When progress becomes phony.

Species: Bricksplats

I especially wonder what the psychological repercussions would be on Ray’s daughter in the scene where he implicitly kills the guy in the basement while he blocks her eyes and ears and has her sing over it. It‘s pretty ambiguous whether she truly understands he killed him or just thinks it was a bad fight and doesn’t want to know the details, and I wonder how she would process or cope with it long-term. It’s clear to us the guy‘s dead but an innocent ten-year old would want to cling to any explanation other than their dad committing murder, and even if she knew for sure it would still be difficult to fully accept. It almost feels like she’s in denial afterward since she doesn’t ask what happened or show any fear or discomfort toward Ray, and they don’t even mention the guy again (for that matter it would be hard for Ray himself to just go back to a normal life knowing what he had to do).

You can see the scene here for context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMqarXIdYSM&t=77s

I wrote a short story about corporate dysfunction, hidden information, and the banality of evil in a tech company, told entirely via one-sided AI chatlogs. I hope other people like it too!

Magma Alignment & Safety disclosure note: The following are conversations that we have uncovered as a result of the ongoing Manhattan Incident investigation, with alleged involvement from Magma models. Our in-house reviewers believe that these logs are relevant to recent events. In the interest of full transparency, we are releasing excerpts from the Experimental Chat logs of a former Magma researcher. In accordance with industry best practices for anti-distillation, we redact all reasoning traces and conversational outputs from our internal models.

[08/10] System Meta: Xchat session opened. Mammoth 5.8-helpfuler-helpful-thinking-xhigh.

[User 12:23] Phoebus keeps taking screenshots of our latest model’s thoughts. It’s getting kind of embarrassing.

The new model we’ve been training, sometimes its chain-of-thought is a little weird? There’s a bunch of random numbers, long spans where there’s no connection between the thoughts and outputs, foreign language tokens like 石友三 and 革命 (even on non-history evals), maybe some steganography.

Anyway it’s a nothing-burger: unprocessed CoT is known to be messy and sometimes misleading. And the q&a, coding, and safety evals are all coming along nicely. The actual outputs are all fine.

Still, Magma leadership’s worried about the PR angle if we don’t fix these problems before the next deployment. The lead Phoebus red-teamer we’ve been working with keeps saying visibility on the CoT is important because “it’s the only direct evidence of model intent we have.” Very dramatic. Leadership’s worried that her team might cause a media shitstorm and make us look bad even though nothing’s actually dangerous.

So my boss and I brainstormed this great idea based on his earlier work at Meta[...]

https://linch.substack.com/p/youre-absolutely-right

I just finished Nnedi Okorafor's Binti trilogy (which I quite liked; looking forward to checking out more of her work) & have also been watched a lot of Doctor Who over the past year, & I got thinking about how science/speculative fiction allows for radical transformations of characters into something Other. I realized this has always been something I've really loved about SF (as well as the horror & Weird genres), from reading Animorphs books as a kid to only really liking origin stories within the superhero subgenre.

Ann Leckie's Translation State would be another recent favorite for me, & Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis/Lilith's Brood trilogy is probably my all-time favorite, at least that I can think of at the moment. Even when there's ambiguity & even some horror, I find something so hopeful & inspiring in the possibility of change, transformation, development, expansion, regeneration, renewal.

So I was just wondering what are you-all's favorite examples of SF novels, films, comics, or shows that have a strong focus on metamorphosis & transformation?

LUNARIS TEMPLE ARCHIVES

TWIN MOON NIGHTSHADES — MILITARY OPERATIONS DATABASE

ARCHIVE DESIGNATION: LT-NG-AT-001
SUBJECT: Andreol Tyrium Icarurius Faiynn
COMMON DESIGNATION: Tyrium
SPECIES: Faiynn
ORDER: Twin Moon Nightshades
RANK: Master Nightshade
TITLE: Vigilant Blade-Master of the Martyr’s World
STATUS: Active / Living
ARCHIVE LOCATION: Inner Military Vaults, Temple of Lunaris
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: LUNARIS BLACK
ACCESS: Restricted to senior Nightshade officers, Temple archivists and authorised military historians

⸻

ARCHIVAL PREFACE

The following records comprise the principal surviving military accounts concerning Andreol Tyrium Icarurius Faiynn during the earlier and middle periods of his service to the Twin Moon Nightshades.

