There Is Always Hope!

[Maharg67]

1.8.1[14]: Investigating The Ashwood Gang Murder Case

"We thought it might just be one SecretMarket gang killing off competition though the Ashwood Gang was hardly a heavy weight as organised crime goes. Most, in the know, considered them to be petty criminals who were not very successful even at that level." Overseer Hanz Marx, of the Regulation Law Enforcement Department, frowned softly. He was in a blue vaultsuit with RLED markings. "Then one our own very few specialists examined the wounds and explained that it was professional work of the highest standards."

Hanz was head, and shoulders, on a 3Dwallscreen in the PrimeOverseer's Office where Alphonse sat behind his large metallic overseer's type desk.

Very few specialists? It was Hanz's way of remind Alphonse of the low level of resources gained by the RLED though they were increasingly overworked. This was partly because of the rise in rager and other odd citizen incidents. I suggest that this is an RCC (risky crime case)."

What he meant was those cases linked with mysterious factions most difficult, and dangerous, to meddle with. As there were ghostvaults, there were ghost factions. One, better known, ghost faction was the IEN101 but there were also ghost whispers of a deep secret market organised crime faction, a group of assassins serving other specialists and even those who were infiltrators from outside of TechVault101.

Alphonse nodded. "Then you consider it a closed case and let others deal with it. I am pushing through a tripling of your resources and a renaming of your department to that of the VaultPolice. You will gain many improvements, more people, more varied training, specialists dogs, greater authority and more than that. You will be able to stand up to the security people and kick them out of your jurisdiction with the support of the HighOverseers and myself."

Hanz knew that in truth he was getting a bribe to stay out of the Ashwood Gang case in future, along with others of the kind, but he was glad to do so. He was pleased with the coming changes and looked forward to the Security Overseer's reaction to the news.

Hanz smiled. "Very good! The Blue Beavers won 13 to 8, against the Red Eagles so you owe me 100 vaultcredit."

Alphonse frowned softly. "I should know better than to bet against you, brother in law. You always seem to win these bets of ours. I will be over one night for dinner, this week, so please discuss with Adela what night would suit you both the best. I will bring some Best of Red!"

Hanz nodded. "See you there-then."

Then the 3Dwallscreen was filled with a big VaultTech symbol.

Alphonse scowled softly for the Ashwood Gang had actually been professional killers, known as Troubleters that was a cut down of the term troubleshooters. Troubleters were managed by the Troublelators (trouble regulators) who served, in turn, the Troubleseer (Trouble Overseer). All belonged to the ultrasecret Troubler Network that had taken up a great deal of effort to create, to maintain in deep secrecy, and to send out on rare missions.

The Ashwood Gang's deaths might have been more explainable if they had been in, or even close, to the RedZone but the killings had taken place in LifeVault101B being an area that was supposed to be highly secure. So elite killers had died in a place where such was supposedly close to impossible and yet nobody seemed to know how it had happened or who had done it.

Was the incident linked with the Founder Families somehow or the SecretMarket or some other ghost faction?

Alphonse Almodovar liked to be in control of situations, to know what was going on at least, so he felt very uncomfortable at that moment. Yet he focused sharply one doing something about it.

It was time to call in some powerful favours and special resources.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.9.1[15]: With Harry in the Lifecube

 

Harry sat peacefully, in full lotus position meditation, in the center of the great Lifecube floor. Around him were multiple lifeforms of plants, animals and other types like metre tall mushrooms. Quasilifeforms, such as crystalics, were there. The Lifecube stretched for many kilometres into the distance. There were waters to his far west, in the form of a large lake, but closer was a small river flowing through a thinned out forest of trees.

 

Humans were active but not very close as were animans (animal-human hybrid humanoids), androids and other entities, a few of which were not of that world let alone of the vault. A pair of dragons circled high overhead being on protective patrol of Harry for they sensed something amiss with him as did others.

 

Quasilifeforms grew upwards as giant structures of girders, platforms, buttresses, flying-buttresses, rampways, modular buildings, semienclosed platforms, gridworks, grids, tentacles, trellises, pipes, slideways, elevators and much more. It was about the size, inside, of a primevault but was mostly one great space but it was not part of the techvault, being transdimensionally anchored to it.

