Fallout Equestria: Tarts and Tribulations

[DigoDragon]

So Doc, what's up with all the disgusting goo babies you've got hanging around? she asked, grimacing as she watched the cuties play.

"Found them in the labs we we're looking through for files on the crap this factory was making," Doc replied. "Since they're engineered to comfort the sick and injured, we thought to give them to Dr. Stitchheart. She'd probably find use for them on her patients."

[Forum Explorer]

"Found them in the labs we we're looking through for files on the crap this factory was making," Doc replied. "Since they're engineered to comfort the sick and injured, we thought to give them to Dr. Stitchheart. She'd probably find use for them on her patients."

Ugh, Moonshadow shuddered. Well did you find out how they were made and destroyed the records?

[DigoDragon]

Doc retrives the documents on the cuties, but he separates the care-and-handling ones from the documents on their creation. "This is all we found on them. Nothing too technical. It's like caring for a pet or goal."

[Inspector Valin]

Choro is trying very hard to look at one of the monitors. But at Doc separating the documents, the ones surrounding their creation are enveloped in the little wizard's gentle bronze aura, and drift over towards her saddle bag. She looks up, voice still kinda quiet.

"I'm not done with these yet, Doctor. Sorry. I should... give them another read."

[DigoDragon]

Doc let's the paperwork go and just gives a little shrug. "That's fine I guess. I can write my own notes on them later."

[Dalinale]

"Ah, good to see you back with us, Fan," Doc greeted. "Uh.. yes, these little critters. They're called cuties. This facility was making them as a kind of... service animal engineered for comfort to help sick and injured ponies. They're mostly harmless, though I should take some to one of the labs and run a check up on them just in case. You can still interact with them if you like. They enjoy the attention."

Fan Knife just continued to look as if she was considering who in the room should die first. One tiny cutie did approach the filly, apparently to offer hugs, but after a few seconds of eye contact it turned around and ran towards it's mother.

"Choro, you want to lend me some help? You'll probably be more skilled to handle the uplink to the cybernetic brain. I'll assist if you need me to, once I crack open the brain case here." Doc works on opening up the corpse.

Medicine (first step of three) [roll0] vs. 105 (95 base +10 bonus)

While the introduction of the cuties probably made the room a little less sterile than before, the basic surgical aspects were simple. This was probably going to be the easiest brain surgery he'd ever have to do, given that most unicorn horns couldn't just be cut around and uprooted like a root vegetable. The blood was minimal and the bundles of wire coated in light layers of gore were barely noteworthy. After a few moments of careful scraping, what was probably the artificial brain was visible; it was a grey ovalish metallic object located roughly where a brain would've been for a normal pony, several hundred thin yellow and red cables branching off from it and connecting to the rest of the moist plastic 'flesh' around it.

"Lovely. Now, simply place the black wire sticking out from the table and place it in a port. I'll give the all-clear when I am able."


Meanwhile, Bertly and Strata seemed to be moving a few of the cuties into one of the nearby rooms, seemingly to create less noise. Thanatos was watching the surgery from a rail near the computer tower, although the cuties seemed to be clearly distracting him.

Choro's been quiet for quite a while, following at the back of Doc's group. At the stallion's words, she almost jumps, but nods, stepping forward and withdrawing some data connection cables from her bag, ready to step in for the second phase. As Doc begun to prep for the operation, the young mare coughs, looking nervously towards the terminal.

"Was... was my PipBuck's information useful to you, Ms. Madeline?"

"Unfortunately, I underestimated the depth of a Pipbuck's databanks. Trying to locate useful information while trying to avoid any of your personal information, along with previous owners of the device, through a basic wireless connection has been harder than I expected. Thank you, however."

So Doc, what's up with all the disgusting goo babies you've got hanging around? she asked, grimacing as she watched the cuties play.

Many of the cuties seemed enraptured by Moonshadow, but at 'disgusting' most of them seemed to be saddened, which caused a sort of loop in which some attempted to comfort the saddened ones by hugging, which caused the comforters to get saddened themselves, which resulted in more hugging. This lasted about five seconds, after which they went back to playing like they were characters for some sort of mentally handicapped toddler's programming.

