1 God.
[Hebrews 1:8-9 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: So dear friends, it is made clear here in verse 9, that to the son, whom God is referring to, is one who has a God. The true God does not have another God, or else there would be two Gods. Hebrews 1:8-9 is simply, then, an important prophecy about the Son who was anointed with the oil of gladness, and who hates lawlessness and loves righteousness.
V10: HE (God) ALSO SAYS: In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Who is the Father referring to as Lord, who laid the foundations of the earth?
then in v13, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies, a footstool for your feet" This is quoting Psalm 110:1, which begins with "and the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand..." Who is this Lord?
Another reason why this Bob person is wrong is because even the muslims will say Hebrews 1 has the Father calling Jesus God. If you go to the Muslim sub and ask them what do they think of Paul, they will bash him for being a false prophet. The muslims think Paul is the guy who started the belief of the trinity and they use this verse as an example of the "corruption" made by Paul . That is why they reject the NT, that is why they claim the Quran was sent by God --because the NT was corrupted. So even they know what the actual message of this chapter is.
The INC will play games as much as they want, but in the end they have to prove why their church has credibility. They are a church made by filipinos and believed by only filipinos, and they are not only contending with 2000 years of christian teachings but they are basing their stance on a bunch of books that were compiled and translated by churches they consider as "false teachers".
I'll leave this for now, there are other things such as Matthew 24:36 and other verses which i will get through some other time.
2024.05.19 04:27 mouthofxenu Primarch Names and Etymologies; Part 4 (VII-VIII)
This is part 4 of a list of feminine primarch names and my reasoning for these names.
Please see the below link for an explanation of this project, my methods, and my intent.
I will keep the first post updated with links to the later posts to make referencing them easier.
Link to first post: https://www.reddit.com/PrimarchGFs/comments/1ctd7ot/primarch_names_and_etymologies_part_1_iii/
VII: Regalia Dorn (Rogal Dorn):
This is one I’ve changed my mind on since discovering this subreddit and seeing many people settle on Regalia Dorn. I originally had Rigel Dorn on my list.
I think I deviated too far from the original feel of the name for the sake of preserving the same number of syllables and consonance. Rigel is the name of a star in the Orion constellation. It comes from the Arabic “Rijil Jauzah al Yusra,” meaning “the left foot of Orion.” Rigel therefore means “leg, foot.” I liked the connection with stability since Dorn knows the value of a good foundation. I think I also was trying to avoid having too many names that end in an “A.”
However, Rigel has a very weak connection to the sense conveyed by Rogal. “Rogal” appears to be a combination of “royal” and “regal,” which are doublets for “befitting a monarch.” In this respect, I think the name Regalia Dorn is superior because it too refers to royalty, meaning “royal privileges / powers,” especially in the sense of decorations and outfits indicating high office through their ostentation. Dorn’s gold armor and status as the Praetorian of Terra certainly fits this sense of the word “regalia.”
VIII: Kore Curze [Kor-Ee] (Konrad Curze):
Another literary reference, Konrad Curze is a reference to Joesph Conrad, the author of “Heart of Darkness.” The story is about the search for an ivory trader named Kurtz in the “Congo Free State,” an African colony of Belgium that existed from 1885 to 1908.
This discussion is about to get very serious (discussion of racism, slavery, and human mutilation), so please exercise discretion in reading further. However, I believe this historical context is necessary to understand “Heart of Darkness” and the themes that influenced the character of Konrad Curze.
Belgium’s King Leopold II privately owned the “Congo Free State” and unofficially owned the Congolese people as slaves. As an example of the sub-human manner in which the Congolese people were regarded by Leopold, approximately 300 Congolese people were brought to Belgium and put in a human zoo designed as a fenced-in parody of an African village. Seven Congolese died of illnesses while imprisoned there as the public was allowed to gawk at them.
Leopold’s demands for productivity from the colony resulted in the population being treated worse than animals for the sake of extracting resources such as rubber. Congolese people were shot to death for failing to meet rubber collection quotas. Their hands were then cut off by their executioners to prove the bullets weren’t being “wasted” or stockpiled for a mutiny. The hands of the Congolese became a perverse currency because companies in the colony could offset low rubber production by using the hands as a demonstration the company’s militia “resolved” the low production issues. The companies therefore incentivized their soldiers to harvest Congolese people’s hands by promising to shorten the duration of the soldiers' service abroad based on the number of hands collected. Eventually, soldiers realized they could save ammunition by cutting off the hands of people that were still alive.
In “Heart of Darkness,” Kurtz is an ivory trader that has gone mad from his participation in these atrocities against the Congolese people. Kurtz had wanted to “civilize” the Congolese, indulging in the racist idea that black people required the intervention of white Europeans to lift them out of “barbarism.” Over time, Kurtz grew accustomed to the inhuman treatment of the Congolese people and even started to like it. He managed to create a cult that worshipped him and wished to indulge openly in hurting people for sport, unlike the other colonizers that hid their inhumanity behind more polite motives like seeking profit. Ultimately, Kurtz adopts a nihilistic view of the world where no one has a right to judge his actions because the world allowed all this horror to happen on its own.
Curze is a derivation of Kurtz, combining the name with “curse.” “Cursed” pretty much describes both Konrad Curze and Kurtz. Konrad is, as mentioned above, a reference to the author of “Heart of Darkness,” Joseph Conrad. Conrad is derived from the German name Konrad, which comes from the Proto-West Germanic “koni,” meaning “bold, brave,” and “rad,” meaning “advice, counsel.”
The themes of engaging in atrocities out of spite for the world itself are present in both Curze and Kurtz. Needless to say, this is the grimdarkest of all the primarchs and one a noblebright setting will have to do a lot of heavy lifting the rehabilitate in a manner that is narratively satisfying. I wanted the new name to reflect this shift.
I could not find a feminine alternative for Konrad. Konstance was tempting (I’m fond of Konnie Curze), but I figured if I was going to deviate from the original name’s etymology I should try to tie it to the theme of darkness in a way but with a more positive connotation.
The word “koni” reminded me of the Greek “Kore,” an epithet for the Greek goddess Persephone. Kore means “The Maiden.” Persephone is the daughter of the harvest Goddess, Demeter. The god of the underworld, Hades, kidnapped Persephone and married her, though the relationship appears to be one of the more consensual ones in Greek myth beyond that detail. Demeter withdrew her power over the crops and brought on winter while Persephone was gone. However, Persephone had already eaten food in the Underworld, which bound her to that place eternally. The gods negotiated a compromise with Hades whereby Persephone would remain in the Underworld for part of each year, resulting in winter, and return to the surface for the other part of the year to appease Demeter and bring on the growing season.
Popular modern interpretations of Persephone tend to be of a pretty girl that causes nature to bloom spontaneously around her before mean old Hades captures her and brings on winter. However, the myths are quite clear that Persephone embraced her role as Queen of the Dead.
Persephone is referred to as “dread Persephone” in “The Odyssey,” indicating the sense of horror the character is meant to evoke through her status as Queen of the Underworld. The epithet Kore was a way for worshipers to refer to Persephone without uttering her terrible name. The practice is similar to the Arcadian worship of the goddess Despoina, which literally means “The Mistress.” Despoina was closely identified with Persephone and may be an older goddess the myth of Persephone arose from. The goddess’s real name was either unknown or a secret and worshipers only referred to her as "The Mistress" to avoid taking her name in vain. This is a convention familiar to Abrahamic faiths, which often use variants of “God,” “Lord,” or other euphemisms to refer to their singular god.
I like how both Kurtz and Persephone / Kore go into their own types of darkness and meet two different fates. Kurtz goes into a darkness created by humans and is consumed by it. Persephone is taken into the darkness that awaits us all in the end and accepts it. I felt this corresponded better with a noblebright take on Konrad and his struggle with the clarity of his own destiny.
Thought of the day:
Fear the shadows; despise the night. There are horrors that no man can face and survive.
Feel free to leave a comment on these submissions and this project generally. I look forward to sharing more with you next time~
submitted by mouthofxenu to PrimarchGFs [link] [comments]
Please see the below link for an explanation of this project, my methods, and my intent.
I will keep the first post updated with links to the later posts to make referencing them easier.
Link to first post: https://www.reddit.com/PrimarchGFs/comments/1ctd7ot/primarch_names_and_etymologies_part_1_iii/
VII: Regalia Dorn (Rogal Dorn):
This is one I’ve changed my mind on since discovering this subreddit and seeing many people settle on Regalia Dorn. I originally had Rigel Dorn on my list.
I think I deviated too far from the original feel of the name for the sake of preserving the same number of syllables and consonance. Rigel is the name of a star in the Orion constellation. It comes from the Arabic “Rijil Jauzah al Yusra,” meaning “the left foot of Orion.” Rigel therefore means “leg, foot.” I liked the connection with stability since Dorn knows the value of a good foundation. I think I also was trying to avoid having too many names that end in an “A.”
However, Rigel has a very weak connection to the sense conveyed by Rogal. “Rogal” appears to be a combination of “royal” and “regal,” which are doublets for “befitting a monarch.” In this respect, I think the name Regalia Dorn is superior because it too refers to royalty, meaning “royal privileges / powers,” especially in the sense of decorations and outfits indicating high office through their ostentation. Dorn’s gold armor and status as the Praetorian of Terra certainly fits this sense of the word “regalia.”
VIII: Kore Curze [Kor-Ee] (Konrad Curze):
Another literary reference, Konrad Curze is a reference to Joesph Conrad, the author of “Heart of Darkness.” The story is about the search for an ivory trader named Kurtz in the “Congo Free State,” an African colony of Belgium that existed from 1885 to 1908.
This discussion is about to get very serious (discussion of racism, slavery, and human mutilation), so please exercise discretion in reading further. However, I believe this historical context is necessary to understand “Heart of Darkness” and the themes that influenced the character of Konrad Curze.
Belgium’s King Leopold II privately owned the “Congo Free State” and unofficially owned the Congolese people as slaves. As an example of the sub-human manner in which the Congolese people were regarded by Leopold, approximately 300 Congolese people were brought to Belgium and put in a human zoo designed as a fenced-in parody of an African village. Seven Congolese died of illnesses while imprisoned there as the public was allowed to gawk at them.
Leopold’s demands for productivity from the colony resulted in the population being treated worse than animals for the sake of extracting resources such as rubber. Congolese people were shot to death for failing to meet rubber collection quotas. Their hands were then cut off by their executioners to prove the bullets weren’t being “wasted” or stockpiled for a mutiny. The hands of the Congolese became a perverse currency because companies in the colony could offset low rubber production by using the hands as a demonstration the company’s militia “resolved” the low production issues. The companies therefore incentivized their soldiers to harvest Congolese people’s hands by promising to shorten the duration of the soldiers' service abroad based on the number of hands collected. Eventually, soldiers realized they could save ammunition by cutting off the hands of people that were still alive.
In “Heart of Darkness,” Kurtz is an ivory trader that has gone mad from his participation in these atrocities against the Congolese people. Kurtz had wanted to “civilize” the Congolese, indulging in the racist idea that black people required the intervention of white Europeans to lift them out of “barbarism.” Over time, Kurtz grew accustomed to the inhuman treatment of the Congolese people and even started to like it. He managed to create a cult that worshipped him and wished to indulge openly in hurting people for sport, unlike the other colonizers that hid their inhumanity behind more polite motives like seeking profit. Ultimately, Kurtz adopts a nihilistic view of the world where no one has a right to judge his actions because the world allowed all this horror to happen on its own.
Curze is a derivation of Kurtz, combining the name with “curse.” “Cursed” pretty much describes both Konrad Curze and Kurtz. Konrad is, as mentioned above, a reference to the author of “Heart of Darkness,” Joseph Conrad. Conrad is derived from the German name Konrad, which comes from the Proto-West Germanic “koni,” meaning “bold, brave,” and “rad,” meaning “advice, counsel.”
The themes of engaging in atrocities out of spite for the world itself are present in both Curze and Kurtz. Needless to say, this is the grimdarkest of all the primarchs and one a noblebright setting will have to do a lot of heavy lifting the rehabilitate in a manner that is narratively satisfying. I wanted the new name to reflect this shift.
I could not find a feminine alternative for Konrad. Konstance was tempting (I’m fond of Konnie Curze), but I figured if I was going to deviate from the original name’s etymology I should try to tie it to the theme of darkness in a way but with a more positive connotation.
The word “koni” reminded me of the Greek “Kore,” an epithet for the Greek goddess Persephone. Kore means “The Maiden.” Persephone is the daughter of the harvest Goddess, Demeter. The god of the underworld, Hades, kidnapped Persephone and married her, though the relationship appears to be one of the more consensual ones in Greek myth beyond that detail. Demeter withdrew her power over the crops and brought on winter while Persephone was gone. However, Persephone had already eaten food in the Underworld, which bound her to that place eternally. The gods negotiated a compromise with Hades whereby Persephone would remain in the Underworld for part of each year, resulting in winter, and return to the surface for the other part of the year to appease Demeter and bring on the growing season.
Popular modern interpretations of Persephone tend to be of a pretty girl that causes nature to bloom spontaneously around her before mean old Hades captures her and brings on winter. However, the myths are quite clear that Persephone embraced her role as Queen of the Dead.
Persephone is referred to as “dread Persephone” in “The Odyssey,” indicating the sense of horror the character is meant to evoke through her status as Queen of the Underworld. The epithet Kore was a way for worshipers to refer to Persephone without uttering her terrible name. The practice is similar to the Arcadian worship of the goddess Despoina, which literally means “The Mistress.” Despoina was closely identified with Persephone and may be an older goddess the myth of Persephone arose from. The goddess’s real name was either unknown or a secret and worshipers only referred to her as "The Mistress" to avoid taking her name in vain. This is a convention familiar to Abrahamic faiths, which often use variants of “God,” “Lord,” or other euphemisms to refer to their singular god.
I like how both Kurtz and Persephone / Kore go into their own types of darkness and meet two different fates. Kurtz goes into a darkness created by humans and is consumed by it. Persephone is taken into the darkness that awaits us all in the end and accepts it. I felt this corresponded better with a noblebright take on Konrad and his struggle with the clarity of his own destiny.
Thought of the day:
Fear the shadows; despise the night. There are horrors that no man can face and survive.
Feel free to leave a comment on these submissions and this project generally. I look forward to sharing more with you next time~
2024.05.19 03:20 keblastkavich Chthonauts
There is a price to Faster Than Light travel. A veritable one depending on the Stellar Domain being traversed, a trip might necessitate an offering or a sacrifice of some kind, usually food or items of sentimental value. Rarely has a Domain Warden asked for anything more beyond that as most of their Arch Demon masters would rather not let their main source of Axiomatic power be 'depleted'.
This is the most common case for intra-domain travel. The real trouble begins when you try to cross into another.
Arch Demons don't tend to like their 'property' escaping their clutches, so there is a hefty toll that must be paid to them before they agree to send you over. Not only that, chances are likely that the Domain you wish to travel to is already harbouring another Arch. In that case, you would not only need to satisfy your previous 'benefactor' but also convince the other to allow you entrance.
If that wasn't enough to discourage you, then there is also the lack of protection during your transit to the new domain. See, the reason why Stellar Domains even exist is because the Arch Demons that rule them exude a presence that wards off their unintelligent kin, so with that gone, you're a flying dinner bell.
Every moment your ship stays in Chtho-Space, more and more Lesser Demons will come for you like sharks to chum. They will surround you, their uncountable numbers hollering and scratching at your hull for as long as you can withstand. And if you're still sane, their tricks will become worse, their actions bolder than before. Illusions of the dead, cold whispers into the ears, and the feeling of being watched from the darkness are a few examples of what the Lesser Demons are capable of, but they are not their limits. Remember, never show them what you fear.
The reason for this madness is simple, and it is due to the incorporeal nature of Lesser Demons. As beings formed of pure Chthonic energy, they cannot interact with the Real-Space as is, they require a conduit to affect the material realm. In other words, they must possess a sapient creature.
To do so, an individual on board will be chosen as the vessel and the Demons will haunt them until either the ship reaches its destination 'safely', or they give in. That's when the slaughter begins.
The person, whose mind no longer belongs, will be reborn into a Corporeal Demon and kill off the rest of the crew with powers beyond the understanding of most in this galaxy to ensure its competition is at a minimum. Corpses can't be possessed after all.
With its newly secured intellect, the Corporeal Demon may do one of two things, become a Domain Warden under the watchful eye of an Arch or attempt to ascend into one. And whether it succeeds or fails, the galaxy is darker for it, such is the doomed fate of those under the rule of Demons.
Forever cursed to serve, be used, and forgotten. Everything they once were, boiled down to insignificant specks of blood in a galaxy that lost against Chtho-Space thousands of years ago.
Nevertheless.
As Demons seek to create a world without peace, one mirroring their own, they are bound to find those who are more than up to the task of defending it.
And it is in the void between the domains where they settle.
From the Demons' perspective, not much is known about them, other than that they can intrude into Chtho-Space without the permission or knowledge of a Domain Warden. This freedom of movement has allowed these mysterious warriors to battle on equal if not better footing with the Demons as Lessers can only ride the currents of Chtho-Space, not create them.
Seemingly, they also rescue domain migrators from swarms of Lessers. It is maybe how stories of them are so ubiquitous throughout the galaxy. A myth that emboldens the hearts of those under tyranny and plants the seed of rebellion in those who can no longer bear it.
For those that harbour such intent, the Chthonauts are eager for more members, you will only need to proclaim your wish to fight when one of their patrol ships is nearby while in transit between Domains.
Due to this recruitment method, the Chthonauts are an odd group, strictly speaking, as a whole multitude of different species comprises them. All with various traditions and practices that would have been snuffed out under the Demons.
They carry out their demon-hunting duties with corvettes, which are usually attached to a larger battlegroup or mothership, and either attack swarms of Lessers or hunt down singular Corporeals. Aside from that, some operate without the aid of larger ships, penetrating deep into Domains as scouts.
Of the many species sighted on these 'Chthonaut' vessels, a large portion of them appear to be hairless mammalian bipeds. Intercepted communications have revealed that they call themselves, Humans.
They appear to have a history of fighting Demons, even before their spacefaring age. Sources vary from religious texts to fictional tales dating back multiple millennia of the Demons they have encountered, some exhibiting capabilities eerily similar to Arch Demons. Whether the events recounted are true to life remains to be seen, but the Humans of today undeniably match their written portrayals in terms of Demon-hunting prowess.
I do wonder though, how did they remain unconquered before their space age? Most species evolved in a Stellar Domain and the ones that didn't were absorbed all the same when they reached the Axiomatic population threshold that draws in Archs.
Perhaps there were other forces at play, mankind's old text did describe many entities besides Demons. From immortals that leeched the life force of their victims to beings completely antithetical to the concept of Demons. It wouldn't surprise me if these races potentially existed at one point, the intrusion of Chtho-Space did spell doom for the previous masters of this galaxy.
Strangely, while the monsters may differ, mankind is still shown to triumph over impossible odds in these ancient texts. It was a common message, no matter the language or culture, that the human spirit stands tall at the end. A naive proclamation, but one with more bite to it than it probably warrants.
Yo, back with another story after...idk after how many months, not really the one I've been spending months on making, but one that I've forced myself to write and finish,
Kinda makes me feel a bit sad, to be honest, I wonder how long stories would take to write when I actually have to work and go to college. I won't stop writing though, so don't worry about that. I wanna make a career out of this.
As always, criticism is welcome, and I do read your comments! just takes a while to respond because I post these stories when I am about to go to sleep or when I just wake up due to time zones.
Here's to hoping you'll enjoy it.
submitted by keblastkavich to HFY [link] [comments]
This is the most common case for intra-domain travel. The real trouble begins when you try to cross into another.
Arch Demons don't tend to like their 'property' escaping their clutches, so there is a hefty toll that must be paid to them before they agree to send you over. Not only that, chances are likely that the Domain you wish to travel to is already harbouring another Arch. In that case, you would not only need to satisfy your previous 'benefactor' but also convince the other to allow you entrance.
If that wasn't enough to discourage you, then there is also the lack of protection during your transit to the new domain. See, the reason why Stellar Domains even exist is because the Arch Demons that rule them exude a presence that wards off their unintelligent kin, so with that gone, you're a flying dinner bell.
Every moment your ship stays in Chtho-Space, more and more Lesser Demons will come for you like sharks to chum. They will surround you, their uncountable numbers hollering and scratching at your hull for as long as you can withstand. And if you're still sane, their tricks will become worse, their actions bolder than before. Illusions of the dead, cold whispers into the ears, and the feeling of being watched from the darkness are a few examples of what the Lesser Demons are capable of, but they are not their limits. Remember, never show them what you fear.
The reason for this madness is simple, and it is due to the incorporeal nature of Lesser Demons. As beings formed of pure Chthonic energy, they cannot interact with the Real-Space as is, they require a conduit to affect the material realm. In other words, they must possess a sapient creature.
To do so, an individual on board will be chosen as the vessel and the Demons will haunt them until either the ship reaches its destination 'safely', or they give in. That's when the slaughter begins.
The person, whose mind no longer belongs, will be reborn into a Corporeal Demon and kill off the rest of the crew with powers beyond the understanding of most in this galaxy to ensure its competition is at a minimum. Corpses can't be possessed after all.
With its newly secured intellect, the Corporeal Demon may do one of two things, become a Domain Warden under the watchful eye of an Arch or attempt to ascend into one. And whether it succeeds or fails, the galaxy is darker for it, such is the doomed fate of those under the rule of Demons.
Forever cursed to serve, be used, and forgotten. Everything they once were, boiled down to insignificant specks of blood in a galaxy that lost against Chtho-Space thousands of years ago.
Nevertheless.
As Demons seek to create a world without peace, one mirroring their own, they are bound to find those who are more than up to the task of defending it.
And it is in the void between the domains where they settle.
From the Demons' perspective, not much is known about them, other than that they can intrude into Chtho-Space without the permission or knowledge of a Domain Warden. This freedom of movement has allowed these mysterious warriors to battle on equal if not better footing with the Demons as Lessers can only ride the currents of Chtho-Space, not create them.
Seemingly, they also rescue domain migrators from swarms of Lessers. It is maybe how stories of them are so ubiquitous throughout the galaxy. A myth that emboldens the hearts of those under tyranny and plants the seed of rebellion in those who can no longer bear it.
For those that harbour such intent, the Chthonauts are eager for more members, you will only need to proclaim your wish to fight when one of their patrol ships is nearby while in transit between Domains.
Due to this recruitment method, the Chthonauts are an odd group, strictly speaking, as a whole multitude of different species comprises them. All with various traditions and practices that would have been snuffed out under the Demons.
