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Following the post about the ruler in the tram.
Why does everyone in Adelaide (maybe not only in Adelaide, but in other parts of Australia), when talking about a person's height, use feet and inches? Isn't Australia supposed to use metric system?
I'm genuinely interested, since I am not originally from Australia.

First Previous Wiki
Ezeonwha was walking down a long hallway. The dry and plain painted walls and the pure white lighting of the lower levels of the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office helped to frame the dingy realities of those who could only afford these floors. Not even capable of having windows, these were for those who were the cheapest of the cheap or those who mingled with them. He'd passed several Guides on the way in, their claws echoing in the halls as a sign of authority in this lawless land.
Here, mediocrity was king, and he was a loyal servant. He drew his cloak closer about his neck, unwilling to reveal himself to those who weren't already equipped to see through it all. He was famous enough to be an abduction target if he let his guard down. This place was no exception, though Justicar tried to make them such. Too much security on the higher levels and too little on the lower levels. That was the way of things.
Another hallway, this one marked with bullet holes. Two contractors and a Guide were discussing the pricing of the fix project when he turned the corner. Their voices quieted to nothing, the stillness pressing down upon them with the same intensity as the false lighting. Ezeonwha clacked his jaws, giving them a low bow before continuing on his way. He saw the Guide's eyes light up with the sign of his implants getting a reading. It was another impromptu way of tracking via facial recognition, but it was an ancient practice.
Nothing was new about what the Guides did; only how many of them seemed to be on general patrol. Had Justicar hired more of them or actually done full conversions for all of them? Those arm cannons surely weren't cheap or ethical to insert into unwilling participants. And giving a victim a gun they couldn't be disarmed of was a very bad idea, even for Elders. And Justicar was better than most Elders when it came to abject stupidity. He'd likely only been dropped a few hundred times as a child versus the more likely Elder average of a few thousand.
Ezeonwha chuckled at his internal joke, heading deeper underground into the complex. He was going to a certain meeting, and it would be best not to be late. Even if the Guides tracked him, it wouldn't be negative. The group he had been approached by a few days ago wasn't a terror group. He'd looked them up. They dealt in 'freedom and liberation from all chains.'
The Eyes Of Liberty had focused upon Penny as their latest propaganda target and perhaps as a valuable ally in their fight against all tyranny. Though such a flowery message was likely steeped in idealism for the lower ranks, with more pragmatic and likely richer inner circle elites and leaders ensuring the pot would always simmer but never boil or grow cold. That was the way movements such as these managed to skirt the line between inaction and terrorism.
It was a dangerous thing to do. But these were dangerous times. If Penny left, he'd die. Someone with a grudge would kill him. It was a given, and he'd made peace with it now. He needed to get to work, to help others like him and those worse off, with just a small piece of the meager time he had left.
He was in the system as a friend of Penny, so little scrutiny would fall on him as he came and went. He had a new friend, one who was very interested in connecting to Penny.
The offer had come through his communicator, and he'd answered it given its interesting title. After a lengthy discussion about their goals for him and Penny, he'd agreed to at least have a meeting. He didn't tell them that he had a tracker from Phoebe, which would 'be impossible to miss' if things went badly. He knew the value he had, which was why one of the androids was also accompanying him under the guise of being a Sprilnav.
The android was 'walking' on all fours, its mechanical motion entirely silent. It was obscured by a wave of holograms and hard light holograms that would ensure that it wouldn't be considered suspicious beside him. His only guard was a capable one, and Phoebe had all the confidence of an AI who knew that the destruction of her android would only be an inconvenience for her.
Ezeonwha came to an unmarked door with a well-worn door frame. One knock. One pause. Two knocks. Another pause. Four knocks. He waited, and the door swung open. Eight Sprilnav greeted him warily but warmly, their eyes shifting to Phoebe.
The inside of the room was a dull red, coming from a pair of lights in the center of the ceiling that cast dark shadows near the edges. The whole room felt dark and dangerous, and the walls were lined with guns, computers, and several drones. Shelves and drawers were neatly stacked against the wall, as well as five couches and four double beds with ladder access to the top portions.
Bags of food rested atop a trash compactor unit, and the room service button on the inner side of the wall that Ezeonwha could see in the mirror was worn down to the raw metal. No paint jobs here, only grit and business. The room faintly smelled of body odor and assorted foods. Not entirely unpleasant, but also not what he'd expected from a group with sich a flamboyant name. Perhaps they worked in cell-based units. And that was another thing.
Minds were visible in the distance of the mindscape, but the people here were huddled together mentally. They appeared to be haphazard, but Ezeonwha recognized an old army-type defensive formation a mere step from each of their positions. They were more than they appeared. Though based on how their room looked, they probably weren't veterans, just decently trained.
As they walked through the doorway, a scanner activated. One of the Sprilnav, wearing a headset with numbers and letters swirling on the inner side of the visor, called out: "Phoebe android. Commando variant. Risk assessment: Certain Death. Ezeonwha. Carrying two pistols, one hidden in the pack on his left, and the other tucked inside a strap near the lower bottom of his chest."
That made them all pause, sizing each other up. Ezeonwha smiled nervously, failing terribly to break the building tension once again. His nerves started to get to him, but finally, Phoebe spoke. "Well, friends. I, for one, am happy to talk of the business of liberty. Tell us, what do you have in mind for my friend Ezeonwha?"
"It is not about him, AI. It is about the freedom all sentient beings deserve, and which we shall bring to the galaxy no matter if we are alive or dead."
"An honorable goal to strive toward," Phoebe said.
"Thank you. Your words are quite kind for your type."
"I didn't know I had one," Phoebe replied. "But thank you."
Ezeonwha turned his head toward the Sprilnav with all the fancy equipment.
"What is the best way for me and Penny to help in the fight?"
"The best way would be for you to start killing the gang leaders you come across. Barring that, have Penny ignore the graveyards, and continue freeing the slaves as she ought to. The dead have their freedom; the living need her work more."
"I agree with my companion," another of them said. "So far, Penny has done more for the fight for justice than any other on Justicar in generations, so it is a terrible thing to ask more, but we must ask. Even knowing the terrible toll it would have if she loses the Judgment, Sprilnav are at stake."
"People are at stake, you mean," Ezeonwha said. "There is no need to bring species into this."
"There would not be, but it is still a clear factor," another of them said, a female who looked more shifty in her gaze and demeanor. The Eyes of Liberty seemed like one of those groups with too much division.
"Do you disagree with each other often?" Ezeonwha asked innocently.
"Here and there," the tech guy said. "Not often enough to be a problem, and not when what matters is at stake."
"But that is the thing. How can you agree on when something that matters is a stake?"
"Is this a test?"
"Why would it be? Think of it as a genuine concern," Ezeonwha said. "To associate with your group, I have to be certain it will be resilient to change and risks escalating in the future. If the gangs cannot strike at Penny, they will pick the next best targets. Currently, that is me. If I associate with you in a way they can find out, and I assure you they will find out eventually, you all may be at risk as well. And your group's seemingly cell-based design also means large scale mobilization is difficult, ineffective, and risks severe coordination issues which cannot be quickly or safely remedied without changing core security features of it."
"You deduced all of that from context? You are smart, Ezeonwha. And have a good brain in your head. Everlasting knows we need one of those between all of us."
They all shared a laugh.
"I am not as young as I may look," Ezeonwha said. "Penny is not properly learned of the danger that faces us here. I am. The Underground will kill me when this is over. Do you want to die alongside me, all for your beliefs?"
Silence descended again. Ezeonwha kept the pressure on them when one of them stepped forward. "For freedom and liberty? Yes. I would die for that."
"As would I."
"And I."
They all declared the rest in orders that followed the patterns Ezeonwha was noticing. There were variances in their levels of belief and faith in their purpose. Each person had a different level of value difference, which meant that their lives would be worth more or less comparatively.
Cohesion was weaker, too. Not a full defector team, but likely pieces of several. Was that by design from a higher up leader, or was that just circumstance? Another thing to figure out later, that wasn't critical yet, but he would know before he truly went on any missions with them, if he did at all.
He suspected running messages to Penny would be the majority of their tasks. The quality of intelligence the Eyes of Liberty had offered was substantial. Perhaps enough for Penny to turn herself from a major annoyance to the gangs into an actual existential threat. With Justicar's swarming protection of the Fort Court and the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office, there was a limited amount of things that even the gangs could do. And if the rumors were correct, a Progenitor would be partaking in the trial.
"To be clear, if I join up with you, Phoebe would come too."
"Why would we let an AI join us?"
Phoebe smiled. "Without me, you'll die in this fight. You have trained for around 2000 days. You're acceptable combatants, as is Ezeonwha. But you are fighting in a city, and underneath it. You need to know how to keep a low profile. You need to know how to move through a crowd, get in and out. And you need to keep collateral damage to a zero, or the gangs will use you like they have others who had your purpose and were less careful to justify their 'protection' continuing. If you march in there and kill 50 slavers, if you kill a few slaves or a single bystander in the process, your credibility will be smeared. And frankly, with me on your team, you won't get blown up by an IED when you try clearing your first room in a fortress."
"IED?" One of them asked, while the rest digested her statement, going through various levels of offended looks.
"Your translator is too cheap. Improvised explosive device. Here, that can be old engines, reused oil, cracked plastic, frictional fuel bombs, circuit extruders, sodium splash grenades, as well as the more military style attacks they can pack, from small micro rockets all the way up to lower level fission or fusion bombs. Though if you're in a fight with those things involved, you're already dead."
"Why?"
"Because unless you're Elders, or holograms, a nuke will kill you whether you're right next to it or just inside the same shield. They concentrate the thermal pulse, so your bones would be ash before the pain hit your eyes."
"And what protection could you bring against that?"
"Telling you it's there before you start the attack. That is, if you listen to me. I value your lives over that of this android, but also I value Ezeonwha over all of you combined. I will not prevent him from doing this, but I will have you all know the risks involved."
"We are prepared, Phoebe. We have done much of the training you say, though we do not believe the gangs would plant explosive devices in their own fortresses. There is too much risk around that, with betrayals so common. However, the minefields we have scouted are easy to defeat with the right tactics. Perhaps you can give us a briefing on those, too?"
A challenge.
"I can, depending on how long you wish to do this for. But I have the stamina for either hours or weeks, depending on which you choose."
"What of your batteries?"
"They are of sufficient quality," Phoebe assured.
"I hope so."
Their tech guy nodded, more numbers flashing on his visor. Ezeonwha hoped he had a different way of display, like through an implant or something, for the missions in darker areas. The Underground was, by its name, not a place where much natural light was to be found. And the gangs controlled all the power systems in their territory. It was another part of the racket.
"Why aren't you guarding Penny?"
Phoebe's back straightened, a subconscious posture change to make her seem more confident. Ezeonwha caught the tactic for what it was, though without extensive knowledge of bipedal forms, it was less likely the surrounding Sprilnav knew it.
"Penny proved before a trillion eyes she's capable of fighting Elders, Progenitors, and a Dreadnaught Captain. Not to mention her immense power. I can shoot bullets, but she can literally snatch them out of the air and eat them. She has her own way of doing things, and it is a good way."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Penny landed in the rubble and headed for the Vaquah with a trail of survivors behind her. Many of them, she could recognize the marks of slavery on, with numbers or brands on their skin or just the trauma crouching in their eyes dulled by the pain of a long life in a work camp. Penny went through the wreckage to the shield surrounding the rubble and the defining line between the rest of the city and the destruction. Several news drones flew above her.
More were arriving from various directions. The soft footsteps grew into a constant drumming sound, like a beating heart of doom. Penny marched with them, heading to the spaceport. A large medical operation there quickly rerouted many of its various branches to the most injured freed slaves.
Penny pressed her considerable psychic energy on the entire group, accelerating their healing, slowing bleeding, and generally repairing their bodies and cells from the trauma they'd suffered. But the cloud over their heads did not brighten. The atmosphere remained tense and mournful. Many of them had lost friends, family, and more. She had no right to ask them to feel any different.
She had freed them, that was all. They were not her servants. She was not their ruler.
Several of them came up to her, offering thanks in the small ways they could. Kind words. Attempts at hugs. Even offers of devout prayer and worship, which Penny respectfully declined. She knew, as did most of them, that veneration for her deeds was inevitable. She didn't want to be seen encouraging it at all, since this was a public place where many eyes were upon her.
She knew that it would be misconstrued as a threat if she did. Religions were some of the most major threats entrenched powers could face if not properly co-opted by the state to suit their needs. And here, the 'state' was a military dictatorship billions of years old, ripened with corruption, money, and the immortality of Elders sporting technology beyond any other in the galaxy.
The sky was blue with shields overhead. The Vaquah hung in the distance, its thrusters gently burning to keep it aloft. A trail of shuttles linked the massive ship with several spaceports, including this one. Penny watched the freed Sprilnav get on it one by one, promising themselves to a new life aboard her ship. Technically, they were citizens of the Autonomous Peoples' Stars.
That protection, Penny knew, was why the Vaquah and its innocent inhabitants were still intact. Elders already had hired mercenaries to attack it. They'd failed, thanks to Rimiaha and Penny, but also the defenses of Kashaunta's Grand Fleet when it was in higher orbit. Kashaunta, despite her willingness to use Penny as she would, also had a certain intelligence and empathy. It was highly selective, and only money and power seemed to flip that switch.
But Penny needed the Elder, and Kashaunta only had use for her as an asset. She palmed the new communicator Kashaunta had issued her after the last one's destruction. Kashaunta's hologram appeared. It looked around, noticing the news drones in the air.
"Not here."
"Where?"
"You will know."
In the mindscape, a Sprilnav appeared on Penny's layer. They felt odd to her, almost like the minds of certain humans high up in the hivemind's network. Penny greeted the Sprilnav warmly.
"Hello."
"Queen and Elder Kashaunta requests your presence on her flagship."
"Very well."
In reality, Penny looked around at the crowd. She waited until it dwindled to nothing, and then spoke.
"Displace."
Conceptual energy twisted, and she stood on Kashaunta's flagship, though nearer to the edge than she'd expected. The Elder was waiting for her in an outfit that looked much like pajamas, though they were under a few armor pieces that appeared anything but decorative. Now that Penny noticed it, it was the same sort of armor that Yasihaut had worn to their last encounter, which interfered with conceptual energy. The Sprilnav were highly advanced. She wondered just how far their technology could go. She'd heard mentions of some ships having artificial gravity, and of nanites and programmable matter. But nothing certain.
"Hmm," Kashaunta said, giving Penny a once over. "You have come back. Shall I assume you are still my ally?"
"Nervous, are we?"
"Nervous is what you should be, Penny. The Judgment is coming. Ten days. Indrafabar and Justicar will both be on the court as High Judges. That is not good for us at all. So I figured a bit of prudence was in order. I have thought long and hard about this, and with the great battles of our time so fast approaching, I figure it is time to mend our relationship before the chasm grows any wider."
Kashaunta motioned to a special looking sword sheath on her back. Slowly, she drew a sword. A Soul Blade. Penny began to draw up her armor.
