@rubber ducky

[curingidiocy]

It has come to my attention that the plugsuits we wear for protection against Rift energy is outdated by more than a few decades. What little upgrades the suits have been given over the years amount to minor fixes and cosmetic changes. Some researchers of the Alexandria Institute have indicated an interest in producing a better plugsuit using materials from the kaiju as a basis for the improvements, and I believe we ought to collaborate with them.

Given LILITH's inefficient bureaucracy, this is an initiative that we Outsiders ought to head ourselves. Not only do we have personal experience with the plugsuits, we also have capable individuals who can contribute significantly to the research itself.

[ Is he tooting his own horn here? Absolutely. But he also means the other Outsiders who have non-combat expertise, many of whom he's spoken to or already gotten assistance from for his own research and projects. ]

Additionally, not all of us have skills oriented towards battle, and often I find myself unhappy with my ability to contribute in that regard.

Thus, I propose that we establish a research team, focusing on not only on kaiju research of our own, but on solving the issues plaguing this planet that LILITH does not have the capacity to attend to. There are any number of projects we can tackle—the plugsuit, the planet's environmental destruction, greater defenses for our bases, and much more.

If you have any interest in joining the research team, inform me immediately. I will administer a short interview to determine your suitability, but you need not be a specialist in research to join. A team requires individuals of many skills, including administrative, or for the less academically inclined, those who can procure the materials we need for our studies.

Of course, if you believe this to be of little use, or an exercise in futility, I would like to hear your argument. No great plan has ever been set into motion without debate and intense scrutiny.


[ ooc: If you're interested in research team shenanigans, see this player plot post and this page as well! ]

Comments

un: forgery

[misclassed]

[ ok fine he said hi to taryon so he might as well say hi to the doc too ]

Nobody ever remembers that equipping the army is the hardest part of winning the battle.

Is this group mainly gonna be looking at defenses?

[ ... ratio probably knows where muramasa's interests and specialties lie at this point, and what he's leading up to. ]

[curingidiocy]

Hence why we must start investing our efforts into upgrading our equipment now.

LILITH has used a considerable amount of its resources for offense, so I believe focusing on defense would be ideal. But it seems you have a different idea in mind.

[misclassed]

Well... that sword the Institute has is just plain, good steel. Nothing fancy. I wonder if we could get 'em to reallocate some of their resources and focus a little more on the quality of the base equipment, instead of the flashy augmentation.

[ its about CRAFTSMANSHIP, doctor...!!! ]

I'd volunteer myself here, but I'm not sure a blacksmith is necessary for the kinda work you're looking for. Offer's on the table, anyway.

[curingidiocy]

I am unfamiliar with the nuances of such weapons, so it will be up to you and other interested individuals to determine what would be best for us Outsiders.

[ He can help them navigate bureaucracy, but otherwise, he'll leave the project to Muramasa or anyone else interested in heading such an initiative. ]

Do you believe there is any merit in attempting to incorporate kaiju material into a sword?

[misclassed]

Ah. It would depend on what part of the process you're looking to add kaiju at. Something like the tsuba or the tsuka-maki would be the easiest to change materials on, or any of the other mountings.

But if you mean the steel itself, then [ INSERT 5 PARAGRAPHS OF DETAILED ASSESSMENT AND OPINIONS ON INCORPORATING BONE TO THE FORGING PROCESS, WHETHER IN THE FLUX, THE FUEL, OR THE STEEL ITSELF, THE RESULTING DIFFERENCE IN HARDNESS AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON CUTTING, VERSUS DURABILITY, PLUS CONCERNS ABOUT INCONSISTENCY IN QUALITY OR MATERIAL COMPOSITION

tl;dr: you can add organic material, but its difficult to control the results unless you're VERY GOOD at what you do (and not once does he imply that it's beyond his own capabilities) ]

And all that is assuming that the fire doesn't destroy whatever properties makes the material a repellant. (Maybe you could use blood for tempering, but that sounds like a nightmare to keep supplied and fresh, 'specially with how much you change out the water.)

... I'd need to test things, at the very least.

[curingidiocy]

[ Perhaps, if Ratio were any other person, all of this information would fly right over his head. But, given his wide berth of knowledge, he keeps up quite easily. Muramasa is quite knowledgeable about swords, which, given that he's a blacksmith, would certainly be expected. ]

That is the purpose of this team. To test any ideas and hypotheses we come up with.

[ In other words, Muramasa is more than welcome to join the team. ]

[misclassed]

[ ... oh yeah, that's what this post was about, right. he forgot. he got so excited to talk about iron carbonization, he forgot what the original request was about. ]

Oh, good point.

Well, you can consider my services available for the group, then, so long as people are precise about what they want me to try and make.

(It doesn't have to be swords, either, for the record.)