"Found them in the labs we we're looking through for files on the crap this factory was making," Doc replied. "Since they're engineered to comfort the sick and injured, we thought to give them to Dr. Stitchheart. She'd probably find use for them on her patients."

Ugh, Moonshadow shuddered. Well did you find out how they were made and destroyed the records?

Doc retrives the documents on the cuties, but he separates the care-and-handling ones from the documents on their creation. "This is all we found on them. Nothing too technical. It's like caring for a pet or goal."

Choro is trying very hard to look at one of the monitors. But at Doc separating the documents, the ones surrounding their creation are enveloped in the little wizard's gentle bronze aura, and drift over towards her saddle bag. She looks up, voice still kinda quiet.

"I'm not done with these yet, Doctor. Sorry. I should... give them another read."

Doc let's the paperwork go and just gives a little shrug. "That's fine I guess. I can write my own notes on them later."

As Doc spoke, Fan Knife, pointedly ignoring the surgery occurring, slowly approached a single adult cutie that had three foals nestled near it; while the adult was intimidated after a few moments, instincts seemed to kick in and it hugged on of her legs after a few moments, saying something along the lines of 'mummah giv hugs tew fiwwy.' and continued to coo as it embraced the filly's limb.

Fan Knife, looking down at the sight of the dwarf, childlike equine with glossy dark blue eyes, seemed be doing that 'the lights are home but nobody's home' look ghouls occasionally had every so often. She looked like a fly could've landed on her cornea and she wouldn't twitch.

[DigoDragon]

Doc has things set for the second phase. "Okay, Choro, whenever you're ready. Stellar, would you like to help us too? This part is more technical than medical."

He looks concerned when he sees Fan Knife holding still. "Uh, Fan Knife, are you going to be okay?"

[RCgothic]

"Righto", Stellar says, hovering to assist.

[Forum Explorer]

Oh? We don't have to pull out your core or whatever? Moonshadow said, looking a little upset at the revelation.

[Inspector Valin]

Choro looks quite surprised at Madeline's words. And a little touched. She hadn't actually considered the idea that the AI would try to compartmentalize the data like that. Retrieving her well-spangled PipBuck, she fastens it to her forehoof with a clack and nods to the server-core. "I'll try and make a collection of relevant items for you to download later. Just give me an outline and I'll see what I can do. Erm... Thank you for respecting my privacy."

Brief social politeness seen to, she turns down to the corpse. The robot. The... whatever it was. It's clear that Choro isn't exactly comfortable with this operation. But nonetheless, the little mare nods to Doc and Stellar, as emphatically as she can. "Yes. We're doing this." She gulps, but steps forward, starting to withdraw backup data streams and integrity motiors, ready for their usage later in the procedure. Even on your worst day, you have to be able to do your best to help ponies around you. That's part of what it means to be Equestrian, as far as Choro's concerned.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Erm, is plugging the thing in the bit that needs the science roll? Or am I putting that off till we've had our chat with Mooney

[Dalinale]

He looks concerned when he sees Fan Knife holding still. "Uh, Fan Knife, are you going to be okay?"

Fan Knife did nothing.

"Righto", Stellar says, hovering to assist.

Oh? We don't have to pull out your core or whatever? Moonshadow said, looking a little upset at the revelation.

"If I was of Equestrian make or that model was more primitive, removing my personality cores would be needed. Luckily, that cybernetic brain looks rather accommodating; after I shed most of my administrative programs, I should be able to move myself into it while leaving a backup in my old body." Madeline replied, "If I were forced to move all my cores to that body, surgery would likely be needed to attach them to the body's systems, which would be unsightly and would take several years to rectify incompatibility issues between my components and that of the body's hardware."

Choro looks quite surprised at Madeline's words. And a little touched. She hadn't actually considered the idea that the AI would try to compartmentalize the data like that. Retrieving her well-spangled PipBuck, she fastens it to her forehoof with a clack and nods to the server-core. "I'll try and make a collection of relevant items for you to download later. Just give me an outline and I'll see what I can do. Erm... Thank you for respecting my privacy."