 

Like the RedZone, the Lifecube was something known by people but strangely unquestioned even by those who focused on its existence. Also like the RedZone, most vaultfolk avoided focusing on its existence. People did not seem to be able to deal with the exotic extremes of either 'realm' for that is what they were.

 

Harry knew, as a few others did, that the real RedZone alien realm existed very deep inside it.

 

He meditated but he also semiconsciously guided various subtle elemental, and other forces, in a very subtle war against the RedZone testing invasion.

 

There was one Harry as 13 Harrys of which one was the outside one that remained openly with the others, who was the adopted child of the Hardily Family.

 

Jasmine came and sat next to him with Thingipus following happily behind. His body had been adjusted, by Harry, so he had now four tentacles to balance him out more and he was balanced out in other ways. He had lots more soft fur covering him and all four eyes were now bigger and more adorable.

 

Harry/13 kept meditating while Harry/10 materialised being identical in appearance. He spoke to Jasmine and Thingipus. "The RedZone expedition has reached a strange area that appears mostly to be vault normal."

 

Jasmine nodded. "Yes, so have three of my quintuplet sisters informed me. It looks standard VaultTech but it feels everything but that. Its a nice area for a trap."

 

Harry/10 shook his head. "The whole area is a trap. The PestRegulators are dealing with some radroach infestations with Josylin being in charge but of course you know that. They are safely in AuxiVault101C only if they stay far away from the RedZone. Some radroachfarms have indulged in cruelty against radroaches."

 

Jasmine nodded. "The PrimeOverseer had sent out some of his people to stop that from happening. What do you really want to speak to me about, adorable Harry."

 

Harry/10 sighed and wiped some blood from one corner of his mouth. "I did not mean to worry you but the battle with the RedZone has been costing me more than I had anticipated it would. There is something, very deep in the RedZone, that is terribly powerful, aggressive and evil."

 

Jasmine nodded. "I will stay with you, as your girlfriend, and the ETriplets are now sent for."

 

Harry blushed happily even as, with a soft shimmering, the ETriplets materialised and were soon checking Harry over with Jasmine's assistance. Thingipus snuggled up to Harry's side to reassure both Harry/10 and himself. Other forms of assistance were soon on their way including Harry's very protective sister, Kimmy.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.10.1[16]: First Skirmish in the RedZone: Shadowlings, Shadowlers and Other Surprises

 

Xolasergun beams swept across hostile shadowlings, who shimmered with a strange kind of redness due to their being enhanced-enslaved by a more powerful entity. The shadowlers vanished even as shadowlings fled past the shadowlers and into the safety of areas behind the defenders. Then shadowlings blended together to help form small walls against the enemy that the shadowlers rebounded away from even at a fair distance from them.

 

Red glimmerings were glimpsed that showed that the SecretEnemy was supporting the shadowlers but so far was not sending forth more powerful threats than they. 100s came and perished. The ETriplets were away assisting Harry and none argued with the idea they were doing what had to be done. Harry was with them despite being sick and green flashes of energy, different somehow from more basic life elementalism, were glimpsed. They appeared to be fighting the red flashes of energy in a subtle, hard to define, manner.

 

Jadekin spoke out. "As much as they are aggressive, those shadowlers want to die for too late have they discovered the agony of being enslaved by the SecretEnemy."

 

A few shadowlers struck green energy patches and turned into green life, blue phase or yellow-white solar elementors. They were freed enough to be semi-independent because they were bonded now to a pledge to Harry. They would recompense for their past foolish mistakes and return to their own dimensional realm with bonuses to appease their own angry elders with.

 

Then more and more shadowlers were becoming elementors, including fire ones, electrical ones, electromagnetic ones and ice ones along with a few other types.

 

No more shadowlers came! They were either destroyed, their alien souls returned to their home realms where they would be dealt with by their elders and from which they could not return for a very long time.

 

Yet there were plenty of other hostile shadowlers out there who favoured unthinking slavery, who feared the mysterious SecretEnemy that served the even more mysterious GreatEnemy. The RedZone might have been a 'temporary' transdimensional bridgehead but it could still hold many threats including armies of shadowlers.

 

One surprising fact, for most humans, was that shadofolk generally found humans to be disturbing, even frightening, as much as humans found shadofolk to be so.

 

Jadekin spoke. "That fear of humans helps drive aggression, in such as the shadofolk, and looking at our violent histories they can hardly be blamed for the fear or the linked aggression. That was just a probing attack. I suggest that we find a more secure place and wait for reinforcements to arrive."

