Talk:Restless Souls/Summary

Story lab

Open threads

• Mai clones produced by GATC
• Hardy's title names and themes for Oni 2 and 3 - can we recycle some aspects?
• Exploring Mai/Jack story arc based on music album The Unforgiving.
• AI of GOP desert vs. Muro

New summary attempt #2

I always wanted to introduce some folks that get "ancient". Their emergence is inevitable. They are the consequence of technological progress and human's wish to improve themselves and their life which in turn again means eternal life.

The Ancients are the first of their kind which puts them into challenges of all sorts. Daodan hosts have a good chance to reach biological immortality before others do and survive possible wars in that new phase of unrest. In theory peaceful coexistence is possible but unlikely. The human mind evolves slower than his tools and powers. The threat of a new world war is not banned. The question is can they survive another one and if yes, will they learn enough from it?

The new summary attempt will only change few aspects. But the technological dimension will be expanded one more time. That expansion looks almost marginal to the existing material but its aftermath will be substantial for some characters.

[Notes/preliminary]

• Syndicate Sky Drive (SSD, ambivalent abbreviation on purpose)

The Network (Comguy/Controller group) aims to create new information processing and transportation means to eventually outsmart WCG and TCTF.

This happens by the abuse of city domes (graphene shields) to create an alternative internet which technological background is completely unknown to the TCTF. The Network's laser technology can create phonon within the graphene structures. The shield is not build homologous which allows for more directed phonon propagation. At another location a second laser is used to read out the information of the phonons.

