Rubber heart for science project
Darwin Project
2017.04.07 00:59 RoyalFino Darwin Project
The Darwin Project takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic landscape in the Northern Canadian Rockies. As preparation for an impending Ice Age, a new project: half science experiment half live-entertainment, is launched. http://www.scavengers.ca https://discord.gg/darwin https://www.twitch.tv/darwinproject https://twitter.com/DarwinProject https://www.youtube.com/DarwinProject https://www.facebook.com/DarwinProjectGame/
2008.03.27 18:25 C
The subreddit for the C programming language
2013.06.28 23:51 LaMouth Mushroom ID
A virtual temple for exploring the fascinating world of mushrooms. Focused on the sharing of knowledge and ideas relating to the identification of unknown species in the wild, or acquired fungi by other means. Users can submit identity requests with input from the community. ShroomID was fundamentally created for the safety of the curious. Intentionally providing false information, or advising users to consume unknown fungi is not tolerated.
2024.05.20 05:59 Contactunderground Contact Network History Project: Were “psychotronic” attacks against contact activists in the 1990s a precursor of the “Havana Syndrome”? Directed Energy Weapons not only affect the human body but might be targeting human consciousness itself at the level of what is called the astral body.”
 | Contact Network History Project: submitted by Contactunderground to aliens [link] [comments] Joseph Burkes MD 2024 The high desert near Roswell is where contact activist Shari Adamiak was reportedly attacked. Introduction In my judgment, flying saucers threaten all terrestrial elites, but not necessarily the planet’s people. Given what is a perceived threat to the status quo, both corporate and Executive Branch Intelligence operatives have historically been compelled to deal with UFOs as a non-human intelligence counterintelligence challenge. As a Working Group Coordinator in the 1990s for the Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind Initiative, I observed signs of obvious surveillance of our contact efforts. Young men in civilian clothing with a military bearing were frequently present at our research sites. Team members were blatantly photographed on arrival at a fieldwork location. On one occasion, military helicopters and on another F-14s buzzed us during our investigations. Contact activists who are staging Human Initiated Contact Events (HICE) aka CE5, might in some ways be ideal targets to try out what are now called Directed Energy Weapons. This is because we already are under surveillance and the effects of such non-lethal technology can be readily monitored via telephone conversations and email. Importantly, as the result of a de facto policy of ridicule and denial, most people imagine that those attempting to contact aliens” are probably mentally ill. Once targeted and attacked, contact activists would find little sympathy from the larger society, including police and medical authorities, if they dared to complain about such attacks. Thus, the technology can be developed with little interference. “The Havana Syndrome” During the past few years, current and former US government employees have reported being targeted by are called “Directed Energy Weapons.” The failure of US Executive Branch to identify the precise source of these alleged attacks and to adequately deal with the long-term health consequences of them, has led to charges of a coverup. The victims describe experiencing a wide range of symptoms: headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and memory loss and insomnia. Shari Adamiak, a Prominent Leader in our Human Initiated Contact Network Shari Adamiak was a Working Group Coordinator in the CE-5 Initiative from 1991 until her death in 1998. She played an immeasurable role in the formulation of the CSETI Contact Protocols and the development of contact teams that operated primarily in the Western United States during the 1990s. Several times Shari also accompanied the CSETI Director Dr. Greer to Southern England to investigate the relationship between UFOs and Crop Circle phenomena. Directed Energy Weapon Attack in the United Kingdom As a fellow contact team leader, I always paid close attention to what she shared with me about her work. If memory serves me correctly, after returning from the UK in 1994(although it might have been 1993) I heard a very disturbing account from her. While in Southern England, Shari and two other crop circle investigators were sitting at an outdoor café. A commercial van of some sort pulled up and parked about twenty yards away. Suddenly all three women developed the following symptoms, vertigo, nausea, light headedness, muscle ache and headache. According to Shari all were feeling perfectly fine before the onset of the symptoms which lasted perhaps ten or fifteen minutes and then gradually resolved. Shari stated the van then drove away. “Psychotronic” Weaponry Appears to Target Human Consciousness In 1994 both Steven Greer MD and Shari Adamiak reported to our network that they had been targeted with what Greer called “psychotronic” weaponry. (In Shari’s report posted below she used the term “psychoelectronic.” In his oral history book “Hidden Truth Forbidden Knowledge,” the CSETI leader described a series of attacks starting in the fall of 1994. One reportedly occurred in New York City after a meeting with a member of a European royal family. “After falling fast asleep, I awakened hours later. I couldn't raise my arms; I couldn't roll over; I couldn't move! I was in a state of complete physical paralysis. I knew what was going on; a directional electromagnetic weapons system hit me. It was coming through the window above my bed. Projected into the room was the single most extreme sense of evil and terror I've ever felt in my life. I could tell they were attempting to extract my astral body out of my physical body.” This appears to be different from what Shari described above in the UK attack but is similar to what she stated happened to her in New Mexico in October 1994 during a UFO investigation. I have posted a portion of her official CSETI report on that mission below as part of my Contact Network History Project. Readers please note that "CTS" is the abbreviation for "Coherent Thought Sequencing. This is the term Steven Greer MD coined for group meditation involving either thought projection to, and /or remote viewing of "extraterrestrial spacecraft", combined with the group's intention to interact peacefully with the non-human intelligences piloting those craft. REPORT OF THE RAPID MOBILIZATION INVESTIGATIVE TEAM MISSION TO THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, U.S.A. OCTOBER 1- 7. 1994 ~INTRODUCTION~ A small Rapid Mobilization Investigative Team (RMIT) of three CSETI members met in Albuquerque, New Mexico to investigate activities in the state, and to take a reconnaissance trip to the Roswell area. Members of the team for this mission included: Steven M. Greer, M.D., international director of SETI; Shari Adamiak, CSETI executive council, coordinator for the RMIT, the working groups, and the Denver, Colorado group; and Patrick Sullivan, a CSETI member from Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The starting date of the mission followed immediately after Steven Greer's appearance on the Larry King Live special the previous night near Area 57, Rachel, Nevada. We traveled to the Roswell area after joining up on October 2nd. Here we spent time in prayer and thought to help heal the area and the energy from the crashes of space craft in New Mexico in the late 1940s and 1950s. Our trip was primarily of an investigative nature. Besides wanting to do research around Roswell, we were also following up on activity reported in Midway, outside Roswell. We also wanted to investigate the White Sands area, as it had been the site of extreme activity in the past and is also an area that Dr. Greer feels may be the site of a future, cooperative landing and meeting between extraterrestrial intelligent beings and representatives from this planet, including government, military and civilian (a small CSETI team). The report that follows is real-time dictation and field notes from this mission. Respectfully submitted, Shari Adamiak CSETI Executive Council RAPID MOBILIZATION INVESTIGATIVE TEAM MISSION TO NEW MEXICO - OCTOBER 2- 7, 1994 Real-time dictation from the field each night follows: ~October 2, 1994:~ We are outside of Roswell, New Mexico on our first night of a RMIT. Present are Steven Greer, Patrick Sullivan, and Shari Adamiak. We have just camped out on a road of a county road between Midway and Dexter. We have seen one anomalous object flying in the East, very low to the horizon headed towards the North. Did not appear to have any strobing lights. When Steven signaled to it, the object rose up a little bit and became noticeably brighter, changing from red to white. Also, as that was occurring, I saw a shooting star at about 25° above the Eastern horizon headed North. 10:50pm and two shooting stars just seen in the zenith by Patrick and Steven. Patrick just reported a very brilliant shooting star, shooting from East to West by the Milky Way. It's about 11:00. Patrick said it was the fastest "shooting star" he's ever seen. Just a moment later a second shooting star was seen by Patrick almost parallel to the other. It's just a minute or so after 11:00 and we have just been observing in the SE a very unusual strobing object visible only through the night vision scope, moving very low to the horizon with a rapid strobe to it. We can't see it with the naked eye. At 11:40pm we had an experience during Coherent Thought Sequencing (CTS) where Steven and I both felt there was something directly over us and at the same time Patrick reported seeing a strobing above us. Steven then felt they were directly behind his head. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He got up and on the very low Northern horizon was able to see the red-amber colored light. It's about midnight. We're having an unusual sighting over in the East. We've been watching an object that moved South and then became stationary. Now it looks as if it could be a planet rising. It has a red-amber look to it or the object could be just totally stationary. We did signal to it. It seemed to flare up. It's about 5° above the horizon, directly across from us in the East. This object that we were looking at appeared to have positioned itself in front of either Regel or Betelgeuse in Orion, which that was a part of and is now fully risen and is beautiful in the Eastern sky. ~October 3, 1994:~ We are out at a site East of Roswell. It's just a minute or two before 7:00pm. We're getting something to east. It’s partly cloudy. It’s in the 70s. It looks like it will be fairly clear for most of the night. West. We are directly across from the mountain Capital to the West. To our East there is a vent for a gas well that's burning. It's 7:50 and in the East towards Midway we are observing some twinkling, strobing type lights. There are two or three of them. They seem to be like the lights described that Mr. Escamillo has on video from Midway. About a minute later, we don't see them at all. Oh, I just saw one flash farther to the East. We are not sure if these could be aircraft or something anomalous. They are dim to bright and white. These white blinking objects have continued on to the East, traveling in the South part of the sky. They are continuing to do strobing and flashing but in no regular pattern. They appear to be chasing each other randomly across the sky, rather slowly. It's 10:15pm and there is one single white bright light appearing in the South that is signaling back to us. It is very low on the horizon, maybe even on the ground. The object just signaled back twice after a signal sent to it of two flashes. It is in the area of Bottomless Lakes State Park, which is due South of us. It's about 5 or 10 minutes later and this light in the South is again signaling. It's moved just a bit. It moves a bit to the East or the West, but it's still completely low, right on the horizon. We don't know if it's terrestrial or extraterrestrial at this point. It is 10:35 when this signaling has reoccurred again. Steven is now looking at it through the night vision binoculars and he says it is a continuously illuminated object that's on right now, even when it is not signaling to us. It just now flashed again faintly. We will continue to signal to this and report. The sky has also become completely clear except for around the very far edges and just in the East. Through the night vision scope, Patrick is seeing that there is also a corresponding strobing light in the sky about 10° above the horizon that's in synch with the one that's here on the ground. But we cannot see the one in the sky without using the night vision scope. It's 11:00 and the light across the road in the South by the Bottomless Lakes has just illuminated itself about 5 or 6 times to us. It definitely seems to be under intelligent control. The last round of signaling that's going on now started up just after we broadcast the tones out over the walkie-talkie. It's just a few minutes after 11:00 and Steven saw an extremely fast moving "meteorite" just to the East of zenith. He said it was faster than anything he's ever seen move. Also, it happened to Patrick last night - that same type of extremely fast moving object. It's 11:55 and we were just hit from behind to our East by some beam that was low and on the ground that swept right across the field encompassing us. NOTE THAT JUST AS I WAS TRANSCRIBING THIS, I LEARNED THAT THE TAPE IS BLANK FROM THIS POINT ON FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT. VERY INTERESTING IN THAT THE EVENT THAT FOLLOWED WAS VERY UNUSUAL. WHAT FOLLOWS IS MY NARRATIVE REPORT BASED ON RECOLLECTION SINCE THE TAPE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED. THE BLANK SPOT LASTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS NIGHT'S DICTATION, THEN PICKS UP AGAIN ON THE FOLLOWING NIGHT'S FIELD DICTATION. I BELIEVE THIS BLANK SPACE IN THE TAPE IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PSYCHOELECTRONIC ATTACK. Narrative Report: Soon after this round of light signaling, we did a Coherent Thought Sequencing. I was in a deep state of unbounded mind when I felt my body struck by an invisible beam of negative energy. It caused nearly total paralysis except that my body was wracked with small convulsions from what I sensed to be a psychoelectronic, non-lethal weapon. I could hear myself moaning slowly. I felt that the beam was coming from my left, towards Bottomless Lakes. I sensed three shadowy figures that appeared to be human men. The beam had the effect of separating me from my teammates. Since I only had the faculty of mind at my disposal during the attack, I mentally asked where Patrick and Steven were. I finally could sense Patrick out I front of me, distance away. I could not see or sense Steven. I kept asking mentally, “Where is Steven?” in as authoritative tone as I could manage while under attack. Receiving no response, I began to mentally call to Steven. He must have mentally picked up my thoughts because I felt him take my hands even though he was not there physically. He then hugged me and the attack ended. I sensed that it was our combined energy that was able to break the beam. I then rather passed out for a few minutes. When our CTS ended, I clearly recalled everything that happened and knew I had not dozed off and had a dream. It was ultimately real. I was still a bit weak from the attack. Steven asked if something happened. I said, "you won't believe this" and proceeded to tell Steven and Patrick most of what occurred. Patrick had been unaware of any of this during our CTS. When I finished, Steven said, "wait until you hear this". During the CTS, he heard a voice that said, "are you ready to go?" He then felt that the energy was instantly scrambled and he lost the connection. He could hear me faintly moaning and sensed that I was in distress. He then came to me etherically and hugged me. The dove tailing of our experiences was incredible. For some days, I pondered on this event. It had a profound effect upon me, and still does to this day. I knew it was highly significant that we were able to break the attack with combined positive energy. I also instinctively and absolutely felt that the attack had come from human beings. I knew that it was not sent by extraterrestrials. The beam carried with it fear and terror which I knew were being projected upon me by an outside force. I did not feel that fear and terror from within my own being, but I was forced to experience it. We then saw the ground-based lights at Bottomless Lakes flashing randomly again. It was nearly 1:00 by now and we decided to pack up. And drive over there to investigate. As we were in a flat open area, and anyone at Bottomless could have seen us coming for literally a mile. We drove around the Bottomless Lakes State Park, shining our 1.5 million candle power light all about. No traces of anyone or any vehicles were seen. There is a county road that cuts out of Bottomless Lakes which could make for an easy get-away for any one in that park. End of Narrative Report Links to articles supportive of themes outlined in the above report: If flying saucer intelligences threaten all terrestrial elites, but not necessarily the Earth’s people, then it is understandable that governmental response to UFOs is a counterintelligence one. https://contactunderground.wordpress.com/2022/02/03/dueling-paradigms-perhaps-a-counterintelligence-model-is-better-than-a-scientific-one-to-study-ufos/ “Science, Counterintelligence & UFOs” Researcher Val Germann wrote this important multi-part article in 1997. He has given me permission to repost his work on my blog site. https://contactunderground.wordpress.com/2022/09/04/science-counterintelligence-and-ufos/ Staging Human Initiated Contact Events adjacent to a high security research lab involved challenges of surveillance for my team. https://contactunderground.wordpress.com/2022/05/19/did-a-fateful-phone-call-trigger-the-appearance-of-blackhawk-helicopters-during-contact-work/ During fieldwork in the high desert, my contact team was blatantly photographed on two separate occasions. We had UFO sightings first in the west, then in the north. We anticipated the next would be in the east. Instead three waves of jet fighters heading east buzzed us. https://contactunderground.wordpress.com/2022/07/11/and-then-the-sky-exploded-incident-at-joshua-tree-january-1996/ |
2024.05.20 05:55 zeven7659 Protestantism conversion to Catholic?
DISCLAIMER: I am new to this. I am not trying to incite violence between secular groups of Christianity. I am simply seeking advice and help from others who have learned in their walk with God. I am curious and want to learn. I have a lot of questions and only want people to reply who have good intentions to help me understand than to talk down on my faith. This is going to be a long post. I thank you in advance for your patience.
So I’ve recently found my way back to God in a way I never have before. I reached an incredibly low point of my life and He was there when nothing else was. While I grew up protestant and going to church I fell out for a long time. I never really read scripture outside of Sunday school when my family would go, and my brother is a non believer entirely now. I struggled with doubt and fell in and out with my faith repeatedly as my life grew more complex. My father died violently and young a few years ago but he was a believer and I questioned how could my God let this happen. I devoted my life to science and medicine and lost sight of my faith in that in combination with all of this. Yet now, I realized my actions had grown so sinful I needed to make a change and I decided to seek God. Now, for the first time in my life I’m reading my Bible, truly, chronologically. My fiancée is supportive of me and the relationship I’m trying to build with Him but I need some guidance.
I’m towards the end of the Books of Moses but I’ve come to a few conclusions I never have before and not all of them are altogether comforting. The Bible teaches us that Jesus is all powerful, loving, and forgiving. Yet what they don’t teach on Sundays that God, in by that, He (Jesus) is also terrifying. He names himself Jealous in Exodus. He is wrathful. He kills for disobedience and I know I have certainly broken more than one of his over 600 laws in the Old Testament. I’ve repented before the Lord, I’ve changed my life, changed my habits and while I struggle to stick to that change I try each and every day and have decided to put forth an effort to build my relationship with God. But I’m still plagued with questions now more than ever, yet now they’re in a sense of I want to understand rather than doubt.
Am I to follow Jesus or know my God? I pray to God in the name of the Son, but who is my relationship with the Son or the Father? Which is God if not both in combination with the Holy Spirit? When I pray which aspect am I praying to? Jesus taught us to pray to our Heavenly Father in his name but I’ve always called myself a follower of Christ. Yet now in my reading I feel as though my relationship should be directed to the Father though I know I can only know him through the Son? I want to have a stronger relationship with Him, but I feel as though I’m failing through sheer ignorance. I want to be hungry for His word, but I feel lesser that I’m almost burnt out or feeling desperate from the OT. I try to pray but I don’t think I’m very good at it and never know what to say aside from the Lord’s Prayer.
But now with all of this I’m learning that the Catholic Church is the church left behind in Jesus’ wake so should I not be a Catholic if I’m truly to follow Scripture to the letter? But the Bible also doesn’t mention intercession with reverence to saints? I thought I was only ever to pray to God and anything else was heresy? Or for another example, if I repent to the Lord why should I need to go to confession to do so? Catholicism teaches to have a relationship with Mary but shouldn’t that be reserved for Jesus Christ? My heart tells me I should be a Catholic based on what I’ve read but so many practices seem contradictory to how I was raised im not sure anymore.
I understand at the end of the day that my faith is to trust and believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior, that through him and him alone is the way the truth and the life and that without him I am nothing. But I guess my question is how do I know which denomination to pick? There are many contemporary practices of some Protestant churches that seem to contradict the Bible in some ways but there are also Catholic teachings that seem foreign or strange to me. Purgatory? Saint worship seems almost like pseudo idolatry? The pope being infallible and a line to the disciples ? I’m confused and right now altogether frightened by the God I am coming to know in my study and want to do my best to Follow his word but don’t know how best to do so.
I just want to do the right thing and feel as though these questions are best suited for a Priest but I’m Not sure how to have that conversation with one or how to even set up a time to discuss all of this.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, for your patience with me and my questions, your sincerity, and your input.
May God bless you.
submitted by zeven7659 to TrueChristian [link] [comments]
So I’ve recently found my way back to God in a way I never have before. I reached an incredibly low point of my life and He was there when nothing else was. While I grew up protestant and going to church I fell out for a long time. I never really read scripture outside of Sunday school when my family would go, and my brother is a non believer entirely now. I struggled with doubt and fell in and out with my faith repeatedly as my life grew more complex. My father died violently and young a few years ago but he was a believer and I questioned how could my God let this happen. I devoted my life to science and medicine and lost sight of my faith in that in combination with all of this. Yet now, I realized my actions had grown so sinful I needed to make a change and I decided to seek God. Now, for the first time in my life I’m reading my Bible, truly, chronologically. My fiancée is supportive of me and the relationship I’m trying to build with Him but I need some guidance.
I’m towards the end of the Books of Moses but I’ve come to a few conclusions I never have before and not all of them are altogether comforting. The Bible teaches us that Jesus is all powerful, loving, and forgiving. Yet what they don’t teach on Sundays that God, in by that, He (Jesus) is also terrifying. He names himself Jealous in Exodus. He is wrathful. He kills for disobedience and I know I have certainly broken more than one of his over 600 laws in the Old Testament. I’ve repented before the Lord, I’ve changed my life, changed my habits and while I struggle to stick to that change I try each and every day and have decided to put forth an effort to build my relationship with God. But I’m still plagued with questions now more than ever, yet now they’re in a sense of I want to understand rather than doubt.
Am I to follow Jesus or know my God? I pray to God in the name of the Son, but who is my relationship with the Son or the Father? Which is God if not both in combination with the Holy Spirit? When I pray which aspect am I praying to? Jesus taught us to pray to our Heavenly Father in his name but I’ve always called myself a follower of Christ. Yet now in my reading I feel as though my relationship should be directed to the Father though I know I can only know him through the Son? I want to have a stronger relationship with Him, but I feel as though I’m failing through sheer ignorance. I want to be hungry for His word, but I feel lesser that I’m almost burnt out or feeling desperate from the OT. I try to pray but I don’t think I’m very good at it and never know what to say aside from the Lord’s Prayer.
But now with all of this I’m learning that the Catholic Church is the church left behind in Jesus’ wake so should I not be a Catholic if I’m truly to follow Scripture to the letter? But the Bible also doesn’t mention intercession with reverence to saints? I thought I was only ever to pray to God and anything else was heresy? Or for another example, if I repent to the Lord why should I need to go to confession to do so? Catholicism teaches to have a relationship with Mary but shouldn’t that be reserved for Jesus Christ? My heart tells me I should be a Catholic based on what I’ve read but so many practices seem contradictory to how I was raised im not sure anymore.
I understand at the end of the day that my faith is to trust and believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior, that through him and him alone is the way the truth and the life and that without him I am nothing. But I guess my question is how do I know which denomination to pick? There are many contemporary practices of some Protestant churches that seem to contradict the Bible in some ways but there are also Catholic teachings that seem foreign or strange to me. Purgatory? Saint worship seems almost like pseudo idolatry? The pope being infallible and a line to the disciples ? I’m confused and right now altogether frightened by the God I am coming to know in my study and want to do my best to Follow his word but don’t know how best to do so.
I just want to do the right thing and feel as though these questions are best suited for a Priest but I’m Not sure how to have that conversation with one or how to even set up a time to discuss all of this.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, for your patience with me and my questions, your sincerity, and your input.
May God bless you.
2024.05.20 05:53 ab-absurdum Directed Energy; Human-Machine Interfaces; Hypersonics; Renewable Energy Generation & Storage; Space Technology; RAND Corporation; Sandia National Laboratories. Who is Maynard Holliday? Calling all FOIA experts. Let's pull on some strings. [in-depth]
I was digging around and found this seemingly well-connected character. I believe there are more than a few good strings here that we could be pulling on together. I'm not at all familiar with the FOIA process, but I know some members here are and might enjoy a new rabbithole to dig down.
If you have experience filing a FOIA request and would be willing to file one or multiple requests for us, please reach out via modmail or comment here.
I really feel there may be some good leads here. Thank you to anyone who is willing to assist!
Below is a biography from https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/2762694/maynard-holliday/
Mr. Maynard A. Holliday is Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this capacity, he oversees investment and capability analysis of the Pentagon's critical technology areas. He has oversight of 11 principal directors assigned to those critical technology portfolios and their roadmaps — the comprehensive strategies to manage, provide oversight and guide choices for each critical technology area. These critical technology areas include 5G; Advanced Computing & Software; Directed Energy; Human-Machine Interfaces; Hypersonics; Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems; Integrated Sensing & Cyber; Microelectronics; Renewable Energy Generation & Storage; Space Technology; and Trusted Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy.
Mr. Holliday has more than 30 years of professional experience leading technological innovations in both government and the private sector. Most recently, he was a Senior Engineer at the RAND Corporation working on autonomous vehicle safety metrics and policy, explainable artificial intelligence, swarm robotics and drone defense. Previously, he served as Senior Technical Advisor and Special Assistant to Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Mr. Holliday helped establish the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and was a member of the Defense Science Board. Mr. Holliday has also worked for the Department of Energy as a project manager for the U.S.-Russia Nuclear Material Security Task Force. He was awarded the DOE’s Meritorious Service Award, its highest, for his exceptional service in helping secure tons of weapons grade nuclear material. Prior to his government service, Mr. Holliday was a senior engineering and robotics professional at the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as various robotics start-ups and technology companies in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Holliday is a co-organizer of Black in Robotics, a virtual world-wide community of roboticists and their allies whose mission is to bring together Black researchers, industry professionals and students in robotics to mutually support one another to help navigate academic, corporate, and entrepreneurial paths to success. He is also co-founder of Robot Garden, the robotics-themed hacker space in Livermore, Calif. He also has been working with Bay Area public schools lecturing on robotics and teaching robotics through the Citizen Schools program in East Oakland. Mr. Holliday was named Citizen Schools Volunteer of the Year for 2012 and was also recognized with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the White House for his efforts. Before leaving government service in 2017, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service recognizing his contributions to national security through his considerable and trusted advice on multiple DOD initiatives.
Mr. Holliday graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He later won a scholarship to attend Stanford University, where he earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Design with an emphasis on robotics, international security and arms control. Mr. Holliday also won a scholarship to attend the International Space University in France and was a two-time finalist for the U.S. Astronaut Corps.
submitted by ab-absurdum to ufo [link] [comments]
If you have experience filing a FOIA request and would be willing to file one or multiple requests for us, please reach out via modmail or comment here.
I really feel there may be some good leads here. Thank you to anyone who is willing to assist!
Below is a biography from https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/2762694/maynard-holliday/
Mr. Maynard A. Holliday is Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this capacity, he oversees investment and capability analysis of the Pentagon's critical technology areas. He has oversight of 11 principal directors assigned to those critical technology portfolios and their roadmaps — the comprehensive strategies to manage, provide oversight and guide choices for each critical technology area. These critical technology areas include 5G; Advanced Computing & Software; Directed Energy; Human-Machine Interfaces; Hypersonics; Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems; Integrated Sensing & Cyber; Microelectronics; Renewable Energy Generation & Storage; Space Technology; and Trusted Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy.
Mr. Holliday has more than 30 years of professional experience leading technological innovations in both government and the private sector. Most recently, he was a Senior Engineer at the RAND Corporation working on autonomous vehicle safety metrics and policy, explainable artificial intelligence, swarm robotics and drone defense. Previously, he served as Senior Technical Advisor and Special Assistant to Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Mr. Holliday helped establish the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and was a member of the Defense Science Board. Mr. Holliday has also worked for the Department of Energy as a project manager for the U.S.-Russia Nuclear Material Security Task Force. He was awarded the DOE’s Meritorious Service Award, its highest, for his exceptional service in helping secure tons of weapons grade nuclear material. Prior to his government service, Mr. Holliday was a senior engineering and robotics professional at the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as various robotics start-ups and technology companies in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Holliday is a co-organizer of Black in Robotics, a virtual world-wide community of roboticists and their allies whose mission is to bring together Black researchers, industry professionals and students in robotics to mutually support one another to help navigate academic, corporate, and entrepreneurial paths to success. He is also co-founder of Robot Garden, the robotics-themed hacker space in Livermore, Calif. He also has been working with Bay Area public schools lecturing on robotics and teaching robotics through the Citizen Schools program in East Oakland. Mr. Holliday was named Citizen Schools Volunteer of the Year for 2012 and was also recognized with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the White House for his efforts. Before leaving government service in 2017, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service recognizing his contributions to national security through his considerable and trusted advice on multiple DOD initiatives.
Mr. Holliday graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He later won a scholarship to attend Stanford University, where he earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Design with an emphasis on robotics, international security and arms control. Mr. Holliday also won a scholarship to attend the International Space University in France and was a two-time finalist for the U.S. Astronaut Corps.
2024.05.20 05:52 Nacrechild A Chance to Tell You
I write every day now. There’s so much I want to share. If I had the chance to tell you, I just know you’d be proud of me.
Counseling has helped me. I know now that I’ve made my choices in life based on how I saw myself. I still struggle with that. Because I see myself the way my dad treated me. That’s a hard thing to let go. I’m working on it.
I can see now that’s how I’ve carried on for so long with men who abuse. It’s all I’ve known. Or at least, all I’ve thought I deserved.
Matters of the heart, right? Learning and growing. Yet, here I am, removed from you and I’m like a little girl wanting to show you my picture I colored.
Only, the art is different. It’s in a song. And there’s more to come. So many more to come. You’d be astonished how far I’ve come.
You were a deep rooted friend. It’s hard to dig out those roots. I’m trying but I still come here. I browse and I look. I try not to project. Heaven knows I’m just a speck compared to the others.
Anyway, you’ll know me if you read my posts. Missing you still.
submitted by Nacrechild to UnsentLetters [link] [comments]
Counseling has helped me. I know now that I’ve made my choices in life based on how I saw myself. I still struggle with that. Because I see myself the way my dad treated me. That’s a hard thing to let go. I’m working on it.
I can see now that’s how I’ve carried on for so long with men who abuse. It’s all I’ve known. Or at least, all I’ve thought I deserved.
Matters of the heart, right? Learning and growing. Yet, here I am, removed from you and I’m like a little girl wanting to show you my picture I colored.
Only, the art is different. It’s in a song. And there’s more to come. So many more to come. You’d be astonished how far I’ve come.
You were a deep rooted friend. It’s hard to dig out those roots. I’m trying but I still come here. I browse and I look. I try not to project. Heaven knows I’m just a speck compared to the others.
Anyway, you’ll know me if you read my posts. Missing you still.