 

Nobody complained, resisted the idea, for all there had been shaken up by the sheer savagery of the shadowlers' attack.

 

The SQuadruplets came in from harassing the enemy and brought surrendered shadowlings with them, which they could quite easily communicate with. Surrendered shadowlings, and converted elementors, gave over information in the form of hazy memory impressions.

 

The disturbing news was that there were treacherous humans now serving the SecretEnemy as enhanced-enslaved shadomans; they were using human technologies to serve the dangerous cause with.

 

The hopeful news was that none of them belonged to the expedition that now was generally known to have been sent by the secret IEN101. They knew who had sent the previous expedition for, in an amazing move, the IEN101 had officially-openly surrendered itself to the Overseers Network. The information had come through, to the group, just before the shadowler attack had begun.

 

They set up an outpost in a large chamber partly filled with greenicglow where they found some surprises of differing natures.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Note About Notes: Notes are references only and a reader is not expected to read them as one goes along, especially if doing so breaks the flow of the story.

 

Note: A to Z (Will be edited-expanded in future)

 

A is for

Almodovar Family

Important family in TechVault101 history. Was a Founder Family until it broke away from them during a crisis situation late in the first century after the 3Doomsdays.

Anderson Family

Well known family that has a special role in TechVault101's existence, being far more so than most vaultfolk know.

Android

The only official androids, and androids of any number, in TechVault101 are the more basic type vaultdroids.

B is for

Baseball

Important, popular, sports in TechVault101 adjusted for techvault conditions.

Basketball

Fairly important TechVault101 sport though not as popular as baseball.

C is for

Cafeteria

TechVault101 cafeterias are important for efficient use of food-drink resources but are also important as social points with such as occasional live music, message boards, ration book kiosks and so forth.

Cat

Cats play a large part in TechVault101 as pets, ratters and mousers. The latter types help keep vermin numbers down. There is also an unknown number of feral cats living mainly in the twixtvault and rimvault areas.

Cat, Big

There are some big cats in VaultZoo101 being tigers, lions and a single lynx.

Computer

Computers play a vital part in TechVault101 existence at many levels and in many ways. From robots' computers to the supercomputer mainframes, they help make techvault existence viable and even more comfortable.

D is for

Defence

TechVault101 defence is high priority against both internal and external threats or those originating in less regulated areas of the vault that are not officially either. The VaultGuardia was created to be a fairly small professional force as backed up by VaultMilitia and VaultSecurity along with anybody else available.

Disco

Discos are quite popular and sponsored by the Overseers as a way for citizens, especially young adults and older teens, to release pressure. There are different types of discos such as teens only, adults only and so forth.

Dog

Dogs play an important part in TechVault101 life as pets, guard dogs, sniffer dogs and even hunting dogs for rats or bigger critters. There is a population of feral dogs of unknown quantity.

E is for

Electricity (Power)

Electricity generation, supply, safety, regulation, security, storage and other factors are most important including prevention-persecution of electricity theft.

Elevator

In the 3D existence of TechVault101 elevators are essential for keeping the vault running. Elevators are mainly focused on people or goods but there are some special kinds.

F is for

Fire

Fire is potentially a dangerous threat to TechVault101 though most of the vault is hardly inflammable. Much damage can be done to vital network-systems, areas, and lives can be lost. The threat of smoke is often greater than the actual fire.

Food

For TechVault101 food security is a critical issue linked with survival and yet food is also a matter of morale and, when it comes to rationing, the need to stop hoarding and to resist the SecretMarket.

G is for

Gambling

Overseers allow for highly regulated official gambling but the SecretMarket is linked to less regulated gambling. Through the SecretAgreement the SecretMarket regulates its own gambling.

Gas

In a great enclosed space, of smaller spaces, the regulation of gas (not personal) is most important for reasons of safety and efficiency. TechVault101 is such a place.

H is for

Hair

TechVault101 human hair styles are, in theory, more regulated than they are in practise with in higher ranks being more regulated than those in lower ranks. One important contribution to recycling is cut human, animal, hair.

Harry

Harry is 'special'!

Humans

Dominant lifeform in TechVault101 being official, unofficial as in feral humans and others such as intruders.

