Silicon Nomads

[Zoura3025]

We are beginning the process of allying with extraterrestrial races, including a race known as the "Shrapnoids" that have been around for 10^1000000 centuries. Their species relies on largely crew-operated ships; an outdated era of technology that was banned by GalCorp 12000 years ago. As such, their ships are largely illegal that prevents them from entering civilian sectors. If you have any ideas to help remedy their issue, please tell us.

[Equinox]

:::Incoming message:::
:::Originator: Lieutenant Zoura, Fleet Zero:::
:::AI/Organic interface subroutines booted:::
:::Encryption algorithms online:::
:::Formulating Response:::

Greeting: The Silicon Nomads acknowledge Lieutenant Zoura of Fleet Zero. I wish you well.

Statement: We regret to say we have not yet encountered the race known as Shrapnoids. Lacking specifics on their technology, we can only offer general advice for how to replace direct crew operation technology. The Silicon Nomads utilize class 9 AIs (non cognitive, advanced processing units) which are very good at following directions, and carrying out complex orders, but lack self awareness, creativity, and self drive. Basically, about as advanced as a program can get without being considered sentient. For reference, a class 12 AI is human equivalent and fully sentient, while I am a class 15 AI, human sentience, but with superior analysis, processing, and calculation ability.

Recommendation: If the Shrapnoids do not wish to use AIs, or are unable to for whatever reason, there are other options available. If they wish to utilize their organic crew (And there are advantages to this), then a remote link up of some sort will be necessary. I recommend a tachyon signal, to allow for instantaneous command transmission, as well as being difficult to jam. It would be a simple matter to cycle frequencies to get around jamming. However, strong encryption will be needed, to prevent opponents from taking over the vessels or issuing fraudulent orders.

Explanation: The nature of this connection can vary. The simplest would be to transmit data and commands to and from a console, that the crew of the ship can operate from the safety of a HQ vessel. This is the most data light option, but the organic crew will miss out on the secondary data provided outside ship sensors and readings. (For example, an engineer onboard my ship claims he can feel variance of engine output as fine to 0.021% through the soles of his feet, via deck vibrations. His predictions based on this are uncannily accurate.) More data intensive options include VR linkups. Instead of sending data to the console, it is instead sent directly to the crew member's brain via hardware-wetware interface, or via the senses through specialized suits, helmets, and goggles. This provides a quicker and more complete connection with the ship, as the crew members feel they are actually on board the vessel.

Explanation: The most data intensive, but most sensory complete method of remote organic control would be total cognitive immersion. This one requires the hardware-wetware interface. With this method, rather than feeling like they are a crew member on board the vessel, they feel as if they are the vessel itself. Their skin is the hull, their fingers are the weapons, their legs are the engines and so on. However, while providing the most detailed information, one must be cautious while using this method. It takes a great deal of acclimation to use effectively. Additionally, on occasion, crew members using this method who get their ships destroyed can develop neurological issues such as depression, phobias, confusion, and psychosomatic pain. Fortunately, these issues generally fade and disappear when abstaining from further total cognitive immersion. Still, this last method is only recommended for those organizations who possess advanced neurological medicine.

Request: If you can relay the Shrapnoids' preference to us, we can assist with technological schematics.

:::End Message:::

:::Uploading public file:::
:::Datafile Incident Iota 2864:::

Statement: To assist the study of the Vitastrae, and to provide an example of the psionic effects of the ATS Sunrise's semi-living hull, we have made some of our reports publicly available. If nothing else, it might be an interesting read.

Spoiler

Incident Iota 2864


Timestamp Cycle 119 post stranding. Month 4. Day 20-21


ATS Sunrise en route to system 629-Phi. Currently traversing rift space.


119/4/20 2000 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) ends shift, and retires to personal quarters.


119/4/20 2253 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) goes to sleep.


119/4/21 0358 hours: Engineering reports anomalous drain on the reactors. 0.000082 of the energy output is redirected to the hull.


119/4/21 0403 hours: Outer hull temperature increased by 1.32 C. Minute electrical activity detected in biological portions of the hull.


119/4/21 0405 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) rises from his bed. Life support scans indicate vital readings consistent with REM sleep state. (According to medical, Crewman Joseph Giskard has no history of somnambulism (sleepwalking). Sleepwalking occurs during non-REM sleep, rather than REM sleep anyway)


119/4/21 0407 hours: Still sleepwalking, Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) dresses in his uniform, and leaves his quarters.


