Lords of Transfinite space: a multiverse supervillain game. (IC)

[Feathersnow]

.....

The dragon hunting expedition went better that expected, and telesma and raw materials are expected to be ready for pick-up at the location early next week.

A Bane system is moving into our Widdershins border with Centrum, which should discourage expeditions into any territories claimed by our members. However, travel in that direction is discouraged until reality stabilizes.

The Pastalicios Necrowomancer was killed in a battle with some kind of Dragon God upset with us hunting dragons. A collection rota and get well card is at the table in the reflectory. She is expected to stay dead for at least two months....

One of the servo-bot-a-majigs of the Meta-poly-ab-Brain-in-a-can recites the minutes of the last formal council meeting. Not to many people showed up, between the Banestorm and the Dragon expedition, most of The Group is occupied or unavailable.

Eventually, though Any new business?

The Brain himself apparently dozed off. because doesn't respond to the prompt or signal his servo-bot-a-majig. This isn't too surprising for a 428-year-old man on life support...

[Don nadie]

Aletheia is sitting on her hindlegs, looking at the robotic servant with an utterly undisimulated distate. The sphinx, as you all know, is not entirely comfortable with technology. Only when the robot is passed by her does Aletheia begin to speak. Her voice is irresistible, calm and rumbling like autumn leaves ruffled by the wind... Though easily turned into a roar.

I am not certain of what my estimed colleagues are thinking, she says. As you all know, this is a courtesy the sphinx rarely extends to others: she hates not knowing, and she could just probe your thoughts if she wanted to. But I am not entirely comfortable with a dragon god of any kind seeking vengeance from us. Still, there may be more pressing business...

The sphinx stands and begins to walk on her legs, circling the life-support system of the Brain. I remain frustrated at these machines. I was promised they would correlate the different clues I had gathered, yet still I know nothing about the Sons of the Sphinx or their actual aim. You all vaguely remember something about this group. They have been conspiring against Aletheia's plans. Admittedly, both her plans and the reason for this group to interfere are entirely incomprehensible half the time, but they were the reason the sphinx joined you in the first place. Well, now I may have come unto something.

The sphinx's eyes turn completely white, and the space is filled with lines and diagrams representing the interconnections between worlds known to the members. They are incredible ilusions, functioning in every frequency of light and colour. One of the worlds seems to lit up with red light and words you do not recognize.

That is Pheiros, or at least such is the name it had before a world-shattering Hunger got there. Before this happened, however, I sacked their libraries. I found mention of another neighbouring world, once which contacted them ages ago through refugees. They claimed to be running from an epidemy of madness... But had escaped through what I suppose is what you call extremely advanced technology. I theorize their civilization ceased to exist shortly after the arrival of these few runners... But their ruins may still be there. More importantly, they carried with them a few pieces of paper carrying writing in Khairos, my native language. Only spoken by sphinxes, or so I believed.

The map dissapears, and the letters form in the air. One wouldn't guess its actually writing: it looks rather like a strange geometric design which parts from a center and ramifies in a thousand directions with another thousand little symbols, always in a circumference.

It says: "Come", says the sphinx. It is not pressing. The letter was thousands of years old and in fact survived only in copies. But it is a path I will transit, even if it leads me to a trap. I'd rather go with company, however. Specially company able to deal with machinery.

You look again at the writing. That is one complicated way to write something like that.


So here I am, proposing something with the ruins of an extremely technologically advanced society

[WhiteKnight777]

Ambrosius Jones

A servobot whirred quietly away from Ambrosius, carrying his fifth empty plate of the evening. He always stuffed himself at council meetings. Beyond his unnatural metabolism and his gluttonous nature, he simply couldn't resist gorging himself whenever he visited Headquarters. Even as Emperor of Albion, he didn't get much opportunity for Unicorn veal at home. He took a sip of aged chalcanth, that smokey, savory spirit distilled from the blood of demons, and resumed lazily picking his teeth with the thin golden horn that had come with his last dish. It was always good, he reflected, to indulge one's appetites.

Appearance-wise, Ambrosius was nothing special, at least as far as the Group's membership went. Oh, he had eyes that burned - quite literally - with the emerald flames of the Place Below, but compared to many of the other members in attendance, he was positively mundane. Six feet and change, extraordinarily handsome, wearing a dark suit exquisitely tailored to his lean frame, he seemed mostly human, save for the eyes. Yet there was something magnetic about him, and when he spoke, there was a resonant, almost hypnotic quality to his voice. As the Sphinx finished speaking, he chimed in "I've also got a few little projects I could use a bit of assistance with. Nothing urgent, or nearly so... cosmic, mind - some wetwork, a bit of investigation, perhaps a touch of infiltration. Preparatory work for my next phase of conquests. If anyone's bored and looking for something to do, I'd be happy for some companionship." He grinned roguishly, putting a slightly flirtatious edge on the last word. "Naturally, I'd be happy to compensate any interested parties with cash, favors, slaves, loot - any of the usual currencies."