Brief social politeness seen to, she turns down to the corpse. The robot. The... whatever it was. It's clear that Choro isn't exactly comfortable with this operation. But nonetheless, the little mare nods to Doc and Stellar, as emphatically as she can. "Yes. We're doing this." She gulps, but steps forward, starting to withdraw backup data streams and integrity motiors, ready for their usage later in the procedure. Even on your worst day, you have to be able to do your best to help ponies around you. That's part of what it means to be Equestrian, as far as Choro's concerned.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Erm, is plugging the thing in the bit that needs the science roll? Or am I putting that off till we've had our chat with Mooney

[The plug is the science roll, yes.]

[DigoDragon]

Fan Knife did nothing.

"I should be able to move myself into it while leaving a backup in my old body."

Doc keeps an eye out on Fan. Guess the cuties are really hit-or-miss with his adventuring companions.

"Why do you need to leave a back up in the server?" Doc asked the AI. "Is there something operating in the factory that requires your conscious thought?"

[Forum Explorer]

"If I was of Equestrian make or that model was more primitive, removing my personality cores would be needed. Luckily, that cybernetic brain looks rather accommodating; after I shed most of my administrative programs, I should be able to move myself into it while leaving a backup in my old body." Madeline replied, "If I were forced to move all my cores to that body, surgery would likely be needed to attach them to the body's systems, which would be unsightly and would take several years to rectify incompatibility issues between my components and that of the body's hardware."

Well that's just peachy. Moonshadow said sarcastically. Guys, before we put Maddie in that cyberpony, I've got something to say. Moonshadow said, before playing the clip from earlier.

After a few moments, the holodisk began to play. A young voice, slightly scratchy and angry, began to speak.

"Alright, so, I'm recording this because I want something physical in case something goes bad. My name is Flawless Trick, and I'm pretty sure there's some sort of conspiracy going on.

First things first; I'm a mercenary, so I'v seen some weird ****, and this is some weird ****. I have spent two years working for the Olive Family, a local trader family that has bad relations with the donkey traders who run half the stuff in Manehatten. They're like a Appleachian clan, but *******s. Anyway, they pay steady, but a few days ago I talked to their paymaster, Cured Olive, and he said he had a job for me; a quick investigation in a factory on the east end of the city that's infested with robots. I said why not, and I got the gang together and we headed for Ministry Row.

After two days, I got woken up and there was a ****'n wizard standing outside my room, wearing a big hat with a curled end and everything. This was a big bitch, horse sized and black as night, standing outside in the snow in some purple robes. She didn't say her name, but she wanted me to do the exact same thing the Olives wanted, but wanted me to keep track if I'd seen anything else odd about the place, like other cyberponies. Alright, great, ****ing creepy, but that's wizards for you.

Anyway, I tell the gang this, and the pegasus thinks that whatever's going on in the factory is super-important, and that there's some high technology in there. I mean, that's super-****ing obvious, but he has a point. So, I stay up as the nightly guard so everyone else gets some good sleep.

Everything's good for a week after that, until my mother bucking cyber-doctor actually tracks me down at the inn I'm staying at; anyway, Silicon Safeguard doesn't want me to go to the factory. I say that I won't, and she left. I'm going to go there, anyway, but I'm weirded out."

This body here, it's not just some advanced robot, or prewar corpse. It's a pony like Stellar or Doc. More extensive cybernetics perhaps, but still a normal pony. Are you guys really comfortable with desecrating their corpse? I mean if it was Stellar lying there,
I'd be telling Madeline to go burn in Tartarus before I let them turn her body into a meat puppet. I can't imagine Flawless Trick's friends and family will take it any better then I would. Besides, it's not like we can't just upload Madeline to a robot body instead.

So I just want to ask you all outright, are you sure you're fine with desecrating a corpse for this?

[Inspector Valin]

Choro listens closely to the recording. She frowns, and mutters a little to herself.

"The Lodge knew about Cyberponies. They knew about the assassin. And didn't tell Ms. Stellar."

Technically, it could just be a faction of the lodge, or a mistake. Anypony can wear a wizard's hat after all. Still, Choro is suitably chilled, and Moon's later topic makes the young mare squirm a little too. It's clear this situation is uncomfortable for her, even without speaking a word.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

(1d10)[6] Int 9 to analyse the possibility of putting Maddie in a different robot body, or building her a new one? Not trying to do it off an int roll, I'd just like to know if it could be done.