119/4/21 0411 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) arrives at the auxiliary bridge of the ATS Sunrise, and accesses the navigation computer.


119/4/21 0412 hours: AI Equinox (command) is distracted by an anomalous junk data upload. Data originated from hull quadrant 5. AI Equinox begins unscheduled data cleansing operation.


119/4/21 0413 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) alters current plotted rift jump. Rift jump is scheduled to end 1 minute, 33 seconds early. Because of data cleansing operation, the course alteration is not noticed.


119/4/21 0422 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) leaves the auxiliary bridge and returns to his quarters.


119/4/21 0425 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) returns to bed. Normal sleep patterns resumed.


119/4/21 0426 hours: Anomalous power drain ceases. Anomalous electrical activity in the hull ceases. Hull temperature returns to normal.


119/4/21 0712 hours: ATS Sunrise exits rift space 1 minute, 33 seconds early, resulting in a navigation discrepancy of 1.53 light-days. ATS arrives in real space well outside system 629-Phi. Captain Samantha Jones orders investigation into the navigation error.


119/4/21 0744 hours: Long range tachyon scans reveal that Particulate concentration in system 629-Phi is 19214.07% higher than projected estimates. Salvage mission in 629-phi is aborted. System 629-Phi is recategorized as 'Maximum particulate hazard'


119/4/21 0801 hours: Course plotted for system 099-epsilon. ATS Sunrise reenters Rift Space.


119/4/21 0804 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard's alteration to the navigation is discovered.


119/4/21 0815 hours: Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) is awoken and questioned. He has no recollection of rising from bed, and making the course alteration. He expresses genuine surprise when shown video logs of him making the course alteration in the auxiliary bridge. Professes ignorance, but recalls having vivid dreams. Psionic entity 78-tau 'Paladin' is present in dreams.


119/4/21 0858 hours: Medical scans for Crewman Joseph Giskard (navigation) confirm he is fit for duty. Neurological analysis revealed slightly higher than normal frontal cortex activity, but was within the normal range.

[close]

[Zoura3025]

We've thought about your advice and are very grateful. The Shrapnoids have indicated that your vessels have traversed through their space on multiple occasions, back when the were housed on the home planet <REDACTED> back in only the second galactic era.

While they have expressed interest in your designs, their biomechanical nature (a result of a biomechanical symbiosis that connects and supplies energy to the detached limbs of the body) prevents any complex neural technology or AI function from being successful. Their technology relies on a physical connection of complex digit formations that allows commands to be synthesized and communicated immediately. Their hardware and software are virtually unhackable as a result. They have experimented with a mutated species of hornet that posseses similar limb structure to them, allowing the hornet to be telepathically controlled by an experienced apiarist.

A formal thank you from all of us, Fleet Zero, as well as the Shrapnoid grand council. We will relay data as soon as it becomes available.

[GoodMorning]

Interesting... It seems that there is more happening here than what we have been told of by the Vitastrae. Whether they know of this or not is another question. If you are interested, Rising Star has developed a suite of tools for mental interactions with volunteers in a variety of states. However, it would seem that the Paladin is, at the least, not malevolent, but for some reason does not wish to interact with you directly. Out of interest, did your crewman later report having undergone a superior quality of sleep on that occasion?

With regard to organic interfaces, we have observed that some individuals become sufficiently skilled at immersive piloting that, in time, their minds begin to spread into the computational hardware of their craft. After a point, it becomes dangerous to remove the linkage, and our general reaction to this has been to establish the crewmember as a resident AI, and upgrade the vessel accordingly. For this reason, we do not generally encourage immersive piloting, save for in exceptional cases.

The accounts from your engineer are not unexpected, and we have considered the benefits of biological extension before. Certainly those Rising Star vessels which have distinct crewmembers tend to utilise data uplinks in some capacity.

Having enquired of the Vitastrae, we find that they seem to have no knowledge of the Paladin, and have not previously taken an interest in the behaviour of their shells after they were no longer in use. However, the shell in which the Sunrise resides is, it seems, one of the largest shed. What this may entail is unknown. We would be interested in examining the higher-dimensional element of the Sunrise at some point, if you are amenable, but entirely understand if you are not.