• As the city domes can fail to function or are shut down by authorities the next step is the development of a more universal infrastructure, SSD2. The Network experimented with nanotechnology to manipulate particle creation within the atmosphere. When they heard of the Bioc, a geo-engenering project, they were all ear. They eventually plan to let erupt some volcanoes to shoot massive quantities of Bioc material into the higher atmospheres. And from that on everything could change. Information control, whether control, control of solar winds/energy. But for that the airborne bioc needs itself a control instance just like its counterpart on the ground. The Network plans to capture Daya to alter and upload her mind to SSD2. When Daya was is captured for biosafty concerns the Network ruins Mukade's objective and forces her bioc infection to spread and reach a critical mass. Their plans works out to the point that she successfully merges Daodan and Bioc. However, their attempt to alter her mind fails with her escape from the Syndicate facility. The second attempt also fails when they use Pensatore as a tool to literally let her explode together with the Bioc main mass in Green Village.
• The Network manages to build on the airborne fragments resulting in the birth of an atmospheric AI. They need it all the more as Avatara hunts them for having murdered Shinatama. The Network is then independent from satellites and can kick off a destructive collision cascade (Kessler syndrome) to greatly hamper WCG's and Avatara's communications eventually rendering them incapable of acting quickly enough to win that war.
• Avatara's counter measure against SSD2 started with a Bioc pattern injected into the Tanzania craton (old continental core mass). More exactly, the Bioc worked on the black magma of the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano. The carbon-rich materials were prepared to create self-assembling structures in the atmosphere once the volcano would be blown up with a series of timed nuclear detonations. For this purpose uran was mined near the Selous Game Reserve. As the Bioc operated in kilometers of depth the nobody else than Avatara was really aware of the events. At the same time, the craton in interesting for diamond mining. Diamond particles were processed to have N-V centers, therefor generating more building blocks for QC.
• "Fighting fire with fire." Avatara thought he acted adequately to the situation by taking over the airborne AI of the Network with a competing infrastructure and hardware trojans. Avatara had to act quickly. The SSD2 AI, Aether, potentially allows for weather control, distribution of sunlight, channeling of solar wind by manipulating the magnetosphere. Ripping a hole into the magnetosphere by supraconducting structures would allow the solar radiation to hit Earth and render good parts of the planet inhabitable. A risk that must be prevented. It turned out that he underestimated the political shockwaves of the humans and therefor the implications on Gaia. The AI of nature herself was mad that Avatara set an end to the annual wildebeest migration at the Ol Doinyo Lengai, and sacrifing others of millions of animal lifes, bringing nuclear contamination to the ecosystem and causing a global dimming that endangered all photosynthesis. It destroyed her trust in Avatara almost completely.
• By using a captured proxy of Avatara the Network eventually established new instructions for Gaia - an act that must be authorized by Gaia herself, Avatara and the omega groups. The threat of an airborne AI (v1) was a red herring. The irony was that Avatara improved that airborne AI but also lost control over it again together with Gaia's trust.
• In an act of desperation Avatara establishes the Mind Seal. This can be seen as an extension of the WCG science prison concept but affecting all humans and "unapproved" AL.
• The two volcano eruptions needed a clean up of the atmosphere. Inverse tornadoes concentrated the particles which were collected on the ground to build the Guardians meant to harness the human interlect and protect it from self-destruction.
• Some Network members planed to upload themselves to SSD2. Their most cybernized member actually has no other choice, he turned himself into an extreme NPU to better connect with computers. It was slowly killing him.
• Mukade hold Pensatore and Hasegawa both hostage in a BGI deep sea research and mining complex. Pensatore freed himself by letting him devour by the Bioc. When the later actions destroyed the complex Hasegawa drowned in flooding corridors. The destruction set the Bioc free that devoured Pensatore before and did the same with Hasegawa. However, Hasegawa's damaged consciousness remains captured within his dark deep sea grave.
• Pensatore: "I sacrificed you Hasegawa to save the world, as you sacrificed your son Muro." (Echo of Christian mythology: god sacrificed his only son to safe all humans and Jesus resists the devil in the desert who offers him all empires.) The theme evolved by coincidence as GOP is a religious power set in a desert location. Story-wise this can be used to underline Muro's transformation into "a more good man", rejecting GOP and their sole claim for peace after bringing Armageddon. Muro is no longer a man of pure madness. It shall remain the idea that humans can achieve more paradisaical conditions just if they wanted to by using technology and true cooperation. Of course an naive thought in face of reality and so Muro returns to Ryu and the Syndicate to "minimize evil". He knows he has to make up for Sturmänderung and the corrupted people that believed in it and used any means necessary. In that perspective Pensatore can be seen as evil or the devil himself, trying to save humans from God's plan (Daodan) as Pensatore is too much concerned for the ego of people, to stay in control, while getting himself consumed by hate.
• It takes ages until Muro finds this father and frees him from the grasp of Gaia and her subordinates (King of Styx and other). "It took me a while to get back to you, dad." The reunions remains marred as Hasegawa has lost most of his memories and they can't yet return to the planet's surface.
• While Muro becomes the new ruler of the subterranean Bioc, Mai is on the surface transforming slowly into a part of nature, making her kind of a rival to Gaia which together the airborne AI has turned against all the other major players of the planet.
• Mukade's rival kills him and his ego hybrida. In the past Mukade spared his rivals life but that didn't made up for the other acts.
• Avatara detects another personality in the ego hybrida. The body hosted the consciousness of Mukade and Hasegawa, with the death of all biological cells only Pensatore's SLD cells remained. This Pensatore mind copy pretends to be on Avatara's sides. He aims to get rid of all Daodans and takes the name Pandora, officially working for Meta as Daodan hunter.
• Pandora and Mai resemble memhunters, one getting into sync with society and the other becoming a rough agent. Mai continues to hunt technology crimes. Avatara sends her on the mission to take down the Network for good and end the Wizard war (see Mind Seal story).
• Corruption of Gaia
• Destruction of planet Earth (collision)

New summary attempt #1

GATC convinces Mai to join. How exactly do they do this?

They want to secure the Daodan production site and depot at Green Village. Also they want to find out what happened to Hasegawa and ask him how much advanced the Syndicate Daodan program really is.

Mai destroyed the ACCs. She is responsible for poisoning the people with polluted air. She needs to fix that. GATC makes her feel guilty which is an easy game.

GATC also names a fake reason: They are interested in her abilities. They try to bait her with pride. But as a host of a first generation Daodan, she can sense the presence of other symbionts among the GATC team.

Bonus: The administration wants Mai under their control since they plan to trade her against sovereignty, re-establishing USA.

This is recognized by the GATC troops as a dangerous game as the whole organization could be stigmatized as terrorists group if WCG don't agree on the deal. As the administration wants to secure the Daodan technology and depot, this makes it even easier for the WCG to create a suspicion among the population and blame them for the Black Season. ("What are you thinking GATC were doing there?" Traton discovered the puppetmaster in WCG politician circle.

Traton negotiates with WCG to create META. Pensatore's Keslersyndrom cuts off WCG from satellite communication. They need the Syndicates internet and drone technologies.