2024.05.20 05:51 figbott And now please enjoy a lovely short story about the Young and Beautiful Tilda Swinton completing a rotor assembly
As the first light of dawn began to caress the French Riviera, a golden hue spread over the tranquil waters, shimmering like liquid gold. In a small, secluded workshop overlooking the serene coastline, the young and beautiful Tilda Swinton stood poised at her workbench, her long, flowing hair cascading down her back like a river of spun silk.
The morning was crisp, the scent of salt and blossoming flowers mingling in the gentle breeze that fluttered through the open windows. Tilda’s hands, delicate yet strong, moved with deft precision as she assembled a rotor assembly from scratch. She was surrounded by an array of finely tuned tools, each chosen with care, each an extension of her skill and craftsmanship.
As the sun climbed higher, painting the sky in hues of pink and orange, Tilda’s focus remained unwavering. Her eyes, the color of a clear summer sky, sparkled with determination and a hint of playful mischief. Her fingers danced over the metal components, fitting gears and bearings together with a grace that spoke of years of practice and an innate understanding of the intricate machinery.
With each piece she carefully placed, a sense of satisfaction grew within her. The rotor assembly was not just a project; it was a testament to her creativity and dedication. The rhythmic sounds of her work echoed softly in the morning stillness, a harmonious symphony of metal and motion.
As the final piece clicked into place, Tilda took a step back, wiping a small smudge of oil from her cheek. She gazed at her creation with pride, her heart swelling with the joy of accomplishment. The rotor assembly gleamed in the soft light, a masterpiece born from her skilled hands.
Stepping outside, Tilda stood on the balcony, her hair catching the breeze and flowing around her like a golden halo. She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the warmth of the sun on her face, the sound of the waves gently lapping at the shore below. The world seemed to hold its breath, capturing the essence of youth and glory that radiated from her.
In that quiet, perfect morning, Tilda Swinton stood as a symbol of beauty, strength, and the unending pursuit of excellence. The sunrise over the French Riviera had witnessed the creation of something remarkable, and in the midst of it all, Tilda shone brightest of all, a beacon of timeless elegance and boundless potential.
submitted by figbott to TildaSwintonfacts [link] [comments]
The morning was crisp, the scent of salt and blossoming flowers mingling in the gentle breeze that fluttered through the open windows. Tilda’s hands, delicate yet strong, moved with deft precision as she assembled a rotor assembly from scratch. She was surrounded by an array of finely tuned tools, each chosen with care, each an extension of her skill and craftsmanship.
As the sun climbed higher, painting the sky in hues of pink and orange, Tilda’s focus remained unwavering. Her eyes, the color of a clear summer sky, sparkled with determination and a hint of playful mischief. Her fingers danced over the metal components, fitting gears and bearings together with a grace that spoke of years of practice and an innate understanding of the intricate machinery.
With each piece she carefully placed, a sense of satisfaction grew within her. The rotor assembly was not just a project; it was a testament to her creativity and dedication. The rhythmic sounds of her work echoed softly in the morning stillness, a harmonious symphony of metal and motion.
As the final piece clicked into place, Tilda took a step back, wiping a small smudge of oil from her cheek. She gazed at her creation with pride, her heart swelling with the joy of accomplishment. The rotor assembly gleamed in the soft light, a masterpiece born from her skilled hands.
Stepping outside, Tilda stood on the balcony, her hair catching the breeze and flowing around her like a golden halo. She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the warmth of the sun on her face, the sound of the waves gently lapping at the shore below. The world seemed to hold its breath, capturing the essence of youth and glory that radiated from her.
In that quiet, perfect morning, Tilda Swinton stood as a symbol of beauty, strength, and the unending pursuit of excellence. The sunrise over the French Riviera had witnessed the creation of something remarkable, and in the midst of it all, Tilda shone brightest of all, a beacon of timeless elegance and boundless potential.
2024.05.20 05:44 Steffy_Cookies I managed to write part of the lore of my world, its 14 pages and I'm only like 50% done 😔
Evergreen, a rather welcoming name. Perfect for a land full of calm, peace and beauty. Evergreen in this case is the name of a vast kingdom. This kingdom is an incredibly complicated but majestic land and its people as well. Now sit back, relax and enjoy as I tell you about Evergreen.
First of all, where did Evergreen come from? Well the most early evidence of anyone living here was over 8000 years ago though if you truly think about it it could be as far back as 50 000 years. You see, the oldest trace of civilization in the kingdom is a large ancient hotel in the center of Heatherlea. No other building outdated this and that record is still held up to this day. The actual date of foundation of the kingdom is completely unknown and absolutely no one can tell when it could ever be because of the incredibly vague amount of information on anything before the recorded history of Evergreen. Though not everyone is so clueless, one person may know the answer on the timeline and that is The One Hundred.
You may be asking who this One Hundred person is. He is the oldest person in Evergreen and supposedly some sort of God. Very little is known about him but all that is known is whoever this person is, they are the most powerful in the kingdom.
Now I think you’ve heard enough about the kingdom itself and the basics on it now why don’t we get to work on actually unraveling this massive mystery. But with so many things to explain, how can this ever have an order? Well that’s very easy to do, this is a catalog of everything to know on the topic of Evergreen. Let’s begin.
Cities of Evergreen
Evergreen is the main city of the kingdom, it is used as a capital as well as the largest megalopolis of the city. Though in Scriptorium, the language of Evergreen, they don’t have terms for city, megalopolis or metropolis. So to them everything is a settlement, village or town. In this kingdom the size of a village does not matter only its population and Evergreen having over 1 000 000 people living in it, it’s considered the largest village in the kingdom. Which is quite a fitting label for the capital of such a large kingdom. Though not only Heatherlea contains an important building. Evergreen has the Main Hall and Steffy’s Mansion, both constructions are very important because they contain Aletine. Aletine is a rare gem that will be explained later on but for now all you need to know on Aletine is that it is very rare and very precious. The buildings each have an arch constructed fully of this material.
The whispers of Evergreen
Not everyone in Evergreen is happy with what they know about the kingdom. Certain things are very secretive and though on the outside it seems like a perfect place it is shrouded in mystery and entangled in a web of unknown like a huge tapestry of mystery. The people of the villages are mostly happy with how everything is going except for one thing. They want to know more about the village’s origin. You see, Steffy, The One Hundred, Heathotel and Aletinian do not want too much information to escape into the public’s hands. A disquiet hums beneath the seemingly idyllic surface of Evergreen. Whispers flit through bustling marketplaces, hinting at an enigmatic past shrouded in secrecy. Kept under lock and key by Steffy and the other main powers of Evergreen, the population never ceases to speculate what they could be hiding. Is it a secret civilization before us? Or could it be that Aletine is the secret to the lost time? No matter what the citizens say not one word has been spoken by anyone in control. And there is a good reason behind all of that which will be explained later on.
Architecture and style of Evergreen and it’s settlements
A warped image of Evergreen is fabricated when you dig deeper than what’s on the idyllic surface of Evergreen. But the kingdom is still a majestic land. Its architecture is primarily biomimicry as the villagers are very connected to their surroundings and the flora that they share the world with. The respect for nature in Evergreen is reflected everywhere, in the architecture, in the culture, celebrations and many more subtle depictions. The style that the land has adopted over the millenia is a very calming one, they believe in living life to its fullest so the architects try to make things as pleasant to live in as possible in almost every way possible. You will never find any hostile architecture in the city as its capital status means that it must show a good example for the other settlements to follow. However, the pervasive calmness of Evergreen's architecture raises questions. Could this serene aesthetic be a deliberate ploy? Is biomimicry a way to mask the secrets hidden beneath the tranquil surface? The One Hundred, with their knowledge of the lost civilization and the interdimensional threat, may have a vested interest in maintaining this facade of idyllic peace. Steffy, with his atmosphirec gem of unknown origin, might also find solace in the calming influence of these biomimicry structures. No one can know for sure but until more is learned why not enjoy centuries of perfected design and let the peacefulness wash over you as you stroll through the markets and quiet neighborhoods of the town.
The rest of the settlements
Evergreen does not have that many large towns, only about 4 main ones, Evergreen, Azalea, Heatherlea and Islafield. Those main towns are surrounded by much smaller ones but the main focus is on the four towns above.
Islafield
Islafield is, as the name suggests, mostly for farming hence the ‘field” in its name. The town is near a lake also named Isla The lake is used for fishing as well as a way to water the crops of the town. This majestic town is the main source of nourishment for the entire kingdom with 60% of its land consisting of fields and crops. The kingdom contains 5.6 million inhabitants which is a vast amount of mouths to feed and according to the way Steffy wants to run the kingdom, everyone should have the same chance with life per se he just doesn’t want anyone to starve or die before their time that is the primary reason why he allowed Islafield to become such a large producer of food. He would usually want people to get their produce from the same town in which they live in though since he has 5.6 million people to feed he made the exception that Islafield can export its harvest to the other towns. Other than the beautiful fields of flowers and crops Islafield doesn’t really hold much interest in the eye of the population of Evergreen. Though it is considered the most naturally beautiful town in the kingdom, its beauty does not help it much with population, it has been on a decline ever since the vault of Aletine became public knowledge. Perhaps the Aletinians, a secretive cult entrusted with crafting tools made of Aletine, might hold knowledge about this strange and sudden decline. Despite the dwindling population, Islafield remains a vital part of Evergreen. However, its idyllic facade now masks a layer of intrigue, begging the question: is Islafield truly just a farming town, or is it a cornerstone in a larger, undisclosed operation of the Aletinians?
Heatherlea, a town of beauty and intrigue
Heatherlea, nestled in Evergreen's north, throbs with a unique energy.This bustling town transforms into the kingdom's prime tourist destination during warmer months, welcoming an influx of 700,000 visitors. The undeniable allure? The enigmatic Ancient Hotel, an 8000-year-old structure, the oldest human-made wonder in Evergreen. However, Heatherlea's charm extends beyond the Ancient Hotel.,underneath the ancient hotel hides a vault. The most secure place in the entire kingdom. Inside of that vault is a supply of Aletine. Since Aletine is only found in that singular spot underneath the hotel a vault was built around the mine to keep everyone out of there given how precious Aletine is.Other than its main attractions, its marketplace features the kingdom's tallest stand, showcasing the rare blue and orange Heatherberry. Yet, the exclusivity of these berries in Heatherlea raises questions. Found primarily in the south, their presence here seems curiously deliberate. Is it simply a marketing ploy, or could it be part of a larger scheme? Heatherlea's vibrancy and tourist appeal are undeniable, but a disquieting question lingers: is it a genuine haven, or a meticulously crafted facade designed to distract from the secrets buried beneath the surface?
Azalea, a town shrouded in floral mystery
Azalea is known for one reason, if you look closely at its name you will notice that it contains the name of a flower. Azalea is named after the rhododendron by the same name, Azalea. This specific flower only grows in the town for unknown reasons and once again the reason for the flower's appearance in this one part of the kingdom is gatekeeped by the main powers The One Hundred, Steffy with his atmosphirec gem, and the Aletinians, each with their vested interests in the mysteries of Evergreen, all seem particularly invested in keeping the reason for the Azalea's exclusivity under wraps. Intriguingly, Azalea attracts a disproportionate number of Aletine sellers, who use the flower's beauty to showcase their wares. Why this specific town, rather than a more prominent location? Could there be a connection between the Azalea's unique properties and the Aletine gem? The motives of the sellers remain shrouded in secrecy, adding another layer to the mysteries swirling around Azalea and deepen the mystery of Evergreen.
Shadows in Evergreen: Unveiling the Kingdom's Cults
Evergreen's power structure extends beyond the readily apparent figures like Steffy and The One Hundred. Shrouded in secrecy, a network of cults weaves its influence through the kingdom. While some, like the Aletinians, maintain a relatively benign presence, crafting tools from the enigmatic Aletine, others operate with a more veiled agenda. The Heathotels, shrouded in mystery themselves, stand out for their potential hostility. Their enigmatic purpose and unknown connection to the Aletinians, an exclusive society rumored to possess knowledge on the craftsmanship of Aletine weapons, fuel speculation about their true motives. Do they cover the Aletine's power for their own gain, or are they safeguarding Evergreen from a yet-unknown threat? The secrecy surrounding these cults casts a long shadow, leaving the question unanswered: are they guardians or hidden dangers lurking within the kingdom's idyllic facade? The Heathotels: Enigmatic guardians of the ancient stone The heathotels are a mostly harmless cult. They are in charge of the protection of the Ancient Hotel and are the only ones who have full access to the vault containing all the Aletine. They seem to worship the hotel itself and treat Aletine adorned objects with the same respect as they would do to Steffy himself. They are highly secretive with the reasons on why they respect the precious stone so much and what connection they seem to have with the ancient hotel. While the other power players, like The One Hundred and Steffy himself, strive to keep the Heathotels' activities shrouded, their efforts only heighten the intrigue. This raises the question, if the Heathotels are truly a benign force, why such a concerted effort to conceal their practices? The Heathotels' enigmatic presence throws a long shadow, leaving the question unanswered: are they protectors of the Aletine and the Ancient Hotel, or are they guardians of a far deeper secret? The Aletinians: Sworn Crafters of Aletine Wonders Among Evergreen's enigmatic factions, the Aletinians occupy a distinct position. Eschewing the rigid structure of traditional cults, they follow a oath instead of a set of rules.The specifics of this oath remain a closely guarded secret, fueling endless whispers and speculation. The Aletinians, as their name suggests, possess a unique bond with Aletine. Interestingly they do not worship the Aletine but instead they treat it with reverence, viewing it less as an object and more as a potent material.The true purpose of the Aletinians is to forge everything that is created out of Aletine. They are hand picked, allegedly to safeguard the kingdom's precious Aletine supply, to ensure the safety of the kingdom’s supply of this majestic gem they can only be of a certain sanity. Once again the villagers have their own theories, whispers abound about an Aletine-infused substance used in the selection process, a method to ensure only the "worthy" wield the gem's power.Though to be granted the incredible privilege of handling Aletine directly is very prestigious as only 30 people have the privilege of handling the precious Aletine. But many things are still unclear with them as well. Why do these artisans operate outside the Ancient Hotel, traveling all the way to Azalea to practice their craft? And why, despite their seemingly benign nature, does Steffy strive to keep them hidden from the public eye? The Aletinians remain a captivating enigma, their purpose and connection to Azalea hinting at a deeper role within Evergreen's veiled secrets. The Nevergreen: Shadows Reaching for Forbidden Power In stark contrast to the Aletinians, who utilize Aletine for crafting, stands the enigmatic Nevergreen cult. Driven by a sinister agenda, they seek to weaponize the gem's power, a truth known only to Steffy and The One Hundred. Whispers abound of their attempts to breach the Aletine mine's containment, a reckless act that some speculate triggered a deadly conflict, the War Of Gods, shrouded in secrecy. Steffy himself, it seems, remains unaware of the Nevergreen's potential role in this ancient war. He and The One Hundred instead attribute it to a nebulous embodiment of darkness. The Nevergreen also strive to make the deepest secrets of Evergreen public knowledge. They are the reason why the Aletine vault became known to the villagers of Evergreen. The One Hundred and Steffy tried to cover it up by saying that the villagers deserved to know the truth of where the Aletine came from. But in reality it was an elaborate plan birthed by the leader of the Nevergreen. The identity of the Nevergreen's leader is a captivating mystery. Villagers whisper of a connection to Steffy's ancient enemy, this enigmatic embodiment of darkness. They are also rumored to have connections to the mysterious interdimensional threat looming over the kingdom, a danger only The One Hundred seems fully aware of. This raises the question, if The One Hundred knows everything about Evergreen, why do they still remain passive? Are they truly guardians, or are they somehow entangled within the complex web woven by the Nevergreen?
Gleams of Forbidden light and beauty Aletine, gem of untold power Aletine, a captivating gem shrouded in mystery, sits at the heart of Evergreen's enigmatic power structure. Its existence fuels whispers, speculation, and a fierce struggle for control amongst the kingdom's secretive factions. Here, we delve into the mystery concerning this precious stone. First of all, what are the origins of Aletine? Evergreen's bustling streets are rife with speculation regarding Aletine's origins. Villagers, known for their colorful theories, theorize that it is a form of interdimensional material, arrived here at the mysterious cataclysmic event that destroyed everything. Rumors abound of a ripped veil between dimensions, spewing Aletine into Evergreen while leaving devastation in its wake. While most of these village tales are dismissed as mere flights of fancy, the recent revelation of the Aletine vault beneath the Ancient Hotel has given some credence to the notion of an extraordinary origin. However, the truth remains shrouded in secrecy. Only Steffy and the other powerful factions possess any concrete knowledge about Aletine's arrival in Evergreen. Unveiling Aletine: Myth and Reality Clash The truth behind Aletine shatters some village myths while confirming others. While not interdimensional as some theorized, the gem undeniably originates from beyond Evergreen's reality. Its arrival coincided with the cataclysmic event that reshaped the kingdom, a truth only The One Hundred truly understands. This revelation validates a part of the villagers' extravagant theories, a devastating event did occur. However, it disproves the notion of a dimensional tear bringing Aletine here.The gem's origins remain shrouded in secrecy, fueling speculation about the civilization it hailed from. Unveiling the Secrets of Aletine Aletine is the most precious and most protected thing in all of the kingdom. The amount of secrecy surrounding Aletine is almost enough to rival the secrecy surrounding The One Hundred. With so much secrecy surrounding the gem you might be wondering why it is such a big secret. Well as explained before Aletine is hidden under the ancient hotel, the oldest building in Evergreen. Located beneath the ancient hotel, the oldest structure in the kingdom, Aletine predates all other known resources. The exact date of its arrival remains locked away in the archives of The One Hundred, who possess the sole understanding of its properties. Historically, they reveal information only in dire circumstances to safeguard the kingdom. Steffy's mansion and the main hall boast massive Aletine arches, a testament to the gem's power: repelling dark energy and matter. Steffy had the arch built in his mansion after the battle with The Embodiment of Darkness. The gem releases an aura around it stopping anything that contains darkness from passing through whatever it is built in. The shape of the arch is also a key detail to securing the room at the maximum. The arch shape lets the aura bounce off of it and spread to the rest of the mansion but in smaller quantities. Steffy and The One Hundred are the only two who possess this key information about Aletine. Aletine's potential extends beyond this defensive ability. Could it hold further, untapped properties? The possibility of weaponizing this powerful gem remains a question with potentially far-reaching consequences. Aletine’s connections Aletine is not only known to Steffy and The One Hundred. The public knows about this gem as well but so do all the cults in Evergreen. The Heathotels’s archives contain the largest collection of knowledge on Aletine other than what Steffy and The One Hundred know. A single, crucial truth about Aletine's connection to an interdimensional entity eludes even Steffy. Only The One Hundred and the enigmatic leader of the Heathotels are privy to this knowledge. Aletine is connected to some other worldly being. Since its roots can be traced to outside of Evergreen’s world, there must be some other civilisation that made contact with the gem before the Great End. Another thing to take into perspective is that Aletine is one of the oldest substances in the world. Its age could suggest a lost civilization predating the cataclysmic "Great End." Could this civilization have been the first to harness Aletine's power? The gem's connection to another world fuels this speculation. Aletine has undoubtedly passed through countless hands over millennia. Are the Aletinians, with their oath of secrecy, truly in control? Or is Steffy merely a pawn in a larger game? Perhaps a hidden organization, like a rogue faction within The One Hundred or a descendant of the lost civilization, manipulates events from the shadows. The question of who truly controls Aletine lies at the heart of Evergreen's mysteries. Aletine’s potentials Aletine reigns supreme as Evergreen's most potent gem, rivaled only by the enigmatic atmospheric gem. It has many magical properties,Its most celebrated property being the fact that it can repel dark energy and dark matter which came in handy during the War Of Gods. It can also be used for a multitude of different things. One of the most outstanding creations with Aletine is the arches in the Main hall and Steffy’s mansion. They are guarding the archives which contain precious and secretive documents on Evergreen as well as artifacts that have not been exposed to the public. With so many possible uses for Aletine only a select few are actually used. The Aletinians have been told only 6 times in the last century to forge weapons out of Aletine. With those orders coming straight from Steffy himself. With the looming interdimensional threat it is highly likely that a war will start in the next millennium. Who will be the 2 sides is still a mystery. Steffy is also worried about a rebellion, Aletine has caused unrest in the villages which have caused small riots and raids of the libraries and archives yet all of them end in failure. It is another very likely possibility that a civil war will start in the next few hundred years. The main powers may be aware of this and are preparing to defend themselves if this possibility becomes a reality. Yet, the question lingers: with Aletine's apparent defensive capabilities and no documented harm to Evergreen, why such secrecy? Are the powers hiding something more sinister? Could they be preparing for a threat far greater than a civil war, a threat hinted at by the whispers of an interdimensional entity connected to Aletine? Lempty, a gem of mysterious beauty Lempty gems, with their captivating light blue hue and characteristically rough, quadrilateral edges, are a ubiquitous presence in Evergreen. Lempty is not much of a very interesting gem. It is mostly used for decorative purposes and not very much in weapon smithing.Though it has a lack of properties, It has very famous use, Steffy himself has a 5000 year old Lempty encrusted egg. It is originally made out of the bedrock of Evergreen, Eslud, with a few pieces of Lempty embedded in it’s surface. Even with such a useless facade with no redeeming qualities, it is still widely used in architecture especially in the northern villages to portray the cold and the snow that those villages usually experience. Lempty can be found in almost every mine in Evergreen, since it is very widespread it has a very small value. Compared to Aletine it is 7 000 000x less valuable. Since it is so cheap it can be found in almost every piece of jewelry and almost every building contains even a bit of Lempty. Rumors of Lempty's untapped potential for healing pique curiosity. Though currently as mere folklore, such mystery raises intriguing questions. Is Lempty truly just a decorative gem, or is there more to its story? Perhaps Steffy's undying devotion to the Lempty egg holds the key to unlocking its secrets. The parasitic presence of Lempty throughout Evergreen hints at a potential significance waiting to be discovered. Eslud, the foundation of Evergreen Eslud reigns supreme as the most common stone in Evergreen. It literally forms the foundation of the world, as the very mines themselves are carved from this versatile material. Eslud is used most commonly in construction since it can resist high temperatures and immense amounts of pressure. The only interesting property of Eslud is that no matter how much pressure is on it, it stays flexible allowing for buildings made out of it to withstand high winds and earth-shattering quakes. It is also the stone of choice when making heirlooms since it can withstand so much damage keeping the heirloom good as new for generations. The most famous example of this is the 3000 year old Eslud box that has been passed down as the Retule family heirloom. More than just a common stone, Eslud embodies the resilience and unwavering spirit that lies at the heart of Evergreen itself. Atmospheric gem, a power of nature The atmospheric gem is the true rarest gem in Evergreen as it is only found in one place, on the tip of Steffy’s magical staff. It has the power to control the atmosphere hence the name atmospheric gem, thanks to its power to control the atmosphere, Steffy chose this gem as his crystal of choice to harness its magical properties. Though Steffy never found this gem in nature since it is a mix between Aletine, Lempty and Celusi. The exact process of how the Atmospheric gem came into existence is still a closely guarded secret with only Steffy and The One Hundred knowing how the gem was fabricated. The exact origins of the Atmospheric Gem remain a closely guarded secret. While Steffy acknowledges the possibility of finding such a gem naturally in a faraway corner of the universe, he downplays the chances of it existing on Evergreen. It takes intense heat and pressure to let it form correctly and there were many failed attempts to create Atmopsheric with the failures themselves playing a crucial role in the final product. It is quite obvious what Atmospheric does, however, how it achieves this control remains a mystery. Steffy and The One Hundred keep the details shrouded in secrecy. This secrecy fuels speculation: what truly powers the gem, and what drove Steffy to dedicate over a century to crafting it for a seemingly limited ability to control the weather? Could there be a grander purpose behind its creation, a power yet to be revealed? Celusi, the geriatric gem of Tyrlosuh Celusi is one of the rarest gems in the kingdom rivaled only by Aletine. It can only be found in Heatherlea, usually near a patch of heatherberry; studies have shown that the heatherberry benefits from the light residue that emanates from the Celusi. The major families of Evergreen usually have a reserve of Celusi to pay the more hefty fines as well as create new heirlooms for each generation. Unlike the highly sought-after Aletine, Celusi possesses no outwardly magical properties, at least to the casual observer. Steffy and the other major powers seem largely uninterested in the gem. Yet, a single, magnificent purple Celusi, a rarity in its own right, resides with the Tyrlosuh family, one of Evergreen's wealthiest and most prominent lineages, containing almost 250 current living descendants and over 10 generations are currently in the lineage which means they’re are 140 year old people in the family. Botinelosi, is the oldest person in the family standing at 164 years old and is the first person to ever use Celusi in the art of crafting. He stumbled across it while mining in the outskirts of Heatherlea near the village where the family originated, affectionately also named Tyrlosuh. Steffy originally seized control of the mine where Botinelosi found it. The quick seizure of the mine raised suspicion on the properties of Celusi. Steffy eventually allowed Botinelosi to have full control over the mine. Rumors spread through the kingdom like a wildfire, Botinelosi's silence on the matter, coupled with the Tyrlosuh family's secrecy, fuels the rumors. What truth are they hiding? Could Celusi's beauty mask a more significant purpose, a power that rivals even Aletine's? Polompty, a concoction of nature Polompty, a breathtaking gem with an allure unlike any other, shimmers with the colors of Lempty, accented by veins of Eslud embedded deep within its interior. It also comes from the same location as Celusi, near the Tyrlosuh village. By taking its location into consideration it may lead you to believe that Polompty is simply an underdeveloped version of Celusi, which is what Botinelosi originally believed when first discovering it in the abandoned Reveras mine right near the Tyrlosuh mine. Polompty was originally put under extensive studies to discover more information on it, all the studies ended up coming with one answer: Polompty is a marvel of nature, a harmonious blend of 6 different stones and gems. Which explains the presence of Eslud in its core as well as the colors of Lempty. Since it has such a strange yet intriguing beauty it captivated crafters's curiosity which caused an influx of its use to fabricate jewelry. However when Lomi, daughter of Botinelosi, became head of the family the mine was closed off to the public and all sales of Polompty stopped causing shockwaves in the gem market, sparking the infamous Polompty rush. The Polompty rush, a desperate search After Lomi shut down the mine, the supply of Polompty slowly trickled to a stop. Lomi's aged father, Botinelosi, allowed his son Bisel to sell the remaining stones stored in the Tyrlosuh archives. With the Polompty market back on its feet, the family had satiated the market’s hunger. However, Lomi had a different vision for the family's future. She declared her son, Utigo, as her heir, bypassing Bisel's claim. Bisel sadly accepted to avoid being ostracized by the family ending the power struggle for the leadership of the Tyrlosuh lineage. The gem market, unable to sway Lomi, eventually turned its attention elsewhere. It wasn't long before the Retule family, sworn rivals of the Tyrlosuh family, discovered a small grove of Polompty near their Heatherberry fields. With the supply restored, markets everywhere flourished and the Polompty rush ended. This new source rekindled the market for three years, until this supply dwindled as well. Now, with both sources depleted and demand still high, a question lingers: Why did Lomi close the mine, causing economic turmoil? Does she possess knowledge of a hidden danger associated with Polompty, or is there a deeper secret to this extraordinary gem's origin? Families of Evergreen, cults in disguise Tyrlosuh family, from gemstone guardians to fallen shadows The Tyrlosuh family is the largest and wealthiest family in the entire history of the kingdom, they originate from Heatherlea and their family founder is Botinesoli and his loving wife Temorla Tyrlosuh who had 2 children, Lomi Tyrlosuh and Bisel Tyrlosuh. Bisel was originally the next heir for the head of the Tyrlosuh family but after Lomi took power as the first heir she decided to declare her son Ugito as the next heir. Bisel accepted his fate to never be head of the family to avoid being exiled by Lomi. With her decision she completely bypassed Bisel’s bloodline from the lineage, completely extinguishing any chance for any of his descendants to ever ascend to the title of head of family. Though this has never been done in the family, Lomi received backlash from both family members as well as the public as this was seen as an unforgivable act of treason to her own blood. With her destructive decision she removed over 30 descendants from having the last name Tyrlosuh. Bisel’s new family line, the Bisenoty, decided to declare a familial war against the Tyrlosuh. Sparking the Biserlosuh familial war. The Biserlosuh Familial war After Bisel declared a familial war against the Lomi, the population of Azalea and the, affectionately named, Tyrlosuh town, started to pick sides. At the time Bisel had the most support by the villagers considering Lomi was the cause of the Polompty rush. Which brought both fortune and misfortune, and had threatened to burn villager’s houses unless they followed her orders as their new leader, which sowed distrust between the populace. The war was not particularly disastrous since it was between 2 armies of around 400 people. Though the amount of lives lost caused an impact in the surrounding area and sent a shockwave in the gem trade market since the Tyrlosuh family were the largest exporters of stones and gems. Both families ended up losing a combined 86 members, 21 from the Bisenoty family leaving only 13 people left and the rest were from the Tyrlosuh family. This disaster would leave over 1300 civilians injured and over 700 dead, it also caused the partial destruction of the town of Tyrlosuh and the complete destruction of the Bisenoty town. Though not only the family’s town were left in ruin, entire neighborhoods of Azalea were utterly ravaged thanks to the supporters of the 2 families. With Evergreen on the brink of a civil war, Steffy himself had to step in and end the war. Though his attempts failed and the war continued for another 2 years before Lomi and Bisel decided to end the battle for the safety of the kingdom as more and more supporters began to sprout and begin fighting in the other towns. With Evergreen on the brink of absolute and utter chaos, Evergreen’s main entrances were shut down and the capital went into lockdown as protests arose, those protests leading into more chaos with the 2 sides arguing and fighting right outside the Main Hall. The Tyrlosuh archives were burned, the Tyrlosuh and the Reveras mines caved in in certain parts and the majority of the Tyrlosuh made jewelry was either sold to another crafter or destroyed entirely sending hundreds of thousands of objects into the Gray Realm causing a widespread jewelry shortage as well as worries on the safety of the Gray realm. After the war ended the Tyrlosuh family was fined 400 pieces of Celusi and their entire Polompty fortune was seized by the Heathotels. Downfall of the Tyrlosuh After the end of the Biserlosuh war, the Tyrlosuh family lost control over the Polompty mine, the majority of their Celusi hoard, their archive was burned to the ground and their hometown was partially in ruins. With Lomi’s dictatorship over the family and her undying hate for the Bisenoty family as well as the Retule family, she forced the Bisenoty family, which was ravaged by the war, to merge back into the Tyrlosuh family name, unifying the rivals and stopping any further familial civil wars from happening. Bisel decided to step down from the lineage and instead become the first person in the history of Evergreen to not be part of a family, whether it is big or small. With Bisel now gone Lomi had no one to challenge her in her dictatorship of the Tyrlosuh family. Until Botinelosi, founder of the family, decided that the lineage had embarrassed itself enough and removed Lomi as ruler. But Lomi refused and since Botinelosi was in his early 160s he couldn’t fight back against her and allowed her to continue her rule. The public had already lost interest in the family and was now fully against it destroying any hope of any new ruler to repair the damage caused by Lomi’s reckless decisions. The Tyrlosuh family, once revered, now exists as a cautionary tale. Their fall from grace serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked ambition and the devastating consequences of family discord. However, whispers still linger. Is Lomi truly broken, or is she biding her time, waiting for the opportunity to reclaim her lost glory? And what secrets lie buried beneath the ashes of the Tyrlosuh archives? The answers to these questions may hold the key to the Tyrlosuh family's redemption or their complete downfall. Retule family, fruit fanatics or fantasy fighters? The Retule family stands as a beacon of peace in the often-turbulent world of Evergreen. Unlike their gem-obsessed counterparts, the Tyrlosuh, the Retules view conflict with a deep aversion. Witnessing the devastation of the Biserlosuh War solidified their pacifistic stance. They famously disarmed themselves, donating all their Aletine weaponry to the Aletinians. But they still needed to make a profit, so their founder, Ruservi, created the Reveras mine right near the future area for the Tyrlosuh mine. Ruservi was the first person to explore and exploit that part of the kingdom since it was usually used as a tourist attraction for the rest of the towns to visit the lovely northern flora. He eventually discovered a cave which led into a large cluster of Celusi, which eventually led him to create the Reveras mine to mine out this new source of gems for the kingdom. After extensive testing his scholars noticed that Celusi had positive benefits to Heatherberry and enhanced its growth which led Ruservi to found the largest Heatherberry farm in the history of the kingdom. He led the family into a fruit empire for 140 years until he grew too old to lead the family anymore, at his 178th cycle he decided that his son Rymo would become the new leader of the Retule family. This decision came after the end of the Biserlosuh war which started a large change of ruler in many sections of the kingdom, families were giving way to new rulers and the cults were discussing the leaderships. Steffy decided to join in the massive leadership change adding new managers into the departments and a new Head Librarian into the archives. By the end of the leadership changing era Ruservi had already been ruler of the Retule family for a few months, during those few months he had commissioned the construction of a new town for the Retule family and everyone else who wanted to live there. Though this new project was a cover up for a more devious plot, he was in fact commissioning the Aletinians to forge Lempty weapons for his descendants, which caused distrust in the family after news of this plan came into the light. This revelation cast a shadow over the family's pacifistic ideals. Was Ruservi preparing for a war he alone foresaw? Or was there another, undisclosed reason for the clandestine weapon production? These questions continue to plague the Retules, a family caught between their commitment to peace and the shadows of a hidden agenda. Gatosi family, shadows of the kingdom Hidden within the bustling kingdom of Evergreen lies the Gatosi family, shrouded in secrecy and wielding a power unseen. The Gatosi are in charge of the safety of the archives which explains their secrecy and low popularity amongst the populace of Evergreen. They do not have any famous appearance nor have they ever participated in a war since their founding 3000 years ago. Their founder, Guvn, created the family after he noticed the amount of hate that the concealed archives would get from the public. Forever haunted by the everlasting threat of misuse in the archives. He decided to found a new family that would be in charge of protecting these archives and maintaining their secrecy. But considering the fact that Guvn founded the family over 3000 years ago it means he is long dead, he was 343 at the time of his death which leaves him as the longest serving Head Of Family in the history of the kingdom. They originally were treated with hate because the archives were seen as a threat thousands of years ago. But nowadays the archives are a staple in the culture of Evergreen. Captivating the public’s knowledge on what could be hiding in those labyrinth-like buildings. Now, nestled away in the secluded neighborhoods of Islafield, the Gatosi cultivate their unique Yoern vegetables, rumored to enhance mental clarity, a necessity for navigating the labyrinthine archives. While whispers of their reclusive nature follow them, the Gatosis family silently fulfills their role, the shadows of the kingdom their only companions. Fruits of Evergreen, source of nourishment and mystery Heatherberry The humble heatherberry is a ubiquitous presence in Evergreen's northern villages, especially Heatherlea, its namesake. This incredibly common fruit harbors a rare variant, the purple and orange heatherberry found only in one singular farm in Heatherlea. The farm’s owner has kept their identity to protect this incredibly rare variant of heatherberry. The whispers of Evergreen have always condensed into a wide array of conspiracy theories, in this case they believe that the heatherberry is a mystical edible stone that was brought to the kingdom from the forgotten civilization before Evergreen. Despite repeated debunking. A plethora of people still believe that this outlandish theory is true. The purple and orange heatherberry has been widely known for its rarity but also for its properties. The purple and orange heatherberry has been subject to multiple tests, including Eshwar Mestec’s famous 7676AGE experiments. Controversy and mystery cling to the heatherberry, yet it remains the kingdom's beloved snack, a daily indulgence for an impressive 96% of the population.
