The Leonidas Line

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A large cloaked figure walks through the alleys. They carry a shotgun and seem to be mostly mechanical. A single blue light shines from under their hood.

 *Boop?*

 another large cloaked, oddly proportioned figure is walking. by the way their cloak moves, they either have a tail or too many legs. a three-eyed humanoid walks besides them, dressed in black robes and pared-down power armor.

 The figure stops, the blue light underneath their hood widening, suggesting some sort of lens. This light examines the two as if it is scanning them.

*insight for the scan to see if it picks up anything: 15*

 you can tell the one in the cloak is at least partly mechanical, and you see some circuitry on the skin surrounding the third eye on the other. the humanoid is staring dead into your lens

 "Identify." Their voice is almost completely mechanical. It doesn't sound like they even have a humanoid voicebox.

 The humanoid speaks. "This is the Grand Ascendant Aggorret," gesturing at the cloaked figure. "I'm the Hand of the Ascendant, Noire. yourself?"

 The lens narrows, becoming a more purplish light. "My designation is GRA-735."

 a red light whirrs to life beneath the cloaked figure's hood.

*tell me everything GRA is made of*

 GRA-735 is almost entirely mechanical. They seem to have a human brain, but that is it. They also, curiously, have multiple chips implanted into said brain.

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A large cloaked figure walks through the alleys. They carry a shotgun and seem to be mostly mechanical. A single blue light shines from under their hood.

 A thin man in a previously beautiful dress, now torn and bloodied, is lying in a trash heap. Well, 'man' might be an improper term. He has pale skin with a faint bluish tint, grey over most of his body but nearly white on his palms and chest. He seems to be a mix between human and shark, with a strong tail and sharp teeth. He seems to be in pain, bleeding from several shallow cuts.

*Ah. This is... unfortunate...*

 A large mechanical figure looms over them. They carry a shotgun, which is currently shouldered. A purple light sweeps over the hybrid, scanning for something.

*Insight 4 to see if he has a chip*

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A large cloaked figure walks through the alleys. They carry a shotgun and seem to be mostly mechanical. A single blue light shines from under their hood.

 *Boop?*

 another large cloaked, oddly proportioned figure is walking. by the way their cloak moves, they either have a tail or too many legs. a three-eyed humanoid walks besides them, dressed in black robes and pared-down power armor.

 The figure stops, the blue light underneath their hood widening, suggesting some sort of lens. This light examines the two as if it is scanning them.

*insight for the scan to see if it picks up anything: 15*

 you can tell the one in the cloak is at least partly mechanical, and you see some circuitry on the skin surrounding the third eye on the other. the humanoid is staring dead into your lens

 "Identify." Their voice is almost completely mechanical. It doesn't sound like they even have a humanoid voicebox.

 The humanoid speaks. "This is the Grand Ascendant Aggorret," gesturing at the cloaked figure. "I'm the Hand of the Ascendant, Noire. yourself?"

 The lens narrows, becoming a more purplish light. "My designation is GRA-735."

 a red light whirrs to life beneath the cloaked figure's hood.

*tell me everything GRA is made of*

 GRA-735 is almost entirely mechanical. They seem to have a human brain, but that is it. They also, curiously, have multiple chips implanted into said brain.

 a voice, slow and sweet as syrup talks in the brain.

"I see you have begun the process of ascension"

 The lens narrows even further, the light becoming red. They rack the shotgun, not speaking.

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 the humanoid waits, nods, and continues speaking.

"Ascendance. improving yourself. reaching your potential. if you... allow the Grand Ascendant to speak to you, they will explain better than i"

*sorry, I had a stupid award ceremony to go to*

The girl shrugs. "Okay!"

 "let me see"

"you have such potential. such potential. I can tell you're intelligient, why pretend to be satisfied with your imperfect form? when perfection is within reach? when you could be so much more?"

at the word more, images fill your head of different forms. more legs. more arms. a tail. tentacles. ears. scales. fur. stranger modifications. you feel it. you could be anything. absolutely anything.