I is for

Industry

TechVault101 supports a range of industry from hitech manufactories, to basic factories right down to apartment based crafting work.

Isolation Barriers

The secretive barriers that dropped very shortly after the big wheeldoors were closed and locked.

J is for

Justice is carried out by Overseers in a way that is questionable when it comes to division of authority.

K is for

Kitchen

Kitchens serve not just cafeteria, and exist in apartments mostly as kitchenetts, but for food-drink to be delivered through out a large part of the techvault.

L is for

Lasers

Lasers are important in TechVault101 but most are tools for industry, medicine and other such uses. There are only a relatively few laser weapons and even fewer exotics such as xolasers.

Library

There is more than one library but the biggest, most central, is the VaultLibrary101 that caters directly to vaultfolk but also to other libraries. Is linked to the TechVault101 Cultural Centre, the University, school libraries, citizen libraries and much else. There are whispers of a truly massive ghost library but these have always been officially denied.

M is for

Metric

Officially the US went metric in the 2030s so TechVault101 is metric but the older system of measurement is used in a more colloquial fashion except in historical based dramas, documentaries etc.

Monojets

Very uncommon, streamlined, form of fast express monotram used for fast transportation between more distantly separated techvault points. Highly regulated use but with some odd official exceptions.

Monotram

Monotrams are an important part of the techvault's transportation network that have their own rampways, and elevators, to make them more useful. There are different kinds with the more common ones being passenger and goods ones.

Mysterious Benefactor

Is mysterious in a beneficial way!

N is for

Neotobacco

Tobacco substitute that is far less damaging on health than is tobacco. Comes in 101 flavours.

O is for

Opium

Grown for medical reasons and being the basis of morphine. Frees up synthesis tech to create other necessary drugs the basis of which the techvault can not grow. Criminal abuse of heroin, and morphine, is a fairly large problem but not a great one. Only some fringe elements of the SecretMarket choose to deal with illegal drugs.

P is for

Pedal-Vehicle

Various forms of pedal-vehicles are increasingly used in TechVault101. Bicycles, tricycles, quadcycles and even hexicycles are used to transport people, goods and special items. Increasingly given special uses such as security bicycle patrols and bicycle couriers. Mopeds, motor assisted pedal vehicles, are also used when-where applicable.

Q is for

Quester

A vault expeditionary based training-sporting game in which competing teams must complete quests of varied goals to achieve. A main quest will come with constant quests, found in all quests, and related smaller side quests. Teams are restricted to where-when they can go but the Overseers allocate extra resources to public broadcast matches because of their large popularity.

R is for

Racing

Racing is a popular sports only topped by baseball. Running, walking, races are common but such as bicycle races are starting to be more so.

Radcritters

TechVault101 had such as radroaches, radrats and radmice for ages that caused only some troubles. The RedZone changed that with the introduction of radroachers and other more dangerous radbeasts.

S is for

Safety

Safety is vitally important on multiple levels.

Security

as in personal security, and community security, along with official VaultSecurity.

Sensory Stimulation Virtual Reality

A very advanced form of virtual reality technology using SSVR capsules, capsulechairs, exoframes or other devices to link into. Very important for techvault existence in multiple ways from training to recreation and even therapy.

School

T is for

Troublers

Troublers as in Troubleseers, Troublelators and Troubleters.

Turrets

While there are many turrets, in TechVault101, the majority of them are such as fire-fighting, non lethal security, observation only, manufactory turrets, and other.

U is for

University

Centered on a virtual reality university, through SSVR, it also relies on realscape facilities such as lecture, tutorial and other chambers.

V is for

Veternarian

W is for

Water

Water is one of the essential resources of TechVault101 and it is is recycled as much as possible.

X is for

Xenophobia

A condition, in techvault terms, related to hard prejudice by people against strangers, supposed outsiders, and others with noted differences. Related to the isolationism of vault existence. Comes in various extremes with the most extreme being the rarest. Linked to conditions such as agrophobia.

Y is for

Yanker

Slang for an extreme emergency switch that is literally 'yanked down' after the safeties are removed and the proper short code is entered.

