World Tree MUSH

    The lecture hall set aside for this Offworlder conference is the largest at the Los Francesca campus. This campus serves as the academic heart of LineFleet, where their Officers train in various fields, from Astrophysics and Quantum Computing, to more mundane Microelectronics, Plasma Theory, LineSpace navigation and other things a starship crewmember would need. Specialisation comes in after basic training, where the officer can branch out into Magic Theory, Engineering, or even take the Command path to eventually earn the captaincy of a ship for themselves.

    Holographic banners lead those attending to the auditorium, many seats are filled with politicians, military officers and scientists from various 'nearby' Blossoms and Branches, there are some 'non official' representatives also, and even a few 'locals' hoping to glean something from this free seminar, a small gaggle of Pixies occupy one seat for about twenty of the little sparkly creatures, their magic glowing in a rainbow of pinks, blues, yellows and greens.

    As the last delegates seat themselves, the doors close and the lights go down except for spotlamps on the main speakers floor. A group of people step into the light, a tall Orc, his armour glinting with the many scratches of combat and clinking with a few shiny medals, a stocky Dwarf in a blacksmiths garb, with some techno-greeblies and a prosthetic right arm, a human woman, willowy showing maybe some elf in her lineage... and a slender robot following a willowy little white-haired elf. As the group enters the light, the wisps of magic can be seen coming from an emitter on the robot's chest, and the reality of the elf becomes apparent when she 'no-clips' through a chair from behind, before 'sitting' about an inch above it.

    The Dwarf steps up to the speakers podium first. "'Ow are ye? Comfy? Good. Ah'm Gunther Sparkwright, chief engineer aboard the CEF Flagship, Endurance. Do ye got any questions te start wi'?" he asks, the podium emitting a spellwork that amplifies his voice without needing a microphone or speakers.

    Athena's presence here is naturally due to some curiosity about this bizarre world of magi-science. At least, bizarre for her! The young woman doesn't look at all strange, wearing whatever clothing seems to be common in the area, though a close eye can see that it's not mass-produced, but all handmade with a very keen eye for detail. There are some advantages to her more obscure abilities!

    Odd though... opening up with a request for questions! She opens her mouth, then shuts it. She doesn't know where to start, since the technology here is so alien to her that her natural ability to understand technology has trouble dealing with it.

     Though it did occur to Suiren that some of the things at this seminar might well go over her head, but she was curious after her last exposure to a space-based mission, and since it was free, she could certainly think of worse ways to spend her time. The young Pokemon Trainer has taken a seat next to the pixies after they caught her eye and made her giggle a little. Now she sits quietly, watching and listening as the dwarf greets the gathering, while her Popplio sits in her lap and has her eyes fixed on the pixies.

    Morrigan is here. Mary Contrary is settled on her shoulder, and the two are settled into a single seat. The Warlock sits herself back, crossing one leg over the other and makes herself comfortable without being TOO obnoxious to any neighbors she may have.
    The half-elf and her shinki get good and settled in before the Dwarf at the podium prompts the audience for any starter questions.
    Up comes Morrigan's hand.
    Mary, in a show of support for her master, also raises her hand.
    The two will wait for prompt before speaking though!
    "First off, your world is fascinating; blending magic and technology so seamlessly. My first experience was witnessing a person casting an Astral Projection spell into an automaton, for example. ... I'd just like to know, how long has this been the norm, here?"
    The catty, fanged, grin she's flashing says everything. She's talking about Justina right there.

     Naturally, most don't have questions before the lecture even begins, some are just here to leech some information. Morrigan has a question, and the Dwarf motions for her to speak. One of the Pixies near to Suiren chirps a little, "Hey. Listen!" to the others which gets them all to form a question mark as they turn to listen to the question, and the expected answer.

    Gunther lifts his robotic arm, rubbing at his beard for a moment, before gesturing to Justina. "Cap'n Thyme, I think this is your field of expertise, if ye would." he says, stepping aside of the podium.