"Oh, I am not wishing for a fight, Penny. I know the damage you could do, even in my sanctum in the sky. Tell me, do you know how Soul Blades are forged?"
"No."
"Good. And tell me, do you know why they draw so much power to swing, even for Elders and beings as capable as us?"
"I have a few theories."
"I am sure you do," Kashaunta said. "But here is the thing. Soul Blades are typically weapons assigned to highly promising Elders, or even Progenitors. Filnatra, undisputed sword master that she is, can wield them as easily as breathing. If I were to swing this blade, there would be no drawback. Why?"
"Because you own that Soul Blade."
"Because this Soul Blade is mine. It is not just something I own. I own around seven or so more Soul Blades, with some weapons nearing their quality lying in my various vaults even now. You did not detect them, because I willed that not to be. I need you to understand this, Penny. You have power. You have might. But you are not invincible. My Soul Blade, if it struck you, would not cutely separate Nilnacrawla or Cardinality from you. Nor would your speeding space entity be able to block this blade with his flesh. If this cut you, it would release unending agony upon you before you exploded in a burst of burnt gore."
Penny sighed. "There is no need to threaten me. Allies do not threaten each other."
"But you do not see me as an ally. You see me as your means to get through the Judgment. You believe I see you as nothing more but a linear singularity maker, and perhaps a passing curiosity I'm backing on a whim. You neglect to imagine that there might be firmer reasons why I back you, and why more Elders are getting drawn into this conflict. You believe I am comfortable with showing you my more pragmatic and ruthless sides because I am comfortable with the fact that you cannot harm me. That you would not dare to do so, when you need my assistance so badly. That I might even be aiming to normalize my 'new' self with you."
"That is hardly my belief alone."
"Is it now."
Kashaunta grinned. There was no warmth in her gaze.
"Nilnacrawla," Kashaunta said. "Cardinality. Exile. Come out and show yourselves. You are being rude as guests."
Exile detached from Penny's head. He grew into the shifting array of fractals and shapes she was more familiar with. What had once grated on her eyes did so no longer. Kashaunta stared at the speeding space entity for ten seconds, then looked back up at Penny.
"He will not work on us. I will cover his form with holograms if he walks through my ship out of courtesy for my workers and crew, if he cannot."
"I am capable, Queen Kashaunta."
"You are quite knowledgable, aren't you?" Kashaunta mused, looking at him hungrily. "Oh, how I wonder what secrets you have in your head. How many of ours do you know?"
"I will not be taken as a hostage," Exile said.
"You will not because I decide not to," Kashaunta said. "Formally, our species are still at war. There is no treaty."
"The Sp'rkial'nova no longer exist."
"Yes, they do," Kashaunta said. "The name was discontinued for use regarding the lesser specimens we created. But I can assure you, Exile, if you wish to go by that name here, that we still do exist. I am a Sp'rkial'nova in the flesh. In the blood. In the mind. In the soul."
"Say what you will, Sprilnav. It changes nothing."
"On that I agree. Though our views on how things are may differ, and yours is wrong, your opinion is not valuable enough to matter."
She turned to Penny. She would have defended Exile, but he gave her a simple shake of his head area.
Nilnacrawla formed out of psychic energy in front of Penny. Cardi did the same beside her. Kashaunta tapped a claw on the ground. Tables and chairs appeared. A chef brought in food that looked passable and a few decent attempts at human cuisine.
"We do not have to eat, though I would expect that all of you at least sit at the table. We will discuss our grievances, and how to solve them before we proceed with the future. We shall first go to the matter of the Alliance. Penny, many in their number wish to establish contact with you. Do you agree to this? If so, I will add their communicator numbers to the translation program I have reserved for your personal use, in case your own device needs another sudden replacement."
"I agree."
"Good. A first step of diplomacy, I would say. Agreement. Now, Nilnacrawla, you look like you have something to say to me. What is it?"
"Free Meridia."
"Meridia was detonated by planet cracker during the 139th Sector 9 Border War. I am sorry more could not be done."
A cold draft of air rushed out of Nilnacrawla's nose. He glared at her. "You let them die."
"I did not. A Grand Fleet was defending that star system, and three came to lay siege. I am many things. A tactician, a queen, an Elder. But I am not a god. I cannot perform miracles. I evacuated 30 billion people from that world and its surrounding stations before the planet crackers hit it. 4 trillion more souls died in that blast. The best I can do is to offer an apology."
"That will never be enough for what you did. If you had never established your nation, they would still be alive."
"They would be slaves. Chattel slaves, not that cute little 'wage slavery' concept privileged people throw around. Perhaps I should remind you just how much darker that reality would have been for your female descendents, specifically. I am a brutal warlord, a dictator with an iron fist. But my claws do not squeeze nearly as tightly as I could. Metrics say that I could extract at least 370% more profit from my people if I simply enslaved them. But despite the shock this may bring to you all, I do have principles. The Autonomous Peoples' Stars are my people. My nation. My empire, if you think I'm imperialist. But I protect them as best I can."
Nilnacrawla's cold anger didn't lessen. Penny placed a calming hand on his front left thigh. He blinked. He let out a long, pained sigh. And he bowed his head to her. Not to Kashaunta, but to Penny.
"There is no need to be cruel."
"My language was accurate, Penny. He is a strong Elder. Everlasting knows he's stronger than most of these fools. Nilnacrawla was and is a hero of the Source war. I respect him enough not to mince words, or to give platitudes. Coddling is for babies. Nilnacrawla is far more mature."
Kashaunta turned to Cardi. "You have been remarkably silent in this, concept."
"I have."
"A wonderfully succinct statement. Perhaps you can shorten it further. But nevertheless, you and I will be working together with Penny much more in the near future. Rest assured, if you refuse to become more independent, you will be nothing more than a crutch for her to rely on before leaving her to fall when you are ripped away."
"When, Elder? I would like to think your protection is sufficient."
"I am sure the truth is quite the opposite, dear. I will now get to the point. Penny needs to move faster, and needs to break out of her shell. She needs to be pushed to do more. She has signed a binding treaty, which shows she is capable of more than barbarian aliens, as some Elders would call her. You, Cardinality, will help her be a high achiever. To do this, you need to learn more about your own history.
That is the theme of the year, after all. History. My history, Penny's history, Sprilnav history, and even Gaia's history, it would seem."
"Gaia? What do they have to do with all of this?" Penny asked.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
"Excuse me? You don't get to decide that, Kashaunta. You will tell me. I refuse to be coddled, like you say. I demand the respect I am owed."
"You forget yourself, Penny."
"I remember myself, actually. I am all I need to be. I can become all I need if I must. You can hold your backing against me all you want, but you won't withdraw it. As you said, more binds you and I than mere money and ideology."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then I've doomed my species and my nation to war, and this planet to the full power of my wrath."
"Wrath, Penny. Wrath. The Sprilnav have many words for anger, rage, hatred. There is the desire for vengeance, in varying degrees. There is that for justice, which does differ. And that for belonging. I know you believe you are standing up to me as a way to assert your own authority in this relationship of ours. You believe I see you as inferior, and will pull back my help when it is profitable for me. I will not offer you the consequences of what your words could mean.
You already know them, and that argument is as stale as your view on us Elders. I will say this once, Penny. You are the Champion of Humanity. The apex predator of your planet, the only one mostly in charge of an Alliance that does more than merely dream of overthrowing us. It is easy for me to say you are not a threat, though I do not ignore the threat you and your nation are trying to become. Gaia will be a part of your movement, but even my information is not entirely complete. I will not mislead you by claiming I know Gaia's link to this, just that there likely is one.
And I am not unreasonably petty. I am willing to put all our animosity behind us and start anew. Even if you are not willing to do the same, I am willing to make this work for us. You have more people to care for than just the Alliance, now. Do not forget them."
"A lot of words that mean nothing."
"Because you heard, but did not listen. Perhaps it will be easier this way, Penny. I want you to win."
"Explain."
"You wish to overthrow the current Sprilnav led order of the galaxy. Your path to that will likely be through mass slave revolt. A viable strategy that I could spread far beyond just this planet. And I actually agree with you. This Judgment, this utter insanity around the Alliance and your species has shown me the truth. The Elders as a class and a species cannot be trusted to rule any longer. We need new leaders. Better leaders."
"And yourself?"
"As the hypocrite that I am, and the power-hungry ruler of the Sprilnav, I would obviously exclude myself from that number. Let's be realistic. The Sprilnav will never accept a non-Elder ruler. If you wish to see what our insurgencies would be like, imagine the 2090s Struggles of Asia. Expand that to billions of planets, large and small. Countless ships and space stations. We have more collective ships than you have people. And as your military planners know, there is no such thing as an unarmed ship. Without us, without me, your plans are stillborn. Your galactic Alliance or whatever you make will fall to pieces without proper counseling. In essence, my offer to you, and you alone, is this. The galaxy, for the Sprilnav."
"Who backs your offer, with the power to give it?"
Progenitors Lecalicus and Nova appeared in the room.
"I back Kashaunta," Lecalicus wheezed.
"I observe her offer, and wish it a proper outcome," Nova said.
"Thank you, esteemed Progenitors," Kashaunta said, standing just to bow to them. Penny stared at Nova, balling her fists.
"There will be time for battle later," he said. "But not now. Hear out her request. She does not make it lightly."
The Progenitors disappeared.
"If I accept your offer, it will be on a written record."
"No. It will not be, because if that record is written, my nation will be facing war on all sides. A better idea would be for us to keep this under wraps."
"Perfect for betrayal," Nilnacrawla muttered.
"It would be, yes. But consider the second part of this situation, Nilncrawla. If word of this galactic offer, not just the Pact, were to get out, which is why two Progenitors who know the price of interference were called here, it would mean the deaths of Penny and all her kind. Or do you forget what rapidly approaches us?"
Nilnacrawla frowned. "I did. I apologize, Penny."
Kashaunta spoke up again.
"Penny. You believe I will betray you. So I make an offer of collateral. An offer so unbelievably sacred for us Elders that many would recoil at the mere thought of it. Now that you have signed a backed treaty, you are fully qualified."
Kashaunta grabbed her Soul Blade and presented it to Penny.
"What does this mean?"
"Nilnacrawla, tell her," Kashaunta said. "She will trust your mouth more than mine."
"Bonded Soul Blades are priceless artifacts," Nilnacrawla said. "To offer one to another is the ultimate gesture of trust and respect among many martial Sprilnav cultures. It can also allow for a mind bridge, a soul pact, or a proposal for marriage between two great houses, martial families, or Elders of great wealth and power. To offer this to a human... to anyone... is an ultimate sign of backing, and one of trust.
It is a sacrosanct honor, the absolute agreement of speaking truth and respect. The words I can use in any human language are insufficient to describe the weight of this honor. This gesture is one of absolute truth. Family lines with hatred going back millions of years would never dare to violate this honor."
"Only one Elder in history did so, one who once led a group known as the Stannic Resistance. He does so no longer. Penny Balica, Champion of Humanity... if there is nothing else I can give you to prove that I do really back you, there is this."
"...Just how low are my chances in the Judgment for you to resort to this?" Penny asked.
"They are not zero, but your battle with be incredibly difficult even with this boon of mine. The future of the galaxy, I now realize, hinges on the outcome of this. If we do not have enough trust, they will sniff it out, and we will fail."
So she had no choice. But as Nilncrawla continued to explain in her mind, Kashaunta was getting the worse side of the deal. Which meant she was throwing her backing behind Penny for real, beyond all reproach and retraction. Kashaunta, the most powerful Elder in the galaxy.
"And if I reject this gift, or your reasons for it?"
"Circumstances would demand that I kill you and then myself using this blade as a way to cut apart the dishonor, before my remains are dumped into a black hole to be forgotten forever. I would not do this."
"A dark and archaic custom," Penny said. She would have said more, but she looked at Nilnacrawla's face. He was clearly deeply uncomfortable. Her five words had shaken him more than anything she'd ever said to him before.
"You do not understand," Nilnacrawla said. "This is not something to joke or lie about. With a Soul Blade Pact in play, all else must cease. Right now, there is you, and there is her. Accept or decline. The choice, your only choice, is yours."
"How will this look to the Elders in the court? To the Sprilnav, and the people who back me?"
She could see how it would be a boon and a curse.
"You, and I," Kashaunta said. "The whole of the universe between us right now is you and I. No others exist until this one act is done. There will be trust or there will be death. No in between. No middle ground. The nature of this bond will be a Pact of Blades."
Conceptual energy swirled between them. Penny's natural translation, as part of the hivemind, failed for the first time ever. Her communicator likewise did not translate the words Kashaunta spoke.
"Eis nama kaste Penny Balica, sun lanci Dorima Kashaunta. Ko'ri, lanci nupa bes na Dorima'Pecunyanova. Sp'rkial'nova. Sun. Homo Sapiens."
The air grew thick with tension. It was not just emotional, either. Psychic and conceptual energy gathered. The mindscape started to distort as more and more eyes began to view Kashaunta and Penny. But all of them were Sprilnav eyes. All of them were Progenitors. Nova's appeared brightest and largest, nearly six times the size of the next largest pair. They stared at her, sending psychic and conceptual energy down upon her in waves that forced her and Kashaunta to kneel to the ground.
"I apologize for my earlier words," Penny said. "I should not have denigrated this."
Penny stood for an hour, deeply contemplating the Pact. If it was as Nilnacrawla was describing to her, it was a promise that Kashaunta would not break. If she was offering it at all, especially to Penny, it meant she had a level of trust in Penny's capability far above what Penny had previously thought. Apparently, there were even higher agreements than this that were possible, with this Pact being the lowest level of bond and considered unbreakable with the enforcement of consequences coming from the Progenitors themselves.
She thought of her place in Justicar and the wider universe. Hours passed like water. And then, by the end of it, after nearly 19 hours, Penny finally had decided. She gave a short nod to Kashaunta, who had been kneeling to Nova all this time.
Kashaunta gestured at the sword. "Tol, nopa shikai."
Nilnacrawla fed her a few suggestions on what she would need to say.
"I come to this Pact seeking peace, justice, and hope," Penny said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery."
Nilnacrawla translated Kashaunta's next words to her.
"I come to this seeking trust, understanding, respect, and peace," Kashaunta said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery. I make this Pact before the gods, those who equal them, and those who surpass them. I bind them to an oath of silence regarding this event, until I directly instruct them otherwise, in a state of a sound mind, body, and soul. Here, we shall step into a future that needs both of us, casting aside that which is unimportant to focus on the ultimate goals we have. I offer my Blade to Penny Balica, of species Homo Sapiens. In this way, we forge a new future, and walk a new path. I accept the Pact."
"I accept the Pact."
Nova and a hundred Progenitors descended. Nova grew larger, and Kashaunta knelt to him. Penny remained standing. His sharp teeth glittered in the light. He pressed his claws to Penny's chest, and to Kashaunta's chest.
"The Pact of Blades is made before the Progenitors. We agree to your vow of silence. The penalty of breaking it will be dismemberment and disposal into a black hole. Penny Balica, Engineer Kashaunta. To break this Pact without mutual agreement is to call down our collective wrath upon yourselves. You both have agreed, and are of sound mind, body, and soul. The Pact is forged. By sword, by word, by action. I, Nova, Everlasting, Lord of the Progenitors, King of all Sp'rkial'nova, Heir to the Mantle of Power, Heir to Narvravarana, Progenitor, Elder, and Sprilnav, declare the deed done, etched in time, space, and Reality."
They winked out of existence one by one, leaving Penny and Kashaunta alone, to ponder the future. Penny's thoughts turned to the Judgment, and her confidence she could win it began to waver. How much worse was this Judgment going to be than before?
Penny stared at Kashaunta's Soul Blade. With careful fingers, she took it. Kashaunta sat up, satisfied.
"Now we can begin. I shall compile all the news about you I can find, and we shall see how to address the questions the High Judges will ask. Now that you trust me, I cannot betray you."