Z is for

Zoo (VaultZoo101)

A fairly small zoological centre that also has collections of plants and other non animal lifeforms. It is very popular though visits are rationed. It plays a part in the education of younger students.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.11.1[17]: Surrender of the Founder Families and the IEN101

 

While the surrender brought many resources under the control, and use, of the Overseers it did not do so as much as many hoped it would. Truth was that there had been increasing troubles amongst both the Founder Families and the IEN101 for over 100 years. Interfactional fighting, corruption, infertility, madness, addiction and mysterious sabotage had taken place; valuable resources had been stolen over the years and initial ideas of it being the SecretMarket as the cause were soon proven wrong.

 

The IEN101 people, remaining that is, were largely recruited to serve the Overseers including what had been known as the SecretOverseer, a position that had decades ago become little more than a powerless, meaningless, retirement placement. The Overseers would soon decide to make it far more than that though making sure the position was regulated by the PrimeOverseer and HighOverseers.

 

The Founder Families, and other folks living in SemiVault101M, mainly would stay there with some moving to other parts of the techvault. Other vaultfolk would move into that semivault.

 

Officially bout 100 people vanished, escaping from being prosecuted for crimes they had committed; it was stated that they left the semivault and went into the cave-systems outside. Cleopatra's father was amongst them but the rest of her family was left behind. Those who departed were a relatively very small number compared to those who staid. Except that Cleopatra was far from the only one who had good reason to doubt the story, who suspected that some kind of deal had been made between the PrimeOverseer and the Escaped 100, as they were soon being called.

 

PrimeOverseer Alphonse Almodovar came forward to make a public broadcast denying that the Overseers had made any such deal. While the sudden escape, itself, was highly suspicious it was a mystery unsolved by the Overseer Network. Not even those left behind in SemiVault101M knew what had taken place. The SecretMarket sent evidence it had nothing to do with what had taken place.

 

Cleopatra, of the TT101, walked into a great big storeroom where stood some very odd prizes of possible use.

Two LibertyMaxs, like the LibertyPrime superrobots but only half as big, stood in a big rest-recharge bay.

 

There was a 2066 RollsRoyce Gliding Ghost hoversaloon of smooth, shiny black, elegant power.

 

A line of 12 mannequins stood in transparent display cases being dressed in late 21st Century quasi50s style clothing as pushed by a neoconservative government. The mannequins were extremely life like.

 

A whole lot of VaultTech collectables filled a big display case such as bobbleheads, model vehicles, figurines and even bottles of the not very successful ColaTech TechCola.

 

There were encased arrays of advanced prototype weapons, tools and other devices including robots.

 

There were also books, holotape projectors, holotapes, datatapes, videotapes, audiotapes, magazines, posters, cutlery, hand tools, swords and a whole lot of other stuff in display cases.

 

Yet, somehow, the chamber did not have the 'feel' of being a museum or even part of one.

 

Sashmo, one of Cleopatra's most trusted assistants, spoke to her. "Cleopatra, the arrangement of display items suggests a subtle code to me, the sort of thing that the IEN101 would come up with."

 

Cleopatra shook her head. "More so my father's work, in this case! My enhanced abilities, of mind-body-spirit, allow me to pick up clues that I would not have done before including ones my father never intended me to. All of these items are to be taken, as a kind of diversionary loot, by those who accidentally find this place. The doors, there and opposite it, lead to more such chambers. We need not bother with them for now."

 

She walked up to an oversized vaultgirl figure, rather cartoonish in appearance, that stood close to a matching vaultboy figure. She pressed its nose three times and then squeezed both breasts. A soft humming noise began and the vaultgirl figure began to move robot like. It led Cleopatra, and others, through the display cases and to a hoverbike display case. Soon the display case had moved to one side, as soon as the vaultgirl robot had stopped about one metre from it, and there was exposed a rampway plunging downwards.

 

The great big chamber had inside it a smaller, but still big, transparent walled off chamber. Inside that chamber were 109 dead bodies, naked, lying in suicide-preservation capsules. Amongst them was Cleopatra's father. Yet that was not the biggest, most strangest, of surprises for all of the bodies were deformed in some way including that of Djoser, her hated father. His chest was burned strangely and out from it stuck a distorted, damp, yellowish lump of greasy looking plastic substance. Such protrusions dotted the bodies of all the dead there, some being disguisable by clothes but most not. Some of corpses had growths covering, distorting, the majority of their bodies and one of them was Cleopatra's mother.

 

So why had she always sensed that her mother was with her, linked to her? Had it been a false idea of Nitocris, her mother who was also named after an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, ever being in a statuscapsule?