[curingidiocy]

What are you capable of creating other than swords?

[misclassed]

Depends on the tools and materials on hand, but I like a challenge, you know? Sky's the limit.

[ He can work a 3D printer. For the record. And he has a magical 3D printer, but... that's complicated. ]

[curingidiocy]

Have you seen the circuitry of machines before?

[ There's absolutely no relation between a blacksmith and a computer parts fabrication, but.. well, he did say the sky was the limit, right? Ratio wants to know exactly what his limit is. ]

[misclassed]

The wires and boards and shit? Yeah, I'm familiar with how they work.

[ ................ like, how different can it be from hephasteus' shit at the forge? no nanobots, sure, but. ]

[curingidiocy]

I'm certain you know what my follow-up question is.

[misclassed]

The answer is "yes," if you're okay with it taking a while, if you have the requisite materials and the design already prepared, and if I have enough mana in reserve to work outside my wheelhouse.

Master or not, I'm one man, with no assistants. So if you're going to try and ask for something like one of those mechanized armors the kids are driving, I'm going to tell you exactly where you can stick it for the next twenty years while you wait for me to finish the job.

[curingidiocy]

A shame; I was going to ask for ten.

[ Obviously, he's joking. ]

Let's say I ask you to replicate one of the hummingbird drone LILITH provides us. How long would that take you?

[misclassed]

From scratch, right now?

[ Hm. ]

Ah, that's a lot of fiddly moving parts that have to be cut by hand. A month and a half, and you have to supply the computer brain that tells it how to fly.

[curingidiocy]

[ That's not too bad for a completely handcrafted device, honestly. ]

I would not expect you to supply software for any device I ask you to create. That is something I can handle myself.

I do not have any such delicate constructions in mind at the moment however. What I may need your expertise for is an energy generator.

[misclassed]

[ handcrafted, and with extant, working references he can use as a template. he would never be able to come up with something like that on his own. its why he'd emphasized needing to work off of someone else's designs. ]

My expertise? For a reactor?

[ buddy. come on. he's no genuis inventor, like da vinci. just a blacksmith, grateful for the work he gets. ]

[curingidiocy]

Only in its creation. I have already drawn up the blueprints.

[ Part of his work back home is engineering all sorts of devices, and one of this many theses involved solving an energy crisis so this is elementary work for him. ]

The generator requires a certain kind of semiconductor that may be produced with the materials available on this planet, but there no facilities capable of doing so in operation. Since you claim to be capable of replicating machine circuitry, it should be within your capability.

[misclassed]

[ ... Man, it would suck to have to go back on his promise of the sky's the limit, but also. wuh-oh. ]

... Yeah, that's what I said, isn't it? I'm gonna need to see those blueprints, Ratio, and they better be real detailed.

[curingidiocy]

You'll have to give me a moment. I created them under the assumption that I would have access to a machine fabricator. I need to pen in a few more details to ensure you have all the knowledge you require to create this device.

[ It's fine if Muramasa goes back on his word. Ratio's already astonished that he's capable of creating such complex machinery on his own. ]

[misclassed]

[ its gonna be so funny when theyre both functionally out of action for multiple weeks and cant do anything fun like trying to build reactors in a garage ]

And if you can get your hands on any similar examples that can work in nearabout the same way, that'd be good too. Something I can put my hands on. They don't have to be functional, I just want to see the structure in person.

[ for REASONS ]

[curingidiocy]

[ RIP their insane backyard science projects.... ]

That may be difficult, but I'll see what I can do.

[ They do have the shields from LILITH, but they're small scale and don't work the exact same way, whereas larger generators would be difficult to find. It might be possible to find a broken one from an abandoned area, but... ]

Is it a requirement that you see a similar device?

[misclassed]

It's not a hard requirement, but it would make things a lot easier, you know? My vessel's got a specialized magecraft that's good for structural analysis and the like, and I use that to kind of... brute force my way out of my specialty...

[ challenge "make his process sound less like an unprofessional hack job than it actually is": FAILED ]

Without a sample to work from, I'll have to fill in the gaps in the uh, templates? And I don't have a lot of mana for that, so I'll really have to take my time to make something permanent that's not gonna embarrass the shit out of me to hand over as a finished product.

[ he is NOT a fuel efficient Servant, not even remotely ]

[curingidiocy]

Would you be capable of synthesizing the engine if I provided devices that contained components of it, as well as provided the blueprint that describes how it should all be arranged?

Otherwise we may want to create a fabricator with your skills to handle what has no precedent on this planet.

[misclassed]

[ a semi-long pause. ]

I don't wanna say yes to the job until I've got an exact idea of the scope, but it ought to be doable. Time, materials, and mana are still the deciding factors.

And anything we can do to automate things in the long-term would be preferable. I'd hate for work to go to waste just because I finally bit it or something.