If you took the time to read everything please give me feedback or some sort of constructive criticism please
submitted by Steffy_Cookies to worldbuilding [link] [comments]
First of all, where did Evergreen come from? Well the most early evidence of anyone living here was over 8000 years ago though if you truly think about it it could be as far back as 50 000 years. You see, the oldest trace of civilization in the kingdom is a large ancient hotel in the center of Heatherlea. No other building outdated this and that record is still held up to this day. The actual date of foundation of the kingdom is completely unknown and absolutely no one can tell when it could ever be because of the incredibly vague amount of information on anything before the recorded history of Evergreen. Though not everyone is so clueless, one person may know the answer on the timeline and that is The One Hundred.
You may be asking who this One Hundred person is. He is the oldest person in Evergreen and supposedly some sort of God. Very little is known about him but all that is known is whoever this person is, they are the most powerful in the kingdom.
Now I think you’ve heard enough about the kingdom itself and the basics on it now why don’t we get to work on actually unraveling this massive mystery. But with so many things to explain, how can this ever have an order? Well that’s very easy to do, this is a catalog of everything to know on the topic of Evergreen. Let’s begin.
Cities of Evergreen
Evergreen is the main city of the kingdom, it is used as a capital as well as the largest megalopolis of the city. Though in Scriptorium, the language of Evergreen, they don’t have terms for city, megalopolis or metropolis. So to them everything is a settlement, village or town. In this kingdom the size of a village does not matter only its population and Evergreen having over 1 000 000 people living in it, it’s considered the largest village in the kingdom. Which is quite a fitting label for the capital of such a large kingdom. Though not only Heatherlea contains an important building. Evergreen has the Main Hall and Steffy’s Mansion, both constructions are very important because they contain Aletine. Aletine is a rare gem that will be explained later on but for now all you need to know on Aletine is that it is very rare and very precious. The buildings each have an arch constructed fully of this material.
The whispers of Evergreen
Not everyone in Evergreen is happy with what they know about the kingdom. Certain things are very secretive and though on the outside it seems like a perfect place it is shrouded in mystery and entangled in a web of unknown like a huge tapestry of mystery. The people of the villages are mostly happy with how everything is going except for one thing. They want to know more about the village’s origin. You see, Steffy, The One Hundred, Heathotel and Aletinian do not want too much information to escape into the public’s hands. A disquiet hums beneath the seemingly idyllic surface of Evergreen. Whispers flit through bustling marketplaces, hinting at an enigmatic past shrouded in secrecy. Kept under lock and key by Steffy and the other main powers of Evergreen, the population never ceases to speculate what they could be hiding. Is it a secret civilization before us? Or could it be that Aletine is the secret to the lost time? No matter what the citizens say not one word has been spoken by anyone in control. And there is a good reason behind all of that which will be explained later on.
Architecture and style of Evergreen and it’s settlements
A warped image of Evergreen is fabricated when you dig deeper than what’s on the idyllic surface of Evergreen. But the kingdom is still a majestic land. Its architecture is primarily biomimicry as the villagers are very connected to their surroundings and the flora that they share the world with. The respect for nature in Evergreen is reflected everywhere, in the architecture, in the culture, celebrations and many more subtle depictions. The style that the land has adopted over the millenia is a very calming one, they believe in living life to its fullest so the architects try to make things as pleasant to live in as possible in almost every way possible. You will never find any hostile architecture in the city as its capital status means that it must show a good example for the other settlements to follow. However, the pervasive calmness of Evergreen's architecture raises questions. Could this serene aesthetic be a deliberate ploy? Is biomimicry a way to mask the secrets hidden beneath the tranquil surface? The One Hundred, with their knowledge of the lost civilization and the interdimensional threat, may have a vested interest in maintaining this facade of idyllic peace. Steffy, with his atmosphirec gem of unknown origin, might also find solace in the calming influence of these biomimicry structures. No one can know for sure but until more is learned why not enjoy centuries of perfected design and let the peacefulness wash over you as you stroll through the markets and quiet neighborhoods of the town.
The rest of the settlements
Evergreen does not have that many large towns, only about 4 main ones, Evergreen, Azalea, Heatherlea and Islafield. Those main towns are surrounded by much smaller ones but the main focus is on the four towns above.
Islafield
Islafield is, as the name suggests, mostly for farming hence the ‘field” in its name. The town is near a lake also named Isla The lake is used for fishing as well as a way to water the crops of the town. This majestic town is the main source of nourishment for the entire kingdom with 60% of its land consisting of fields and crops. The kingdom contains 5.6 million inhabitants which is a vast amount of mouths to feed and according to the way Steffy wants to run the kingdom, everyone should have the same chance with life per se he just doesn’t want anyone to starve or die before their time that is the primary reason why he allowed Islafield to become such a large producer of food. He would usually want people to get their produce from the same town in which they live in though since he has 5.6 million people to feed he made the exception that Islafield can export its harvest to the other towns. Other than the beautiful fields of flowers and crops Islafield doesn’t really hold much interest in the eye of the population of Evergreen. Though it is considered the most naturally beautiful town in the kingdom, its beauty does not help it much with population, it has been on a decline ever since the vault of Aletine became public knowledge. Perhaps the Aletinians, a secretive cult entrusted with crafting tools made of Aletine, might hold knowledge about this strange and sudden decline. Despite the dwindling population, Islafield remains a vital part of Evergreen. However, its idyllic facade now masks a layer of intrigue, begging the question: is Islafield truly just a farming town, or is it a cornerstone in a larger, undisclosed operation of the Aletinians?
Heatherlea, a town of beauty and intrigue
Heatherlea, nestled in Evergreen's north, throbs with a unique energy.This bustling town transforms into the kingdom's prime tourist destination during warmer months, welcoming an influx of 700,000 visitors. The undeniable allure? The enigmatic Ancient Hotel, an 8000-year-old structure, the oldest human-made wonder in Evergreen. However, Heatherlea's charm extends beyond the Ancient Hotel.,underneath the ancient hotel hides a vault. The most secure place in the entire kingdom. Inside of that vault is a supply of Aletine. Since Aletine is only found in that singular spot underneath the hotel a vault was built around the mine to keep everyone out of there given how precious Aletine is.Other than its main attractions, its marketplace features the kingdom's tallest stand, showcasing the rare blue and orange Heatherberry. Yet, the exclusivity of these berries in Heatherlea raises questions. Found primarily in the south, their presence here seems curiously deliberate. Is it simply a marketing ploy, or could it be part of a larger scheme? Heatherlea's vibrancy and tourist appeal are undeniable, but a disquieting question lingers: is it a genuine haven, or a meticulously crafted facade designed to distract from the secrets buried beneath the surface?
Azalea, a town shrouded in floral mystery
Azalea is known for one reason, if you look closely at its name you will notice that it contains the name of a flower. Azalea is named after the rhododendron by the same name, Azalea. This specific flower only grows in the town for unknown reasons and once again the reason for the flower's appearance in this one part of the kingdom is gatekeeped by the main powers The One Hundred, Steffy with his atmosphirec gem, and the Aletinians, each with their vested interests in the mysteries of Evergreen, all seem particularly invested in keeping the reason for the Azalea's exclusivity under wraps. Intriguingly, Azalea attracts a disproportionate number of Aletine sellers, who use the flower's beauty to showcase their wares. Why this specific town, rather than a more prominent location? Could there be a connection between the Azalea's unique properties and the Aletine gem? The motives of the sellers remain shrouded in secrecy, adding another layer to the mysteries swirling around Azalea and deepen the mystery of Evergreen.
Shadows in Evergreen: Unveiling the Kingdom's Cults
Evergreen's power structure extends beyond the readily apparent figures like Steffy and The One Hundred. Shrouded in secrecy, a network of cults weaves its influence through the kingdom. While some, like the Aletinians, maintain a relatively benign presence, crafting tools from the enigmatic Aletine, others operate with a more veiled agenda. The Heathotels, shrouded in mystery themselves, stand out for their potential hostility. Their enigmatic purpose and unknown connection to the Aletinians, an exclusive society rumored to possess knowledge on the craftsmanship of Aletine weapons, fuel speculation about their true motives. Do they cover the Aletine's power for their own gain, or are they safeguarding Evergreen from a yet-unknown threat? The secrecy surrounding these cults casts a long shadow, leaving the question unanswered: are they guardians or hidden dangers lurking within the kingdom's idyllic facade? The Heathotels: Enigmatic guardians of the ancient stone The heathotels are a mostly harmless cult. They are in charge of the protection of the Ancient Hotel and are the only ones who have full access to the vault containing all the Aletine. They seem to worship the hotel itself and treat Aletine adorned objects with the same respect as they would do to Steffy himself. They are highly secretive with the reasons on why they respect the precious stone so much and what connection they seem to have with the ancient hotel. While the other power players, like The One Hundred and Steffy himself, strive to keep the Heathotels' activities shrouded, their efforts only heighten the intrigue. This raises the question, if the Heathotels are truly a benign force, why such a concerted effort to conceal their practices? The Heathotels' enigmatic presence throws a long shadow, leaving the question unanswered: are they protectors of the Aletine and the Ancient Hotel, or are they guardians of a far deeper secret? The Aletinians: Sworn Crafters of Aletine Wonders Among Evergreen's enigmatic factions, the Aletinians occupy a distinct position. Eschewing the rigid structure of traditional cults, they follow a oath instead of a set of rules.The specifics of this oath remain a closely guarded secret, fueling endless whispers and speculation. The Aletinians, as their name suggests, possess a unique bond with Aletine. Interestingly they do not worship the Aletine but instead they treat it with reverence, viewing it less as an object and more as a potent material.The true purpose of the Aletinians is to forge everything that is created out of Aletine. They are hand picked, allegedly to safeguard the kingdom's precious Aletine supply, to ensure the safety of the kingdom’s supply of this majestic gem they can only be of a certain sanity. Once again the villagers have their own theories, whispers abound about an Aletine-infused substance used in the selection process, a method to ensure only the "worthy" wield the gem's power.Though to be granted the incredible privilege of handling Aletine directly is very prestigious as only 30 people have the privilege of handling the precious Aletine. But many things are still unclear with them as well. Why do these artisans operate outside the Ancient Hotel, traveling all the way to Azalea to practice their craft? And why, despite their seemingly benign nature, does Steffy strive to keep them hidden from the public eye? The Aletinians remain a captivating enigma, their purpose and connection to Azalea hinting at a deeper role within Evergreen's veiled secrets. The Nevergreen: Shadows Reaching for Forbidden Power In stark contrast to the Aletinians, who utilize Aletine for crafting, stands the enigmatic Nevergreen cult. Driven by a sinister agenda, they seek to weaponize the gem's power, a truth known only to Steffy and The One Hundred. Whispers abound of their attempts to breach the Aletine mine's containment, a reckless act that some speculate triggered a deadly conflict, the War Of Gods, shrouded in secrecy. Steffy himself, it seems, remains unaware of the Nevergreen's potential role in this ancient war. He and The One Hundred instead attribute it to a nebulous embodiment of darkness. The Nevergreen also strive to make the deepest secrets of Evergreen public knowledge. They are the reason why the Aletine vault became known to the villagers of Evergreen. The One Hundred and Steffy tried to cover it up by saying that the villagers deserved to know the truth of where the Aletine came from. But in reality it was an elaborate plan birthed by the leader of the Nevergreen. The identity of the Nevergreen's leader is a captivating mystery. Villagers whisper of a connection to Steffy's ancient enemy, this enigmatic embodiment of darkness. They are also rumored to have connections to the mysterious interdimensional threat looming over the kingdom, a danger only The One Hundred seems fully aware of. This raises the question, if The One Hundred knows everything about Evergreen, why do they still remain passive? Are they truly guardians, or are they somehow entangled within the complex web woven by the Nevergreen?
Gleams of Forbidden light and beauty Aletine, gem of untold power Aletine, a captivating gem shrouded in mystery, sits at the heart of Evergreen's enigmatic power structure. Its existence fuels whispers, speculation, and a fierce struggle for control amongst the kingdom's secretive factions. Here, we delve into the mystery concerning this precious stone. First of all, what are the origins of Aletine? Evergreen's bustling streets are rife with speculation regarding Aletine's origins. Villagers, known for their colorful theories, theorize that it is a form of interdimensional material, arrived here at the mysterious cataclysmic event that destroyed everything. Rumors abound of a ripped veil between dimensions, spewing Aletine into Evergreen while leaving devastation in its wake. While most of these village tales are dismissed as mere flights of fancy, the recent revelation of the Aletine vault beneath the Ancient Hotel has given some credence to the notion of an extraordinary origin. However, the truth remains shrouded in secrecy. Only Steffy and the other powerful factions possess any concrete knowledge about Aletine's arrival in Evergreen. Unveiling Aletine: Myth and Reality Clash The truth behind Aletine shatters some village myths while confirming others. While not interdimensional as some theorized, the gem undeniably originates from beyond Evergreen's reality. Its arrival coincided with the cataclysmic event that reshaped the kingdom, a truth only The One Hundred truly understands. This revelation validates a part of the villagers' extravagant theories, a devastating event did occur. However, it disproves the notion of a dimensional tear bringing Aletine here.The gem's origins remain shrouded in secrecy, fueling speculation about the civilization it hailed from. Unveiling the Secrets of Aletine Aletine is the most precious and most protected thing in all of the kingdom. The amount of secrecy surrounding Aletine is almost enough to rival the secrecy surrounding The One Hundred. With so much secrecy surrounding the gem you might be wondering why it is such a big secret. Well as explained before Aletine is hidden under the ancient hotel, the oldest building in Evergreen. Located beneath the ancient hotel, the oldest structure in the kingdom, Aletine predates all other known resources. The exact date of its arrival remains locked away in the archives of The One Hundred, who possess the sole understanding of its properties. Historically, they reveal information only in dire circumstances to safeguard the kingdom. Steffy's mansion and the main hall boast massive Aletine arches, a testament to the gem's power: repelling dark energy and matter. Steffy had the arch built in his mansion after the battle with The Embodiment of Darkness. The gem releases an aura around it stopping anything that contains darkness from passing through whatever it is built in. The shape of the arch is also a key detail to securing the room at the maximum. The arch shape lets the aura bounce off of it and spread to the rest of the mansion but in smaller quantities. Steffy and The One Hundred are the only two who possess this key information about Aletine. Aletine's potential extends beyond this defensive ability. Could it hold further, untapped properties? The possibility of weaponizing this powerful gem remains a question with potentially far-reaching consequences. Aletine’s connections Aletine is not only known to Steffy and The One Hundred. The public knows about this gem as well but so do all the cults in Evergreen. The Heathotels’s archives contain the largest collection of knowledge on Aletine other than what Steffy and The One Hundred know. A single, crucial truth about Aletine's connection to an interdimensional entity eludes even Steffy. Only The One Hundred and the enigmatic leader of the Heathotels are privy to this knowledge. Aletine is connected to some other worldly being. Since its roots can be traced to outside of Evergreen’s world, there must be some other civilisation that made contact with the gem before the Great End. Another thing to take into perspective is that Aletine is one of the oldest substances in the world. Its age could suggest a lost civilization predating the cataclysmic "Great End." Could this civilization have been the first to harness Aletine's power? The gem's connection to another world fuels this speculation. Aletine has undoubtedly passed through countless hands over millennia. Are the Aletinians, with their oath of secrecy, truly in control? Or is Steffy merely a pawn in a larger game? Perhaps a hidden organization, like a rogue faction within The One Hundred or a descendant of the lost civilization, manipulates events from the shadows. The question of who truly controls Aletine lies at the heart of Evergreen's mysteries. Aletine’s potentials Aletine reigns supreme as Evergreen's most potent gem, rivaled only by the enigmatic atmospheric gem. It has many magical properties,Its most celebrated property being the fact that it can repel dark energy and dark matter which came in handy during the War Of Gods. It can also be used for a multitude of different things. One of the most outstanding creations with Aletine is the arches in the Main hall and Steffy’s mansion. They are guarding the archives which contain precious and secretive documents on Evergreen as well as artifacts that have not been exposed to the public. With so many possible uses for Aletine only a select few are actually used. The Aletinians have been told only 6 times in the last century to forge weapons out of Aletine. With those orders coming straight from Steffy himself. With the looming interdimensional threat it is highly likely that a war will start in the next millennium. Who will be the 2 sides is still a mystery. Steffy is also worried about a rebellion, Aletine has caused unrest in the villages which have caused small riots and raids of the libraries and archives yet all of them end in failure. It is another very likely possibility that a civil war will start in the next few hundred years. The main powers may be aware of this and are preparing to defend themselves if this possibility becomes a reality. Yet, the question lingers: with Aletine's apparent defensive capabilities and no documented harm to Evergreen, why such secrecy? Are the powers hiding something more sinister? Could they be preparing for a threat far greater than a civil war, a threat hinted at by the whispers of an interdimensional entity connected to Aletine? Lempty, a gem of mysterious beauty Lempty gems, with their captivating light blue hue and characteristically rough, quadrilateral edges, are a ubiquitous presence in Evergreen. Lempty is not much of a very interesting gem. It is mostly used for decorative purposes and not very much in weapon smithing.Though it has a lack of properties, It has very famous use, Steffy himself has a 5000 year old Lempty encrusted egg. It is originally made out of the bedrock of Evergreen, Eslud, with a few pieces of Lempty embedded in it’s surface. Even with such a useless facade with no redeeming qualities, it is still widely used in architecture especially in the northern villages to portray the cold and the snow that those villages usually experience. Lempty can be found in almost every mine in Evergreen, since it is very widespread it has a very small value. Compared to Aletine it is 7 000 000x less valuable. Since it is so cheap it can be found in almost every piece of jewelry and almost every building contains even a bit of Lempty. Rumors of Lempty's untapped potential for healing pique curiosity. Though currently as mere folklore, such mystery raises intriguing questions. Is Lempty truly just a decorative gem, or is there more to its story? Perhaps Steffy's undying devotion to the Lempty egg holds the key to unlocking its secrets. The parasitic presence of Lempty throughout Evergreen hints at a potential significance waiting to be discovered. Eslud, the foundation of Evergreen Eslud reigns supreme as the most common stone in Evergreen. It literally forms the foundation of the world, as the very mines themselves are carved from this versatile material. Eslud is used most commonly in construction since it can resist high temperatures and immense amounts of pressure. The only interesting property of Eslud is that no matter how much pressure is on it, it stays flexible allowing for buildings made out of it to withstand high winds and earth-shattering quakes. It is also the stone of choice when making heirlooms since it can withstand so much damage keeping the heirloom good as new for generations. The most famous example of this is the 3000 year old Eslud box that has been passed down as the Retule family heirloom. More than just a common stone, Eslud embodies the resilience and unwavering spirit that lies at the heart of Evergreen itself. Atmospheric gem, a power of nature The atmospheric gem is the true rarest gem in Evergreen as it is only found in one place, on the tip of Steffy’s magical staff. It has the power to control the atmosphere hence the name atmospheric gem, thanks to its power to control the atmosphere, Steffy chose this gem as his crystal of choice to harness its magical properties. Though Steffy never found this gem in nature since it is a mix between Aletine, Lempty and Celusi. The exact process of how the Atmospheric gem came into existence is still a closely guarded secret with only Steffy and The One Hundred knowing how the gem was fabricated. The exact origins of the Atmospheric Gem remain a closely guarded secret. While Steffy acknowledges the possibility of finding such a gem naturally in a faraway corner of the universe, he downplays the chances of it existing on Evergreen. It takes intense heat and pressure to let it form correctly and there were many failed attempts to create Atmopsheric with the failures themselves playing a crucial role in the final product. It is quite obvious what Atmospheric does, however, how it achieves this control remains a mystery. Steffy and The One Hundred keep the details shrouded in secrecy. This secrecy fuels speculation: what truly powers the gem, and what drove Steffy to dedicate over a century to crafting it for a seemingly limited ability to control the weather? Could there be a grander purpose behind its creation, a power yet to be revealed? Celusi, the geriatric gem of Tyrlosuh Celusi is one of the rarest gems in the kingdom rivaled only by Aletine. It can only be found in Heatherlea, usually near a patch of heatherberry; studies have shown that the heatherberry benefits from the light residue that emanates from the Celusi. The major families of Evergreen usually have a reserve of Celusi to pay the more hefty fines as well as create new heirlooms for each generation. Unlike the highly sought-after Aletine, Celusi possesses no outwardly magical properties, at least to the casual observer. Steffy and the other major powers seem largely uninterested in the gem. Yet, a single, magnificent purple Celusi, a rarity in its own right, resides with the Tyrlosuh family, one of Evergreen's wealthiest and most prominent lineages, containing almost 250 current living descendants and over 10 generations are currently in the lineage which means they’re are 140 year old people in the family. Botinelosi, is the oldest person in the family standing at 164 years old and is the first person to ever use Celusi in the art of crafting. He stumbled across it while mining in the outskirts of Heatherlea near the village where the family originated, affectionately also named Tyrlosuh. Steffy originally seized control of the mine where Botinelosi found it. The quick seizure of the mine raised suspicion on the properties of Celusi. Steffy eventually allowed Botinelosi to have full control over the mine. Rumors spread through the kingdom like a wildfire, Botinelosi's silence on the matter, coupled with the Tyrlosuh family's secrecy, fuels the rumors. What truth are they hiding? Could Celusi's beauty mask a more significant purpose, a power that rivals even Aletine's? Polompty, a concoction of nature Polompty, a breathtaking gem with an allure unlike any other, shimmers with the colors of Lempty, accented by veins of Eslud embedded deep within its interior. It also comes from the same location as Celusi, near the Tyrlosuh village. By taking its location into consideration it may lead you to believe that Polompty is simply an underdeveloped version of Celusi, which is what Botinelosi originally believed when first discovering it in the abandoned Reveras mine right near the Tyrlosuh mine. Polompty was originally put under extensive studies to discover more information on it, all the studies ended up coming with one answer: Polompty is a marvel of nature, a harmonious blend of 6 different stones and gems. Which explains the presence of Eslud in its core as well as the colors of Lempty. Since it has such a strange yet intriguing beauty it captivated crafters's curiosity which caused an influx of its use to fabricate jewelry. However when Lomi, daughter of Botinelosi, became head of the family the mine was closed off to the public and all sales of Polompty stopped causing shockwaves in the gem market, sparking the infamous Polompty rush. The Polompty rush, a desperate search After Lomi shut down the mine, the supply of Polompty slowly trickled to a stop. Lomi's aged father, Botinelosi, allowed his son Bisel to sell the remaining stones stored in the Tyrlosuh archives. With the Polompty market back on its feet, the family had satiated the market’s hunger. However, Lomi had a different vision for the family's future. She declared her son, Utigo, as her heir, bypassing Bisel's claim. Bisel sadly accepted to avoid being ostracized by the family ending the power struggle for the leadership of the Tyrlosuh lineage. The gem market, unable to sway Lomi, eventually turned its attention elsewhere. It wasn't long before the Retule family, sworn rivals of the Tyrlosuh family, discovered a small grove of Polompty near their Heatherberry fields. With the supply restored, markets everywhere flourished and the Polompty rush ended. This new source rekindled the market for three years, until this supply dwindled as well. Now, with both sources depleted and demand still high, a question lingers: Why did Lomi close the mine, causing economic turmoil? Does she possess knowledge of a hidden danger associated with Polompty, or is there a deeper secret to this extraordinary gem's origin? Families of Evergreen, cults in disguise Tyrlosuh family, from gemstone guardians to fallen shadows The Tyrlosuh family is the largest and wealthiest family in the entire history of the kingdom, they originate from Heatherlea and their family founder is Botinesoli and his loving wife Temorla Tyrlosuh who had 2 children, Lomi Tyrlosuh and Bisel Tyrlosuh. Bisel was originally the next heir for the head of the Tyrlosuh family but after Lomi took power as the first heir she decided to declare her son Ugito as the next heir. Bisel accepted his fate to never be head of the family to avoid being exiled by Lomi. With her decision she completely bypassed Bisel’s bloodline from the lineage, completely extinguishing any chance for any of his descendants to ever ascend to the title of head of family. Though this has never been done in the family, Lomi received backlash from both family members as well as the public as this was seen as an unforgivable act of treason to her own blood. With her destructive decision she removed over 30 descendants from having the last name Tyrlosuh. Bisel’s new family line, the Bisenoty, decided to declare a familial war against the Tyrlosuh. Sparking the Biserlosuh familial war. The Biserlosuh Familial war After Bisel declared a familial war against the Lomi, the population of Azalea and the, affectionately named, Tyrlosuh town, started to pick sides. At the time Bisel had the most support by the villagers considering Lomi was the cause of the Polompty rush. Which brought both fortune and misfortune, and had threatened to burn villager’s houses unless they followed her orders as their new leader, which sowed distrust between the populace. The war was not particularly disastrous since it was between 2 armies of around 400 people. Though the amount of lives lost caused an impact in the surrounding area and sent a shockwave in the gem trade market since the Tyrlosuh family were the largest exporters of stones and gems. Both families ended up losing a combined 86 members, 21 from the Bisenoty family leaving only 13 people left and the rest were from the Tyrlosuh family. This disaster would leave over 1300 civilians injured and over 700 dead, it also caused the partial destruction of the town of Tyrlosuh and the complete destruction of the Bisenoty town. Though not only the family’s town were left in ruin, entire neighborhoods of Azalea were utterly ravaged thanks to the supporters of the 2 families. With Evergreen on the brink of a civil war, Steffy himself had to step in and end the war. Though his attempts failed and the war continued for another 2 years before Lomi and Bisel decided to end the battle for the safety of the kingdom as more and more supporters began to sprout and begin fighting in the other towns. With Evergreen on the brink of absolute and utter chaos, Evergreen’s main entrances were shut down and the capital went into lockdown as protests arose, those protests leading into more chaos with the 2 sides arguing and fighting right outside the Main Hall. The Tyrlosuh archives were burned, the Tyrlosuh and the Reveras mines caved in in certain parts and the majority of the Tyrlosuh made jewelry was either sold to another crafter or destroyed entirely sending hundreds of thousands of objects into the Gray Realm causing a widespread jewelry shortage as well as worries on the safety of the Gray realm. After the war ended the Tyrlosuh family was fined 400 pieces of Celusi and their entire Polompty fortune was seized by the Heathotels. Downfall of the Tyrlosuh After the end of the Biserlosuh war, the Tyrlosuh family lost control over the Polompty mine, the majority of their Celusi hoard, their archive was burned to the ground and their hometown was partially in ruins. With Lomi’s dictatorship over the family and her undying hate for the Bisenoty family as well as the Retule family, she forced the Bisenoty family, which was ravaged by the war, to merge back into the Tyrlosuh family name, unifying the rivals and stopping any further familial civil wars from happening. Bisel decided to step down from the lineage and instead become the first person in the history of Evergreen to not be part of a family, whether it is big or small. With Bisel now gone Lomi had no one to challenge her in her dictatorship of the Tyrlosuh family. Until Botinelosi, founder of the family, decided that the lineage had embarrassed itself enough and removed Lomi as ruler. But Lomi refused and since Botinelosi was in his early 160s he couldn’t fight back against her and allowed her to continue her rule. The public had already lost interest in the family and was now fully against it destroying any hope of any new ruler to repair the damage caused by Lomi’s reckless decisions. The Tyrlosuh family, once revered, now exists as a cautionary tale. Their fall from grace serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked ambition and the devastating consequences of family discord. However, whispers still linger. Is Lomi truly broken, or is she biding her time, waiting for the opportunity to reclaim her lost glory? And what secrets lie buried beneath the ashes of the Tyrlosuh archives? The answers to these questions may hold the key to the Tyrlosuh family's redemption or their complete downfall. Retule family, fruit fanatics or fantasy fighters? The Retule family stands as a beacon of peace in the often-turbulent world of Evergreen. Unlike their gem-obsessed counterparts, the Tyrlosuh, the Retules view conflict with a deep aversion. Witnessing the devastation of the Biserlosuh War solidified their pacifistic stance. They famously disarmed themselves, donating all their Aletine weaponry to the Aletinians. But they still needed to make a profit, so their founder, Ruservi, created the Reveras mine right near the future area for the Tyrlosuh mine. Ruservi was the first person to explore and exploit that part of the kingdom since it was usually used as a tourist attraction for the rest of the towns to visit the lovely northern flora. He eventually discovered a cave which led into a large cluster of Celusi, which eventually led him to create the Reveras mine to mine out this new source of gems for the kingdom. After extensive testing his scholars noticed that Celusi had positive benefits to Heatherberry and enhanced its growth which led Ruservi to found the largest Heatherberry farm in the history of the kingdom. He led the family into a fruit empire for 140 years until he grew too old to lead the family anymore, at his 178th cycle he decided that his son Rymo would become the new leader of the Retule family. This decision came after the end of the Biserlosuh war which started a large change of ruler in many sections of the kingdom, families were giving way to new rulers and the cults were discussing the leaderships. Steffy decided to join in the massive leadership change adding new managers into the departments and a new Head Librarian into the archives. By the end of the leadership changing era Ruservi had already been ruler of the Retule family for a few months, during those few months he had commissioned the construction of a new town for the Retule family and everyone else who wanted to live there. Though this new project was a cover up for a more devious plot, he was in fact commissioning the Aletinians to forge Lempty weapons for his descendants, which caused distrust in the family after news of this plan came into the light. This revelation cast a shadow over the family's pacifistic ideals. Was Ruservi preparing for a war he alone foresaw? Or was there another, undisclosed reason for the clandestine weapon production? These questions continue to plague the Retules, a family caught between their commitment to peace and the shadows of a hidden agenda. Gatosi family, shadows of the kingdom Hidden within the bustling kingdom of Evergreen lies the Gatosi family, shrouded in secrecy and wielding a power unseen. The Gatosi are in charge of the safety of the archives which explains their secrecy and low popularity amongst the populace of Evergreen. They do not have any famous appearance nor have they ever participated in a war since their founding 3000 years ago. Their founder, Guvn, created the family after he noticed the amount of hate that the concealed archives would get from the public. Forever haunted by the everlasting threat of misuse in the archives. He decided to found a new family that would be in charge of protecting these archives and maintaining their secrecy. But considering the fact that Guvn founded the family over 3000 years ago it means he is long dead, he was 343 at the time of his death which leaves him as the longest serving Head Of Family in the history of the kingdom. They originally were treated with hate because the archives were seen as a threat thousands of years ago. But nowadays the archives are a staple in the culture of Evergreen. Captivating the public’s knowledge on what could be hiding in those labyrinth-like buildings. Now, nestled away in the secluded neighborhoods of Islafield, the Gatosi cultivate their unique Yoern vegetables, rumored to enhance mental clarity, a necessity for navigating the labyrinthine archives. While whispers of their reclusive nature follow them, the Gatosis family silently fulfills their role, the shadows of the kingdom their only companions. Fruits of Evergreen, source of nourishment and mystery Heatherberry The humble heatherberry is a ubiquitous presence in Evergreen's northern villages, especially Heatherlea, its namesake. This incredibly common fruit harbors a rare variant, the purple and orange heatherberry found only in one singular farm in Heatherlea. The farm’s owner has kept their identity to protect this incredibly rare variant of heatherberry. The whispers of Evergreen have always condensed into a wide array of conspiracy theories, in this case they believe that the heatherberry is a mystical edible stone that was brought to the kingdom from the forgotten civilization before Evergreen. Despite repeated debunking. A plethora of people still believe that this outlandish theory is true. The purple and orange heatherberry has been widely known for its rarity but also for its properties. The purple and orange heatherberry has been subject to multiple tests, including Eshwar Mestec’s famous 7676AGE experiments. Controversy and mystery cling to the heatherberry, yet it remains the kingdom's beloved snack, a daily indulgence for an impressive 96% of the population.