[DigoDragon]

Doc looks over the corpse again. It was such an advanced collection of cybernetic systems that he wouldn't have guessed it was a post-war 'normal' pony; self-repair systems, cybertronic brain components, replaced blood with a specialized fluid... Well then. Putting an AI in this body would be pretty shady if it, or perhaps she, was a person with family and not a machine made to look like a pony. Letting the AI control it would like allowing it to impersonate this pony's identity.

Hmm, and that there went back to his recent question to the AI. It wasn't moving in, it was just copying itself into the brain. That wasn't the original plan he remembered agreeing to.

"Well now, that recording does raise some interesting questions, doesn't it?" Doc finally speaks up. "Never seen a corpse that's nearly all machine before, but I reckon if that is the case with this poor lass, then we couldn't very well use it as is. Not with the face intact. The other thing is that if the AI is just gonna copy itself rather than move in; that does sound more like puppeteering than becoming a pony. I was under the impression we were removing the AI completely off the machine running this place."

Doc puts his tools to the side and waits for everyone else to weigh in.

[RCgothic]

Stellar looks round at the other ponies for their reaction to Moonshadow's question before answering for herself.

"Moonshadow, I get where you are coming from, but a body is just a body. No matter how respectful we are to Flawless Trick it isn't going to do her any good, but we have an opportunity here to save Madeleine. Not just from the imminent destruction of this facility, but from a life of crushing boredom. In the absence of evidence that Flawless Trick wasn't a good pony I choose to believe she'd consent. And if she wasn't a good pony then at least something good will come of her. We've already had a conversation with Madeleine about being sensitive to the ponies that Flawless may have left behind, she's agreed to change her appearance so isn't like she's going to be impersonating Flawless's life. I believe this is the right thing to do."

"And, uh, since you brought it up... If I am killed I'd prefer if the most possible good could be taken from my demise, rather than an arbitrary level of respect. Doc, if you can make the lives of other ponies better using my organs or limbs then go right ahead. If getting clear of a bunch of deathclaws requires using me as dog chow then do it. It's not me. Nothing that makes me me will survive my death."

[Inspector Valin]

"Wwhat she said."

Choro nods at Stellar, looking at the pegasus with something like awe. She really couldn't add much to that. She takes a second before saying anything at all, and when she does, it feels inadequate. "We do the best we can with the cards the world has dealt us. I don't really think an artificial pony would have religious belies about their body being committed to the earth or anything like that. If she did, she would've added that to the recording, right?" She doesn't really sound sure of the point herself,honestly. Nonetheless, Choro looks over to Doc. "Doctor, transplanting organs is a long held medical idea, isn't it? How does this differ, if Ms. Madeline doesn't attempt to resume Ms. Trick's life?"

[DigoDragon]

"Well, it's the face thing," Doc answers, waving a hoof in circular motion around his face to describe his words. "If the AI is gonna change it then... guess that's not as bad. But I'm still wondering about making that copy of itself. If it is leaving into the body cause it is bored of this place, wouldn't the copy eventually get bored too?"

[Dalinale]

Doc keeps an eye out on Fan. Guess the cuties are really hit-or-miss with his adventuring companions.

"Why do you need to leave a back up in the server?" Doc asked the AI. "Is there something operating in the factory that requires your conscious thought?"

"The systems that run this factory require a artificial intelligence, even if the robots are not under any sort of direct control anymore." she replied, "The alternative would be quite bad. There are two catastrophic scenarios in particular; the waste pit for this facility has not been emptied since it was created, and it currently has a highly volatile layer of concentrated methane gas under it. If ignited, it would not likely destroy this facility, but it would cause a massive explosion that would devastate the sewer system and would likely have the same effect a localized, mid-sized earthquake. In addition, I control the disposal of the waste created by the overflowing byproduct vat; as that is below the water line, the meat slurry could very well get into lake, which I am sure that you understand is a bad thing."

Well that's just peachy. Moonshadow said sarcastically. Guys, before we put Maddie in that cyberpony, I've got something to say. Moonshadow said, before playing the clip from earlier.

Thanatos seemed deeply concerned by the contents of the tape, and stepped closer to the surgery table, eyeing the corpse.