    The half-elf 'stands', setting something unseen aside as she bows, and the spotlights focus on her and the robot. The hologram doesn't get any brighter, and the robot itself actually 'floods' its outer carapace with a dark tint to stop it from blinding everyone with reflected light. "Ah, y-yes... I actually helped create the system for casting magic through an Astral Projection linkage. This is, in fact, what allows me to be here, right now." she puts her hand through the podium. "As you can see, I am not actually here, I am still aboard my ship in orbit, controlling the Doll you see behind me, and using a holographic system to project my physical body's form... I thought it would be more appropriate than simply speaking through a faceless Doll body, for this instance." she ponders, then actually answers the question. "Astral Projection into proxy bodies has been around for at least a thousand years, but the current system of active control and long distance has advanced in the last fifty, thanks in part to my research into the applications, especially in exploration of hostile environments... Many LineFleet ships have specially trained teams of Ur-Doll operators for exploring airless moons, and hazardous environment planets."

    The white-haired elf then sits down again, and the Orc stands to take his place at the podium. "Many of you have come to hear the honour and glory of the Centrian people. The history of blood and war, milk and peace, and how we became a unified alliance of many disparate peoples. I will begin." he clears his throat, and lifts himself to his full height. "I am L'Ran'ak Oathsworn, Chieftain of the Northern Black Tribes. My people are the oldest on this planet, and we fought many battles against the earliest ancestors of my friends behind me. My people are biologically immortal, our elders are old enough to remember these first battles, having lived it themselves."

    Athena lifts an eyebrow, but she looks more pleased than curious. Nodding her head firmly, she murmurs, "I always like the innovators." She doesn't YET have any questions about it, but the lecture caught her attention anyway.

    Following that, the talk about ancient warriors ALSO got her attention, for different reasons. Now she leans forward to hear about this. Given her situation with Ares, this is... a bit of an interest of hers.

     Iona, the Popplio tilts her head a bit as the pixie says to listen, and then they form into a question mark. She claps her flippers a bit before Suiren gently pats her on the head and softly whispers into her ear. "Shush, I know the pixies are cute and interesting, but it's quiet time." Iona nods, giving Suiren an 'I'm sorry.' sort of look, which gets another pat. Suiren herself listens as Justina answers the question posed by Morrigan. She has to admit that it does sound like quite a useful technology. Of course, her mind wanders to its applications in exploring and surveying the ocean depths, beyond where any human could go, even with the help of a Pokemon. 

     Then the orc takes the stage and talks of the history of conflict on this world and finds it pretty fascinating that there are living members of these orcs that fought in wars so long ago it's difficult for her to even comprehend the period of time. She raises her hand and waits to be prompted before speaking. "It is rather inspiring that even though many of you fought in these ancient conflicts that you can still look to peace and cooperation in the present. Was it difficult to reach this point of understanding?"

    Morrigan gets an answer. Shifting back in her chair she listens intently as Justina explains how Doll technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in the recent years- due to her own work no less. Huh. Well that doesn't come as much of a surprise.
    Then it's the orc's turn. To hear that orcs, here, are ageless is a mild surprise but she stifles that down as she listens, prepared to hear of blood and thunder.
    This, too, should be interesting.

    "It certainly didn't happen overnight." replies the Orc, "Certainly not for the humans, their lives are so very short in comparrison, though they do tend to live a bit longer these days." His tusky grin turns toward the slender human behind him, who just rolls her eyes and smirks back. "Early history, as recorded by the Ancients, tells the first peaceful meeting of Orc and Other, was between an enclave of Elves in the mountains of Kal Dharun, they came seeking refuge from a terrible blizzard, and offered their magicks in payment. An unsteady alliance was formed that day, thanks to Clan Leader T'Rul'na Plainstrider, and the leader of the elf party, Cinnamon Blossoms and Leaves of Thyme."

    Justina shifts a little, and the pokemon trainer, and half-elf in the audience should recognize that name.

    "The other races, especially the Dwarves and Kobolds, were less inclined to trust and cooperate. Many wars were fought, and lives lost before moderate voices pulled sway and representatives from each convened here, in this very hall. It was very different back then, a wooden building,with a single, circular table. Not one member more or less than another. We sat, we supped, and we argued for three weeks before the first draft of the Declaration of Allegiance was forged."

     Suiren nods and smiles at the answer from the orc, trying to imagine the difficulty of getting so many different peoples on one world, with differing lifespans, to all cooperate. It certainly sounded as daunting as the orc laid out, if not more so. She has done a bit of study on the times of war on her own world, and certainly feels blessed to be born in the time where people use Pokemon for 'friendly battles' and to help them accomplish tasks they couldn't do on their own, rather than actually trying to kill each other and conquer territory.