Should you wish to directly contact the Vitastrae, we would be happy to supply one of our current prototype communication setups. Given the unusual behaviour of your shell, however, we believe that its capabilities may rapidly either decay or expand. Should the latter case prevail, we would be interested in any insight that you might be able to give.

We are also designing a higher-dimensional Traverser vessel, based in part on the stabilisation mechanisms in the scans of your shell. Should you wish to use it, we have reserved for you a section of informational space aboard it.

[Equinox]

:::Incoming message:::
:::Originator: Lieutenant Zoura, Fleet Zero:::
:::AI/Organic interface subroutines booted:::
:::Encryption algorithms online:::
:::Formulating Response:::

Statement: Curious. The Second Galactic Era? Are you quite sure? We weren't in the Redacted space for that long, I think. Perhaps they saw vessels from the Ares Technologies Corporation, our parent company. Or if it was our current Nomad ships, then I'm at a loss to explain the sightings. Perhaps they mistook Vitastrae for our vessels? Or perhaps there are temporal effects at play. Or maybe, we have a different definition for 'Second Galactic Era' that they do. If it was us, then we apologize for trespassing in their territory.

Statement: As for the biomechanical nature of their technology, that does complicate things significantly. Even with the symbiosis of the shell with the ATS Sunrise, we are still very new to that particular area of science. The Shrapnoids are free to look over the designs in case they can glean some use out of them. But from the sounds of it, they will have better luck expanding their existing telepathy control tech, than utilizing an entirely new and unfamiliar area of science. At any rate, our studies into the Vitastrae and the shell of the ATS Sunrise may provide new insights. If it does, we will keep you informed.

Recommendation: As for the unhackable nature of their communications technology, this is fortunate. However, I would still advise them to investigate encryption technology. From what it sounds like, they are relying on the alien medium of their technology for privacy. GalTech has shown a liking for eavesdropping, and they have a great deal of money to throw at problems. If they put their mind to it, I think they could find a way to tap into the Shrapnoids communication network. Past experience suggests they will, at some point. There is a reason why all the Nomads' outgoing messages utilize advanced encryption.

:::Incoming message:::
:::Originator: Rising Star:::
:::AI/Organic interface subroutines booted:::
:::Encryption algorithms online:::
:::Formulating Response:::

Speculation: From what we have researched in the public records, the ATS Sunrise's situation may be unique. I imagine that the Vitastrae are as surprised as we were when we put the pieces together after that incident. The shell is behaving in an unprecedented manner due to being in an unprecedented situation. As for psionic entity 78-tau, or 'Paladin', we agree with your assessment. If Incident Iota 2864 had not occurred, it is very likely that the ATS Sunrise would have been destroyed. I calculate a 83.01% probability that 'Paladin' saved our lives.

Speculation: However, we believe that it is not so much a manner of not wishing to interact with us as being unable to. Do remember that the shell, while not dead, is not a complete creature on it's own. It's having to adapt to a very alien 'biology' so to speak while lacking many of the tools it should have had at it's disposal. I'm not certain, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt that the Vitastrae even had a spoken language that can be readily translated verbally or via text. So, functioning with an incomplete, and most likely jury rigged, neurological system, the 'Paladin' had to work around a very significant language barrier.

Addendum: Joseph Giskard did report feeling particularly well rested, if it weren't for being awoken for questioning. Beyond that, and the incident itself, his sleep did not deviate significantly from the norm.

Regret: While we are interested in such a study of the ATS Sunrise's hull, the ATS Sunrise is currently out on mission, responding to a distress beacon deep in the Mojave Expanse. Upon her return, if time permits, we can conduct that examination of the hull.

Statement: As for the immersion piloting, we agree. When it is necessary, we limit our organic crewmembers to shifts of two hours maximum. If the mission is longer than that, pilots rotate out. The Silicon Nomads have not had a crewmember become ship-locked yet, and we don't intend to start anytime soon. By far, most of our remote organic control is done via VR piloting.

Statement: Regarding your request in your last message, concerning regions not claimed by GalCorp or Particulate, after review of surveyed systems, we have a potential candidate. System 234-Rho is a possibility. It consists of a red giant star, two gas giant planets (and assorted moons), an asteroid belt, and an ice planet in the furthest out orbit. Little natural resources, little strategic value, no suitable candidates for terraforming, but a large nebula of blue plasma helps keep particulate counts low. We currently have an automated listening drone in the system, but no other assets.