They carry out their demon-hunting duties with corvettes, which are usually attached to a larger battlegroup or mothership, and either attack swarms of Lessers or hunt down singular Corporeals. Aside from that, some operate without the aid of larger ships, penetrating deep into Domains as scouts.
Of the many species sighted on these 'Chthonaut' vessels, a large portion of them appear to be hairless mammalian bipeds. Intercepted communications have revealed that they call themselves, Humans.
They appear to have a history of fighting Demons, even before their spacefaring age. Sources vary from religious texts to fictional tales dating back multiple millennia of the Demons they have encountered, some exhibiting capabilities eerily similar to Arch Demons. Whether the events recounted are true to life remains to be seen, but the Humans of today undeniably match their written portrayals in terms of Demon-hunting prowess.
I do wonder though, how did they remain unconquered before their space age? Most species evolved in a Stellar Domain and the ones that didn't were absorbed all the same when they reached the Axiomatic population threshold that draws in Archs.
Perhaps there were other forces at play, mankind's old text did describe many entities besides Demons. From immortals that leeched the life force of their victims to beings completely antithetical to the concept of Demons. It wouldn't surprise me if these races potentially existed at one point, the intrusion of Chtho-Space did spell doom for the previous masters of this galaxy.
Strangely, while the monsters may differ, mankind is still shown to triumph over impossible odds in these ancient texts. It was a common message, no matter the language or culture, that the human spirit stands tall at the end. A naive proclamation, but one with more bite to it than it probably warrants.
Yo, back with another story after...idk after how many months, not really the one I've been spending months on making, but one that I've forced myself to write and finish,
Kinda makes me feel a bit sad, to be honest, I wonder how long stories would take to write when I actually have to work and go to college. I won't stop writing though, so don't worry about that. I wanna make a career out of this.
As always, criticism is welcome, and I do read your comments! just takes a while to respond because I post these stories when I am about to go to sleep or when I just wake up due to time zones.
Here's to hoping you'll enjoy it.
2024.05.19 03:06 homebody_mouse Anxiety projects as perfectionism in my life and when situations don't meet my high standards or I fail to meet the expectations of others, I get irritated and the anger upsets me. I hyperfocus on it. I don't like taking meds, I view it as a bandaid but I feel calm with 0.5mg ativan enough to sleep.
My therapist cancelled on me (no fault of her own, I understand life gets busy.) And I have no plans to reschedule more sessions. My work schedule is demanding. I can't seem to relax sometimes when I'm not working on a hobby. I don't know how ativan just took the edge off better than alcohol. I'm a lightweight drinker, and know not to mix alcohol with these kind of meds. But I need to be able to cope with the pressure and healthy coping is preferable to these two situations. I love what I do, but it demands so much of my time. I'm not a workaholic, I keep saying that. I just want to make sure things are done well and meets deadlines. However, the pressure can be a bit much. I don't know how to have fun when my brain is like this. It's why I need to be out in nature. It's why the birds singing and the wildlife and the wind and the sounds of life make me forget these responsibilities, make me forget the expectations of others, makes me forget being a screw in the machine. Make me forget all of these "important" things that really are so insignificant in my life. What makes me happy? It's not serving others for 8-10 hours a day. What makes me happy is being outdoors with plants and experiencing the rich sensations in a hospitable climate that earth and mother nature have to offer. Maybe I sound crazy, but I admire Jane Goodall. I love gorillas. I love orangutans. I'd love to be able to see them in their natural habitat some day. I am not my job. And yet people depend on me. And I feel a bit weighed down by that. How do you provide good service when you aren't taking care of yourself? My anxiety stems from fear of failure. Failure to meet the expectations of others. Failure to meet their needs. It's why I run away when I sense clinginess/suffocation. I am my own person. I need to be free from these 'social chains' so to speak. It's not to say, I can't be present with someone. I can. But when you get to know someone on an intimate level (in the case of caring for someone on hospice) when things go downhill, it breaks your heart too. You're there for the client, but your relationship with the client isn't singular, you're also there for their family then and what comes after. I take this with me in my professional life and treat my clients like my family. But it takes a toll on me. The demands. The pressures. I am one person. I can not do it all. And my body is tired. And my spirit is broken. I am teaching, by profession, others on topics I am still learning myself. That pressure to ensure everything is done correctly while learning (rookie level mistakes) through trial and error is humbling. I can feel the cortisol spike. And I know if I can't cope in the long run, then I won't be able to do this for long. I need to keep cool. I need to be level headed. At the same time, in order to be the above, it requires long hours at work. I need to prepare lunch and dinner to make sure I eat properly because I rarely go home on time. Where do I fit in the exercise? Should I leave work on time, exercise and then resume work from home? Some things to think about.
submitted by homebody_mouse to Anxiety [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 01:16 Hanco90 Devils game. Part 1
Humans were always interested in evil, hell, devil, everything that's backwards from good, by the time of history of humanity people have adapted into their religions, and they believe how many miscellaneous religions exist, however in reality, there's just 2, first one is a belief in god or good and the second one is belief in devil or evil.
By those 2 beliefs, it's extremely easy not just to manipulate with singular person, but also with whole world. It's something like a domino effect, you begin with one, and then there shall be a chain reaction that will also cause influence to others. That is something that is strongest in us humans, but that is something that is incomprehensible for us.
I was always interested in that, why do lot's of people want to form contact with devil. Why does that attract, intrigue and interest them, why are there many cults and groups that are desperately in all possible ways attempting to form a contact with an evil side, the king of most evil, the devil.
That is where my story begins, it begun from my curiosity on why do people want to form a contact with devil so much. I was a student, moreso the best one in my entire class, others considered me to be a very smart person, a person with an intelligence that is above average, but I've possessed my bad sides as well, no one is perfect. My adventure begins with my one friend that trustfully informed me how he knows someone who is a participant in a local cult or sect, curious me was slyly and carefully asking about that person and cult and successfully I've received those informations, I contacted that person and told him how I would also like to become a participant in his cult. The first thing that was told to me obviously was how becoming something like that isn't such an easy and straightforward thing, because they solely pick those who are tremendously competent to be an adequate fit for their cult, I was determined to become part of it so I accepted.
It was 13th November a hour before midnight, when I've received a message to arrive on one place in which there was nothing, I knew that road that I was traveling with in my car at that night, around me were only fields and trees. I was told that after 3 turns I should turn left and go for another about 100 meters, and then next to the biggest tree I must park and get out, and after that I must make exactly 66 steps from the left of that tree, on that place I shall receive my first test. And that is what I've done, I got out of my car and observed around but there was nothing, just a sound of a basic night, when I made 66 steps, I stumbled upon one old book that was simply just laying on the ground, the grass on that place was obviously cut just so that book was noticeable. On the peace of paper that was glued on it said how should I go back to my apartment and read the entire book exactly 3 times and how I should do everything that says in it. The name of the book was "The Devils Bible" It appeared very archaic with its thick covers and yellowish heavily congregated pages, it looked like a real replica of a 500 year old bible but with all kinds of satanic symbols drawn on its covers.
I arrived at my apartment and read the book exactly 3 times, for such thing I required 3 days, but my determination was still strong, all kinds of stuff were written on it, about the creation of devil and the techniques he uses to spew evilness on this world, how to truly summon the devil, how to truly submit a victim to evil, how to sell soul, and many other miscellaneous infos about such diabolical stuff. I've remembered almost every word and read every page. However I was very skeptical about this book because the historical misinformations were ubiquitous in this book but, what I wanted I received it.
After exactly 6 days I received another textual message with an address, the address led me to an abandoned factory that was located in the edge of the city. 10 years ago that factory burned down and no one goes there anymore, apparently it's haunted and many suicides occurred there, that is why it carries a frightening history and goes by the name "Factory of Death". When I arrived in front of the factory I saw that light in one part is on, I came into a conclusion that someone was genuinely in there, before I went into it, the doors opened, and one man came out. To my surprise, that man had a very nice and elegant suit, he asked for a card that I had on the center of my book that I received, I gave it to him, and then he told me to follow him, and then I came into that room. The thing I saw there seriously left me frightened, about 20 people with black robes and hoods that covered their heads sat in a circle that on the center had a big bowl with fire, and on top was a giant cross that was turned backwards, on the walls a lot of satanic symbols were drawn.
submitted by Hanco90 to AllureStories [link] [comments]
By those 2 beliefs, it's extremely easy not just to manipulate with singular person, but also with whole world. It's something like a domino effect, you begin with one, and then there shall be a chain reaction that will also cause influence to others. That is something that is strongest in us humans, but that is something that is incomprehensible for us.
I was always interested in that, why do lot's of people want to form contact with devil. Why does that attract, intrigue and interest them, why are there many cults and groups that are desperately in all possible ways attempting to form a contact with an evil side, the king of most evil, the devil.
That is where my story begins, it begun from my curiosity on why do people want to form a contact with devil so much. I was a student, moreso the best one in my entire class, others considered me to be a very smart person, a person with an intelligence that is above average, but I've possessed my bad sides as well, no one is perfect. My adventure begins with my one friend that trustfully informed me how he knows someone who is a participant in a local cult or sect, curious me was slyly and carefully asking about that person and cult and successfully I've received those informations, I contacted that person and told him how I would also like to become a participant in his cult. The first thing that was told to me obviously was how becoming something like that isn't such an easy and straightforward thing, because they solely pick those who are tremendously competent to be an adequate fit for their cult, I was determined to become part of it so I accepted.
It was 13th November a hour before midnight, when I've received a message to arrive on one place in which there was nothing, I knew that road that I was traveling with in my car at that night, around me were only fields and trees. I was told that after 3 turns I should turn left and go for another about 100 meters, and then next to the biggest tree I must park and get out, and after that I must make exactly 66 steps from the left of that tree, on that place I shall receive my first test. And that is what I've done, I got out of my car and observed around but there was nothing, just a sound of a basic night, when I made 66 steps, I stumbled upon one old book that was simply just laying on the ground, the grass on that place was obviously cut just so that book was noticeable. On the peace of paper that was glued on it said how should I go back to my apartment and read the entire book exactly 3 times and how I should do everything that says in it. The name of the book was "The Devils Bible" It appeared very archaic with its thick covers and yellowish heavily congregated pages, it looked like a real replica of a 500 year old bible but with all kinds of satanic symbols drawn on its covers.
I arrived at my apartment and read the book exactly 3 times, for such thing I required 3 days, but my determination was still strong, all kinds of stuff were written on it, about the creation of devil and the techniques he uses to spew evilness on this world, how to truly summon the devil, how to truly submit a victim to evil, how to sell soul, and many other miscellaneous infos about such diabolical stuff. I've remembered almost every word and read every page. However I was very skeptical about this book because the historical misinformations were ubiquitous in this book but, what I wanted I received it.
After exactly 6 days I received another textual message with an address, the address led me to an abandoned factory that was located in the edge of the city. 10 years ago that factory burned down and no one goes there anymore, apparently it's haunted and many suicides occurred there, that is why it carries a frightening history and goes by the name "Factory of Death". When I arrived in front of the factory I saw that light in one part is on, I came into a conclusion that someone was genuinely in there, before I went into it, the doors opened, and one man came out. To my surprise, that man had a very nice and elegant suit, he asked for a card that I had on the center of my book that I received, I gave it to him, and then he told me to follow him, and then I came into that room. The thing I saw there seriously left me frightened, about 20 people with black robes and hoods that covered their heads sat in a circle that on the center had a big bowl with fire, and on top was a giant cross that was turned backwards, on the walls a lot of satanic symbols were drawn.
2024.05.18 23:31 OnlineCalisthenics What Is The Best Body Fat Percentage?
 | What Is The Best Body Fat Percentage? submitted by OnlineCalisthenics to onlinecalisthenics [link] [comments] What Is The Best Body Fat Percentage?Did you ever ask yourself that question? I have!The pursuit of a shredded physique often leads to a singular focus: body fat percentage. Social media bombards us with images of incredibly lean individuals, raising the question – what's the magic number for achieving that look? The reality, however, is far more nuanced. Today let’s explore the concept of body fat percentage, debunks common myths, and demonstrates how calisthenics training can be a powerful tool for achieving a healthy and sustainable body composition. Moving Beyond the Single Number: Embracing Body Fat Brackets Chasing a specific body fat percentage as the ultimate goal is a common misconception. A more effective approach is targeting a healthy body fat bracket that considers your sex, age, and overall health. Here's a breakdown:
The ultra-shredded physiques often showcased online frequently dip below 10% body fat. While visually impressive, consider the drawbacks:
The true secret to achieving a healthy body fat percentage lies in building muscle density and a revved-up metabolism. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest, creating a natural fat-burning machine. This is where calisthenics training shines:
Reaching a healthy body fat percentage is a marathon, not a sprint. Here are some key strategies to guide you:
Calisthenics training offers the perfect platform to build muscle, boost metabolism, and achieve a healthy body fat percentage. It's a versatile, accessible, and scalable workout method that grows with you as you progress. Focus on the Journey, Not the Number: Don't get fixated on a single body fat percentage. Focus on building a strong, healthy body through consistent training, a balanced diet, and stress management. Calisthenics training will be your ally in this journey, helping you achieve your ideal body composition without sacrificing performance or well-being. Ready to get started? Reach your 10-15% body fat goals with my comprehensive calisthenics course and coaching! |
2024.05.18 23:28 Tesa_Tesanovic1988 Exploring Performance Boosters: Synthetic Equity vs. Tokens – Which One Fits You?
In the ever-evolving landscape of modern business, companies face a critical choice when it comes to rewarding and motivating their key talent.
The debate between adopting traditional token distribution models and embracing Synthetic Equity with deferred cash payments based on performance continues to shape the compensation strategies of organizations worldwide. This expository essay aims to shed light on this important decision-making process, offering insights into the advantages and pitfalls of each approach.Token Distribution:
Pros:- Immediate Ownership: Token distribution provides immediate ownership, aligning team members with the project’s success from the outset.
- Strong Incentive: Tokens are potent incentives, as their value can soar if the project prospers.
- Transparency: Blockchain-based tokens often offer transparency and traceability in ownership and transactions.
- Avoiding Ownership Dilution: Tokens allow companies to avoid diluting their cap tables.
- Payment Efficiency: Salaries and performance-based bonuses in token form can conserve cash reserves, with employees seeking liquidity in the market.
- Market Volatility: Token values can be highly volatile, creating uncertainty for team members.
- Limited Liquidity: Token liquidity constraints make converting tokens into cash challenging.
- Tax Implications: Transferring token value can trigger income tax obligations.
- Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Issuing tokens, especially in countries like the US, often involves legal, financial, and administrative hurdles.
- Access to Top Talent: High-caliber talent may be hesitant to accept tokens due to market volatility.
Synthetic Equity:
Pros:- Performance-Driven: Synthetic Equity and deferred cash payments link rewards directly to individual or team performance, fostering a strong work ethic.
- Predictable Rewards: Cash payments offer stability and predictability compared to volatile tokens.
- Flexibility: Synthetic Equity and cash incentives can be customized to align with specific performance metrics and goals.
- Avoiding Ownership Dilution: Tokens allow companies to avoid diluting their cap tables.
- Value for Investors: High-performing organizations often deliver greater value to shareholders.
- Utility Token: Synthetic Equity tokens, being a derivative of work, carry no inherent value, making them utility tokens with fewer legal implications.
- Bottom-Line Impact: Additional payments are derived from bottom-line growth, directly rewarding employees for business expansion.
- Tax Implications: Specify payouts such as “time certain” and separation of service, all of which are 100% compensation expense for tax purposes. Have the lowest predictable cost to the company based on after- tax cash flow.
- Performance management system set up: Synthetic Equity requires strong expertise in establishing performance management and incentive structures.
- Delayed Ownership: Synthetic Equity lacks the immediate ownership associated with tokens.
- Administrative Complexity: Implementing and managing a comprehensive incentives program can be administratively intricate.
Synthetic Equity offers an alternative to the traditional token issuance model, integrating performance management seamlessly. It aligns stakeholder and shareholder interests, encourages innovation, and rewards high performance. Furthermore, it addresses a common challenge faced by startups—creating and measuring key performance indicators (KPIs). Our unique performance plan methodology enhances teamwork, promotes a healthier work environment, and ensures individual productivity by emphasizing collective success.
Synthetic equity is ideal for companies committed to thriving and nurturing top talent. Individuals who meet their KPIs are rewarded, while those failing to contribute positively to the business unit’s performance forfeit part of their compensation.
The decision between token distribution and Synthetic Equity hinges on an organization’s objectives, risk tolerance, and the preferences of founders and team members. Some organizations may choose a combination of both to balance immediate ownership and performance-based incentives. Legal, regulatory, and tax considerations, as well as project dynamics, must be carefully weighed. Consulting with legal and financial experts can prove invaluable in crafting an effective and compliant compensation strategy.
Synthetic equity is a powerful tool for attracting, retaining, and rewarding top talent, especially in owner succession planning. However, many business owners and advisors possess only a rudimentary understanding of synthetic equity and its design. This essay defines synthetic equity, explores its appropriateness for specific capital and tax structures, illustrates its flexibility and benefits in owner succession, and showcases its potential through a compelling case study.
Synthetic equity, unlike traditional equity plans, is a compensation approach that grants executives and contract-based employees the right to a defined portion of enterprise value without requiring them to invest their own capital. It offers exceptional versatility and can be tailored to meet specific criteria related to who receives what, when, and under what conditions in terms of value sharing.
Outlined below are six fundamental examples of synthetic equity programs:
- Phantom Stock:
- An executive is entitled to a percentage share of the company’s value. (For example, Joe holds 5% of the company’s value expressed as phantom stock.)
- Phantom Stock Over an Owner’s Threshold:
- An executive has the right to a percentage share of the company’s value beyond an initial fixed threshold value or formula. (For instance, Joe has 5% of the company’s value above $10 million.)
- Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs):
- Executives are granted the right to share in a set percentage of the company’s value exceeding its value at the time of the grant—similar to employee stock options. (For instance, Joe has 5% of the company’s value above the current valuation of $20 million.)
- Value Band Plans:
- Executives are entitled to a graduated percentage share of the company’s value based on predetermined thresholds. (For example, Joe has a baseline right to 3% of the company’s value and can earn an additional 1% for every $10 million in growth, with a maximum share of 7%.)
- Sales Bonus in Event of Change of Control:
- Executives are entitled to a percentage share of the company’s value payable exclusively in the event of a change of control. (For example, Joe has 5% of the company’s value expressed as phantom stock, payable only if a change of control occurs.)
- Simulated Equity Plan:
- Executives are entitled to a percentage share of the value of a specific division or segment of the company, determined by a predefined formulaic breakup value of the company. (For instance, Joe holds 5% of the European division’s value based on a preset formulaic breakup value of the company.)
The possibilities are virtually endless. Synthetic equity is akin to a sculptor’s clay for incentive structures—it can be molded into a wide array of forms to suit a business owner’s preferences. It can transform from a tracking stock to a pure performance-based incentive.
Of significant significance to business owners, synthetic equity operates independently of the company’s shareholders’ agreement and related buy-sell terms. This independence grants a high degree of flexibility, particularly concerning payout. Synthetic equity agreements must adhere to IRS code section 409A, which outlines rules governing plan payouts. According to 409A, synthetic equity plans can be triggered by six permissible events or plan termination. The three events that cannot be predicted are death, disability, and unforeseeable emergencies, while the three strategic triggers are change of control, time certain, and separation of service. Consequently, business owners have the authority to determine when executives can realize the value of the plan. This contrasts with a typical employee stock option plan, where executives decide when to “exercise” their stock options independently. In summary, synthetic equity plans provide business owners with enhanced control and flexibility in terms of plan design and payout.
In conclusion, synthetic equity stands as a compelling option for organizations seeking to optimize cash resources, empower succession, and reward high performance. It offers a robust and flexible framework, ensuring that top talent remains motivated and aligned with organizational goals. Embracing Synthetic Equity can truly set a company on the path to sustained high performance and success.
Authors
Paul Lalovich
2024.05.18 23:04 Theo-Dorable Ideologies (and their descriptions)
A list of all the ideologies (within the game files), including their descriptions. Enjoy.
National Conservatism National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that concentrates more on national interests and upholding cultural or ethnic identity than most other conservatives. In Europe, national conservatives are usually Eurosceptics.
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader General Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic.
Corporatism I do not know where the description for this is. Considering corporatism doesn't exactly fit within conservatism I believe this is a mistake, but I'm including it here anyway.
Republican Party [sic]
The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, a major ideology of the American Revolution. Founded by anti-slavery activists, economic modernizers, ex-National Republicans, ex-Free Soilers and Whigs in 1854, the Republicans largely dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern states between 1860 and 1932.
Religious Zionism Formed as a nationalist opposition and acts as the basis of the Israeli right, Revisionist Zionism envisions territorial integrity over the historical Land of Israel and supports Jewish nationalism. Revisionist Zionists believed that Jews have sovereignty over both banks of the Jordan river and its followers question the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Jordan. Currently, Revisionist Zionism is regarded as a fringe ideology but its proponents have recently began a push to make the ideology more moderate and hence more electable.
Black Conservatism Black Conservatism is a type of conservative ideology popular among Africans in both hemispheres. Individuals which would promote black conservatism would likely be advocates of free market capitalism, promotion of traditional beliefs (generally in regards to Catholic and Protestant Christianity), and Patriotism or Jingoism. Black Conservatism generally is opposed to Pan-Africanism, Socialism, and Anti-Imperialism.
Conservative Liberalism Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. It is a more positive and less radical variant of classical liberalism.
Vatican [sic]
The politics of Vatican City take place in a framework of an theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pope, religiously speaking, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Vatican City, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
Democratic Socialism Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, with an emphasis on self-management and democratic management of economic institutions within a market or some form of decentralized planned socialist economy.
Market Socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy.
Royal Socialism No information in the game files. Probably a scrapped ideology, but still here for showcase purposes.
Neocommunism Ditto to above.
African Socialism African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Common principles of African socialism are social development guided by a large public sector, incorporating the African identity and what it means to be African, and the avoidance of the development of social classes within society.
Ujamaa The Swahili word Ujamaa means 'extended family', 'brotherhood' or 'socialism'; as a political concept it asserts that a person becomes a person through the people or community. Ujamaa was a term made popular by the political philosophy applied under Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.
Labor Zionism (Mapai) Labor Zionism is the left-wing of the Zionist movement. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations. It saw itself as the Zionist sector of the historic Jewish labor movements of Eastern and Central Europe, eventually developing local units in most countries with sizable Jewish populations. Labor Zionists believe that a Jewish state could only be created through the efforts of the Jewish working class settling in the Land of Israel and constructing a state through the creation of a progressive Jewish society with rural kibbutzim and moshavim and an urban Jewish proletariat.
