species5478

That's a very touching poem. Short, and sweet.

Nice way of slipping in the dirty words there...:whistling: Good stuff. Keep it up!

Not a master mage? You’re screwed... Not a master swordsmen? You’re screwed... Not a master of the dark? You’re screwed... Being an unarmored, trapped, and unusual Goblin? I’m screwed... -Keanumoreira lol...I like the notion of overwhelming odds, and the impending sense that victory is not always easy.

:blink:

Chapter 6 Blood Wine He hadn’t seen the need to violate me sexually. I wasn’t surprised. Virgin blood was worth more to Necromancers. And like fine wine, virgins increased in value as they aged. Daedric Lords were fickle like this. I was twenty…and born under the constellation of the Mage. Apparently, that made me a prize worth sacrificing in my original condition. I knew where I was before waking to examine my surroundings. My bound arms and legs…the smell of blood and decay…the chunks of flesh underneath my back…when I opened my eyes; one glimpse was all I needed to confirm my suspicions. The Necromancer tied me to the same altar where the hapless Wood Elf was dismembered. Some of my clothes had been removed to expose the choice parts of my flesh that Daedra preferred as offerings. Lamb’s blood was used to paint strange symbols onto my skin. I recognized the Devil’s Pentagram on my belly, and the Headless Babies of Sacrilege lining my thigh. But the rest were foreign to me. I still had the first key in my possession…it seemed the Necro had trouble finding my hiding place. Perhaps this was the only reason that I still lived. However, Morus was nowhere around and it seemed that I was alone. My new nemesis chained my limbs to the altar and I was not able to break free even with the aid of magic. My senses remained sharp though, which was good because Necromancers loved to drug their victims. I could hear something moving along the altar just beyond my field of view. I was not sure what to do. Bound like this, made me nothing more than goblin bait. “It seems you’re in quite the pickle, aren’t you?” The voice startled me, particularly because it did not belong to the Necromancer. “Who’s there?” I wondered, straining my head. “You humans are so forgetful, aren’t you?” “Barbas…” “Yes, it is I, the former hound of Clavicus Vile.” The Daedra leaped onto the altar and sat between my legs, smiling. The single torch burning on the wall behind him gave just enough illumination to cast an eerie orange glow over the hound. “Well well…you have a very shapely body, don’t you? You know, if I were a human, I might be inclined to take advantage of your unfortunate predicament…” “You lied to me!” “If I were you, I’d be a little quieter. That Necromancer who captured you is extremely powerful and he wants that key very badly. There is no telling what he will do to you. Can’t you free yourself? I thought you were a Master-Wizard…” My face reddened. I squirmed a bit, but it was a useless attempt to curb my frustration. Annoyed, I asked Barbas, “What do you want then? Are you here to gloat?” Barbas panted, and then sniffed the air as if something caught his attention. After peering into the ruins, he leaped off the altar and disappeared. “Hey!” I called out frantically. “Where are you going? Come back here! Barbas! Barbas damn you!” A few moments later the hound returned with old sack clasped within his teeth. When he placed it on the altar next to me, I could hear the jingle of coins. “There’s your gold.” “What am I going to do with gold? I need to get free!” “Oh.” Barbas replied, sitting between my legs. “So…are you asking for my help now, Master-Wizard?” “Of course!” “Well…I can’t just free you. That’s against the laws of Daedric order, you see…” “What do you want?” “Oh…two thousand pieces of gold should do the trick.” I gasped. “Gold? You want two thousand pieces of gold? You’re a swindler!” “You want to get free, don’t you?” Barbas smiled. I wanted to punch him the face. “I don’t have that kind of coin in my possession!” “Quiet” He whispered, looking around. “Well…perhaps we can work out an arrangement. Let’s say…five hundred pieces of gold to free one arm, and you must complete a favor for me.” “A favor?” “Yes. I still require the company of a Daedric Master. I want you to escort me to one. Preferably Sanguine…” The last thing I wanted was to be in Barbas’ company. Nevertheless, I had no other alternatives. “Ok, you have a deal. Now set me free!” “You might want to turn your head for this.” Said Barbas as he positioned his high quarters over my right hand. When the hound began to urinate, I grew wide-eyed. “That’s DISGUSTING! What in Oblivion are you doing?” “I’m setting you free!” He replied with soft chuckles. Using his bodily fluids, Barbas utilized a Disintegrate Armor spell to corrode the wrist iron binding my arm. When the metal turned brittle, I pulled my arm free and tried shaking the hot fluid back onto Barbas as he darting off. “AHHHHHHHH…and it stinks so BAD! Was that really necessary?” Barbas laughed. “I’ll be waiting by the exit. Try not to get captured again, ok?” I used an Unlock on Touch spell to unlatch the remaining locks but the hound knew I had one more task to complete before leaving. Even though I was tired of these dark ruins, I had to find Morus and that meant, I had to find the Necromancer…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2oYS9-Ee9U&feature=related There is another point of interest that I think people overlook… Our planet is billions of years old. If not older. We have fossil records of some very ancient life forms. If enlightenment humans, after a period of evolution, can achieve space travel within only a few hundred years, then I believe it is very possible that previous earthborn life could have taken to the stars millions, or even thousands of years ago. In fact, an ancient human race isolated from the rest of humanity, could have achieved these heights after a period of enlightenment. Moreover, if you add up all of the life on our planet right now, the numbers are staggering. However, if you consider the number of life forms that lived all throughout the earth’s existence, the numbers become mindboggling…so the question then becomes, what are the chances that earthborn life has achieved equal or greater intelligence, ambition, etc., to humans? Extraterrestrial life does not necessitate intergalactic origins. We also know that meteors have struck our earth on more than one occasion, and during times when life was abundant on the planet. (Like in the age of the dinosaurs) When particles, chunks of rocks, sediments, water (which could have formed into comets in the frigid vacuum of space) and other elements riddled with bacteria were ejected into outer space from a meteor or asteroid impact, the seeds of life could have landed on another planet, and sprouted…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ehobjmVfQ&feature=related