Before I get started, I want to say that I recognize that this is a good game. I’m about to rag on it for a while but most of it is personal. Don’t take most of this as an objective review. I can recognize that the game is good even if it isn’t for me. Also, don’t feel obligated or anything to comment. I am mainly doing this to record my own thoughts and maybe get some feedback from the community.
This game is hard. Not just in game difficulty. I mean that it is hard to do justice in words. My first souls experience was Elden Ring and it has since become one of my favorite games of all time. Sekiro was my second and has gotten even higher on my list (I will try to avoid comparing DS3 to Sekiro as it is so different though). When Armored Core 6 came out, I fell in love with it as well. Needless to say, the last couple years I have fallen into a Fromsoftware craze. This inevitably led to me playing Dark Souls 3.
I decided to start with 3 as 1 just looked and felt too slow for me right now and 2 honestly out of what others have said about it. 3 seemed the closest to the games I have really enjoyed, so I thought I would go for it next. Now for context, I am not a huge Souls like fan. I just don’t vibe with the gameplay typically. Elden Ring being the chief exception. But, I assumed that this game could be another exception as everywhere you look you see praise for it.
This game, unfortunately, has not lived up to that reputation in my eyes. It had its high points and certainly its lows, but regardless, I never fell in love like I did with the others. There was no point where this game clicked like in Elden Ring and instead was a near constant king in the balls with no reward.
Let’s start with so good things though. The level design is top notch. I adore the mazes for the most part. The areas are gorgeous. The bleeding sun in the latter half, all of Lothric Castle, the entirety of Boreal Valley, Dragon Peak, all fantastic areas both visually and in their layouts. I can only think of a couple areas that were a pain to get through, but they were few and far between.
Another pro for the game is the enemy design. Note, I am not talking about bosses here. The general enemies, for the most part felt good to fight. There were a few exceptions like the bird ninjas in the Painted World, but overall very enjoyable. My personal favorite is the eclipse knights in ringed city. Awesome area by the way. But yeah, overall, the normal enemies and variety were very good.
Now to get into the parts that are a bit mixed. This is where I think a lot of people may disagree with me. The bossfights. For this first part, I simply want to give a brief rundown of the bosses I fought. There will be a couple I expand on for reasons you will see, but most will be brief.
Iudex Gundyr: fun opener, nothing too special, but nothing wrong either. 1 attempt.
Vordt: again, nothing really of note. A fine boss for the early game. 3 attempts.
Cursed Greatwood: not sure why this guy was here honestly. Bit of a waste but nothing egregious I suppose. 1 attempt.
Crystal Sage: I actually liked this fight. It is a bit gimmicky, but I thought it was an interesting puzzle. 4 attempts.
It should be noted that from here on out, I am using the Irithyll Straight Sword. Yes, I really mean until the end. I’m sure a lot of you read that and are thinking “he’s going to deal 0 damage to the late game bosses”. You are not entirely wrong, but I will address my view on that later.
Deacons: cool concept, but crowd bosses are always a bit rough. Again, not too offensive in any way, but not amazing. 2 attempts
Abyss Watchers: I thought it was a fine fight. Phase 1 was creative with the watchers all fighting each other and phase 2 was alright, but I never thought it was a great fight. Not bad, just ok. 9 attempts
Old Demon King: I thought this was pretty cool. The use of fire in the fight along with the melee from the boss felt pretty good. 5 attempts.
Wolnir: similar to Deacons. It’s an interesting concept that was executed well, but I don’t think it really works. Cool ideas, just not great for this game I thought. 1 attempt
Pontiff: this is where I started to really lose any love I had for this game. I am not a fan of duo fights in these games. I believe that a good bossfight should be two strong individuals dueling to see who truly is the best. Pontiff was close to being a great fight, but I am sure you know where I am going. His clone attack is horrendous to me. The way they cover each other constantly, the way I could never find an opening, I just never understood this fight. In other tough fights like Radagon, Malenia, or Isshin, there was a moment where I felt like I truly knew what to do, and just had to execute. At no point did I feel that with Pontiff. In the 10 hours it took for me to beat him, I never felt like I understood the fight. It did not feel good to overcome him, it just felt hollow, like I got lucky.
Aldrich: I beat him very quickly and honestly didn’t have time to make a review. 1 attempt.
Yhorm: an absolute disappointment. I am not opposed to gimmick fights, but once I used the storm ruler, it was just too strong. This guy is a living legend apparently and he fell in four hits. I’ve been told that fighting him without the sword is much more fun, but I killed him so quick that I didn’t even have the chance to think about it. 4 attempts
Dancer: I don’t get the love for this boss. Many of her attacks felt like they came out of nowhere and were completely undodgable at times. Some of her combos like her spin move just went on for way too long to me. She felt mediocre at best and unfair at worst. 23 attempts.
Dragonslayer Armor: fun. Not too complex, a decent fight. 4 attempts.
Lothric twins: again, pretty good. A rare good “duo” in my book. Not too much to say, it is a pretty straightforward fight, but not bad. 26 attempts.
Oceiras: This is where I'll put this out there, I have zero idea what is happening in this game story wise. I know Fromsoft likes to make things ambiguous and hard to find, but man was it bad in this game. In Elden Ring, on a blind run, I was able to at least figure out some basic things like my goal, my reasoning, some of the lore, stuff like that. I wanted to bring this up here because I feel like Oceiras has a lot going on that is just entirely left unknown. I'll expand more on that later, but as a boss, he again was mediocre. 3 attempts.
Champion Gundyr: This boss was very close to being good in my view. I like faster pace bossfights which he definitely is. He is constantly aggro and leaves very little breathing room. I enjoyed that, but the fight itself never really clicked. I made it through though. 14 attempts.
Nameless King: up to this point, this was easily the best boss in the game for me. The first phase was creative but not insufferable. The second phase was where he shined though.I can see where the seeds for some of my favorite Elden Ring bosses were planted because King acts pretty similarly to what I have enjoyed previously. Overall, very good fight. 7 attempts.
Soul of Cinder: I loved the music and the fight was alright to pair. Atmosphere was good, overall just a nice fight. Nowhere near something like Radagon or Allmind to me, but still an enjoyable final fight.
I have decided to put the DLC bosses here because they are some of the most polarizing bosses I have ever fought. Everything was fought before Soul of Cinder and after the lothric princes.
Ashes of Ariandel: Up to this point, I cannot say I had really been having fun in this game. I had my high moments sure, but nothing stuck. I was mainly indifferent if not frustrated. I know I have listed some good aspects of the game, but something about this game just did not work. This DLC broke me.
To start, I am not even going to be bothered with that gravetender boss. I tried for about an hour and then realized that this fight is probably the most horrendous thing I have ever done, so I left, and I feel no shame about it. The village at the bottom of the hill is almost my least favorite area in the entire series, beaten only by Irithyll Dungeon. The enemy designs in this are some of the worst in the game. The opening lever to the final boss is hidden on a random pillar in a random room with zero noticeable markings.
Now, that we've made it through all of that. It is time to go over probably the most frustrating thing I have ever done. Sister Friede.
I have never been as frustrated or as demotivated by a video game as I was in the 8 hours it took me to beat Sister Friede. I despise almost everything about her so I have decided to break down her fight to go over everything that is wrong with it. Spoiler alert, it is mostly because of the horrendous phase 2.
Phase 1: This phase is WAY too slow. Even when playing as aggressive as possible, she just kept dodging and stalling. Remember, I also am using what I know now to be a pretty underpowered weapon, so my damage is not great. That however, never bothered me. I will go more in depth on that in the Ringed City section, but just know that this first phase took what felt like a really long time. Eventually I was able to learn the attacks, but the fight never sped up. It is not my style, but at least it felt fair.
Phase 2: I fucking hate this phase. at least 75% of my time on this fight was spent banging my head against phase 2. I despise it. Having Ariandel constantly just slamming his bowl on the ground while Friede just spams ice from the far corner is so horrendous. Then, just when you think there is going to be an opening, now Ariandel spews fire all over forcing you to go around, just in time for Friede to start spamming again of course. The way they cover each other CONSTANTLY. The fact that the ice can frostbite you without even actually having a hitbox yet. Ariandel just dropping lava all over the ground once you finally get a chance to hit him. I cannot stand it. It is insufferable and when I beat it I popped off so hard my neighbors texted saying good job. Oh how I wish I had been recording myself in that moment because my face sunk so fast it would put the titanic to shame.
Phase 3: Funnily enough, this is probably the best phase of the whole fight. It is finally a dance, like a good fight should be. Unfortunately for me, I don't think I saw this phase more than 8 times. Yes, in 8 hours, I only made it past phase 2 maybe 8 times before I finally beat it.
In short, I hate Friede. Phase 2 as it stands should be cut entirely. Phase 1 should be tweaked, and Phase 3 should be left as is. If this fight were just phases 1 and 3, it would be an infinitely better experience. Even then, I don't think I would have enjoyed this fight that much, but it would have never gotten to the genuine anger that I felt at points. Is that immature? maybe. All I know is that at this point in my experience, I was playing mainly out of spite. I was not having fun, I just needed to finish this for my own sake. I do not think I will ever be doing this fight again.
Time for Ringed City DLC. Let me just start by saying, this DLC is SO much better than the previous. The visuals are better, the enemies are better, the bosses are better (we'll get to that), if I could get rid of Ashes and just have Ringed City, I would. That being said, it did start off rough.
Demon Prince was an annoying fight. Not Friede levels of annoying, but definitely not my favorite fight. As I mentioned earlier, I really do not like Duo fights. I ended up summoning Gael to help me simply because at this point, I could not be bothered to respect this boss. The second problem for me was the healthpool. That however was mainly my fault. Again, I have learned that my weapon was not the best, especially against a boss that does not take frost damage. However, damage is not my main worry in a fight, something which will become apparent at Gael.
Ringed City as an area was really cool. No real problems there.
Halflight: Basically just Fia's Champions before it was cool. I did not struggle. Fine experience.
Now it is time for the moment we've all been waiting for. Thankfully, we finally made it to a fight that delivered.
Slave Knight Gael is very likely my favorite bossfight of all time. The only souls boss that even comes close for me is Radagon. Everything about Gael is awesome. It is everything I want and everything I had been asking for this whole game. A true 1v1 Showdown between two strong characters fight to see who is better. There are no bullshit moves, it is a completely fair fight. It is tough, it is unrelenting, but it is fair. Everything is clean. This also where I will make my case that damage is not what matters in these games. I was dealing 170 damage per hit with my basic R1 attacks. By every metric, that is a horrible damage output. Just like on Demon Prince, I was basically tickling the boss. Despite this, I was having fun. Real, genuine fun. And it wasn't just fun to beat him. The very essence of the fight was fun. It was fun to learn, fun to execute, hell it was fun to die. I even intentionally died when he was on low health just so I could do it one more time. Something like that would have been absurd to me on any other boss. This is the only time in the entirety of DS3 that I can say I had genuine fun. The only time where the game truly felt good to play. It did not matter that none of the story made sense. All the pain of Friede and Pontiff and Demons was gone. It was just him and me fighting at the end of the world. It was glorious. It made me sad when I was finished, not just because I know I cant't do it again, but because I now know that the whole game had this potential. It all could have been glorious, and yet here I am with nothing left. Just me, my 94 levels and the Irithyll Straight Sword that could.
As for the story, I have no clue what anything was supposed to mean. I simply killed because they tried to kill me first. I don't know what the Dark Soul is, why any of this matters, or even what my end goal was. The Fire Keeper's words in the ending as the world is fading away makes it seem like we are supposed to feel hope as what I assume is the world ending. The credits music sounds hopeful as if there will be a fresh start, but I don't even know what I am supposed to be hoping for. Maybe that is the point, who knows.
At the end of the day, I am glad Gael was at the end. At the very least, the journey has a capstone of gold. I do not think I will ever play this game again and I am confident that I will never play the other 2 souls games. Overall, this game just wasn't fun, and as much as I love Gael, I do not have the strength or the will to go through that hell again just to fight one fun boss. I wish I liked this game more, but it just never worked for me. I am glad that I finished if only because it is done. I wish I felt more fulfilled, more accomplished, but I don't. Nothing like I did with the other Fromsoft juggernauts of late. I'm glad so many have gotten so much enjoyment out of this game. I am just unfortunately not one. I am fine with that, but I wish I had been able to have more fun in this journey.