The girl seems to space out, probably imagining what life would be like if she had those different kinds of modifications, before returning to the world of the living. "Oh, wow! Those are a ton of options! All of them seem really flashy, like they'll make me stand out. Is there anything that's more subtle?"

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Quote from Baalzeboop >>

 A thin man in a previously beautiful dress, now torn and bloodied, is lying in a trash heap. Well, 'man' might be an improper term. He has pale skin with a faint bluish tint, grey over most of his body but nearly white on his palms and chest. He seems to be a mix between human and shark, with a strong tail and sharp teeth. He seems to be in pain, bleeding from several shallow cuts.

*Ah. This is... unfortunate...*

 A large mechanical figure looms over them. They carry a shotgun, which is currently shouldered. A purple light sweeps over the hybrid, scanning for something.

*Insight 9 to see if he has a chip*

 It can't detect a chip, but the scan seems to be disrupted by something. This creature seems to have an aura that distorts electronic functions.

Quote from Baalzeboop >>

Quote from EJODM18604 >>

Quote from Baalzeboop >>

 A thin man in a previously beautiful dress, now torn and bloodied, is lying in a trash heap. Well, 'man' might be an improper term. He has pale skin with a faint bluish tint, grey over most of his body but nearly white on his palms and chest. He seems to be a mix between human and shark, with a strong tail and sharp teeth. He seems to be in pain, bleeding from several shallow cuts.

*Ah. This is... unfortunate...*

 A large mechanical figure looms over them. They carry a shotgun, which is currently shouldered. A purple light sweeps over the hybrid, scanning for something.

*Insight 9 to see if he has a chip*

 It can't detect a chip, but the scan seems to be disrupted by something. This creature seems to have an aura that distorts electronic functions.

 The figure instead speaks, it's voice fully robotic. "I am GRA-735. Do you have a chip?"

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A large cloaked figure walks through the alleys. They carry a shotgun and seem to be mostly mechanical. A single blue light shines from under their hood.

 *Boop?*

 another large cloaked, oddly proportioned figure is walking. by the way their cloak moves, they either have a tail or too many legs. a three-eyed humanoid walks besides them, dressed in black robes and pared-down power armor.

 The figure stops, the blue light underneath their hood widening, suggesting some sort of lens. This light examines the two as if it is scanning them.

*insight for the scan to see if it picks up anything: 15*

 you can tell the one in the cloak is at least partly mechanical, and you see some circuitry on the skin surrounding the third eye on the other. the humanoid is staring dead into your lens

 "Identify." Their voice is almost completely mechanical. It doesn't sound like they even have a humanoid voicebox.

 The humanoid speaks. "This is the Grand Ascendant Aggorret," gesturing at the cloaked figure. "I'm the Hand of the Ascendant, Noire. yourself?"

 The lens narrows, becoming a more purplish light. "My designation is GRA-735."

 a red light whirrs to life beneath the cloaked figure's hood.

*tell me everything GRA is made of*

 GRA-735 is almost entirely mechanical. They seem to have a human brain, but that is it. They also, curiously, have multiple chips implanted into said brain.

 a voice, slow and sweet as syrup talks in the brain.

"I see you have begun the process of ascension"

 The lens narrows even further, the light becoming red. They rack the shotgun, not speaking.

 the humanoid steps in front of the cloaked figure, their hands twisting and morphing, nails expanding and sharpening into large curved blades

 "Threat detected." A different voice resonates from GRA. "Lower your weapons or we will o-op-p-pennnnnnnnnnnnn fiiiireeeeeee" The voice distorts suddenly and GRA shakes their head violently.

*I have to go now. I'll continue tomorrow*

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 the humanoid waits, nods, and continues speaking.

"Ascendance. improving yourself. reaching your potential. if you... allow the Grand Ascendant to speak to you, they will explain better than i"

*sorry, I had a stupid award ceremony to go to*

The girl shrugs. "Okay!"

 "let me see"

"you have such potential. such potential. I can tell you're intelligient, why pretend to be satisfied with your imperfect form? when perfection is within reach? when you could be so much more?"

at the word more, images fill your head of different forms. more legs. more arms. a tail. tentacles. ears. scales. fur. stranger modifications. you feel it. you could be anything. absolutely anything.