In order to get back the Daodan depot WCG attacks GV. They don't ask the Syndicate as they might keep the DCs for themselves. They don't know that the Syndicate Daodan depot selfdestruct after Muro's life signal was terminated. A security against rivals. Only Sayomi has one as reserve. So only a half of Camp Sturmanderung is daodanized. Sayomi's body receives very heavy physical treatment to speed up the transformation process. She wants to hunt down Mai for vengeance and to ensure the Striker's loyalty. "We are one family. I will continue to protect your future. Just like Muro has envisioned it. We will surpass these humans."

Traton: "You aren't strong enough yet [against Konoko]. Why don't you pay the old man [Griffin] a visit first?"

Sayomi in Griffin hospital room: "No. You don't know me. And it's not important. But it's important that you are still alive. I will make you pay for taking him away from me." "Who?" Saomi puts Griffin on fire. "You will die just like he did. Burning and buried under rocks."

Sayomi returns from her liquidation mission. Wrath for Griffin's interference in the mountain complex, followed by Muro's death.

BGI sends also their agents to GV to control the situation. Iron Demon 2.0 is used to hunt the DC hosts. (Model v1.0 was destroyed by Mai when she visited BGI HQ. In a cutscene you can see the unfinished, second model. - Checking the google docs later for consistency.)

Traton: "The damage control teams reported our latest upgrades were meant to clean the air even better. - Can we use that information? - Also get me Mukade. Or shot him. I don't care. Set a bounty to one trillion credits." "Huh, that's a lot of money." "And the end of the world. It's worth nothing."

Old Shinobi clan is reactivated to hunt the traitor. Shinatama is going to defend him as she knows that his brain engrams are crucial for Hasegawa's reanimation (just like Shinatama's engrams can be used to reanimate Mai). Avatara tries to remain a neutral bystander.

Operation Proteus: Traton declares Griffin death as justified as WCG and TCTF and Mai caused the black season. Also, his teams were working on repairing/upgrading the ACCs. Traton: "They will not negate with us. We must increase the pressure."

Video clips show Hasegawa working on the DC. It contains information of the old lab. Mai and GATC cannot resist to search for that lab. The Syndicate and Sayomi awaits them. Mai manages to kill the Syndicate team. Saomi barely survives and returns to African HQ. She gets banned by Ryu and his Sniper/Shinobi fellow Okamin.

--

In consideration:

Mai and her GATC team has left Green Village as it was invaded by WCG military. In the lab she should have found something that helps her. Maybe a Daodan upgrade. A telomere regeneration code so that she doesn't age so fast like Muro and something "useful" information. After their trip to Hasegawa's second lab they sneak back into the village. WCG made it a quarantine zone after seeing from close distance what the Bioc infection means. At some point she should meet Ryu. Since Hasegawa isn't in his second lab he should be in a another Syndicate-owned location. Anyway, probably Ryu is going after Green Village too after having killed Kumo who started the chain-reaction.

It seems only a matter of time before WCG decides to extinguish the whole region with a series of nuclear bombs. Also, the nuclear radiation attracts the bioc main mass which degrades them. It's Pensatore's massive energy beam* that overloads the structure while killing almost everyone on the battlefield including the GOP creatures and Mukdade. However, the habitants are going to survives in Daya's bioc catacombs (resemble a second protection layer like a over-dimensionized cell nucleus) while Konoko stands on burned ground. Mai collapses in the believe that she came to late to somehow evacuate the people. Hasegawa was revealed to have drowned and Jack was apparently hanged by a city mob during the Proteus operation.

* Mukade shows that he is not longer under Pensatore's control when he encounters Daya and Nishio on the battlefield. That means that the ninja of no longer use and Pensotore gives in to his desire for revenge. However, in attempt to eradicate Mukade, the microwave beam creates another enigma. Nishio's pulverized graphene shield becomes resembled, creating a giant crystallized structure with an carbonized orb in its center. It had conducted the energy into bioc main mass and has withstood the following explosion. During all the years, the orb remains untouched as a war memorial. It is said that at dark, cold winter nights aurora sinks down to the orb, guiding lost souls to find a place to rest.

Pensatore: "You think that the Bioc is a danger? I totally agree with you. And you are doing a great job in concentrating it in this area. However, you are also a threat to all of us. After this incidence you will continue where you left off. Avatara is your next target in your egoistic plan, isn't it?! - I cannot allow that." (Shinatama will blame Avatara for sparing Penstore's life because he is his mental father and saved him from Mukade's control.)

5 years later: Mai becomes reanimated by Phönix.

....

Maybe I should try out a plotline without letting Mai fall into a coma. It feels like it shortens her actions too much.

....