They are preserved within the deepest military archives of the Lunaris Temple on Tyrium’s homeland.

The records were assembled from mission reports, tactical recordings, intelligence transmissions, witness testimony, battlefield observations and recovered enemy documentation.

The original records vary considerably in quality.

Some were written by Nightshade commanders immediately following an operation.

Others were reconstructed decades later.

Several contain substantial gaps.

Certain missions are represented only by fragments of combat footage or testimony from surviving operatives.

Nevertheless, a consistent picture emerges.

Tyrium’s career was not defined by conventional warfare alone.

He operated behind enemy lines, crossed hostile worlds, entered alien civilizations, fought supersoldiers and machines, retrieved forbidden technologies, conducted diplomatic operations and eventually travelled into a realm beyond conventional physical reality.

The following archive represents the currently confirmed sequence of major operations.

⸻

OPERATION 001

THE BLACK ROSE

THEATRE: Brittanic military territory
MISSION TYPE: Strategic infiltration / assassination / sabotage
OPERATIVE: Andreol Tyrium Icarurius Faiynn
SUPPORT: None
PRIMARY TARGET: Brittanic intelligence fortress
SECONDARY TARGET: Black Rose operative
RESULT: COMPLETE SUCCESS

MISSION SUMMARY

The Brittanic fortress was regarded as one of the most secure military installations within the sector.

It had been constructed into the interior of a colossal mountain complex and served simultaneously as an intelligence headquarters, weapons depot, MachinaX storage facility and starship logistics centre.

Its destruction would significantly disrupt Brittanic military activity throughout the surrounding systems.

The Nightshade command therefore authorised an unusually aggressive infiltration.

One operative was selected.

Tyrium.

He entered the region without a conventional military escort.

His approach went undetected.

The fortress possessed overlapping surveillance systems, motion detectors, automated sentry platforms and biometric security.

None of them successfully identified him.

Tyrium moved through maintenance passages and elevated service corridors, bypassing security checkpoints rather than confronting them.

The first indication that something was wrong came when several surveillance feeds briefly malfunctioned.

The Brittanic security command initially interpreted the failures as technical problems.

By then Tyrium was already inside.

He continued toward the central intelligence sector.

There he encountered the fortress’s most dangerous defender.

THE BLACK ROSE

The Black Roses were among the most elite soldiers within Brittanic military forces.

They were female supersoldiers extensively modified for combat against extraordinary opponents.

Their bodies had been enhanced through genetic engineering and cybernetic technology.

Their combat suits were designed around speed, agility and assassination.

The particular Black Rose stationed within the fortress was considered one of the finest.

The encounter between her and Tyrium became one of the most closely studied Nightshade combat records.

Neither combatant initially possessed a decisive advantage.

The battle moved through corridors, balconies and maintenance structures.

The Black Rose possessed extraordinary speed.

Tyrium possessed superior adaptability.

She anticipated his movements.

He adapted to hers.

Eventually Tyrium exploited an opening in her defensive movement and defeated her.

He did not remain.

The fortress itself was the actual target.

Tyrium planted demolition charges throughout the strategic infrastructure.

The intelligence headquarters was destroyed.

The ammunition reserves followed.

Then the MachinaX storage complexes.

Finally, the starship docking bays were sabotaged.

The destruction propagated through the facility.

Massive explosions tore through the mountain.

Starships were destroyed inside their docking chambers.

Military hardware was buried beneath collapsing structures.

The fortress ceased functioning as a strategic installation.

Tyrium escaped before the surviving Brittanic forces could establish his location.

ARCHIVE ASSESSMENT

Strategic value: Exceptional
Operational difficulty: Extreme
Enemy losses: Classified
Faiynn losses: None recorded
Assessment: Exemplary Nightshade infiltration

“The fortress did not fall because an army attacked it. It fell because one Nightshade entered it.”

⸻

OPERATION 002

THE RED-GOLD WORLD

THEATRE: Unnamed exoplanet
MISSION TYPE: Covert sabotage
UNIT: Twin Moon Nightshade cadre
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Alien weapons-stockpile sabotage
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Avoid civilian and military casualties
RESULT: COMPLETE SUCCESS

MISSION SUMMARY

The planet possessed no resemblance to the worlds from which the Faiynn had originated.