The girl seems to space out, probably imagining what life would be like if she had those different kinds of modifications, before returning to the world of the living. "Oh, wow! Those are a ton of options! All of them seem really flashy, like they'll make me stand out. Is there anything that's more subtle?"

 "anything is possible. what would you have in mind?"

"Well, gosh! I don't know! There's just soooo many options!"

Quote from EJODM18604 >>

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 It can't detect a chip, but the scan seems to be disrupted by something. This creature seems to have an aura that distorts electronic functions.

 The figure instead speaks, it's voice fully robotic. "I am GRA-735. Do you have a chip?"

 The thin creature slowly gets up, clearly not in any state to defend himself. "Chip?"

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 the humanoid waits, nods, and continues speaking.

"Ascendance. improving yourself. reaching your potential. if you... allow the Grand Ascendant to speak to you, they will explain better than i"

*sorry, I had a stupid award ceremony to go to*

The girl shrugs. "Okay!"

 "let me see"

"you have such potential. such potential. I can tell you're intelligient, why pretend to be satisfied with your imperfect form? when perfection is within reach? when you could be so much more?"

at the word more, images fill your head of different forms. more legs. more arms. a tail. tentacles. ears. scales. fur. stranger modifications. you feel it. you could be anything. absolutely anything.

The girl seems to space out, probably imagining what life would be like if she had those different kinds of modifications, before returning to the world of the living. "Oh, wow! Those are a ton of options! All of them seem really flashy, like they'll make me stand out. Is there anything that's more subtle?"

 "anything is possible. what would you have in mind?"

"Well, gosh! I don't know! There's just soooo many options!"

 a small smile plays on the lips of the humanoid and the Grand Ascendant continues 'speaking'

"I have an implant that lets me breathe in any environment. what would you like to do?"

The girl thinks for a long time. "Well, I've always wanted to see the sky. The real sky, not the artificial lights and images down here. I want to go up and breathe clean air, I want to do more than just sit around down here surviving. I want to live my life, you know?"

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 the humanoid waits, nods, and continues speaking.

"Ascendance. improving yourself. reaching your potential. if you... allow the Grand Ascendant to speak to you, they will explain better than i"

*sorry, I had a stupid award ceremony to go to*

The girl shrugs. "Okay!"

 "let me see"

"you have such potential. such potential. I can tell you're intelligient, why pretend to be satisfied with your imperfect form? when perfection is within reach? when you could be so much more?"

at the word more, images fill your head of different forms. more legs. more arms. a tail. tentacles. ears. scales. fur. stranger modifications. you feel it. you could be anything. absolutely anything.

The girl seems to space out, probably imagining what life would be like if she had those different kinds of modifications, before returning to the world of the living. "Oh, wow! Those are a ton of options! All of them seem really flashy, like they'll make me stand out. Is there anything that's more subtle?"

 "anything is possible. what would you have in mind?"

"Well, gosh! I don't know! There's just soooo many options!"

 a small smile plays on the lips of the humanoid and the Grand Ascendant continues 'speaking'

"I have an implant that lets me breathe in any environment. what would you like to do?"

The girl thinks for a long time. "Well, I've always wanted to see the sky. The real sky, not the artificial lights and images down here. I want to go up and breathe clean air, I want to do more than just sit around down here surviving. I want to live my life, you know?"

 "Such things are possible. invisibility, disguises, spoofed chips"

"No, I want to be completely free. I don't want to have to hide my true self or worry about being illegal. That would just be my life down here!"

Cal is out in the tunnels with his nice new metal arm. A Syn-mask is strapped to his face

Link is picking fingers out of a pile of debris

Quote from 10_30inDutch >>

Cal is out in the tunnels with his nice new metal arm. A Syn-mask is strapped to his face

Link is picking fingers out of a pile of debris

 A tall, rail-thin shark man in a white uniform stands before him. The uniform has an apron, long sleeves, white gloves, and a long, thin bag on his back. The cambion isn't looking in Cal's direction, instead examining some fungus growing on the tunnel wall.

Con saunters up beside him. "Howdy. What's with the fingies?"