This body here, it's not just some advanced robot, or prewar corpse. It's a pony like Stellar or Doc. More extensive cybernetics perhaps, but still a normal pony. Are you guys really comfortable with desecrating their corpse? I mean if it was Stellar lying there,
I'd be telling Madeline to go burn in Tartarus before I let them turn her body into a meat puppet. I can't imagine Flawless Trick's friends and family will take it any better then I would. Besides, it's not like we can't just upload Madeline to a robot body instead.

So I just want to ask you all outright, are you sure you're fine with desecrating a corpse for this?

The turn in the debate seemed to get Fan Knife out of her funk; she shooed the cutie hugging her leg away, turned away from it while ignoring it's high-pitched pleas, and walked over towards the cybercorpse; she was just a inch or so from being shorter then the table, so she had to raise herself slightly to get a good look at it. She seemed unimpressed at the proceedings around her.

"I mean, you did loot the bodies of her friends and didn't dispose of them." she said, "Really, it's not even like this is a brain transplant or anything; it's more like swapping robobrain processors. It's a cyberbrain, right? If her consciousness could be wiped out by a mid-sized magnet, I don't see why you guys are even discussing this. It's a cybernetic body, it's not like anyone wouldn't chop her up for her components anyway. If we gave it over to my sister, she'd probably put every single bit of it in other ponies. Honestly, if it's brain is totally cybernetic, then it was probably already a artificial intelligence with the memories of a dead mare; transferring consciousness into machinery is almost impossible."

There was loud thwump, followed by a cracking sound. It happened to be Thanatos's hoof hitting the metal flooring; the stallion was clearly disgusted, and was glaring at Fan Knife with obvious hate from the other side of the table.

Fan Knife looked up slightly until she was making eye contact with the stallion. After a few moments, he looked over towards Doc, looking considerably less appalled, but obviously disgruntled.

Choro listens closely to the recording. She frowns, and mutters a little to herself.

"The Lodge knew about Cyberponies. They knew about the assassin. And didn't tell Ms. Stellar."

Technically, it could just be a faction of the lodge, or a mistake. Anypony can wear a wizard's hat after all. Still, Choro is suitably chilled, and Moon's later topic makes the young mare squirm a little too. It's clear this situation is uncomfortable for her, even without speaking a word.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

[roll0] Int 9 to analyse the possibility of putting Maddie in a different robot body, or building her a new one? Not trying to do it off an int roll, I'd just like to know if it could be done.

[Madeline would likely need a pretty advanced robotic body to move the entirety of herself into without having to compress anything, but it's entirely doable. Anything with a good complex cyberbrain could forseeably host her; Madeline's programming seems pretty adaptable at to what it can operate.]

Doc looks over the corpse again. It was such an advanced collection of cybernetic systems that he wouldn't have guessed it was a post-war 'normal' pony; self-repair systems, cybertronic brain components, replaced blood with a specialized fluid... Well then. Putting an AI in this body would be pretty shady if it, or perhaps she, was a person with family and not a machine made to look like a pony. Letting the AI control it would like allowing it to impersonate this pony's identity.

Hmm, and that there went back to his recent question to the AI. It wasn't moving in, it was just copying itself into the brain. That wasn't the original plan he remembered agreeing to.

"Well now, that recording does raise some interesting questions, doesn't it?" Doc finally speaks up. "Never seen a corpse that's nearly all machine before, but I reckon if that is the case with this poor lass, then we couldn't very well use it as is. Not with the face intact. The other thing is that if the AI is just gonna copy itself rather than move in; that does sound more like puppeteering than becoming a pony. I was under the impression we were removing the AI completely off the machine running this place."

Doc puts his tools to the side and waits for everyone else to weigh in.

Stellar looks round at the other ponies for their reaction to Moonshadow's question before answering for herself.

"Moonshadow, I get where you are coming from, but a body is just a body. No matter how respectful we are to Flawless Trick it isn't going to do her any good, but we have an opportunity here to save Madeleine. Not just from the imminent destruction of this facility, but from a life of crushing boredom. In the absence of evidence that Flawless Trick wasn't a good pony I choose to believe she'd consent. And if she wasn't a good pony then at least something good will come of her. We've already had a conversation with Madeleine about being sensitive to the ponies that Flawless may have left behind, she's agreed to change her appearance so isn't like she's going to be impersonating Flawless's life. I believe this is the right thing to do."