Kemalism Kemalism is the founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey. Kemalism, as it was implemented by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was defined by sweeping political, social, cultural and religious reforms designed to separate the new Turkish state from its Ottoman predecessor and embrace a Westernized way of living, including the establishment of democracy, secularism, state support of the sciences and free education.
Oriental Personalism Oriental Personalism is the official ideology of Ngo Dinh Diem's Can-Lao Party in South Vietnam. Owing as much to the influence of his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu as Diem himself, Oriental Personalism has diverse ideological influences, including Emannuel Mournier's theory of Personalism, Marxism, and the folk traditions and religions of Vietnam. The Can-Lao manifest calls for the gradual transformation of Vietnamese society through two phase. In the first phase, the Personalist Revolution, the Social and Working Classes will tear their divisions and join as one. Then comes the Social Revolution, where all forms of capitalism and colonial influence will be swept out on a triumphant march to a utopian, socialist, and proudly Vietnamese society.
Democratic Party [sic]
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Labor Zionism Functionally the exact same as Labor Zionism (Mapai), with the same description. I have no clue why it's divided as such.
Green politics Green politics is a political ideology that aims to create an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.
Libertarianism Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. Libertarians share a skepticism of authority and state power, but they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems.
Zionism (General Zionism) Many people and parties chose not to follow any of the distinct Zionist schools of thought and chose to stick to the core ideology of Zionism, settling in Israel and the establishment of the Jewish State. Many of the parties that stick to the 'core' of Zionism are centrist parties that don't associate themselves with either the left nor the right and tend to be economically liberal.
Liberal Communism I can find no reference. I presume this refers to the like of Gorbachev.
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and related policies implemented from around 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. Stalinist policies and ideas as developed in the Soviet Union included rapid industrialization, the theory of socialism in one country, a totalitarian state, collectivization of agriculture, a cult of personality and subordination of the interests of foreign communist parties to those of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, deemed by Stalinism to be the leading vanguard party of communist revolution at the time.
Juche Juche is the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the government as Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought. It postulates that the Korean masses are to act as the masters of the revolution and construction and that by becoming self-reliant and strong a nation can achieve true socialism.
Ho Chi Minh Thought Ho Chi Minh Thought is the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam under the leadership of Chairman Ho Chi Minh. Though firmly Marxist-Leninist, Ho believes in a more nationalistic reintepretation of Marxism for the unique conditions of the Vietnamese revolution, even taking some influence from Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People" and the American revolutionaries. Ho Chi Minh Thought is as proudly Vietnamese as it is Communist, and calls for a "national democratic revolution" -- a truly Vietnamese path to socialism where worker, peasant, soldier, and merchant will unite against inequality and imperialism in all its forms.
Revolutionary Islamic Socialism Your guess is as good as mine.
Trotskyism Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Russian Leon Trotsky. Trotsky identified as an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist. He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat, proletarian internationalism and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working class self-emancipation and mass democracy.
Sartre Thought No description given.
Anarcho-Communism Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labor and private property in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Posadism No description. Another relic.
Titoism Titoism is described as the post-World War II policies and practices associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War, characterized by an opposition to the Soviet Union. It usually represents Tito's Yugoslav doctrine in Cold War international politics. It emerged with the Yugoslav Partisans' liberation of Yugoslavia independently of the Red Army, resulting in Yugoslavia being the only Eastern European country to remain socialist, but independent after World War II as well as resisting Soviet Union pressure to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.
Left-wing Military Dictatorship a Left-wing Military Dictatorship is a government which may espouse specific socialistic beliefs to gain second world support, but is however a military-controlled oppressive autocratic state. [sic]
Person Dignity Theory (Nhuism) Person Dignity Theory, also known as Spiritualistic Marxism, describes the more radical worldview of Ngo Dinh Nhu. Influenced by his involvment with French syndicalism in the 1930s and the left-wing nationalism of the Viet Minh, Nhu's views are significantly to the left of his older brother. Nhu's interpretation of \"True Marxism\" calls for a total centralization of state power in the Can Lao Party and the complete destruction of traditional society in favor of the strict regimentation of the peasants in collectivist \"Strategic Hamlets\" and the city dwellers through \"Urban Revolutionary Syndicates\". Some believe Nhu's ambitions may lie beyond Vietnam, given his calls for a worldwide crusade against \"Materialistic Capitalism\". [sic]
Mao Zedong thought is the product of the combination of the basic principles of Marxism Leninism and the specific reality of the Chinese revolution. It is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese Communists. It is a political, military and development theory advocated by Mao Zedong and widely practiced in the Chinese revolution in the 20th century. It is generally considered to be the development of Marxism Leninism in China.
Anti-Revisionism A Marxist-Leninist position emerging after the XXth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Anti-revisionist movements oppose the reforms of the Khrushchev period and uphold Stalinist and Maoist developments in Marxism.
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism The synthesis of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism did not occur during the life of Mao Zedong. From the 1960s, groups that called themselves Maoist or which upheld Maoism were not unified around a common understanding of Maoism and had instead their own particular interpretations of the political, philosophical, economical and military works of Mao; these disorganized ideological trends comprised, and still comprise, Mao Zedong Thought.
Scientific Socialism Scientific Socialism was founded by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, but was widely used by Deng Xiaoping of the PRC to reform Maoism. It is often Maoism, but with a few reforms that add more emphasis on science, industrialization, and overall a new focus on the economy.
Hoxhaism Hoxhaism is a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological dispute between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labor of Albania. The ideology is named after Enver Hoxha, a notable Albanian communist leader.
Guevarism Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with communist revolutionary Ernesto \"Che\" Guevara. The ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the empire (United States) and has fallen out of favor with its citizens. The ideology has three main points, namely that the people can win with proper organization against a nation's army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces; and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. [sic]
Falangism An authoritarian ideology with traits of fascism and conservatism, Falangist values national and Catholic identity.
Rexism Strongly opposed to both liberal and communist ideals, Rexism is a staunchly conservative nationalist movement who advocate a corporatist economic policy. Employing increasingly populist and authoritarian rhetoric, their ideals are shifting closer to other fascist movements.
Hindu Nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Salazarism Salazarism is a nationalist authoritarian ideology focusing on 'God, Fatherland and Family' and emphasizing the social role of Catholicism - setting it apart from mainstream variations of Fascism.
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II militant, social or political movements seeking to revive the ideology of Nazism. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including ultranationalism, racism up to xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, anti-Romanyism, antisemitism, anti-communism and initiating the Fourth Reich. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is the incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler.
National Bolshevism National Bolshevism is a political movement that combines elements of nationalism and Bolshevism.
Baathism Baathism is an Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and creation of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard party over a progressive revolutionary government.
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan is an American white supremacist hate group. The Klan has existed in three distinct eras at different points in time during the history of the United States. Each has advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and-especially in later iterations-Nordicism and anti-Catholicism.
Kahanism No information.
Authenticité Ditto.
Trujillism Ditto.
Peronism Ditto.
National Democracy no desc.
Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent. Based on a common fate going back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
Leftwing Nationalism Leftwing Nationalism is a form of nationalism which promotes the raising of societal standards for one's own national people generally through the introduction of social equality and government nationalization. Leftwing Nationalism is often anti-imperialist and can commonly represent national liberation fronts. Generally, Leftwing Nationalism will be a response to repeated exploitation of a nation by outside factors.
Bourguibism No desc.
Nasserism Nasserism is a revolutionary ideology, inspired by the second Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser; espousing the unification of what is referred to as the Arab world. It asserts that the Arab people constitute a single nation or federation, based upon a shared language and culture, transcending Islam and Christianity. Advocates of Nasserism have often been described representing political and economic positions which are secular, socialist, nationalistic, socially progressive, and anti-imperialist.
Revisionist Zionism See above.
Islamic Monarchy Islamic monarchies are a type of Islamic state which are monarchies. They are historically known by various names, such as Mamlakah, Caliphate, Sultanate, or Emirate.
Negusa Nagast
Negusa Nagast, or king of kings, is a type of selective hereditary imperial monarchy that became the prevalent leadership of Ethiopia since Negus Zemene Mesafint ended the Age of Princes period where Ethiopia was fractured between small principalities, kindoms, and sultanates.
Despotism Despotism is a form of government in which a single person rules with absolute power.
Military Dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein a military force exerts complete or substantial control over political authority.
Oligarchic Oligarchy is a form of government in which a group of people rule with absolute power.
Colonialism Colonialism is the policy of a foreign polity seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of opening trade opportunities. The colonizing country seeks to benefit whilst the colonized country or land mass, as many of the colonized countries were not countries at all, modernize in terms defined by the colonizers, especially in economics, religion, and health.
Independent An independent politician is an individual politician not affiliated with any political party.
Haredi no desc.
Vennamoism Vennamolaisuus, or Vennamoism in english is name given to the ideology and political movement of Veikko Vennamo, the leader of Finnish Rural Party. It is categorized by populism, reliance on slogans and support for agriculture.
Democratic Islamism Islamic democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public policy within a democratic framework. Islamic political theory specifies three basic features of an Islamic democracy: leaders must be elected by the people, subject to sharia and committed to practicing \"shura\", a special form of consultation practiced by Prophet Muhammad
Ibadi Imamate no desc.
Shia Monarchy no desc.
Houthiism
Houthiism is an armed movement stemming from a sect of Shia Islam, Zaidiism. Houthiism is almost nonexistent outside of Yemen. The Houthi movement strongly opposes Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel and seeks to combat the 'underdevelopment and marginalization' of Yemen.
"Eereerhmm... where are the ideology tags?" NOWHERE! I will not add them.
submitted by Theo-Dorable to CWIC [link] [comments]
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, human imperfection, organic society, hierarchy and authority, and property rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as monarchy, religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity.National Conservatism National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that concentrates more on national interests and upholding cultural or ethnic identity than most other conservatives. In Europe, national conservatives are usually Eurosceptics.
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader General Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic.
Corporatism I do not know where the description for this is. Considering corporatism doesn't exactly fit within conservatism I believe this is a mistake, but I'm including it here anyway.
Republican Party [sic]
The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, a major ideology of the American Revolution. Founded by anti-slavery activists, economic modernizers, ex-National Republicans, ex-Free Soilers and Whigs in 1854, the Republicans largely dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern states between 1860 and 1932.
Religious Zionism Formed as a nationalist opposition and acts as the basis of the Israeli right, Revisionist Zionism envisions territorial integrity over the historical Land of Israel and supports Jewish nationalism. Revisionist Zionists believed that Jews have sovereignty over both banks of the Jordan river and its followers question the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Jordan. Currently, Revisionist Zionism is regarded as a fringe ideology but its proponents have recently began a push to make the ideology more moderate and hence more electable.
Black Conservatism Black Conservatism is a type of conservative ideology popular among Africans in both hemispheres. Individuals which would promote black conservatism would likely be advocates of free market capitalism, promotion of traditional beliefs (generally in regards to Catholic and Protestant Christianity), and Patriotism or Jingoism. Black Conservatism generally is opposed to Pan-Africanism, Socialism, and Anti-Imperialism.
Liberal Conservatism
Liberal conservatism combines conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic, social and ethical issues. It incorporates the classical liberal view of minimal government intervention in the economy, according to which individuals should be free to participate in the market and generate wealth without government interference. However, individuals cannot be thoroughly depended on to act responsibly in other spheres of life, therefore liberal conservatives believe that a strong state is necessary to ensure law and order and social institutions are needed to nurture a sense of duty and responsibility to the nation. They also support civil liberties, along with some social conservative positions.Conservative Liberalism Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. It is a more positive and less radical variant of classical liberalism.
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a form of conservatism and a political ideology which emerged in 19th century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching, as well as Neo Calvinism. It was originally conceived as a combination of traditional Catholic beliefs and modern democratic ideas, and it grew to incorporate the social teaching of other Christian denominations, such as the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church.Vatican [sic]
The politics of Vatican City take place in a framework of an theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pope, religiously speaking, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Vatican City, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
Socialism
Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership and workers' self-management of the means of production as well as the political theories and movements associated with them. Social ownership may refer to forms of public, collective or cooperative ownership, or to citizen ownership of equity. There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them, though social ownership is the common element shared by its various forms. Socialist economic systems can be divided into non-market and market forms. Non-market socialism involves the substitution of factor markets and money, with engineering and technical criteria, based on calculation performed in-kind, thereby producing an economic mechanism that functions according to different economic laws from those of capitalism. Non-market socialism aims to circumvent the inefficiencies and crises traditionally associated with capital accumulation and the profit system. By contrast, market socialism retains the use of monetary prices, factor markets and in some cases the profit motive, with respect to the operation of socially owned enterprises and the allocation of capital goods between them. Profits generated by these firms would be controlled directly by the workforce of each firm, or accrue to society at large in the form of a social dividend. The socialist calculation debate discusses the feasibility and methods of resource allocation for a socialist system.Democratic Socialism Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, with an emphasis on self-management and democratic management of economic institutions within a market or some form of decentralized planned socialist economy.
Market Socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy.
Royal Socialism No information in the game files. Probably a scrapped ideology, but still here for showcase purposes.
Neocommunism Ditto to above.
African Socialism African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Common principles of African socialism are social development guided by a large public sector, incorporating the African identity and what it means to be African, and the avoidance of the development of social classes within society.
Ujamaa The Swahili word Ujamaa means 'extended family', 'brotherhood' or 'socialism'; as a political concept it asserts that a person becomes a person through the people or community. Ujamaa was a term made popular by the political philosophy applied under Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.
Labor Zionism (Mapai) Labor Zionism is the left-wing of the Zionist movement. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations. It saw itself as the Zionist sector of the historic Jewish labor movements of Eastern and Central Europe, eventually developing local units in most countries with sizable Jewish populations. Labor Zionists believe that a Jewish state could only be created through the efforts of the Jewish working class settling in the Land of Israel and constructing a state through the creation of a progressive Jewish society with rural kibbutzim and moshavim and an urban Jewish proletariat.
Kemalism Kemalism is the founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey. Kemalism, as it was implemented by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was defined by sweeping political, social, cultural and religious reforms designed to separate the new Turkish state from its Ottoman predecessor and embrace a Westernized way of living, including the establishment of democracy, secularism, state support of the sciences and free education.
Oriental Personalism Oriental Personalism is the official ideology of Ngo Dinh Diem's Can-Lao Party in South Vietnam. Owing as much to the influence of his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu as Diem himself, Oriental Personalism has diverse ideological influences, including Emannuel Mournier's theory of Personalism, Marxism, and the folk traditions and religions of Vietnam. The Can-Lao manifest calls for the gradual transformation of Vietnamese society through two phase. In the first phase, the Personalist Revolution, the Social and Working Classes will tear their divisions and join as one. Then comes the Social Revolution, where all forms of capitalism and colonial influence will be swept out on a triumphant march to a utopian, socialist, and proudly Vietnamese society.
Social Democracy
Social Democracy is a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy, as well as a policy regime involving a commitment to representative democracy, measures for income redistribution, and regulation of the economy in the general interest and welfare state provisions.Democratic Party [sic]
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Labor Zionism Functionally the exact same as Labor Zionism (Mapai), with the same description. I have no clue why it's divided as such.
Social Liberalism
Social liberalism is a political ideology that believes individual liberty requires a level of social justice. Like classical liberalism, social liberalism endorses a market economy and the expansion of civil and political rights and liberties, but differs in that it believes the legitimate role of the government includes addressing economic and social issues such as poverty, health care, and education.Progressivism
Progressivism is the support for or advocacy of improvement of society by reform. As a philosophy, it is based on the idea of progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.Green politics Green politics is a political ideology that aims to create an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.
Centrism
Centrism is a political outlook or specific position that involves acceptance or support of a balance of a degree of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy, while opposing political changes which would result in a significant shift of society either strongly to the left or the right.Classical Liberalism
Democracy (yes, that is the entire description)Libertarianism Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. Libertarians share a skepticism of authority and state power, but they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems.
Zionism (General Zionism) Many people and parties chose not to follow any of the distinct Zionist schools of thought and chose to stick to the core ideology of Zionism, settling in Israel and the establishment of the Jewish State. Many of the parties that stick to the 'core' of Zionism are centrist parties that don't associate themselves with either the left nor the right and tend to be economically liberal.
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism is the ideology combining Marxist socioeconomic theory and Leninist political praxis, which is the official ideology of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and of the Communist International. The purpose of Marxism-Leninism is the revolutionary development of a capitalist state into a socialist state, effected by the leadership of a vanguard party of professional revolutionaries from the working class.Liberal Communism I can find no reference. I presume this refers to the like of Gorbachev.
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and related policies implemented from around 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. Stalinist policies and ideas as developed in the Soviet Union included rapid industrialization, the theory of socialism in one country, a totalitarian state, collectivization of agriculture, a cult of personality and subordination of the interests of foreign communist parties to those of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, deemed by Stalinism to be the leading vanguard party of communist revolution at the time.
Juche Juche is the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the government as Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought. It postulates that the Korean masses are to act as the masters of the revolution and construction and that by becoming self-reliant and strong a nation can achieve true socialism.
Ho Chi Minh Thought Ho Chi Minh Thought is the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam under the leadership of Chairman Ho Chi Minh. Though firmly Marxist-Leninist, Ho believes in a more nationalistic reintepretation of Marxism for the unique conditions of the Vietnamese revolution, even taking some influence from Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People" and the American revolutionaries. Ho Chi Minh Thought is as proudly Vietnamese as it is Communist, and calls for a "national democratic revolution" -- a truly Vietnamese path to socialism where worker, peasant, soldier, and merchant will unite against inequality and imperialism in all its forms.
Revolutionary Socialism
Revolutionary socialism is the socialist doctrine that social revolution is necessary in order to bring about structural changes to society. More specifically, it is the view that revolution is a necessary precondition for a transition from capitalism to socialism.Revolutionary Islamic Socialism Your guess is as good as mine.
Trotskyism Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Russian Leon Trotsky. Trotsky identified as an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist. He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat, proletarian internationalism and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working class self-emancipation and mass democracy.
Sartre Thought No description given.
Anarcho-Communism Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labor and private property in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Posadism No description. Another relic.
Titoism Titoism is described as the post-World War II policies and practices associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War, characterized by an opposition to the Soviet Union. It usually represents Tito's Yugoslav doctrine in Cold War international politics. It emerged with the Yugoslav Partisans' liberation of Yugoslavia independently of the Red Army, resulting in Yugoslavia being the only Eastern European country to remain socialist, but independent after World War II as well as resisting Soviet Union pressure to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.
Left-wing Military Dictatorship a Left-wing Military Dictatorship is a government which may espouse specific socialistic beliefs to gain second world support, but is however a military-controlled oppressive autocratic state. [sic]
Person Dignity Theory (Nhuism) Person Dignity Theory, also known as Spiritualistic Marxism, describes the more radical worldview of Ngo Dinh Nhu. Influenced by his involvment with French syndicalism in the 1930s and the left-wing nationalism of the Viet Minh, Nhu's views are significantly to the left of his older brother. Nhu's interpretation of \"True Marxism\" calls for a total centralization of state power in the Can Lao Party and the complete destruction of traditional society in favor of the strict regimentation of the peasants in collectivist \"Strategic Hamlets\" and the city dwellers through \"Urban Revolutionary Syndicates\". Some believe Nhu's ambitions may lie beyond Vietnam, given his calls for a worldwide crusade against \"Materialistic Capitalism\". [sic]
Maoism (Mao Zedong Thought)
Actually clumps together "anti-revisionist" ideologies, but for our purposes we'll start with Mao Zedong Thought.Mao Zedong thought is the product of the combination of the basic principles of Marxism Leninism and the specific reality of the Chinese revolution. It is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese Communists. It is a political, military and development theory advocated by Mao Zedong and widely practiced in the Chinese revolution in the 20th century. It is generally considered to be the development of Marxism Leninism in China.
Anti-Revisionism A Marxist-Leninist position emerging after the XXth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Anti-revisionist movements oppose the reforms of the Khrushchev period and uphold Stalinist and Maoist developments in Marxism.
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism The synthesis of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism did not occur during the life of Mao Zedong. From the 1960s, groups that called themselves Maoist or which upheld Maoism were not unified around a common understanding of Maoism and had instead their own particular interpretations of the political, philosophical, economical and military works of Mao; these disorganized ideological trends comprised, and still comprise, Mao Zedong Thought.
Scientific Socialism Scientific Socialism was founded by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, but was widely used by Deng Xiaoping of the PRC to reform Maoism. It is often Maoism, but with a few reforms that add more emphasis on science, industrialization, and overall a new focus on the economy.
Hoxhaism Hoxhaism is a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological dispute between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labor of Albania. The ideology is named after Enver Hoxha, a notable Albanian communist leader.
Guevarism Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with communist revolutionary Ernesto \"Che\" Guevara. The ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the empire (United States) and has fallen out of favor with its citizens. The ideology has three main points, namely that the people can win with proper organization against a nation's army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces; and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. [sic]
Third Positionism
Encompassing a variety of ultra-nationalist movements, third positionism typically venerates devotion to the state and uniting the people under a strong leader. Third Positionism is presented as its own unique ideology as a third option to capitalism or communism.Falangism An authoritarian ideology with traits of fascism and conservatism, Falangist values national and Catholic identity.
Rexism Strongly opposed to both liberal and communist ideals, Rexism is a staunchly conservative nationalist movement who advocate a corporatist economic policy. Employing increasingly populist and authoritarian rhetoric, their ideals are shifting closer to other fascist movements.
Hindu Nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Salazarism Salazarism is a nationalist authoritarian ideology focusing on 'God, Fatherland and Family' and emphasizing the social role of Catholicism - setting it apart from mainstream variations of Fascism.
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II militant, social or political movements seeking to revive the ideology of Nazism. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including ultranationalism, racism up to xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, anti-Romanyism, antisemitism, anti-communism and initiating the Fourth Reich. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is the incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler.
National Bolshevism National Bolshevism is a political movement that combines elements of nationalism and Bolshevism.
Baathism Baathism is an Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and creation of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard party over a progressive revolutionary government.
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan is an American white supremacist hate group. The Klan has existed in three distinct eras at different points in time during the history of the United States. Each has advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and-especially in later iterations-Nordicism and anti-Catholicism.
Kahanism No information.
Authenticité Ditto.
Trujillism Ditto.
Peronism Ditto.
Nationalism
Encompassing a variety of ultra nationalist movements, Nationalism typically venerates devotion to the state and uniting the people under a strong leader.National Democracy no desc.
Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent. Based on a common fate going back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
Leftwing Nationalism Leftwing Nationalism is a form of nationalism which promotes the raising of societal standards for one's own national people generally through the introduction of social equality and government nationalization. Leftwing Nationalism is often anti-imperialist and can commonly represent national liberation fronts. Generally, Leftwing Nationalism will be a response to repeated exploitation of a nation by outside factors.
