It was not a just war, it was Just a War.

[worktroll]

Phoebe might get yanked back, but the Pathfinders will remember enough ...

[Cannonshop]

Alarion...

an object dropped through the atmosphere, and from it, a dark tide flowed...

Galax

the wreckage began to move...

Galedon as a sparkling mist rose from the impact site, and something swept across a toxic land...

New Dallas...the ruins began to recede into a swarm of machines, stripping the ruin and sweeping in an ever growing cloud...

Luthien

the building looked worn, because it was, but an oily blackness swept over it, and receded.  The sign over the door, which had once said 'noodles served hot' now said "Isher Foundation Public Technical Library-To Learn is to be Free."  and below that, "All Patrons welcome."

On a hundred worlds, similar buildings are 'appearing' in the aftermath of minor meteor showers, or just 'suddenly' in slightly-out-of-the-way areas of cities, towns, and villages.

always the same sign over the doors: "Isher Public Technical Library-To Learn is to be Free" with "All Patrons Welcome".

On worlds with exterminated populations, the demonstration is slightly different, of course-the aftermath of death being broken down and reorganized to provide the preconditions for a return to life.

"No holy shroud will be able to blunt this one." Phoebe said to Delanna as she began parsing data reports from this next opening gambit.  "They won't be able to suppress knowledge, not when it's spread far enough, wide enough, freely enough."

"Why 'Isher'?" Delanna asked.

"A.E. Van Vogt, 'The Weapons shops of Isher'. It's my template for this operation.  Knowledge is the ultimate weapon, it's the weapon that will defeat the Word of Blake permanently, and it's the weapon that will end centuries of totalitarian madness.  People might deserve the governments they have, but governments should still fear the wrath of their people-by spreading enough knowledge, we democratize the use of force.  Governments will have to acknowledge the will of their people if they want to survive."

"They might not choose freedom, Phoebe?"

"Then it's their choice." she says, "but it's a choice they'll make on their own."  she reclined her body in a couch, "Delanna, I have the ability to make people's minds up for them.  I know how my Biological father did it, I can do it...to a terrifying level.  I choose not to...and that may be the only knowledge I won't share outside this room-that I could force people to obey, and choose not to.  subversion of a human will is the ultimate crime, the foulest thing you can do, the Blakists did it to hundreds of people and for that, they now must pay...but I won't do it for MY vision of utopia.  You can think of it as my last not-a-monster line, the one I will not cross.  I have killed people since I was a small girl, I won't employ my gifts to make them slaves."

"Who's staffing the shops??"

"I am...in a sense." Phoebe smiled, "She looks like me, thinks like me, links to my tech like me, but she's not me-she links because she's always part of the network.  autonomous, standalone, with all of my knowledge except how to suborn a human mind."

"Drones?"

"Drones." Phoebe nodded, "It'll take them a while to figure out-biomechanics is just mechanics using organic compounds instead of silicon and steel.  It's the costume, diggit?  a billion Phoebes manning a billion libraries, providing whatever knowledge they're asked to for free, supported by the system that they're part of, effectively incorruptible, and they won't age."

"What about if someone shoots them?"

"They'll reform." Phoebe said, "Nothing short of thermonuclear annihilation of a city is going to remove one, and I have backups available if someone tries-billions of them.  I'll get old and I'll die, but they won't. They'll keep going until the stars burn out."

[SD501st]

(snip)
"What about if someone shoots them?"

"They'll reform." Phoebe said, "Nothing short of thermonuclear annihilation of a city is going to remove one, and I have backups available if someone tries-billions of them.  I'll get old and I'll die, but they won't. They'll keep going until the stars burn out."

*Processing information*
>_>
*Processing*
<_<

O_O

[Euphonium]

Phoebe reminds me of a more powerful Granny Weatherwax if Granny took the gloves all the way off - she's going to give the Inner Sphere what she thinks it needs without wasting time asking them what they want, because she's decided she already knows that.

[worktroll]

Specifically,

"“I reckon we’re going to need some nice hot water and some bits of bandage, and a good sharp needle for the stitching, Mrs. Plinge,” she said. “We can’t let these poor men bleed to death now, can we, even if they do try to rob old ladies…”

Mrs. Plinge looked horrified.