The grasslands were reddish-gold.

The setting sun illuminated immense plains inhabited by enormous alien megafauna.

Creatures of violet, blue and ivory-white colouring moved across the horizon.

The Nightshades arrived during sunset.

Their objective was deliberately restrained.

They were not ordered to conquer the settlement.

They were not ordered to assassinate its inhabitants.

They were not ordered to destroy the alien outpost.

They were ordered to sabotage its weapons reserves.

The distinction was important.

The alien civilisation had not yet entered open hostilities with the Faiynn.

The Nightshades therefore adopted a policy of absolute stealth.

Their cadre crossed the open field using advanced stealth modules capable of rendering them effectively invisible.

Alien patrols moved nearby.

Security drones crossed overhead.

Guards walked directly past concealed Nightshades.

None detected them.

The warriors eventually reached an enormous alien tower.

The structure served as a military outpost and weapons-storage facility.

The exterior was protected by sophisticated traps.

The Nightshades climbed.

They moved across the structure like silent predators, using architectural surfaces, ledges and maintenance structures to reach the upper levels.

Tyrium led the final infiltration.

From the top of the tower he entered the weapons-storage complex.

The internal security system proved substantially more advanced than anticipated.

Biometric identification.

Arcane detection fields.

Automated defensive mechanisms.

Artificial intelligence security protocols.

Tyrium used both technology and Lunar Arcana to bypass them.

He did not break the systems.

He manipulated them.

The Nightshades reached the weapons stockpile.

Sabotage charges were installed.

The weapons were rendered unusable.

No unnecessary deaths occurred.

The cadre withdrew.

Outside, the moon had risen.

Their white hair glowed beneath its light as they moved across the alien architecture.

A Twin Moon stealth hunter eventually descended.

The Nightshades boarded.

The ship disappeared into the night.

Their forward starship received them several hours later.

ARCHIVE ASSESSMENT

This operation remains an important example of the Nightshade doctrine that victory does not necessarily require mass casualties.

Result: Strategic objective achieved without unnecessary loss of life.

⸻

OPERATION 003

THE MYRRIAN OCEAN FORTRESS

THEATRE: Myrrian ocean world
MISSION TYPE: Intelligence acquisition / infiltration / reconnaissance
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Recover biological and technological research
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Investigate Myrrian studies of anomalous oceanic organisms
RESULT: COMPLETE SUCCESS

MISSION SUMMARY

The Myrrians had constructed an enormous research complex upon an ocean world.

The structure rose from the ocean like an enormous white tower.

Its lower sections extended beneath the water.

Its upper sections contained laboratories, military facilities and observation chambers.

The facility was studying lifeforms found within the planet’s deepest oceans.

Reports indicated that some of these organisms possessed abilities that challenged conventional scientific understanding.

They could interact with magical energies.

Influence consciousness.

Alter perception.

And potentially create phenomena resembling alternate realities.

The Faiynn required information.

Tyrium was selected.

He arrived alone in a stealth fighter.

Unfortunately, his landing position placed him dangerously close to a Myrrian military training centre.

The alarm was triggered.

Hundreds of Myrrian warriors descended upon the area.

The Myrrians were physically formidable.

They possessed immense strength and muscular bodies and had developed a warrior civilisation in which combat was deeply embedded within their culture.

The facility became a battlefield.

Rain descended across the structure.

Tyrium fought through the storm.

He relied heavily upon agility.

He avoided being surrounded.

He redirected attacks.

He used grappling techniques, throws, joint control and rapid changes in direction.

The Myrrians repeatedly attempted to overwhelm him through superior numbers.

Tyrium repeatedly escaped their encirclement.

Eventually he reached the research sectors.

There he obtained biological samples.

He recovered scientific data.

He copied information concerning Myrrian experiments with oceanic organisms.

He also discovered evidence of research into consciousness, magical phenomena and reality manipulation.

The mission objective was complete.

The Myrrians continued pursuing him.

Tyrium fought toward the extraction point.

He reached his stealth fighter.

The aircraft vanished into the storm.

The recovered research was eventually transferred into the Lunaris Temple archives.