If you took the time to read everything please give me feedback or some sort of constructive criticism please
2024.05.20 05:33 Electrical_Ad6497 How do I learn and build Machine Learning projects?
Hey everyone! I am a rising second year computer science major at Georgia Tech. I was lucky enough to get an internship for the summer and also get into the ibm accelerate program. However, I do know that I lack skills when it comes to building cool projects with code which is a skill I want to really hone in on because it’s good for internship and because I just genuinely want to build cool stuff with code. Specifically, I want to deviate from just using Java(the class I took to learn data structures) and learn machine learning so I can build some cool projects using different types or learning. However, I don't have much Python experience. Whats steps can I take right now so that eventually I can build cool ml projects in the coming future. Also to prep for the upcoming cycle I will be LeetCoding and follow the 3 month hackerrank rubric (do you guys recommend both ?). Thanks again for all your time. GPT gave me a list of books to read to help with Python that I can read in order to learn but I wanted to get a second opinion before doing that option.
submitted by Electrical_Ad6497 to gatech [link] [comments]
2024.05.20 05:32 squatsandthoughts Passed! 3AT - Took it at home & Here is my advice for actual learning/mastery
I took my exam yesterday (May 18) at home, and I found out today I passed 3AT! I did not believe I was going to pass. I absolutely thought I had failed and was planning on when to take the exam again. Like others, I thought I would share some of what I did and some recommendations especially if you are taking it at home. Of note, I used to work with college students and teach them how to improve their academic skills (not memorizing but mastering material, not freaking out at an exam, etc) so I wrote this with academic coaching in mind.
Things That Helped Me/My advice:
submitted by squatsandthoughts to pmp [link] [comments]
Things That Helped Me/My advice:
- Not believing all the "just take the test at a testing center" negativity. Taking a test at home (if you like your home) has some big benefits. This isn't to say everyone should do it, but if you want to do it, here is why it helped me:
- I get it, lots of folks have bad experiences testing at home. A lot of things can go wrong and they aren't in your control all the time. But, I work from home 99% of the time and know my internet is reliable, I dont have interruptions, etc.
- Theres a HUGE benefit in taking the exam in a place where you are very comfortable. If you have test anxiety, this is something to consider. I didn't have shoes on, I wore comfy clothes, I could control the temperature how I wanted, etc
- Studying and taking your practice exam in the same environment as the actual exam can be another benefit, as this can help jog your memory! There is some science behind this.
- You can use ALL of your break time. One of the things I saw in some posts where folks took the test at a testing center is the check in/out procedures ate up a chunk of their break time and sometimes the bathrooms seemed far. So they barely had a break. I actually chose to end my breaks early because I was able to relax and take the entire break as a break.
- I had zero interaction from anyone at Pearson. No one sent me a chat (I didn't reach out either), I didn't have any issues while taking the exam, etc. This isn't good or bad, but just putting it out there that I felt like I was just taking an exam at my house like it was any other day.
- Learning Stuff!
- Take practice exams...many, not the same one over and over though. Its ok to repeat them (I did) but dont take 1 practice exam 3 times and think you are ready.
- As you get closer to the exam, take practice exams simulating the actual exam environment as much as you can - stick to the time limits, take 2 ten minute breaks, dont check your phone, etc
- Review your correct and incorrect answers - know WHY the correct answer is the correct one. This is what can take the most practice because you have to think like the PMI wants you to think
- Know the terminology - the SH+ games are great for this, specifically the Crossword but it wont capture all the terminology you need to know.
- Use all the resources people mention here because one of the best things you can do is use different formats of learning to take in information - especially if it repeats itself!
- Some folks learn best by writing things out, some learn best by hearing it, etc. Most people learn best by ALL of these things together. You probably didn't realize in K-12 that your teachers were using many modalities to teach you stuff. Think like a K-12 teacher and create a lesson plan with many different activities on the same topics and review it over and over (each review in different modalities that work for you)
- Example - for one topic - Watch the videos folks suggest, and read through the notes from Third3Rock, make your own flashcards and talk it out
- Talking it out is an underrated/under utilized learning modality. The purpose of this is acting like you are teaching someone else. Some of you might be able to teach another person like your roommate, partner, or child. But if you dont have a human or a pet to teach PMI topics to, get a plant, a pillow, a ghost, etc. Talk the topic out as if you are explaining it or having a conversation about it with another person. If you can't explain it to someone else, you dont know it enough.
- I am someone who learns by writing things out. Not typing (although I do learn that way), literally writing. But if you are like this too, make sure to put it IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Dont just copy whats on the screen/paper on a index card.
- Create your own visuals. Not of everything. Just the stuff YOU know you need to see/read again. There are some great visuals out there already too!
- A few days before my exam, I re-wrote some of the main concepts I wanted to remember on larger pieces of paper (printer paper) with colorful markers. This included topics/questions I wasn't so confident on, important terminology, etc. I used a lot of paper...and then I taped them to the walls in my hallway. I didn't put them in my office because I knew I'd have to take them down before the exam and I didn't want that stress. So I put them in the hallway and would pause and read them, talk them out, dance while singing the topics, etc. Its like an information radiator for yourself and again, there's science behind how these things can help some people learn.
- You dont need an expensive "bootcamp" or pricey course to learn this material. With the amount of free or cheap options out there (all the things you see mentioned in this subreddit), you dont necessarily need to shell out a lot of money for anything else. My work paid for an expensive bootcamp. I did it and wasn't impressed. It was like drinking from a firehose and the worse way anyone can learn information - hearing someone talk at you for 8 hours a day for 4 days in a row. I dont recommend this at all. I did not use my notes nor resources from this bootcamp for anything. There could be better bootcamps out there - I've had a few friends have better experiences. But we all used other free/cheap resources to learn in more detail.
- If you really want a course, some of the courses folks have mentioned here (Udemy, etc) that are self-paced are likely far better to learn initial information just for the fact that you can go back and review the information in a lot of detail/re-watch videos, etc.
- Take practice exams...many, not the same one over and over though. Its ok to repeat them (I did) but dont take 1 practice exam 3 times and think you are ready.
- There are differences between the PMI Study Hall practice exams and the actual exam. You're probably think, OBVIOUSLY there are differences! Here are the ones I observed:
- The actual exam questions were not as wordy/long as the practice exam questions. They often had very little information in them and yet you had to make a decision as if you knew all of the context. But also dont assume anything!
- Many of the questions had answer choices where 2 were extremely similar to each other and seemed correct
- I only had 2 matching questions and no math/calculations
- I felt like I failed the very first section. These questions were HARD right out of the gate. I dont think this section had any easy or moderate questions in it. I literally thought I had failed the whole exam because of this and was planning on when to retake it. Note that while this was my first section, it may not be in that order for other people. All the people saying, "there were no expert questions on my exam" - yeah, not mine! And I did relatively well with expert questions on the practice exam. I am aware that there are experimental questions on the exam which dont count in your score. Maybe these were it, I am not sure. But damn, this section was hard.
- Actual Exam Week/Day Prep
- If you have been intensely studying for a bit, you need a break before your exam. This is even more true if you work full-time, have a family, etc. Your brain can literally only have so much energy and if you are exhausted going into the exam, you will not be functioning at your best.
- The week of your exam, only do light review. This means, maybe one practice exam but like the beginning of the week. Or no practice exam. Review the concepts you miss a lot, review terminology. That's it.
- Eat well for you. Dont push yourself with workouts unless thats your norm. Get good sleep in the days leading up to the exam. Drink a good amount of water not just the day of/day before the exam.
- Schedule your exam at a time where you know you tend to feel more energized, and more relaxed, if at all possible. For me, even if I am more awake in the morning, I knew having an exam first thing would give me a lot of anxiety the night before and I probably wouldn't sleep then I'd do bad on the exam. I scheduled my exam at 1:15pm on a Saturday. I slept in a little, had some coffee and a leisurely breakfast, reviewed some things, then I was ready.
- Talk nicely to yourself - with how much all of this can cost, and whatever other pressures you may have, there can be a lot of "I have to pass, like HAVE to pass!" pressure. Of course we all want to pass the first time and be done with it, but thats not to worry about right now. Talk nicely to yourself - make those encouraging sticky notes and put them around your house, or meditate, etc. but make sure to remind yourself how hard you have worked, and how capable you are. Your only focus is to do your best and thats all you can worry about right now.
- If you are someone who reads out loud as you are reading questions, you need to practice not doing this. Its probably best to practice this before the week of your exam, but if you dont have that time you need to practice the week of your exam for sure.
- Right before the exam/as the exam starts
- The program will give you an intro to how it works. Like where is the timer, where are the buttons, how to highlight, etc. Do it. Do all of the silly things you probably already know how to use. As you are doing it, take deep breaths and exhale slowly at least 3 times. If your heart rate is going up, just pause and do some circle breathing (breath in deeply, hold 4 or more counts, breathe out SLOWLY like for 8-10 counts, then breathe in again, do it again). You do not have to rush into this exam. You have plenty of time.
- Use the whiteboard tool to write stuff down that is just ruminating in your head. It should stay there through the exam. Get it out of your head because the more you try to hold it all in, the more stress that creates. Write triggers for yourself or draw your beautiful drawings you were practicing with. Again, this helps your memory noggin do its thing and can get out some of that anxiety you are feeling.
- During the exam
- Dont let hard questions get you down. This is challenging, even for me who generally does well with test taking. Know that not all questions actually count toward your score. If you have a hard question, do your best, mark for review, and move on. Dont let it cloud your confidence. I literally thought I failed the whole exam because of the first section it was so hard. But I ended up passing 3AT!
- Take the breaks. Dont try to be a hero. Breaks can be a good reset for your brain! Take them, and take the whole time if you need. Drink water. Have a snackie. Do some breathing and stretches.
- Watch the time. This is important so you aren't rushing at the end, and also why you dont want to waste a lot of time on a few hard questions. Regarding time, I purposefully went fast when I was practicing to make sure I could still answer correctly under duress (and also I didn't have a lot of time for 4 hour exams while practicing). Most of my practice exams I finished in 1.5 hours and I scored in the 70-80% with expert questions. In the actual exam, I took about 3.25 hours.
- If you have been intensely studying for a bit, you need a break before your exam. This is even more true if you work full-time, have a family, etc. Your brain can literally only have so much energy and if you are exhausted going into the exam, you will not be functioning at your best.
2024.05.20 05:24 Brilliantmind1997 26 [F4M] Georgia,USA -Seeking a long term monogamous relationship (serious inquiries only)
*Do Not message or add me just to unfriend me or ghost me. * Greetings future partner ❤️ I'm still searching for you. I have to be honest and say that I am losing hope trying to find you.Please be somewhere. I want my search for a partner to be over. I'm seeking adventure in my life with someone I can call a forever partner. I'm tired of the loneliness and the sheltered lifestyle that I've lived. It would mean a lot of you could read through this post so that I could make sure we are compatible. Even if we start off as friends that would be fine.
Here's to new beginnings and new connections. PLEASE make sure you READ through the WHOLE POST also please be respectful when messaging me * *If you're the type to be impatient, block, or ghost easily, then save both of us the trouble and DO NOT message me! I'm not trying to come off as mean but I'd much rather you not message me if you're the type of person to do that. If something isn't working just let me know. We're all adults.
Greetings, I am seeking a long term relationship monogamous with the end goal being matrimony. I am not one for playing around and being used casually as it doesn’t suit me personally. Ideally I'd prefer a man that has his life already in place so that I can be able to share life with him and for him to take care of me. I would expect my future man to have a fiscally stable job and be able to support me and our future family. I wouldn’t be opposed to being a housewife. There are few reasons why I would like to work or work part time: 1) Being abandoned with nothing, 2) I want to feel fulfilled and not bored. Happy to discuss possible dynamics, I'm flexible. I would love a synergistic partnership where we are both able to mold our minds and fill our hearts with warm affection. I will be there to support you throughout your journey and celebrate every moment with you. I want you to be proud of you just as you are with me. I want to show you that you are truly cared for and appreciated by gestures of love such as massages and other forms of entertainment. I would expect the same from you as well. Even if we are both working adults we can still make our relationship work in the best way possible. I have seen this come out well for people who are dedicated and willing to make their relationships work. For a strong relationship to occur I would expect effective (transparent) communication from you. If you are going to be busy just be honest and let me know you won’t be able to talk to me.Also, if you need your space both mentally and physically let me know. I understand that we all have our lives to attend to but it is incredibly important for people in a relationship to be transparent when circumstances arise in a timely manner in order to avoid future conflict. If this relationship isn’t going to work I would expect you to tell me and not ghost or block me before giving me a reason why. We are all adults so I would expect nothing but maturity. Starting out I don’t want the pressure of sex to be pushed onto me. I’d rather let time tell in all of its glory.
Now onto my true introduction
My name is Angie and I'm from Georgia in the United States. I've been lonely for quite some time and find it hard to find a soulmate in IRL. What I'm looking for is someone who I can connect with and have wholesome conversations with. I want to be able to treat my future soulmate well just as much as they do me. The biggest part of a long lasting relationship is the ability to communicate openly without worry. I'd love it if my significant other has a dark sense of humor and continues to crack me up non-stop. As cheesy as it may sound I long for those late night calls and cute texts. I want for us to drive out the very best in each other; become our support system. A little bit about me is that I grew up in Florida and not too long ago moved to Georgia. I'm currently in college to become an RN but I'm also passionate about cosmetic chemistry and nutrition so I may seek to build my own business in the future. I'm passionate about science and theoretical applications especially within the medical field. I'd appreciate it if my partner is open minded about varying topics and welcomes healthy conversations. Appearance wise I'm open to seeing if we have a connection and feel as long as you are well groomed and practice basic hygiene you are good. Although, I must say that attraction is key in a relationship so I will have to go off on that as well. To add on, I enjoy playing video games, exercising (I've been slacking off lately), cooking and baking (vegan), playing board games, reading, exploring nature, playing sports (basketball and soccer) for fun, and trying new experiences. I hope to save up and travel someday. It would be nice for my partner to be able to set up our travel itinerary.
My Physical Description:
I am a black woman who’s twenty five years old (almost 26 in December) with Afro-Carribean, Japanese and Swedish ancestry. I’d still consider myself black presenting since that’s more along the lines of what I appear as phenotypically. I have dark brown curly hair (Mainly 3c type curls) and brown eyes. I am 5 '4 on the thicker spectrum (not at all obese but thick boned and have thunder thighs). I am trying to exercise more to become fit. I used to weight lift when I was younger but since then have lost lean muscle mass. Having a partner that is willing to work out together sometimes is rather rewarding. A man who has drive and appeal is incredibly sexy. I would also like to point out that I am curvy and noticeable in certain aspects (I’ll leave it up to you to decide).
*You have to be MINIMUM 21 to date me *
If distance will be a problem and you aren't willing to make it work then DON'T MESSAGE ME!!
If you will be too busy to pursue a relationship then DO NOT contact me!! * *Again, No ghosters or blockers!! Seeking a person who seeks a relationship with God and/or is open to one Must be free from venerial diseases and must be willing to get tested(will discuss) Bonus points if you're vegan Ideally I would like someone that is taller than me (I’m 5’4) I prefer a man that is fit or trying to be. I'd prefer someone who is fiscally stable and able to support the both of us* A big red flag for me is smokers. It isn't good for your health nor is it sexy to me.* It's important for me to point out that I want children in the future and need someone who may want that as well. If you're interested in how I look and want to know more about me, message me. Although I don’t make it a huge deal, I do prefer White and East Asian men. But I do love all types of men and welcome them. As stated before I emphasize communication and would prefer you to be honest and say if something is wrong instead of ghosting or blocking without stating the reason. Fair warning if I can be socially awkward sometimes and don't know what to talk about so please be patient with me as I'm learning to be better conversation wise
submitted by Brilliantmind1997 to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]
Here's to new beginnings and new connections. PLEASE make sure you READ through the WHOLE POST also please be respectful when messaging me * *If you're the type to be impatient, block, or ghost easily, then save both of us the trouble and DO NOT message me! I'm not trying to come off as mean but I'd much rather you not message me if you're the type of person to do that. If something isn't working just let me know. We're all adults.
Greetings, I am seeking a long term relationship monogamous with the end goal being matrimony. I am not one for playing around and being used casually as it doesn’t suit me personally. Ideally I'd prefer a man that has his life already in place so that I can be able to share life with him and for him to take care of me. I would expect my future man to have a fiscally stable job and be able to support me and our future family. I wouldn’t be opposed to being a housewife. There are few reasons why I would like to work or work part time: 1) Being abandoned with nothing, 2) I want to feel fulfilled and not bored. Happy to discuss possible dynamics, I'm flexible. I would love a synergistic partnership where we are both able to mold our minds and fill our hearts with warm affection. I will be there to support you throughout your journey and celebrate every moment with you. I want you to be proud of you just as you are with me. I want to show you that you are truly cared for and appreciated by gestures of love such as massages and other forms of entertainment. I would expect the same from you as well. Even if we are both working adults we can still make our relationship work in the best way possible. I have seen this come out well for people who are dedicated and willing to make their relationships work. For a strong relationship to occur I would expect effective (transparent) communication from you. If you are going to be busy just be honest and let me know you won’t be able to talk to me.Also, if you need your space both mentally and physically let me know. I understand that we all have our lives to attend to but it is incredibly important for people in a relationship to be transparent when circumstances arise in a timely manner in order to avoid future conflict. If this relationship isn’t going to work I would expect you to tell me and not ghost or block me before giving me a reason why. We are all adults so I would expect nothing but maturity. Starting out I don’t want the pressure of sex to be pushed onto me. I’d rather let time tell in all of its glory.
Now onto my true introduction
My name is Angie and I'm from Georgia in the United States. I've been lonely for quite some time and find it hard to find a soulmate in IRL. What I'm looking for is someone who I can connect with and have wholesome conversations with. I want to be able to treat my future soulmate well just as much as they do me. The biggest part of a long lasting relationship is the ability to communicate openly without worry. I'd love it if my significant other has a dark sense of humor and continues to crack me up non-stop. As cheesy as it may sound I long for those late night calls and cute texts. I want for us to drive out the very best in each other; become our support system. A little bit about me is that I grew up in Florida and not too long ago moved to Georgia. I'm currently in college to become an RN but I'm also passionate about cosmetic chemistry and nutrition so I may seek to build my own business in the future. I'm passionate about science and theoretical applications especially within the medical field. I'd appreciate it if my partner is open minded about varying topics and welcomes healthy conversations. Appearance wise I'm open to seeing if we have a connection and feel as long as you are well groomed and practice basic hygiene you are good. Although, I must say that attraction is key in a relationship so I will have to go off on that as well. To add on, I enjoy playing video games, exercising (I've been slacking off lately), cooking and baking (vegan), playing board games, reading, exploring nature, playing sports (basketball and soccer) for fun, and trying new experiences. I hope to save up and travel someday. It would be nice for my partner to be able to set up our travel itinerary.
My Physical Description:
I am a black woman who’s twenty five years old (almost 26 in December) with Afro-Carribean, Japanese and Swedish ancestry. I’d still consider myself black presenting since that’s more along the lines of what I appear as phenotypically. I have dark brown curly hair (Mainly 3c type curls) and brown eyes. I am 5 '4 on the thicker spectrum (not at all obese but thick boned and have thunder thighs). I am trying to exercise more to become fit. I used to weight lift when I was younger but since then have lost lean muscle mass. Having a partner that is willing to work out together sometimes is rather rewarding. A man who has drive and appeal is incredibly sexy. I would also like to point out that I am curvy and noticeable in certain aspects (I’ll leave it up to you to decide).
*You have to be MINIMUM 21 to date me *
If distance will be a problem and you aren't willing to make it work then DON'T MESSAGE ME!!
If you will be too busy to pursue a relationship then DO NOT contact me!! * *Again, No ghosters or blockers!! Seeking a person who seeks a relationship with God and/or is open to one Must be free from venerial diseases and must be willing to get tested(will discuss) Bonus points if you're vegan Ideally I would like someone that is taller than me (I’m 5’4) I prefer a man that is fit or trying to be. I'd prefer someone who is fiscally stable and able to support the both of us* A big red flag for me is smokers. It isn't good for your health nor is it sexy to me.* It's important for me to point out that I want children in the future and need someone who may want that as well. If you're interested in how I look and want to know more about me, message me. Although I don’t make it a huge deal, I do prefer White and East Asian men. But I do love all types of men and welcome them. As stated before I emphasize communication and would prefer you to be honest and say if something is wrong instead of ghosting or blocking without stating the reason. Fair warning if I can be socially awkward sometimes and don't know what to talk about so please be patient with me as I'm learning to be better conversation wise
2024.05.20 05:22 Latter_Map_5183 I'm a prisoner in my own body and I'm watching my life pass by me
I never thought I'd be somewhere like this.