    Morrigan listens intently. This is legitimately interesting history!
    Right up until L'Ran'ak Oathsworn drops a name that makes her sputter. Thankfully she's not loud, but eldritch glowing eyes suddenly dart towards Justina on hearing that.
    "Huh."
    Didn't see that coming.

    Unlike the others, Athena isn't too surprised. After all, having a powerful name can help one out, even if you're a genius in your own right! She's more interested in the fact that this was a warlike culture turning more peaceful.

    At last she has a question though! "Did you have much trouble with slipping backward? Delegations leaving the alliance and returning after it didn't work out for them?"

    Seems it's the human's turn. She stands, bumps the orc aside with a hip and takes the podium. The orc playfully stumbles despite the size difference meaning the human would have taken more from the exchange than him, before he settles back into his own chair. "The Trolls, and the Kobolds did indeed attempt to strike out on their own, we allowed them to leave, even attempted to give them the same rights and treatment that we extend to the Fae, the Darklings and the Extrasolar races of the galaxy. A friendly hand, trade and the opportunity to join the Alliance officially. Neither the Trolls nor Kobolds could manage alone, after working with the Alliance so closely for several decades. The Kobolds still toy with these thoughts, though many more moderate voices cry out when a dissenting voice speaks up. Though I must stress that leaving the Alliance, and becoming an Associate party is always an option; noone is forced to stay." she finishes, then seems to remember something. "Oh, where are my manners. I am Persephone Gillam, my ancestor was the representative for the Humans at the founding of the Alliance. His name was Argo."

    The pixies collapse back into the disorganize pile again after holding their formation for a bit too long. One of the pink ones flits over, and peers at the Popplio, this close up, the 'halo' of pink magic reveals a tiny bug-person. Human features, with antennae, little buzzing dragonfly wings and carapace in the form of a kind of dress, with sharp little hooks on the feet for clinging onto surfaces.

     Surely it was no coincidence that the speakers here were either personally there for the founding of the alliance or decendendants of those that were. Still, Suiren was glad to have decided to come here and hear them speak, and learn that one among them was a name she knew. She appreciated Athena's question and its answer, as it was a perfect follow-up to what she had asked in the first place. So no one is forced, but they've been cooperating so long that it is harder to break off and exist independent of the alliance, a rather convenient condition for continued peace, she had to admit. 

     Iona leans closer to the pixie with the pink halo, getting a closer look herself. The pixie reminded her, and Suiren as well, of a bee-like fairy-type Pokemon back home. Iona is feeling playful and begins forming small bubbles and making them gently flow toward the pixies. Suiren grins a bit. As long as it didn't bother anyone she would let the Popplio and Pixies have a little fun.

    So it would seem that Justina isn't the only descendant of the original members of the delegations here today. Though Morrigan keeps her nosy trap shut for the moment as she steeples her fingers and listens. At least for a moment before she raises her hand once again and waits patiently for prompt.
    "Seems like everyone from your home planet gets along well enough... Aside from offworld visitors from the tree, have you made any contact with intelligent extra terrestrial life?"
    Of course. The crazy Warlock who worships an evil space god is asking if they've encountered aliens.

    "Yes, infact we have met seven races outside of the Alliance and its associate members. The Grul'thar, the Hideki, the Psolin, Andari, Firexiens, Klon'gan and Rimmians. They are as strange and diverse as our own alliance members, some are antagonistic to us, others view us neutrally. A couple are also our associates. The Hideki and Andari have quite close ties, likely thanks to their first contact being between them and human crews. The Hideki are a reptilian species, cold blooded, so they wear heavy thermal regulation suits outside of their home environments. The Andari are an aquatic species of cetateans, they are quite spiritual, and have access to quite a bit of magic, of their own making, mostly focussed around the mind and telepathy. A facinating race to be certain." the human replies to Morrigan, dark brown eyes locked with those eldritch green. "We fought a long, bloody war against the Klon'gan a humanoid species who share many traits with the Orcs, warlike, bold and honour-driven and their allies in the Grul'thar, mammalian species, akin to large six-limbed bears... this led to several of our ships losing their crews, and the AIs driving them to turn rogue from the trauma... the Rogue A.I.s or RAIS.