"And, uh, since you brought it up... If I am killed I'd prefer if the most possible good could be taken from my demise, rather than an arbitrary level of respect. Doc, if you can make the lives of other ponies better using my organs or limbs then go right ahead. If getting clear of a bunch of deathclaws requires using me as dog chow then do it. It's not me. Nothing that makes me me will survive my death."

"Lady Stellar, if you need any of my components if I become inoperable, I give you my permission to do so." Bertly yelled from the other side of the room, probably to make sure that he was audible over the babbling sounds of the cuties he was managing, although he clearly overdid it.

"Wwhat she said."

Choro nods at Stellar, looking at the pegasus with something like awe. She really couldn't add much to that. She takes a second before saying anything at all, and when she does, it feels inadequate. "We do the best we can with the cards the world has dealt us. I don't really think an artificial pony would have religious belies about their body being committed to the earth or anything like that. If she did, she would've added that to the recording, right?" She doesn't really sound sure of the point herself,honestly. Nonetheless, Choro looks over to Doc. "Doctor, transplanting organs is a long held medical idea, isn't it? How does this differ, if Ms. Madeline doesn't attempt to resume Ms. Trick's life?"

"Well, it's the face thing," Doc answers, waving a hoof in circular motion around his face to describe his words. "If the AI is gonna change it then... guess that's not as bad. But I'm still wondering about making that copy of itself. If it is leaving into the body cause it is bored of this place, wouldn't the copy eventually get bored too?"

"Well, my personality was mostly set when I was installed, but I can adjust a copy of myself so that it would love nothing more then to stay here by removing it's access to the vast majority of my personality cores." Madeline cheerfully replied, "Just because I want to leave doesn't mean I wouldn't be content in staying here. However, it's quite clear that this facility will likely never become totally functional again, and if I remain, I will likely perish."

[DigoDragon]

There was loud thwump, followed by a cracking sound. It happened to be Thanatos's hoof hitting the metal flooring; the stallion was clearly disgusted, and was glaring at Fan Knife with obvious hate from the other side of the table.

"That's one resounding vote for no with the operation," Doc said. He glanced at the corpse then back at Thanatos. "She must of been someone personal to you, with a wordless stance like that."

[Dalinale]

"That's one resounding vote for no with the operation," Doc said. He glanced at the corpse then back at Thanatos. "She must of been someone personal to you, with a wordless stance like that."

Thanatos shook his head.

"No on both counts. I barely knew Flawless Trick and have no desire to debate Theseus's paradox, and if someone can benefit from the use of her body, so be it. However, she was a pony, regardless of her form, and for a undead monstrosity to question that makes this horrible situation verge closer to parody."

[DigoDragon]

"Huh. Unexpected, but I can agree that she was a pony." Doc turns to the AI. "And on the topic of benefiting, I have two important questions about this facility. The first is what in Luna's name does this plant do to get rid of the byproduct waste? Does it just sit there to rot or is there a process to filter it out?"

"The second is if we can vent that methane up out of the vat and throughout the factory, so that it would be easier to burn it to the ground."

[Forum Explorer]

Moonshadow shrugged, frowning. All that makes sense, and it's perfectly logical, but it just doesn't feel right. You know? she said to Stellar, Fan Knife, and Choro. Like suggesting we turn the other corpses into griffon food. It's practical and profitable, but that doesn't make it right.

Besides, it's not like we don't have options for Madeline here. There are lots of robots we could toss her in.

[Inspector Valin]

Thanatos shook his head.

"No on both counts. I barely knew Flawless Trick and have no desire to debate Theseus's paradox, and if someone can benefit from the use of her body, so be it. However, she was a pony, regardless of her form, and for a undead monstrosity to question that makes this horrible situation verge closer to parody."

Choro looks a little plaintively between the two ponies, before turning to Strata. She wants badly to give some sort of lecture about tolerance and understanding. But she is tired, has a headache and the terrible feeling that it wouldn't do any good.

"Huh. Unexpected, but I can agree that she was a pony." Doc turns to the AI. "And on the topic of benefiting, I have two important questions about this facility. The first is what in Luna's name does this plant do to get rid of the byproduct waste? Does it just sit there to rot or is there a process to filter it out?"

