Schlock Mercenary IV: Chrome and Punishment

[Rockphed]

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Looks like Internal Affairs has some method of not getting brain hacked. Also, I wonder how dangerous the IA chief is unarmed. He looks like some sort of polar bear or dog, go I'm guessing he is not harmless.

[Yaktan]

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Or, it could just be that he is a polar bear. It sounds their package did not work on other uplifts either. Also, he does not seem to have a tater. Just his claws and teeth.

[smuchmuch]

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Or, it could just be that he is a polar bear. It sounds their package did not work on other uplifts.

Yeah, if you look in the seond pannel you can see one of the uplifts (some kind of lizard apparently) was shot down.

I'm sure polar chief is very badass but I doubt he's going to survive very long with claws in a deadly tatters fight.

I suspect protocl is remote explosion of the tatter.

[Lizard Lord]

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I figure only JSC (whom I believe are the street cops) were issued taters and the taters are the only things spreading the blood nannies. Internal affairs wouldn't be infected. Plus it doesn't effect uplifts.

[ryuplaneswalker]

New Comic.

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Looks like Internal Affairs has some method of not getting brain hacked. Also, I wonder how dangerous the IA chief is unarmed. He looks like some sort of polar bear or dog, go I'm guessing he is not harmless.

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Polar Bears are about as far from not Harmless as a bear can get, from what I know the things are supposedly downright vicious and are the largest meat eating land based animal.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Polar Bears are about as far from not Harmless as a bear can get, from what I know the things are supposedly downright vicious and are the largest meat eating land based animal.

I suspect that in this context, discussing what bear is the most dangerous is like discussing which F1 car is fastest. Yes, a white may be slightly more dangerous than a grizzly or a black, but I wouldn't want to enrage any bear, regardless of its position in the totem pole of power. Besides, the most important force multiplier is having been uplifted. Sure, the claws make him dangerous, but it is his brain that will make him deadly.

Grey Wolf

[TheStranger]

I suspect that in this context, discussing what bear is the most dangerous is like discussing which F1 car is fastest. Yes, a white may be slightly more dangerous than a grizzly or a black, but I wouldn't want to enrage any bear, regardless of its position in the totem pole of power. Besides, the most important force multiplier is having been uplifted. Sure, the claws make him dangerous, but it is his brain that will make him deadly.

Grey Wolf

I think the real question is whether he's quick enough on the uptake to realize that he should already be using lethal force right now. Guns, claws, or taters, this is a Maxim 27 moment - don't be afraid to be the first to resort to violence. If he starts trying to do things like "investigate" or "make arrests," he's going to be on the wrong side of that particular maxim.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I think the real question is whether he's quick enough on the uptake to realize that he should already be using lethal force right now. Guns, claws, or taters, this is a Maxim 27 moment - don't be afraid to be the first to resort to violence. If he starts trying to do things like "investigate" or "make arrests," he's going to be on the wrong side of that particular maxim.

Given the sophonts already resting in pieces around the room, I'm thinking it is way too late for him to be the first to resort to violence in this context, so Maxim 27 will only apply circumstantially. He has already lost his element of surprise, which doesn't bode well for him, and of course he is up against nanny-fueled, unsafe-tater wielding opponents. What is the maxim for running away when you are utterly outmatched so you can go find a way to switch the odds in your favour?

Grey Wolf

[halfeye]

I suspect that in this context, discussing what bear is the most dangerous is like discussing which F1 car is fastest.

Respectfully, no. It's like which is fastest, an F1 Car, or an F16?

Polar Bears have evolved a lot even though the break wasn't that long ago. The shape of the head of a polar bear is different, it's not half (not two thirds?) as wide as a grizzly/brown. The Kodiak bear is a grizzly, more or less, and it's bigger, apparently, but as dangerous as a polar bear? There is no herbiage that a bear can eat at the pole.

[Kornaki]

Respectfully, no. It's like which is fastest, an F1 Car, or an F16?

Polar Bears have evolved a lot even though the break wasn't that long ago. The shape of the head of a polar bear is different, it's not half (not two thirds?) as wide as a grizzly/brown. The Kodiak bear is a grizzly, more or less, and it's bigger, apparently, but as dangerous as a polar bear? There is no herbiage that a bear can eat at the pole.

I'm sorry, isn't the question here a qualitative assessment about the ability of an uplifted bear to rend a human limb by limb? Does it matter if he's a Kodiak or a polar bear? It seems irrelevant.

[halfeye]

I'm sorry, isn't the question here a qualitative assessment about the ability of an uplifted bear to rend a human limb by limb? Does it matter if he's a Kodiak or a polar bear? It seems irrelevant.

An uplifted bear versus an augmented human? Which bear should matter (The red panda is barely a bear, and would give a normal adult human no trouble). Though if the augmentation is primarily stealth, maybe not so much. Equally if the augmentation is primarily combat, maybe no bear stands any chance at all.

[halfeye]

There are so many potentially interesting upliftees:

Cephalopods,
Ursoids,
Cetaceans,
Canines,
Felids,
Elephants,
Hippos,
Horses,
Mantis shrimp,
Ophidia,

Mixed species humans,

[Rockphed]

There are so many potentially interesting upliftees:

Cephalopods,
Ursoids,
Cetaceans,
Canines,
Felids,
Elephants,
Hippos,
Horses,
Mantis shrimp,
Ophidia,

Mixed species humans,

So far we have seen 3 species of primate (Orangutang, Gorilla, Chimpanzee), both African and Asian elephants, and a polar bear (though earlier I thought he was a dog). Any other uplifts of confirmed Terrestrial origin that we have seen?

[halfeye]

So far we have seen 3 species of primate (Orangutang, Gorilla, Chimpanzee), both African and Asian elephants, and a polar bear (though earlier I thought he was a dog). Any other uplifts of confirmed Terrestrial origin that we have seen?