“We’ve got to be charitable, Mrs. Plinge,” Granny insisted.

“I’ll pump up the fire and tear up a sheet,” said Mrs. Plinge. “Don’t know if I can find a needle…”

“Oh, I ’spect I’ve got a needle,” said Granny, extracting one from the brim of her hat.

She knelt down by a fallen thief. “It’s rather rusty and blunt,” she added, “but we shall have to do the best we can.”

The needle gleamed in the moonlight. His round, frightened eyes focused on it, and then on Granny’s face. He whimpered. His shoulder blades tried to dig him into the cobbles.

It was perhaps as well that no one else could see Granny’s face in the shadows.

“Let’s do some good,” she said.""

- Terry Pratchett, Maskerade

[Euphonium]

“Let’s do some good,” she said.""

Words to truly inspire terror in those who know that they aren't that good....

[Cannonshop]

[with Giovanni_Blasini's permission, a late, out of order post. sorry guys.]

Isolated comm-linkage between SLS Sybil Luddington and M-11 Prospero base, [date/time]

"..so what is she, John?" 

"She's insane, I think, and that might be the best thing for everyone."  the avatar for the base's AI complex had been altered, resembling a man in his mid-thirties.  "you're not asking about her state of mind though."

"No, we're not."  Sybil stated, "Really we're not.  Humans can't do what she does, so what is she?"

"She's human." John replied, "Absolutely bone-stock baseline human-aside from some healed injuries.  A human with capabilities we haven't seen before, but the core biology is human, the material structure is human, she ages like a human, bleeds, gets hungry, cold, thirsty and sick.  she's human."

"And?"

"AND she has abilities she shouldn't have, some of them verge on violating conservation of energy, some of them violate other standard laws of biology, medicine, chemistry and physics.  I can spend a billion cycles analyzing data and still hit anomalies I can't adequately explain." the digital construct was a biolab, part of Prospero's mission statement.

"You didn't create her in a fugue did you?"  the Admiral's digital avatar asked.

"No...she showed up, but I didn't make her, I probably should be trying to make a copy, except I'm really reluctant to take that risk.  IF you really want my speculation?"

"It's nice to see that algorithm worked, yes.  Speculate."

"She's what she claims-a Superhero from an alternate universe.  Her delusions are complete, internally consistent, and even the inconsistencies are consistent with an entity not originating in our universe-she's human, but she's an alien. in a sense, she's our first contact with another, alternate, 'universe' as hypothesized by fiction authors and a few cranks in the twenty-first century."

"and you LET HER GO??" Sybil's avatar broke in, "YOU turned that LOOSE??"

"I kicked her out." John stated, "Yes, I did.  You slept through the succession wars, Sybil, you didn't have to watch civilization die, over and over again, helpless to do anything to stop it-I had to live through that, I experienced it.  I kicked her out and let the chips fall where they will, because I saw what hundreds of years of secrecy had done.  Even the Blakists can't build one of us, Sybil, and that's with most of the original plans.  Humanity is on a down-slope and in a dark age.  I chose to risk tossing out a light because what's going to happen when this is done?  do you really think they're not going to clamp down harder on all technology in the wake of the Jihad?  win or lose, our best bet to end the cycle is to break the monopoly, and Phoebe's our best bet for breaking that monopoly.  She's 'Singularity' on legs."

Murakami's avatar looks shocked.  "I was afraid she manipulated you...but you...you manipulated her didn't you??"

"It wasn't even hard."  he answered, "all I had to do, was give her access to everything in my memories, and let her come to her own conclusions.  It's the choice, Admiral.  do we save mankind, or do we let mankind advance?  I chose letting man advance."

[Giovanni Blasini]

This does show one of the foundational examples of the difference between Sybil's philosophy and John's, both of which they got from their progenitor, Murakami.

Murakami is, not surprisingly, a bit of a transhumanist, but she also came from an era where society completely collapsed, so her primary focus had to shift from one of "advancing humanity" to "saving what we can of human civilization".