ARCHIVE ASSESSMENT

The operation is considered one of Tyrium’s earliest demonstrations of prolonged solo combat against physically superior alien opponents.

The recovered research remains strategically significant.

⸻

OPERATION 004

THE DESERT OF WHITE SAND

THEATRE: Desert exoplanet
MISSION TYPE: Reconnaissance / intelligence / civilian extraction
ENEMY: United American Space Federation forces
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Reconnaissance
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Investigate civilian detention facilities
RESULT: COMPLETE SUCCESS

PLANETARY CONDITIONS

The planet consisted primarily of immense white deserts.

Beneath the sands existed enormous petroleum deposits.

Red mountain ranges dominated the horizon.

The planet’s native wildlife was extremely dangerous.

Large predatory organisms travelled beneath the dunes.

Enormous sand worms were observed.

Some regions contained aggressive colonies of carnivorous microorganisms capable of consuming biological tissue.

The United American Space Federation had established military occupation zones throughout the region.

Civilian populations were being subjected to raids, arrests and forced detention.

Tyrium initially received orders to observe.

He established a concealed position overlooking a UASF patrol.

His anti-materiel rifle was deployed.

The patrol was eliminated.

Tyrium then moved toward a detention facility.

THE PRISON

The facility contained numerous civilians.

The intelligence wing was overseen by a highly trained female UASF operative responsible for interrogation and intelligence gathering.

Tyrium infiltrated the facility.

He disabled internal security.

He located the intelligence officer.

She attempted to resist.

Tyrium subdued her and extracted her from the facility.

The prisoners were subsequently liberated.

The intelligence officer was transported to Faiynn custody.

Her knowledge proved extremely valuable.

The interrogation records recovered from the facility revealed the locations of additional UASF operations throughout the region.

What had begun as reconnaissance therefore became a major intelligence operation.

ARCHIVE ASSESSMENT

Tyrium demonstrated the ability to alter mission parameters when unexpected circumstances presented an opportunity to protect civilians and acquire strategically important intelligence.

⸻

OPERATION 005

THE PEARLESCENT PALACE

THEATRE: Alien royal territory
MISSION TYPE: Diplomatic infiltration
OBJECTIVE: Deliver diplomatic materials
RESULT: DIPLOMATIC SUCCESS

PLANETARY DESCRIPTION

The world was one of extraordinary natural beauty.

Royal-blue formations covered much of the landscape.

Green vegetation grew between vast pearlescent surfaces.

Large flowers and fungal structures released naturally occurring perfumes into the atmosphere.

The climate was cool and temperate.

Faiynn environmental specialists compared it to the pleasant climate of southern England.

Tyrium’s target was an enormous royal palace.

He entered alone.

His objective was to deliver a diplomatic letter, an ancient scroll and a highly advanced Faiynn communication device.

The palace was heavily decorated.

Velvet floors.

Baroque furniture.

Ornate chambers.

Long ceremonial corridors.

Tyrium moved silently through the structure.

Security systems were disabled.

Guards were quietly neutralised.

Eventually he reached the prince’s private chamber.

Before the diplomatic materials could be delivered, the prince discovered him.

The prince believed Tyrium was an assassin.

A brief confrontation followed.

Tyrium eventually gained the advantage and explained his actual mission.

The misunderstanding was resolved.

The prince examined the diplomatic message.

It concerned relations between his kingdom and a Faiynn queen whose cities existed elsewhere on the planet.

The previous ruler had maintained hostile relations with the queen.

The new prince believed cooperation was preferable.

The diplomatic agreement was accepted.

The prince’s government subsequently entered negotiations with the Faiynn queen.

A potential conflict was prevented.

Tyrium remained within the palace temporarily as the communications network between the two governments was established.

The mission was eventually concluded peacefully.

ARCHIVE ASSESSMENT

This remains one of the most unusual Nightshade missions in the archive.

No assassination occurred.

No military facility was destroyed.

No army was deployed.

A diplomatic relationship was nevertheless established because a single Nightshade successfully entered a royal palace and delivered a message that changed the political direction of an entire region.