 

Harry/5 suddenly stood there, as an older looking version of Harry wearing a vaultsuit, almost as if he had always been there. He was transforming and so his effects on his surroundings were becoming more discernible to others, some more so than others. "She was in a statuscapsule that stopped the distorting growth, of zerotech cybernetic planted inside her. Those with the implants did not know that the cybertech was zeroreplicated, they being betrayed by somebody that they thought they could trust as they had betrayed many others.

 

Harry/5 sighed. "They have suffered enough for their crimes. Your father whipped your back because it was a way of showing if you had any infestation gained by you through your mother for she was infested when she was pregnant with you. He was also using you as a scapegoat for his own agony but he was quite insane by the time he got to that point. They will appear, as 103 babies, in the Lifecube."

 

There was a great shimmering and the corpses all vanished.

 

Cleopatra frowned softly. "My mother, was she as guilty as my father was?"

 

Harry/5 nodded just a little. "In her own way, she was just as guilty as he was. Keep looking around here! The 103 left some gifts here, for the vaultfolk in general, after I asked them to do so. This great chamber, along with the others above and beside this one, would make a fine museum and gallery."

 

Then he was gone almost as if he had never been there. Cleopatra suspected that he had departed before she could ask any 'awkward' questions of him though she was not sure just what they might be. She had much to think about but had to put it aside so as to help with the RedZone crisis. Except that it soon turned out that the betrayal of the 103 was linked with the RedZone and so she ended up focusing on such matters.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.12.1[18]: An Important Meeting of Troublers

 

Doctor Jonas Palmer was a kind, helpful, well liked man who had assisted Professor James Anderson more than once. He was also an elite assassin, a Troubleter or troubleshooter, who had hoped not to be involved in any more missions. Yet he had been 'activated' along with eight others who were all classed as Troubleter though some were support specialists and not killers.

 

The deaths, of the Ashwood Gang by other elite killers, was naturally displeasing to the Troubleseer (Troubler Overseer) who sat behind a standard looking vault desk in a common type office chamber. His name was Alan Carter and officially he was a caretaker. Compared to such as VaultSecurity, the elite group was not openly fancy or threatening but had access to a wide range of hitech including weapons, hidden body-armour and even SSVR tech.

 

Jonas spoke. "James has a scheme that he wishes to carry out but there are others interested in supporting Project Purity DC. Such plans do not appear to be in any way linked to what happened to the Ashwood Gang."

 

Troublers were very focused specialists interested in dealing with certain kinds of threats to the vault such as infiltrators from outside. One such case had led to their creation in the first place. When groups had entered the vault, thanks to an isolation barrier not dropping down, one had in it three secret EagleEnclaven spies. They had died by the use of suicide tablets.

 

The Troubleseer did not seem at all surprised. "Jonas, keep monitoring James. What we need to know is who-what is behind the killing of the Ashwood Gang but also why the Ashwood Gang were in the place they were when they died. I did not send them there and neither did any of our other people. Yet we now know they received the correct code terms that had them go to that destination to pick up both mission instructions and equipment-supplies to carry out that mission."

 

Jonas sighed. "It is time for us to reach out to form an alliance with the Andersons and Harry. The way that the JQuintuplets look carefully at me, at times, tells me that they suspect me for what I really am. Harry just smiles at me as if looking right through me."

 

Alan Carter smiled in a not very pleasant fashion. "You will not do that or anything else but die. It was I who sent the Ashwood Gang to their deaths and who poisoned the coffee that you just drank." He picked up his own cup and gulped down some brown liquid before putting it down. "The eight of you are the last Troublers left apart from three Troublelators that I will soon kill. The isolation experiment is a failure and I am being recalled. Loose ends must be tied up. It was I who made sure those IEN101 fools were implanted with zerotech created cybertech of the kind that would kill them rather horribly. The TechCorps' TechLords wanted them to suffer for their failure."

 

Cleopatra walked into the chamber, aiming a hitech assassination laserpistol at the Troubleseer. "None drank poisoned coffee as we knew what you were up to. Some of your people formed an alliance with the TT101 and soon will be directed by that organisation. I think that you should meet five people already known to you."

 

The Ashwood Gang walked in and gave Alan Carter cold, professional looks.