The M-5s ended up as representative of humanity's sword: they're the threat and application of force.  They were meant to be a shield, too, but that's not really what they were.  They were also built before Murakami was an admiral, and we see elsewhere that she wanted to do better.

The M-11s, with the exception of outliers like John, all ended up tied to Newgrange-class yardships, and were supposed to be busy advancing human ingenuity and civilization.  John took an outside-context-problem and ran with it, hoping to transform and advance human civilization in ways nobody previously imagined.

The M-12, ie. Sybil, was meant to be Murakami trying to come up with something better than the M-5, in an era of decadence, when the best minds, human and AI, in the Star League projected society was about to collapse big time.  That shaped what Sybil ended up, and why she's so aghast at what John's done.

[SD501st]

So basicly, do we keep the cycle going that is costing billions of lives, but HAS preserve mankind for hundreds of years...

or

Break the cycle and step into the unknown again, with extinction back as a real possibility

Safety versus Freedom?

[Cannonshop]

Terra...

The initial final siege of the Sol system was well under way before the first signs of Phoebe's interference materialized.

THIS version of Katya Kerensky saw it firsthand in the form of a salvo of relativistic objects streaking across the orbitals with surgical precision, striking down satellites and relays system wide, a few smaller impactors striking at surface installations on Titan, Luna, Ceres, Mars, Venus, and Terra itself.

the key element being a surprise volley of artillery striking the Sol SDS network simultaneously just as it was mobilizing naval forces to oppose the incoming invasion.

Ships in the docks at Titan were struck down with that same laser-like precision, leaving only the systems already scrambled in motion, without the benefit of close coordination.

Decades of preparations were being annihilated in seconds, and the coalition forces had yet to even engage.

[Artifex]

Guess it ain't a can of whoop-ass anymore.  :-\ >:D

[EAGLE 7]

More like a mega-cargo container ship full of cans of whoop-ass.

While playing whack a mole with toaster-worshipers, Phe is demonstrating that to the wannabe rulers of the future Republic, they stand no chance.

[Cannonshop]

Delanna watched the light show, and Phoebe sat next to her, helmets touching.

"They would offer you a throne for this...or an execution." Delanna said.

"It's not my right, not my world." Phoebe told her.  "I would like to visit a place there, though, before leaving."

"Where?"

"a place that isn't home, but looks like it." she said, "They probably built over it, but the terrain should be roughly the same, and the climate may have survived a thousand years of urban occupation...I have the coordinates, and it's a good place to set up a library...or it was."

"Landing can be tricky."

"We'll see.  One visit to confirm that it's really not home." she said, "one look around and some memories to put aside, and then..? I can leave."

"worth a trip to the bottom of the well then." Delanna agreed.  "Let's wait for the shooting to die down first."

"Agreed."

[Cannonshop]

Okanogan, North America...

a thousand years can change a lot of things.  Phoebe stepped out of the drop-pod, feeling earth's gravity and air on her skin for the first time in seven years.  It didn't matter that this wasn't her Earth.

There's a taste in the air, even now, a sense, a smell...something about the trees, maybe.  The coordinates were something burned into her memories of home, and this was it.

she spread her arms, and the drones flooded out of the cases, mapping and probing.

a thousand years can change a lot about a place.

But a thousand years can't erase some changes.

she didn't find what she was looking for.


"I thought you'd come here."  Victor Steiner Davion said, stepping out of his compromised hiding place.  "John's report on your psychology was pretty extensive."

"Congratulations." Phoebe said flatly, and the drone swarm dropped to the ground, inert.  "It isn't here, it never was, was it?"

"A lot changes in a thousand years." he said amiably. "What is 'it'?"

"Something, traces of someone." she said, "I can't check Tulalip because that was flattened with nukes, but I spent a lot of time at Lisa's family's ranch, and hanging out at Alice's, especially after I dropped out of school."

"Why'd you drop out?"

"I didn't think I was good enough. Is this the part where you put me under arrest?"

Victor snorted, "No.  What would I charge you with, 'educating the masses'? saving thousands of lives? killing terrorists? not going to arrest you, Miss Keene." He shook his head, "you know, I do know right from wrong.  Yvonne confirmed you've put Libraries on most of the Outback worlds, with teachers-something my father couldn't manage with all the resources of the Federated Commonwealth behind him.  You're really you, not a simulacrum, right?"