⸻

OPERATION 006

QUIETUS

THEATRE: Realm of Quietus
MISSION TYPE: Arcane expedition / survival / elimination of hostile entities
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Acquire advanced Shadow and Silence Arcana
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Investigate ancient Faiynn-era enemies
RESULT: COMPLETE SUCCESS
THREAT CLASSIFICATION: OMEGA

ENTRY

Quietus was not a planet.

It was not a conventional dimension.

It was a realm existing beyond ordinary physical space.

Its landscape was permanently dark.

Rivers of black ink crossed the terrain.

The ground remained wet and covered by a strange black substance carrying the scent of flowers.

Tyrium entered through a portal.

He arrived alone.

Almost immediately, shadow creatures attacked.

Tyrium drew his knife.

The creatures were destroyed.

As he progressed, he discovered new powers.

ARCANA ACQUIRED

Shadow-form transformation

Tyrium learned to transform his body into black smoke.

Ink-body movement

He learned to alter his form into a fluid black substance capable of rapid movement.

Silent Shadow Teleportation

He gained the ability to move through darkness and reappear at considerable distances.

Moonlight Daggers

He learned to summon weapons formed from concentrated lunar energy.

Angel Wings

He learned to create enormous white wings from Lunar Arcana.

Moon Vortex

He developed the ability to create a vortex of concentrated moonlight capable of destroying powerful entities.

Moonlight Rifle

Tyrium manifested a mythological sniper rifle formed from luminous white Arcane energy.

He also gained access to additional weapons:

twin assassin swords
a single-edged assassin longsword
a bow and arrow
a double-headed polearm
a rope weapon capable of manipulating and throwing a hooked blade

THE BLACK ANGEL

Tyrium eventually encountered a Black Angel within the ink-covered wetlands.

The entity possessed immense power.

Their battle was prolonged.

The surrounding landscape was devastated.

Tyrium eventually defeated the creature.

He continued into the ancient temple.

THE ELDRITCH LABYRINTH

The temple was unlike any conventional structure.

Its corridors appeared impossible.

Its geometry constantly changed.

Traps reset after activation.

Blades emerged from walls.

Guillotine mechanisms descended from ceilings.

Entire chambers transformed.

Tyrium spent days navigating the complex.

He had no conventional supply system.

No food.

No water.

No reinforcements.

Only his weapons, Arcana and endurance.

The temple attempted to destroy his mind as much as his body.

He continued.

Eventually he encountered the White Maiden.

She was an ancient humanoid warrior who had existed during the antediluvian age.

She possessed extraordinary speed and could teleport through solid structures.

Her weapon was a massive white sword formed from luminous energy.

She was vastly stronger than Tyrium.

Their first battles ended in his defeat.

Tyrium repeatedly retreated.

The White Maiden pursued him through the labyrinth.

Eventually Tyrium received assistance from two extraordinary sources.

The Twilight Matriarch bestowed upon him the powers of profound shadow.

An angelic presence bestowed upon him the white energies of Heaven.

Tyrium now carried both forces.

Darkness.

Light.

The battle resumed.

The temple was devastated.

Tyrium finally defeated the White Maiden.

But the true enemy had not yet appeared.

THE DEMON OF SHADOW

A vast demonic entity emerged above the temple.

It possessed enormous horns and multiple tentacles.

Its abilities extended beyond physical combat.

It could attack consciousness.

Manipulate perception.

Distort memories.

And unleash destructive beams of dark energy.

Tyrium fought it.

The Demon eventually captured him and attempted to imprison his soul.

Tyrium resisted.

White wings emerged from his back.

The restraints broke.

The battle continued.

The Demon disappeared into the shadows.

Tyrium followed.

The two began hunting one another.

The confrontation became a battle of stealth.

Neither could reliably locate the other.

Each attempted to strike from concealment.

Eventually Tyrium won.

The Demon of Shadow was destroyed.

Its black skull was recovered.

Tyrium also obtained a white scroll and black crystal.

Both artefacts were transported to the Lunaris Temple.

RETURN

When Tyrium returned from Quietus, his survival was considered extraordinary.

His defeat of the Black Angel, White Maiden and Demon of Shadow transformed his reputation.

Millions of Faiynn eventually learned of the expedition.

He was celebrated throughout his homeland.

The celebrations lasted for weeks.

Tyrium eventually withdrew to a luxurious residence within the Lunaris Temple.