I sit here and stare at my wall, not knowing if my life will see any change. So fucking frustrated wanting to do something, anything than just sit here and waste my time on my phone or playing stupid games. What a waste of precious time. I'm sick of the scrolling, I'm sick of finding ways to merely occupy my time. I want to do something, I want to make something of myself. I want to leave my house and just start running. I used to love running. But now I'm trapped in my own goddamn body that isn't capable of sitting up or standing without feeling like my heart is going to explode. I was a regular student. I had a job, I was working on a research project, I was attending classes. I loved going to school. I was chasing my dreams on the side, I had lovely friendships. I was making progress, real good progress, I was becoming someone and I was living my life. Until I don't know what the fuck happened. Took one prescribed pill for some back pain and my life changed forever. Suddenly I couldn't sit without my heart hitting 130bpm. I'd get winded just trying to stand. 150. 160. 180. Nothing but lying down would stop this. I never knew you could be so out of breath just trying to stand. Forget about walking, forget about leaving the fucking house, I lost everything. Final year of school, I had to drop out because I couldn't attend my fourth year seminars.
I laid there in bed watching everything that I had built crumble. I had no present, I had no future. Then by some miracle they diagnosed me and put me on meds to stabilise my heart rate. Twice a day, everyday for the rest of who knows how long. I'm able to move around my house, struggle with the stairs but I can at least move around. But like clockwork, at the 5th hour mark, my symptoms come back and I'm back to not being able to do anything. There are others with my condition who aren't even on meds that work full time jobs, have children to take care of, and seem to live their lives. Struggle but somehow manage. I can't. I am not as strong. I am weak. I am held prisoner by my weak mind and heart. I stopped partaking in life, the outside world, I sit in my house contributing nothing to the world. Yet I still dream. I dream about getting better, I dream about becoming healthy, I dream about walking outside and capturing the beautiful world with a camera. I dream about meeting people outside, hanging out with friends like everyone else. I dream about commuting and walking into a job. I dream about participating in society like a proper human being.
But my reality is me sitting at home, too afraid to leave, scared of fainting in the middle of the street, scared of the presyncope grossness that comes every time I stand up. Terrified of living. Knowing others in my exact circumstance are capable, but that I am not. I used to be terrified of dying but these days I almost welcome it, at least I'll be at peace. Life's too beautiful to stop witnessing it now, but I wish I could participate in its beauty. Some part of me thinks it's unfair to die without being given a proper shot at life. But I just can't.
I just want to be able to run again. Without fear of heart palpitations and being scared that this is the time that my heart won't calm down and I won't be able to move again. I'm stuck. I just want to be somebody. But I'm just a prisoner of my own mind and body. Am I just a coward too scared to test my fate? I don't know. All I know is I'm rotting away.
submitted by Latter_Map_5183 to offmychest [link] [comments]
I sit here and stare at my wall, not knowing if my life will see any change. So fucking frustrated wanting to do something, anything than just sit here and waste my time on my phone or playing stupid games. What a waste of precious time. I'm sick of the scrolling, I'm sick of finding ways to merely occupy my time. I want to do something, I want to make something of myself. I want to leave my house and just start running. I used to love running. But now I'm trapped in my own goddamn body that isn't capable of sitting up or standing without feeling like my heart is going to explode. I was a regular student. I had a job, I was working on a research project, I was attending classes. I loved going to school. I was chasing my dreams on the side, I had lovely friendships. I was making progress, real good progress, I was becoming someone and I was living my life. Until I don't know what the fuck happened. Took one prescribed pill for some back pain and my life changed forever. Suddenly I couldn't sit without my heart hitting 130bpm. I'd get winded just trying to stand. 150. 160. 180. Nothing but lying down would stop this. I never knew you could be so out of breath just trying to stand. Forget about walking, forget about leaving the fucking house, I lost everything. Final year of school, I had to drop out because I couldn't attend my fourth year seminars.
I laid there in bed watching everything that I had built crumble. I had no present, I had no future. Then by some miracle they diagnosed me and put me on meds to stabilise my heart rate. Twice a day, everyday for the rest of who knows how long. I'm able to move around my house, struggle with the stairs but I can at least move around. But like clockwork, at the 5th hour mark, my symptoms come back and I'm back to not being able to do anything. There are others with my condition who aren't even on meds that work full time jobs, have children to take care of, and seem to live their lives. Struggle but somehow manage. I can't. I am not as strong. I am weak. I am held prisoner by my weak mind and heart. I stopped partaking in life, the outside world, I sit in my house contributing nothing to the world. Yet I still dream. I dream about getting better, I dream about becoming healthy, I dream about walking outside and capturing the beautiful world with a camera. I dream about meeting people outside, hanging out with friends like everyone else. I dream about commuting and walking into a job. I dream about participating in society like a proper human being.
But my reality is me sitting at home, too afraid to leave, scared of fainting in the middle of the street, scared of the presyncope grossness that comes every time I stand up. Terrified of living. Knowing others in my exact circumstance are capable, but that I am not. I used to be terrified of dying but these days I almost welcome it, at least I'll be at peace. Life's too beautiful to stop witnessing it now, but I wish I could participate in its beauty. Some part of me thinks it's unfair to die without being given a proper shot at life. But I just can't.
I just want to be able to run again. Without fear of heart palpitations and being scared that this is the time that my heart won't calm down and I won't be able to move again. I'm stuck. I just want to be somebody. But I'm just a prisoner of my own mind and body. Am I just a coward too scared to test my fate? I don't know. All I know is I'm rotting away.
2024.05.20 05:20 Brilliantmind1997 26[F4M] #Atlanta, Georgia - Seeking a long term monogamous relationship (serious inquiries only)
- Do Not message me just to ghost or block me! Think it through before you message me!! I don't want to get emotionally hurt again.*
Here's to new beginnings and new connections. PLEASE make sure you READ through the WHOLE POST also please be respectful when messaging me * *If you're the type to be impatient, block, or ghost easily, then save both of us the trouble and DO NOT message me! I'm not trying to come off as mean but I'd much rather you not message me if you're the type of person to do that. If something isn't working just let me know. We're all adults.
Greetings, I am seeking a long term relationship monogamous with the end goal being matrimony. I am not one for playing around and being used casually as it doesn’t suit me personally. Ideally I'd prefer a man that has his life already in place so that I can be able to share life with him and for him to take care of me. I would expect my future man to have a fiscally stable job and be able to support me and our future family. I wouldn’t be opposed to being a housewife. There are few reasons why I would like to work or work part time: 1) Being abandoned with nothing, 2) I want to feel fulfilled and not bored. Happy to discuss possible dynamics, I'm flexible. I would love a synergistic partnership where we are both able to mold our minds and fill our hearts with warm affection. I will be there to support you throughout your journey and celebrate every moment with you. I want you to be proud of you just as you are with me. I want to show you that you are truly cared for and appreciated by gestures of love such as massages and other forms of entertainment. I would expect the same from you as well. Even if we are both working adults we can still make our relationship work in the best way possible. I have seen this come out well for people who are dedicated and willing to make their relationships work. For a strong relationship to occur I would expect effective (transparent) communication from you. If you are going to be busy just be honest and let me know you won’t be able to talk to me.Also, if you need your space both mentally and physically let me know. I understand that we all have our lives to attend to but it is incredibly important for people in a relationship to be transparent when circumstances arise in a timely manner in order to avoid future conflict. If this relationship isn’t going to work I would expect you to tell me and not ghost or block me before giving me a reason why. We are all adults so I would expect nothing but maturity. Starting out I don’t want the pressure of sex to be pushed onto me. I’d rather let time tell in all of its glory.
Now onto my true introduction
My name is Angie and I'm from Georgia in the United States. I've been lonely for quite some time and find it hard to find a soulmate in IRL. What I'm looking for is someone who I can connect with and have wholesome conversations with. I want to be able to treat my future soulmate well just as much as they do me. The biggest part of a long lasting relationship is the ability to communicate openly without worry. I'd love it if my significant other has a dark sense of humor and continues to crack me up non-stop. As cheesy as it may sound I long for those late night calls and cute texts. I want for us to drive out the very best in each other; become our support system. A little bit about me is that I grew up in Florida and not too long ago moved to Georgia. I'm currently in college to become an RN but I'm also passionate about cosmetic chemistry and nutrition so I may seek to build my own business in the future. I'm passionate about science and theoretical applications especially within the medical field. I'd appreciate it if my partner is open minded about varying topics and welcomes healthy conversations. Appearance wise I'm open to seeing if we have a connection and feel as long as you are well groomed and practice basic hygiene you are good. Although, I must say that attraction is key in a relationship so I will have to go off on that as well. To add on, I enjoy playing video games, exercising (I've been slacking off lately), cooking and baking (vegan), playing board games, reading, exploring nature, playing sports (basketball and soccer) for fun, and trying new experiences. I hope to save up and travel someday. It would be nice for my partner to be able to set up our travel itinerary.
My Physical Description:
I am a black woman who’s twenty five years old (almost 26 in December) with Afro-Carribean, Japanese and Swedish ancestry. I’d still consider myself black presenting since that’s more along the lines of what I appear as phenotypically. I have dark brown curly hair (Mainly 3c type curls) and brown eyes. I am 5 '4 on the thicker spectrum (not at all obese but thick boned and have thunder thighs). I am trying to exercise more to become fit. I used to weight lift when I was younger but since then have lost lean muscle mass. Having a partner that is willing to work out together sometimes is rather rewarding. A man who has drive and appeal is incredibly sexy. I would also like to point out that I am curvy and noticeable in certain aspects (I’ll leave it up to you to decide).
*You have to be MINIMUM 21 to date me *
If distance is an issue and you aren't willing to commit then DON'T MESSAGE ME!!
If you will be too busy to pursue a relationship then DO NOT contact me!! * *Again, No ghosters or blockers!! Seeking a person who seeks a relationship with God and/or is open to one MUST be free from venerial diseases (must be willing to get tested) Bonus points if you're vegan Ideally I would like someone that is taller than me (I’m 5’4) I prefer a man that is fit or trying to be. I'd prefer someone who is fiscally stable and able to support the both of us* A big red flag for me is smokers. It isn't good for your health nor is it sexy to me.* It's important for me to point out that I want children in the future and need someone who may want that as well. If you're interested in how I look and want to know more about me, message me. Although I don’t make it a huge deal, I do prefer White and East Asian men. But I do love all types of men and welcome them. As stated before I emphasize communication and would prefer you to be honest and say if something is wrong instead of ghosting or blocking without stating the reason. Fair warning if I can be socially awkward sometimes and don't know what to talk about so please be patient with me as I'm learning to be better conversation wise
2024.05.20 05:19 Effective-Finish-300 Happy Monday!
 | This is a satirical post that could inspire many LinkedIn lunatics. submitted by Effective-Finish-300 to LinkedInLunatics [link] [comments] |
2024.05.20 05:16 Gyro_Armadillo Completion of SMC’s MRT-7 delayed on RoW issues in Bulacan segment — DoTr - BusinessWorld Online
 | THE METRO Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) project of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is experiencing delays due to right-of-way (RoW) issues, particularly in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said. submitted by Gyro_Armadillo to Philippines [link] [comments] "For the MRT-7, we are looking at operating the Quezon City leg by the last quarter of 2025, meaning the portion from Quezon Avenue. [The one] from North Avenue to Lagro,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista told reporters on the sidelines of a forum last week. MRT-7, which will have 14 stations, will run from Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, and is expected to carry 300,000 passengers daily in its first year, and up to 850,000 passengers a day in its 12th year. SMC is financing the construction and will operate the 23-kilometer commuter rail system after signing a 25-year concession agreement with the government. Data from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center showed that the project’s original target completion was set for 2019 but was later postponed to partial operation in the fourth quarter of 2021. Just last year, the DoTr announced that the MRT-7 would commence operations by 2025. “But the Bulacan part will not be completed by 2025 because [the MRT-7] has 14 stations. We’re hoping to operate by at least up to its 12th station by December of 2025,” Mr. Bautista said. Its 13th station is expected to be operational “a year after,” Mr. Bautista noted. The commuter rail line’s stations are Quezon North Avenue Joint Station, Quezon Memorial Circle, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala, and San Jose del Monte. Mr. Bautista said that the completion of MRT-7 is encountering RoW issues, specifically in the portion of San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan. “There are oppositions there, they are saying it will cause heavy traffic flow. I actually had a meeting with the local government because we are really pushing for immediate resolution to the RoW issues,” he said. He said the local government has requested to divert the station to another location. “Because the area is too narrow, there is opposition from building owners. They provided us with options which we are going to study,” he said. Once the RoW issues are resolved, the station in Bulacan will be operated between 2027 and 2028. “We will study (the options provided). We are not in a hurry because our target is really to operate up to the Lagro station by 2025,” Mr. Bautista said. In 2023, SMC announced that it has secured a P100 billion loan that is expected to hasten the construction of the MRT-7 project. — Ashley Erika O. Jose |
2024.05.20 05:14 hubb2001 Translation Status Update/Discussion - May 19
Previous thread
This is the weekly translation status update thread. Use this thread to discuss translation news, issues, titles you're looking forward to, etc.
Note: This is simply a mirror from 4chan's weekly thread on the /jp/ board. All credit goes to the user VNTS there. I'm simply copying and pasting for discussion sake here since some people can't access 4chan.
Entries in Bold have had changes since last week
Entries in itallics denote my own changes
submitted by hubb2001 to vns [link] [comments]
This is the weekly translation status update thread. Use this thread to discuss translation news, issues, titles you're looking forward to, etc.
Note: This is simply a mirror from 4chan's weekly thread on the /jp/ board. All credit goes to the user VNTS there. I'm simply copying and pasting for discussion sake here since some people can't access 4chan.
Entries in Bold have had changes since last week
Entries in itallics denote my own changes
Fan Translations
- 12RIVEN -the Ψcliminal of integral- - 42% translated
- Aiyoku No Eustia - In progress 100% TL patch leaked, project to continue, 100% Translated/edited/TLC
- Akatsuki no Goei ~Principal-tachi no Kyuujitsu~ - 100% translated and edited, 70.11% through QA
- Akatsuki no Goei ~Tsumibukaki Shuumatsuron~ - 100% translated, 42,368 lines edited (69.69%), 4,793 (7.88%) through QA
- Axanael - "Overwhelming majority" of the text translated, including the main story, some side content remains, in need of editing
- CHAOS;HEAD Love Chu Chu! - 70.54% translated, 22.70% edited
- CHAOS;CHILD Love Chu Chu!! - 100% translated, 55.30% edited
- Chusingura 46+1 - 36843/82770 (44.51%) lines translated, Kuranosuke route partial patch released
- Dragon Knight 4 - 60% translated, playtesting also ongoing
- Fate/Stay Night - Partial patch released with a new translation for Fate/UBW/9 days of HF
- Haruka na Sora - Sora and Yahiro routes translated, Kozue 75% translated, Sora 90% edited
- Honoo no Haramase Oppai Nyuu Doukyuusei ~Oppai mo Haramase! New Class Zen'in Harama-sensation!~ - Picked up, porting to Ren'Py
- If My Heart Had Wings: Snow Presents - 100% translated, 100% edited
- Jisatsu no Tame no 101 no Houhou - 17% translated
- Junketsu Megami-Sama - 2nd Alpha patch released, Astarotte route finishing up
- Kaseki no Uta - 100% translated, 4770/15389 (31%) edited
- Ken ga Kimi - 58% translated
- Koukan no Toriko-Tachi - Prologue, common, and Cuckold Play route translated, Swinging Route 35%, Yukari POV 40%
- Kud Wafter - AA Version 23,835/31,579 (75.5%) Lines translated, 18+ Version 19,240 / 33,113 (58.1%) lines translated
- Kusarihime ~Euthanasia~ - Translation finished, fully edited
- Lover Able - 100% translated and edited, 9419/32258 lines approved (29.47%)
- Lucky Star ~Ryouou Gakuen Outousai~ - episode 1 patch released
- Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! A - Ryouken Route After - 2,647/3,494 (75.76%) lines translated
- Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! A Plus Disk - Preparing files
- Manakashi no Yuri wa Akaku Somaru - 66% translated
- Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi o - 1 of 4 routes translation finished for the restoration patch, Houkiboshi Hika 2 of 4 H-scenes translated
- Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi o: Interstellar Focus - 100% translated, 89.6% edited
- Nursery Rhyme - 100% translated and edited, text insertion 100% complete, testing ongoing
- Pure Pure - 100% translated, needs proofreading, partial patch released, all routes have been inserted
- Sakura no Uta - Chapter I 30% translated
- Sakura Wars 2 - Demo patch released, ADV, Battle, and "Long Day in the Theater" mode fully translated, disc 1 text inserted
- Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki - Both original and fan disc 100% translated, in need of editing
- Shirotsume Yubiwa - 100% translated, 50% beta patch released
- Shizuku - 120/197 script files translated, 20/197 edited
- Taima Seiko Alice - 45% translated, 35% edited, 35% proofread, 1st partial patch out
- Tenshi no Inai 12-gatsu - 100% translated, Editing ongoing
- To Heart - 720/993 scripts translated, 200/993 edited
- Tokimeki Memorial 2 - Being translated
- Tokimeki Memorial Girls Side 4 - 55% translated
- Tsui no Sora Remake - 100% translated and edited, finalization progressing
- Umi kara Kuru Mono - 91/138 scripts translated
- Ushinawareta Mirai o Motomete - 23243/35416 (65.6%) lines translated
- Yosuga no Sora - Translation finished, editing and TLC ongoing, Total: TL 100% TLC 71% ED 55%, Common/Kazuha/Motoka/Sora routes fully edited
Official work
MangaGamer
- The Pillagers of Raillore - Out of Beta
- Ciconia - Phase 1 Released
- Hadaka Shitsuji fandisc - Picked up
- Rance 03 - 79% translated, 41% edited
- Rance X - 94% translated, 5% edited
- Luckydog1 - 100% translated and edited
- Funbag Fantasy 4 - 84% translated, 80% edited
- Eve of the 12th Month - 100% translated and 88% edited
- DEAD DAYS - 100% translated and edited
- Beat Valkyrie Ixseal - 88% translated and 81% edited
- Welcome to a Sexy, Open World - 98% translated and 90% edited
JAST
- Sisters: Last Day of Summer - June 3rd release
- Sumaga- Slow progress ongoing
- Katahane - Progress being made again
- Django - Not actively making progress
- Tokyo Hero Project - Translation finished, dealing with bugs
- Machine Child - Still being developed
- Yomegami: My Sweet Goddess - 100% translated
- Yamizome Liberator - Picked up
- Mojika: Truth Rears Its Ugly Head - Picked up
- Djibril - 100% translated, in editing
- Masquerade: Hell Academy - Through 1st QA pass, in 2nd QA pass
Sekai/Denpa
- NEKO-NIN exHeart SPIN - In QA Testing, 2024 release
- Happy Saint Sheol - 100% edited, 40% QA, Demo released
- Harumade Kururu - Waiting on build
- Rewrite+ Harvest Festa - 100% translated, 40% edited, Steam page up, 2024 release
- Subete no Koi ni, Hanabata o. - 50% translated
- Sumire - Picked up
- Sanarara R - 100% translated and edited, waiting on build
- Glass - Picked up
- New Glass - Picked up
- Karakara 3 - 100% translated and edited, 70% engine work
- Yume to Iro de Dekiteiru - 100% translated, 35% edited
- Zutto Mae Kara Joshi Deshita - 100% translated, in editing
- A Maiden's Serenade - In Editing
- Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi 10% translated
- Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi AA - Announced
- Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka - 50% translated
- Hamidashi Creative - Announced
- Inupara - In Development
- Nekopara After La Vraie Familie - In Development
- Raspberry Cube - Announced
- Wagamama High Spec OC - In Translation
Nekonyan
- Angel Chaos RE-BOOT!- Delayed after Steam rejection
- Dracu Riot - Waiting on Build, Release date announcement on hold until after Angel Chaos
- Melty Moment - 80% translated
- Fureraba Complete edition - Vita exclusive content to be added to Fureraba a couple months after the fandisc release
- Floral Flowlove - 100% translated, 70% edited, enging port ongoing
- Kakenuke Seishun Sparking - 80% translated, 70% edited, QA started
- Love, Elections, & Chocolate - 100% translated and edited, Engine port nearly finished, entering QA shortly
- Love Love Love, Burning in my Heart! - 100% translated and 74% edited
- Ready or Not: The Deadline is Coming! - 100% translated, 99% edited, waiting on build
- Mysteries of the Heart: The Psychic Detective Case Files - 100% translated and edited, engine work in progress
- Secret Project 2 - 100% translated and edited, queued for Unity port
- Secret Project 3 - 100% translated and edited, 50% though QA
PQube
- SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky - Announced
VisualArts
- planetarian ~Snow Globe~ - June 27th release
- Summer Pockets Reflection Blue - 2024 release
- Kanon - Announced
Dualtail
- Venus Blood Ragnarok - Kickstarter starting May 22nd
Frontwing
- Lilja and Natsuka: Painting Lies - July 25th release
- Revue Starlight El Dorado - August 8th release
- Everlasting Flowers - Where there is a will, there is a way - August 29th release date
- Sharin no Kuni - Working to resolve remaining issues
Aksys
- Radiant Tale -Fanfare- - June 27th release
- Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch - Summer release
- Virche Evermore -EpiC: Lycoris- - Fall release
- Despera Drops - 2025 release
Age titles
- Kiminozo - Aiming for a Summer 2024 release
Fakku
- Two Beasts Or Not To Beast!! - 2.0 version, editing in progress
- Forbidden Ward - In Pre-Production
Saikey Studios (mix of official/unofficial)
- The Reason For Your Smile - Steam page up, Happy and NTR routes translated
- Toaru Hahaoya no Ayamachi ~Yukari Hen~ - 50% translated
HyoukanOpera
- Knight Case Files - Trial released, upcoming release
MAGES. GAME
- Corpse Party II - Darkness Distortion - 2024 release
Voltage Inc.
- Project Code Kaleido Tower - 2024 release
- Project Code Neon Mafia - 2024 release
- Project Code Vampire Hunter - 2025 release
B-cluster
- Re;quartz Raid - 2024 release
MediBang Inc.
- Cocktail Magic - Upcoming release
Kamitsubaki Studio
- KAMITSUBAKI CITY REGENERATE - Upcoming release
Dayu Zixun
- Voice Love on Air - Upcoming release
Shiravune
- AMANATSU ~Perfect Edition~ - Released
- Destiny Star Girlfriend 2 - Q2 2024 release
- Real Hentai Situation! 2 - 2024 release
- NYO-NIN-JIMA -My New Life in Charge of a Tropical Island- - 2024 release
- An Aunt After My Own Heart - 2024 release, rejected by Steam
- Kara no Shoujo III - Announced
- Sacrifice Villains - Announced
Dramatic Create
- The Town of Nie - September 19th release
- Meiji Tokyo Renka Full Moon - 2024 release
- Steam Prison Beyond the Steam - 2024 release
- Nie no Machi -Iro Musubi- - 2025 release
Kagura Games
- Forsaken Quartet - Released
- Yoru ga Kuru! -Square of the Moon- Remastered - 2024 release
- Angel Tear: Goddess Betrayed - Upcoming release
Aniplex
- Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- - June 27th release
- Fate/stay night REMASTERED - 2024 release
- Hookah Haze - 2024 release
- Tanetsumi no Uta - 2024 release
Spike Chunsoft
- The Quintessential Quintuplets: Memories of a Quintessential Summer - May 23rd release
- The Quintessential Quintuplets: Five Memories Spent With You - May 23rd release
Love Lab
- Ever Maiden - 2024 release
DLsite
- Friendly lab - unlock(); - Upcoming release
- Club Suicide - Picked up
Idea Factory
- Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling - May 28th release
- 9 R.I.P. - Fall 2024 release
- Date A Live: Ren Dystopia - 2024 release
CRAFTWORK
- Geminism - English version announced
Harukaze
- Monkeys! - English release planned
Moonchime
- Haunted Obachestra Vol.1 Awaking - Upcoming release
Alice In Dissonance
- Fault Milestone 2 - Side Below - Upcoming release
G-mode
- Shinjuku Soumei - Demo Released, May 24th release
MiKandi Japan
- Libra of the Vampire Princess - All versions of the patches in testing
PRODUCTION PENCIL
- Paradise Cleaning! -Tutor X Hypnosis- - Upcoming release
072 Project
- Princess Paradise - 2024 release
F&C
- NTR with hypnosis application - Upcoming release
Eroge Japan
- Trap Yuri Garden - June 10th release
Tensei Games
- Unfaithful Wife: Ayano's "Netorare Report" - My gentle wife is fucking another man - - Q2 2024 release
GRAVITY GAME ARISE
- Tokyo Psychodemic - Demo released, May 30th release
Dark Nyaa
- Master & Succubi Hentai Lessons 2 - April release
MintLip
- Him, the Smile & Bloom - August 8th release
Cherry Kiss
- Cosplay Cumdump: Doing it Doujin Style - May 23rd release
Umesoft
- Weekend in Waimanalo - Released
2024.05.20 05:13 Sleepy_Eyes64 A Study in Scarlet: A Bizarre Start to Literary Legend
First Off: SPOILERS FOR THE STORY!
Even if it was not perfect, I highly recommend "A Study in Scarlet!" It's fascinating to see Sherlock Holmes' first literary adventure. Not only to compare and contrast it with how the character and its interpretations have evolved over the years, but to witness the craft and skill of Arthur Conan Doyle in crafting a gripping Victorian yarn (at about the tenth the size of the usual length of a serialized story of that period)
You've been warned!
"Study in Scarlet" is many things, but it certainly is no boring.
I had spent many years of my young life being exposed to many differing interpretation of iconoclastic consulting detective, and have loved almost every single one of them. But, in spite of there (usually) good quality, these were merely "echoes" of the actual thing.
As such, earlier this year, me and several friends of mine formed a sort of book club, intent on finally reading this famed novel. We would go about it a chapter every two days and hopefully finish it in about a month.
Well, life being what it is, delays in readings accrued. For some, it was a missed chapter on a particular day (guilty as charged).
For others, well, they're still reading it.
Which brings me to this review. Two months back I had finally finished my copy of the novel, a beautifully researched and annotated printed under the "Oxford World Classics" label. I would heartily recommend this version, as it helped clarify some of the misconceptions put forth by the book in its second half, shedding a light on some of Arthur Conan Doyle's politics in the process.
More on that later.
For now, let's get on with the show.
It's 1881 in Victorian Era England. John Watson, a 2nd Afghanistan War Doctor has been discarged back to his home country following injury. Quickly running out of money from the meager army pension he makes, he meets up with an old hospital colleague who introduces him to the titular Sherlock Holmes.
This introduction was utterly fascinating, portraying a Sherlock who is utterly giddy and quirky in a way that I've never seen him as in any other adaption. It immediately sheds a light on his eccentric nature, and I would be remissed if I didn't mention how it seems to feel reminiscent of those on the spectrum. I almost lament that this aspect of his character is largley absent in most adaptions. It's quite endearing.
Following this meet-up, Sherlock and Watson get on quite well. Enough so that they decide to purchase an apartment and become roommates on, you guessed it, 221b Baker Street.
(An address that doesn't actually exist, as my annotated copy pointed out. Shame.)
It is at this point, Watson notes, that he realizes just how eccentric Holmes really is.
We have the usual expected details, the ones adaptions tend to carry over. Is reading of police reports and "sensational literature," his immense knowledge of poisons and murder methods, and even a violin he strums to calm himself. Then there are the more... obscure aspects. Thankfully, Watson made a sort of list that can help. His uncommon knowledge of all things crime seems to have usurped the place of layman's knowledge in his "Mind palace." His awareness of politics is little, and his knowledge of normal literature, philosophy, and astrology is "nil," to quote Watson.
He doesn't even know that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Sherlock Holmes. Master detective. Doesn't know that the Earth revolves around the damn Sun.
Utterly, hilarious.
Anyways, after some rumination on the science of deduction, we are thrust into the story either an incoming telegram from Inspector Lestrade. Since Sherlock's occupation is being a consulting detective, he offers aid to the stumped police for a small fee. A man has been found dead from a supposed suicide in an abandoned building, with only a bloody word written above a mantelpiece as any indication of motivation.
"RACHE"
However, rather than focusing on the crime itself, Sherlock focuses on the surrounding area, poking around and astutely Study every single little detail he comes across with utter focus. After an extended amount of time does he actually arrive at the main crime scene to study, and the bloody message. The police, of course, assume it's a name: "Rachel." However, Sherlock (in his boundless intelligence) surmises that it is actually the German word "Revenge." Not only that, but he figures out there was another man, working out his height, walk, and dress.
This isn't a suicide. It's murder.
The investigation continues, another murder occurs, a suprisingly exciting chase scene happens, and finally Sherlock lures the murderer right into the heart of 221b Baker Street.
Enter "The Killer Mormons."
It's at this point that the story takes an unexpected left turn, as we suddenly flash back 34 years ago in America, and a community of Mormons in Salt Lake City.
Look, before we proceed, I should clarify that I am not Mormon. At best, my exposure to Mormon culture was stumbling across a Mormon museum out in Albany, NY and that one South Park Episode.