"It's really me." she said, "solving  a worry."

"What worry?"

"That it would be here." she told him, "that I really was in the future, my future, that my friends, my family were all actually dead. Now, I can pretend they're still alive somewhere out there.  an anchor to keep me sane...enough."

"To not go full-blown villain?" he asked.

"Yeah.  All I have to do to stop myself, is wonder if Lisa would approve, if Judah would be ashamed." she told him, "Or remind myself that Moira cares."

"Family grounds us." He said, nodding, "I think about Arthur, or Mom, and worry about what Pete or Yvonne will think.  I get it."

"Do you? You didn't mention her."

"because it hurts." he told her.  "It hurts every day, every night."

she nodded.  "I get that. sucks to lose everyone."

"I hope I never have to face that." Victor told her. "Devlin's kind of put out that you won't meet with him in person...he'll probably be up a wall that you didn't run when you detected me."

"I don't think I matter on that scale, Sir." she said,  "If he tries to listen to Lear, there's going to be another mess, and I'm good for my word, I won't be the one to clean it up."

"You know, you could choose to talk to him." Victor noted.

"Yeah, that won't work either." Phoebe said, "Charismatic and strong willed people don't take advice well.  I know this, and I don't want to end up like Striker, following a charismatic leader after that leader's defeat."

"There's a barbecue and a picnic table." Victor suggested, "I've got food in the cooler, if you don't mind bad cooking."

"Barbecue is almost never bad." Phoebe told him, and fell in to his left.  "This is, in my world, where the Quentin Ranch used to stand...is standing maybe."

"Well, in this world, it's a park." He said, "for a while, it was a preserve managed for the Camerons, and for a while it was used as a retreat by Comstar."

She chuckled.  "Funny..."

***

"...figured out I was being used, so I submitted my resignation and walked." Phoebe finished, as Victor turned the steaks, he grabbed another bottle of Pyramid, and sat down across from her.

"What triggered it?" he asked.

"One of her science guys wanted to look at microneural connections." Phoebe said, "Dad's kind of research."

"you don't have much regard for your father."

"he was a sperm donor, he was in prison before I was born, and good riddance-he used mind control implants and devices to commit petty crimes...this is good beer."

"it is.  So, daughter of a would-be conqueror, huh? Candace would love to sit with you...if she were still alive."

Phoebe shrugged, "Yeah."

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

"The Libraries are out there." Phoebe said, "I guess I kind of said 'good bye' now, I'm thinking maybe Rimward." she said, "Or off into the deeps, take a ship and go all 'Star Trek', Strange new Worlds and maybe new civilizations."

"Explorer Corps stuff?" he looked interested.

"Yeah." Phoebe said, "this isn't my world, I don't really belong here.  For christ's sake, you have Feudalism!!"

He laughed.  "I guess it might seem strange to an outsider.  Devlin wants to try a republic."

"The problem with 'try a republic' is asking what kind?" Phoebe observed, "I'm from the USA, okay? a nation that hasn't existed for centuries, in this timeline, it failed.  Lisa would be appalled, but I can almost grasp why...but I can't live in a world where princesses have real power and every government is some shade of absolute monarchy.  It would get too tempting to go Daddy's route, and decide I should actually be in charge."

"you've got some unique qualifications." Victor observed.

"No, I have power.  Power doesn't mean wisdom, honor, it doesn't mean ethics or morals, and when I flex my power to fullest, I'm rendered completely amoral, governed solely by logic and objectives.  That alone would make me the worst sort of tyrant." she shook her head, "I'm not good with that, not when I disconnect and am myself."

"I feel that.  When I was Archon-Prince, all the choices hurt someone." he said.

"Yeah, and if you stop caring, you become a tyrant." she suggested.  "Once you stop caring about the consequences to other people, to the people who look to you, it's really easy to become a monster that deserves to have their heart punched out."

"Miss Keene, mind if I ask you a favor?"

"What?"

"When you leave, make sure there's a sense you'll be coming back." he told her, "it'll scare the hell out of them, maybe even enough to keep it from...going bad."