I agree...for the most part. No scientist knows conclusively what Jupiter is made of, or what the surface (if there is one) is made of. So you may be right. However, as in the video I posted above, when people think they know all of the conditions for supporting life, a new form of energy, or a new method of how to use energy is discovered. Higher gravity could translate to larger organisms if certain conditions are met. I think all too often, we base the possibility of life on the conditions that we exist within. But as I stated above...even on our own planet, there is a myriad of life here on earth, that shows by example, the diversity of life. A human being for instance, cannot survive in the depths of the ocean without manufactured aids of some sort. But there is abundant life on the deepest ocean floors, surviving within pressures that would crush a man. Those elements on Jupiter that are hostile to us; the gases, gravity, etc, might make the perfect habitat for another life form. Then there's the intelligence factor... If there truly exists another species that is more intelligent than humans...a species that has the ability to warp space-time as you suggest, then what's stopping them from using a planet like Jupiter, or even the sun, as a haven? Space travel would be only one aspect of advanced technology. Establishing a habitat is another that gets underrated. Who would have ever thought human beings could survive in the vacuum of space, or within the depths of the ocean? I don't think we should base the abilities of possible alien life on our own limitations.

I was never able to wrap my head around the dates...anyway, good writing K. Can I call you K?

There's been topics like this posted before, so I'll respond with an answer similar to that of my original. We are not primitive men and women anymore. At least, not in hindsight. We have a rough understanding of the universe, at best. But we do know one fundamental thing about it, that previous generations were not privy to….we are one planet among zillions. Existing within one galaxy among zillions. Probably within one universe, among zillions. Our planet gives us by example, a myriad of different life forms that exist in all kinds of environments. So in my opinion, the probability of intelligent life existing beyond our world is a near certainty. There could even be life within our own solar system. Scientist have yet to discover what lurks on the surface of planets like Jupiter, or what lingers just beneath the ice of a certain moon orbiting Saturn... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqKUyP82ASU I won't presume to act as if I know whether or not life has come to our planet to abduct, explore, etc. It seems naive to dismiss this possibility, and gullible to believe it with an adamant sense of opinion. Until there is hard proof, we will never know. But if the human race, after only a recent technological leap, can go from wooden pilgrim ships, to nuclear powered aircraft carriers within the span of only a few hundred years, why can't something do better? And if man can walk on the the moon, is it really that improbable that something else, has walked on the earth?

Thanks guys! Your continued support is the fuel for a writer's motivation :happy: to keep going...