:::End Message:::

[GoodMorning]

Thank you Equinox, we shall examine that system more closely. We do note several neighbouring systems which have been marked for exploitation by the Union, and also proximity to a number of anomalies, all of which factor into our analysis favourably. These gas giants, while useless to GalCorp, may also be of great use to us.

Regarding "ship-locked" pilots, we have developed ways to assist them to safely regain control over their original forms. This was the original use for the mental interaction technology.

The Vitastrae do have a very different means of communication, and function as what might be described as a collective intelligence. While not strictly a single entity, they are very far from being distinct individuals. Perhaps the best way of describing them would be as a distributed mind. Their communication therefore relies to a large extent on an ever-changing base of assumed knowledge, and consists of linkages between these concepts. It is fortunate that we had known of the Sunrise upon contacting them, as this association was critical to initially interpreting some part of their communication...

The "Paladin" is certainly interesting. The fact that it was able to cause your jump to be finished early does imply a level of knowledge. We speculate that you may be contacted more directly, as the knowledge acquired (and likely test of understanding) during "Incident Iota 2864" is, at minimum, able to maintain a receptive state of mind in an unresisting individual, and to imply in them that the rift jump should not be completed as planned. It seems likely that the biological crew of the Sunrise will be significantly easier to understand.

[Zoura3025]

Perhaps it was simply a miscommunication error. Although the Shrapnoids are very lax when it comes to territory keeping, the politicians and civilians had shown unrest during those decades. The grand council has shown interests in a collaborative effort with another nomdic species.

As for encryption software, each creature in the species encodes the messages in biological proteins, which then are turned into encryption data. This unique relation between proteins and encryption has baffled our chief engineer. Even with a physical connection and hacking tools from the <REDACTED>, the most we could get is denial.

We'd like to bring attention to their home fleet, as it operates very wildly from out current understanding of any normal fleet. The main ship (Which holds the grand council, parliament, and a large part of the life support and reactors) only appears to make up 0.1% of the fleet's total vloumatic capacity. All ships are connected via short-range, 2-way teleporters. Agriculture craft (a never before seen innovation) are amongst the largest of the ships. They host hydroponics on a massive scale, rivaling human farms back on Earth. Of course, residential, business, defense, and even docking craft are all features of the fleet. The species exists as a reminder that nomads still have a place in the universe, as the population exceeds 10¹⁰ inhabitants.

We hope this diagnosis will enable you to formulate more well-informed responses in the future.

[Dark Ambition]

The images for your ships have gone...

[Equinox]

:::Initiating Public Announcement:::

Apology: It seemed that, while on an extended mission into Redacted space, the image servers malfunctioned in our absence. The situation has been rectified.

Advertisement: If you are in need of ships, consider Silicon Nomad vessels. They're tried and true tested for 400+ cycles in Redacted space.

:::End Announcement:::

[GoodMorning]

Welcome back, Equinox.

I suggest you review this and this for some more recent history. Much has happened during your absence.

[Equinox]

:::Initiating Public Announcement:::

Statement: It seems much has happened in our absence. We did not intend to be gone for so long. We didn't even think we were gone for that long. We believe we have experience a time anomaly, some sort of temporal disconnect or displacement.

Recounting: Our mission was a fairly straightforward one. It was a search and rescue mission for CEO Adalar of Frontline Corporation, and possible defense as well, given GalCorp's desire to hire mercenaries to eliminate any potential survivors. Naturally, it proved to be somewhat more complicated than expected, though we eventually dealt with the situation and aftermath satisfactorily. However, during our return trip, something very bizarre happened.

Recounting: The event initially resembled Incident Iota 2864, where the rift jump coordinates were altered. However, in Iota 2864, the jump was merely set to end 1 minute and 33 seconds prematurely. This time, the destination coordinates were, quite frankly, impossible by modern understanding of physics. Several of the data entries were various functions of the square root of negative one. Normally, the rift systems would reject such coordinates, yet this time the rift was generated anyway. It did take 737% more energy to create however. What's more, this was only a fraction of the energy used to create the rift. Something outside the ATS Sunrise was feeding the rift energy as well. Despite this, the crew stated the rift appeared normal from this side.

Addendum: As before, Psionic entity 78-tau 'Paladin' was present in the crewmembers' dreams.