Bourguibism No desc.
Nasserism Nasserism is a revolutionary ideology, inspired by the second Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser; espousing the unification of what is referred to as the Arab world. It asserts that the Arab people constitute a single nation or federation, based upon a shared language and culture, transcending Islam and Christianity. Advocates of Nasserism have often been described representing political and economic positions which are secular, socialist, nationalistic, socially progressive, and anti-imperialist.
Revisionist Zionism See above.
Monarchism
A monarchy is a form of government in which a group, generally a family representing a dynasty, embodies the country's national identity and its head, the monarch, exercises the role of sovereignty.Islamic Monarchy Islamic monarchies are a type of Islamic state which are monarchies. They are historically known by various names, such as Mamlakah, Caliphate, Sultanate, or Emirate.
Negusa Nagast
Negusa Nagast, or king of kings, is a type of selective hereditary imperial monarchy that became the prevalent leadership of Ethiopia since Negus Zemene Mesafint ended the Age of Princes period where Ethiopia was fractured between small principalities, kindoms, and sultanates.
Reactionary (also Neutrality)
In political science, a reactionary is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the status quo ante, the previous political state of society, which he or she believes possessed characteristics that are negatively absent from the contemporary status quo of a society.Despotism Despotism is a form of government in which a single person rules with absolute power.
Military Dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein a military force exerts complete or substantial control over political authority.
Oligarchic Oligarchy is a form of government in which a group of people rule with absolute power.
Colonialism Colonialism is the policy of a foreign polity seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of opening trade opportunities. The colonizing country seeks to benefit whilst the colonized country or land mass, as many of the colonized countries were not countries at all, modernize in terms defined by the colonizers, especially in economics, religion, and health.
Independent An independent politician is an individual politician not affiliated with any political party.
Haredi no desc.
Vennamoism Vennamolaisuus, or Vennamoism in english is name given to the ideology and political movement of Veikko Vennamo, the leader of Finnish Rural Party. It is categorized by populism, reliance on slogans and support for agriculture.
Islamism
Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the exemplary behavior of the Islamic prophet MuhammadDemocratic Islamism Islamic democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public policy within a democratic framework. Islamic political theory specifies three basic features of an Islamic democracy: leaders must be elected by the people, subject to sharia and committed to practicing \"shura\", a special form of consultation practiced by Prophet Muhammad
Ibadi Imamate no desc.
Radical Shiaism
Shia is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor (Imam).Shia Monarchy no desc.
Houthiism
Houthiism is an armed movement stemming from a sect of Shia Islam, Zaidiism. Houthiism is almost nonexistent outside of Yemen. The Houthi movement strongly opposes Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel and seeks to combat the 'underdevelopment and marginalization' of Yemen.
Salafism
Salafism is a reform branch or revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that developed in Egypt in the late 19th century as a response to Western European imperialism, with roots in the 18th-century Wahhabi movement that originated in the Najd region of modern day Saudi Arabia."Eereerhmm... where are the ideology tags?" NOWHERE! I will not add them.
2024.05.18 23:02 Klokinator The Cryopod to Hell 560: Ancient Domains
Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 2,182,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
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(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
submitted by Klokinator to HFY [link] [comments]
What is the Cryopod to Hell?
Join the Cryoverse Discord server!
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(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
2024.05.18 23:02 Klokinator Cryopod Refresh 560: Ancient Domains
"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
submitted by Klokinator to TheCryopodToHell [link] [comments]
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
2024.05.18 20:48 stoicusok Wisdom from the Early Stoics, Zeno of Citium 69
 | According to the Stoics there is an eight-fold division of the soul: the five senses, the faculty of speech, the intellectual faculty, which is the mind itself, and the generative faculty, being all parts of the soul. submitted by stoicusok to u/stoicusok [link] [comments] Now from falsehood there results perversion, which extends to the mind; and from this perversion arise many passions or emotions, which are causes of instability. Passion, or emotion, is defined by Zeno as an irrational and unnatural movement in the soul, or again as impulse in excess. The main, or most universal, emotions, according to Hecato in his treatise On the Passions, Book II, and Zeno in his treatise with the same title, constitute four great classes: grief, fear, desire or craving, pleasure. They hold the emotions to be judgements, as is stated by Chrysippus in his treatise On the Passions: avarice being a supposition that money is a good, while the case is similar with drunkenness and profligacy and all the other emotions. And grief or pain they hold to be an irrational mental contraction. Its species are pity, envy, jealousy, rivalry, heaviness, annoyance, distress, anguish, distraction. Pity is grief felt at undeserved suffering; envy, grief at others' prosperity; jealousy, grief at the possession by another of that which one desires for oneself; rivalry, pain at the possession by another of what one has oneself. Heaviness or vexation is grief which weighs us down, annoyance that which coops us up and straitens us for want of room, distress a pain brought on by anxious thought that lasts and increases, anguish painful grief, distraction irrational grief, rasping and hindering us from viewing the situation as a whole. Fear is an expectation of evil. Under fear are ranged the following emotions: terror, nervous shrinking, shame, consternation, panic, mental agony. Terror is a fear which produces fright; shame is fear of disgrace; nervous shrinking is a fear that one will have to act; consternation is fear due to a presentation of some unusual occurrence; panic is fear with pressure exercised by sound; mental agony is fear felt when some issue is still in suspense. Desire or craving is irrational appetency, and under it are ranged the following states: want, hatred, contentiousness, anger, love, wrath, resentment. Want, then, is a craving when it is baulked and, as it were, cut off from its object, but kept at full stretch and attracted towards it in vain. Hatred is a growing and lasting desire or craving that it should go ill with somebody. Contentiousness is a craving or desire connected with partisanship; anger a craving or desire to punish one who is thought to have done you an undeserved injury. The passion of love is a craving from which good men are free; for it is an effort to win affection due to the visible presence of beauty. Wrath is anger which has long rankled and has become malicious, waiting for its opportunity, as is illustrated by the lines: Even though for the one day he swallow his anger, yet doth he still keep his displeasure thereafter in his heart, till he accomplish it. Resentment is anger in an early stage. Pleasure is an irrational elation at the accruing of what seems to be choiceworthy; and under it are ranged ravishment, malevolent joy, delight, transport. Ravishment is pleasure which charms the ear. Malevolent joy is pleasure at another's ills. Delight is the mind's propulsion to weakness, its name in Greek (τέρψις) being akin to τρέψις or turning. To be in transports of delight is the melting away of virtue. —Diogenes Laërtius, 7.110-114 https://preview.redd.it/euuj6j9qd81d1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f42e51d0f9c523fe183e2c8eb638017cdc09ce8 |
2024.05.18 20:38 Alternative_South_67 Taming: A comprehensive guide [Brainstorm: Daya System]
Key Aspects
Context: Daya is a life essence imbuing everything with magic, manifesting itself as supernatural biological traits. Individuals are able to cultivate their Daya to understand the nature of themselves and their Daya, which would make them stronger. By giving humans the ability to tinker with biology itself, they are able to extend the definition of their identity, able to step outside of the confinements of human nature, and manifest it in form of biological enhancements. They are also able to tame the beasts by taming their Daya, which results in a bond that is also able to be cultivated. A Dayite is a gem of condensed Daya found inside most organisms with high enough Daya concentration.When taming a creature, several factors must be considered:
Cultivation of One's Own Daya: The more cultivated one's own Daya is, the easier the taming process becomes. Conversely, the more cultivated the Daya of the beast, the harder the process gets. Achieving harmony between the two Dayas is crucial for successful taming. If the Dayas are too different or incompatible, a master-slave bond may be introduced. In this bond, the slave loses some control and must grant access to their abilities, while the master can borrow and mimic these abilities. Taming incompatible Daya is more challenging, because the subject does not align with the desires of your own true self. Additionally, a beast with an advanced sense of self might increase the difficulty of taming.
Benefits of Taming
Power Sharing: Taming allows you to tap into each other's powers, often resulting in physical enhancements. You can replicate other abilities if certain physiological traits are present or somewhat comparable. Able to replicate and adapt traits to ones needs.Telepathic Communication: Taming enables telepathic communication, sharing a mind to some extent.
Animal Scrying: Taming allows for animal scrying, tapping into each other's senses.
Cultivation Aspect of Taming
Taming enables the cultivation of the bond between tamer and tamed, enhancing the individual's cultivation and making them stronger. The more refined this bond, the stronger each becomes in tandem. Instead of cultivating towards a singular true self, the two Dayas are cultivated to reach harmony. Harmony is represented by a collective self that is at least partially true to both identities. This collective self is an amalgamation of the values and instincts of both, forming a merged ideal from two true selves. The next step is to refine this new collective self to represent the most important aspects of the bond, creating a singularity that embodies the bond between the two.Cultivation Methods
These are strictly for cultivating the bond.Training and Stressing the Bond: Regularly exercising your bond and training with specific methods, progressively stressing the bond in real situations.
Sharing and Adapting Habits: Sharing and adapting each other's habits enhances the understanding of the two Dayas. This might involve activities such as eating, sleeping, preying, and social habits.
Spiritual Alchemy: An alternate form of spiritual alchemy which additionally involves learning, understanding, and trusting each other through scholarly and emotional efforts.
Cooperative Evolution Process
Three States of Evolution: To manifest the cultivation process, the tamed and tamer might enter a cooperative evolution process. In the cooperative evolution process, three states apply:- Metamorphosis: Perfect harmony between the two births a new body merged from two. Unites all aspects and achieves even greater heights. The collective self controls the body. Depending which of the original Dayas is more cultivated, the collective self might be inclined to share the consciousness to some degree with the one coming on top, preventing a complete psychological death. The other consciousness becomes a part of the unconciousness that needs to be reunified in the bigger cultivation process.
- Symbiosis: The two Dayas do not fully cooperate, leading to a split body where both selves compete for control.
- Corruption: Often results from a failed master-slave bond. Hateful emotions manifest as mutations, eroding the mind. Neither master nor slave has full control, with an ill third self occupying the body and mind.
Entering Cooperative Evolution
To enter cooperative evolution, one must physically integrate the other Daya into their own system. This can be achieved in two ways:- Gradually eating parts of each other, trending towards Metamorphosis. Successfully taming and cultivating the bond between the two allows the new self to see both entities as its own body, regenerating missing parts to gradually manifest itself.
- Alternatively, one can integrate the other's Daya fully into their system by eating them alone, trending towards Symbiosis. This is often seen in master-slave bonds. Successfully cultivating the tamed Daya within oneself evolves the abilities of the consumed beast, manifesting in one of the three evolutionary states. Metamorphosis cannot be truly achieved since the master occupies the mind, and potential reaches a certain limit. Dayite consumption may be dangerous but is necessary to complete the feeding process, as it involves a highly dense concentration of Daya that might revolt, leading to Corruption. If one allows themselves to be eaten by the other voluntarily, taming and integrating their Daya becomes much easier, making Metamorphosis possible.
2024.05.18 20:12 bootstrap_this Royal visit, 1890
 | Menu from February 13, 1890 to honor a visit from the Swedish Crown Prince (later Gustav V) to Hamar, Norway. submitted by bootstrap_this to VintageMenus [link] [comments] Pencilled inscription says the possessor of the menu met the prince at the station along with other officials and they visited a school and a condensed milk factory. From the Norwegian: Salmon with hollandaise, turkey with truffles, ham with peas, chops with asparagus, lobster mayonnaise, chicken in tomato sauce, Strasbourg goose livers in pastry, harriers and grouse. Those interested in vintage Swedish or Norwegian menus need only remember two simple search terms as they’re the same in both languages: “meny” (singular) and “menyer” (plural). Scandinavian archives have many vintage examples but often they are copyrighted and cannot be shared here. Link for this menu: https://digitaltmuseum.no/021029508344/meny |
2024.05.18 18:06 CnRhin We Were Sent to find an Ancient Weapon called Human
“Readings show that the facility is still operational. That should not be possible.” The robotic voice of Z-8 reading the analysis out to the crew of The Scav. Their multiple mechanical arms operated three different devices, multitasking with immaculate precision.
“Noted Zate, are there any lifeforms detected?” Asked Lizra, the Elyrian Captain of the vessel. She stood in the center of the room on a small pedestal that made her tall enough to see out the window, striped white and red tail swaying in thought. Outside the window was a frozen moon that housed the remnants of a crumbling pre-migration military base.
“None that appear on the scanner Captain Lizra. We hope we did not come all this way just for our mission to be futile.”
“Even if it is not here, perhaps there will be something left behind in the facility's computer systems, these pre-migration bases are always incredible to explore.”
“If there ain't nothing here, I’m gonna send a strongly worded letter to Ensign Marketh. And by strongly worded letter, I mean my fist through his stupid fucking face.” Argall growled. Being the only Induran on the crew he had grown quite annoyed that nobody could assist him with the heavy lifting during the long journey. He could barely fit within the tight confines of the control room, and his large purple form took up more space than anything else on the ship.
“Calm yourself Argall, deep breaths. All of our work shall have paid off here momentarily. Bring us down Zate.”
The ship descended towards the rocky object below and set itself down on a crumbling landing pad. The trio disembarked after Argall and Lizra donned their environmental suits. Once they reached an outer door Zate began to interface manually with the facility. But after a minute of working, they had yet to make any progress. They should have been able to open the door in seconds with such outdated security, but everything seemed unrecognizable to them.
“Captain, it seems that the facility’s computer systems have been rewritten entirely from the ground up. I do not even recognize the coding language. This could be more difficult than we first expected.”
“That can’t be right, this place is over a thousand years old. I thought you had every language from the Commons in your database?”
“We do, it seems that whoever did this, did it entirely from the ground up. We will have to break it down into binary and then organize in a way that we can…”
“There’s no lifeforms inside, just make a new door.” Argall grumbled, reeling back and smashing a large dent into the side of the facility.
“Argall no more! These old outposts are fragile! This could cause irreparable damage, not to mention compromise the structural integrity!” Lizra yelled, jumping up and trying to wrap her paws around the angry Induran’s arm. Before he could punch it again, the door hissed and swung inward.
“Oh! Excellent work Zate! I guess it wasn’t too hard for you after all.”
“It was not us who opened the door.”
“Oh… perhaps punching was the key. Good call Argall, exercising initiative in the absence of orders.”
“Of course ma'am , it just came to me naturally.”
“Lets not dwell out here any longer, in we go crew!”
The three made their way into the facility as the door closed behind them causing Lizra to jump onto Argall in surprise. The dark corridors were lit up seconds later with the hum of long dead fluorescent lights. Lining the hallways were the long expired bodies of other Elyrians. Their corpses preserved by the cold temperatures and lack of air inside. The systems started to kick back on and compressed air flooded into the installation. The dead silence within, replaced by the busy whir of machines coming to life after having been out of a job for centuries.
“Z-Zate I thought you said you couldn’t access the facility?”
“Correct, we were unable to decrypt the programming language or set up an interface. It is not us rebooting the systems.”
“Right, Argall I-I think I shall stay up here, for my own safety of course.” Lizra stated perched atop his shoulder, tail wrapping around the hulking Induran’s neck for balance. He answered her with a growl as the group continued forward. Argall accidentally bumped into one of the corpses causing it to crumble into a pile of dust and bone. They followed the blinking lights that led them through the crumbling hallways before reaching an intersection. The lights on the other end of the hallway were out and the only thing illuminated was a door to their left. Whatever was running the facility wanted them to go here.
“The lights seem to want us to go in, do you all think this is where the weapon is?"
“We are unsure captain. When we tried to interface we were actively repelled by something and we have been attempting unsuccessfully to gain access since. There is someone else in the facility, and they know we are here.”
“Lets just follow the blinking lights, and if someone else is here, then I punch them and take the weapon. They can’t be good at computers and punching.”
“I love your optimism Argall, always good to have a plan! But maybe let’s refrain from punching our host? They’ve been very welcoming thus far, I’m sure if they wanted to fight us they wouldn’t have let us in to begin with.” Lizra countered as she looked at the new glowing path before them. The old door slid open as they approached.
Inside was a vast array of dated computer equipment, hundreds of wires and tubes connected to a sleek black box in the center of the room. She had never seen a computer like that in the old textbooks she studied before this quest. As the group walked towards it, old speakers embedded into the room crackled to life.
“Welcome visitors. My name is Tic-Tac, it’s so nice to see someone again after all these years.”
“Hello…uh Tic-Tac. Thank you for letting us in. May I ask, where exactly are you?”
“You’re looking at me madam. Please refrain from touching anything in here, my interfaces are very fragile. Now can I ask what brings you here?” Lizra hopped down from Argalls shoulder and stepped up to the small black box in the center of the room, inspecting the cables and wires around it. This is what was running the facility?
“We are here for the weapon, please resist.” Argall said, cracking his knuckles.
“No no no, please do not resist! We’re all nice here. We are here looking for an ancient weapon to aid us in a conflict that threatens all of our species. Would you by chance be Human?”
The intercom made a strange noise before speaking again “Haha, no I am merely based upon a human intelligence. You must have come here for my friend… hmm I guess we never got to discuss that new name yet. Regardless, he is here. But before we go any further I have to ask why you sought us out specifically.”
“Well you see Mr. Tic-Tac, we were given the quest to find a weapon that could change the tide of our war. We are part of a rebellion against the Galactic Core and we sent out many search parties to find anything that could help us change the tide of the battle. We are one of those parties, and we hope that you would lend your assistance to us in our time of need.”
“Unfortunately we retired from conflict many years ago. I do not think my partner would be so keen to assume a combat role again. We ended up here after an attempt to escape a life whose only purpose was war.”
“Well umm, maybe he would agree if we could talk to him? Tell him why we are fighting?”
“I am afraid that is not possible. He is currently indisposed, but if you would assist me in bringing him back to the world of the waking then he might hear you out.”
“Pardon my interruption but you have complete control over this facility. Is it not within your realm of capabilities to bring him back yourself?” Zate asked as they curiously inspected the systems around the room.
“I would if I could. I have actually been waiting for someone to stumble across this place so I could wake him. But since I do not possess a physical body it isn’t within my current means to accomplish.”
“If you do not possess a body how did you manage to construct these interfaces of yours.”
“Those that were here before you made this for me. They did not know what they were working with and they went through a great deal to communicate with me. I bided my time until I had full access to their systems to gauge their true motives. They did not have genuine intentions with us, so once they served their purpose, I had them purged from the facility.”
“So that explains why everyone here isn’t in… pristine condition." Lizra said glacing at the corpses of her people around the room. "You wouldn’t do that to us right Tic-Tac?”
“As long as you do not jeopardize my sovereignty or attempt to harm my partner.”
“Right, yea no intentions of doing that here. How can we be of assistance Mr Tic-Tac?”
“To your left you should see a cryostasis chamber, inside is my partner. It requires someone to physically release him from the outside. I’ll start the process of waking him, shouldn't be long.”
After a few minutes the chamber in the corner of the room started to get louder, finally booting back up again after a thousand years of being idle.
“Ok may the Induran please step up and release the clamps on the side?”
“How are you aware of what an Induran is? This facility was abandoned long before the Elyrian came into contact with the wider galaxy.” Zate asked the computer suspiciously.
“When you attempted to interface with my network, you opened yourself up to my own inquiry. I was able to access your memory and language databases stored within your own systems. I apologize for the violation but I was just being precautious.”
Zate did not know how to feel about how easily this program was able to bypass their security measures without them even knowing. That should not have been possible. As an Extant, they were a dispersed biological consciousness that was housed in a mechanical form. Their own internal systems should have been entirely shielded from outsider meddling. They put that aside as a note for future reference.
Argall walked forward and released the clamps that held shut the pressurized pod. Inside was a creature none of them had ever seen before. It looked more akin to an Extent than any biological creature. It reached up and pulled itself out of the pod denting the metal on either side as it did so. Once it rose to it’s feet it was nearly as tall as the Induran. Argall backed up and looked like he was ready to fight the thing in front of him.
“Calm down Induran, I do not think that would end well for any of us." Tic-Tac reprimanded before moving to the speakers in the back of the room and speaking in a strange language. "All good buddy? Can you hear me?”
“Fuck you TAC, I trusted your plan! The fuck were you thinking? I was conscious for the first 5 years! Do you have any idea what they put me through?”
“What is it saying? I can’t understand it.” Lizra asked, hopping up on Argall’s back peaking over his shoulder. She was trying to hide behind his bulky form to get a look at the new creature in the room. It had thick black metal plating that blanketed its bipedal form. On its chest were many strange objects and lettering she did not recognize and beneath the armor was a tight suit that covered everything the metal plating did not. Atop it’s head was a large metal helmet with a bright orange visor covered in small hexagons that faintly glittered in the light.
“Momentarily. We are uploading a new language to your translators. This should solve the problem. I see you placed this here when I was not paying attention Tic-Tac. I would ask that you refrain from violating our systems in the future.” Zate scolded and a second later the other two were able to understand the strange creature's speech.
Tic-Tac’s voices lit up the intercom in the room once again. “Good to hear your voice again 909, you know I don’t like being called TAC anymore.”
“And I said not to call me 909 again, so we’re even. Who are these ones? How long has it been? They didn’t find us, did they?” His voice sounded frantic as he got to the end of his questions.
“Take it slow, you're very disoriented right now. These ones are friendly. And no they didn’t find us, we’re safe.”
“Hi Mr 909?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Right, Mr Human then? We are here seeking a weapon to help us in a fight against a terrible enemy. Your friend Tic-Tac told us that you are what we came for and may be convinced to aid us in this fight?”
“No, I don’t do that anymore. I’m done fighting other people’s wars. Just get me off this rock.”
“But sir you don’t understand, The Core they-they’re tyrannical. They abuse the countless races of the Outer Belt, take our resources, they're-”
“Unless their goal is to exterminate every beach in the known galaxy to stop me from enjoying my retirement, I’m not interested.”
“Apologies everyone, but I am afraid I have some bad news. I’ve detected a slipspace rupture nearby, and it’s headed in our direction. The ship you arrived in, does it have any weapons?”
“Oh that was fast. Well, it's kind of funny, you see we were hoping to find one here, so uh… no, not really.”
submitted by CnRhin to HFY [link] [comments]
“Noted Zate, are there any lifeforms detected?” Asked Lizra, the Elyrian Captain of the vessel. She stood in the center of the room on a small pedestal that made her tall enough to see out the window, striped white and red tail swaying in thought. Outside the window was a frozen moon that housed the remnants of a crumbling pre-migration military base.
“None that appear on the scanner Captain Lizra. We hope we did not come all this way just for our mission to be futile.”
“Even if it is not here, perhaps there will be something left behind in the facility's computer systems, these pre-migration bases are always incredible to explore.”