He turned his head to regard Aletheia, his eyes running over her in a curious, almost palpable way. Some interesting thoughts danced, briefly, through his head, and the balefires that were his eyes burned more brightly for a moment. Then, returning to business, he added. "But I'd be keen to investigate the provenance of that letter as well. Advanced technology is always interesting to me. Especially abandoned advanced technology."

[Eldest]

Rose looks up from where she'd been idly deconstructing and reconstructing a tiny drone, now a segmented snake form with fangs and metal feathers, now a whirling top, lights flaring in patterns. She looks normal compared to the rest of the group as well: utilitarian clothes, a bandana keeping a mop of short red hair out of her eyes. One arm is obviously artificial, with tools springing out and back in as needed, but she could pass unnoticed within any given society with cybernetics.I could go for some looting of advanced technology myself. The dragon raids were interesting for materials; I'm still analyzing how the scales and bone maintain their durability while being so light for that tensile strength; but cracking other people's discoveries is the second best way to find out new ideas. She beams, flicking the spinning drone towards the spinx, which stops in front of her, beeping indignantly. I did have a lead on a Cartographer Guild cache that somebody had rather rudely left unmentioned to me while I was still with that fine establishment, though, if another option is needed.

[Anyr]

"You know my vote. I'll favour whichever job has the strongest scent of money."

Those words were spoken by a green Dragon in the corner. The reptilian creature took no offence to any talk of dissecting her brethren. That's because this form was just the echo of someone that Tenth had recently killed. She changed bodies with the same frequency that most people changed shirts. As usual, Tenth had played little part in the meeting. Plotting and planning was best left to more creative minds. Free agent or not, Tenth still preferred to be a useful cog in somebody else's machine; Rather than trying to haphazardly build one herself.

[Feathersnow]

The Brain-in-a-can makes it aware via psionic impression that he is seriously considering interjecting about, how his loss of a body made him love machines even more and that Alethia shouldn't knock the voice-command-automatic lifestyle without trying it. But he gave his sales pitch and it went... poorly.

Eh, I will shore up the defenses in case the elder wyrm tries to bother us. You go have fun raiding. Oh, to have a body again... but I have to wait at least another five years before the convergence, and toting my enchanted bucket around isn't worth it for any of us....


The old man/brain starts muttering about some time that a lot of you actually remember better than him...

[Master Waldo]

King Tyrant
Tyrant sat awkwardly at the table, uncomfortably trying to figure out how to place his tail in the tall chairs. Eventually he gave up, and smashed the chair in frustration. Looking back at the rest of the group, he turned over the presented options in his head. He didn't particularly have use for technology, unless it provided him with a way to get back home. And anything having to do with the Cartographer's Guild could potentially do just that. On the other claw, he did enjoy conquest, and he hadn't really taken part in one since that first jump.

He'd learned much since then. His ritual took far fewer sacrifices now, and could be completed quicker, but still had yet to succeed in bringing him home. He'd thrown in with this group in the hopes that he would discover some means of doing so, and for the opportunities at carnage that it provided.

He turned to Ambrosious.
"Your offer intrigues me, gluttonous one. I shall render aid to you if it is desired, in return for your assistance at a later date.

[Eldest]

Ambrose, I suggest a bit of mutual back scratching. I help your infiltration, espionage, all that fun stuff, you help with my Cartographer looting. Everyone wins. Except for the other guys, I guess. Oh, also, can you itch my back, I've been sitting in that chair for a while and there's a spot I just can't quite reach...

[Anyr]

The Dragon snorted contemptuously at Rose. Tenth rarely missed a chance to look down on mortal weaknesses. It made her feel more confident.

"Itchiness is such a bizarre trait. I can appreciate its role as an alert system; But even so, why make it so annoying? And why can't you turn it off? Yet another flaw that most 'undesigned' share."

[The_Snark]

"Wetwork and espionage! Two of my favorite things." The voice is melodious, tugging insistently at one's attention: look at me, listen to me, it whispers to the hindbrain, beckoning like honey to flies. The skin-changer is wearing her latest favorite, that of a dainty dark-haired woman with sun-browned skin. Tattoos adorn her upper torso, coiling around her neck and shoulders in serpentine patterns before winding down her arms. Naturally, her garb is chosen to show this off, not that she really needs the excuse: a band of fabric wrapped tightly around her chest, loose pants and some jewelry. By Radezha's standards it's actually fairly conservative.