Criteria

• At least 2 dedicated functions
• Blade-less
• Less than 7" when expanded
• Scissors less than 4" from pivot to tip of blade, less than 7" overall

Victorinox

• Jetsetter - 58mm key chain model with scissors, combination Phillips/cap liftewire stripper, tweezers, toothpick. One version also came with a nail file. Wish they'd bring that back. Wish they would also add a retractable pen like some of the other models have, although that can fairly simply yourself.
• Nail Clip 582 - fold out nail clippers with toothpick and tweezers. Perfect Dopp kit accessory.
• SwissCard NailCare - credit card sized tool that houses scissors, a glass nail file, a pressurized ballpoint pen, a pin, tweezers, toothpick, a magnifying glass, ruler and a small finger screwdriver with two small Phillips heads and two small flat heads.
• Wenger Air Traveler - discontinued model that includes scissors, nail file, jeweler's screwdriver, tweezers and toothpick.

SOG

• Synch 1 Travel - a discontinued model that can be worn as a belt buckle. Contains pliers, wire cutters, crimpers, scissors, a ruler, medium flat head screwdriver, a three-sided file, a jewelers flat head screwdriver, and a bottle opener.
• Baton Q1 - a discontinued model available on AE shaped as a pen. Pull it apart, and it becomes scissors. Also includes a bottle openeflat head. Pen accepts D1 refills.

NiteIze

• Doohickey Ratchet - includes: ratchet, flat bit 3.5 + 5.5mm, Phillips bit #1 + #2, bottle opener, standard/metric ruler, wrenches, pry tool, scoring point. Two of the wrenches (1/4"and 5/16") are featured in the center, two more revealed when bit holder rotated or removed (5 and 5.5mm).
• Doohickey+ - includes: Phillips screwdriver, Flathead screwdriver, ruler (metric/imperial), wrench, bottle opener, serrated edge, scoring point, and nail pullestaple remover

Gerber

• Shard - includes: pry bar, a small flathead driver, wire stripper puller, large flathead driver, bottle opener, cross driver.
• The Gerber MP600 Bladeless is too big for TSA's carry on rules.