Dunno, I don't really care, that's more for the real world than this imaginary one. There are places (deep oceans, ?) that intelligences could be hiding from us. Uplifting the unitelligent would be a second choice, but in the long run I think if we last that long we'll do it.

[tonberrian]

So far we have seen 3 species of primate (Orangutang, Gorilla, Chimpanzee), both African and Asian elephants, and a polar bear (though earlier I thought he was a dog). Any other uplifts of confirmed Terrestrial origin that we have seen?

I'm pretty sure that when the neutered Lazarus nannies were leaked, it was two uplifted sophonts rushing to break the news. Something that travels in pods. Dolphins, maybe.

[Narkis]

The undersecretary they originaly met was an octopus (or a squid): http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2014-07-13

And the latest page has something that looks like a lizard uplift on the floor.

[Squark]

I'm pretty sure that when the neutered Lazarus nannies were leaked, it was two uplifted sophonts rushing to break the news. Something that travels in pods. Dolphins, maybe.

The Doctor mentioned that Dolphins were uplifted back during the Accidental tourist arc, so Dolphins are a distinct possibility.

[lord_khaine]

So humanity has gone on a uplift rampage..?

And the Captain is bringing claws to a gunfight..? I at least considder his arrogance suicidedal stupid.. he is action like he is immune to getting stunned by the tater and brained by a nearby chair.

[toapat]

So humanity has gone on a uplift rampage..?

And the Captain is bringing claws to a gunfight..? I at least considder his arrogance suicidedal stupid.. he is action like he is immune to getting stunned by the tater and brained by a nearby chair.

If anything, i would expect him to be ideally suited to this fight even against lethal munitions. Whatever mad scientist uplifed a Bear probably gave him a razor-wire coat and Carbonan hide along with diamond claws and teeth, but bears are not the same as other uplifts, where most of them tended to evolve intelligence for safety. Bears are not stupid, but they certainly didnt pick cunning over being badass.

If someone uplifted a Wolverine or Badger, i would expect it to include an organic Mortar

[Rockphed]

If anything, i would expect him to be ideally suited to this fight even against lethal munitions. Whatever mad scientist uplifed a Bear probably gave him a razor-wire coat and Carbonan hide along with diamond claws and teeth, but bears are not the same as other uplifts, where most of them tended to evolve intelligence for safety. Bears are not stupid, but they certainly didnt pick cunning over being badass.

If someone uplifted a Wolverine or Badger, i would expect it to include an organic Mortar

I doubt that our bear has any resistances as a result of uplifting. As a result of whatever soldier boosts he received, however, he probably is pretty bullet proof.

[Demon 997]

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So a new (?) admiral is declaring martial law and doing something useful. I feel like I should be rooting for him, but I'm also suspicious.

[memnarch]

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So a new (?) admiral is declaring martial law and doing something useful. I feel like I should be rooting for him, but I'm also suspicious.

I'd be suspicious too except that it's to get rid of a very urgent threat without creating a big mess afterwards. That says to me that he's smart as well.

[lord_khaine]

I doubt that our bear has any resistances as a result of uplifting. As a result of whatever soldier boosts he received, however, he probably is pretty bullet proof.

I dont think anything short of Laz'r'us boosts offer any noticeable proofing against bullets.

Remember the toughts are also all illegally boosted, but that has not done much besides giving them a high pain tolerance and a increase in size.

[Discus-Spinner]

I'd be suspicious too except that it's to get rid of a very urgent threat without creating a big mess afterwards. That says to me that he's smart as well.

He's in charge of LEO Command. "Kessler Cascade" will be the phrase he wakes up screaming from his worst nightmares. Right now, assuming that he's not actually been suborned by the bad guys, he's doing his job and doing it right. He probably is smart, but frankly, he's also probably rehearsed something like this moment a hundred times with his staff and AIs; the biggest danger is that the bad guys know exactly what he's going to do - because he doesn't have many choices - and factored it into their own plans.

[HandofShadows]

Surprised people missed this. It seems that the Battleplates DO have a big gun on the front.

[NEO|Phyte]

So how many parsecs do you figure the average kessler run is?

[Rockphed]

So how many parsecs do you figure the average kessler run is?

"no aspect of those passes was measured in parsecs"

[toapat]

I dont think anything short of Laz'r'us boosts offer any noticeable proofing against bullets.

Diamond Beetles were in the first Schlocktoberfest, so there is absolutely a source for splicing diamond growth algorithms into a creature's DNA. Also remember that the toughs have, while illegal, extremely out of date soldier boost firmware. The original supersoldier package was less useful to the project as a whole, as the package that Haban got is nowhere near as useful in a broad sense when compared to what the 3rd?+ era supersoldier (probably 5th era) did on Osiri. Pooping plastique explosives isnt nearly as impressive as being able to punch through and growing your own tank armor

[Bulldog Psion]

Is this polar bear slow on the uptake, or what? It's pretty obvious that this isn't a situation for standing around talking, and yet here he is, standing around talking. Sheesh.

Also, what is the sudden rash of spoilers in this thread about?

[ryuplaneswalker]

Diamond Beetles were in the first Schlocktoberfest, so there is absolutely a source for splicing diamond growth algorithms into a creature's DNA. Also remember that the toughs have, while illegal, extremely out of date soldier boost firmware. The original supersoldier package was less useful to the project as a whole, as the package that Haban got is nowhere near as useful in a broad sense when compared to what the 3rd?+ era supersoldier (probably 5th era) did on Osiri. Pooping plastique explosives isnt nearly as impressive as being able to punch through and growing your own tank armor

No, but it can be more effective if used right. I would rather my poop go boom than get turned into a ken doll.