Schlock Mercenary X: The Mundivore, or, "Eat it"

[Rockphed]

...Huh. If they blow up the core generator, and this seems like they just might have, they'll be stuck in Andromeda forever. Unless Petey can build a ship big enough to teraport them back, at least...

Petey was perfectly capable of teraporting back and forth before Andromeda's core came online. If they blow it up sufficiently he can get back to liberating Andromeda.

[tyckspoon]

Petey was perfectly capable of teraporting back and forth before Andromeda's core came online. If they blow it up sufficiently he can get back to liberating Andromeda.

Well, he was capable of doing that by spending a huge chunk of his available energy budget. It's not something he did trivially, and certainly not something he can afford to do while his own core generator is under attack. Fortunately removing the Hypergun takes out the Paanuri's only cost-effective means of attacking between the galaxies, and they've got Dark Matter Schlock and the local Milky Way forces to help take out the battlegroups that were sent in there now..

[keybounce]

1. This Tagon definitely seems smarter.
2. How many currently active Tagons are there? One in the computer, one in Andromeda, is there a third?

[Rakaydos]

1. This Tagon definitely seems smarter.
2. How many currently active Tagons are there? One in the computer, one in Andromeda, is there a third?

Tagon has been the big damn hero once before, and this tagon missed it because the old tagon didnt survive the experience.
He doesnt want to wake up AGAIN to find out yet another tagon saved the galaxy.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Thread title drop, like a boss. No, unfortunately he did not say "eat it" as well.

[Gnoman]

Schlock bringing intimidation and spreading terror by promising to eat somebody. It feels like this strip is returning to the roots.

[Ark Evensong]

2. How many currently active Tagons are there? One in the computer, one in Andromeda, is there a third?

There's a Karl Tagon over in Schlock's DaME-generator/-resurrector, but only two Kaffs.

[Wayson]

Schlock bringing intimidation and spreading terror by promising to eat somebody. It feels like this strip is returning to the roots.

I’m not going to lie, if this is how it ends then I’m happy with it. Schlock eats everything and traumatizes the surviving DMEs into surrendering.

[factotum]

It's sometimes easy to forget that Schlock is actually very intelligent, just a bit careless--to figure out that he can use his Pa'anuri abilities to make a ship's hull vibrate and turn it into a giant speaker is pretty darned inspired.

[NEO|Phyte]

Probably remembered that time Xinchub did it with a battleplate.

[The Glyphstone]

It's sometimes easy to forget that Schlock is actually very intelligent, just a bit careless--to figure out that he can use his Pa'anuri abilities to make a ship's hull vibrate and turn it into a giant speaker is pretty darned inspired.

They've commented on this in-story, IIRC. His entire body substitutes as a brain/memory storage unit with very irregular application of its potential, so he's capable of random feats of intelligence/wisdom/cunning that even his closest allies never see coming.

[sihnfahl]

They've commented on this in-story, IIRC. His entire body substitutes as a brain/memory storage unit with very irregular application of its potential, so he's capable of random feats of intelligence/wisdom/cunning that even his closest allies never see coming.

Like his little pep-talk at the initial arrival in Andromeda.

[hajo]

"Complete non-surprise"

[ChowGuy]

Thread title drop, like a boss. No, unfortunately he did not say "eat it" as well.

Too bad is nowhere near time yet for another thread title, or I'd be suggesting Too hunrgy to die!"

[factotum]

I don't think it's ever been made clear why the Pa'anuri have got into this attitude that they can't co-exist alongside baryonic life, has it? Does anyone have a link for where that's mentioned before?

[JavaScribe]

I don't think it's ever been made clear why the Pa'anuri have got into this attitude that they can't co-exist alongside baryonic life, has it? Does anyone have a link for where that's mentioned before?

We haven't heard it from the Pa'anuri themselves, but we've seen other people speculate. One theory is that they were basically created as intelligent slaves which ultimately resulted in an AI rebellion. The Hrathi have long speculated that someday, some idiot will accidentally create an entire race of dark matter sociopaths.

[sihnfahl]

We haven't heard it from the Pa'anuri themselves, but we've seen other people speculate. One theory is that they were basically created as intelligent slaves which ultimately resulted in an AI rebellion. The Hrathi have long speculated that someday, some idiot will accidentally create an entire race of dark matter sociopaths.

You mean here.

One reason may also be related to the usage of teraports and other hyperspace manipulations of baryonic life to be able to move from point A to point B.

It 'pollutes' the local space and rips Pa'anuri apart.

And since Andromeda and the Milky Way are set to intersect at some point in the future... the long game.

[HandofShadows]

The Gatekeepers were keeping the treaty and it was the DMB that tried to blow up the Milky Way. The generator that Petey took over was supposed to be used to keep the Milky Way and Andromeda from colliding and in theory it might be able to do that. Also the DMB went out after the world ships which were self isolating and had nothing to do with just about anything. The very opposite of the DBM.

[keybounce]

It's not often that I can use one thread's title in another thread.

Petey: "Hoy! Hennybody else not dead? "

[Lvl 2 Expert]

So this is what that whole soul teraporter discussion was about. They're going to digitize or baryonize the whole species.

I'll admit, there are much worse solutions...

[hajo]

So this is what that whole soul teraporter discussion was about.
They're going to digitize or baryonize the whole species.

And our favorite mercs even have an experienced specialist for 'afterlife-management'.
That's convincient

I'll admit, there are much worse solutions...

Sure

[sihnfahl]

They're going to digitize or baryonize the whole species.

They're already familiar with digitization...

They're just being introduced to a different usage of said digitization. Rather than as a conduit to become Pa'anuri, as a way to live peacefully.

[tonberrian]

So it seems the Toughs are now the most powerful polity in both Andromeda and the Milky Way. Literally, since, y'know, they control the power.

[Rockphed]

Wow, how did enesby not explode telling the story that succinctly?

[geoduck]

So it seems the Toughs are now the most powerful polity in both Andromeda and the Milky Way. Literally, since, y'know, they control the power.

"Schlock and Enesby" are not exactly the same thing as "The Toughs".

[Lvl 2 Expert]

How does Schlock even control that generator? I get that he seems to have gotten a lot smarter and better with physics since growing, but the whole reason those dronuri exist is that dark matter entities cannot manipulate baryonic matter finely enough to run a core generator. So what, Petey's generator was still running normally, and then Schlock parked in front of it and said "this is mine now, you can't touch it"?

[factotum]

How does Schlock even control that generator? I get that he seems to have gotten a lot smarter and better with physics since growing, but the whole reason those dronuri exist is that dark matter entities cannot manipulate baryonic matter finely enough to run a core generator. So what, Petey's generator was still running normally, and then Schlock parked in front of it and said "this is mine now, you can't touch it"?

Schlock isn't entirely a dark matter entity, he has baryonic components as well.

[DeTess]

How does Schlock even control that generator? I get that he seems to have gotten a lot smarter and better with physics since growing, but the whole reason those dronuri exist is that dark matter entities cannot manipulate baryonic matter finely enough to run a core generator. So what, Petey's generator was still running normally, and then Schlock parked in front of it and said "this is mine now, you can't touch it"?

The original generator was built with the help of the pa'anuri, so there might actually be a way for a local dark matter entity to control them.

[Max_Killjoy]

I'm guessing the Pa'anuri was in a hurry to get it under control before something Very Bad happened.

[keybounce]

Hmm. They shot the long gun, not the core generator? You don't suppose that perhaps the core generator had gone into "going unstable" after the control cable was destroyed, and they'd rather have someone plugged in and keeping it from going ka-blammo than worry about who?