Leatherman

• Style PS - discontinued but available on Amazon. Includes spring-action combination pliers, a file, scissors, tweezers, bottle opener and mini-screwdriver. The scissor spring is a known failure point.

Crankbrothers

• M19/F16 - bike tools that include 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8mm Hex drivers, T10 and T25 Torx tool, Phillips #1, #2 screwdriver, #2 Flat Head screwdriver, Tire plug tool + 3x plugs, Chain tool and #0,1,2,3 spoke wrenches.

Niche Industries

• GT-1 - about to launch on kickstarter. Three size flat heads one of which works as a 2D #2 Phillips and another works as a pry bar. There is a bit driver and a variable hex wrench/long bit driver. Includes a wire stripper, nail puller and rulered edge. The took opens in 45 degree increments and can as such be used as a square and level.

I did not include the True Utility FIXR because it appears to advertise box cutting and a blade.
What are some of the travel multitools you use that I have not covered?

Summary:

There are two sets of prophecies related to tall buildings in Islamic traditions:

• The first set includes a prophecy about tall buildings among a total of 12 prophecies. However, the other 12 prophecies in this set either never happened or have been proven false.
• The second set is a misinterpretation by Islamists, who have dishonestly altered the original text. The original prophecy actually refers to "buildings on top of the mountains," but they have manipulated it to say "tall buildings surpassing the tops of the mountains."

The first set of Ahadith about Tall Buildings, along with accompanying prophecies

These are the two Ahadith that Islamists cite as evidence for the prophecy about tall buildings.
Sahih al-Bukhari 7121:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The Hour will not be established (1) till two big groups fight each other whereupon there will be a great number of casualties on both sides and they will be following one and the same religious doctrine, (2) till about thirty Dajjals (liars) appear, and each one of them will claim that he is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), (3) till the religious knowledge is taken away (by the death of Religious scholars) (4) earthquakes will increase in number (5) time will pass quickly, (6) afflictions will appear, (7) Al-Harj, (i.e., killing) will increase, (8) till wealth will be in abundance ---- so abundant that a wealthy person will worry lest nobody should accept his Zakat, and whenever he will present it to someone, that person (to whom it will be offered) will say, 'I am not in need of it, (9) till the people compete with one another in constructing high buildings, (10) till a man when passing by a grave of someone will say, 'Would that I were in his place (11) and till the sun rises from the West.

Sunan Ibn Majah 63:

... he (the Prophet) said (about the signs of the last hour): 'When the slave woman gives birth to her mistress' (Waki' said: This means when non-Arabs (slave women) will give birth to Arabs") 'and when you see barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds competing in constructing tall buildings.'

Response:
The first issue with this so-called "prophecy" is that Muslims had already constructed impressive buildings during the Umayyad period (known for its distinctive architecture), long before the Hadith collections were compiled. This raises the question: can it truly be considered a prophecy?
Another problem is that this prophecy appears within a series of other predictions, many of which are demonstrably false. For the prophecy about tall buildings to hold, the other prophecies in the same series would also need to be true. Here's what the Hadith claims should occur but never did:
(1) Two large groups will fight each other, leading to a significant number of casualties on both sides, despite sharing the same religious doctrine.\ Comment: This is vague and likely refers to events that had already occurred before Ahadith were compiled. Therefore, it's not a prophecy.
(2) Around thirty false prophets (Dajjals) will emerge, each claiming to be Allah's Messenger (ﷺ).\ Comment: This scenario had already happened before Ahadith were compiled, indicating it's not a prophecy.
(3) Religious knowledge will diminish as religious scholars pass away.\ Comment: This is identified as a false prophecy, as there is no indication of a significant reduction in religious scholars leading to a loss of knowledge.
(4) The frequency of earthquakes will increase.\ Comment: Scientists assert that the observed increase in earthquakes is due to improved detection technology rather than an actual increase in frequency, suggesting this prophecy is incorrect.
(5) Time will seem to pass quickly.\ Comment: This observation is vague and subjective, with no clear metric to measure "quickly."
(6) Afflictions will become more frequent.\ Comment: This had already been observed during the initial wars among Muslims before Ahadith were compiled, suggesting it is not a new prophecy.
(7) Incidents of violence and killing (Al-Harj) will become more common.\ Comment: This observation is vague and challenging to evaluate, given many folds increase in population and societal dynamics.
(8) Wealth will become so abundant that wealthy people will struggle to find recipients for their Zakat, with potential beneficiaries refusing it because they don't need it.\ Comment: This seems to be a false prophecy, as there is no widespread evidence of excessive wealth leading to difficulty in distributing Zakat. In fact, people (especially Muslim countries) have become extremely poor and millions of Muslims are in need of Zakat today.
(9) People will compete with each other to construct tall buildings.\ Comment: This trend had already begun during Umayyad Caliphate, before this Hadith was written. Please read about Umayyad Architecture here. Moreover, none of the previous stated prophecies in this Hadith have been fulfilled.
(10) A man passing by a grave will wish he were in the deceased's place.\ Comment: This is speculative; it's not clear if or when this will happen on a large scale.
(11) The sun will rise from the West.\ Comment: This has not occurred, so it's not clear if or when it will happen, or if it absolutely doesn't happen.
(12) "When a slave woman gives birth to her mistress." (Waki' explained this as non-Arabs giving birth to Arab offspring.)\ Comment: It already happened long before the compilation of Ahadith when during the era of Umar Ibn Khattab, Arabs dominated non-Arabs and took their women as slaves, and it resulted in their Arabic speaking off-spring from those non-Arab slaves women. Secondly, the slavery has already been abolished in the whole world by the Western world. So, this Hadith is proven FALSE, as no more slave women are giving birth to their mistresses.
(13) When barefoot, naked, and destitute shepherds compete to construct tall buildings.\ Comment: The whole Arab were barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds before the capture of Persia and Africa. As soon as Islamic Caliphate and Arabs became richer and richer, they started making castles and high buildings. Please read about the Umayyad Architecture here. This happened before the compilation of Ahadith.
Also, consider that the Nabateans, known for Petra and other stunning structures, constructed buildings in the region centuries before Muhammad, some reaching heights comparable to the Colosseum in Rome. They also developed canals, tunnels, and intricate underground water systems well before that time. In the south, the Sabaeans constructed the city of Shibam with its iconic skyscrapers, the Maarib Dam, and the Ghundam Palace tower. Even the Quran mentions the people of 'Ad and Thamud, who built towering castles and structures, yet were punished for their arrogance, despite their impressive architecture (Quran 89: 6-9).

The 2nd Set of Ahadith: Tall buildings surpassing the tops of the mountains... OR ... buildings on mountain tops?

Islamists present the following tradition (source):

Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) is reported to have said: “……When you see tunnels/canals being dug in Makkah Mukarramah and the buildings (of Makkah Mukarramah) higher than the peak of the mountains then know that Qiyamah is close.”
(Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah, Hadith: 14306)

Response:
This Hadith has been misrepresented. A closer examination of similar traditions reveals that they actually refer to "buildings on top of mountains", not "tall buildings higher than the peak of mountains". This clarification becomes evident when we consider all the relevant Ahadith on this topic, which collectively provide ample clarity that the correct interpretation is indeed "buildings or houses on top of mountains".
Muṣṣanaf Ibn Abi Shayba [Vol. 5, no. 14289]

حدثنا غندر عن شعبة عن يعلى بن عطاء عن أبيه قال كنت آخذا بلجام دابة عبد الله بن عمرو فقال كيف أنتم إذا هدمتم هذا البيت فلم تدعوا حجرا على حجر؟ قالوا ونحن على الإسلام؟ قال ونحن على الإسلام، قلت ثم ماذا؟ قال ثم يبنى أحسن ما كان فإذا رأيت مكة قد بعجت كظائم، ورأيت البناء يعلو رؤوس الجبال فاعلم أن الأمر قد أظلك
Ghunder narrated to us from Shu'ba from Ya'la ibn 'Ata' from his father, who said: "I was holding the reins of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr's mount, and he said, 'What will you do when you tear down this House (the Kaaba), leaving not one stone upon another?' They asked, 'While we are still Muslims?' He replied, 'Yes, while you are still Muslims.' I asked, 'Then what happens?' He replied, 'Then it will be rebuilt better than it ever was. When you see Mecca with its valleys dug through (canals or tunnels), and construction (buildings) rising above the tops of the mountains, know that the matter (a significant event or the Day of Judgment) is looming over you.'"

And other traditions are as under:
Kitāb al-Fitan [p. 22] Nu’aym ibn Ḥammād

حدثنا جرير بن عبد الحميد عن يزيد بن أبى زياد عن مجاهد عن ابن عمر رضى الله عنهما أنه رأى بنيانا على أبى قبيس فقال يا مجاهد إذا رأيت بيوت مكة قد ظهرت على أخاشبها وجرى الماء في طرقها فخذ حذرك
Jarir ibn Abdul Hamid narrated to us from Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, from Mujahid, from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them), that he saw a building on Mount Abu Qubays and said, "O Mujahid, when you see the houses of Mecca appear on its mountains and water flows in its streets, then take caution."

TafsirAbdar-Razzāq [Vol. 3, no. 2810]

نا عبد الرزاق عن معمر عن يزيد بن أبي زياد عن مجاهد عن عبد الله بن عمرو قال إذا رأيت البناء ارتفع إلى أبي قبيس وجرى الماء في الوادي فخذ حذرك
Abdul Razzak narrated to us, from Ma'mar, from Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, from Mujahid, from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, who said: "When you see construction reaching Mount Abu Qubays and water flowing in the valley, then take caution."

Akhbār Makkah, by al-Fākihi [Vol. 1, no. 699, Vol. 3, no. 1725 and 1728]

حدثنا سلمة بن شبيب قال ثنا عبد الرزاق قال أنا معمر عن يزيد بن أبي زياد عن مجاهد عن عبد الله بن عمرو قال إذا رأيت البناء قد ارتفع على جبال مكة وسال الماء فخذ حذرك
Salama ibn Shabib narrated to us, saying: 'Abdul Razzak narrated to us, saying: Ma'mar narrated from Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, from Mujahid, from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, who said, "When you see construction rising on the mountains of Mecca and the water flowing, then take caution."
حدثنا أبو بشر بكر بن خلف قال ثنا المؤمل قال ثنا شعبة قال ثنا يعلى بن عطاء عن أبيه قال قال عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص رضي الله عنهما إذا رأيت مكة قد بعجت كظاما ورأيت البناء قد علا على رءوس الجبال فاعلم أن الأمر قد أظلك
Abu Bishr Bakr ibn Khalaf narrated to us, saying: Al-Mu'ammal narrated to us, saying: Shu'ba narrated to us, saying: Ya'la ibn 'Ata', from his father, who said that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said, "When you see Mecca with its valleys dug through and construction rising above the tops of the mountains, know that the matter (a significant event or the Day of Judgment) is looming over you."
حدثنا بكر بن خلف قال ثنا المؤمل قال ثنا شعبة قال يزيد بن أبي زياد عن مجاهد قال قال عبد الله بن عمرو رضي الله عنهما يا مجاهد إذا رأيت الماء بطريق مكة ورأيت البناء يعلو أخشبيها، فخذ حذرك
Bakr ibn Khalaf narrated to us, saying: Al-Mu'ammal narrated to us, saying: Shu'ba narrated to us, saying: Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, from Mujahid, who said that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said, "O Mujahid, when you see water in the road to Mecca and construction rising on its two mountains, then take caution."