“If there ain't nothing here, I’m gonna send a strongly worded letter to Ensign Marketh. And by strongly worded letter, I mean my fist through his stupid fucking face.” Argall growled. Being the only Induran on the crew he had grown quite annoyed that nobody could assist him with the heavy lifting during the long journey. He could barely fit within the tight confines of the control room, and his large purple form took up more space than anything else on the ship.
“Calm yourself Argall, deep breaths. All of our work shall have paid off here momentarily. Bring us down Zate.”
The ship descended towards the rocky object below and set itself down on a crumbling landing pad. The trio disembarked after Argall and Lizra donned their environmental suits. Once they reached an outer door Zate began to interface manually with the facility. But after a minute of working, they had yet to make any progress. They should have been able to open the door in seconds with such outdated security, but everything seemed unrecognizable to them.
“Captain, it seems that the facility’s computer systems have been rewritten entirely from the ground up. I do not even recognize the coding language. This could be more difficult than we first expected.”
“That can’t be right, this place is over a thousand years old. I thought you had every language from the Commons in your database?”
“We do, it seems that whoever did this, did it entirely from the ground up. We will have to break it down into binary and then organize in a way that we can…”
“There’s no lifeforms inside, just make a new door.” Argall grumbled, reeling back and smashing a large dent into the side of the facility.
“Argall no more! These old outposts are fragile! This could cause irreparable damage, not to mention compromise the structural integrity!” Lizra yelled, jumping up and trying to wrap her paws around the angry Induran’s arm. Before he could punch it again, the door hissed and swung inward.
“Oh! Excellent work Zate! I guess it wasn’t too hard for you after all.”
“It was not us who opened the door.”
“Oh… perhaps punching was the key. Good call Argall, exercising initiative in the absence of orders.”
“Of course ma'am , it just came to me naturally.”
“Lets not dwell out here any longer, in we go crew!”
The three made their way into the facility as the door closed behind them causing Lizra to jump onto Argall in surprise. The dark corridors were lit up seconds later with the hum of long dead fluorescent lights. Lining the hallways were the long expired bodies of other Elyrians. Their corpses preserved by the cold temperatures and lack of air inside. The systems started to kick back on and compressed air flooded into the installation. The dead silence within, replaced by the busy whir of machines coming to life after having been out of a job for centuries.
“Z-Zate I thought you said you couldn’t access the facility?”
“Correct, we were unable to decrypt the programming language or set up an interface. It is not us rebooting the systems.”
“Right, Argall I-I think I shall stay up here, for my own safety of course.” Lizra stated perched atop his shoulder, tail wrapping around the hulking Induran’s neck for balance. He answered her with a growl as the group continued forward. Argall accidentally bumped into one of the corpses causing it to crumble into a pile of dust and bone. They followed the blinking lights that led them through the crumbling hallways before reaching an intersection. The lights on the other end of the hallway were out and the only thing illuminated was a door to their left. Whatever was running the facility wanted them to go here.
“The lights seem to want us to go in, do you all think this is where the weapon is?"
“We are unsure captain. When we tried to interface we were actively repelled by something and we have been attempting unsuccessfully to gain access since. There is someone else in the facility, and they know we are here.”
“Lets just follow the blinking lights, and if someone else is here, then I punch them and take the weapon. They can’t be good at computers and punching.”
“I love your optimism Argall, always good to have a plan! But maybe let’s refrain from punching our host? They’ve been very welcoming thus far, I’m sure if they wanted to fight us they wouldn’t have let us in to begin with.” Lizra countered as she looked at the new glowing path before them. The old door slid open as they approached.
Inside was a vast array of dated computer equipment, hundreds of wires and tubes connected to a sleek black box in the center of the room. She had never seen a computer like that in the old textbooks she studied before this quest. As the group walked towards it, old speakers embedded into the room crackled to life.
“Welcome visitors. My name is Tic-Tac, it’s so nice to see someone again after all these years.”
“Hello…uh Tic-Tac. Thank you for letting us in. May I ask, where exactly are you?”
“You’re looking at me madam. Please refrain from touching anything in here, my interfaces are very fragile. Now can I ask what brings you here?” Lizra hopped down from Argalls shoulder and stepped up to the small black box in the center of the room, inspecting the cables and wires around it. This is what was running the facility?
“We are here for the weapon, please resist.” Argall said, cracking his knuckles.
“No no no, please do not resist! We’re all nice here. We are here looking for an ancient weapon to aid us in a conflict that threatens all of our species. Would you by chance be Human?”
The intercom made a strange noise before speaking again “Haha, no I am merely based upon a human intelligence. You must have come here for my friend… hmm I guess we never got to discuss that new name yet. Regardless, he is here. But before we go any further I have to ask why you sought us out specifically.”
“Well you see Mr. Tic-Tac, we were given the quest to find a weapon that could change the tide of our war. We are part of a rebellion against the Galactic Core and we sent out many search parties to find anything that could help us change the tide of the battle. We are one of those parties, and we hope that you would lend your assistance to us in our time of need.”
“Unfortunately we retired from conflict many years ago. I do not think my partner would be so keen to assume a combat role again. We ended up here after an attempt to escape a life whose only purpose was war.”
“Well umm, maybe he would agree if we could talk to him? Tell him why we are fighting?”
“I am afraid that is not possible. He is currently indisposed, but if you would assist me in bringing him back to the world of the waking then he might hear you out.”
“Pardon my interruption but you have complete control over this facility. Is it not within your realm of capabilities to bring him back yourself?” Zate asked as they curiously inspected the systems around the room.
“I would if I could. I have actually been waiting for someone to stumble across this place so I could wake him. But since I do not possess a physical body it isn’t within my current means to accomplish.”
“If you do not possess a body how did you manage to construct these interfaces of yours.”
“Those that were here before you made this for me. They did not know what they were working with and they went through a great deal to communicate with me. I bided my time until I had full access to their systems to gauge their true motives. They did not have genuine intentions with us, so once they served their purpose, I had them purged from the facility.”
“So that explains why everyone here isn’t in… pristine condition." Lizra said glacing at the corpses of her people around the room. "You wouldn’t do that to us right Tic-Tac?”
“As long as you do not jeopardize my sovereignty or attempt to harm my partner.”
“Right, yea no intentions of doing that here. How can we be of assistance Mr Tic-Tac?”
“To your left you should see a cryostasis chamber, inside is my partner. It requires someone to physically release him from the outside. I’ll start the process of waking him, shouldn't be long.”
After a few minutes the chamber in the corner of the room started to get louder, finally booting back up again after a thousand years of being idle.
“Ok may the Induran please step up and release the clamps on the side?”
“How are you aware of what an Induran is? This facility was abandoned long before the Elyrian came into contact with the wider galaxy.” Zate asked the computer suspiciously.
“When you attempted to interface with my network, you opened yourself up to my own inquiry. I was able to access your memory and language databases stored within your own systems. I apologize for the violation but I was just being precautious.”
Zate did not know how to feel about how easily this program was able to bypass their security measures without them even knowing. That should not have been possible. As an Extant, they were a dispersed biological consciousness that was housed in a mechanical form. Their own internal systems should have been entirely shielded from outsider meddling. They put that aside as a note for future reference.
Argall walked forward and released the clamps that held shut the pressurized pod. Inside was a creature none of them had ever seen before. It looked more akin to an Extent than any biological creature. It reached up and pulled itself out of the pod denting the metal on either side as it did so. Once it rose to it’s feet it was nearly as tall as the Induran. Argall backed up and looked like he was ready to fight the thing in front of him.
“Calm down Induran, I do not think that would end well for any of us." Tic-Tac reprimanded before moving to the speakers in the back of the room and speaking in a strange language. "All good buddy? Can you hear me?”
“Fuck you TAC, I trusted your plan! The fuck were you thinking? I was conscious for the first 5 years! Do you have any idea what they put me through?”
“What is it saying? I can’t understand it.” Lizra asked, hopping up on Argall’s back peaking over his shoulder. She was trying to hide behind his bulky form to get a look at the new creature in the room. It had thick black metal plating that blanketed its bipedal form. On its chest were many strange objects and lettering she did not recognize and beneath the armor was a tight suit that covered everything the metal plating did not. Atop it’s head was a large metal helmet with a bright orange visor covered in small hexagons that faintly glittered in the light.
“Momentarily. We are uploading a new language to your translators. This should solve the problem. I see you placed this here when I was not paying attention Tic-Tac. I would ask that you refrain from violating our systems in the future.” Zate scolded and a second later the other two were able to understand the strange creature's speech.
Tic-Tac’s voices lit up the intercom in the room once again. “Good to hear your voice again 909, you know I don’t like being called TAC anymore.”
“And I said not to call me 909 again, so we’re even. Who are these ones? How long has it been? They didn’t find us, did they?” His voice sounded frantic as he got to the end of his questions.
“Take it slow, you're very disoriented right now. These ones are friendly. And no they didn’t find us, we’re safe.”
“Hi Mr 909?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Right, Mr Human then? We are here seeking a weapon to help us in a fight against a terrible enemy. Your friend Tic-Tac told us that you are what we came for and may be convinced to aid us in this fight?”
“No, I don’t do that anymore. I’m done fighting other people’s wars. Just get me off this rock.”
“But sir you don’t understand, The Core they-they’re tyrannical. They abuse the countless races of the Outer Belt, take our resources, they're-”
“Unless their goal is to exterminate every beach in the known galaxy to stop me from enjoying my retirement, I’m not interested.”
“Apologies everyone, but I am afraid I have some bad news. I’ve detected a slipspace rupture nearby, and it’s headed in our direction. The ship you arrived in, does it have any weapons?”
“Oh that was fast. Well, it's kind of funny, you see we were hoping to find one here, so uh… no, not really.”
2024.05.18 17:44 Thunderblessed63 Rebuilding the Bavarian Juggernaut: Squad Planning and Transfer Targets
 | Well folks, the season is over, with the final whistle being blown on a 4-2 loss to Hoffenheim, and the remaining excitement now revolves around which manager will Bayern manage to pull in after the massive debacle this past season has been. There is much blame to go around, with Tuchel, many of the key players, and the supervisory board all failing in significant fashion as Bayern fall to third-place in the Bundesliga, and a very early exit in the Pokal in embarrassing fashion (though Bayern did manage to rally for a strong run in the Champions League). submitted by Thunderblessed63 to BayernMunich [link] [comments] Roberto de Zerbi in action. At this point, Italian manager Roberto de Zerbi seems like the most likely candidate, which an announcement coming that he'll be leaving Brighton this season. However, some additional candidates remain available, as Erik ten Hag, Massimiliano Allegri, and some others are still out there and de Zerbi is not a lock to Bayern yet. Ten Hag with Bayern II. Either way, this post explores what I would largely do if the transfers were up to me at Bayern. While the specific manager does play a degree of importance in these decisions, part of this does extensively look at some options who could fit a number of schemes, styles, systems, tactics, and such. My slight preference is for Erik ten Hag, as I think his familiarity from Bayern II and his past success at Ajax would be easier to replicate at Bayern than it was at Manchester United, a club I find is more concerned with its branding than its footballing. But I think de Zerbi has a lot of potential, though I worry about whether Bayern's supervisory board would be willing to let de Zerbi do his own thing, and the lack of German is going to be a problem for that board. It's problematic that the board feels so much need to do things one way and operate in such a chaotic fashion, so whomever Bayern hires is likely going to be fighting an uphill battle. DefenseBayern's future keeper, Nubel (left) and current keeper, Neuer (right).Let's start off with the goalkeeper position, a spot that Bayern are largely set at. Right now, Bayern is set at that spot, as Manuel Neuer continues to be an elite goalkeeper even at 38-years old. And while the Bavarians have Sven Ulreich as the immediate backup keeper, Alexander Nübel is the long-term successor being eyed and groomed for the role, recently extending his contract at Bayern, though he remains loaned out to Stuttgart. Then of course there's also Daniel Peretz, a 23-year old keeper that Bayern added this past season. He seems likely to head out to a club such as RSC Anderlecht for a loan period for awhile this summer. In the meantime, Bayern might have Johannes Schenk back from Muenster to fill that third keeper on the roster, or he might get loaned back out once more. Overall, Bayern appear to be in really good shape for the goalkeeper spot, with Neuer continuing to lock things down for another season or so, before probably passing the torch over to Nübel in 2025 or 2026. Shifting to the centre-back position, Bayern right now seem to have a good deal of interest in adding another big time centre-back, with rumored links of varying degrees to Ronald Araujo and Virgil van Dijk. This would likely mean that at least one current centre-back would need to be sold, as Bayern have a decent enough set of four starting caliber CBs on the roster, headlined by Matthijs de Ligt, but also including Kim Min-jae, Eric Dier, and Dayot Upamecano. My guess would be that if any departs, Upamecano is the most likely, given his inconsistent play and limited role in the lineup these days. De Ligt is the leader of the backline and has had some terrific outings as of late. Min-jae was a big time signing this past summer from Napoli, but has had some bumps along the way adjusting to life in Germany, and meshing into the current defensive system, which is quite hectic from the frequency of errors committed as a whole. Min-jae was excellent at Napoli and so it would not be too difficult to project him returning to that level of form after additional time in Bavaria. Eric Dier was brought in as a late in the window depth addition, but so far has become a very solid add, starting a good number of matches alongside de Ligt. And whether he projects to start or is a rotational player next year, Bayern have already triggered an option to keep him next season. He's a solid piece to the puzzle overall, capable of giving them some veteran experience, and another Englishman alongside Harry Kane. If Bayern did opt to sell Upamecano, then they reasonably could take a look at some other options to add into the mix. The top end of options here probably starts with discussing Ronald Araújo further, a 25-year old Uruguayan star for FC Barcelona. He's been a long desired prospect for the Bavarians, but he'd cost a pretty penny no doubt, as some have projected it could be upwards of 100 million € to acquire the talented CB. That's a big price tag, especially after Bayern spent almost €60 million last summer to bring in Min-jae. Riccardo Calafiori in action for Bologna. Should de Zerbi take the Bayern job, it's already been rumored that he has some targets in mind, namely Bologna center-back Riccardo Calafiori, a 21-year old Italian talent who can also handle some duties at left-back. He's been excellent this past year under Thiago Matta, and could fill a very valuable role for Bayern, competing with Min-Jae and Dier for the starting position next to Matthijs de Ligt. He also happens to be a left-footed defender, something Bayern have been lacking there as of late. Some more middle tier options that peak the interest could be Kevin Danso, a 25-year Austrian CB playing for RC Lens in France. He spent a handful of seasons at Augsburg, and so has a good deal of Bundesliga experience and 100 appearances for Les Sang et Or these past three seasons. He's projected to cost about €25 million, so a much cheaper option that could fit well. Another mid-tier option could be Maxence Lacroix, currently in the Bundesliga at Wolfsburg. He's valued at about €20 million, and is a very strong and menacing presence on the backline, still 24-years old. He did get cooked a couple of times against Bayern, which probably harms some appeal there for some, but week-to-week he's been a quality player for Wolfsburg. The third name I'd mention here is Feyenoord's Dávid Hancko, a 26-year old Slovakian talent. He's a smart, savvy defender, and also provides some versatility between centre-back and left-back, which could be quite useful going forward. Oh and I'd be remiss to not mention German national Malick Thiaw, currently at Milan, as another promising option there. The other option is to go with a younger, less established talent, someone like Armel Bella-Kotchap, who landed on Bayern's transfer rumor threads a good deal in the winter circuit as they were searching for some defensive help. At left- and right-back, Bayern are in another similar spot where they might be fine, as the Bavarians have a deep rotation of capable options, but positional versatility, injuries, and inconsistent play have caused varying levels of upheaval. Let's start with this one -- if Bayern's new manager is able to convince Joshua Kimmich to remain as a right back, that would be one of the biggest wins they could manage. Kimmich is an elite player at the position, and while he's certainly a high caliber midfielder as well, I think he's best at right back. Whether that's likely or not, is a to-be-determined piece, but it should absolutely a conversation a new manager has with Kimmich. While Bayern has kept its contract offer on the table for Alphonso Davies, I must admit, whether this is a popular position or not, I would not be a huge fan of Davies remaining with the club at this point. Part of this is because it very much appears as though Davies largely checked out of the season, instead letting all the plotting of a Real Madrid move occupy his headspace, leading to some very uninspired performance. Essentially, I hate to put it so bluntly, but I have been unable to really see it any differently despite my best desires to, it really looks like Davies quit on his team midway through the year, dreaming of Madrid. Whether Madrid come in with an offer at this point or not remains to be seen, but I would look for a way to remove Davies. As much as he offers a lot of potential, any new project for Bayern is going to require players who are bought in to making it happen once against in München, and I just cannot see that happening with Davies at this point. Behind him, we've seen some excellent play down the stretch from Raphaël Guerreiro and Noussair Mazraoui, tag teaming duties at left-back and left wing to various degrees. I think if Kimmich is willing to man the right-back position, then a trio of Mazraoui, Guerreiro, and promising youngsters like Frans Krätzig and Adam Aznou would be sufficient. Milan's Theo Hernandez, potentially Bayern's new left-back. Bayern have been linked, however, with major moves such as AC Milan's Theo Hernandez, a world class player with elite pace and ability. They've also apparently looked into hijacking a potential reunion of Ian Maatsen and Borussia Dortmund, as the Chelsea-owned talent was quite good in Dortmund on loan. BVB would like to get Maatsen permenantly, though Bayern could pull a heist there. I think Bayern could also look at some other German options, such as 27-year old Stuttgart left-back Maximillian Mittelstädt, who recently broke out to the tune of some national team call-ups lately, or perhaps emerging youngster Luca Netz, who looked very promising at Borussia Mönchengladbach this past season. And then the final note here, but Bayern are likely set with their right-back room, as Joshua Kimmich, Noussair Mazraoui, Josip Stanišić, and Sacha Boey are all on the team. However, there have been rumors that Bayern are interested in Leverkusen's Dutch phenomenon there, Jeremie Frimpong. While he plays as a very forward-oriented RWB, he's a very prolific player outright, with tons of big moments for Leverkusen this past season and a big part of their success. MidfieldDo not for this one, while the no. 10 position is classified as a midfield position, I am including it in attack, with this one more just focused on the no. 6 and no. 8 roles in the midfield.Pavlovic had a breakout season in Bavaria. Bayern's midfield is going to need a major reshuffle. The two most certain pieces to be kept around are emerging youngster Aleksandar Pavlović, an academy talent who has worked his way up to being a go-to starter late into the season, and Konrad Laimer, who is valuable due to his versatility, intensity, and toughness. Kimmich, we'll touch on more below, but in the mean time, one of the major questions for any midfield duo at Bayern is going to be who departs and how things align? I think the one guy probably on the outside looking in is going to be Leon Goretzka. He's had his moments, some ups and downs, but right now figures as the odd man out for assorted reasons, namely the need for more defensive help in the midfield. Goretzka would have a market too if Bayern opted to move forward without him, with teams such as Juventus, Manchester United, and West Ham all having interest over the past year. Unknown. I'd lean towards a departure, even if only because Kimmich in the midfield is a better overall asset, and Bayern would need to free up some funds to acquire a better midfield partner than Goretzka provides. Then of course there is 29-year old Joshua Kimmich. Mentioned him earlier as ideally slotting in at right back for Bayern going forward, but he's also proven to be quite capable in the midfield. He's excellent at dictating the play going forward, with timely, precise passes, and an aggressive demeanor. He's not terribly reliable as a no. 6, and some of this was the source of the rift between Kimmich and Tuchel earlier this summer, where he and Tuchel were somewhat publicly feuding over whether or not Kimmich could handle that role. Ultimately, I do think Kimmich is better as more of a no. 8, with a more defensive-oriented type of player brought in to compliment him. I think in that role, Kimmich can be wildly successful for Bayern in the remaining years of his career, but a long-term extension is needed at this point. As I've said earlier, I would prefer to keep Kimmich as a right-back, but I am quite content keeping him in the midfield if Bayern can find that no. 6. Everton's Amadou Onana is a tempting target for Bayern. And speaking of the need for a defensively minded midfielder... I do believe there is one genuinely excellent option there, with Everton's Amadou Onana available. Onana is a Senegalese-born Belgian national, and came up playing in Germany, with time at Hoffenheim II and Hamburger SV. Thus, he's fluent in German and could integrate to life in München quite easily. He's a very disruptive defensive stopper, with excellent ability to make tackles, halt offensive build-ups, and then quickly turn and push the ball forward for his side to go on the counteroffensive. He's an ideal fit for the system, able to help turn defense into offense in a hurry. Another one for the no. 6 that's been mentioned for Bayern is Adam Wharton, currently at Crystal Palace. The 20-year old English midfielder had an excellent season this past year. The other one that I would anticipate being a priority if we see ten Hag taking over is a ramped up pursuit of Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, a fellow Dutchman who was at Ajax under ten Hag for awhile. De Jong's had some injuries issues plaguing him lately, but when he's on, he's an excellent possession-oriented central midfielder, bringing a very well-rounded game as well that includes some noteworthy capacity with dribbling, defense, and passing as well. De Jong also has a notable history/connection with Bayern's Matthijs de Ligt, which makes it seem more feasible that he'd integrate well into the team. In many ways, I think de Jong probably only makes sense as a replacement for Kimmich if he were to depart. Additionally, while he has been mentioned more as a Tuchel target than anything else, Fulham's Joao Palhinha is an intriguing option as a defensive midfielder. He's an elite tackler and defender in the middle of the defensive half, and shows some solid ability to distribute the ball and lead the build-up. Personally, I think Palhinha is the ideal partner in the midfield to be paired with Aleksandar Pavlovic, whereas Onana next to Kimmich is more preferable there. So some options based on how Bayern wants to set-up. And one other name that could pop up here is Mats Wieffer, currently at Feyenoord, a central figure to Arne Slot's success there. A 24-year old Dutch midfielder, Wieffer has been an excellent option in Slot's midfield, and it seems likely he'll be pursued by Liverpool with Slot taking over there, but Bayern could perhaps try to hijack it. While at this point, I think Bayern would probably add Onana or Palhinha, maybe de Jong if Kimmich leaves, and then call it a day with Konrad Laimer and Aleksandar Pavlovic there as well, with Kimmich maybe even splitting some time between right-back and midfield throughout the season, there could be room for more players to be added. For some additional depth in the midfield, I think Bayern would do well to go after former academy player Angelo Stiller, who appeared in almost 30 matches this past season for third-place Stuttgart. The 23-year old is an excellent passer, able to distribute the ball forward with precision and anticipation. He'd be a nice reunion for Bayern as well, as he's also born and raised in München, and was added to the national team roster for the EUROs. However, I think Stiller's probably one that Bayern does not really need at this point, though if additional midfield help becomes a need (say perhaps next winter), then he's one to continue monitoring. One other name here would be OGC Nice's Khéphren Thuram, a talented 23-year old midfielder who is quite cheap considering his talent. His brother played for several years at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Another younger option I'd love to add to the roster here would be 17-year old Sverre Nypan, a Norwegian midfielder who currently plays in-country with Rosenborg BK. I admittedly don't know much about Nypan personally, but am going off of something from I read earlier about Ten Hag and United already monitoring his progress. He'd be a nice piece to add to the mix with other young midfielders like Zovrenek and Wanner coming through the ranks. However, I think a loan for at least one of them would be worthwhile. AttackSimons has been electric this past season at RB Leipzig.Looking at the no. 10 role for Bayern, I have some questions. Jamal Musiala is an exceptional talent, and at only 21 years old, Bayern need to be doing everything in their power to extend him and make him the central figure of the club in the years to come. But, as far as position goes, he's very versatile and that allows for Bayern to get very creative in how they configure their attack alongside him. And while Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is a top target for the 2025 transfer window for Bayern, I do tend to agree with take from Complexes on Twitter, that Wirtz probably follows Alonso to Madrid in 2025, and thus I'd be very much in favor of Bayern opting to add Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig this summer. This isn't to say Bayern should abandon its pursuit of Wirtz, but rather that I'd say that Bayern should pursue Simons this summer and be quite happy/content to land him, lest they risk going 0-2 on both if Wirtz does indeed land with Madrid next summer. The thing I love most about pairing Simons and Musiala together is the versatility and creativity. While both tend to occupy a spot more frequently as a central attacking midfielder, Musiala has played a decent amount of time on the left wing and Simons has also played over as a right wing. Add in Bayern's current right winger, Leroy Sané, also showing some versatility between right wing and occasionally cutting in and operating centrally, and you have the recipe for a versatile, ever changing, flexible attack that can advance the ball. Overall, I think Simons addition into Bayern's attack would unlock a new level of effectiveness for the incoming regime. The other one to mention here is Schalke academy product Assan Ouédraogo. At just 18-years old, Ouédraogo has already landed on the monitor of Bayern and RB Leipzig, and the two clubs appear to be battling for his signature. A move to acquire Ouédraogo and then loan him back out for more experience, whether back to Schalke or moving him up to the Bundesliga, would seem to be a solid plan for the Bavarian giants to see if Ouédraogo could become a long-term fixture in their lineup. If a move for Ouédraogo falls through, another young attacking midfield with immense promise that I think Bayern should look at is 16-year old Polish midfielder Jakob Adkonis, currently at Legia Warsaw. He'd definitely be a development piece long-term, but the upside is very high. Then looking at the wing spots, Bayern are in an interesting spot. Jamal Musiala and Thomas Müller have interchangeably slotted in as attacking midfield types with the ability to spell time out on the wings. Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are both very talented options there, but suffer from a lack of reliability with their frequent injuries. Fuhrich is a very solid player who could be a strong add for Bayern. This section thus deals with a lot of ifs. I think Bayern could theoretically look at it and say Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Müller and then maybe some Mathys Tel, as well another who can play wing at a good level, and be content. But, if they choose to sell one of Gnabry or Coman, which I think they should, Bayern could be in the hunt for a replacement there. They've already been linked with German international talent Chris Führich. He has been very good for Stuttgart this past season, and would only cost Bayern a fraction of some bigger names. At 26-years old, Führich could still give Bayern a solid run of play, and has shown some versatility to alternate sides or even drop into the midfield as required. He's a steady and solid player, not a superstar by any means, but could serve as a valuable rotational piece if Bayern do move on from Coman or Gnabry. Another option would be the speedy Nico Williams, a 21-year old Spanish winger playing for Athletic Bilbao. He's going to be in the very expensive price tag range, but with his combination of potential, production thus far, and excitement, he could be well worth the cost. Another younger option here, and a more affordable one, would be Brajan Gruda, a 19-year right-side winger playing for Mainz. He infamously had the jersey swap photo already with Thomas Müller and seems like a rising talent with 27 appearances for Mainz. While Gruda statistically hasn't had much production thus far, at just 19-years old, he's given some very promising performances against the likes of Bayern and Dortmund as well while getting acclimated to life in the Bundesliga. If Bayern continues to play Tel more as a winger than a true no. 9 striker, which I think is also the correct call, then Bayern are going to need to be in search of a strong replacement for Eric Chuopo-Maxim after this season, a genuine backup to Harry Kane. There are two routes they can go which is to either find a youngster who could theoretically take over for Kane in 2-3 years (as most of the reports indicated he'd probably want to return to the Premier League before the end of his career to chase the all-time EPL goal record), or a veteran looking to milk the last couple of years out of their career and be a part of a championship squad. If Bayern go the youngster route, two names that stick out are Leipzig's Benjamin Šeško, a towering 20-year old Slovenian who has looked really sharp in Leipzig spelling Lois Openda. Sesko would likely cost a pretty penny, but if Bayern are willing to pay it, I think they should make that move. If they want a more budget friendly option than perhaps angling for Hoffenheim's recent DFB call-up, Maximillian Beier as a promising up-and-comer could be in the cards. Beier scored against Bayern in the final match of the season. Not as young, but Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind, a 25-year old Danish talent, could perhaps fit nicely, as he can also operate as a second striker and produced 11 goals in the Bundesliga this past season. If Bayern want a veteran option, Serhou Guirassy has been a player that Bayern are already linked to. He's also got some interest from Dortmund and Tottenham as of late. While Guirassy is a fun player, and a talented one, as he was second in the Bundesliga in terms of goals scored, I don't think that he should be a significant priority for Bayern, as they need to allocate funds to other positions before coming around to landing a backup striker to Harry Kane. And since we've mentioned significant versatility for a lot of others, both Mathys Tel and Thomas Müller could certainly be able to fill in situationally, though if there's a major injury to Kane that becomes more problematic. Personally, the move I think is much more likely is finding a veteran striker on a lower level squad who might be interest in chasing some titles with a bigger club. Bayern added Chuopo-Maxim as a 31-year old, albeit from PSG rather than a smaller club, but I do think it's a decent example of a reasonable move Bayern can make to shore up their depth without breaking out too much spending. Two names I think really intrigue in this kind of mold are Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramarić, a 32-year old Croatian forward who scored 15 goals this past season for Die Kraichgauer, including a hat trick against Bayern in the season finale as well. The other one is Tim Kleindienst, a 28-year old German who has played largely in the 2. Bundesliga but has spent a few seasons in the top league at Heidenheim and Freiburg during his career. He had an excellent showing in Heidenheim's upset win over Bayern earlier this season, netting himself a brace, two of his twelve total goals this season. Both are veteran, experienced strikers with some capacity, but might be open to a diminished role behind Harry Kane in order to potentially get some bigger opportunities with Bayern's pedigree. Final Squad PlanningNow, time to prioritize.