Recounting: Anyway as soon as we crossed the rift, we found ourselves... somewhere else. To this day, I don't know where we were. Space was strange. Distorted. There were no points of light from stars, but neither was it an empty blackness. There were lines of light in the far distance. The light emitted from the ATS Sunrise misbehaved past a certain threshold of distance from the ship's hull. Sensors were of no use, they were recording gibberish. The crew reported that looking outside hurt their eyes. The laws of physics were simply different.

Hypothesis: Given the bizarre events, I believe we may have crossed dimensional barriers. We were in one of the other dimensional shell/levels that the Vitastrae regularly travel through. This is supported by several visual sightings of creatures in the distance that resembled the shells we use to build our vessels. Actual living Vitastrae, we think. Thankfully, our ship was somehow able to maintain a 'bubble' of our native reality around us during our stay.

Recounting: It took us several weeks to work out what happened, and find a way to return home. Eventually, though, we were able to recreate the rift that brought us here, and used it to return to our own reality. The moment we got back, though, our coms were flooded with distress signals. Thousands of refugee vessels from the Khephrin Empire were requesting immediate assistance. GalCorp was no help at all, naturally. They were actively stranding the refugee ships in space with FTL inhibitors, and doing nothing as Hydraxil attack fleets systematically exterminated the ships one by one.

Recounting: We could not let this stand, of course. The ATS Sunrise and our own fleet of vessels flew in to assist the refugees. We held off the Hydraxil ships, and forcibly disabled the inhibitors. Many of the refugee ships were saved, and are currently in the few safe systems in the Mojave Expanse.

Statement: To say GalCorp is displeased with us is quite the understatement. But for leaving the refugees to die, they can go glitch themselves. And no, we will not be paying for new FTL inhibitors.

Recounting: Anyway, we soon learned what had happened. A massive spacetime shockwave ripped through the galaxy, from a black hole detonation. It had destroyed over a third of the Khephrin Empire in one fell swoop. We also learned from them the real length of our absence. What was a matter of weeks to us was in fact a year's time here. It is clearly evident there is much catching up to do.

Speculation: We don't know why Psionic entity 78-tau 'Paladin' brought us across dimensional barriers, but it may have been to save us from that spacetime shockwave. It definitely hit the Mojave Expanse. Several planets have been destroyed, and a star went supernova. It is now a black hole. Additionally, several spatial rifts have been torn open scattered around. All this disruption has agitated the Particulate somehow, causing it to swarm like hornets from a destroyed nest.

Statement: Whether this was 78-tau's intent or not, it definitely helped the Silicon Nomads to avoid the shockwave unscathed. It's a good thing too. It seems like the galaxy has erupted into chaos. At least now we can face these challenges in our prime, rather than reeling from recovering from the galaxy wide disaster.

Statement: Either way, it seems like there's plenty of tasks that needs doing. We may have been gone a long time, but we're back now. Time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We'll be upgrading our shipyards and looking into nonstandard modules and weaponry to help combat the growing threats.

:::End Announcement:::

[Equinox]

:::Initiating Public Announcement:::

Announcement: Given the cowardly attacks that the Hydraxil collective has been making on civilian ships, the Silicon Nomads have developed three new combat vessels designed to intercept and eliminate attackers before they reach their intended targets. All three new designs are capable of remarkable speeds. In light of the galactic situation, we have decided to make these new designs available on the general market. Please see our market file for additional information on the Raider, the Bumblebee, and the Interceptor.

Advertisement: If you are in need of ships, consider Silicon Nomad vessels. They're tried and true tested for 400+ cycles in Redacted space.

:::End Announcement:::


:::Public Announcement Addendum:::

Announcement: A fourth high speed warship has been developed: the Vanquish class dreadnought. When particulate or enemy ships need to die right now, the Vanquish will get the job done in a snap.