Akhbār Makkah by al-Azraqi [no. 342]

وحدثني جدي عن مسلم بن خالد عن ابن خثيم عن يوسف بن ماهك قال كنت جالسا مع عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص في ناحية المسجد الحرام إذ نظر إلى بيت مشرف على أبي قبيس فقال أبيت ذلك؟ فقلت نعم فقال إذا رأيت بيوتها يعني بذلك مكة قد علت أخشبيها وفجرت بطونها أنهارا فقد أزف الأمر
And my grandfather narrated to me from Muslim ibn Khalid from Ibn Khuthaym from Yusuf ibn Mahak, who said, "I was sitting with 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As in a corner of the Grand Mosque when he looked at a house overlooking Mount Abu Qubays and asked, 'Do you live in that house?' I replied, 'Yes.' He said, 'When you see its houses'—meaning Mecca—'rising above its mountains, and its valleys gushing with streams, then know that the matter (a significant event or the Day of Judgment) is approaching.'"

Ghareeb al-Ḥadith by al-Ḥarbi [Vol. 2, p. 544]

حدثنا عثمان حدثنا أبو معاوية عن الأعمش عن مجاهد عن عبد الله بن عمرو إذا ظهرت بيوت مكة على أخاشبها فخذ حذرك
'Uthman narrated to us, saying: Abu Mu'awiya narrated to us, from Al-A'mash, from Mujahid, who said that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "When the houses of Mecca appear on its mountains, then take caution."

Jāmi al-Aḥādith, al-Suyuṭi [Vol. 37, no. 40002]

عن يعلى بن عطاء عن أبيه قال قال عبد الله بن عمرو وكيف أنتم إذا أهدمتم هذا البيت فلم تدعوا حجرا على حجر قالوا ونحن على الإسلام قال ونحن على الإسلام قالوا ثم ماذا قال ثم يبنى أحسن ما كان وإذا رأيت مكة قد بعجت كظائم ورأيت البناء يعلو رؤوس الجبال فاعلم أن الأمر قد أظلك
From Ya'la ibn 'Ata', from his father, who said: 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "What will you do when you tear down this House (the Kaaba), leaving not one stone upon another?" They asked, "While we are still Muslims?" He replied, "Yes, while you are still Muslims." They asked, "Then what happens?" He replied, "Then it will be rebuilt better than it ever was. And when you see Mecca with its valleys dug through and construction rising above the tops of the mountains, know that the matter (a significant event or the Day of Judgment) is looming over you."

Note 1:
The Umayyad governor Hajjaj bin Yusuf fired a catapult from the top of Mount Abu Qubais onto the Ka’bah during the siege of Makkah in 691 CE. Thus, Ka'bah had already been destroyed before the compilation of this Hadith.
Note 2:
Dykes and canals had also already been made in Mecca by earlier caliphs of Islam, before the compilation of Ahadith.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mecca:
"Mecca was never the capital of any of the Islamic states. Muslim rulers did contribute to its upkeep, such as during the reigns of 'Umar (r. 634–644 CE) and 'Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656 CE) when concerns of flooding caused the caliphs to bring in Christian engineers to build barrages in the low-lying quarters and construct dykes and embankments to protect the area around the Kaaba." - "Makka – The pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods", Encyclopaedia of Islam
Mecca already had dykes, canals and tunnels ordered by Umar himself.

Later the canal of Zubaidah was also built to save Mecca from flooding:

https://www.islamiclandmarks.com/makkah-hajj-places/the-canal-of-zubaidah
In the year 809 CE (193 AH), Zubaidah (the wealthy wife of the 5th Abbasid Caliph) went on her fifth Hajj. That year there had been a drought in Makkah and she witnessed the devastating effect on the local population and the pilgrims.
Saddened by the situation she immediately called for a solution. Engineers and experts from different regions were employed to resolve the crisis. They proposed the building of a canal from the spring of Hunain which was 95km to the east. However, it wasn’t possible to build a canal on the surface because of the rocky and barren land. Instead, engineers chose to build an aqueduct which channeled water through a tunnel and provided it at different intervals where required.

Really UNFORTUNATE that Islamists have DECEIVED millions of innocent people using this prophecy:

Islamists often resort to dishonesty, and they have a vast propaganda machine to spread their lies and deceptions.
The combination of these two evils has allowed Islamists to mislead and convert innocent people to Islam through this prophecy.
Millions of Muslims harbor doubts about Islam, but Islamists have effectively used this prophecy to reinforce their faith.
The only fortunate aspect is that lies and propaganda can't last forever. Eventually, a time comes when the truth exposes falsehoods.
****
The direct link to this article for future use:
https://atheism-vs-islam.com/index.php/islamic-prophecies-about-the-last-hou304
Please bookmark our website for many other critical articles on Islam.

developed states = have coasts, but having coasts /= development. there are nearly 40 countries with coasts, that have been classified as lower income coutnries by world bank.
bangalore, hyderabad contributes some of the highest incomes yet theyre landlocked. plus south indias major revenue generator is the services sector, mainly IT exports which requires internet ports, not seaports.
if anything gujrat benefited the most from the coast and freight equalization, as there isnt much high skilled white collar talent moving there, but mostly low skilled workers. so gujrat wouldnt amount to much without freight equalization and modi preference.
moreover whats with comparing skill and talent of service jobs that are learnt and performed from hardwork, and comapring it to literal minerals that you just got lucky for by a geological luck which you didnt work hard for? states like karnataka are already rich and has the highest deposits in essential minerals like iron, gold, manganese,coal, bauxite.
Freight equalization policy ended in 1993 just when Bangalore was picking up pace and Hyderabad in 1991.
Speaking of Karnataka:
Coal - Karnataka uses 80 lakh tons or 8 million tonnes of coal per year. The average price of coal per tonne in the Indian market is 10000 and the international market is 15000. For the sake of comparision, the amount for the coal procured by Karnataka = 80 crores approx. The amount for the coal procured outside = 120 crores approx. Thats the difference of 40 crores.
Iron-ore (essential in the production of steel) - For the sake of comparision. Karnataka imports 4 lakh tonnes or 40 million tonnes of iron ores from East India or Odisha which is a major producer of iron ore. Amount for the iron-ore procured by Karnataka in India (per tonne) - 5000. Amount for the iron-ore procured by Karnataka outside India (per tonne) - 10000. Thats the difference of 20 crores.
Manganese-ore (component used to produce steel) - For the sake of comparision, the amount for the iron-ore procured by Karnataka in India (per tonne) - 10000 minimum. Amount for the manganese-ore procured by Karnataka in the international market (per tonne) - 10000
Bauxite - For the sake of comparision, the amount for the Bauxite procured by Karnataka in India (per tonne) - 15000 - 32000. The amount for the Bauxite procured by Karnataka in the international market (per tonne) - 15000–45000.
the values have been approximated to some degree for easier reading, but overall the idea is the same.
India uses 12 million tonnes of bauxite every year or 1.2 cr metric tonnes of bauxite. The total price in the international market would be 54 crores and and in the Indian market it would come around 38 crores. If we divide that by states in terms of population then Karnataka has approx 6% of Indias total population so that would be 22.8L rupees (comparing the highest price points)
These are the major minerals found in India along with some other minerals and it is not expontially lesser than in the international market. East India is getting its fair share of money from south India (considering that the other states more or less consume the same amount and that they have to pay the same amount to get those minerals)
The states that benefited the MOST are GUJRAT and MAHARASHTRA.
you can clearly see south isnt lacking majory in terms of minerals. but notice maharashtra and gujrat.
Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh have good amount of natural resources in the country. So what should have been the ideal location of the industries based on these resources? Obviously the locations where these resources are available .Mind you these locations are closer to sea with availability of sea ports like Paradeep ,Haldia and Kolkata.
However GOI India formulated a policy that any company can set up industry anywhere in the country and the cost of logistics will be subsidised by the central government. What it did was the industries set up plants where ever they got access to better skilled workers, safer places with low crime rates, better infrastructure and good literacy rates.
**firstly you need to understand what the freight equalisation policy means. it was a policy to subsidise the logistics of miners from mining states to industrial states. The minerals itself was sold at the same rate, so the mining states did not exactly loose any revenue.
some people argue that this policy disincentivised private companies from setting up plants in the mining states of Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh etc and the industries moved to coastal areas which are in South or West.
but that argument has no merits since Odisha and West Bengal too are coastal states with Kolkata being the most important port after Chennai in the Bay of Bengal. But not many Industries set up there. Kolkata had a lot of industries but was destroyed by communist rule. The Maoist Naxalite violence too scared away any industry from the region. Tata Steel did set up shop in Jharkhand. The eastern states lost opportunity to develop industries because of their own lawlessness and an absolute lack of talent and governance.
Also the policy of Freight equalisation existed before 1993. There were not much private enterprises set up in the South yet. Most were government or PSU set ups. South India was well developed, educated and industrialised well before Indian independence and continued to grow organically.
cheap labour from north is a new phenomenon caused by modern day socialist policies and otherwise labour was pretty much available locally.
Gist of the write up is irrespective of Freight equalisation policy or cheaper labour from north, South India would be exactly where it is.**
Indeed, such policies and resources did contribute but only to play part in the wholesome vision of people living in southern side.
**In the bigger quest for social and economic development, it was the vision of leaders, ethics and culture of society coupled with right attitude of government and it’s policies that manifested into overall growth of southern part.**
In 1905, the city of Bengaluru was electrified and even had electric streetlights decades before the northern towns did. More than half of homes in UP and Bihar are without electricity [as of May 2018], while Kerala has 100% electricity to every home.
You can take any metric - be it crime rates, women participation, literacy, school drop out rates, the southern states have been beating the northern ones for a long time. you dont get the mentioned metrics but just transferring the minerals from north.
The difference between the development of southern and northern states are so huge that it cannot be attributed to a single policy.
Madras Presidencies was one of the better run British provinces while the Princely states of Travancore and Mysore were way ahead of any of the northern kingdoms. Mysore had some of the world's highest real wages and living standards in the late 18th century, higher than Britain'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Kingdom_of_Mysore all thanks to better governance and able leadership.
UP/BihaBengal had fallen behind in economy long before the Indian government established the freight equalization policy in the 1950s. The population growth of the northern states have been substantially higher than the southern states. The governance and bureaucracy of the northern states have been substantially poorer than the southern states.
There was a time when South Indians were short-changed for jobs in the Central Government as most of them did not know Hindi. I am talking about the middle and lower level jobs. This was the case in the sixties and seventies. South Indians were ridiculed for everything … from their accent while speaking Hindi ( Madrasi or Maddu or Mallu were common epithets used) to their dusky looks (epithets like kallu was the way to talk about them) to their woman wearing flowers on their hair, which made them prostitutes.
While the South was forced to follow a three-language formula in schools and Central Government work places, North Indians would follow a one-language formula … only Hindi. North Indian leaders like Mulayam Singh discouraged teaching of English in Government schools though they had no shame in getting their children admitted in top English medium schools. The result is that Akhilesh Yadav cornered all the privileges while our milkman, Golu Yadav's son remained illiterate.
This being the case, South Indians did something very innovative. They focussed on English education. They were not averse to mobility and went to all corners of the world, where ever there was an opportunities. Their English skills and focus on studying technical subjects found many of them going to the USA and Europe. They latched on to the emerging IT wave and quietly helped American companies set up back-offices in India. Bangalore was the city where the IT revolution started. In the nineties, it spread to Hyderabad courtesy the visionary Chandra Babu Naidu. The Central Governrment did not understand this business nor did any of the North Indian politicians. The consequence of this was that this industry grew leaps and bounds without interference from the Central Government and the cow belt politicians. Thousands of youngsters started making a beeline to the US from the Southern states. The South Indian state Governments also provided better and more progressive administration including spread of technical education while the social engineering brigades of the North led their states to anarchy and regression. I must also mention the effort of Malayalis, who were the first to set an example in getting educated and leaving to the Gulf in search of employment. The result was that the Southern states left the cow belt far behind.
So, no. You are absolutely off the mark in equating this policy of freight equalization with the better development of south Ibdian states. At best, this socialist policy wrecked the railway finances. Other than that it had no impact. Also the cheap labour from the cow belt and the East did not come to the South untill the beginning of this century. It was only the determination and single-minded focus on education, mobility and population control that made the Southen states years ahead of the North. The North and East Indian politicians wrecked havoc in the name of social engineering with the Lallus, Mullas, Behenjis, Commies and Didis taking the states to disaster.
Another retarded reason that RW nutjobs use are, and i quote " we protected south from invasions ".
The strength of the Kingdom also includes the wealth that average people possess and the land mass they consistently maintained.
After the fall of Mauryan and Gupta empire, no kingdom in the northern parts of India has ever maintained their borders effectively. They either expand rapidly or shrink gradually. It's because, as some people have earlier mentioned, due to major invasions from external invaders and also inside the borders. In North India, there were plenty of small kingdoms that arose when the Mauryan and Gupta empire disintegrated. This led to continuous war between kingdoms and unfortunately only a few kings that too for a short time emerged successfully. **North indian kingdoms had to literally sell their daughters to form alliances to protect themselves, how the FUCK would they protect south?**
On the other hand in South India, right from the 3rd Sangam age ( i.e. from 3 century B.C to 3-century C.E) or even before to medieval times the land mass was majorly ruled only by three kingdoms namely Chera, Chola, and Pandyans. In medieval time, three more kingdoms became prominent dynasties in the land namely Pallavas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagar empire. The period for the latter two dynasties (Hoysalas and Vijayanagar)were after 1100 C.E., and hence less importance was given to them.
According to wikipedia there are 12 kings who have never lost the battles in their life(I’m talking about ancient India..and major wars which involved hundreds of thousands of soldiers). The list as per wikipedia contains:

