Part 20: Livin' in a Robot Paradise

Chapter 18: Livin' in a Robot Paradise


"Citizens of the Commonwealth, our long struggle is nearly over. This gate will transmit our minds and souls back to Old Earth, where we will use all we have learned in our time on this new world to free the people there from their misery. I will be going with them. Once there, we will use our knowledge to restore bounty and prosperity to the planet."


"view us as saviors and liberators, and we are humble and willing to share our knowledge, our tools, and our power with them. Is it not self-evident that humanity must overcome all challenges it may meet? Is our approach not merely an extension of that which our spear-wielding ancestors knew? Humanity is the tool-maker, and we change the world to suit our needs, reject all limits, and moving always to progress for all."




"It's funny. At first, I didn't even want to come on this mission at all. I thought the best way to serve humanity was to stay where I was. And, truth be told, I didn't want to leave behind the comfort and stability I had managed to achieve there. But since then, I've seen wonders I could have never imagined, met quite a number of colorful characters, and experienced a full-blown technological Singularity."


No joke, our Science broke 600 per turn easily toward the end. As such, we researched a lot of techs here. I'll post some of the more interesting ones.


Though most of us are now computer programs or robots, many citizens still find comfort and joy in labor, including farming. We have gained a few points of Purity, so we have not completely forgotten our roots.








With Orbital Fabricators and Weather Controllers, we can now create any kind of random resource on affected tiles, from tubers and copper to Firaxite and petroleum. It's random, but still powerful.




Both the Algae and the Fruit bordering this city were created by satellites.


These techs gained us a bit of Supremacy, but not quite enough to fully understand Cynosure.







We also managed a few more great works before the end.


"that widespread knowledge of and belief in a Resurrection Device would utterly destabilize society. Work began in compartmentalized research programs, with only a few key people aware of what the overall goal was. When sufficient advances were made, one final facility was created, codenamed "Heavenly City."

This facility operates the Resurrection Protocol under a veil of automation and a deeper mask of secrecy. Few know of the Resurrection Device until they are chosen to undertake it, selected for their apex contributions to culture, science, governance, or religion. Candidates are whisked away to Resurrection City, where the Protocol is applied. Over the course of weeks their body's DNA is repaired, swarms of the most advanced nanites scour the body for developmental defects (which are corrected), and the candidate's brainform is fully holographed for future storage. Only then does the candidate emerge, and then the culture can observe that the candidate reverses in age—becoming younger.

There are many popular theories that explain the Resurrection Device, some of them truly grassroots (such as "Miasma shock") and some carefully crafted by counter-intelligence agencies (of these, "Gort's syndrome" is the most popular). These theories usually attribute the rejuvenation to some mysterious power of the alien world, which is true in part, but only inasmuch as humanity needed a new world to liberate itself from the cult of natural death."


"Before I hitch a ride in this ANGEL, let me remind everyone here to be excellent to one another while I'm gone. Be on guard for whatever the Slavic Federation's beacon is supposed to do. Try to keep them from slaughtering each other until we can unite the people of Earth behind us.

"Without further ado, let me make a toast. Here's to greatness for all mankind."




Our ANGELs also deploy nanite swarms whose purpose is to reconstruct and back up the neural processes of its deceased foes. These are then uploaded, via the nearest node, into special Acclimation Centers. Those who demonstrate a desire to eschew continued violence are allowed to join the greater consciousness of the Freeland colony, where they are eventually even permitted to download into new bodies. To say the people of most other colonies are horrified by this process is an understatement.


"Smoke me a kipper. I'll be back for breakfast."





"Can you hear me sir?"


"Yes. I have to say, this transfer trip feels very strange. It's like I'm the size of an atom, but also as large as the universe."


"Cool."


"Absolutely. Any status updates for me?"


"Haha, still? You're being flung across the galaxy and you want to talk about intelligence ops?"


"What can I say? I am a man of duty."


"Alright then. First of all, the Beacon is operating at 75% capacity. We're on the verge of pinpointing the signal's destination, at least. All the fighting in the area is making reconnaissance difficult though."




"We also have more ANGELs standing by, should anyone attempt to interfere with our gate. Franco-Iberia has come the closest, but we managed to stop them."






"That's good, at least."


"Wait! Khrabrost has just been captured by the African Union! The Beacon is still operational, but has nearly shut down... CyberAgents do not believe the signal is strong enough to reach its source."




"What a shame. Maybe we can fix it up for him when I get back. See you in paradise, Intern."



This is our ending Health.


Note that this does not reflect the increase from the Resurrection Device, so I'm at a loss for words to describe what life must be like. Congratulations, goons. You have achieved robot paradise.