"The second is if we can vent that methane up out of the vat and throughout the factory, so that it would be easier to burn it to the ground."

"Doctor, are you still planning on burning this place down?" Perhaps unsurprisingly, this remains a sore spot with Choro. Still, the little mare seems less enraged by the prospect and more exasperated. She even smiles a little blearily at the stallion. "I'd count the reasons that's a really bad idea but I'm too tired. Can we please deal with Ms. Madeline before having that discussion?"

Moonshadow shrugged, frowning. All that makes sense, and it's perfectly logical, but it just doesn't feel right. You know? she said to Stellar, Fan Knife, and Choro. Like suggesting we turn the other corpses into griffon food. It's practical and profitable, but that doesn't make it right.

Besides, it's not like we don't have options for Madeline here. There are lots of robots we could toss her in.

"Would it help if we just used parts from her body? Or just took it as a template?"

Choro looks torn. She can't really argue with either Moonshadow or Stellar's points, so her instinct is to try and compromise. She coughs, glancing apologetically at the server before turning back to the pegasi pair. "I could scratch build a new body for Ms. Madeline. I'd be reluctant to trust her to any random unit, but we've got a lot of parts here in the factory and... well, Ms. Trick does provide a sort of blueprint." That's grim. Choro winces at it herself, before turning to Moonshadow. "It will take me some time. It's not really something I've had to do much before. But I could do it, and if you're uncomfortable with us continuing with the operation as is, I... I understand where you're coming from. And I'm happy to lend a hoof to try and do the right thing as you see it."

[RCgothic]

"I don't know what it's like in the Enclave, but down here we can't afford to just waste technology like this. Madeleine had been nothing but helpful to us. She deserves this opportunity."

[DigoDragon]

"At minimum we should dispose of the slurry and the gas if not the factory. Otherwise this place is a ticking time bomb that can spread disease fast enough to kill off half the population in days."

[Forum Explorer]

"I don't know what it's like in the Enclave, but down here we can't afford to just waste technology like this. Madeleine had been nothing but helpful to us. She deserves this opportunity."

I know. Things are different up there, so I'll follow your lead on this. I don't like it, but there's lots of things I don't like about the surface. Moonshadow said.

That won't be necessary Choro. she said. It looks like we aren't going that route.

[Inspector Valin]

"At minimum we should dispose of the slurry and the gas if not the factory. Otherwise this place is a ticking time bomb that can spread disease fast enough to kill off half the population in days."

Choro nods, relaxing a little. "That's fair. And I do think we should decommission the meat grinders to ensure they aren't misused by raiders or the like. We've got a few things to do before we leave."

I know. Things are different up there, so I'll follow your lead on this. I don't like it, but there's lots of things I don't like about the surface. Moonshadow said.

That won't be necessary Choro. she said. It looks like we aren't going that route.

"Well, if you're sure"

Choro takes a second, both to give the consensus a chance to settle and to mull over how best to help with the transfer. If there are no objections, after a second she nods, and her horn flares. The wire Maddie indicated is plugged into the synth body, but a few more devices of Choro's own are inserted, both into the terminal and the corpse. Small screens float their way up beside Doc and Stellar. "Ok. Starting personality transfer. Doctor, Ms. Stellar, can you please keep an eye on the data integrity?" Choro's gaze is focused on her PipBuck, but she looks up long enough to give her friends a smile. "Anything that seems odd, or out of place, we can double check and verify. We don't want Ms. Madeline going crazy or something because of some corrupted data or poor formatting, right?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

(1d100)[27] Science roll for the data transfer. Choro's got a base of 80, this is hard so -30, but she's got Doc helping for +15, Stellar helping for +10 and her labcoat for +5. So I believe this is a straight roll. +5 arguably since they're hacking Trick's brain and Choro has tools for that!

[DigoDragon]

Doc watches the monitor as instructed, assisting with this transfer. Watching the data packets move from one storage medium to another.

[Dalinale]

"Huh. Unexpected, but I can agree that she was a pony." Doc turns to the AI. "And on the topic of benefiting, I have two important questions about this facility. The first is what in Luna's name does this plant do to get rid of the byproduct waste? Does it just sit there to rot or is there a process to filter it out?"