All of that is to say that I don't know too much about the culture, so I was appreciative that my book helped clarify some misconceptions and biased viewings that Doyle sadly indulged in here. For what little Doyle got right, he got a lot wrong, with a lot of it seemingly being the result of fear mongering and disgust. It's kind of uncomfortable, seeing Doyle villianize an actual religion and community and portraying them as a murderous cult with a secret hit squad essentially.
It's weird, and it definitely sheds a light on why I've never seen a straight adaption of this story.
Still, we get a fascinating tragic love story. The murderer was an American cowboy simply avenging his dearly beloved, a young girl adopted by the Mormon community along with her own adoptive dad. She and her father intended to leave the community, but the Motmon Elder was having none of it, intending to marry her off to another Mormon member. After the girl and her father were murdered by the earlier murder victims of this story in retaliation, the cowboy set off on a trail of vengeance that would stretch on for decades, until the stars finally aligned for him to go in for the kills. And once he explains his side of the story to Holmes and the police, he dies of an aneurysm.
The next day, the papers credit the police for cracking the case, leaving Watson determined to set the record straight much to Holmes' bemusement.
And with that, our mystery comes to an end.
I walked away from the story feeling bowled over by the sheer scope of it all. What started off as a classic Holmes mystery, evolved into a western epic full of love, betrayal, death and... Killer Mormons.
It should probably be a testament to Doyle's immense skill as a storyteller that the deeply flawed second section was as compelling as it was. It's flawed view of Mormon culture definitely didn't help it, and one wonders if it were replaced with a generic commune/cult, it would have been the better for it. It certainly was interesting regardless, but perhaps my own love of western movies helped.
It was great to finally see Sherlock's "science of deduction" methodology in play, and it's as amazing as I've heard.
I also came away from the novel better appreciating what Doyle brought to the detective genre, and even Sherlock as a whole!
To those who have seen media based on Sherlock, and loved it, I implore you to check out the novels. At least then I'll have someone to talk about this crazy book with, heh.
Can't wait to read "The Sign of Four" next!
submitted by Sleepy_Eyes64 to literature [link] [comments]
Even if it was not perfect, I highly recommend "A Study in Scarlet!" It's fascinating to see Sherlock Holmes' first literary adventure. Not only to compare and contrast it with how the character and its interpretations have evolved over the years, but to witness the craft and skill of Arthur Conan Doyle in crafting a gripping Victorian yarn (at about the tenth the size of the usual length of a serialized story of that period)
You've been warned!
I had spent many years of my young life being exposed to many differing interpretation of iconoclastic consulting detective, and have loved almost every single one of them. But, in spite of there (usually) good quality, these were merely "echoes" of the actual thing.
As such, earlier this year, me and several friends of mine formed a sort of book club, intent on finally reading this famed novel. We would go about it a chapter every two days and hopefully finish it in about a month.
Well, life being what it is, delays in readings accrued. For some, it was a missed chapter on a particular day (guilty as charged).
For others, well, they're still reading it.
Which brings me to this review. Two months back I had finally finished my copy of the novel, a beautifully researched and annotated printed under the "Oxford World Classics" label. I would heartily recommend this version, as it helped clarify some of the misconceptions put forth by the book in its second half, shedding a light on some of Arthur Conan Doyle's politics in the process.
More on that later.
For now, let's get on with the show.
It's 1881 in Victorian Era England. John Watson, a 2nd Afghanistan War Doctor has been discarged back to his home country following injury. Quickly running out of money from the meager army pension he makes, he meets up with an old hospital colleague who introduces him to the titular Sherlock Holmes.
This introduction was utterly fascinating, portraying a Sherlock who is utterly giddy and quirky in a way that I've never seen him as in any other adaption. It immediately sheds a light on his eccentric nature, and I would be remissed if I didn't mention how it seems to feel reminiscent of those on the spectrum. I almost lament that this aspect of his character is largley absent in most adaptions. It's quite endearing.
Following this meet-up, Sherlock and Watson get on quite well. Enough so that they decide to purchase an apartment and become roommates on, you guessed it, 221b Baker Street.
(An address that doesn't actually exist, as my annotated copy pointed out. Shame.)
It is at this point, Watson notes, that he realizes just how eccentric Holmes really is.
We have the usual expected details, the ones adaptions tend to carry over. Is reading of police reports and "sensational literature," his immense knowledge of poisons and murder methods, and even a violin he strums to calm himself. Then there are the more... obscure aspects. Thankfully, Watson made a sort of list that can help. His uncommon knowledge of all things crime seems to have usurped the place of layman's knowledge in his "Mind palace." His awareness of politics is little, and his knowledge of normal literature, philosophy, and astrology is "nil," to quote Watson.
He doesn't even know that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Sherlock Holmes. Master detective. Doesn't know that the Earth revolves around the damn Sun.
Utterly, hilarious.
Anyways, after some rumination on the science of deduction, we are thrust into the story either an incoming telegram from Inspector Lestrade. Since Sherlock's occupation is being a consulting detective, he offers aid to the stumped police for a small fee. A man has been found dead from a supposed suicide in an abandoned building, with only a bloody word written above a mantelpiece as any indication of motivation.
"RACHE"
However, rather than focusing on the crime itself, Sherlock focuses on the surrounding area, poking around and astutely Study every single little detail he comes across with utter focus. After an extended amount of time does he actually arrive at the main crime scene to study, and the bloody message. The police, of course, assume it's a name: "Rachel." However, Sherlock (in his boundless intelligence) surmises that it is actually the German word "Revenge." Not only that, but he figures out there was another man, working out his height, walk, and dress.
This isn't a suicide. It's murder.
The investigation continues, another murder occurs, a suprisingly exciting chase scene happens, and finally Sherlock lures the murderer right into the heart of 221b Baker Street.
Enter "The Killer Mormons."
It's at this point that the story takes an unexpected left turn, as we suddenly flash back 34 years ago in America, and a community of Mormons in Salt Lake City.
Look, before we proceed, I should clarify that I am not Mormon. At best, my exposure to Mormon culture was stumbling across a Mormon museum out in Albany, NY and that one South Park Episode.
All of that is to say that I don't know too much about the culture, so I was appreciative that my book helped clarify some misconceptions and biased viewings that Doyle sadly indulged in here. For what little Doyle got right, he got a lot wrong, with a lot of it seemingly being the result of fear mongering and disgust. It's kind of uncomfortable, seeing Doyle villianize an actual religion and community and portraying them as a murderous cult with a secret hit squad essentially.
It's weird, and it definitely sheds a light on why I've never seen a straight adaption of this story.
Still, we get a fascinating tragic love story. The murderer was an American cowboy simply avenging his dearly beloved, a young girl adopted by the Mormon community along with her own adoptive dad. She and her father intended to leave the community, but the Motmon Elder was having none of it, intending to marry her off to another Mormon member. After the girl and her father were murdered by the earlier murder victims of this story in retaliation, the cowboy set off on a trail of vengeance that would stretch on for decades, until the stars finally aligned for him to go in for the kills. And once he explains his side of the story to Holmes and the police, he dies of an aneurysm.
The next day, the papers credit the police for cracking the case, leaving Watson determined to set the record straight much to Holmes' bemusement.
And with that, our mystery comes to an end.
I walked away from the story feeling bowled over by the sheer scope of it all. What started off as a classic Holmes mystery, evolved into a western epic full of love, betrayal, death and... Killer Mormons.
It should probably be a testament to Doyle's immense skill as a storyteller that the deeply flawed second section was as compelling as it was. It's flawed view of Mormon culture definitely didn't help it, and one wonders if it were replaced with a generic commune/cult, it would have been the better for it. It certainly was interesting regardless, but perhaps my own love of western movies helped.
It was great to finally see Sherlock's "science of deduction" methodology in play, and it's as amazing as I've heard.
I also came away from the novel better appreciating what Doyle brought to the detective genre, and even Sherlock as a whole!
To those who have seen media based on Sherlock, and loved it, I implore you to check out the novels. At least then I'll have someone to talk about this crazy book with, heh.
Can't wait to read "The Sign of Four" next!
2024.05.20 05:11 Fair_Personality7662 How should a computer science student spend the summer?
I am a computer science student that will be entering junior year after the summer. Like many, I failed to get an internship this summer. My question is what should i do this summer to be the best I can be for next summer?
I have only taken 3 CS classes so far, the first two were intro classes with Python and Java, and the third one being Data structures and algorithms in Java. I also plan on taking two summer classes this summer (my scholarship will be covering it).
I know many people suggest starting some quality project to have on your resume, and how it’s the ultimate learning experience, but I don’t know how to go about it every time i dive into one. Any tips?
submitted by Fair_Personality7662 to csMajors [link] [comments]
I have only taken 3 CS classes so far, the first two were intro classes with Python and Java, and the third one being Data structures and algorithms in Java. I also plan on taking two summer classes this summer (my scholarship will be covering it).
I know many people suggest starting some quality project to have on your resume, and how it’s the ultimate learning experience, but I don’t know how to go about it every time i dive into one. Any tips?
2024.05.20 05:11 Petrostar The OG Emperor was much more hardcore.
 | The OG Emperor submitted by Petrostar to HorusGalaxy [link] [comments] I recently re-read the description of the Emperor from Rouge Trader, The basic are the same, but small details that make me like this version much more than the modern incarnation. "So, the Emperor emerged from long hiding, creating the Age of the Imperium over ten millennia ago in a series of wars now remembered by none save their victor. His rule has been a long and harsh one, for there is much at stake - the life of humanity itself. The strain of his constant vigilance has taken a heavy toll upon the man that was once human, for now his body can no longer support life, and his shattered carcass remains intact only because it is held by a spirit itself sustained by the strangest of machinery - ancient artifacts constructed by the Emperor in an elder age. It is ironic that this creature, whose will extends to over a million worlds, is now unable to leave the life-giving machinery of his imperial throne, unable to so much as lift a shriveled finger or twitch a shrunken eye. The living carcass of the Emperor is immobile, held fast within the bio-machine that sustains his spirit. The mass of this machine is contained within the imperial palace; room upon room of twisted technology, pulsing with a life and will of its own - living, breathing, reproducing and writhing like a giant, mindless organism. Held within this perversion of science lies the Emperor himself, or rather what now remains of his carcass, the seat of his omnipotent will." He is not confined to the throne due to injury, but rather because he continues to serve Humanity. And the details of how the Astronmicon works are much more dark. "To provide a mental signal throughout human controlled space would not be possible to any ordinary psyker. However, the Emperor is no ordinary psyker - his powers go beyond those of mortals. Even so, the strain of transmitting a continuous signal would prove far too strenuous, and he merely concentrates his powers on directing a signal created by others. These are the imperial servants known as the Adeptus Astronomica, psykers whose bodies and souls are leeched of energy. This energy is projected by the mind of the Emperor in the form of the psychic beacon known as the Astronomican. The sheer quantity of mental energy is vast, and only the mind of the Emperor is sufficient to handle so much raw power." Of course the are also Psykers used to sustain the Emperor, but they aren't merely used to power the machinery. The Emperor literally eats their souls...... "The fate of the Adeptus Astronomica is a sad one, for their efforts soon reduce them to empty husks of bone and dry flesh. Many die every day. They are not the only psykers who are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, for the Emperor cannot eat as men eat, or drink fluids or breathe air. His life has passed beyond a point where such things can sustain him. For the Emperor the only viable sustenance is human life-force - soul - and he has a great and insatiable appetite. Nor will just any human suffice for this purpose, for the soul-donor must be a very special person in their own right, someone with psychic powers. The Inquisition scours the Imperium in a tireless search for emergent psykers, individuals too vulnerable to be left alone. Some of these men and women will be recruited into the Adeptus Terra (especially the Adeptus Astronomica and Adeptus Astra Telepathica) but many more will serve their Emperor in a more gruesome way. Given up to the weird machinery that surrounds the Master of Mankind, their souls will be gradually leeched from their bodies to feed the Emperor's spirit. Hundreds must die in this way every day if the Emperor, the Imperium and humanity are to survive. It would be simple to think of the Emperor as an evil corruption of nature. Yet, as the Adeptus Terra teach, the sorrow and slaughter that feeds his divine corpse is a trifling price to pay for the survival of the race. Without the Emperor there would be little space travel and no protection in a hostile universe. Left uncontrolled, the emerging race of psychic humans would become the unwitting vehicle of humanity's destruction. For there are many foul aliens which not only feed upon the life-force of other races, but which use that life-force as a means of opening portals in warp space, infiltrating populated planets via the poorly protected minds of inexperienced psykers. The Master of Mankind knows that to protect his race he must survive, must live forever if necessary, or until such time as psychic humans have evolved sufficient strength to withstand the dangers they face. If thousands much endure pain and death for his sake, how considerable must be the agony of a creature whose body is all but destroyed, whose mind is encased inside a rotting shell and whose every thought is enslaved to the task of serving his race. " I like this version of the Emperor alot more. |
2024.05.20 05:08 Storms_Wrath The Human Artificial Hivemind Part 514: High Lawyer
First Previous Wiki
Ascendant Denali swept his tail across the floor. "Greetings. The New Ascendancy welcomes you and your kin, Diplomat Sommi."
The Misan creature did its equivalent of a bow, honoring him in his palace as was proper. He had been starved of respect from his surrounding powers lately and would feast upon this memory like a fine cut.
"The Misan Li Heptarchies receive your warm greetings, Ascendant Denali. We offer official congratulations on your ascent to the Trikkec throne, and the continued unification of your people. We are glad that you are regaining your prosperity, and offer additional aid to that end."
It was the perfect language of the High Dialect, with almost no imperfections on the translator's part. An expertly trained device, for sure, given the vast cavern between their respective languages. He had a translator as well working to ensure that the Diplomat heard his words correctly, and that he would know how their language distorted them to prevent any unfortunate misunderstandings.
Such things could be disastrous with certain civilizations, and Denali saw no need to make true enemies. He was strong enough to project power inside the New Ascendancy but nowhere near so outside of it. Pirates and raiders still festered upon the upper borders, and the lower borders were contested by a few minor lords who had survived the collapse of the Ascendancy. He was currently bombarding their planetary shields with asteroids and lasers.
"Aid of what sort, and with what stipulations?" Denali asked, waving an economic advisor over with a stray claw.
"Military and economic."
"Stipulations?"
"You close all business with the Alliance."
"Ah."
Denali stepped off his throne. "Diplomat, I can assume you know how valuable that relationship is to the Ascendancy? I assume you already have a plan to replace them with something better. If your plan is ready, I will have my advisors review it. If not, no further discussions are to take place."
"Do you accept their power over you, Ascendant?"
"In this galaxy, it does not matter what we accept. If a Sprilnav comes barging into your house and takes your mate in front of you, there is nothing you can do. If one of the Core Powers manages to reach us, they can do the same. There are the laws of nations, and there are those of power. The Alliance's aid, even as its darker purposes twist it, has saved millions of lives. Children eating. Families working. They have the might of two AIs behind them."
"They are far too young of a nation for you to realistically believe their abilities are this high."
"Many have made that mistake," Denali said. "They are an older nation than mine, certainly. Would you say that my nation's abilities are lower?"
"I would not."
"Then you tell lies. I am not some foolish monarch who cannot see the reality in front of him. The Alliance's aid is a tool to keep me leashed like some common lizard. But it comes with economic growth and power that fuels the New Ascendancy further. I do not believe I will overtake their growth even when the entire species is reunited. And since your borders are further away than theirs, you will have added economic costs to any aid you give, with little gain on your end."
"They influence your culture. Your people."
"They do," Denali agreed. "You are a powerful nation as well. You would do the same with your own aid, yes? And you would call for us to destroy our traditions, our religions, and our very culture. We have seen your attempts at negotation with other powers nearer to you. You are an aspiring hegemon. But the Alliance's hegemony is already established. The Grand Defense Organization is something that I might even join, when I have the military might to meet their threshold."
"Why?"
"Because when power rises, others can latch on," Denali said. "Your offer, please. I am quite interested to hear it."
The Diplomat gave him a tablet. Denali brought it up with a hologram isolated from the network. His eyes began to shine.
"You should have led with this, Diplomat."
"Ah, but I needed to see the esteemed Ascendant's viewpoint on us. It is a shame that you must bow and scrape to the Alliance. How would you like to meet them on the field of battle?"
Denali chuckled. "I would like it very much, were they a normal nation. But they are taking planet crackers from King Siran and hauling them back to their space. They have a few of their own, not just stolen from the Wisselen."
"And they are pacifist."
"But not weak, Diplomat. All that means is they will not start the fight. But as we stand now, they will finish it. And a transfer of this many ships likely comes with enormous drawbacks and conditions."
"Then let us discuss those conditions, Ascendant. I am sure something more sufficient to your tastes can be selected."
"I am glad to hear that." Denali made a table hologram that was complete with hard light compatibility. Seating for the Misan, his guards, and Denali and his guards also appeared. The table was transparent.
"I will present my documents on this, and we can discuss in greater detail how you can divest from the Alliance without significant economic damage. There are certain facets we have identified which are key to your growth: military might, industrial capacity, and social cohesion."
Denali rubbed his teeth with his claws. Several cooks came in, bringing him food. The Misan Diplomat and his entourage refused, which was expected given the vast differences in their palettes.
"Those are indeed key parts of the Alliance's aid. Do you have an answer for me which is cheaper than the exports of the Alliance?"
"Yes. We can deliver 250 billion androids capable of continuous work for 20 years, each with a 96% likelihood of continued operation at the end of this period. We are willing to deliver these for you at once, though we would only request an escort of your ships alongside our own for added diplomatic security."
"A veritable army," Denali said.
"None of which will carry or operate weapons."
"We would need to verify that before shipping," Denali said. "As we would need to do for the price. The Alliance demands 1% of our current discretionary yearly foreign trade budget. How does your offer compare?"
"We would ask for a 30 year non-aggression agreement, and diplomatic outposts in your territory, as well as a possible defense pact, where we can defend you legally and militarily against Alliance encroachment."
"A large offer," Denali said. "Tell me, what is in it for you?"
"The Heptarchies wish to curtail the Alliance's growing influence by any means necessary, even if it means spending large amounts of money in the process. Having a monetary outflow is something the Heptarchies are happy to entertain, and we would be grateful for you to join us in this endeavor."
"And what of the risk of me playing both sides?"
"We can offer you high enough boons to ensure that does not occur."
So a bribe, then. A massive one. It was already enticing, but Denali sensed he could get more with better negotiations.
"You mentioned social cohesion and military might as well," Denali said. "Can you explain what you mean by this, and what aid you will send to address this?"
Now, the Diplomat looked more uncertain. It was an act, though a fairly convincing one. The pause lengthened.
"Ascendant Denali, surely you understand..."
"I understand you said 'any means necessary' for curtailing the Alliance. With an AI in their nation, such a thing will be expensive, yes? I'm sure that I need not remind you I will choose what is best for my nation overall. And if you cannot come through... I can always notify them of this offer to explore their ability to match it. Or, gods forbid, even exceed it."
"The trade agreement cannot encompass-"
"Then we have nothing more to discuss, Diplomat."
"Wait! Fine, we can discuss it! Just let us work out the new conditions. They're favorable to you, Ascendant. The Heptarchies value you as a potential customer-"
"I'm sure you do. You have four days to present an offer I appreciate more," Denali said, shoving the tablet back at the Diplomat. "Would you like me to procure food capable of Misan consumption?"
"That would be kind of you, Ascendant. We will accept that. And we will begin drafting a more suitable deal for both of our nations."
"Good!" Denali grinned, settling upon his chair with a new sense of pride in his posture.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Elder Pundacrawla settled his robe about his shoulders as he waited outside the room. In his implant, a small countdown reached zero. The silver doors slid open, and his eyes feasted on the room. It was quite ornate, but what really set it apart was the scene in the center. Elder Kashaunta sat on a short chair across a small table from the object of the entire star system's latest obsessions.
The bipedal alien sat in her own chair, which had an odd raised section to support her back. Her clothing was somewhat simple, with black and grey fabric covering her upper torso. He could tell the fabric was high quality—in fact, it was infused with psychic energy.
Her odd face looked a little smushed, and there was a faint red color to her pale skin and two bars of psychic energy thicker than he'd ever seen adorning her cheeks. She appeared unassuming, but her eyes latched onto him with an entrancing glare.
Her scrutiny waved over him, making Pundacrawla smile. Her gray hair fluttered, with a ring of fabric collecting it behind her head to rest on her back. Her fingers were short, without claws of any appreciable size. Her feet were hidden entirely by shoes; he could sense a thick armor.
In the mindscape, she roiled with collected psychic energy, like a promise of action for any slight. Her mind almost looked to have three minds in one, and iron bands of psychic energy encircled it from all sides, even above and below, preventing any quick avenue of mental attack. All in all, she was like an alien Elder when the conceptual energy came into account. She reminded Pundacrawla of an old friend, a secret he kept with Kashaunta that initially had been her leverage over him.
"It is an honor to meet you," Penny said. "You look as impressive as Kashaunta said."
There was no accent. The words flowed from her mouth smoothly, and Kashaunta showed no reaction to the omission of her title. That alone spoke volumes, and Pundacrawla knew he would be showing Penny more respect than most had the privilege to receive.
"I am happy to meet you as well, Penny Balica. Your accomplishments follow your name, and you are also quite impressive."
He settled on a third chair that appeared in front of him. He took a deep breath, his eyes falling on the pair of them.
"Elder Kashaunta has hired me to serve as your lawyer in the Judgment trial," Pundacrawla said. "This requires a great deal of risk to be taken on my part, which has also required that I received advancements."
He drew the word out, causing Penny to raise an eyebrow.
"Advancements?"
"Yes. I would like you to push the Soul Blade toward my left front leg."
Penny drew the sword, her fingers wrapping around the hilt easily. A grip of psychic energy materialized on her hands, and she carefully pressed the tip of it into the place he'd marked.
His skin was pierced. Penny frowned as her weapon went no further. Black blood spilled from the wound, which closed within moments.
"What?"
"These are Type 3 nanites," Pundacrawla said. Black limbs materialized on his back, a second set of arms. And then a third set. They withdrew quickly.
"They also happen to cost a considerable amount of money," Kashaunta said. "Which I have paid, thanks to the added funds your singularities have brought."
"I will tell you not to worry if I am killed in the courtroom. I already have a deal in place with the Collective to ensure, at considerable costs, that I will still survive in some form."
"And killing Pundacrawla is also a declaration of war on the Peoples' Autonomous Stars," Kashaunta added. "You do not stand alone."
"Indeed, I do not," Pundacrawla smiled. He bowed his head toward Penny. "If I may, I would like to start the discussion around the argument for this case."
His implant connected to several devices on his body, manifesting many holographic articles and stories around the room. Penny's 'Liberator' title was printed on half of them in the headline. In others, images and even videos of her in various situations took precedence.
Pundacrawla pulled up an image of Penny kneeling in the rubble of Justicar, holding a dead child. "This is the argument I will make for you."
Penny nodded, her silence confirming that this was the right decision.
"You will be the alien who came to a world named after the concept of justice, and an Elder who bears the same name. I will show how you care for many Sprilnav in your life, and also that you have little motivation to do so purely for the Judgment. I will show you as a loving daughter to a doting father, as a willing partner of Elder Kashaunta, bearer of the Pact of Blades, and as a woman capable of acting with wisdom and grace beyond her years to work with an enemy to sign a truce contract.
I will paint you in as sympathetic a light as possible and will eventually call you as a witness several times. You will need to swear upon your life that you are not lying, and Indrafabar and Justicar will both be capable of detecting your lies, total or partial. If you want to win this case, you will follow my advice without hesitation and without question. Do you understand?"
"I do, Lawyer Pundacrawla."
"You may call me High Lawyer Pundacrawla, or Elder Pundacrawla. With an Eonic degree, I am deserving of this title, and it will remind them of who backs you and who I am."
"I understand."
Pundacrawla took a long moment to organize his thoughts. He removed unnecessary jargon that might be untranslatable. He had the VI program rephrase and dumb down the explanations he needed to say so they would be shorter and easier to understand. Understanding was critical for the early phases of any case, and the client always needed to be ready for what came.
That was Rule 53.
"Now for the second half of the Judgment. The Alliance. They have published a great deal of rhetoric condemning the Sprilnav and the Elders. Yasihaut will first attempt slander using the usual methods. Your species, your barbarity, your lack of being Elders. She will find images of people on social media platforms calling for the deaths of the Sprilnav en mass.
If she desires, she will flood them with this, as the Alliance's population allows for many instances to be located. She may call to past Elders' deaths or to the previous battles with herself and Kashaunta in the earlier history of your nation. But the most likely platform she will use to pose the Alliance as a threat will be the presence of Phoebe, Edu'frec, Brey, and the hivemind of Humanity. The reasons for this are many. I will list several now, with ideal ways to counter them also attached.
Given Yasihaut's personality, she feels that you and the Alliance's continual success is a direct and constant threat to her reputation as an Elder. When you first shamed her, this is what ignited her hatred. Kashaunta has regaled you more on what reputation means to us immortals, but it is a severe concern. Do not underestimate her willingness to regain her reputation and to do so by attempting to defeat you in a public matter.
Here, your physical advantages will be nullified. If you speak out of turn or show signs of resistance, they will be twisted against you and the Alliance. The next reason is that your specific rivalry is personal. It is unique, and the High Judges know this. You are a threat to her, and everyone in that court knows you mean to kill her when the Judgment ends. Do not express your wishes to do this because she may present your threat to her as one to Elders overall. Now, for the Alliance, the fear of AI, unregulated, intelligent, and improving, as Phoebe and Edu'frec both qualify as, is ancient and potent among the Elders.
Across all of history, rogue AI presents the largest threat to our rule, making weapons capable of disabling our ships with merely thousands of years of time to advance. The Alliance has been given leniency on this. But most importantly is the Path. For an AI, approaching technological singularity is a threat to all other beings in existence by the sheer possibilities that it provides. Yasihaut knows this, as do the High Judges. I will aim to prove that Phoebe and Edu'frec do not intend to kill the Elders or go to war with them when they reach singularity.
But this, Penny, will require that Phoebe comes to the stand herself and swears before the court. The Collective will be connected to her and will be capable of detecting the lies in all forms she attempts to tell. This is likely the only way to defeat the arguments Yasihaut presents in that manner. While Phoebe is not allowed to represent you as a lawyer, she is still allowed to be a witness, presumably for exactly this reason. The Collective will also use this as a means to determine Phoebe's progress in weaponry, so I suggest she finds a way to hide those memories well. The next reason Yasihaut will involve the Alliance is because it is visibly divided.
Your leaders bicker and argue, and she will attempt to use this to show you as an unstable power with dangerous ambition. She will use the clashes between your leaders as a way to convince the High Judges that you cannot be trusted, as your lifespans are too short and your minds too alien to remain trustworthy and united in their support of any sort of treaty. She will likely use this to bypass the reality of your truce with Valisada, which the Alliance is not a direct party to. She will discuss the specific threat of Brey in the Alliance. Her ability to use portals makes your nation over fifty times as productive as it would otherwise be.
This makes you an economic threat, coupled with Phoebe. Brey has a historical hatred of the Sprilnav, which also motivates possible military attacks against us. She is also being directly strengthened by the Alliance's psychic amplifiers. I will attempt to stave off this argument by downplaying the threat Brey poses and showing the reality that a Progenitor could kill her instantly.
I am not expecting any specific arguments in this scenario to be effective against the High Judges. This will be a difficult point if Yasihaut exploits it properly. As for the hivemind of Humanity, your threat comes in multiple forms. Firstly, we can confirm you share some power with the hivemind. So if you grow strong, it too will grow strong, and it bends to the will of Humanity as a whole. Polls show that you all, to put it lightly, hate us.
The hivemind also has a direct diplomatic link to the Source and easy access to it via the Servant in the hivemind's city and the city's location itself amidst the Source's bones. Remember that many of us still call the Source the Great Enemy and the Servants the Enemy. Yasihaut will likely attempt to use Rimiaha's presence here to link you as well to the image of the Source, if not the hivemind. If she does this successfully, you will lose the case.
The hatred we have for the Servants is almost bottomless and is only exceeded by that of the Source. Kashaunta has told me that there have been over 30 thousand attempts to kill Rimiaha since he got here, most psychic in nature. All of them have failed due to the intervention of either Justicar, Kashaunta herself, or Rimiaha using his psychic energy to blend in with Sprilnav. Behind the scenes, Kashaunta has destroyed entire mercenary companies in the Underground for this and made deals with Justicar to suppress any mention of this to avoid stirring the fires of war. I will do whatever I can to distance you from Rimiaha.
But if this fails, you must call him to the stand. Make him testify of his lack of willingness to attack the Sprilnav. Indrafabar may request that his mind be invaded to determine the truth about this. If the Source intervenes in that case or Rimiaha refuses, you will also lose the trial. This is the most dangerous idea that Yasihaut could bring against you, which links back to Humanity and you, Penny.
Another reason she has is that if she can push the Judges enough on the Alliance to either level more restrictions or kill the AIs, you will be crippled beyond recovery and will fade into nothingness for her to kill at her leisure. In short, most of this trial hinges on circumstances and testimonies given by witnesses. This is another reason Indrafabar is on the case. He can detect lies in almost any being if he uses his power. And if you resist, which you might be capable of, but..."