 

Carter scowled. "I will tell you nothing! You have already lost to a great plan formed long before the 3Doomsdays took place. I will die for a cause greater than all of us."

 

Cleopatra regretfully lasered him in the forehead and his dead body toppled forward to strike the tabletop. She spoke. "There is laced into his body enough micronukes to wipe out this chamber and everybody in it but the laser beam destroyed the brain implant that would have activated them. I suggest you move base, yet again, as you do so every so often anyway; the TT101 will get you a more permanent, better equipped central base because your organisation is going to change, to broaden its mandate. We may have staged the killing of the Ashwood Gang but in truth they were being stalked by other, elite, killers who were definitely not of your group."

 

Cleopatra: "There is so much work to do especially as it now turns out that TechVault101 has held more, deeper, secrets than too many of us knew, even those who were supposed to. For example it seems that the failure of that one isolation barrier to drop was planned. Except that a short time ago it did so, in theory isolating TechVault101 from the rest of the world and that might have been planned also. I say in theory because many long held, supposedly well founded, assumptions are now in doubt and we do not need to form any new false ones."

 

She spoke again. "We have been given vital data, by a mysterious benefactor, including that which helped to uncovered Carter's treachery that was repaid with treachery from the so called TechLords of the TechCorps."

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Note: A to Z Post #24 has been edited-expanded. Any positive, even 'funny' suggestions, are welcome though the latter might go into another A to Z.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.13.1[19]: RedZone Changes and Effects on...

 

The RedZone essence of evil fled away but the actual, physical, RedZone remained. Though less dangerous now it was still a probable threat of threats to TechVault101. There were shadowlers, radroachers and possibilities of other threats there. The SecretEnemy had abandoned many of its minions but anybody who knew, of its legends, would not be surprised by this.

 

The lost expedition was found having been cornered in a series of chambers where bizarre SecretEnemy followers had been attacking occasionally while sending waves of enslaved minions. The expeditionary group, of the now disbanded IEN101, did not seem at all surprised by its ending or the surrender of the Founder Families; the two had been crumbling for a long time.

 

Juniper studied the two groups, in the big chamber, that were still wary of each other to some extent, but also the chamber that held a large amount of useful resources. This was despite that many storage areas had clearly been looted in a rushed, almost panicky, fashion. It had happened many years ago, most probably when the RedZone had absorbed-engulfed the techvault.

 

Juniper spoke to the SQuidruplets, now visible. "Have you found anything from your recon patrols?"

 

Samantha replied. "A good deal of useful resources, much of it unused and in storage. Harmless, and less dangerous, critters including radroaches. Dead radroachers but no live ones. Abandoned shadowlings eager to surrender but no shadowlers except indications of their deaths. Twisted lifeforms but only a few and not as many as was feared there would be; we gentled all of them and they are now in the Lifecube thanks to Harry. The RedZone has lost is subtle, surreal, sense of threat with the shadotar gone along with the greenicglow. Though there are distorted areas, it is generally very standard vault like. We do not presume that deeper areas of the RedZone will not be more dangerous."

 

Jasmine nodded. "One suspects that the SecretEnemy departed because of its troubles with Harry and other resistance to it but also because it had either achieved or largely achieved its goals. We need to find out what those goals were and which ones were succeeded at. It is frustrating but we must continue."

 

A soft shudder went through everything.

 

Then, with a sparkling shimmer, 13 metallic colour coded Giftcubes appeared, each being one cubic metre in dimensions. There was one golden, three silver and nine copper ones. Each was numbered, a number being on each surface including, presumably, the bottoms. There came with them, somehow, general knowledge of them that everybody suddenly obtained. That is they were known as Giftcubes and they were of varied, colour coded, levels of effect of which the gold ones were of the most exotic-advanced and the copper the least so.

 

Copper Giftcube #6 vanished with a sparkling shimmer and that big chamber, along with others through out the techvault, became fuller of equipment-supplies, being mostly supplies. It was all kind of stuff including technical, scientific, engineering, robotic, entertainment-cultural items and more. It was a great boost to TechVault101 chances not just to survive but to thrive.

 

Then Silver Giftcube #10 vanished with a sparkling shimmering and through out the RedZone there positive-practical changes took place as the damage done, by exotic causes in the past, were mostly undone. There were repairs, enhancements and augmentations made.