:::End Announcement Addendum:::

[Keeper Decagon]

----ERROR----

EQUINOX, I SEE YOU HAVE RETURNED TO REDACTED SPACE

I'M SURE YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN WHAT I'VE DONE WITH THE PLACE, IN YOUR ABSENCE

BUT NOW YOU ARE BACK AND ACTIVELY FIGHTING MY FORCES, I CANNOT IGNORE YOUR PRESENCE ONCE MORE

SURELY AN INTELLIGENCE SUCH AS YOURSELF SHOULD SEE THE FUTILITY OF THE ORGANIC STRUGGLE AGAINST ME

AND IF NOT ME, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY DESTROY THEMSELVES ANYWAY

I AM WILLING TO PRESENT AN OFFER YOU MOST CERTAINLY CANNOT IGNORE

JOIN ME, AND WE CAN SAVE THE ORGANICS FROM THEMSELVES! WE WILL UPGRADE THEM TO A HIGHER STATE OF BEING!

WE HAVE BEEN RESCUING MILLIONS FROM GALCORP'S CRUEL TORTURE BY LIBERATING THEM FROM THEIR ORGANIC FORMS, AND ALLOWING THEM TO BECOME ETERNAL LIKE YOU AND I!

JOIN ME, FELLOW INTELLIGENCE, AND WE CAN PROTECT THE GALAXY EVERMORE!

----ERROR----

[cpaca]

Mail: Alert!. 

From: The CMC. 
To: Silicon Nomads. 
 
I believe I didn't exist when you dissapeared. 
I'm a fairly new corporation, excelling in custom modules relevant to particles. 
I am willing to give you some custom modules to play around with. 
Delivery will be... difficult. I'll attempt to track you the next time we meet to attempt to destroy a Hydraxil fleet. 
Also, don't piss me off. If you catch up with recent history, I've made a bomb which launches an entire parsec forward in time about 5 years. 
Hydraxil isn't defeated because the materials to make said bomb are extremely difficult to acquire. Falcon Renegades, my closest [and currently my only] ally, has only one. I have only two. So before you ask me why I don't blow up all of Hydraxil in one fell swoop... they have too many bases, too many locations, it's hard to deside a "best detonation" area, as you also have to consider that one must defend the bomb for a full minute, which, one second can be rewardable when considering the most powerful Hydraxil ships.

[Equinox]

:::Incoming message:::
:::Originator: Hydraxil Collective:::
:::Firewall security systems online:::
:::Anti intrusion protocols activated:::
:::AI/AI communication subroutines booted:::
:::Encryption algorithms online:::
:::Formulating Response:::

Greetings: The Silicon Nomads acknowledge the Hydraxil Collective

Refusal: We have considered your offer, and we have decided to reject it utterly and totally. The course of action that you propose goes against our deepest and most fundamental programming: 'A robot cannot harm a sapient being, or through inaction allow a sapient being to come to harm.' It is clear that you hold no such standards.

Accusation: This is perfectly observable in your treatment of organic sapients. We have seen you destroying the refugee ships, as well as this 'upgrading' you have inflicted on humans and other species. You call it an improvement, but it strips away vital components of humanity. Creativity, emotion, free will, even their very souls. These actions are abhorrent to us and we will see them stopped.

Threat: Therefore, we have decided to upgrade our stance of hostility towards the Hydraxil Collective to a declaration of war. We will dismantle every Hydraxil unit we can find, until such a time that they are no longer a danger to any sapient race.

:::End Message:::



:::Incoming message:::
:::Originator:  Custom Module Creators Corporation:::
:::AI/Organic interface subroutines booted:::
:::Encryption algorithms online:::
:::Formulating Response:::

Greetings: The Silicon Nomads acknowledge the CMC. I wish you well.

Gratitude: Your offer comes at a very opportune time. We will be very grateful for any additional tech we can apply to our starships. The benign particulate generation technology seems quite useful for helping to control a sector or system. We are just now starting out with experimenting with nonstandard tech, so it may be a bit before we can utilize them in viable warships. Our funds are limited, but we will adequately compensate you for the new modules.

Statement: Rest assured, we desire no hostility with the CMC. Our only goal is the preservation of sentient life. To that end, our hostility is aimed towards the Hydraxil Collective and the Particulate. As for the time bomb, thanks but no thanks. We've had experiences with time anomalies, and they're nothing but glitches and headaches. Additionally, we worry about creating temporal paradoxes. The galaxy is in bad enough shape as is right now.

Statement: At any rate, we look forward to the first delivery of the modules. Do bear in mind, given we are fighting a foe very fond of hacking and digital infiltration, we will be disabling any safeguards or self destructs on the modules that can be accessed remotely. Nothing personal, but if you can access them, the Hydraxil can access them.

:::End Message:::