BGI backups the rebellion against META as they fear to be eradicated if they don't do something. BGI tries to recruit Mai as she is one of very few Daodan host that isn't working for META. Shinatama tries to help her while fighting against Pandora, META's Daodan hunter. Traton is also killed by her. Avatara watch her preparations in their R&D location. "Looks like you are going to kill even more." "And you just don't seem to care. -- Be honest." "Is that a reproach?" "Well, you don't choose any side. Yet, you are probably the most powerful person on this planet and you don't even try to fight evil." "Is it evil to seek economic dominance. You all support this [capitalistic] system. But as soon as it doesn't pay off you turn against it. META is restricting technology. I don't see anything wrong with that. Humans are destructive. As for your friend Mai Hasegawa, why should she not be punished by the law. She destroyed the ACCs. It's a fact." Shinatama was stopped re-assembling her rifle for a moment. In continuing she said: "Sometimes you still surprise me." "How that?" "That someone that smart can be so stupid."

Order of event

Maybe filling in some numbers later to make this a full-fledged timeline. For now I only need the order of events.

This is a rough summary. Details may or may not be added.

• WCG happens
• Bioattack in Suez (Griffin, GATC "indirectly" involved)
• Artificial mycorrhiza happens
• Operation Hotdog (Kimura, Griffin)
• Barabas and others died or went MIA, Griffin frustrated
• Xeno hybrids (mutated mycorrhiza with new symbionts, begin of a new "BioCrisis" that overshadows the others)
• Puppet master program (last chance for winning the war, Griffin knows GATC went too far and kills GATC sci and joins TCTF)
• Blackstars happens (GATC soldiers form merc group)
• ACC construction
• Feng: "after Suez, research must be regulated", sci prisons
• Bioc tech happens, Blackstars destroys the company of Dakosta's father
• Griffin takes Bioc tech, gives it to WCG (trust gain, used for GV's construction)
• GOP happens
• Jamie dies
• CDC, Walker sends Hanna to GV
• Standoff, Hasegawa
• Hasegawa, Kerr join Syndicate
• [Weeks passes until Hanna is invited to GV]
• Marburg incidence
• Hanna Curtis airplane chat
• [Hanna uses a MRSA "blocker"]
• Hanna, Blake, GV
• Kimura, Blue mountain worker
• Kimura gets sample from GV, Hanna ok
• Kimura kills worker
• Hanna talks with Bertram
• Kimura contacts then kidnaps Pensatore
• Avatara finishes Daodan Chrysalis
• Griffin, Iron Demon takeover
• Avatara tries to get back Pensatore, Syn. evacuates/TCTF lab raid (soon after Kerr left the area, the TCTF arrives)
• Kerr takes Mai to TCTF
• Mai Biosafty, Pest control (assassination plans for Muro)
• Maria (Hanna) joins TCTF
• Mai fake OP (Maria, Kerr fool Griffin)
• Corruption of Hasegawa by Kimura
• Shinatama, intro
• Jack, Intro
• Mukade, Intro
• Churi, Intro
• Muro, Ryu, Tomo, Kimura vs Strikers
• Traton, Intro
• Jack's father almost killed
• Griffin, Iron Demon
• Kumo sends killers after Griffin
• Griffin, Mai and the reindeers (indoc)
• Takahashi, intro
• Churi, Sledgehammer, bar
• Griffin, Victor planning against Kumo (to eliminate Syn. threat for Neo-Tokio)
• Griffin, Mai, Daya
• Vendret, intro
• Muro
• - Life in the Camp
• - Friendly rivalry with Ryu
• - Muros's missions with Traton and Daodandroids
• - Saomi, GATC Z
• - Alliance with BGI, Sarai, intro (Sarai=Saomi ?!)
• - Car bomb, death of Tomo
• - Furies
• - Further assassination attempts from Z
• - Death of Pensatore
• - Death of Hasegawa
• - Exil of Traton
• - Sturmanderung plans, Muro
• - Dispute with Ryu
• - War against BGI
• - Peace treaty with BGI (temporary, they build Iron Demons)
• Sturmänderung (Oni 1.5) including missing chapters
• Mukade reanimated, enslaved by Pensatore
• Pensatore rescues Shinatama (Shin questions her own ego, is something of her soul missing? Hence removes "(a)tama" from her name, pun: tama = soul, atama = head (in Japanese), also: "Shin" is a base for the word "die", so in total: "died without a soul" or "without a head you die")
• GATC Z fails to eliminate Muro (Imago stage)
• Mai destroys Syn. mountain complex
• Oni 2 happens