"Trucks were intended to arrive to take the methane, and the waste would be disposed of in the same manner other sorts of inconvenient magical waste is; by dumping it in former Diamond Dog habitats or in the deep desert."

Moonshadow shrugged, frowning. All that makes sense, and it's perfectly logical, but it just doesn't feel right. You know? she said to Stellar, Fan Knife, and Choro. Like suggesting we turn the other corpses into griffon food. It's practical and profitable, but that doesn't make it right.

Besides, it's not like we don't have options for Madeline here. There are lots of robots we could toss her in.

Moonshadow might have noticed that Bertly paused for a few moments; while it was impossible for a Mr. Handy to really narrow it's eyes at anything, it looked like it was trying it's best.

Choro looks a little plaintively between the two ponies, before turning to Strata. She wants badly to give some sort of lecture about tolerance and understanding. But she is tired, has a headache and the terrible feeling that it wouldn't do any good.

Strata, for her part, didn't seem to be particularly offended; rather, she seemed rather busy in keeping the cuties from killing themselves as they played inane games and occasionally stubbed their fleshy hooves on the occasional piece of broken tile or tangle of wire.

Choro looks torn. She can't really argue with either Moonshadow or Stellar's points, so her instinct is to try and compromise. She coughs, glancing apologetically at the server before turning back to the pegasi pair. "I could scratch build a new body for Ms. Madeline. I'd be reluctant to trust her to any random unit, but we've got a lot of parts here in the factory and... well, Ms. Trick does provide a sort of blueprint." That's grim. Choro winces at it herself, before turning to Moonshadow. "It will take me some time. It's not really something I've had to do much before. But I could do it, and if you're uncomfortable with us continuing with the operation as is, I... I understand where you're coming from. And I'm happy to lend a hoof to try and do the right thing as you see it."

"I don't know what it's like in the Enclave, but down here we can't afford to just waste technology like this. Madeleine had been nothing but helpful to us. She deserves this opportunity."

"At minimum we should dispose of the slurry and the gas if not the factory. Otherwise this place is a ticking time bomb that can spread disease fast enough to kill off half the population in days."

I know. Things are different up there, so I'll follow your lead on this. I don't like it, but there's lots of things I don't like about the surface. Moonshadow said.

That won't be necessary Choro. she said. It looks like we aren't going that route.

Choro nods, relaxing a little. "That's fair. And I do think we should decommission the meat grinders to ensure they aren't misused by raiders or the like. We've got a few things to do before we leave."

Choro saw that Thanatos nodded slightly in approval; Fan Knife, by contrast, was looking apathetically at the freshly removed horn.

Choro takes a second, both to give the consensus a chance to settle and to mull over how best to help with the transfer. If there are no objections, after a second she nods, and her horn flares. The wire Maddie indicated is plugged into the synth body, but a few more devices of Choro's own are inserted, both into the terminal and the corpse. Small screens float their way up beside Doc and Stellar. "Ok. Starting personality transfer. Doctor, Ms. Stellar, can you please keep an eye on the data integrity?" Choro's gaze is focused on her PipBuck, but she looks up long enough to give her friends a smile. "Anything that seems odd, or out of place, we can double check and verify. We don't want Ms. Madeline going crazy or something because of some corrupted data or poor formatting, right?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

[roll0] Science roll for the data transfer. Choro's got a base of 80, this is hard so -30, but she's got Doc helping for +15, Stellar helping for +10 and her labcoat for +5. So I believe this is a straight roll. +5 arguably since they're hacking Trick's brain and Choro has tools for that!

It was, honestly, simpler than it looked; while the body's cybernetic parts were far from usual, the process of sticking a cord into a slot was about as streamlined a process as anyone could hope for.

Doc watches the monitor as instructed, assisting with this transfer. Watching the data packets move from one storage medium to another.

As Doc was being entertained by the blisteringly exciting task of making sure that none of his new associate's subroutines became corrupted and turn her into something that would want to make Equestria into one big factory farm, Strata took a few steps away from the cutie herd and started talking.

"Hey, I have a idea, we could just move Vaughn into that cyberbody and see what ha... ugh." the ghoul said, reeling slightly at the sight of the surgery, as if she just now noticed that it was occurring, "Uh, never mind."