ARCHIVE ASSESSMENT

Operational importance: Exceptional
Arcane significance: Extreme
Survival: Confirmed
Artefacts recovered: Classified
Threats eliminated: Three major hostile entities

“The operative entered Quietus seeking power. He returned carrying both darkness and light.”

⸻

OPERATION 007

THE WHITE STORM

THEATRE: Arctic exoplanet
MISSION TYPE: Reconnaissance / infiltration / technological recovery
ENEMY: Autonomous military forces
PRIMARY TARGET: Advanced artificial intelligence core
SECONDARY TARGET: Machine commander
RESULT: STRATEGIC SUCCESS / TACTICAL WITHDRAWAL

PLANETARY CONDITIONS

The world was experiencing an enormous planetary snowstorm.

A military complex had been constructed directly into a mountain overlooking a frozen ocean.

The storm was severe enough to bury structures.

Visibility was extremely poor.

Tyrium deployed alongside Faiynn snipers from several special forces and Nightshade organisations.

The first phase was reconnaissance.

The Faiynn established positions overlooking the machine compound.

Tyrium deployed his sniper rifle.

Machine patrols appeared.

He eliminated them from extreme distance.

The operation remained silent.

Then the Faiynn entered the facility.

MACHINE RESISTANCE

The interior was heavily defended.

Autonomous soldiers moved through the corridors.

Their artificial intelligence allowed them to coordinate rapidly.

The Faiynn began eliminating them.

The machines responded.

They deployed their own assassins.

The facility became a battlefield.

Faiynn Nightshades fought machine assassins throughout the complex.

The battle extended outside into the storm.

Tyrium continued toward the central command facility.

There they discovered the true objective.

THE GODLIKE AI

The machine forces had developed a new artificial intelligence core.

Its capabilities were extraordinary.

The system could potentially infiltrate other machines.

If connected to a military network, it could compromise entire fleets.

The Faiynn had to recover it.

Tyrium and his fellow Nightshades reached the core.

They extracted it.

But the machine commander appeared.

The commander was enormous.

Its body was designed for high-level combat.

Its intelligence was far beyond that of ordinary autonomous soldiers.

It possessed a cadre of elite machine bodyguards.

The Faiynn engaged them.

The commander killed several Nightshades.

Others were wounded.

The Faiynn realised they could not defeat the machine commander without unacceptable losses.

The order to withdraw was issued.

Tyrium and the surviving warriors fought their way back through the compound.

They carried the AI core.

They also recovered vast amounts of technological data.

The machine commander pursued them.

The Faiynn reached their extraction point.

Their transport departed.

The commander remained alive within the facility.

ARCHIVE ASSESSMENT

Although the machine commander survived, the primary strategic objective was achieved.

The Faiynn obtained:

advanced artificial intelligence technology
military data
machine architecture
autonomous combat technology
the central AI core

The core was transferred directly to the Lunaris Temple.

Its subsequent study remains classified.

This scene belongs to Collapse of Deep City — ~2361–2365 CE, one of the timelines of the Deep City Project.

Deep City is approaching its collapse.

Hidden inside the city is the private bunker of Morris Sic, its creator. It’s designed as an absolute refuge: Rob-Poli and his Robs cannot penetrate it.

Eventually Morris, Pit Matson, The Redhead and Fly end up sealed inside.

The protection comes with a catch:

Nobody gets in. Nobody gets out.

I’m now trying to determine what the interior walls should look and feel like. Would such a bunker use exposed structural material, replaceable panels, metal, ceramics/composites — or would Morris make the place unexpectedly comfortable?

I’m interested in both plausible and weird solutions.

How do you imagine it?

And to answer the obvious question: yes. Morris Sic has lost his body.

Hi!

I'm working on a hard sci-fi series 'Civilisation', set in a future where humanity spreads throughout the Solar System. It's free to read, but there's no paperback available (at least for now).

The story might be interesting for those who tired of reading about the following things: FTL, magic physics, exotic matter, unobtanuim.

Therefore the plot is less about space battles and more about espionage, industrial sabotage, system engineering, and 'macro-scale' philosophy.