"I lose."
"Exactly. This is not a place of honor. This is not a court like before. Arguments will be heard, debated, and either accepted and recorded or discarded and ignored. I will do my best to use Justicar's law principles like recency to your favor, but history is littered with petty Judges making decisions on cases related to how much a threat people are. Not to this level, of course, but there is luckily precendent to lean on in both types of outcomes."
"Pundacrawla, I thank you for your high-level overview. Shall I assume the legal jargon was left out of your description?"
"Yes," he said. "I was uncertain if some words would translate."
"What are my realistic chances for winning this trial?"
Pundacrawla sighed. He didn't want to see her hope shatter, but he refused to lie. Kashaunta seemed fine with him sitting here and talking about things truthfully. If she wasn't, she would have requested a different lawyer.
"In the worst case scenario, which is Indrafabar and Justicar dislike you, and Yasihaut has a lawyer with an Eonic degree of their own, then I would say about 9%."
"That is quite high, actually, for a worst case scenario."
"That is only because this is a Trial by Majority, Kashaunta's backing and all that implies, your friendships with Nilnacrawla, Spentha and Equisa's continued survival within the Alliance, the various political motivations the Judges might have, the fact that you have built up your image, that you have refrained from killing your enemies recently, and the extreme nature of Yasihaut's hatred for you.
Your attack on Tassidonia's court normally would have been the death knell for you. But since your power didn't kill anyone and specifically was weakened to avoid that, it has been a boon more than a curse. And the Sprilnav with bleeding hearts also are pleased with your war on slavery. You will lose that war without Kashuanta's help, but your determination on that is seen as an endearing characteristic."
"Endearing?"
"The Elders think of you as a child, Penny," Kashaunta said. "Your fight against slavery is seen as a childish fantasy, but in a good way. If you wish, Pundacrawla can lean into either your maturity or immaturity on this case. Both may achieve the desired effect, if done right."
"I am not sure about that. Who will watch this trial, and how many?"
"Cast away your ego, Penny, it will not serve you here," Pundacrawla said.
"I'm 76 years old. I can handle this."
"I don't think-"
"200 quintillion," Kashaunta blurted out. Penny flinched.
"What?"
"That is the number of watchers on the channels that have reserved timeslots for the trial among Sprilnav territory."
"And... Elders?"
"35 million, likely including all the Elders with names of any note," Kashaunta said. Pundacrawla gave a worried look to Penny. But the human just took a deep breath and nodded.
"Thank you for telling me. That is manageable."
"You're quite composed about this," Pundacrawla noted.
"I can conceptualize the enormity of that, but also this is a pretty big deal. And if I prove that I am fighting for the common people, it will achieve-"
"Nothing," Kashaunta said. "They cannot rebel on a large enough scale to risk toppling the Elders. If there is one aspect of our system that has survived the rot of a billion years of decay, it is the ability to divide and conquer. This is not an opportunity to get a manifesto out. I warn you against treating it as such."
At first, Penny looked wary of accepting the Elder's advice. She seemed to contemplate that matter, though she was really talking with her adoptive father. But instead of arguing, she simply smiled.
"I understand, Kashaunta. Thank you. I was getting a little sidetracked. All that matters is winning."
"So is there anything I can do to increase my chances?" Penny asked Pundacrawla.
"Outreach. Keep fighting the slavers, and maybe do a few interviews. Make sure to express a lack of hostility toward the Sprilnav people. And be wary of the gangs. When you are in the trial, they may seek revenge upon the freed slaves, or upon you yourself. I would not be surprised if they did their best to conduct false flag attacks under your name. In high-profile trials like this with many enemies, that risk is high. The gangs have high numbers of personnel and a motivation to see you lose this trial before you destroy them."
"I see. Thank you, High Lawyer Pundacrawla," Penny said, lowering her head in an approximation of a bow. Kashaunta nodded but didn't say anything. Penny took another breath in, and Pundacrawla could feel the air currents entering her nostrils.
"Can you explain exactly how a Trial by Majority would work versus the previous sort of Judgment?"
"Previously, the Judges, led by a High Judge, had to agree on a verdict. In that case, they failed. This structure is more flexible, however. All the Judges on the court, or the High Judges in this case, may voice their opinions behind closed doors and attempt to come to a verdict. They will emerge when the agreed-upon time period has passed, and their decisions will be made public.
If one Judge disagrees, there will not be a mistrial. Instead, the verdict with the most Judges behind it, ideally the majority opinion, will be the one chosen. This Judgement will have 20 High Judges. The final verdict, if none can reach the required 11 Judges to pass, will simply be held once all remaining evidence is heard or discarded."
"Held?"
"The High Judges will be required to resolve the dispute. If there are three or more options, the one or multiple with the fewest High Judges backing it will be discarded, until a runoff occurs. The result will then determine the verdict given."
"Can I be acquitted of the charges if that is the majority opinion?"
"Yes, you can. So can the Alliance. The structure of this Judgment is such that Indrafabar and Justicar will counterbalance each other."
"Can't Indrafabar just offer them money to do what he wants?"
"If he wants to lose his licence, severely harm his reputation, and destroy the careers of the High Judges being bribed, sure. While obviously Justicar will not have the power to truly punish him, the consequences would be severe, to say nothing of the other Progenitors. Given the factions present within them, it would be quite unwise for him to influence the case in such a manner. That influence would not be accepted by all."
"What if Yasihaut makes them an offer they can't refuse, or tries to make it look like Kashaunta did to get me in trouble?"
"I have taken steps to prevent that second outcome," Kashaunta said. "As for the first, my spies within Yasihaut's groups will alert me of it, and Justicar will know."
"But if he is a High Judge, wouldn't that be a conflict of interest?"
"His institutions function properly even without his intervention," Kashaunta replied. "There is little risk of that on his part."
"Hmm. Kashaunta, should I hide the Pact of Blades until the trial?"
"Yes. Its shock value will be maximum at that point."
"Elder Pundacrawla, are the rules on decorum the same as before?"
"Yes, but this time there will be proper enforcement. With the galaxy's eyes on him, Justicar will have no choice but to be firm in this trial. He will not be lenient to either of you, and might punish you more for infractions given that you are not a Sprilnav. It is unfair, but it is in his best interest to please the Elders who will be viewing this trial."
"Kashaunta, is there a way I can help you with the politics around this trial?" Penny asked. "I know if the event is this big, there is a lot for you to do, either to gain or to lose."
"A thoughtful offer. I might require one more linear singularity, and to finally get a piece of that negative energy you promised me. If you could tune your rhetoric toward peace with the Elders, it would help my position massively. The Alliance has already started scrubbing anti-Sprilnav rhetoric from its networks after I discussed the damage they could do, so what remains is your opinions. After the Judgment, more eyes will be on you than before. Declare your continued anti-slavery position, and I will have an easier time helping you with less damage to my reputation due to the revealed Pact of Blades."
"Do you also have an entourage of Elders to back you through thick and thin?" Penny asked. Pundacrawla smiled, glad that she was concerned about helping Elder Kashaunta.
She didn't know it, but now Pundacrawla was fully resolved to help her case. He'd been properly convinced that she really did care for her friends. In this case, while she likely was conflicted about it, Kashaunta was her friend. Given the Pact of Blades was in place between them, they were lifelong friends, close enough to be effectively married.
The political meaning of the Pact was certainly closer to that side of it since its most common use was to unify powerful Elder families. Kashaunta didn't have a family name, but that was because her name already carried so much weight everyone knew who was related to her. Pundacrawla gave Kashaunta a list of additional actions Phoebe needed to take using his implant. Kashaunta's eyes sparkled with recognition, though Penny didn't seem to notice.
"I do," Kashaunta said. "They all work for me. Most of them I acquired through either mud diving or through owed favors, though."
"Mud diving?" Penny asked.
"It is a term for doing one's utmost to please a superior for personal benefit, even if the 'please' section is derived from an unfortunate root meaning."
"I see. Elder Pundacrawla, can you get me something I can use for personal communication to you and Kashaunta, like an implant but less invasive?"
"Yes, I can do that," he responded.
"And also, one more thing before we go. Displace."
Penny appeared right in front of him, crouching down so her eyes aligned perfectly with his. They crackled with psychic energy, but beneath them lay a guarded desperation that he recognized from many of his more unfortunate past clients.
"I will not threaten you right now. But I need you to understand what is at stake for me. My friends. My family. My species. My nation. Over 200 billion living, breathing souls with lives and dreams they struggle every day to inch closer to. My titles, Champion of Humanity and Liberator, do not describe what I am but who I am. My world, my people. My home. Everything I have ever known and everything I have ever loved is at stake. Maybe you know what that is like. Maybe you don't.
Either way, please, I beg you to do your best to save us. I'm relying on you to be my hero, Pundacrawla. You can do this, and you must, or I will die for nothing. You will live with the consequences of this Judgment for the rest of your life. I hope you are everything Kashaunta claims you to be and more.
Hundreds of billions of people are counting on you. Look me in the eyes, Pundacrawla. Take in my alien face and my alien features. Know the creature standing here, and tell her you will do everything you can to save her and her people. And if it comes down to choosing to save me or the Alliance, save the Alliance."
Pundacrawla let out a breath. The hot air flowed across Penny's face, moving alien hair strands to the side. He looked into her eyes, peering into the reflection of three beings inside of her.
"Penny Balica. Champion of Humanity. Liberator. Human. I, Pundacrawla, High Lawyer, Elder, and Sprilnav, promise you, with all of my heart, all of my mind, and all of my soul, that I will do my best to win this Judgment for you and your kin. My actions will speak even louder than my words to you."
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Ascendant Denali swept his tail across the floor. "Greetings. The New Ascendancy welcomes you and your kin, Diplomat Sommi."
The Misan creature did its equivalent of a bow, honoring him in his palace as was proper. He had been starved of respect from his surrounding powers lately and would feast upon this memory like a fine cut.
"The Misan Li Heptarchies receive your warm greetings, Ascendant Denali. We offer official congratulations on your ascent to the Trikkec throne, and the continued unification of your people. We are glad that you are regaining your prosperity, and offer additional aid to that end."
It was the perfect language of the High Dialect, with almost no imperfections on the translator's part. An expertly trained device, for sure, given the vast cavern between their respective languages. He had a translator as well working to ensure that the Diplomat heard his words correctly, and that he would know how their language distorted them to prevent any unfortunate misunderstandings.
Such things could be disastrous with certain civilizations, and Denali saw no need to make true enemies. He was strong enough to project power inside the New Ascendancy but nowhere near so outside of it. Pirates and raiders still festered upon the upper borders, and the lower borders were contested by a few minor lords who had survived the collapse of the Ascendancy. He was currently bombarding their planetary shields with asteroids and lasers.
"Aid of what sort, and with what stipulations?" Denali asked, waving an economic advisor over with a stray claw.
"Military and economic."
"Stipulations?"
"You close all business with the Alliance."
"Ah."
Denali stepped off his throne. "Diplomat, I can assume you know how valuable that relationship is to the Ascendancy? I assume you already have a plan to replace them with something better. If your plan is ready, I will have my advisors review it. If not, no further discussions are to take place."
"Do you accept their power over you, Ascendant?"
"In this galaxy, it does not matter what we accept. If a Sprilnav comes barging into your house and takes your mate in front of you, there is nothing you can do. If one of the Core Powers manages to reach us, they can do the same. There are the laws of nations, and there are those of power. The Alliance's aid, even as its darker purposes twist it, has saved millions of lives. Children eating. Families working. They have the might of two AIs behind them."
"They are far too young of a nation for you to realistically believe their abilities are this high."
"Many have made that mistake," Denali said. "They are an older nation than mine, certainly. Would you say that my nation's abilities are lower?"
"I would not."
"Then you tell lies. I am not some foolish monarch who cannot see the reality in front of him. The Alliance's aid is a tool to keep me leashed like some common lizard. But it comes with economic growth and power that fuels the New Ascendancy further. I do not believe I will overtake their growth even when the entire species is reunited. And since your borders are further away than theirs, you will have added economic costs to any aid you give, with little gain on your end."
"They influence your culture. Your people."
"They do," Denali agreed. "You are a powerful nation as well. You would do the same with your own aid, yes? And you would call for us to destroy our traditions, our religions, and our very culture. We have seen your attempts at negotation with other powers nearer to you. You are an aspiring hegemon. But the Alliance's hegemony is already established. The Grand Defense Organization is something that I might even join, when I have the military might to meet their threshold."
"Why?"
"Because when power rises, others can latch on," Denali said. "Your offer, please. I am quite interested to hear it."
The Diplomat gave him a tablet. Denali brought it up with a hologram isolated from the network. His eyes began to shine.
"You should have led with this, Diplomat."
"Ah, but I needed to see the esteemed Ascendant's viewpoint on us. It is a shame that you must bow and scrape to the Alliance. How would you like to meet them on the field of battle?"
Denali chuckled. "I would like it very much, were they a normal nation. But they are taking planet crackers from King Siran and hauling them back to their space. They have a few of their own, not just stolen from the Wisselen."
"And they are pacifist."
"But not weak, Diplomat. All that means is they will not start the fight. But as we stand now, they will finish it. And a transfer of this many ships likely comes with enormous drawbacks and conditions."
"Then let us discuss those conditions, Ascendant. I am sure something more sufficient to your tastes can be selected."
"I am glad to hear that." Denali made a table hologram that was complete with hard light compatibility. Seating for the Misan, his guards, and Denali and his guards also appeared. The table was transparent.
"I will present my documents on this, and we can discuss in greater detail how you can divest from the Alliance without significant economic damage. There are certain facets we have identified which are key to your growth: military might, industrial capacity, and social cohesion."
Denali rubbed his teeth with his claws. Several cooks came in, bringing him food. The Misan Diplomat and his entourage refused, which was expected given the vast differences in their palettes.
"Those are indeed key parts of the Alliance's aid. Do you have an answer for me which is cheaper than the exports of the Alliance?"
"Yes. We can deliver 250 billion androids capable of continuous work for 20 years, each with a 96% likelihood of continued operation at the end of this period. We are willing to deliver these for you at once, though we would only request an escort of your ships alongside our own for added diplomatic security."
"A veritable army," Denali said.
"None of which will carry or operate weapons."
"We would need to verify that before shipping," Denali said. "As we would need to do for the price. The Alliance demands 1% of our current discretionary yearly foreign trade budget. How does your offer compare?"
"We would ask for a 30 year non-aggression agreement, and diplomatic outposts in your territory, as well as a possible defense pact, where we can defend you legally and militarily against Alliance encroachment."
"A large offer," Denali said. "Tell me, what is in it for you?"
"The Heptarchies wish to curtail the Alliance's growing influence by any means necessary, even if it means spending large amounts of money in the process. Having a monetary outflow is something the Heptarchies are happy to entertain, and we would be grateful for you to join us in this endeavor."
"And what of the risk of me playing both sides?"
"We can offer you high enough boons to ensure that does not occur."
So a bribe, then. A massive one. It was already enticing, but Denali sensed he could get more with better negotiations.
"You mentioned social cohesion and military might as well," Denali said. "Can you explain what you mean by this, and what aid you will send to address this?"
Now, the Diplomat looked more uncertain. It was an act, though a fairly convincing one. The pause lengthened.
"Ascendant Denali, surely you understand..."
"I understand you said 'any means necessary' for curtailing the Alliance. With an AI in their nation, such a thing will be expensive, yes? I'm sure that I need not remind you I will choose what is best for my nation overall. And if you cannot come through... I can always notify them of this offer to explore their ability to match it. Or, gods forbid, even exceed it."
"The trade agreement cannot encompass-"
"Then we have nothing more to discuss, Diplomat."
"Wait! Fine, we can discuss it! Just let us work out the new conditions. They're favorable to you, Ascendant. The Heptarchies value you as a potential customer-"
"I'm sure you do. You have four days to present an offer I appreciate more," Denali said, shoving the tablet back at the Diplomat. "Would you like me to procure food capable of Misan consumption?"
"That would be kind of you, Ascendant. We will accept that. And we will begin drafting a more suitable deal for both of our nations."
"Good!" Denali grinned, settling upon his chair with a new sense of pride in his posture.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Elder Pundacrawla settled his robe about his shoulders as he waited outside the room. In his implant, a small countdown reached zero. The silver doors slid open, and his eyes feasted on the room. It was quite ornate, but what really set it apart was the scene in the center. Elder Kashaunta sat on a short chair across a small table from the object of the entire star system's latest obsessions.
The bipedal alien sat in her own chair, which had an odd raised section to support her back. Her clothing was somewhat simple, with black and grey fabric covering her upper torso. He could tell the fabric was high quality—in fact, it was infused with psychic energy.
Her odd face looked a little smushed, and there was a faint red color to her pale skin and two bars of psychic energy thicker than he'd ever seen adorning her cheeks. She appeared unassuming, but her eyes latched onto him with an entrancing glare.
Her scrutiny waved over him, making Pundacrawla smile. Her gray hair fluttered, with a ring of fabric collecting it behind her head to rest on her back. Her fingers were short, without claws of any appreciable size. Her feet were hidden entirely by shoes; he could sense a thick armor.
In the mindscape, she roiled with collected psychic energy, like a promise of action for any slight. Her mind almost looked to have three minds in one, and iron bands of psychic energy encircled it from all sides, even above and below, preventing any quick avenue of mental attack. All in all, she was like an alien Elder when the conceptual energy came into account. She reminded Pundacrawla of an old friend, a secret he kept with Kashaunta that initially had been her leverage over him.
"It is an honor to meet you," Penny said. "You look as impressive as Kashaunta said."
There was no accent. The words flowed from her mouth smoothly, and Kashaunta showed no reaction to the omission of her title. That alone spoke volumes, and Pundacrawla knew he would be showing Penny more respect than most had the privilege to receive.
"I am happy to meet you as well, Penny Balica. Your accomplishments follow your name, and you are also quite impressive."
He settled on a third chair that appeared in front of him. He took a deep breath, his eyes falling on the pair of them.
"Elder Kashaunta has hired me to serve as your lawyer in the Judgment trial," Pundacrawla said. "This requires a great deal of risk to be taken on my part, which has also required that I received advancements."
He drew the word out, causing Penny to raise an eyebrow.
"Advancements?"
"Yes. I would like you to push the Soul Blade toward my left front leg."
Penny drew the sword, her fingers wrapping around the hilt easily. A grip of psychic energy materialized on her hands, and she carefully pressed the tip of it into the place he'd marked.
His skin was pierced. Penny frowned as her weapon went no further. Black blood spilled from the wound, which closed within moments.
"What?"
"These are Type 3 nanites," Pundacrawla said. Black limbs materialized on his back, a second set of arms. And then a third set. They withdrew quickly.
"They also happen to cost a considerable amount of money," Kashaunta said. "Which I have paid, thanks to the added funds your singularities have brought."
"I will tell you not to worry if I am killed in the courtroom. I already have a deal in place with the Collective to ensure, at considerable costs, that I will still survive in some form."
"And killing Pundacrawla is also a declaration of war on the Peoples' Autonomous Stars," Kashaunta added. "You do not stand alone."
"Indeed, I do not," Pundacrawla smiled. He bowed his head toward Penny. "If I may, I would like to start the discussion around the argument for this case."
His implant connected to several devices on his body, manifesting many holographic articles and stories around the room. Penny's 'Liberator' title was printed on half of them in the headline. In others, images and even videos of her in various situations took precedence.
Pundacrawla pulled up an image of Penny kneeling in the rubble of Justicar, holding a dead child. "This is the argument I will make for you."
Penny nodded, her silence confirming that this was the right decision.
"You will be the alien who came to a world named after the concept of justice, and an Elder who bears the same name. I will show how you care for many Sprilnav in your life, and also that you have little motivation to do so purely for the Judgment. I will show you as a loving daughter to a doting father, as a willing partner of Elder Kashaunta, bearer of the Pact of Blades, and as a woman capable of acting with wisdom and grace beyond her years to work with an enemy to sign a truce contract.
I will paint you in as sympathetic a light as possible and will eventually call you as a witness several times. You will need to swear upon your life that you are not lying, and Indrafabar and Justicar will both be capable of detecting your lies, total or partial. If you want to win this case, you will follow my advice without hesitation and without question. Do you understand?"
"I do, Lawyer Pundacrawla."
"You may call me High Lawyer Pundacrawla, or Elder Pundacrawla. With an Eonic degree, I am deserving of this title, and it will remind them of who backs you and who I am."
"I understand."
Pundacrawla took a long moment to organize his thoughts. He removed unnecessary jargon that might be untranslatable. He had the VI program rephrase and dumb down the explanations he needed to say so they would be shorter and easier to understand. Understanding was critical for the early phases of any case, and the client always needed to be ready for what came.
That was Rule 53.
"Now for the second half of the Judgment. The Alliance. They have published a great deal of rhetoric condemning the Sprilnav and the Elders. Yasihaut will first attempt slander using the usual methods. Your species, your barbarity, your lack of being Elders. She will find images of people on social media platforms calling for the deaths of the Sprilnav en mass.
If she desires, she will flood them with this, as the Alliance's population allows for many instances to be located. She may call to past Elders' deaths or to the previous battles with herself and Kashaunta in the earlier history of your nation. But the most likely platform she will use to pose the Alliance as a threat will be the presence of Phoebe, Edu'frec, Brey, and the hivemind of Humanity. The reasons for this are many. I will list several now, with ideal ways to counter them also attached.
Given Yasihaut's personality, she feels that you and the Alliance's continual success is a direct and constant threat to her reputation as an Elder. When you first shamed her, this is what ignited her hatred. Kashaunta has regaled you more on what reputation means to us immortals, but it is a severe concern. Do not underestimate her willingness to regain her reputation and to do so by attempting to defeat you in a public matter.
Here, your physical advantages will be nullified. If you speak out of turn or show signs of resistance, they will be twisted against you and the Alliance. The next reason is that your specific rivalry is personal. It is unique, and the High Judges know this. You are a threat to her, and everyone in that court knows you mean to kill her when the Judgment ends. Do not express your wishes to do this because she may present your threat to her as one to Elders overall. Now, for the Alliance, the fear of AI, unregulated, intelligent, and improving, as Phoebe and Edu'frec both qualify as, is ancient and potent among the Elders.
Across all of history, rogue AI presents the largest threat to our rule, making weapons capable of disabling our ships with merely thousands of years of time to advance. The Alliance has been given leniency on this. But most importantly is the Path. For an AI, approaching technological singularity is a threat to all other beings in existence by the sheer possibilities that it provides. Yasihaut knows this, as do the High Judges. I will aim to prove that Phoebe and Edu'frec do not intend to kill the Elders or go to war with them when they reach singularity.
But this, Penny, will require that Phoebe comes to the stand herself and swears before the court. The Collective will be connected to her and will be capable of detecting the lies in all forms she attempts to tell. This is likely the only way to defeat the arguments Yasihaut presents in that manner. While Phoebe is not allowed to represent you as a lawyer, she is still allowed to be a witness, presumably for exactly this reason. The Collective will also use this as a means to determine Phoebe's progress in weaponry, so I suggest she finds a way to hide those memories well. The next reason Yasihaut will involve the Alliance is because it is visibly divided.
Your leaders bicker and argue, and she will attempt to use this to show you as an unstable power with dangerous ambition. She will use the clashes between your leaders as a way to convince the High Judges that you cannot be trusted, as your lifespans are too short and your minds too alien to remain trustworthy and united in their support of any sort of treaty. She will likely use this to bypass the reality of your truce with Valisada, which the Alliance is not a direct party to. She will discuss the specific threat of Brey in the Alliance. Her ability to use portals makes your nation over fifty times as productive as it would otherwise be.
This makes you an economic threat, coupled with Phoebe. Brey has a historical hatred of the Sprilnav, which also motivates possible military attacks against us. She is also being directly strengthened by the Alliance's psychic amplifiers. I will attempt to stave off this argument by downplaying the threat Brey poses and showing the reality that a Progenitor could kill her instantly.
I am not expecting any specific arguments in this scenario to be effective against the High Judges. This will be a difficult point if Yasihaut exploits it properly. As for the hivemind of Humanity, your threat comes in multiple forms. Firstly, we can confirm you share some power with the hivemind. So if you grow strong, it too will grow strong, and it bends to the will of Humanity as a whole. Polls show that you all, to put it lightly, hate us.
The hivemind also has a direct diplomatic link to the Source and easy access to it via the Servant in the hivemind's city and the city's location itself amidst the Source's bones. Remember that many of us still call the Source the Great Enemy and the Servants the Enemy. Yasihaut will likely attempt to use Rimiaha's presence here to link you as well to the image of the Source, if not the hivemind. If she does this successfully, you will lose the case.
The hatred we have for the Servants is almost bottomless and is only exceeded by that of the Source. Kashaunta has told me that there have been over 30 thousand attempts to kill Rimiaha since he got here, most psychic in nature. All of them have failed due to the intervention of either Justicar, Kashaunta herself, or Rimiaha using his psychic energy to blend in with Sprilnav. Behind the scenes, Kashaunta has destroyed entire mercenary companies in the Underground for this and made deals with Justicar to suppress any mention of this to avoid stirring the fires of war. I will do whatever I can to distance you from Rimiaha.
But if this fails, you must call him to the stand. Make him testify of his lack of willingness to attack the Sprilnav. Indrafabar may request that his mind be invaded to determine the truth about this. If the Source intervenes in that case or Rimiaha refuses, you will also lose the trial. This is the most dangerous idea that Yasihaut could bring against you, which links back to Humanity and you, Penny.
Another reason she has is that if she can push the Judges enough on the Alliance to either level more restrictions or kill the AIs, you will be crippled beyond recovery and will fade into nothingness for her to kill at her leisure. In short, most of this trial hinges on circumstances and testimonies given by witnesses. This is another reason Indrafabar is on the case. He can detect lies in almost any being if he uses his power. And if you resist, which you might be capable of, but..."
"I lose."
"Exactly. This is not a place of honor. This is not a court like before. Arguments will be heard, debated, and either accepted and recorded or discarded and ignored. I will do my best to use Justicar's law principles like recency to your favor, but history is littered with petty Judges making decisions on cases related to how much a threat people are. Not to this level, of course, but there is luckily precendent to lean on in both types of outcomes."
"Pundacrawla, I thank you for your high-level overview. Shall I assume the legal jargon was left out of your description?"
"Yes," he said. "I was uncertain if some words would translate."
"What are my realistic chances for winning this trial?"
Pundacrawla sighed. He didn't want to see her hope shatter, but he refused to lie. Kashaunta seemed fine with him sitting here and talking about things truthfully. If she wasn't, she would have requested a different lawyer.
"In the worst case scenario, which is Indrafabar and Justicar dislike you, and Yasihaut has a lawyer with an Eonic degree of their own, then I would say about 9%."
"That is quite high, actually, for a worst case scenario."
"That is only because this is a Trial by Majority, Kashaunta's backing and all that implies, your friendships with Nilnacrawla, Spentha and Equisa's continued survival within the Alliance, the various political motivations the Judges might have, the fact that you have built up your image, that you have refrained from killing your enemies recently, and the extreme nature of Yasihaut's hatred for you.
Your attack on Tassidonia's court normally would have been the death knell for you. But since your power didn't kill anyone and specifically was weakened to avoid that, it has been a boon more than a curse. And the Sprilnav with bleeding hearts also are pleased with your war on slavery. You will lose that war without Kashuanta's help, but your determination on that is seen as an endearing characteristic."
"Endearing?"
"The Elders think of you as a child, Penny," Kashaunta said. "Your fight against slavery is seen as a childish fantasy, but in a good way. If you wish, Pundacrawla can lean into either your maturity or immaturity on this case. Both may achieve the desired effect, if done right."
"I am not sure about that. Who will watch this trial, and how many?"
"Cast away your ego, Penny, it will not serve you here," Pundacrawla said.
"I'm 76 years old. I can handle this."
"I don't think-"
"200 quintillion," Kashaunta blurted out. Penny flinched.
"What?"
"That is the number of watchers on the channels that have reserved timeslots for the trial among Sprilnav territory."
"And... Elders?"
"35 million, likely including all the Elders with names of any note," Kashaunta said. Pundacrawla gave a worried look to Penny. But the human just took a deep breath and nodded.
"Thank you for telling me. That is manageable."
"You're quite composed about this," Pundacrawla noted.
"I can conceptualize the enormity of that, but also this is a pretty big deal. And if I prove that I am fighting for the common people, it will achieve-"
"Nothing," Kashaunta said. "They cannot rebel on a large enough scale to risk toppling the Elders. If there is one aspect of our system that has survived the rot of a billion years of decay, it is the ability to divide and conquer. This is not an opportunity to get a manifesto out. I warn you against treating it as such."
At first, Penny looked wary of accepting the Elder's advice. She seemed to contemplate that matter, though she was really talking with her adoptive father. But instead of arguing, she simply smiled.
"I understand, Kashaunta. Thank you. I was getting a little sidetracked. All that matters is winning."
"So is there anything I can do to increase my chances?" Penny asked Pundacrawla.
"Outreach. Keep fighting the slavers, and maybe do a few interviews. Make sure to express a lack of hostility toward the Sprilnav people. And be wary of the gangs. When you are in the trial, they may seek revenge upon the freed slaves, or upon you yourself. I would not be surprised if they did their best to conduct false flag attacks under your name. In high-profile trials like this with many enemies, that risk is high. The gangs have high numbers of personnel and a motivation to see you lose this trial before you destroy them."