When doing extensive and complex tasks / tests, it is always more efficient to go as small as possible. Who is to say that our entire universe is the size of another universes' atom? Maybe our entire existence occurs within a split second of that universes' time while their quantum computer is turned off which might yield the result of our existence experiment with the ultimate answer to the ultimate question which is 47. :tongue: EDIT: It is 47, the book was a lie. LHammonds I agree. And if life is indeed a simulation, the complexity of our "life" would matter least to me. At the current rate of tech in human hands, something like the microprocessor will evolve a thousand fold within a matter of years. What if the creator to our "simulation" possessed cognitive power that exceeded our own by a million. (Like a human to a fly) And what if said creator had one trillion years to fine tune, and expand our simulation? The human mind can scarcely image such power, or the results thereof. We would be the flies to something greater. A form of LOD processing is feasible. The universe might be rendered in a similar fashion as that of a game. It could explain why we look into the past, when peering at the sky. The stars we see now, are billion, or trillions of years old. Essentially, every time you peer into the sky, you're looking into the past because you're not viewing distant celestial bodies as they are, but as they once were. So if distance alters our perception of objects within time, then distance, or perhaps even time, may function as RAM. But my question would be, "To what end?" If life is indeed a simulation, then what is the purpose?

The point I am essentially making is that in order to create a simulation as accurate as what exists, you would need to go to such an excessive degree of calculating all the detail that it gets to the point where creating the simulation requires more energy and resources than just making it live. And similarly, even if you did spend all that energy on creating such a simulation, the result would cease being a mere simulation and instead become a universe in its own right. as you always choose your words intelligently when writing, it's unfortunate for me to disagree with you on this. people with Schizophrenia experience hallucinations, that's all we know. they imagine things we (mentally normal as they say, but who knows) don't see, hear or smell, to a state so complex, they can believe, all done by the "overwork" | "misplacement of binaries" in their brain. does their brain need more resources than we do? not at all (they're crazy, anyway), a very good example of such a person is John Forbes Nash, Jr.. i think based on the books I read during my Logic classes, the word "Dream" would be a better substitute for "Simulation", we dream anything we want, anytime we want, and our only resource are the things we see (this might be good antithesis for the "Living in a Dream" Thesis, we have seen something to dream it) although something like this is very inscrutable, it's like understanding (not finding) God (Not the God in the Bible), which is next to impossible, like a debate that never ends, everybody has a point, but they all differ. What if dreams, were updates to our programming???

OOOOHHHHH! Cliff hanger! Great stuff Species, great stuff. :thumbsup: (Edited)