"Not to spurn your offer, Aletheia dear," she continues, eyes twinkling as she smiles at the sphinx, "but I've had enough of dead worlds for a lifetime, and I don't know the first thing about machines. I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." She places a hand over her heart. Both flirting and verbal fencing are entirely pointless here - as best she can tell the sphinx is indifferent to everyone, Radezha isn't sure she even knows how to have fun - but it amuses her, and indifference is a safer reaction than she'd get from many. "Perhaps our darling Brain can assist you once he's sorted out his body issue; he and Rose seem best suited."

She turns then to Ambrosius, leaning forward (and vaguely wishing she was wearing something better suited to showing off. Ah well). "So! Who do you need dead? Anyone interesting?"

[Don nadie]

The sphinx shrugs. She could not seem less offended or upset if she was made of stone.

I am not bothered in the slightest, skin-dancer. A dead world will remain dead for another thousand years, its vaults equally unexplored. If the members perfer to help Ambrosius in his little quest for mundane power, I will be "happy", the sphinx says the word with some notes of irony, to help. A favour for a favour, after all.

The sphinx stands back, her tail falling to one side and the other. It is quite clear from her tone that she considers the pursuit of world-domination a waste of time only adequate for minor intellects, but if that silly little political game is what it takes for her to get some extra help, she'll do it. The sphinx is not impatient.

[Feathersnow]

Ah, Wet work, do tell! I haven't done that since the time Zaryxx the de-Born hired me to assassinate myself. That was good fun, even if I've been technically dead for the past two decades. The $#%@@#$ was really hard to put down, too.

Okay, We are doing Ambrosius's idea, set up your understanding of it, WhiteKnight, and I'll fill in the rest.

[Eldest]

Rose rubs her head at the sudden outburst from the Brain, biting down on her first few invocations against overly loud telepathy. The drone she'd been tinkering with crawls along her arm and to her back while she's leaning forward, scratching at a spot roughly in the middle. Yes, we get it. You're dead. Now for those of us mobile enough to go and actually do the wetwork, time to plan. Brain, you can just... fort up the place, there's a good organ.

[Master Waldo]

King Tyrant
"Before we can do any planning, we will of course need to know what the target is."
Tyrant turned and looked expectantly at Ambrosious.

[WhiteKnight777]

Ambrosius Jones

Ambrosius reached over and lazily ran his fingers down Rose's back, scritching and scratching with slow, deliberate motions. He grinned at her, his eyes flaring again, then one disappearing briefly as he winked. A wolfish grin stretched his mouth, showing teeth that were just a touch too pointy for baseline human. "Naturally. I'm all about reciprocity." He said, a general reply to the various implications about payment at a later date.

He savored the anticipation for a moment - another indulgence. Ambrosius was self-aware enough to know that he enjoyed being the center of attention. He'd probably have gone even madder if he didn't, after all. Finally, he spoke. "There are several targets in my quest for "mundane" power, as you so eloquently put it." He said, with a nod towards Aletheia. Although I'd argue there's nothing mundane about world domination. Temporal power has innumerable... satisfactions." He said, almost purring. "There are three main obstacles on my road to world domination - first, a number of unusual and talented individuals in the employ of a coalition of world governments. Basically, they're a black-ops squad of metahumans who serve as counterbalance to my own genetically enhanced and robotically-controlled troops. Without them, the united governments of earth will have a great deal of trouble opposing me on the military front."

Ambrose let his finger run over Rose's spine for a moment before he resumed both scratching and speaking "Second, the combined nuclear arsenal of the world. If they get desperate enough, the miserable prigs might well decide annihilation is better than submission. I need to neutralize that capability - or at least the majority of it. I can absorb some infrastructural damage, but I need to prevent total annihilation. I can import anti-rad scrubbers once I've established control, but I need some people left."

"Finally, the cohesion of most of the major world powers against my rule. I need to disrupt it. I've got my propaganda machine in place, but I need a few high-profile assassinations and blackmailings to drive the wedge in, so that I can hammer it home."

[Don nadie]

Aletheia smiles. Needless to say, the smile of a sphinx is a strange thing which makes everyone remember they are carnivores.

I am sure you find satisfaction in domination, says the sphinx, not going any further. You all know already that she considers your intellects (and hence your opinions) vastly inferior to her own. Mostly because she's made it abundantly clear. Still, there is no doubt the sphinx's labyrinthic mind can be of great use. If those are your plans, I am sure I can be useful at all of them. I believe, however, that finding information to blackmail your opponents probably suits my natural talents best.

[Eldest]

Rose stretches under Ambrosius's fingers, thinking. I could quite easily help the spinxy with any hard to use stuff. Like computers, or doors. Or I could try to work on the nuclear problem, but that'd be messy and Zeta would probably be better at it.