"I see. Thank you, High Lawyer Pundacrawla," Penny said, lowering her head in an approximation of a bow. Kashaunta nodded but didn't say anything. Penny took another breath in, and Pundacrawla could feel the air currents entering her nostrils.
"Can you explain exactly how a Trial by Majority would work versus the previous sort of Judgment?"
"Previously, the Judges, led by a High Judge, had to agree on a verdict. In that case, they failed. This structure is more flexible, however. All the Judges on the court, or the High Judges in this case, may voice their opinions behind closed doors and attempt to come to a verdict. They will emerge when the agreed-upon time period has passed, and their decisions will be made public.
If one Judge disagrees, there will not be a mistrial. Instead, the verdict with the most Judges behind it, ideally the majority opinion, will be the one chosen. This Judgement will have 20 High Judges. The final verdict, if none can reach the required 11 Judges to pass, will simply be held once all remaining evidence is heard or discarded."
"Held?"
"The High Judges will be required to resolve the dispute. If there are three or more options, the one or multiple with the fewest High Judges backing it will be discarded, until a runoff occurs. The result will then determine the verdict given."
"Can I be acquitted of the charges if that is the majority opinion?"
"Yes, you can. So can the Alliance. The structure of this Judgment is such that Indrafabar and Justicar will counterbalance each other."
"Can't Indrafabar just offer them money to do what he wants?"
"If he wants to lose his licence, severely harm his reputation, and destroy the careers of the High Judges being bribed, sure. While obviously Justicar will not have the power to truly punish him, the consequences would be severe, to say nothing of the other Progenitors. Given the factions present within them, it would be quite unwise for him to influence the case in such a manner. That influence would not be accepted by all."
"What if Yasihaut makes them an offer they can't refuse, or tries to make it look like Kashaunta did to get me in trouble?"
"I have taken steps to prevent that second outcome," Kashaunta said. "As for the first, my spies within Yasihaut's groups will alert me of it, and Justicar will know."
"But if he is a High Judge, wouldn't that be a conflict of interest?"
"His institutions function properly even without his intervention," Kashaunta replied. "There is little risk of that on his part."
"Hmm. Kashaunta, should I hide the Pact of Blades until the trial?"
"Yes. Its shock value will be maximum at that point."
"Elder Pundacrawla, are the rules on decorum the same as before?"
"Yes, but this time there will be proper enforcement. With the galaxy's eyes on him, Justicar will have no choice but to be firm in this trial. He will not be lenient to either of you, and might punish you more for infractions given that you are not a Sprilnav. It is unfair, but it is in his best interest to please the Elders who will be viewing this trial."
"Kashaunta, is there a way I can help you with the politics around this trial?" Penny asked. "I know if the event is this big, there is a lot for you to do, either to gain or to lose."
"A thoughtful offer. I might require one more linear singularity, and to finally get a piece of that negative energy you promised me. If you could tune your rhetoric toward peace with the Elders, it would help my position massively. The Alliance has already started scrubbing anti-Sprilnav rhetoric from its networks after I discussed the damage they could do, so what remains is your opinions. After the Judgment, more eyes will be on you than before. Declare your continued anti-slavery position, and I will have an easier time helping you with less damage to my reputation due to the revealed Pact of Blades."
"Do you also have an entourage of Elders to back you through thick and thin?" Penny asked. Pundacrawla smiled, glad that she was concerned about helping Elder Kashaunta.
She didn't know it, but now Pundacrawla was fully resolved to help her case. He'd been properly convinced that she really did care for her friends. In this case, while she likely was conflicted about it, Kashaunta was her friend. Given the Pact of Blades was in place between them, they were lifelong friends, close enough to be effectively married.
The political meaning of the Pact was certainly closer to that side of it since its most common use was to unify powerful Elder families. Kashaunta didn't have a family name, but that was because her name already carried so much weight everyone knew who was related to her. Pundacrawla gave Kashaunta a list of additional actions Phoebe needed to take using his implant. Kashaunta's eyes sparkled with recognition, though Penny didn't seem to notice.
"I do," Kashaunta said. "They all work for me. Most of them I acquired through either mud diving or through owed favors, though."
"Mud diving?" Penny asked.
"It is a term for doing one's utmost to please a superior for personal benefit, even if the 'please' section is derived from an unfortunate root meaning."
"I see. Elder Pundacrawla, can you get me something I can use for personal communication to you and Kashaunta, like an implant but less invasive?"
"Yes, I can do that," he responded.
"And also, one more thing before we go. Displace."
Penny appeared right in front of him, crouching down so her eyes aligned perfectly with his. They crackled with psychic energy, but beneath them lay a guarded desperation that he recognized from many of his more unfortunate past clients.
"I will not threaten you right now. But I need you to understand what is at stake for me. My friends. My family. My species. My nation. Over 200 billion living, breathing souls with lives and dreams they struggle every day to inch closer to. My titles, Champion of Humanity and Liberator, do not describe what I am but who I am. My world, my people. My home. Everything I have ever known and everything I have ever loved is at stake. Maybe you know what that is like. Maybe you don't.
Either way, please, I beg you to do your best to save us. I'm relying on you to be my hero, Pundacrawla. You can do this, and you must, or I will die for nothing. You will live with the consequences of this Judgment for the rest of your life. I hope you are everything Kashaunta claims you to be and more.
Hundreds of billions of people are counting on you. Look me in the eyes, Pundacrawla. Take in my alien face and my alien features. Know the creature standing here, and tell her you will do everything you can to save her and her people. And if it comes down to choosing to save me or the Alliance, save the Alliance."
Pundacrawla let out a breath. The hot air flowed across Penny's face, moving alien hair strands to the side. He looked into her eyes, peering into the reflection of three beings inside of her.
"Penny Balica. Champion of Humanity. Liberator. Human. I, Pundacrawla, High Lawyer, Elder, and Sprilnav, promise you, with all of my heart, all of my mind, and all of my soul, that I will do my best to win this Judgment for you and your kin. My actions will speak even louder than my words to you."
2024.05.20 04:44 ab-absurdum Who is Maynard Holliday? Calling all FOIA experts. Let's pull on this string.
I was digging around and found this seemingly well-connected character. I believe there are more than a few good strings here that we could be pulling on together. I'm not at all familiar with the FOIA process, but I know some members here are and might enjoy a new rabbithole to dig down.
If you have experience filing a FOIA request and would be willing to file one or multiple requests for us, please reach out via modmail or comment here.
I really feel there may be some good leads here. Thank you to anyone who is willing to assist!
Below is a biography from https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/2762694/maynard-holliday/
Mr. Maynard A. Holliday is Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this capacity, he oversees investment and capability analysis of the Pentagon's critical technology areas. He has oversight of 11 principal directors assigned to those critical technology portfolios and their roadmaps — the comprehensive strategies to manage, provide oversight and guide choices for each critical technology area. These critical technology areas include 5G; Advanced Computing & Software; Directed Energy; Human-Machine Interfaces; Hypersonics; Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems; Integrated Sensing & Cyber; Microelectronics; Renewable Energy Generation & Storage; Space Technology; and Trusted Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy.
Mr. Holliday has more than 30 years of professional experience leading technological innovations in both government and the private sector. Most recently, he was a Senior Engineer at the RAND Corporation working on autonomous vehicle safety metrics and policy, explainable artificial intelligence, swarm robotics and drone defense. Previously, he served as Senior Technical Advisor and Special Assistant to Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Mr. Holliday helped establish the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and was a member of the Defense Science Board. Mr. Holliday has also worked for the Department of Energy as a project manager for the U.S.-Russia Nuclear Material Security Task Force. He was awarded the DOE’s Meritorious Service Award, its highest, for his exceptional service in helping secure tons of weapons grade nuclear material. Prior to his government service, Mr. Holliday was a senior engineering and robotics professional at the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as various robotics start-ups and technology companies in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Holliday is a co-organizer of Black in Robotics, a virtual world-wide community of roboticists and their allies whose mission is to bring together Black researchers, industry professionals and students in robotics to mutually support one another to help navigate academic, corporate, and entrepreneurial paths to success. He is also co-founder of Robot Garden, the robotics-themed hacker space in Livermore, Calif. He also has been working with Bay Area public schools lecturing on robotics and teaching robotics through the Citizen Schools program in East Oakland. Mr. Holliday was named Citizen Schools Volunteer of the Year for 2012 and was also recognized with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the White House for his efforts. Before leaving government service in 2017, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service recognizing his contributions to national security through his considerable and trusted advice on multiple DOD initiatives.
Mr. Holliday graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He later won a scholarship to attend Stanford University, where he earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Design with an emphasis on robotics, international security and arms control. Mr. Holliday also won a scholarship to attend the International Space University in France and was a two-time finalist for the U.S. Astronaut Corps.
submitted by ab-absurdum to UFOdiscussions [link] [comments]
If you have experience filing a FOIA request and would be willing to file one or multiple requests for us, please reach out via modmail or comment here.
I really feel there may be some good leads here. Thank you to anyone who is willing to assist!
Below is a biography from https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/2762694/maynard-holliday/
Mr. Maynard A. Holliday is Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this capacity, he oversees investment and capability analysis of the Pentagon's critical technology areas. He has oversight of 11 principal directors assigned to those critical technology portfolios and their roadmaps — the comprehensive strategies to manage, provide oversight and guide choices for each critical technology area. These critical technology areas include 5G; Advanced Computing & Software; Directed Energy; Human-Machine Interfaces; Hypersonics; Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems; Integrated Sensing & Cyber; Microelectronics; Renewable Energy Generation & Storage; Space Technology; and Trusted Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy.
Mr. Holliday has more than 30 years of professional experience leading technological innovations in both government and the private sector. Most recently, he was a Senior Engineer at the RAND Corporation working on autonomous vehicle safety metrics and policy, explainable artificial intelligence, swarm robotics and drone defense. Previously, he served as Senior Technical Advisor and Special Assistant to Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Mr. Holliday helped establish the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and was a member of the Defense Science Board. Mr. Holliday has also worked for the Department of Energy as a project manager for the U.S.-Russia Nuclear Material Security Task Force. He was awarded the DOE’s Meritorious Service Award, its highest, for his exceptional service in helping secure tons of weapons grade nuclear material. Prior to his government service, Mr. Holliday was a senior engineering and robotics professional at the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as various robotics start-ups and technology companies in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Holliday is a co-organizer of Black in Robotics, a virtual world-wide community of roboticists and their allies whose mission is to bring together Black researchers, industry professionals and students in robotics to mutually support one another to help navigate academic, corporate, and entrepreneurial paths to success. He is also co-founder of Robot Garden, the robotics-themed hacker space in Livermore, Calif. He also has been working with Bay Area public schools lecturing on robotics and teaching robotics through the Citizen Schools program in East Oakland. Mr. Holliday was named Citizen Schools Volunteer of the Year for 2012 and was also recognized with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the White House for his efforts. Before leaving government service in 2017, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service recognizing his contributions to national security through his considerable and trusted advice on multiple DOD initiatives.
Mr. Holliday graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He later won a scholarship to attend Stanford University, where he earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Design with an emphasis on robotics, international security and arms control. Mr. Holliday also won a scholarship to attend the International Space University in France and was a two-time finalist for the U.S. Astronaut Corps.
2024.05.20 04:31 mack4711 Handling Basic Shapes in Configurations (Ideas?)
I have a complex project ahead of me that I thought I can solve with configurations. There's four injection molded parts of the same shape involved that assemble on top of each other to something that you could think of looks like a picture frame you would hang on a wall.
The client wants different versions of this, for example: - A simple square - A circle - A star - A heart shape More complex shapes are wanted, each demanding their own unique profile and sketch.
Using configurations, each sketch would sit at the top of the design tree and drive all features below to create the final parts.
The question I have is (2024): Is there a way to let configurations choose which sketch is used in the downstream features?
I've searched high and low and have not found a way to do this yet, any ideas? :-) Thanks
submitted by mack4711 to SolidWorks [link] [comments]
The client wants different versions of this, for example: - A simple square - A circle - A star - A heart shape More complex shapes are wanted, each demanding their own unique profile and sketch.
Using configurations, each sketch would sit at the top of the design tree and drive all features below to create the final parts.
The question I have is (2024): Is there a way to let configurations choose which sketch is used in the downstream features?
I've searched high and low and have not found a way to do this yet, any ideas? :-) Thanks
2024.05.20 04:27 ResponsibleFarmer663 What major will lead to a career that utilizes my interests?
Hi all, I'm currently choosing which university program to commit to and have narrowed my options down to a Medical Science degree (think pre-med with specializations such as pathology, neuroscience, pharmacology) or a business degree from a prestigious university. I've always been extremely intrigued in branding, neuromarketing, and the idea of coming up with my own product and speaking to it to a room of people.
Now, being pragmatic, it's not as if a regular business degree will immediately make me a CEO. However, consulting and creating better strategies and marketing schemes for other companies seems like work I can thrive in and do well in. Perhaps I can even start a company that provides marketing strategies for other companies.
On the other hand, if I choose a pre-medical pathway and eventually end up in medical school, I can continue to hone my interest in marketing and business on the side; with the hopes of eventually starting a health-technology company or any other type of company. That way I really wouldn't have to work under anyone, as I'd go from residency to my own firm, while working on health-tech through medical school and then on the side of my job.
I'm naturally better at public speaking and group work; it is what I do best and what I enjoy. Medical Science is more exam-based which turns me off; however I figure I can just find clubs that are project based and require public speaking.
I'm unclear on what path to choose, and although I know that none of the greats were stopped by a college major, I really want to choose well. I really really want to thrive. I know this sounds naive, but I would appreciate any help I could get.
submitted by ResponsibleFarmer663 to careerguidance [link] [comments]
Now, being pragmatic, it's not as if a regular business degree will immediately make me a CEO. However, consulting and creating better strategies and marketing schemes for other companies seems like work I can thrive in and do well in. Perhaps I can even start a company that provides marketing strategies for other companies.
On the other hand, if I choose a pre-medical pathway and eventually end up in medical school, I can continue to hone my interest in marketing and business on the side; with the hopes of eventually starting a health-technology company or any other type of company. That way I really wouldn't have to work under anyone, as I'd go from residency to my own firm, while working on health-tech through medical school and then on the side of my job.
I'm naturally better at public speaking and group work; it is what I do best and what I enjoy. Medical Science is more exam-based which turns me off; however I figure I can just find clubs that are project based and require public speaking.
I'm unclear on what path to choose, and although I know that none of the greats were stopped by a college major, I really want to choose well. I really really want to thrive. I know this sounds naive, but I would appreciate any help I could get.
2024.05.20 04:21 E-duo I think I might probably be gay
Let's just get to the gist to it. There's this boy, who we're going to call glasses. We both have fourth period math together with each other and sit right beside each other. We sit in groups of four in the class, and our table is centered towards the back of the room. Every day I had to help him with his work because he has trouble with understanding the lesson we're in. It's not like I'm a super smart student, but at least I understood the material. It wasn't a big deal for me. His grades overall for math and science are terrible. It's not a secret, the teacher has even made jokes before in the class about his grade. Everyone else at our table was pretty much the same way, so I felt bad that he had to sit with all of us.
I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but at one point, I was basically doing his work for him because he said he didn't understand anything, and in all honesty, I don't think he even was trying to do it. He had to have had some knowledge about what he was doing though, because when he finally did his own work, he would get every answer wrong. That didn't stop him from making dumbass remarks, using his phone to look up the answers to the questions, and watching tiktoks on his phone. The only reason I would have been helping him out, is because it makes the class more enjoyable. If you're just sitting there by yourself, the class can be really boring. He has this habit where he would just say the most randomness statements. For example, once we were in the middle of doing an assigned online lesson, he just randomly turns to me, and tells me I'm gay. He has no filter on his mouth. I don't pay him any attention, as I have never felt attraction to a guy.
Not saying he's ugly or anything, he's pretty average looking. I've seen worse looking people. He's got this nice taper haircut, and looks good when he keeps it freshly trimmed, he wears those clear glasses, and has a pretty nice big nose. Not in a bad way, but a good size, and shape. I don't think I've ever seen him without a black or grey hoodie. I'm pretty sure he has an addiction. He has a pretty average body too, a little skinny, but it suits him. It's not like it's bad or anything. I don't judge anyone on their looks. We're both about the same height, with him being about an inch taller, maybe? His personality is probably his most unique..? Interesting? attribute. He's not one to hold back from sharing his thoughts. Sometimes I have to put up with him making fun of me and my personality. Sometimes in a playful way, but I have a few traits that can be picked on. One thing that is probably his biggest flaw is his over confidence, and the fact that he thinks he's the best at everything.
He's constantly bragging about things. He's the kind of person that makes you want to punch him. Not the worst thing in the world, but not the best. When we first started having conversations, it was pretty casual and chill, but then it escalated into him getting to the point of being aggravating. He would say the stupidest stuff. He would make fun of the way I looked, my clothes, how tall I am, and just the way I spoke. I'm not a super social person, so it's not that hard to make me uncomfortable. But still, when he wasn't annoying me to the point of begging the teacher to move my seat, I could have some decent conversations with him. He wasn't all that bad. He just didn't have the filter between his brain and his mouth. That's something I respect about him. It's a good trait to have. He's the type of person that will always be honest, and won't sugar coat his words. Even if it might be considered offensive. We'd have a lot of occurrences when he would say something funny. I can't even count how many times he made me smile, and even laugh. I was never embarrassed or ashamed about laughing. Not once.
I can tell he likes the way I laugh. Whenever he gets me to laugh, he'll be staring at me with this big grin on his face. He doesn't hide the fact that he wants to stare at me. When he says something funny, and he gets my attention, he'll give me a smile. It's not a forced one, it's natural, and I can tell that he genuinely means it. Sometimes I'd feel him looking at me and I'd catch him staring. It was usually a quick glance, and he'd turn his head away. But I could see him looking. At first I was confused, but I eventually got used to it. I'm not going to lie, it does make me nervous. I don't like being stared at. It makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. But I never told him that. He was probably just trying to get my attention.
He's got a very strong sense of humor, and a lot of the things he would say, even the most serious and inappropriate things, are actually really funny. The way he speaks, and how he carries himself, I can tell he has a lot of self confidence, and a big ego. He's not afraid to show it either. It's almost like a form of self expression. It's hard to explain. The way he expresses his personality, it's something you have to see. The funny thing is, he's not even a good student. I have no idea why he was placed in a class that was obviously above his grade level. The only reason he's probably passing is because the teacher lets him goof off. The way he talks and acts, I'm pretty sure the teacher knows that he's a big distraction to the class, and doesn't want to have to deal with him. So she gives him the benefit of the doubt. I have no idea why he even cares so much about his grades. He always talks about how he doesn't care, and that his grades don't matter. The thing is, his behavior shows the opposite. Every day he'll come into class, and sit there waiting for the teacher to finish instruction, and when we began to work, he asks me if I can help him. Sometimes he'll just copy my answers. I've never said no, and have always helped him out. I've tried giving him hints and suggestions about the material, but he just doesn't listen.
It's not like it matters to me anyway. If I'm not helping him, he'll ask another student. He's a real pain in the ass, but I don't blame him. If I were in his situation, I'd be the same way. He's not the best student, and probably one of the dumbest kids in the school. The funny thing is, is that he acts like he's so much smarter than me. Like he's better than everyone else. But he's not. He's just a stupid, annoying kid who's not very smart. But he tries. And that's what's important. So once again, we're sitting at our table, doing an assigned lesson, and everyone else is talking to the table mates or doing their own thing. I'm pretty sure the teacher was helping out other students who was stuck on a question. We were sitting right next to each other. I was doing my work, while he was on his phone and had barely even began the assignment. That's when I felt a hand rubbing up and down my thigh. I was wearing some heavy baggy jeans, and could feel his hand moving up and down. I looked and stared at him while removing his hand. He looked at me with this knowing grin, and turned his attention back to his phone. I couldn't even concentrate at that exact moment. He was just acting like nothing had happened. I could feel my heart beating fast and my face was hot. I don't know why, but it was.
A few more minutes went by and the hand returned to my thigh. I tried shaking it off, but he wasn't having it. He wasn't letting go. So I gave up and left his hand there. I couldn't even finish the problem I was on, I just sat there letting his hand rub up and down my thigh. I looked over at him, and he was just staring at me with a grin on his face. His hand was just gently rubbing, up and down, up and down. Then he stopped, and he slowly removed his hand. He turned back to his phone. I don't know what I was thinking, but I reached my hand over to his thigh. I didn't look at him, and just placed my hand on his thigh. It was a pretty firm squeeze, and he flinched slightly. It was almost as if his entire body stiffened. I practically froze up since I forgot to do the whole rubbing motion. It was probably the most awkward moment of my life. It wasn't the way I wanted to react, but my body did what it had to do. I started slowly, but firmly massaging his thigh, and could feel him starting to relax. His eyes were glued to his phone, and he wasn't paying attention to the hand that was rubbing up and down.
Eventually, I removed my hand as the end of class was nearing. He and a few other students started standing up and gathering their things. I remained in my seat, as I felt a slight stiffness in my pants. My heart was racing, and I could feel my hands starting to get sweaty. I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. It was awkward, but I had this.. lustful feeling in my stomach. As I sat there, he went on the other side of me and slyly pressed his crotch up against my shoulder. I could feel heat radiating from his body. It was obvious why it was so warm, and I knew what was happening. It was a weird sensation. It's hard to describe. I could feel the heat from his pants on my shoulder. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to get me really flustered. I was starting to feel a little anxious. After that, the bell rang and everyone quickly gathered their belongings and left the room.
It was a weird feeling, and I couldn't even focus in class. I could barely think straight. I couldn't even finish the lesson we were assigned. I didn't know what to do. I was just caressing another guys leg. What was even worse was that the guy I was caressing, was the same guy who was always making fun of me. I was starting to panic. Was it wrong to have done that? Am I going to get in trouble? What if he tells someone? The only reason why I did it was because I was curious. What if someone saw us.
I'm really confused and I don't what to do. We've only have a week left of school, and then we'd have summer break. I want to ask him for his number. And I don't know why I want it. To talk? Hang out? Something else? What do people usually do to have fun with people like him? Should I ask him for his numbers?
submitted by E-duo to teenagers [link] [comments]
I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but at one point, I was basically doing his work for him because he said he didn't understand anything, and in all honesty, I don't think he even was trying to do it. He had to have had some knowledge about what he was doing though, because when he finally did his own work, he would get every answer wrong. That didn't stop him from making dumbass remarks, using his phone to look up the answers to the questions, and watching tiktoks on his phone. The only reason I would have been helping him out, is because it makes the class more enjoyable. If you're just sitting there by yourself, the class can be really boring. He has this habit where he would just say the most randomness statements. For example, once we were in the middle of doing an assigned online lesson, he just randomly turns to me, and tells me I'm gay. He has no filter on his mouth. I don't pay him any attention, as I have never felt attraction to a guy.
Not saying he's ugly or anything, he's pretty average looking. I've seen worse looking people. He's got this nice taper haircut, and looks good when he keeps it freshly trimmed, he wears those clear glasses, and has a pretty nice big nose. Not in a bad way, but a good size, and shape. I don't think I've ever seen him without a black or grey hoodie. I'm pretty sure he has an addiction. He has a pretty average body too, a little skinny, but it suits him. It's not like it's bad or anything. I don't judge anyone on their looks. We're both about the same height, with him being about an inch taller, maybe? His personality is probably his most unique..? Interesting? attribute. He's not one to hold back from sharing his thoughts. Sometimes I have to put up with him making fun of me and my personality. Sometimes in a playful way, but I have a few traits that can be picked on. One thing that is probably his biggest flaw is his over confidence, and the fact that he thinks he's the best at everything.
He's constantly bragging about things. He's the kind of person that makes you want to punch him. Not the worst thing in the world, but not the best. When we first started having conversations, it was pretty casual and chill, but then it escalated into him getting to the point of being aggravating. He would say the stupidest stuff. He would make fun of the way I looked, my clothes, how tall I am, and just the way I spoke. I'm not a super social person, so it's not that hard to make me uncomfortable. But still, when he wasn't annoying me to the point of begging the teacher to move my seat, I could have some decent conversations with him. He wasn't all that bad. He just didn't have the filter between his brain and his mouth. That's something I respect about him. It's a good trait to have. He's the type of person that will always be honest, and won't sugar coat his words. Even if it might be considered offensive. We'd have a lot of occurrences when he would say something funny. I can't even count how many times he made me smile, and even laugh. I was never embarrassed or ashamed about laughing. Not once.
I can tell he likes the way I laugh. Whenever he gets me to laugh, he'll be staring at me with this big grin on his face. He doesn't hide the fact that he wants to stare at me. When he says something funny, and he gets my attention, he'll give me a smile. It's not a forced one, it's natural, and I can tell that he genuinely means it. Sometimes I'd feel him looking at me and I'd catch him staring. It was usually a quick glance, and he'd turn his head away. But I could see him looking. At first I was confused, but I eventually got used to it. I'm not going to lie, it does make me nervous. I don't like being stared at. It makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. But I never told him that. He was probably just trying to get my attention.
He's got a very strong sense of humor, and a lot of the things he would say, even the most serious and inappropriate things, are actually really funny. The way he speaks, and how he carries himself, I can tell he has a lot of self confidence, and a big ego. He's not afraid to show it either. It's almost like a form of self expression. It's hard to explain. The way he expresses his personality, it's something you have to see. The funny thing is, he's not even a good student. I have no idea why he was placed in a class that was obviously above his grade level. The only reason he's probably passing is because the teacher lets him goof off. The way he talks and acts, I'm pretty sure the teacher knows that he's a big distraction to the class, and doesn't want to have to deal with him. So she gives him the benefit of the doubt. I have no idea why he even cares so much about his grades. He always talks about how he doesn't care, and that his grades don't matter. The thing is, his behavior shows the opposite. Every day he'll come into class, and sit there waiting for the teacher to finish instruction, and when we began to work, he asks me if I can help him. Sometimes he'll just copy my answers. I've never said no, and have always helped him out. I've tried giving him hints and suggestions about the material, but he just doesn't listen.
It's not like it matters to me anyway. If I'm not helping him, he'll ask another student. He's a real pain in the ass, but I don't blame him. If I were in his situation, I'd be the same way. He's not the best student, and probably one of the dumbest kids in the school. The funny thing is, is that he acts like he's so much smarter than me. Like he's better than everyone else. But he's not. He's just a stupid, annoying kid who's not very smart. But he tries. And that's what's important. So once again, we're sitting at our table, doing an assigned lesson, and everyone else is talking to the table mates or doing their own thing. I'm pretty sure the teacher was helping out other students who was stuck on a question. We were sitting right next to each other. I was doing my work, while he was on his phone and had barely even began the assignment. That's when I felt a hand rubbing up and down my thigh. I was wearing some heavy baggy jeans, and could feel his hand moving up and down. I looked and stared at him while removing his hand. He looked at me with this knowing grin, and turned his attention back to his phone. I couldn't even concentrate at that exact moment. He was just acting like nothing had happened. I could feel my heart beating fast and my face was hot. I don't know why, but it was.
A few more minutes went by and the hand returned to my thigh. I tried shaking it off, but he wasn't having it. He wasn't letting go. So I gave up and left his hand there. I couldn't even finish the problem I was on, I just sat there letting his hand rub up and down my thigh. I looked over at him, and he was just staring at me with a grin on his face. His hand was just gently rubbing, up and down, up and down. Then he stopped, and he slowly removed his hand. He turned back to his phone. I don't know what I was thinking, but I reached my hand over to his thigh. I didn't look at him, and just placed my hand on his thigh. It was a pretty firm squeeze, and he flinched slightly. It was almost as if his entire body stiffened. I practically froze up since I forgot to do the whole rubbing motion. It was probably the most awkward moment of my life. It wasn't the way I wanted to react, but my body did what it had to do. I started slowly, but firmly massaging his thigh, and could feel him starting to relax. His eyes were glued to his phone, and he wasn't paying attention to the hand that was rubbing up and down.
Eventually, I removed my hand as the end of class was nearing. He and a few other students started standing up and gathering their things. I remained in my seat, as I felt a slight stiffness in my pants. My heart was racing, and I could feel my hands starting to get sweaty. I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. It was awkward, but I had this.. lustful feeling in my stomach. As I sat there, he went on the other side of me and slyly pressed his crotch up against my shoulder. I could feel heat radiating from his body. It was obvious why it was so warm, and I knew what was happening. It was a weird sensation. It's hard to describe. I could feel the heat from his pants on my shoulder. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to get me really flustered. I was starting to feel a little anxious. After that, the bell rang and everyone quickly gathered their belongings and left the room.
It was a weird feeling, and I couldn't even focus in class. I could barely think straight. I couldn't even finish the lesson we were assigned. I didn't know what to do. I was just caressing another guys leg. What was even worse was that the guy I was caressing, was the same guy who was always making fun of me. I was starting to panic. Was it wrong to have done that? Am I going to get in trouble? What if he tells someone? The only reason why I did it was because I was curious. What if someone saw us.
I'm really confused and I don't what to do. We've only have a week left of school, and then we'd have summer break. I want to ask him for his number. And I don't know why I want it. To talk? Hang out? Something else? What do people usually do to have fun with people like him? Should I ask him for his numbers?