1. Ajatashatru
2. Chandragupta Maurya
3. Karikala Chola
4. Cheran Senguttuvan
5. great Nayanmar saint Kochengannan of Chola dynasty
6. Chola king Rajasuyam Vaetta Perunarkilli (575 BC), who successfully completed military Rajasuyam sacrifice
7. Pandyan Nedunchezhian of the Sangam age
8. Samudragupta
9. great Pallava Nayanmar saint Rajasimha
10. Rajaraja Chola I
11. his great warrior son Rajendra Chola.
12. Narasimhavarman I

As you see, out of 12 kings, 8 belongs to South India.
What i’m trying to say is there are great kings in south too. They even excelled when comparing to their counterpart in some cases. I’m not arguing that Tamil Kings are the best, but they also had some mightiest kings of India, I just want you people to recognise it.
Unlike the North India which was ruled by warring factions who were in wars with each other, the Deccan and South India were ruled by at most three dynasties at a time. And it will be literally hard for the invaders who were new to the territories to challenge a well-established empire. Babur literally called krishnadevaraya as the most powerful king at that time, wouldnt be dumb enough to attack vijayanagara empire.
south may not have been attack by muslim inavders but it did get invaded by europeans, who are more detrimental as the suck the economy of wherever they colonise and are more dangerous than muslim invaders. South not only defeated the Dutch, French and Portugese, but restricted them to pondicherry, goa and kicked most of them out.
**Also lets not forget one of the most amazing yet sad moment from indian history. While north was struggling with one mughal empire, vijayanagar empire went to war against 4-5 sultanates at the same time with a massive number disadvantage and nearly beat all of them until, one of their own members betrayed them.**
Vijayanagara empire was the last powerful kingdom from karnataka and also of south india. Vijayanagara empire defeated islamic deccan armies for 3 centuries and delayed islamic expansion to south. Smaller Tamil and telugu kingdoms became the vassal states of vijayanagara empire. if not for them, souths demographics would be waaay different.
During their period Raja Raja Chola and Rajendra Chola ruled nearly 40% of the current Indian territory and also the only Indian King who had territories outside of Indian mainland. No native rulers of India after the Maurya and Gupta achieved that feat.
One interesting fact about Rajendra Chola’s expedition to northern kingdoms is that while expanding territories up to Pala Kingdoms, Mahmud of Gazhni was raiding the northwestern parts of India. Had they both met on the battlefield then the entire history of India would’ve changed.
In addition to that so historians claim that the great king Bindusara of Mauryan never really tried to conquer the Tamil Kingdoms which were then mostly ruled by Ilamcetcenni of Cholas who was equally famous for maintaining a large battalion of Chariot forces, one that can overpower Bindusara’s.
And coming to the wealth of the South Indian kingdoms

1. Right from the earlier Sangam age, the Tamil Kingdoms were trading with Romans and even with Japanese.
2. Ports like Mussiri, Kaveripoompatinam, Korkai, Mausilipatanam were more famous in Rome than in many North Indian kingdoms.
3. A Prince from South India, who is expected to be Pallava, became a Buddhist monk, spread Buddhism in China and also established the famous Shaolin Temple.
4. Tamil literature is one of the longest surviving language in the world and main official language of all South Indian Kingdoms. (Though Sanskrit was used during initial days of Pallavas, the later rulers patronized Tamil more than Sanskrit.

But it has to be told none these north Indian dynasty kings could ever be able cross to really cross Vindhyas or banks of Narmada because of presence formidable dynasty kings in South. Among the above only two (Vikramarka & Gupta Empire) could have a chance and still they couldn't do it because of formidable southern dynasty kings. Remember there were no Muslim kings who could stop them or trouble them.
Raja Vikramarka of Ujjain could ever cross Narmada because of the presence of strong Andhra Satavahana kings of Asmaka-Mahajanapada in Pratishtanapura or Paithan.
Even the Gupta Empire kings couldn't expand their kingdom beyond Vindhyas because of the presence formidable Vakataka dynasty (of Vatsagulma or Washim of present MH). Vakataka's were direct descendants of Andhra Satavahana's in Central India.
Apart from above, the only king who actually tried to expand his Kingdom southward was Harshavardhana of Thanesar (of Sthanesvar of Haryana). And Harshavardhana met with a huge defeat at the hands of Chalukya King Pulakeshi II (of Vatapi or Badami of present KA). This gave an excellent opportunity for Chalukya kings to cross Narmada-Vindhyas to establish a huge Chalukya Confederacy of kingdom in Malwa and Gujarat regions.
However, an interesting aspect to be told about two Kalinga based dynasties (Mahameghvahana and Gajapathi dynasty kings) Kharavela (2nd century BCE - a contemporary of Satakarni I) and Kapilendra Deva-Pushottam Deva-Pratap Rudra Deva - 15–16 century AD) - these kings made conquests down south along the east coast to conquest up to Vengi and beyond up to Udayagiri forts for brief periods.
Finally, all I was saying is that South Indian Kingdoms were DEFINITELY not lesser when compared to North Indian Kingdoms. Their culture and language far reached more than the North Indian kingdoms. People in India never really cared about the History of South India and all they wanted was to learn about Mauryas, Guptas, Rajputs and praise their courage.
There is so much more points I could write but i rest my views here. it been a long post.

I work in healthcare, at bedside, and I strongly dislike where I work because of the workload. We are understaffed more often than not and management is a bit of a mess.
I applied for a job at a different hospital just to see what's out there. The area is beautiful, there's multiple avenues of advancement, the workload is the 'norm' for my profession, they offer 80% tuition reimbursement and are partnered with a school I would like to complete a 2nd master's program with. My only hesitation is that the pay is $4 less. I currently make 43.50 w/diffs and was offered 39.50 w/diffs. The hospital is about the same distance from my house (1hr commute) as my current hospital. They also offer a 10k sign on bonus with a 1yr commitment paid out in 30 days, lump sum. The recruiter did say they do raises if I start before August (think it's 1%) and cost of living analysis increases. They also give a base pay bump and reimbursement for additional certifications.
Edit: I currently have a master's degree in my profession, but they don't have a metric system to account for that yet and are basing the offer off years of experience (1yr for me). My current job pays me based on my master's degree with no experience at the time I started.
I threw the numbers into my budget worksheet and it's looking like a $400 decrease/month in my disposable income.
Thinking of my career only, this is a great place to advance in the long-term. But idk how to feel about taking a gamble on pay increases to get me closer to my current salary. The recruiter said she may be able to squeeze an extra $1 or $2/hr, and that would make me more comfortable, but no guarantees.
I don't have a lot of bills where a $7500 salary decrease would hurt me too much, but I am scared given the economy. But I'm also scared of staying at a place that I hate for the sake of money.
Advice? I have until Monday (next week) to decide.
Current Hospital: 43.5/hr, heavy workloads, messy management, friends
Perspective Hospital: 39.5/hr, 10k sign on bonus for 1yr, advancement opportunities, normal workloads

I have a database of Car Wash Sites (circa 1,500 individual sites). For each site I have detailed demographic data for them (e.g Population within 5km, median income, etc etc).
I am creating a worksheet that will act as a summary. You will select a site from the drop down and an easy to read summary will populate.
I am looking for this summary page to bring up 5-10 comparable sites. I want to define 5 or so metrics to search the catchment database and return comparable sites (e.g sites that have a similar sized population, with a similar median income, and a few more).
I am not sure how to do this automatically.
Manually I'd apply filters for the key metrics, and drill down to comparable sites that way. I have no VBA skills, but am a willing learner.
How would you go about solving such a problem?
Thanks in advance to this amazing community