[Master Waldo]

King Tyrant
The Tyrant flexes his claws and stares at the Emperor.

"I would certainly be willing to assist with the destruction of these so called 'metahumans'. Sound ..tasty"

[Anyr]

"It seems we're in agreement. I'm at your disposal. Just tell me where I'm needed most."

Such was Tenth's nature. For all her attempts at dominance, she was created to be a subordinate. Ambrosius had a plan. He needed people to carry out that plan. This suited Tenth just fine. Oh sure, she'd browbeat and mock those around her; But at the end of the day, she could be relied upon to follow orders.

[WhiteKnight777]

Ambrosius

The Emperor of Albion nodded his thanks to the rest of The Group, clearly pleased. He'd picked a good moment for his proposal - enough of the more useful members were bored to gain him significant assistance. "Thank you all. I appreciate your assistance. Once we've secured those objectives, I'm happy to cede you whatever moveable goods from the conquered regions you'd like; art, artifacts, people, or anything else, in addition to the favors, cash, etcetera I promised. I reserve only the territory itself for my personal control." Ambrosius knew the value of generosity, and victory tended to make him magnanimous. Not that he'd won yet, but securing these allies was a major step.

"I believe I've told you all something of the various forces opposing me at one time or another, although Cassandra will provide you all with my complete dossiers once we return to Albion. It would serve us well to make some initial plans here, however - if nothing else, we're even more secure from observation here than we are in the Imperial Palace. My personal preference is to eliminate the Ten Stars first. Once the meddlers are put out of the way, there will be few individuals who can directly oppose us, and we'll be at much greater liberty to breach the security of the various nations."

Ambrosius gestured, and a holographic display appeared, complete with images of the Ten, as well as brief descriptions of their powers, personalities, and potential weaknesses. "Thoughts? We could also undertake one of the other tasks instead, or attempt multiple operations at the same time, if you think your talents would be better suited to a different operation."

[Don nadie]

The sphinx nods slowly.

I believe our best bet to deal with your less wordly oponents would be to set a trap. I can help there. It would be possible for me to generate an illusory invasion of a city, perhaps Benin, and attract your superheroic rivals there. Then, as they are distracted by my ilusions, we can attempt to kidnap or kill those most dangerous.

That is an interesting proposal. You have all seen Aletheia's ilusions: they defy almost any sensor and supernatural capacity, and can be truly enormous. It should be possible to stage whatever is needed without actually spending soldiers, and she could make setting up an ambush quite easy.

[Eldest]

Rose grimaces. Taking out the supers... I could probably be bait, in that case, but I don't want to be the one to start the fight. Hell, we could probably have two of us try to hit the nukes as bait to pull in a few of them and then spring an ambush. Pick the spot on the spur of the moment based on who was sighted nearby, to avoid the precogs getting too much of a warning. Or wait for Zeta. She'd be good with starting the fight. In the meantime, I do have some ideas for tricks we could use. Anybody want some anti-psionics tech?

[Don nadie]

Aletheia smiles condescendingly. Though in all honesty, most of her smiles are condescending.

I do not need such... technology. The advantage of me creating the ilusions is that no matter their particular capacities, they will not be able to see through them unless. When I decide to put a veil on reality, no tricks of magic or research can see through... Only the sheer power of a mind.

The sphinx seems to think for a moment.

Nonetheless, I could use some of your little trinkets if they could provide phisical protection or prevent my detection through more... Technological means. I'd hate for something so banal to put me in jeopardy.


All her ilusions are cosmic... so the only way to see through are to pass a IQ vs her IQ 20 :D

Incidentally, the same applies to read her mind.

[Master Waldo]

King Tyrant
Tyrant looked over at the sphinx.

"Why stop at illusions? In my experience, nothing brings the so called heroic types running quite as fast as a horde of skeletons outside their gates."

[Don nadie]

Ilusions have the advantage of not actually damaging the city. I believe our friend's aim is to have domain over the living weak and powerless. Furthermore, an ilusion I can control from afar, thus giving us the chance to make sure the trap is well set. Our objective ought to be capturing one of them alive, hopefully Midas. Thus we'd be able to control them and extract information off their minds.


Perhaps relevant: your dear Sphinx can mind probe pretty much anything (it's also cosmic) and can do a good-old-fashioned Mind control and/or conditioning. If we capture one alive, setting a trap for the rest will be soooo easy.

[Eldest]

I think most planning might hold, until we get the dossiers from Cass. She stands up, idly snatching up her much reworked drone, and stretches, walking out. As she steps by Ambrosium, she reaches out and scratches his back, winking impishly at him, before stepping out of the room, humming a war chanty.