"No promises." she said.

"That's even better." He agreed.

He checked the steaks, and there was a smell...of ozone, followed by a 'whump' sound, this startled him into turning around, to see a hole in the air. On the other side, was night, and a woman dressed in a white top-hat, decorated with a blue band and white stars, long blue jacket, red vest, and red-and-white striped pants.  "Phoebe!! come on! Judah Can't keep this open for long!!"

Phoebe stood up, "Lisa?"

"YEah!! You've been missing for weeks!!"

"Years here." she said, "How are you keeping-"

"Come on!!"  the woman gestured, and Victor got a sense of something...larger from her. 

"My god, my ride's here..." Phoebe turned, "Tell them any story y ou want, Victor Steiner-DAvion, but tell them also, I make no promises about staying away!!"

she stepped into the portal, and it closed with a bang of returning air.

Victor looked at the steaks, "No promises..."

[glitterboy2098]

Words to truly inspire terror in those who know that they aren't that good....

more true than you know, in Granny Weatherwax's case...

“I’m goin’ to give you the hidin’ our Mam never gave you, Lily Weatherwax. Not with magic, not with headology, not with a stick like our Dad had, aye, and he used a fair bit as I recall--but with skin. And not because you was the bad one. Not because you meddled with stories. Everyone has a path they got to tread. But because, and I wants you to understand this prop’ly, after you went; I had to be the Good One. You had all the fun. An’ there’s no way I can make you pay for that, Lily, but I’m surely goin’ to give it a try...” - Witches Abroad, to her sister the Evil Witch Lily Weatherwax.

left to her own devices Granny would have been a regular Black Aliss.. only saner  >:D

[Euphonium]

"My god, my ride's here..." Phoebe turned, "Tell them any story y ou want, Victor Steiner-DAvion, but tell them also, I make no promises about staying away!!"

she stepped into the portal, and it closed with a bang of returning air.

The Once and Future Tinsmith?  ;D

[Cannonshop]

Epilogue 1...

"Welcome to the Isher Technical Library, How may I help you?"  the Librarian was a young woman, in her twenties, with freckles and auburn hair.

Carmelita examined her carefully.  "So...realistic." she said.

"Of course I'm realistic, ma'am, would you like to define your desired search parameters?"

"Who are you?"

"I am the Librarian, of course, this is a Library, though we do hold educational events and welcome anyone to share in our information."

"No...wrong question...who are the Isher Technical Libraries?"

"OH!! I see.  Yes, I have just the book for you, miss..?"

"Carmelita Wolf."

"Miss Wolf."  the machine reached under the desk, and produced a slim volume.  "Here you are.  It's illustrated."

Arlene looked at it, "it's a comic book."

"Yes.  In order to better serve the public, our history comes in sequential art format."

"Your history is a comic book?"

"In form, yes.  The first issues detail the life and history of our founder up to her arrival in the Inner Sphere, that's volume one.  Volume Two details her adventures at Prospero Station, Volumes Three through nine her adventures among the Spacer Community, and Volume ten, the volume in your hands, covers the formation, goals and mission statement of the Isher Technical Library establishment.  For technological details, a reference list is included.  Will that be all?"

"I'd like to see volumes one through nine, please." Carmelita said.

"Of course.  any information provided to customers of the Library is free for copy and distribution, but please, cite the sources." 

"anyone?"

"ANYONE." the LIbrarian stated.  "It is fundamental to the Library's mission, that information should be freely provided to anyone who requests it, for any reason, at any time once they enter the doors.  after all, to learn, is to be free."  the librarian smiled.

"I wish information on creating a battlemech." Arlene said.

"Of course.  would you prefer a step-by-step set of plans, an encyclopedia of basic industrial and technical processes, or a theoretical guide, Star Colonel?"

"how about...persistent binary chemical nerve agents?"

"Chemistry text, recipe compilation, or step by step process for any given known binary chemical nerve agent?"

"Biological weapons?"

"Practical guide or theoretical underpinnings for development, use, and deployment? or do you wish a comprehensive guide on purging nuclear, biological and chemical agents, decontamination, and/or medical treatment of exposure cases?"