So I'm schizoaffective and autistic. I'm also [Redacted], but, y'know, my handler doesn't let me share that publicly. As a result, I got an interesting brain. Makes me think differently than the average meatbag of mostly water with basic reasoning skills. When I was a kid, my parents and I played a lotta board games, and me being me always found ways to fuck with the rules to skate by on a win that no one expected. Like, you know Monopoly? You should never go for hotels, because you can cause a housing shortage by keeping all those green houses in play, and then you can dominate the board with some skillful negotiation.
These sorta boundary-pushing tactics were certainly enhanced and developed by playing a metric butt-ton of video games. I just, y'know, could see the effects of all my choices as they proliferated across a complex system with a multitude of rule-sets and ways to create inputs. And as a result, and when combined with my other, unspecified training, my mind is finely tuned with an ability to judge and determine the exact nature of the system we're in that is colloquially called civilization.
What do I mean by this? Well, let's look at the second amendment in America. Supposed to ensure protection against tyranny, right? Yea, no, the way technology and mind control has advanced over these last few centuries guarantees that a snowball has a better chance freezing Hell over than the American population has of overthrowing our government. But, y'know what that amendment does do? Guarentees there's a rifle behind every blade of grass, which, according to various foreign sources, and when combined with other factors like America's geography, make America fucking unassailable from external invasion.
This is the shit I think of. Let's take another example, perhaps one that's a little less hot in our cultural firestorm: the crusades. A buncha battles to secure the holy land from the likes of foreign heretics, right? Well, y'know, that little strip of land on the east coast of the Mediterranean is one of the most strategic locations for controlling trade between the west and east, but that is a fart in the wind to what was really going on.
Charles Darwin is typically credited with coming up with the idea of evolution. But, y'know, every fucking goat farmer six thousand years ago was well aware of animal husbandry. The concept of inherited traits was virtually a no brainer, and was used to great effect to domesticate evolve both plant and animal life to forms that better serve humanity. So, like, when do you think the first galaxy brain leader came up with idea of breeding better humans?
So, Jesus said love your neighbor and enemies, right? Even if religion is a completely engineered institution to program the population's behavior (and it is, and that's a good thing), it's probably a good idea to select the traits of peacefulness and ability to collectively love others. As a result of this epiphany, the leaders of the “dark ages” called for all those people who wanted to kill for God, and got them to kill each other. This had the benefit of causing an evolutionary shift in the genes of the masses, as the men who were the best fighters were artificially selected and got to breed with the surplus of women after each crusade, but, y'know, it also created a vacuum for the most kind and gentle men to get mad pussy while those dumbasses were off to commit genocide. As a result, both the Christians and Muslims intentionally created a force in the system that was their civilizations that pushed that masses to become more fit for the needs of what we can call the modern world.
Also, population control, because, y'know, we were an exponentially growing population on a finite amount of land that could only produce so much food. History was written by utilitarians.
But, hey, what's a little psychopathic manipulation when we're dealing with the literal apocalypse from the possibility of a foreign power growing stronger than your nation and just massacring all of your people? A lotta people tend to think of engineering society to make a utopia where everybody eats steak and gets to fuck. That would be a nice goal if God wasn't completely indifferent to the suffering and extinction of any and all lifeforms He ever created. That's where, y'know, the reality of “the elites are intentionally engineering society to be the most functional in terms of survivability in this competitive, dog-eat-dog world of ours” comes to shine.
I would absolutely love to live in a world where there's a four-day work week and there's a viable universal basic income and everybody gets ice cream for dinner, but when any system we can create for business and governance is inherently dominated and exploited by ruthless sociopaths, it's better that we allow our sociopathic leaders to facilitate a system that kicks every other systems’ asses to the curb.
Would I change anything about America? Oh you bet your burger I'd flip shit on its head if I ever became president, but as it stands, the American culture exists to keep everybody working as hard as they can, so our corporate overlords will have more power to make moves against foreign powers. You know why feudalism fucking worked? Because it allowed the wealth to be pooled in a small group per state, and that allowed those people to make big moves on the geopolitical stage. Ain't no “fair” system allowing anybody make, say, a purchase of foreign land for a sizable percent of your nation's GDP.
As such, a nation where wealth is fairly distributed would be crippled by the executive abilities of a nation of poor people that has a few extremely rich rulers. In the former, who's giving up their livable wage to pay for arming a military? In the latter, the rich create a livable wage that compelled the masses to go fuck up the other “fairer” nation. It's just basic strategy!
I dunno. I was just brainwashed by the CIA to create propaganda on Reddit. What the fuck do I know? I just see why anarcho-capitalism would thrive if it were allowed to manifest in a functional form. It's just a system that compels maximum utility and evolution.

Ah, today's edition of Tales of the Phoenix is a spicy one, innit? I'll just go right out and say that I'm aiming to make one of the most entertaining court cases ever, and then throw a “Got Away With It” party afterwards. Should be a lotta fun. Ain't no one expecting what's coming. ‘Tis funny to me.
I dunno, I got an interesting brain. Makes me think differently than the average meatbag of mostly water with basic reasoning skills. When I was a kid, my parents and I played a lotta board games, and me being me always found ways to fuck with the rules to skate by on a win that no one expected. Like, you know Monopoly? You should never go for hotels, because you can cause a housing shortage by keeping all those green houses in play, and then you can dominate the board with some skillful negotiation.
These sorta boundary-pushing tactics were certainly enhanced and developed by playing a metric butt-ton of video games. I just, y'know, could see the effects of all my choices as they proliferated across a complex system with a multitude of rule-sets and ways to create inputs. And as a result, and when combined with my other, unspecified training, my mind is finely tuned with an ability to judge and determine the exact nature of the system we're in that is colloquially called civilization.
What do I mean by this? Well, let's look at the second amendment in America. Supposed to ensure protection against tyranny, right? Yea, no, the way technology and mind control has advanced over these last few centuries guarantees that a snowball has a better chance freezing Hell over than the American population has of overthrowing our government. But, y'know what that amendment does do? Guarentees there's a rifle behind every blade of grass, which, according to various foreign sources, and when combined with other factors like America's geography, make America fucking unassailable from external invasion.
This is the shit I think of. Let's take another example, perhaps one that's a little less hot in our cultural firestorm: the crusades. A buncha battles to secure the holy land from the likes of foreign heretics, right? Well, y'know, that little strip of land on the east coast of the Mediterranean is one of the most strategic locations for controlling trade between the west and east, but that is a fart in the wind to what was really going on.
Charles Darwin is typically credited with coming up with the idea of evolution. But, y'know, every fucking goat farmer six thousand years ago was well aware of animal husbandry. The concept of inherited traits was virtually a no brainer, and was used to great effect to domesticate evolve both plant and animal life to forms that better serve humanity. So, like, when do you think the first galaxy brain leader came up with idea of breeding better humans?
So, Jesus said love your neighbor and enemies, right? Even if religion is a completely engineered institution to program the population's behavior (and it is), it's probably a good idea to select the traits of peacefulness and ability to collectively love others. As a result of this epiphany, the leaders of the “dark ages” called for all those people who wanted to kill for God, and got them to kill each other. This had the benefit of causing an evolutionary shift in the genes of the masses, as the men who were the best fighters were artificially selected and got to breed with the surplus of women after each crusade, but, y'know, it also created a vacuum for the most kind and gentle men to get mad pussy while those dumbasses were off to commit genocide. As a result, both the Christians and Muslims intentionally created a force in the system that was their civilizations that pushed that masses to become more fit for the needs of what we can call the modern world.
Also, population control, because, y'know, we were an exponentially growing population on a finite amount of land that could only produce so much food. History was written by utilitarians.
But, hey, what's a little psychopathic manipulation when we're dealing with the literal apocalypse from the possibility of a foreign power growing stronger than your nation and just massacring all of your people? A lotta people tend to think of engineering society to make a utopia. That would be a nice goal if God wasn't completely indifferent to the suffering and extinction of any and all lifeforms He ever created. That's where, y'know, the reality of “the elites are intentionally engineering society to be the most functional in terms of survivability in this competitive, dog-eat-dog world of ours” comes to shine.
I would absolutely love to live in a world where there's a four-day work week and there's a viable universal basic income and everybody gets ice cream for dinner, but when any system we can create for business and governance is inherently dominated and exploited by ruthless sociopaths, it's better that we allow our sociopathic leaders to facilitate a system that kicks every other systems’ asses to the curb.
Would I change anything about America? Oh you bet your burger I'd flip shit on its head if I ever became president, but as it stands, the American culture exists to keep everybody working as hard as they can, so our overlords will have more power to make moves against foreign powers. You know why monarchy fucking worked? Because it allowed the wealth to be pooled in a small group per state, and that allowed those people to make big moves on the geopolitical stage. Ain't no “fair” system allowing anybody make, say, a purchase of foreign land for a sizable percent of GDP.
As such, a nation where wealth is fairly distributed would be crippled by the executive abilities of a nation of poor people that has a few extremely rich rulers. In the former, who's giving up their livable wage to pay for arming a military? In the latter, the rich create a livable wage that compelled the masses to go fuck up the other “fairer” nation. It's just basic strategy!
I dunno. I was just brainwashed by the CIA to create propaganda on Reddit. What the fuck do I know?

Hi! I'm apprenticing as a dressmaker for a rather helther skelter company and I'm missing a lot of the knowledge and tools that would help me along the way. No, I can't apprentice anywhere else, before anyone asks. :') I've managed to find a lot of nifty books and resources and made a lot of wonderful connections, so I dare say I have the former under reasonable control.
As for tools, I can't seem to find proper quality tools. I don't want anything plastic. I'll gladly spend a fair bit of money as long as it's for quality that lasts.
Here are some tools that I'm missing:

• Sturdy rulers (metric)
• Buttonhole cutter
• Pressing tools including a brush
• Pattern weight
• A thimble that fits properly (I have tried a fair few, including vintage, alas I'm still on the hunt)
• Wax and chalk markers in big quantities including a sharpener

I work mainly with thick wools and some silks, linen and cotton.
Thanks for any help!!

Listing on Amazon says it works with 5-6mm. I don't have a metric ruler or measuring tape... lol
Please let me know if I'm looking at a good option. I like the orange and I need medium tips. 🤘

I read the announcement about the "adjustment" today at work and was excited to get home and see what changes had been made. I had read some pessimistic comments saying it was the same or worse, but am myself inclined toward optimism in most things. I had high hopes for a decent session.
I picked out one of my Mighty Ruler characters, that being the range where--because of my higher ranked characters--I've seen the most bullshit since the first adjustment.
I practiced some combos while I waited...
...and waited...
...and waited...
...and after approximately five minutes, I finally got a match.
The other player denied the match.
I'm in America 1 and I logged in around 4:30 p.m. EST--a perfectly reasonable, busy time to play. The only reason it could have difficulty finding me a match at a very well-populated rank is that it must have been trying again to match me according to a more specific metric than rank.
I know most people simply want the prowess-based change rolled back, but I have seen some people defending it. It's worth repeating that rank is already an appropriate matchmaking algorithm. Yes, higher ranked players play alts in lower ranks, but either a) they belong at that rank because they're not fluent with the alt character, or b) they move out of the rank quickly and are no longer a problem. I have played through enough of the ranks with enough characters to have seen first hand that, in the old system, approximately five out of six matches were rank-appropriate. Anyone getting thrown off by a higher-ranked player was desperate for points anyway. They notice and complain about those occasional mismatched encounters the same way in which they complain about losing-streak penalties, yet never about win-streak bonuses. Rank, on its own, was a fine matchmaker. Sure, the alts could probably be auto-promoted nearer to the main--I'm cool with that--but even if they weren't, there simply aren't enough high rank players to throw off the mid-rank players, who exist in far greater numbers.

I recently setup a multi-site Prometheus setup using the following high level architecture:

• Single cluster with Thanos as the central metrics store
• Prometheus operator running in the cluster to gather metrics about Kubernetes services
• Several VM sites with an HA pair of prometheus collectors to write to the Thanos receiver

This setup was working as well as I could've wanted until it came time to define alert rules. What I found was that when the remote agent stops writing metrics, the ruler has no idea that those metrics are supposed to exist, so is unable to detect the absence of the up series. The best workaround I've found so far is to drop remote write in favor of going to a federated model where the operator prometheus instance scrapes all the federated collectors, thus knowing which ones are supposed to exist via service discovery.
I'm finding that federation has its nuances that I need to figure out and I'm not crazy about funneling everything through the operator prometheus. Does anyone have any method to alert on downed remote write agents short of hardcoding the expected number into the rule itself?