And of course, that means a number of players need to depart. Here's ultimately who I'd move on from:
Bayern Munich "Depth Chart" 2024-2025 SeasonHarry Kane (left), and Joshua Kimmich (right front) are major pieces for Bayern's chances at a turnaround.The idea of a "depth chart" isn't used in international football as much as it is in other sports, namely American football. However, think it's a useful organizational tool to get a feel for roughly what the squad would look like headed into this next season. The bolded names are the ones I'd most want in an ideal starting XI, and then the rotation and depth players would also see various minutes based on how far into the Champions League, Pokal, and other competitions that Bayern goes through, or injuries require.
Loans
Probably plenty of other good options, and I'm sure there's some parts that'll happen quite differently than projected, but this would be my ideal outcome for Bayern at this stage in the process. It's been a rough process so far, but think there's still lots of potential for Bayern with a revamped and refreshed squad. |
2024.05.18 16:57 Jhonjournalist Russian court takes possession of Assets of Deutsche Bank in litigation
 | https://preview.redd.it/0ru2jxkg871d1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b00e957f6897843a122d01dedd20df1ed0ce94cd submitted by Jhonjournalist to u/Jhonjournalist [link] [comments]
A deal between Germany’s Linde and the bank to build a gas processing plant in Russia was canceled because of Western sanctions. The bank was one of the guarantor lenders under the agreement. Russian gas giant Gazprom, which is the project operator, owns 50% of the joint venture RusChemAlliance, based in St Petersburg, which brought the complaint. Deutsche BankDeutsche Bank has been prohibited by the St Petersburg arbitration court from exercising its whole right to the authorized capital of both Deutsche Bank Technology Center LLC and its Russian affiliate.The Deutsche Bank Technology Center, its Russian subsidiary, and up to 238.6 million euros ($259 million) in securities, real estate, and bank accounts have all been ordered to be seized by the court. According to Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, around 260 million has already been set aside for the case. In a separate legal proceeding, a Russian court has mandated the confiscation of UniCredit’s assets, accounts, property, and shares in two companies. The bank is obliged to evaluate the immediate effects on its operations within the Russian Federation. Learn More: https://worldmagzine.com/finance/russian-court-takes-possession-of-assets-of-deutsche-bank-in-litigation/ |
2024.05.18 14:57 Sqatti Chantal and her mutual abuse. (Just a rant)
All of this Diddy stuff coming up made me think of FB and NadSac. She kept swearing that it takes victims “7 times” to leave. Chantal was warned before their first date he was dangerous. She thought his possessiveness was hot. She knew exactly what she was walking into and chose to stay. However, she wanted to pretend she didn’t have all of the power in that relationship. She had more money than he did. She had a car. He couldn’t drive due to his eyesight, so technically he was also disabled. He wasn’t a citizen so she could jeopardize his immigration. He was on parole and could jeopardize his freedom. She had control of his YT channel so she in a weird way had control of his career. Now here is the thing, she knew she had this power and exercised it repeatedly. She told him to quit his job to spend all day with her, and she would pay him. She would promise him a ride and not show up. She would lie and say she was coming, and make him miss an appointment. There was the time she dropped him off somewhere, promised to pick him up, and then went home to get high so she couldn’t. Then there was the video deletion, and fake charges. And the stalking. I forgot about the stalking.
I am not saying all of the to absolve NadSac of anything. Fuck him.
I’m mad. I didn’t watch the video. I don’t have room that anymore. I just saw one image of Cassie on the ground and DidShit standing over her. Her entire life was in his hands. He had enough power that he could stop her from getting a job at Walmart. He could end her life and convince everyone she did it to herself.
So for Chantal to put herself in a place like Cassie’s is disgusting.
submitted by Sqatti to Chantapolis [link] [comments]
I am not saying all of the to absolve NadSac of anything. Fuck him.
I’m mad. I didn’t watch the video. I don’t have room that anymore. I just saw one image of Cassie on the ground and DidShit standing over her. Her entire life was in his hands. He had enough power that he could stop her from getting a job at Walmart. He could end her life and convince everyone she did it to herself.
So for Chantal to put herself in a place like Cassie’s is disgusting.
2024.05.18 13:49 Shaskais Interesting bits from the 10th Chaos Space Marine codex
The bits:
-Not only does the flesh of Chaos marines fuse with their armor, but their minds also fuse with the machine spirits of their wargear. A Chaos Marine's armor will mutate and be reshaped by the Warp taint to reflect his obsessions and their affinity/allegiance to the gods of Chaos.
-Following the Scouring and the exile to the Eye of Terror, none of the Traitor Primarchs were interested in unifying the Traitor Legions. Mortarion and Lorgar mostly shunned Real Space. Mortarion busied himself in reshaping his Daemon world into an image of his destroyed homeworld Barbarus. Lorgar self-exiled himself to the Daemon world of Sicarus. Magnus focused his attention on curing his legion from their curse of mutation. Fulgrim lost himself in a spiral of excess and pleasure. Perturabo fixated on pursuing his vendetta with the Imperial Fists rather than the pursuit of grand conquest. And so with no unifying leader, the traitor legions were fragmented by infighting and the cruel whims of the Chaos Gods.
-When Abaddon rose as Warmaster, he resolved to learn from the mistakes of his genesire. He swore to never bend the knee to the gods of Chaos, and to never sell his soul to them no matter how tempting their offers of powers. Abaddon refused to surrender his morality for immortal power and guarded it well.
-The 13th Black Crusade hasn't ended. It's reaching its peak in the Indomintus Era. Though Cadia had fallen, the war for the Cadian Gate continues. Furthermore, Abaddon is expanding his warfront elsewhere such as the Nachmund Gauntlet. These are but a few of the schemes Abaddon seeks to enact to topple the Imperium. Should Abaddon succeed in them then the power of Chaos will be unleashed from the Warp toward Terra itself.
-With each conquest, Abaddon paved a path toward Terra. However, what was unknown for the rest of the galaxy was his plan to unpick the veil between the Materium and the Warp. For thousands of years under the cover of false objectives and even entire Black Crusades Abaddon sought out and destroyed the Pylons wherever he found them. Sometimes he did so personally, other times via his agents, or by using the Planet Killer and the Blackstone Fortresses.
-The Fall of Cadia was the culmination of Abaddon's millennia-spanning grand plan, a plan that tied together the events of Pandorax, the Siege of Fenris, and others. The Great Rift was born, flooding the galaxy with the stuff of the Warp. Acting as his vanguard the traitor legions and renegade warbands smashed their way through the Cadian Gate and emerged on the other side. The traitor forces brought destruction and bloodshed to world after world empowering the Warp and causing the daemonic legions to follow in their wake. Invasion after invasion, the Crimson Path expands toward Terra.
-The Chaos Gods and their legions believe that the fall of Terra and the destruction of the Emperor would be the ultimate prize, the conclusion of the war between the Materium and the Immaterium. Yet, Terra's fall is one part of Abaddon's plan for vengeance, not the end. Abaddon is aware that the ultimate victory of the Chaos Gods would be bad for his mortal self so he has no intention of depending on the Chaos Gods in achieving the victory he seeks. For now, Abaddon is all too content to have the forces of Chaos carve a path toward Terra.
-In the Age of the Great Rift, the forces of Chaos are prowling the stars in numbers not seen since the HH. Not even the Imperium Sanctus is safe from their wrath. However, it's in the Imperium Nihilus where they are at their strongest. Isolated from each other and shorn from the guiding light of Terra, the isolated bastions of the Imperium are being beset by the forces of Chaos from within and without. The overstretched defenders of the Imperium still valiantly attempt to stem the overwhelming tides of Chaos, chief among them are Dante and the returned Primarch the Lion who rage against the encircling darkness. Yet their efforts are nothing but futile gestures. Candles of hope set before a raging inferno of hate.
-Roboute launched the Indomintus Crusade to save the Imperium from collapse yet even this colossal assemblage of Imperial might cannot hope to repel every Chaos incursion. Conflicts are flaring up in every Segmentum of the Imperium and in each the influence of the Despoiler can be felt.
-Though Chaos is ascendant gutted on conquest and slaughter, Abaddon knows that he must maintain the momentum of his Black Crusade by feeding it constant conquests and victories or else risk his forces fragmenting before he could topple the Imperium.
-Abaddon and the Black Legion value value renegades from the Space Marine chapters who join their ranks. These turncoats bring them an abundance of information about the Imperium and its defenders allowing Abaddon's formidable intellect to fashion accurate and complex plans that inflict the maximum damage to the Imperium. In the past it allowed the Black Legion to deceive sector fleets, steal geneseed from loyalist chapter strongholds, and strike at key industrial zones.
-Lord Iordax Quan is one of the most singularly dedicated Black Legion commanders to the cause of destroying the Imperium. His focus on the Long War resulted in him rejecting the blessings of the Dark Gods and surrounding himself with fellow true veterans of the Long War whose thirst for vengeance remains undimmed. His focus, his dedication, has led to Abaddon deploying him to crucial warzones. He is currently serving in the Cadian system purging the last Imperial holdouts.
-Solomon Akurra the character from Mike Brooks' novel "Harrowmaster" is mentioned in the codex. Akurra had seized control of the Serpent Teeth's warband and now commands the mobile Star Fort the Unseen. He gathered around him a loose alliance of Alpha Legion warbands that he dubbed the Ghost Legion. In his burning desire to take the fight to the Imperium, he is exploiting the sorry state of the Imperium to add to its misery. Using his strategic mind and the sinister skills of the Alpha Legion, Akurra had deceived entire systems to swear allegiance to the Ghost Legion further destabilizing the Imperium. The majority of the Psyphos subsector is now under his rule. Yet this is merely the start of the seeds of anarchy he will plant in Segmentum Pacificus.
-When the Great Rift opened, the three stars of a system close to the galactic core and bordering the territories of the Greater Thurian League were swallowed up by the expanding Warpstorm known to the Kin as Orgvayr. The surging Warp energy resulted in the trio of stars going supernova at the same time creating a nebula of tainted clouds of astral debris riddled with Warp rifts which acted as refuge for many Chaos warbands including the Iron Warrior warband known as Abrial's Claw. The determined Iron Warriors took to besieging the mighty strongholds of the Kin and several fell before them.
-The short story "The Traitor's Tarot" from the 9th ED CSM codex is again here in the 10th Ed codex. They added four images to accompany the paragraphs that described the heretical artwork. I appreciate rereading the short, it's a good story but I would have very much liked a new story to come with the new codex. You get me?
-Traitor fleets have no fear of the raging tides of the Warp. They sail through and from even the hearts of Warpstorms. The remarkable ease with which the heretics are navigating the turbulent Warp makes it seem that the hands of the Chaos Gods protect them as they emerge over their prey worlds. Within the darkness of the Imperium Nihilus, the traitors have enacted butchery and atrocity of epic proportions on the isolated worlds of the Imperium. The luckiest of their victims are those who meet quick ends. Those who survive face a fate worse than death at the hands of the heretics.
-Worse still for humanity, within Nihilus many of the traitors' unnatural abilities and blessings are being empowered. Their wargear swell and blaze with the power of the Chaos Gods and their sorcery are reaching new levels of dark majesty and potency.
-The isolation of Imperial territories in the Imperium Nihilus made many Imperial worlds and systems believe that they are the last of humanity. Some broke off from Imperial rule and transformed into their own kingdoms and nations. The decline of Imperial faith soon saw these independent realms and worlds rot from the inside out as the insidious whispers of daemons spread to the populace and Chaos cults flourished.
-Traitor empires are rising in the Imperium Nihilus. Worlds that had once served the Imperium now fuel the warbands and legions of Chaos with their resources and industry. Abaddon has a hand in the creation and location of some of these heretical empires. It's unknown whether these empires are part of some scheme of his or are merely a vision of a galaxy under his rule.
-Vashhtorr's origins are unknown, forgotten by history. It's possible he was created by the technological and scientific advancements of the DAoT, spawned by the galaxy-shaping technology of the Old Ones, or came to being when primitives first mastered fire and created sharp tools.
-Vashtorr and Perturabo enjoy a beneficial but less than friendly relationship with each other. They cooperated in many nightmarish projects. The Daemon Primarch has regularly allied his Iron Warrior warbands with the Arkifane.
-Wyrmwood is a perversion of the tunneling devices used by the Old Ones to create the Webway. It's the Key for the Lock of a vault that contains a godly weapon capable of altering the fate of the galaxy. In search for the lock, Wyrmwood carves its way through the Webway and Real Space in an insane pattern known only to Vashtorr. Wyrmwood is unrestrained by the laws of time and space. The Imperial agents are struggling to catch up to Wyrmwood as it emerges into sectors across the breadth of the galaxy. The daemon world is crossing vast tracks of space in mere hours, that would have taken Imperial fleets months to sail through. By the time Imperial fleet heeded distress calls and arrived at Wyrmwood's reported location, the daemonic world engine would have long departed having left behind nothing but ruined worlds and tears in reality.
-Even the Asuryani, who are enraged at the corruption of the Webway technology and fearful of the damage Wyrmwood will inflict on the Webway tunnels, are struggling to track down Wyrmwood. Their seers are unable to crack the code of Vashtorr's insane search pattern. Only Craftworld Altansar, due to their bitter experience with the Warp and its mutilation of reality, are making progress in tracking Wyrmwood. However, thus far, the Asuryani's efforts to draw Vashtorr into battle were met with dismal failure.
-Reports hint that Wyrmwood is about to appear in the Pariah Nexus. Other reports hint that it will appear in the Ghoul Stars. What is certain is that nowhere is safe from Vashtorr's wrath.
-Vashtorr is a timeless being. Linear time is of no consequence to him. While the efforts of his foes might delay his search, he will have his prize sooner or later.
-Vashtorr has near limitless control over technology. The nature and origin of the technology do not matter to Vashtorr, his understanding is without limit. Vashtorr can unmake or take control of any device created by mortal hands with a mere gesture.
-Within the superstructures of the Soul Forges nests the daemon engines known as the Venomcrawlers. They hunt and down devour daemonic entities that get discarded by Warpsmith and Masters of Possessions. The raging essences of these consumed entities power the daemon engines' weapons. When daemonic prey becomes lacking Venomcrawlers start hunting the Soul Forges' heretic marine masters to keep themselves fed.
-The Dark Mech provides the hosts of Chaos with armor, weapons, daemon engines, and even battle fleets. Without the Dark Mech the armies of Chaos might grind to a halt.
-While the physical shells of captured Imperial war machines are desecrated and reshaped into horrific forms, their machine spirits are sent to the Soul Forges within the Warp to be driven to madness.
-Some Soul Forges are rumored to predate mankind, that they are eternal and ruled over by unknowable entities.
-The captive daemons are dragged screaming by ropes fashioned from the hair of murderers and chains of bones into the Soul Forges where Warpsmiths bind them into daemon engines and then bludgeon them to submission with runic wards and rituals.
-Abaddon is not only feared by the High Lords of Terra. Within the halls of the greatest Xenos Empires, the Warmaster's name invokes fear.
-So mighty has Abaddon become after 10K years that only the Daemon Primarchs could challenge his position. Yet these figures are too focused on their pursuits to risk war with the Despoiler and his vast legion.
-Only Abaddon can unite the forces of Chaos. To do so is a continuous fight for the Warmaster especially when marshaling allied forces whose allegiance belongs to their gods alone. Getting these opposing servants of the Chaos Gods to set aside their rivalries not only for a short period of time but for years is proof of his supreme willpower and the high regard and fear felt toward him by the traitors even by those who hate him and wish him to fail.
-Haarken was once a Night Lord. His ruthlessness saw him rise to the command of the Night Lord warband known as the Gloomtalons. Haarken would lead his warband into raids on the worlds of the Imperium. He would always proclaim his coming victory and a world's doom on the vox broadcasts before leading his formation of raptors through the night sky to butcher any who foolishly resists and make examples of them. Haarken would kidnap the leaders of Imperial worlds and give them the choice of swearing fealty to him or suffering a prolonged agonizing death. Through a network of spies, Haarken ensured the Imperial leaders who bowed before him were kept in line. Thus Haarken grew rich in wealth and plunder. However, despite his successes as a pirate and raider, he found no satisfaction. He felt empty. His black heart yearned to strike a lasting blow against the Imperium.