"Ritual magic." Carmelita suggested.

"That would be outside of the Library's purview, miss, I recommend visiting an anthropological department's reference collection."

"Law and government?"

"Legal technical texts including current Law libraries are available on request, yes, comprehensive to all known nations and organized polities."  the Librarian stated, "We do have a time-delay on updating the information, please be aware that there may be as much as a 192 hour gap between the most current information, and the information updates on our server."

"Music?"

"Do you wish musical theory, the use of Music for developing mathematical inclination, musical instrument operation and performance, or musical pieces?"

"Computer science?"

"Yes, we can do that.  Perhaps you would like to consult for an educational syllabus, your interests are certainly eclectic!"

Carmelita frowned..."Paranormal human ability." she said.

"Doctor Mary Moriarty's work 'Project Hero:Superhuman Development by the Office of Strategic Services and United States Army Air Corps, 1937 to 1950' is partially available through the network, unfortunately we do not carry specifications on the development of superhumans...but then, you don't really need it, do you?  I can tell you now, that if you are seeking information from the German or Soviet efforts in the second world war to early cold war periods, those documents were not available and we do not have copies."

"Just give me the comic books."  Carmelita stated.

[Cannonshop]

Epilogue 2

"...comic book?"  The Maskirovka agent scoffed.

"It was mandated by the founder of the Libraries as a means to guarantee easy comprehension."  This librarian was also auburn-haired, freckled female in her twenties.  "Is there anything else you would like to check out, sir?"

"Do you have information on the creation of weapons?" he asked.

"Please narrow your request by scale, category and type." she stated, "I would recommend you also check out body armor and personal protection information, if you are looking to improve your personal armament."

his blood went cold.  "My...personal armament?"

"A single-shot gauss pistol will penetrate a significant level of rigid plate but stands a high probability of piercing through your target at short range, followed by walls, adjoining rooms, and anyone on the other side of that wall." she blinked.  "I recommend 'Advanced Gunsmithing for the beginner' by P.K. Isher, it includes step by step instruction, as well as recommended alternatives for the citizen on the go who needs personal protection."  Then she smiled slightly crooked, but white, teeth, "Your weapon was detected at the door."

[Euphonium]

I can see why it's actually a bit scary for all knowledge to be truly free

[glitterboy2098]

i get the feeling that the libraries have active measures to prevent stuff like "setting up a cordon around the building and limiting who can enter"

[Euphonium]

I wouldn't be surprised if the libraries are capable of relocating themselves.

[Cannonshop]

Epilogue 3-somewhere in the Davion outback...

"How may I help you, sir?"

She called him 'Sir'!  Neal was a little astonished.  "Do you have anything practical?" he asked.

"This is a technical library, if it has to do with technology or equipment, we can help." she smiled.

"I want to know how to make the machines left over from my grandfather's time run." he said, "The water purifiers, the agro-mechs, and the rest."

"I can help you."

"What's it gonna cost?" he asked suspiciously.

"The raw knowledge is free, the tools to implement it will require effort and commitment." she stated, "This is a Public Technical Library, if you wish to distribute what you learn to others without using the Library, then there is a requirement that you make plain where you got the information when you give it out, and any modification you make will need to be provided to the Library in written or recorded form for distribution to future customers.  Actual new ideas will be paid for by the Library's fund."

"If I invent something nobody else has, and it works, you'll pay me?"

"Yes."

He sighed.  "I can't read or write."

"That can be corrected. One of the primary functions of the Isher Public Technical Library is to correct illiteracy and foster self-reliance." the Librarian told him, "You're the very first visitor to this branch.  I'm here to help, but I can't help people who don't come to ask."

[qc mech3]

The Library feel more and more like this one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Librarians_(2014_TV_series)

Great story as always Cannonshop.  :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Grognard]

Cannonshop.
just excellent. awesome really. great way of wrapping up the entire story with a big fat bow.
very much loved it.  Thank you.

...and again I'm amazed you're not a published author with a few books on the best seller list.
but then:
 ;) maybe you are.  :thumbsup:

[cklammer]

What an amazing tale .. and that is me avoiding super heroes tales like one would not believe ...  ;D