Chapter 5 – The Heart of Gorah “Snap out of it!” Morus tried to wake me in time, but it was too late. My blurry eyes couldn’t focus on the billowing darkness hurtling towards me. I tried to move, but my body was numb from Gorah’s hypnotic spell and I could only stand still and accept my fate. The darkness billowed over Morus and I…knocking us to the ground where I remained motionless, too frightened to scream…hatefully waiting for that moment when the Nine Divines pulled my soul from the shallows of life’s still waters. And then I saw his face bearing down on me. Snarling, gritty expression lathered with hate and vengeance. Bad breath. Bloodshot eyes. Those eyes…I remembered them. Cold and empty like a venomous snake. It was him… “Stay down!” The Necromancer ordered and I could barely manage a nod in response. When he pulled away from me, the dark worshiper’s robe flailed about and I realized that it was his fluttering clothing I had mistaken for Gorah. He turned to face demigod, and the two battled briefly as I struggled to clear my mind. Seconds later, Gorah howled as one of his four pillars crumbled to dust. “Give me the key!” The Necromancer demanded, reaching into the fiery cauldron. I stood up, still slightly dazed, when a blistering ball of fire erupted from the cauldron, and struck the dark worshiper in his chest. The Necromancer flew backwards, and fell into the floor where he disappeared. “Save him!” Morus yelled. “You’ll need the Necromancer’s help to defeat Gorah!” I scooped Morus from the floor and raced towards the murky shadows spreading across the room. SPLASH! The floor was liquefied…and I had fallen in. Submerged in an oily substance, I had no trouble resurfacing but the Necromancer was in great peril. “Kogis!” Yelled Morus. “What?” “Pay attention in class next time! Kogis is dark soul water! Those heavy with sin sink to the bottom!” I cringed, took a deep breath, and dove back inside. I could see the Necromancer struggling to surface right below me. His body glistened with a self cast, telekinetic aura but he was an Apprentice in the art of Mysticism and continued to sink as his sinful soul weighed him down. I grabbed the Necromancer, and used my strongest telekinetic spell to pull us from the oily substance, and back onto safe ground. Gorah howled as the second pillar crumbled to dust. “Are you ok?” I asked, but the Necromancer appeared fixated on the fire. “The key is inside the cauldron! I must have it!” He raced forward but the fire grew so bright, that it blinded us. I froze, unsure of what to do and the Necromancer stumbled into me as he backed off. “I’m blind!” “Me too!” I yelled out. “Well I’m not!” Said Morus. “You need to levitate, NOW!” I shuddered when the Necromancer grabbed me, and then levitated over Gorah as it rushed towards us. Wind blew across my feet as the demigod passed underneath and I immediately turned right in its direction. “Stay away from her!” Morus yelled as he unleashed a crackling bolt at the demigod. The lightning hit its target and for a split second, I saw the grotesque form of something large within the flash. “Down!” Morus demanded. Still blinded, I descended quickly and narrowly dodged Gorah’s hulking form as it leaped over my head. When I turned into the demigod’s air trail, the Necromancer retrieved something from his robe before letting me go. “I can see you now! Die in the name of Mannimarco!” The Necromancer attacked Gorah with a scroll based Entropic spell that devoured the demigod’s health with a single blast. My vision cleared and Gorah howled as the third pillar crumbled to dust. “There’s only one pillar left!” I gasped, clutching Morus as dark figures emerged from the curtains of darkness hanging on the walls and ceiling. Morus and the Necromancer unleashed a barrage of destruction magic at the many dark forms surrounding us. Yet, nothing seemed to work. Fire blew through the sluggish moving entities. Lightning was reflected back at us. Frost spells seemed to make the formless creatures stronger and even Entropic Bolts proved useless. And the cauldron grew hotter with each second. I tried to douse the flames with a myriad of magic powers but the fire refused to die. The Necromancer moved close to me when one of the slow, shadowy creatures slashed his forearm. “They’re herding us towards the center of the room!” “What are we going to do? I can’t levitate out of here, there all around us!” “Can you push them away while I focus on the fire?” I clutched my staff. “I’ll try…” After channeling magic into my fist, I unleashed a telekinetic wave that struck four of the dark entities in front of me, and pushed them back…but not by much. I turned around slashing the air with my arm and released multiple waves in an attempt to push the nearest creatures away. But it was a losing battle. They continued herding us towards the room’s center as the cauldron grew hotter. When flames scorched the nap of my neck, my panic intensified. “Put that fire out! We’ll be burned alive if those flames get any stronger!” “Nothing’s working! Destruction magic is useless! The shadows keep coming!” That’s when it hit me… “Of course…I need to use a light spell!” Channeling my Illusion skills, I evoked a Master level Daylight spell and cast a sixty-foot sphere of light around me. All of the creatures caught within my sphere cowered from the bright light as their fleshy, scaly bodies were illuminated by the glow. “Now Necromancer! Hit them with you best spells!” The Necromancer cast a Flame Tempest spell that set all targets within a fifteen foot radius ablaze. They howled miserably as I pointed Morus towards another group of creatures. “Take this your reptilian filth!” Morus fired a series of Ice Blasts that froze their targets, and caused them to shatter when their bodies toppled over. “Isah! Above us!” I looked up, grabbed more descending reptiles with my telekinetic powers, and threw them into the cauldron two at a time. They howled miserably as their bodies’ caught fire and when the Necromancer dispatched the remaining scaly creatures, Gorah howled for the last time as his final pillar crumbled to dust. As the ceiling began to collapse, all flames within the cauldron died out, revealing the first key to the God of Death’s portal. The Necromancer smiled wickedly as he sprinted for it. “It’s mine!” “I don’t think so!” I yelled, casting a Movement Mastery spell. My magical bulb of pink light struck the spherical key as hoped, and I yanked it away just before the Necromancer could reach out and grab it. “Mage Guild scum!” I pulled the key directly into my palm and immediately hid it with magic. Smiling, I turned and ran as chunks of the ceiling crumbled around me. Morus was frantic. “Hurry Isah! There isn’t much time!” I ran for exit, panting with excitement and adrenaline when a large piece of stone struck my head. I crumbled to the ground, and rubbed my scalp as the world blurred around me. There was blood on my fingertips and when I tried to stand, I fell to my back…consciousness slipping away. And there he was again…the Necromancer stood over me with those dark snake eyes and a crooked, evil grin. “Now I have the key, a new staff, and your flesh, meat puppet…”

If life is a simulation, then what is it modeled after?

This seems like an interesting idea. I can't wait to hear more! Hopefully, you'll be able to make this into a great mod.