-Haarken prayers were answered when Abaddon's attention fell on him. During the muster for the fifth Black Crusade, Abaddon offered the Haarken the honor of fighting alongside his Black Legion. Abaddon was straightforward with Haarken. He did not promise Haarken riches and plunder but the chance to strike a telling blow against the hated Imperium. And if he served well Abaddon would grant him further chances to bleed the Imperium. It was as if Abaddon peered through Haarken's soul and fulfilled his deepest desires. Haarken then and there knew he was standing before greatness, a warlord with the strength, charisma, and vision to bring the Imperium crashing down.
-During the battle for the city of Kasyr Lutein, Haarken and his Gloomtalons flew ahead of Abaddon and his Black Legion. Haarken unleashed unspeakable acts of violence and terror on the defenders of the city. The demoralized Imperials were annihilated by the combined might of the Black Legion and the Night Lords.
-Ultimately, the Fifth Black Crusade came to an end and the traitors were forced back to the Eye of Terror. However, the Imperials paid a terrible price to do so and the Elysian sector was ravaged. Having witnessed firsthand the supreme might and leadership of Abaddon, Haarken bent the knee to the Despoiler and donned the black and gold of the Black Legion. Since then Haarken carved a place for himself among the vanguard of the Black Legion eventually earning himself the title of the Worldclaimer for the countless worlds he conquered in the name of Abaddon.
-Abaddon acknowledged the loyalty and good service of Haarken by bestowing upon him the title of the "Herald of the Apocalypse" and the Helspear, a weapon that befits his new position as Abaddon's mouthpiece.
-Haarken is wholly devoted to Abaddon and his cause. From the Nachmund Gauntlet, he is committed to tearing a path toward the Sol system. He yearns for the day when he would drive his spear into Terra's surface and proclaim the end of the rule of the False Emperor.
-The Iron Warriors honor the Chaos Gods as a pantheon, though few among their number are truly devoted. Their true loyalty belongs to their Daemon Primarch whom they believe saved them from being sacrificed by the Emperor.
-Many Chaos warlords look down on the methods of Alpha Legion, but Abaddon does not. Abaddon appreciates their skills and makes good use of them. More than once the Warmaster employed the Alpha Legion to sow discord and anarchy before his invading fleets. However, Abaddon knows that the Alpha Legion are dangerous allies for their goals and true motivations are closely guarded secrets.
-Despite the revulsion and mistrust Abaddon feels toward the Word Bearers for reminding him of the shameful depths Horus fell into in his worship of the Chaos Gods. he had made common cause with them on many occasions. The effectiveness of the Word Bearers as warriors, both possessed or not, is something the Warmaster cannot deny. It's a source of strength he cannot afford to discard. Lorgar for his part sees Abaddon as a tool to spread the Word of the Ruinous Powers to the very heart of the Imperium.
-Most Night Lords do not seem to worship the Chaos Gods in the same degree as the other traitor Legions. They fight only for material gain and personal pleasure. They look down on fanatical marines, be they worshipers of Dark Gods or the False Emperor. They place their respect not in faith but in strength, strength and terror.
-The Night Lords will fight for any cause as long as the plunder is good and they have ample opportunity to inflict as much bloodshed and anguish as they can. This made some Night Lords warbands pledge their service to alien warlords.
-After the birth of the Great Rift, the Red Corsairs have become experts in navigating the border regions between Warpstorms and Real Space. They established secret bases in the liminal zones. One of them is a significantly large base called the Tyrant's Gate in the Imperium Nihilus. Every sin and vice is indulged on that world. The world is orbited by weapon shops, docks, and defense platforms. Within the Warp, a sorcerous anchorage allows the battleships of Chaos to translate directly from and to the planet's orbit swiftly.
-Imperial reports that Huron Blackheart was spotted in two Segmentums at once seem to all but confirm that he struck some sort of bargain with the Chaos Gods.
-In exchange for his skill, Fabius had struck bargains with Chaos warlords, including the Daemon Primarch. He favours no client over the other, not even his gene-father.
-In recent years, Fabius has acquired samples from the Primaris marines and the Custodes. What he intends to do with them is unknown.
-The daemon Q'o'ak the Boundless is said to have drawn the ire of his master Tzeentch by meddling in his plans. To rid himself of Q'o'ak's ceaseless meddling, Tzeentch bound him to a weapon. Each time the weapon clashes with an enemy blade, the enemy falls victim to Q'o'ak temporal tampering. How Q'o'ak traverses time while imprisoned within the weapon remains unknown but with each soul he pulls from the web of fate a fresh plume manifests from the weapon's hilt.
Emeys Varran, the Apostle of Discordance, is unusually zealous in his devotion to Dark Gods for a trusted lieutenant of Abaddon. Despite his zealous faith in the Chaos Gods, Varran's true loyalty lies with Abaddon and the Black Legion. He is one of the Warhamer's few trusted confidants. Varran holds an intense and violent hatred toward the Sisters of Battle after losing his left eye to a neural wipe during the siege of the Chaos Knight World of Dharrovar. Abaddon dispatched Varran to aid Haarkin in seizing control of the Nachmund Gauntlet.
The Vashtorr and Black Legion vs T'au short story:
The world that Vashtorr manifested upon had a half-destroyed ancient city. Within the city was a temple whose structure was etched with daemonic scripture. This was Vashtorr's target. The T'au presence on the world was an unexpected complication. The T'au were giving the traitor and heretic forces stiff resistance and barring their way to the temple. The T'au in their determination to cling to the world had littered the battlefield with the Black Legion dead. Yet Vashtorr knew that the mortals' resistance was futile. Wyrmwood was entering into alignment over the world and it would seal their doom.
As Wyrmwood completed its alignment, the planet's surface quaked and monolithic structures erupted from the earth. This disordered the T'au lines and forced them into a fighting retreat. The Black Legion and Vashtorr's tech cultists pressed the attack.
Vashtorr could sense the call of the Warp-tainted relic, how it begged for release. He made his way to the temple but found T'au stubbornly standing between him and it. The Black Legionaries, daemonic engines empowered by Vashtorrr and his servants, and a horde of cultists fell on the T'au. Vashtorr himself joined the fray. With a gesture, he turned the energy of a force field that protected a squad of fire warriors against them. The fire warriors screamed as their armor melted and their skin was seared. The Black Legion marines finished off the reeling survivors with their chainaxes and bolter stocks.
T'au reinforcements sent from their orbiting fleet joined the battle. Battlesuits, tanks, hovering barricades, and aircraft plunged from the skies. The firepower of the T'au scythed through cultists and marines alike.
Vashtorr waded into the T'au lines with his hammer, pulping and smashing the Xenos aside. With a gesture, he unmade a T'au skimmer from within causing it to crash into a trio of battlesuits and explode. Through the flames, he strode toward the temple's entrance only to find his way barred again.
A T'au suit descended down in front of Vashtorr. Its pilot uttered a warcry before shooting Vashtorr. The shots impacted Vashtorr causing him to stagger back slightly. Vashtorr examined his form where the shots were hitting him. His daemon flesh was being burned away revealing the cogs beneath and his form was flickering.
Vashtorr extended his wings and was carried toward his Xenos foe by unholy energies. As he fell upon the battlesuit he projected his voice into its communication system telling the pilot that he was being so proud of the ingenuity of his technology, he was so reliant on the mechanical.
Vashttorr smashed down the battlesuit with his hammer and hit it again and again until he cracked its armor. Then pinned it down with his hoof. From his form tentacles emerged and wormed their way into the suit. Vashtorr poured a fragment of his power into the battlesuit and willed it to be unmade. Even though the pilot's soul was weak and small, he could still feel their fear.
Vashtorr stepped away from the battlesuit's wreckage and strode again toward the temple. As ever mortal resistance was nothing more than obstacles to be overcome by a being of infinite patience such as he. He will find the Lock and then reality itself will tremble before him.
submitted by Shaskais to ShaskaisWarhamBits [link] [comments]
-Not only does the flesh of Chaos marines fuse with their armor, but their minds also fuse with the machine spirits of their wargear. A Chaos Marine's armor will mutate and be reshaped by the Warp taint to reflect his obsessions and their affinity/allegiance to the gods of Chaos.
-Following the Scouring and the exile to the Eye of Terror, none of the Traitor Primarchs were interested in unifying the Traitor Legions. Mortarion and Lorgar mostly shunned Real Space. Mortarion busied himself in reshaping his Daemon world into an image of his destroyed homeworld Barbarus. Lorgar self-exiled himself to the Daemon world of Sicarus. Magnus focused his attention on curing his legion from their curse of mutation. Fulgrim lost himself in a spiral of excess and pleasure. Perturabo fixated on pursuing his vendetta with the Imperial Fists rather than the pursuit of grand conquest. And so with no unifying leader, the traitor legions were fragmented by infighting and the cruel whims of the Chaos Gods.
-When Abaddon rose as Warmaster, he resolved to learn from the mistakes of his genesire. He swore to never bend the knee to the gods of Chaos, and to never sell his soul to them no matter how tempting their offers of powers. Abaddon refused to surrender his morality for immortal power and guarded it well.
-The 13th Black Crusade hasn't ended. It's reaching its peak in the Indomintus Era. Though Cadia had fallen, the war for the Cadian Gate continues. Furthermore, Abaddon is expanding his warfront elsewhere such as the Nachmund Gauntlet. These are but a few of the schemes Abaddon seeks to enact to topple the Imperium. Should Abaddon succeed in them then the power of Chaos will be unleashed from the Warp toward Terra itself.
-With each conquest, Abaddon paved a path toward Terra. However, what was unknown for the rest of the galaxy was his plan to unpick the veil between the Materium and the Warp. For thousands of years under the cover of false objectives and even entire Black Crusades Abaddon sought out and destroyed the Pylons wherever he found them. Sometimes he did so personally, other times via his agents, or by using the Planet Killer and the Blackstone Fortresses.
-The Fall of Cadia was the culmination of Abaddon's millennia-spanning grand plan, a plan that tied together the events of Pandorax, the Siege of Fenris, and others. The Great Rift was born, flooding the galaxy with the stuff of the Warp. Acting as his vanguard the traitor legions and renegade warbands smashed their way through the Cadian Gate and emerged on the other side. The traitor forces brought destruction and bloodshed to world after world empowering the Warp and causing the daemonic legions to follow in their wake. Invasion after invasion, the Crimson Path expands toward Terra.
-The Chaos Gods and their legions believe that the fall of Terra and the destruction of the Emperor would be the ultimate prize, the conclusion of the war between the Materium and the Immaterium. Yet, Terra's fall is one part of Abaddon's plan for vengeance, not the end. Abaddon is aware that the ultimate victory of the Chaos Gods would be bad for his mortal self so he has no intention of depending on the Chaos Gods in achieving the victory he seeks. For now, Abaddon is all too content to have the forces of Chaos carve a path toward Terra.
-In the Age of the Great Rift, the forces of Chaos are prowling the stars in numbers not seen since the HH. Not even the Imperium Sanctus is safe from their wrath. However, it's in the Imperium Nihilus where they are at their strongest. Isolated from each other and shorn from the guiding light of Terra, the isolated bastions of the Imperium are being beset by the forces of Chaos from within and without. The overstretched defenders of the Imperium still valiantly attempt to stem the overwhelming tides of Chaos, chief among them are Dante and the returned Primarch the Lion who rage against the encircling darkness. Yet their efforts are nothing but futile gestures. Candles of hope set before a raging inferno of hate.
-Roboute launched the Indomintus Crusade to save the Imperium from collapse yet even this colossal assemblage of Imperial might cannot hope to repel every Chaos incursion. Conflicts are flaring up in every Segmentum of the Imperium and in each the influence of the Despoiler can be felt.
-Though Chaos is ascendant gutted on conquest and slaughter, Abaddon knows that he must maintain the momentum of his Black Crusade by feeding it constant conquests and victories or else risk his forces fragmenting before he could topple the Imperium.
-Abaddon and the Black Legion value value renegades from the Space Marine chapters who join their ranks. These turncoats bring them an abundance of information about the Imperium and its defenders allowing Abaddon's formidable intellect to fashion accurate and complex plans that inflict the maximum damage to the Imperium. In the past it allowed the Black Legion to deceive sector fleets, steal geneseed from loyalist chapter strongholds, and strike at key industrial zones.
-Lord Iordax Quan is one of the most singularly dedicated Black Legion commanders to the cause of destroying the Imperium. His focus on the Long War resulted in him rejecting the blessings of the Dark Gods and surrounding himself with fellow true veterans of the Long War whose thirst for vengeance remains undimmed. His focus, his dedication, has led to Abaddon deploying him to crucial warzones. He is currently serving in the Cadian system purging the last Imperial holdouts.
-Solomon Akurra the character from Mike Brooks' novel "Harrowmaster" is mentioned in the codex. Akurra had seized control of the Serpent Teeth's warband and now commands the mobile Star Fort the Unseen. He gathered around him a loose alliance of Alpha Legion warbands that he dubbed the Ghost Legion. In his burning desire to take the fight to the Imperium, he is exploiting the sorry state of the Imperium to add to its misery. Using his strategic mind and the sinister skills of the Alpha Legion, Akurra had deceived entire systems to swear allegiance to the Ghost Legion further destabilizing the Imperium. The majority of the Psyphos subsector is now under his rule. Yet this is merely the start of the seeds of anarchy he will plant in Segmentum Pacificus.
-When the Great Rift opened, the three stars of a system close to the galactic core and bordering the territories of the Greater Thurian League were swallowed up by the expanding Warpstorm known to the Kin as Orgvayr. The surging Warp energy resulted in the trio of stars going supernova at the same time creating a nebula of tainted clouds of astral debris riddled with Warp rifts which acted as refuge for many Chaos warbands including the Iron Warrior warband known as Abrial's Claw. The determined Iron Warriors took to besieging the mighty strongholds of the Kin and several fell before them.
-The short story "The Traitor's Tarot" from the 9th ED CSM codex is again here in the 10th Ed codex. They added four images to accompany the paragraphs that described the heretical artwork. I appreciate rereading the short, it's a good story but I would have very much liked a new story to come with the new codex. You get me?
-Traitor fleets have no fear of the raging tides of the Warp. They sail through and from even the hearts of Warpstorms. The remarkable ease with which the heretics are navigating the turbulent Warp makes it seem that the hands of the Chaos Gods protect them as they emerge over their prey worlds. Within the darkness of the Imperium Nihilus, the traitors have enacted butchery and atrocity of epic proportions on the isolated worlds of the Imperium. The luckiest of their victims are those who meet quick ends. Those who survive face a fate worse than death at the hands of the heretics.
-Worse still for humanity, within Nihilus many of the traitors' unnatural abilities and blessings are being empowered. Their wargear swell and blaze with the power of the Chaos Gods and their sorcery are reaching new levels of dark majesty and potency.
-The isolation of Imperial territories in the Imperium Nihilus made many Imperial worlds and systems believe that they are the last of humanity. Some broke off from Imperial rule and transformed into their own kingdoms and nations. The decline of Imperial faith soon saw these independent realms and worlds rot from the inside out as the insidious whispers of daemons spread to the populace and Chaos cults flourished.
-Traitor empires are rising in the Imperium Nihilus. Worlds that had once served the Imperium now fuel the warbands and legions of Chaos with their resources and industry. Abaddon has a hand in the creation and location of some of these heretical empires. It's unknown whether these empires are part of some scheme of his or are merely a vision of a galaxy under his rule.
-Vashhtorr's origins are unknown, forgotten by history. It's possible he was created by the technological and scientific advancements of the DAoT, spawned by the galaxy-shaping technology of the Old Ones, or came to being when primitives first mastered fire and created sharp tools.
-Vashtorr and Perturabo enjoy a beneficial but less than friendly relationship with each other. They cooperated in many nightmarish projects. The Daemon Primarch has regularly allied his Iron Warrior warbands with the Arkifane.
-Wyrmwood is a perversion of the tunneling devices used by the Old Ones to create the Webway. It's the Key for the Lock of a vault that contains a godly weapon capable of altering the fate of the galaxy. In search for the lock, Wyrmwood carves its way through the Webway and Real Space in an insane pattern known only to Vashtorr. Wyrmwood is unrestrained by the laws of time and space. The Imperial agents are struggling to catch up to Wyrmwood as it emerges into sectors across the breadth of the galaxy. The daemon world is crossing vast tracks of space in mere hours, that would have taken Imperial fleets months to sail through. By the time Imperial fleet heeded distress calls and arrived at Wyrmwood's reported location, the daemonic world engine would have long departed having left behind nothing but ruined worlds and tears in reality.
-Even the Asuryani, who are enraged at the corruption of the Webway technology and fearful of the damage Wyrmwood will inflict on the Webway tunnels, are struggling to track down Wyrmwood. Their seers are unable to crack the code of Vashtorr's insane search pattern. Only Craftworld Altansar, due to their bitter experience with the Warp and its mutilation of reality, are making progress in tracking Wyrmwood. However, thus far, the Asuryani's efforts to draw Vashtorr into battle were met with dismal failure.
-Reports hint that Wyrmwood is about to appear in the Pariah Nexus. Other reports hint that it will appear in the Ghoul Stars. What is certain is that nowhere is safe from Vashtorr's wrath.
-Vashtorr is a timeless being. Linear time is of no consequence to him. While the efforts of his foes might delay his search, he will have his prize sooner or later.
-Vashtorr has near limitless control over technology. The nature and origin of the technology do not matter to Vashtorr, his understanding is without limit. Vashtorr can unmake or take control of any device created by mortal hands with a mere gesture.
-Within the superstructures of the Soul Forges nests the daemon engines known as the Venomcrawlers. They hunt and down devour daemonic entities that get discarded by Warpsmith and Masters of Possessions. The raging essences of these consumed entities power the daemon engines' weapons. When daemonic prey becomes lacking Venomcrawlers start hunting the Soul Forges' heretic marine masters to keep themselves fed.
-The Dark Mech provides the hosts of Chaos with armor, weapons, daemon engines, and even battle fleets. Without the Dark Mech the armies of Chaos might grind to a halt.
-While the physical shells of captured Imperial war machines are desecrated and reshaped into horrific forms, their machine spirits are sent to the Soul Forges within the Warp to be driven to madness.
-Some Soul Forges are rumored to predate mankind, that they are eternal and ruled over by unknowable entities.
-The captive daemons are dragged screaming by ropes fashioned from the hair of murderers and chains of bones into the Soul Forges where Warpsmiths bind them into daemon engines and then bludgeon them to submission with runic wards and rituals.
-Abaddon is not only feared by the High Lords of Terra. Within the halls of the greatest Xenos Empires, the Warmaster's name invokes fear.
-So mighty has Abaddon become after 10K years that only the Daemon Primarchs could challenge his position. Yet these figures are too focused on their pursuits to risk war with the Despoiler and his vast legion.
-Only Abaddon can unite the forces of Chaos. To do so is a continuous fight for the Warmaster especially when marshaling allied forces whose allegiance belongs to their gods alone. Getting these opposing servants of the Chaos Gods to set aside their rivalries not only for a short period of time but for years is proof of his supreme willpower and the high regard and fear felt toward him by the traitors even by those who hate him and wish him to fail.
-Haarken was once a Night Lord. His ruthlessness saw him rise to the command of the Night Lord warband known as the Gloomtalons. Haarken would lead his warband into raids on the worlds of the Imperium. He would always proclaim his coming victory and a world's doom on the vox broadcasts before leading his formation of raptors through the night sky to butcher any who foolishly resists and make examples of them. Haarken would kidnap the leaders of Imperial worlds and give them the choice of swearing fealty to him or suffering a prolonged agonizing death. Through a network of spies, Haarken ensured the Imperial leaders who bowed before him were kept in line. Thus Haarken grew rich in wealth and plunder. However, despite his successes as a pirate and raider, he found no satisfaction. He felt empty. His black heart yearned to strike a lasting blow against the Imperium.
-Haarken prayers were answered when Abaddon's attention fell on him. During the muster for the fifth Black Crusade, Abaddon offered the Haarken the honor of fighting alongside his Black Legion. Abaddon was straightforward with Haarken. He did not promise Haarken riches and plunder but the chance to strike a telling blow against the hated Imperium. And if he served well Abaddon would grant him further chances to bleed the Imperium. It was as if Abaddon peered through Haarken's soul and fulfilled his deepest desires. Haarken then and there knew he was standing before greatness, a warlord with the strength, charisma, and vision to bring the Imperium crashing down.
-During the battle for the city of Kasyr Lutein, Haarken and his Gloomtalons flew ahead of Abaddon and his Black Legion. Haarken unleashed unspeakable acts of violence and terror on the defenders of the city. The demoralized Imperials were annihilated by the combined might of the Black Legion and the Night Lords.
-Ultimately, the Fifth Black Crusade came to an end and the traitors were forced back to the Eye of Terror. However, the Imperials paid a terrible price to do so and the Elysian sector was ravaged. Having witnessed firsthand the supreme might and leadership of Abaddon, Haarken bent the knee to the Despoiler and donned the black and gold of the Black Legion. Since then Haarken carved a place for himself among the vanguard of the Black Legion eventually earning himself the title of the Worldclaimer for the countless worlds he conquered in the name of Abaddon.
-Abaddon acknowledged the loyalty and good service of Haarken by bestowing upon him the title of the "Herald of the Apocalypse" and the Helspear, a weapon that befits his new position as Abaddon's mouthpiece.
-Haarken is wholly devoted to Abaddon and his cause. From the Nachmund Gauntlet, he is committed to tearing a path toward the Sol system. He yearns for the day when he would drive his spear into Terra's surface and proclaim the end of the rule of the False Emperor.
-The Iron Warriors honor the Chaos Gods as a pantheon, though few among their number are truly devoted. Their true loyalty belongs to their Daemon Primarch whom they believe saved them from being sacrificed by the Emperor.
-Many Chaos warlords look down on the methods of Alpha Legion, but Abaddon does not. Abaddon appreciates their skills and makes good use of them. More than once the Warmaster employed the Alpha Legion to sow discord and anarchy before his invading fleets. However, Abaddon knows that the Alpha Legion are dangerous allies for their goals and true motivations are closely guarded secrets.
-Despite the revulsion and mistrust Abaddon feels toward the Word Bearers for reminding him of the shameful depths Horus fell into in his worship of the Chaos Gods. he had made common cause with them on many occasions. The effectiveness of the Word Bearers as warriors, both possessed or not, is something the Warmaster cannot deny. It's a source of strength he cannot afford to discard. Lorgar for his part sees Abaddon as a tool to spread the Word of the Ruinous Powers to the very heart of the Imperium.