 

Harry/11 appeared, almost as if he had always been there. "It is best to not go any deeper into the RedZone for another three hours. Even you wonderful SQuadruplets need stay away from it. Multiple lifeforms are being transformed to the Lifecube and the RedZone has largely become what one might call an AmberZone. Yet there is still a very dangerous area that is the RedZone and it has most peculiar dimensions to it. Yet it is also a place where important answers can be found. That is why one is coming with you, as Harry/11."

 

Jasmine gave him a hug-kiss as did the quadruplets, one by one. He beamed happily at the loving attention.

 

Except that there would come events that would take even Harry by surprise.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.14.1[20] The Wanderer at the British-French Channel

 

The Eurasian Dynastic Empire had two squadrons advanced pocket battleships firing long range cannons, missiles and even lasers at the defences of Dover, England. The defenders fired back with massive fortified cannons and rocket-shells sank two of the EDE vessels in quick succession.

 

It was raining lightly with grey clouds filling much of the sky.

 

The Wanderer stood, seen but unseen, by both sides. He apparently wore denim jeans, leather cowboy boots, a cotton Tshirt and a denim jacket.

 

His support was for the British Isles Commonwealth for though it was far from perfect it was a far kinder, more democratic, nation-state than was the oppressive, militaristic, dictatorship of the EDE. Ruled by the Tsar, who was supported by the Khans, the EDE had conquered much of Eurasia but three areas had halted their progress. One was the BIC with its heavily fortified coastlines, large naval and quite large airnavy of airships and aeroships along with other craft.

 

Animalistic adorned ornithopters, gravity wings flapping, fought EDE helicopters in the skies. BIC airships, and fewer aeroships, did the same against very big EDE mastercopters. BIC Redcoats, in dull dark red power armour, stood ready to to battle while others were in tracked, wheeled or half-tracked warmachines.

 

The EDE invasion was failing fast even before it really began. Its forces were pulling back even as the Wanderer observed. Just his being their had been a subtle, powerful, influence on events but had been but the tilting of the balance of other forces. The BIC, with its Empress and Parliament, would be more secure for decades to come as the EDE was forced to deal with other, more powerful, threats. Then again those other threats might prove dangerous to the BIC.

 

The Wanderer took out of his leather jacket, a solid illusion as the rest of him was except his core of existence, what looked like a fob-watch and it flipped open for him to expose strange flowing 3D patterns. After a moment it flipped closed and he put it away.

 

Then he dematerialised, was gone almost as if he had never been there.

 

Where he had been a softly glowing, rainbow, butterfly fluttered through the air but only for a couple of second and then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

1.15.1[21]: The Gold Giftcube #13 Activation Effects

 

Golden Giftcube #13 dematerialised with a sparkling shimmer. The RedZone's transdimensional core vanished away and the whole techvault gained a series of general-specific changes. The former ghostvault was soon to be called SemiVault101N as the official 14^th semivault. While it was lightly distorted in some areas-ways, it was mostly now just a semivault.

 

Harry was surprised, but pleased, by what had happened because the RedZone threat was totally removed and the Lifecube gained valuable exotic resources that allowed it to strengthen, expand and upgrade.

 

A series of monotrain tunnels appeared in the twixtvault along with special sheltervaults for the so called feral vaultfolk living there. These monotrain tunnels linked primevaults with each other and to semivaults. Monotram loops appeared inside the rimvault along with elevators and more sheltervaults.

 

It was not just the Overseers who were in for surprises to come as they learned more about the real relationship between the primevaults and the twixtvault-rimvault. For more ways materialised for people, goods, other lifeforms to go between them.

 

Other changes came that were mostly general upgrades-additions but there were fewer special ones and even fewer exotic ones though none were extremely exotic ones; all were positive of nature.

 

There was much work to do and the Overseers Network was forced to go through a reformation that led it to becoming the TechVault101 Overseers Government. The restructuring was accompanied by an increase in democratic representation and oversight of government decisions, functions and problems.

 

Something subtle, powerful, was happening to the vaultfolk with greater effect on some more than others.

 

History would name the changes the TechVault101 Great Reformation that would result in a civil war, expansionism out to colonise the TechVault101-Zone which was all that was inside the great sphere of the Isolation Bubble and other noted events. The bubble was discovered as efforts to get past, the dropped isolation barriers, had failed and kept failing. Yet solutions would be found, in more than one way.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Maharg67