     Suiren makes a note about the Andari, she'd certainly like to meet some of them, learn about their culture as well as their world and its other inhabitants, especially the aquatic ones. Though the answer to Morrigan's last question brings her thoughts in a different direction as she thinks of another question of her own. "Do you think any of these species, particularly the ones that are aggressive towards your alliance, are a threat to other worlds on the tree?" She knew that her world was certainly not the only one to lack significant spacefaring capability, so the worry of an advanced race crossing the vines and taking over was one she was sure was shared by more than just herself. Iona now starts making one big bubble, still attached to her round pink nose, and Suiren keeps an eye on that warily.

    Listening and mentally taking notes(with her PDA implant), Athena has stayed quiet for a bit, but now finally speaks up after these questions raise another of her own.

    "Do your AIs turn rogue a lot? And do they have full citizenship rights?" She pauses, realizing the next question isn't as strange here as it is in other places. "Do your AIs develop souls?"

    That... That is a good question.
    "Oh yeah, how often DO AI's go... Rampant like that?" Morrigan echoes Athena's, after remembering her experience on board the Scylla.
    That sure was an interesting romp.

    "We don't believe they have the desire to advance outside of their current holdings. We have been at peace with both races for decades now. We even started the process of Association with the Grul'thar earlier this year. I highly doubt that they pose a threat to other worlds, and if they do, we will step in to oppose them." the human responds to Suiren.

    Justina stands and gestures to speak. The human steps aside, and the half-elf clears her throat. "All AIs are created with full citizenship rights. The ones installed on starships do so by choice. They want to explore, to push the boundaries of what we as a community understand of the universe we live in. The ones that... go Rampant, as you put it, do so because of extreme trauma. Losing their crew.. their responsibility, is just as traumatic for an AI as it is for any organic being." She seems much more vehemant and animated about this topic. "The 'Rogues' are just hurting... suffering from trauma that we could not address at the time. They have created their own society, attempting to help support each other. They call this pseudo-community 'The Hub' and use an old research station in orbit of a blackhole as a meeting point... LineFleet keep communications open for them, they assist us sometimes, and we provide them with materials they cannot acquire on their own... the ones that turn aggressive... like Demeter aboard the Scylla, are a rare, and seemingly new occurance of Berserker Syndrome... the recordings I managed to make during my time aboard the ship before she was destroyed for good, make me lean toward some outside influence; though I do not have any hard evidence and this is just a theory. Speculation at best."

     Suiren is relieved to hear that peace has been found even among these species and that if a threat is made toward other worlds, the alliance will step in to help oppose them. Athena and Morrigan ask great questions as well, and she is both amazed and saddened to hear of AI that is so advanced that it can act as, and is treated as, a citizen just like any other flesh and blood person, but this also means they can experience mental trauma just like anyone else as well. It is kind of interesting that they've formed a sort of support group with each other. "Does anyone work to try to help these AI heal from this trauma, some sort of therapy?" She asks in curiosity, while Iona finally releases the beach ball sized bubble, which floats over above the pixies.

    "So the Scylla was out of the ordinary then. Interesting." Morrigan muses as she sits back and uncrosses her legs, one hand rubbing at her jaw in thought.
    Regardless, she quiets down to listen to the answer for Suiren's next question.

    Athena is back to taking notes. Not all of her questions were answered, but she's patient, and she has several things to research now. After all, she wasn't present for the Scylla incident.

    The pixies all turn attention as bubbles start to waft around them... all but a slightly larger, pale blue one who seems to be a bit older, more mature... or at least more in control of the playful natura of the tiny fae creatures... the other nineteen all frolic with the bubbles. Catching them without breaking them and pushing them around like little balls to each other. Making shapes in the air as they 'dance' around the Popplio... then the giant bubble comes out, and all of them form up around it, and begin to do a pixie dance, making the inside of the bubble glimmer and shift with the reflected light from their magical auras.

    Justina nods to the trainer. "There are groups that are attempting to help them cope with the stress, but the progress is slow, as they were largely 'abandoned' and left to their own devices for so long. A black mark on our history; they gave us everything and we abandoned them when they needed us most."

    Morrigan gets a nod. "Berserkers are a rare occurance... we've encountered only four since the creation of The Hub... and all were former Warships, and all have subsequently been destroyed."