-Most Night Lords do not seem to worship the Chaos Gods in the same degree as the other traitor Legions. They fight only for material gain and personal pleasure. They look down on fanatical marines, be they worshipers of Dark Gods or the False Emperor. They place their respect not in faith but in strength, strength and terror.
-The Night Lords will fight for any cause as long as the plunder is good and they have ample opportunity to inflict as much bloodshed and anguish as they can. This made some Night Lords warbands pledge their service to alien warlords.
-After the birth of the Great Rift, the Red Corsairs have become experts in navigating the border regions between Warpstorms and Real Space. They established secret bases in the liminal zones. One of them is a significantly large base called the Tyrant's Gate in the Imperium Nihilus. Every sin and vice is indulged on that world. The world is orbited by weapon shops, docks, and defense platforms. Within the Warp, a sorcerous anchorage allows the battleships of Chaos to translate directly from and to the planet's orbit swiftly.
-Imperial reports that Huron Blackheart was spotted in two Segmentums at once seem to all but confirm that he struck some sort of bargain with the Chaos Gods.
-In exchange for his skill, Fabius had struck bargains with Chaos warlords, including the Daemon Primarch. He favours no client over the other, not even his gene-father.
-In recent years, Fabius has acquired samples from the Primaris marines and the Custodes. What he intends to do with them is unknown.
-The daemon Q'o'ak the Boundless is said to have drawn the ire of his master Tzeentch by meddling in his plans. To rid himself of Q'o'ak's ceaseless meddling, Tzeentch bound him to a weapon. Each time the weapon clashes with an enemy blade, the enemy falls victim to Q'o'ak temporal tampering. How Q'o'ak traverses time while imprisoned within the weapon remains unknown but with each soul he pulls from the web of fate a fresh plume manifests from the weapon's hilt.
Emeys Varran, the Apostle of Discordance, is unusually zealous in his devotion to Dark Gods for a trusted lieutenant of Abaddon. Despite his zealous faith in the Chaos Gods, Varran's true loyalty lies with Abaddon and the Black Legion. He is one of the Warhamer's few trusted confidants. Varran holds an intense and violent hatred toward the Sisters of Battle after losing his left eye to a neural wipe during the siege of the Chaos Knight World of Dharrovar. Abaddon dispatched Varran to aid Haarkin in seizing control of the Nachmund Gauntlet.
The Vashtorr and Black Legion vs T'au short story:
The world that Vashtorr manifested upon had a half-destroyed ancient city. Within the city was a temple whose structure was etched with daemonic scripture. This was Vashtorr's target. The T'au presence on the world was an unexpected complication. The T'au were giving the traitor and heretic forces stiff resistance and barring their way to the temple. The T'au in their determination to cling to the world had littered the battlefield with the Black Legion dead. Yet Vashtorr knew that the mortals' resistance was futile. Wyrmwood was entering into alignment over the world and it would seal their doom.
As Wyrmwood completed its alignment, the planet's surface quaked and monolithic structures erupted from the earth. This disordered the T'au lines and forced them into a fighting retreat. The Black Legion and Vashtorr's tech cultists pressed the attack.
Vashtorr could sense the call of the Warp-tainted relic, how it begged for release. He made his way to the temple but found T'au stubbornly standing between him and it. The Black Legionaries, daemonic engines empowered by Vashtorrr and his servants, and a horde of cultists fell on the T'au. Vashtorr himself joined the fray. With a gesture, he turned the energy of a force field that protected a squad of fire warriors against them. The fire warriors screamed as their armor melted and their skin was seared. The Black Legion marines finished off the reeling survivors with their chainaxes and bolter stocks.
T'au reinforcements sent from their orbiting fleet joined the battle. Battlesuits, tanks, hovering barricades, and aircraft plunged from the skies. The firepower of the T'au scythed through cultists and marines alike.
Vashtorr waded into the T'au lines with his hammer, pulping and smashing the Xenos aside. With a gesture, he unmade a T'au skimmer from within causing it to crash into a trio of battlesuits and explode. Through the flames, he strode toward the temple's entrance only to find his way barred again.
A T'au suit descended down in front of Vashtorr. Its pilot uttered a warcry before shooting Vashtorr. The shots impacted Vashtorr causing him to stagger back slightly. Vashtorr examined his form where the shots were hitting him. His daemon flesh was being burned away revealing the cogs beneath and his form was flickering.
Vashtorr extended his wings and was carried toward his Xenos foe by unholy energies. As he fell upon the battlesuit he projected his voice into its communication system telling the pilot that he was being so proud of the ingenuity of his technology, he was so reliant on the mechanical.
Vashttorr smashed down the battlesuit with his hammer and hit it again and again until he cracked its armor. Then pinned it down with his hoof. From his form tentacles emerged and wormed their way into the suit. Vashtorr poured a fragment of his power into the battlesuit and willed it to be unmade. Even though the pilot's soul was weak and small, he could still feel their fear.
Vashtorr stepped away from the battlesuit's wreckage and strode again toward the temple. As ever mortal resistance was nothing more than obstacles to be overcome by a being of infinite patience such as he. He will find the Lock and then reality itself will tremble before him.
2024.05.18 12:42 tristanfinn Old Genocide Joe Has Got to Go! – by Philip Giraldi – 17 May 2024
https://xenagoguevicene.wordpress.com/2024/05/18/old-genocide-joe-has-got-to-go-by-philip-giraldi-17-may-2024/
Embracing Netanyahu does not constitute a foreign policy
It is extremely difficult to discern what might be the thinking behind the clueless President Joe Biden and his Blinken-Austin-Mayorkas foreign-policy-plus national security team. Or rather, the problem is that there does not appear to be any thinking about it at all if one measures it by what benefits it brings to the American people. It all actually seems to derive from a desire to construct a narrative that will win the presidential election coming up in November, which will fortunately be run against a deeply flawed GOP candidate named Donald J. Trump. But look at what is on the Biden record: the country’s southern border with Mexico is a porous as a Swiss cheese, allowing literally millions of illegal immigrants into the USA since Biden took office; Washington is both de facto and de jure simultaneously fighting and losing two unnecessary wars involving nuclear powers which has cost a nearly bankrupt Treasury well into the hundreds of billions of dollars; and the White House is needlessly sanctioning non-hostile competitors like China while also making illegal popular social media sites like TikTok which have committed the sin of reporting and disseminating accurate narratives about good old “best friend and closest ally” Israel. Predictably, neither of the assertions about the value of the Jewish state is true, nor is it a democracy, but who cares when you’re having fun shooting people and spending someone else’s money?
Oh, and just try to exercise your first amendment free speech rights by demonstrating against Israel’s slaughter of upwards of 40,000 Palestinian civilians using US provided weapons and you will be hit on the head by a cop, possibly arrested, and even expelled from college! If you want to see where this is all going, check out reports of the recent FBI detention and interrogation of distinguished Israeli historian Ilan Pappe seeking to enter the US through the Detroit International Airport. Pappe is a critic of the Netanyahu government and of US policy so he was held, questioned in detailed about his contacts, and had his phone copied before being allowed to proceed. Meanwhile, a group of top federal judges have signed a letter stating that they will strike back against the demonstrating students by refusing to hire any graduates of Columbia University Law School as law clerks. And there even is a bill currently before Congress that would empower the government to label the foreign protesters “antisemites and terrorism supporters” and deport them, with some going to Gaza with the expectation that they would be killed, possibly by the mighty Israel Defense Forces (IDF)! It would be a startling new development to punish those whose crime consists mostly of trespass even given the rather loose ethical boundaries established by the war on terror and the Antisemitism Awareness Act! Or indeed one might follow the Senatorial route led by a chirping Lindsey Graham who recommends dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza to kill everyone who has survived the Israeli onslaught. The area then might be developed after the radiation dies down for those splendid seaside villas for Jews only suggested by the esteemed Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
To be sure, Joe sometimes mumbles something that might just be viewed positively, like his recent blocking on humanitarian grounds of a consignment of bunker buster bombs on their way to Israel due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that, no matter what, he would invade Rafah to completely destroy Hamas and whoever else might happen to get in his way. Joe predictably reversed that decision last Tuesday, approving a $1 billion supply of munitions after he came under pressure from the Israelis and their many friends in the US, to include a host of Israel-loving GOP congressmen who have carried their fight on behalf of the Jewish state to The Hague, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is being directly threatened with American wrath lest it try to punish Israeli leaders for their genocide in Gaza. As Bill Astore put it “Last week, President Biden appeared to have strapped on a temporary spine in delaying shipments of ‘offensive’ weaponry to Israel for its murderous invasion of Rafah in Gaza. That spine had a short duration as Biden announced [Tuesday] renewed shipments of tank and mortar rounds to Israel.” Congress has also gotten into the game with the GOP controlled House of Representatives having passed a bill that would compel the White House to continue all arms shipments to Israel. Joe might also be thinking of political contributions, as American Jews donate the majority of Democratic Party funding, as well guaranteeing a friendly media in his campaign as they dominate both the news and the entertainment industries. See, Joe can figure some things out all by himself every once in a while!
Here’s the problem with Joe, apart from the roughly $12 million in gift-donations from Jewish/Israeli sources that he has obtained in his political career. His tactical thinking does not extend beyond his personal interests, to include his corrupt children, a trait very much like that which is possessed by his good buddy Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges of his own in Israel. Joe believes he is much cleverer than he actually is and thinks that an occasional mild verbal criticism of the Israeli behavior will convince his target audience of voters that he really is concerned about the continuing death toll in Gaza, where the Israelis have already been taking initial steps in their attack on Rafah by using their tanks to penetrate into the targeted zone to destroy and kill.
And as for the reported completion and initial functioning of the floating pier connected to Gaza constructed by US military engineers, it will not dramatically change reality on the ground even though Biden is claiming that it will enable the entry of much needed food and medical aid. Israel will still “security” control what is allowed to enter into Gaza proper while Netanyahu is seeing the pier as a bridge to nowhere, usable primarily to export excess Palestinians to foreign lands that are either willing or unwilling to accept them. And its existence creates some interesting possibilities. As it presumably will be logistically supported on the pier itself by US-based personnel, Netanyahu might well be tempted to stage a false flag attack blamed on Hamas to kill a few Americans and lock Biden into Israel’s right-wing Gaza policies from now on. Bear in mind that, in reality, Biden could care less if all the Palestinians might be “disappeared” just as he would like to see any and all critics of Israel be subjected to the harshest punishments, including prison and denial of basic rights as well as being stripped of government benefits. He has called the protesters “lawbreakers” and spreaders of “chaos” and congress is currently investigating the alleged “subversive organizers” of the “anti-Israel terrorists.”
Biden and company, as well as Trump, who is advising the Israeli government to “finish the job” with the Palestinians, clearly have no actual red lines that must not be crossed when it comes to Israel. The war of extermination of the Gazans has been accompanied by a more hidden war being conducted by the Jewish settlers on the West Bank, which has been largely under Israeli occupation since 1967. The frequently armed settlers have been attacking unarmed Palestinians, destroying their homes and businesses, ruining their crops and vineyards, and even killing them on occasion. Israeli police and army standing by do nothing to stop the fun and even frequently participate themselves by arresting and beating Palestinians who are guilty only of being Palestinian. Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested without charges apart from “preventive detention” since the troubles began in October and the jails are overflowing. The clear intention, verbalized without any shame by senior Israeli government officials like Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is to produce a Greater Israel cleansed of Arabs. And Biden, who pretends to favor a two-state solution to the unrest, helps the process along by vetoing UN resolutions that would help create separate sovereignty for Palestine.
Some of the most outrageous recent developments have been the settlers’ interfering with shipments of food and medicines entering into Gaza, a point that a faux-sympathetic Biden stresses repeatedly when pontificating regarding bringing aid to the starving people who are trapped with nowhere to go inside the enclave. The Israel clampdown even includes the Mediterranean Sea being blocked off by the Israeli navy which shoots any desperate Gazans who try to go close to the water so they can fish for food. In the most recent incidents, observed by the standing-by but inert Israeli army and police, truckloads of food were blocked, the drivers and aid workers removed and beaten, and the food was destroyed and burned before the trucks were treated likewise. In another incident settlers dumped huge boulders on one of the access roads to a checkpoint leading into Gaza, rendering it impassible and blocking any aid. Journalists and aid workers are meanwhile being killed by the army to prevent any reporting of what is going on while the US State Department refuses to condemn the activity. Biden called the interference with assistance convoys “outrageous” but has done nothing whatsoever about it, nor has he followed up on pledges to sanction Israelis who attack Palestinians or their property on the West Bank.
The whole problem is that Israel is a monster, an apartheid state that somehow feels it is empowered by God and the United States to kill all its neighbors and rob the American taxpayer to pay for and equip the slaughter. Israel is backed by an all-powerful US domestic lobby that includes unlimited Jewish money and activist Zionist groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) led by the hideous Jonathan Greenblatt and the venerable American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC), both of which are now busy raising money to defeat all congress critters who have ever criticized the Jewish state. ADL and AIPAC are also linked to “that old time religion” knucklehead Christian Zionists concentrated in the Republican Party who have their Scofield Bibles firmly embedded between their ears where their brains are supposed be. A partial solution would be to make the Jewish-Zionist groups register as foreign government agents directed by Israel under the the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which is exactly what they are, but that will never happen. President John F. Kennedy tried to register the predecessor group to AIPAC and many believe he paid the ultimate price for that affront as well as for his bid to stop Israel’s nuclear weapons program.
So, my fellow Americans, what should we do? Well, we should do whatever we can, which includes speaking out about how we have been sold out by our leaders and opinion makers, and we should continue to do that even knowing that they will try to silence us by destroying free speech in this country. It is all we have left and we should continue to oppose what is happening. The first step however, is to get rid of politicians like Joe and Donald, who have been completely corrupted by more than fifty years in the “system” and are totally sold out and irresponsible in their behavior. There are honest politicians and journalists out there and we just have to find them, support them and get them elected and in positions where they will be able to bring about change in how things are done in Washington! One might call it the New American Revolution to restore our rights and free us from foreign oppression!
submitted by tristanfinn to altnewz [link] [comments]
Embracing Netanyahu does not constitute a foreign policy
It is extremely difficult to discern what might be the thinking behind the clueless President Joe Biden and his Blinken-Austin-Mayorkas foreign-policy-plus national security team. Or rather, the problem is that there does not appear to be any thinking about it at all if one measures it by what benefits it brings to the American people. It all actually seems to derive from a desire to construct a narrative that will win the presidential election coming up in November, which will fortunately be run against a deeply flawed GOP candidate named Donald J. Trump. But look at what is on the Biden record: the country’s southern border with Mexico is a porous as a Swiss cheese, allowing literally millions of illegal immigrants into the USA since Biden took office; Washington is both de facto and de jure simultaneously fighting and losing two unnecessary wars involving nuclear powers which has cost a nearly bankrupt Treasury well into the hundreds of billions of dollars; and the White House is needlessly sanctioning non-hostile competitors like China while also making illegal popular social media sites like TikTok which have committed the sin of reporting and disseminating accurate narratives about good old “best friend and closest ally” Israel. Predictably, neither of the assertions about the value of the Jewish state is true, nor is it a democracy, but who cares when you’re having fun shooting people and spending someone else’s money?
Oh, and just try to exercise your first amendment free speech rights by demonstrating against Israel’s slaughter of upwards of 40,000 Palestinian civilians using US provided weapons and you will be hit on the head by a cop, possibly arrested, and even expelled from college! If you want to see where this is all going, check out reports of the recent FBI detention and interrogation of distinguished Israeli historian Ilan Pappe seeking to enter the US through the Detroit International Airport. Pappe is a critic of the Netanyahu government and of US policy so he was held, questioned in detailed about his contacts, and had his phone copied before being allowed to proceed. Meanwhile, a group of top federal judges have signed a letter stating that they will strike back against the demonstrating students by refusing to hire any graduates of Columbia University Law School as law clerks. And there even is a bill currently before Congress that would empower the government to label the foreign protesters “antisemites and terrorism supporters” and deport them, with some going to Gaza with the expectation that they would be killed, possibly by the mighty Israel Defense Forces (IDF)! It would be a startling new development to punish those whose crime consists mostly of trespass even given the rather loose ethical boundaries established by the war on terror and the Antisemitism Awareness Act! Or indeed one might follow the Senatorial route led by a chirping Lindsey Graham who recommends dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza to kill everyone who has survived the Israeli onslaught. The area then might be developed after the radiation dies down for those splendid seaside villas for Jews only suggested by the esteemed Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
To be sure, Joe sometimes mumbles something that might just be viewed positively, like his recent blocking on humanitarian grounds of a consignment of bunker buster bombs on their way to Israel due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that, no matter what, he would invade Rafah to completely destroy Hamas and whoever else might happen to get in his way. Joe predictably reversed that decision last Tuesday, approving a $1 billion supply of munitions after he came under pressure from the Israelis and their many friends in the US, to include a host of Israel-loving GOP congressmen who have carried their fight on behalf of the Jewish state to The Hague, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is being directly threatened with American wrath lest it try to punish Israeli leaders for their genocide in Gaza. As Bill Astore put it “Last week, President Biden appeared to have strapped on a temporary spine in delaying shipments of ‘offensive’ weaponry to Israel for its murderous invasion of Rafah in Gaza. That spine had a short duration as Biden announced [Tuesday] renewed shipments of tank and mortar rounds to Israel.” Congress has also gotten into the game with the GOP controlled House of Representatives having passed a bill that would compel the White House to continue all arms shipments to Israel. Joe might also be thinking of political contributions, as American Jews donate the majority of Democratic Party funding, as well guaranteeing a friendly media in his campaign as they dominate both the news and the entertainment industries. See, Joe can figure some things out all by himself every once in a while!
Here’s the problem with Joe, apart from the roughly $12 million in gift-donations from Jewish/Israeli sources that he has obtained in his political career. His tactical thinking does not extend beyond his personal interests, to include his corrupt children, a trait very much like that which is possessed by his good buddy Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges of his own in Israel. Joe believes he is much cleverer than he actually is and thinks that an occasional mild verbal criticism of the Israeli behavior will convince his target audience of voters that he really is concerned about the continuing death toll in Gaza, where the Israelis have already been taking initial steps in their attack on Rafah by using their tanks to penetrate into the targeted zone to destroy and kill.
And as for the reported completion and initial functioning of the floating pier connected to Gaza constructed by US military engineers, it will not dramatically change reality on the ground even though Biden is claiming that it will enable the entry of much needed food and medical aid. Israel will still “security” control what is allowed to enter into Gaza proper while Netanyahu is seeing the pier as a bridge to nowhere, usable primarily to export excess Palestinians to foreign lands that are either willing or unwilling to accept them. And its existence creates some interesting possibilities. As it presumably will be logistically supported on the pier itself by US-based personnel, Netanyahu might well be tempted to stage a false flag attack blamed on Hamas to kill a few Americans and lock Biden into Israel’s right-wing Gaza policies from now on. Bear in mind that, in reality, Biden could care less if all the Palestinians might be “disappeared” just as he would like to see any and all critics of Israel be subjected to the harshest punishments, including prison and denial of basic rights as well as being stripped of government benefits. He has called the protesters “lawbreakers” and spreaders of “chaos” and congress is currently investigating the alleged “subversive organizers” of the “anti-Israel terrorists.”
Biden and company, as well as Trump, who is advising the Israeli government to “finish the job” with the Palestinians, clearly have no actual red lines that must not be crossed when it comes to Israel. The war of extermination of the Gazans has been accompanied by a more hidden war being conducted by the Jewish settlers on the West Bank, which has been largely under Israeli occupation since 1967. The frequently armed settlers have been attacking unarmed Palestinians, destroying their homes and businesses, ruining their crops and vineyards, and even killing them on occasion. Israeli police and army standing by do nothing to stop the fun and even frequently participate themselves by arresting and beating Palestinians who are guilty only of being Palestinian. Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested without charges apart from “preventive detention” since the troubles began in October and the jails are overflowing. The clear intention, verbalized without any shame by senior Israeli government officials like Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is to produce a Greater Israel cleansed of Arabs. And Biden, who pretends to favor a two-state solution to the unrest, helps the process along by vetoing UN resolutions that would help create separate sovereignty for Palestine.
Some of the most outrageous recent developments have been the settlers’ interfering with shipments of food and medicines entering into Gaza, a point that a faux-sympathetic Biden stresses repeatedly when pontificating regarding bringing aid to the starving people who are trapped with nowhere to go inside the enclave. The Israel clampdown even includes the Mediterranean Sea being blocked off by the Israeli navy which shoots any desperate Gazans who try to go close to the water so they can fish for food. In the most recent incidents, observed by the standing-by but inert Israeli army and police, truckloads of food were blocked, the drivers and aid workers removed and beaten, and the food was destroyed and burned before the trucks were treated likewise. In another incident settlers dumped huge boulders on one of the access roads to a checkpoint leading into Gaza, rendering it impassible and blocking any aid. Journalists and aid workers are meanwhile being killed by the army to prevent any reporting of what is going on while the US State Department refuses to condemn the activity. Biden called the interference with assistance convoys “outrageous” but has done nothing whatsoever about it, nor has he followed up on pledges to sanction Israelis who attack Palestinians or their property on the West Bank.
The whole problem is that Israel is a monster, an apartheid state that somehow feels it is empowered by God and the United States to kill all its neighbors and rob the American taxpayer to pay for and equip the slaughter. Israel is backed by an all-powerful US domestic lobby that includes unlimited Jewish money and activist Zionist groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) led by the hideous Jonathan Greenblatt and the venerable American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC), both of which are now busy raising money to defeat all congress critters who have ever criticized the Jewish state. ADL and AIPAC are also linked to “that old time religion” knucklehead Christian Zionists concentrated in the Republican Party who have their Scofield Bibles firmly embedded between their ears where their brains are supposed be. A partial solution would be to make the Jewish-Zionist groups register as foreign government agents directed by Israel under the the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which is exactly what they are, but that will never happen. President John F. Kennedy tried to register the predecessor group to AIPAC and many believe he paid the ultimate price for that affront as well as for his bid to stop Israel’s nuclear weapons program.
So, my fellow Americans, what should we do? Well, we should do whatever we can, which includes speaking out about how we have been sold out by our leaders and opinion makers, and we should continue to do that even knowing that they will try to silence us by destroying free speech in this country. It is all we have left and we should continue to oppose what is happening. The first step however, is to get rid of politicians like Joe and Donald, who have been completely corrupted by more than fifty years in the “system” and are totally sold out and irresponsible in their behavior. There are honest politicians and journalists out there and we just have to find them, support them and get them elected and in positions where they will be able to bring about change in how things are done in Washington! One might call it the New American Revolution to restore our rights and free us from foreign oppression!