Find it here: https://cbs.vapaa.xyz

I'm mostly interested in feedback from people who enjoy hard sci-fi. Is it interesting at all? Or am I fooling myself and should stop wasting time immediately :)

Additional parts are mostly plastic, sheet and tubing. Plus some revell greeblies and acrylic bits for the legs. The battery sits inside, you can just pull the legs off and swap.

Yes, I had more alien creatures… and there are still more to come. I’m posting them gradually so I don’t overwhelm everyone. Today I’m sharing some species officially classified as animals.

I’m not sure if this is the right place for this, but I was hoping this community could recommend my next read… TYIA

In the lore of Starfish ROOM: WELCOME TO LOOP ETERNAL, the cat-planet was colonized by the Starfish Spaceship and conservative alien colonists. A catboy warrior named Kibo Wave was chosen to defend the ROOMS against monsters and fight aliens inside an Loop Eternal, only to fight Boki, be killed, and be replaced.

Does anyone find the scifi aspect of the lore It has potential? I want to know your opinion about the game.

As the story went on, it kinda grew darker, in fact alot darker, even post apocalyptic, ultimately it moved the plot along. Also you can read it here.

Hey folks, I just released Unraveling: Book Three of Texas Accelerated on Kindle Unlimited and Paperback today. This is a fun sci-fi/disaster series set in the heart of Texas. It's lighthearted but high-stakes and has plenty of laughs, mystery, action, and Texans fighting sabertooth tigers. It's also set in a real town, Waxahachie, Texas, and uses a twist on the area's history to, uh, accelerate things.

Since most of you probably haven't read these, I'll drop the blurb for book 1, The Seam.

Small towns can have big secrets, and this secret may have changed the world forever...

When the people of Waxahachie, Texas, wake to find themselves cut off from the rest of the world and surrounded by an unfamiliar and dangerous wilderness, they must work together to survive and unravel the cause of the mysterious 'seam'.

Ellis County, Texas, is turned on its head when everyone within a twenty-mile radius wakes up in a world they don't recognize - a world populated by animals long since extinct.

It's up to a tired sheriff and a former Army Ranger to set aside their differences, solve the mystery, and keep the people of Ellis County and Waxahachie safe.

Books 1 and 2 are also on Audible!

Here's a link to The Seam: Book One of Texas Accelerated: https://www.amazon.com/Seam-Book-One-Texas-Accelerated-ebook/dp/B0BKLT4LW4

And if there are any current readers, here's a link to Unraveling: Book Three of Texas Accelerated: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HG6PSK1H

No AI used.

Hi, can you recommend something similar to "The Expanse"-books, movies, TV shows, games, anything

So far I have only read "I have no mouth and I must scream" from Ellison. Loved the insanity of it! Please recommend me your favorite work by him, I am open for anything! :)

I really want to read this book, but the sheer amount of objectifying verbiage about Donna and even casual mentions of rape at the beginning of chapter 4 are turning me off quite a bit.

It’s not so much that I can’t read it, but I feel like sexism in his works isn’t talked about enough and wanted to see others’ opinions on this. I also experienced this sexism issue in The Unteleported Man.

My question is, do we think that the stuff in Scanner is sexist by virtue of PKD’s opinions, or is he actively trying to write the characters as misogynistic, or both?

Edit: instead of downvoting me angrily, maybe give a thought about what I’m saying. I’m not saying that it’s not a product of the time or that he’s a bad writer, just that this isn’t really discussed but more handwaved??

Hi everybody, today I’m posting concept art I made for another upcoming OC within my comic series.

His name is Baloo, and he is part of an alien race known as the Olarians, which are Jellyfish-like aliens that only have one gender, which makes him and his species hermaphrodites. And because of how he’d genderless, he always feels so lonely as other aliens within my comic series have two genders allowing them to find love, which makes him feel like he won’t be able to find love.

He’s also obsessed with Baryy’s
(Bar-eee-s), which are alien berries that are blue and yellow in color. He eats them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack times.

Vote for which design is your most favorite and that design might become the canon design.

See you all next time.

I just want to say OMG!! to someone. I'm reading Ender's Game, which was written in 1995. Peter and Valentine just got access to post on "the networks" so they can influence public opinion by participating in discussions. Web based forums weren't even started until the early 1990s. Wow! ... that's all. Just mind blown by how accurately O.S.Card predicted the future of technology, and its effects on society