“Timeline six is for fucking losers, let’s get the hell out of this one.” -Valefisk, 5D Diplomacy With Multiverse Time-Travel-
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Please consult The Grid before putting in requests. When updating The Grid for procurement, make sure to put the date and time, to deter anyone trying to message you.
Use the red magnets for things we’re out of right now, and the green magnets to mark things we’re testing with. The magnet shaped like a sleeping pangolin is for when we confirm something as ‘neutral’, and should live in this circle until then.
Hard water : Sourced. Bea. Tuesday. 200 gallons. Note : 300-500 PPM calcium required.
Wood pulp : Sourced. Bill / John. Tuesday. 80 lbs. Note : Supply is elm sawdust, for doubling up. Check containers for dampness.
Raspberry syrup : Sourced / updating. Nate. Every other Saturday. 10 liters. Note : Sugar free version does not work. Restock on hold for testing improved recipes.
Vanilla extract : In progress. ???. 200 gallons. Note : real vanilla extract. No one tell me we can’t afford it, and no one mention tumblr to me again until I’m dead.
Sparrow blood : Sourced. Last Saturday of each month. ‘Research’. 1 gallon.
Sugar : Sourced. Nate. 60 lbs. Every other Saturday. Note : Using cane sugar hits four different recipes, and doesn’t impact any negatively.
Camraconda venom : Supply low. Taste-Of-Air or Rasp-Of-Stone. Any. Note: Annoyingly doesn’t have a known alternative like some ingredients. Any camraconda willing to be milked please leave names.
Iron : Sourced. Bea. 30 lbs. Note : powdered is most convenient, and price doesn’t matter. Remove from The Grid, repeat order established.
-The Grid, potion department whiteboard for tracking needed materials-
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Episode 122 - Interviews On Interference
Join us today as we talk to people who don’t know why they’re here! A double header interview with Jim Benson of Portland General Electric, and Inoue Shohei, to discuss reasonable time frames for scaling up world changing discoveries, the importance of employee investment, and their favorite places to eat around town! This episode does not have the normal news or magic focus segments.
Episode 123 - New Friends Part Seven!
Join us today to hear about our newest rescue species, crocamaws! And also, our newest rescue humans! No guests this week, just a detailed look at what to expect with our new friends, and what we know so far. Learn a little about where they came from, and how to best make them feel welcome in our home! This episode has news, magic focus, and allocation update segments.
Episode 124 - A Skylight So Full Of Stars Part Five
Join us today where we talk about the Lair! Part of the ongoing series keeping you up to date on the construction, maintenance, green orbs, orange totems, whatever is up in our back parking lot, and any other changes to our home base. Short interview with Bill about the baths, and also his fursona, but he doesn’t know that part yet. This episode has news and allocation update segments.
Episode 125 - By Popular Demand
Normal unfocused episode covering updates to everything going on that we could find out about. Special guest Planner, who is here to hang out and share talking duties. This episode has news, magic focus, and allocation update segments.
Episode 126 - Aftermath, Underburbs Part Two
Final timeline of the events of October, including best estimates for what happened in Springfield before the Order’s intercession, the main sequence of actions taken, the final outcome, the nature of our contact with US federal groups, and a eulogy for the fallen. No normal segments this time.
Episode 127 - Interview With Technically One Person
Join us this week as we have Marlea back on, to answer some audience questions and give a longer practical breakdown on how to be a hive mind! She’ll be here in part while half of her ‘gets some serious relaxation done’, so you’ll just have to trust me it’s her if she sounds different! This episode has normal segments for news, magic focus, and allocation updates.
Episode 128 - Cultivation Is A Multi-Purpose Word
Join us this week to hear about the early reports from our newest dungeon exploration, in the Verdigris Venture! Green fields, skies that are blue enough, new spellbooks, and wildlife that isn’t all hostile to us! In place of the normal magic focus segment, this week we have a full updated explanation of the Garden’s magic system, and how you can make it part of your life. Episode has normal news and allocation update segments.
-Order Of Endless Podcasting, Sarah Moyle hosting, episode list-
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To : Planner ()
CC: Inoue Shohei ()
From : Karen Ward ()
Subject : Your interest in working in shipping (non-urgent, reply within three weeks)
Planner;
Mr. Inoue, once removed from the influence of a number of memeplexes, has expressed interest in other dungeontech that could be put to practical application in our logistics venture.
I am emailing you first to ask if you would be interested in a position within the project. Please do not feel obligated to say yes to this, as I understand that you already manage a large number of tasks and are instrumental in keeping Research both productive and also intact. But as the Order is more interested in where people wish to fit rather than where people are immediately useful, if you would like to make a job change, the offer is open.
Second, as someone who is closely integrated with our Research databases, both Inoue and myself would be interested in hearing about any alternate options that could be used to boost efficiency of a large scale business project. Mr. Inoue is aware that we do not make life to be tools as an ethical imperative, but there are several new assignments growing within the Order, and if you have contact information for them to extend a similar offer, I would appreciate that information. Assuming, of course, it does not violate anyone’s privacy.
While I am tangentially aware of many small discoveries and projects, none of them are quite so focused on the organization of information, which is one of the more important aspects of a global logistics chain. However I am prepared to be wrong if you know of a magical database that we happen to possess.
Regardless of any answers you have, thank you for your time, and I wish you a good day. I am sure we will speak further before long.
Sincerely
Karen Ward
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To : Planner ()
From : Juan Martaeo ()
Subject : Group Fostering Roster Issues
Hey Plan
I’ve been having some personal problems with Jim lately, mostly working with the Mormons. It’s nothing super serious, we’re just getting on each other’s nerves. I don’t think either of us want to be reassigned, but would it be possible to shift things around so that our times don’t overlap as much? We’re both in the 12-14 range for the kids we’re working with, if you need to know to find it.
If that doesn’t work, I’m okay being moved over to the nonhuman/mixed fostering. Not like there’s much of a barrier, but it would also keep the two of us apart, which is probably healthier for everyone. Like I said though, it’s not a catastrophe, we’re just annoying each other. Jim should have a similar email for you later to confirm.
Thanks!
Juan.
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To : Planner ()
From : Alex Wolly ()
Subject : delves
Hey Planner, all the delves I was scheduled for are cancelled? Also someone (you) took me off all my time slots for equipping spells. And you locked me out of putting myself in the daily task app. Also, someone (still you) has me signed up for some weird physical therapy thing ? Or is this just a massage?
Okay I actually just read the whole thing. Why am I being exiled to a spa? I didn’t put myself in the rotation for vacation days, and I don’t need this.
I’m fine. Nothing is wrong. Don’t bench me now, at least let me rack up enough AP to test one of the link bonuses. Come on.
Not On Vacation
Alex
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To : Alex Wolly (), Juan Martaeo (), Karen Ward (), Inoue Shohei ()
From : Planner ()
Subject : Emails
Hello.
I do not know why I have an email address. Please do not contact me via email. I find the format anxiety inducing. If you wish to ask me questions or make requests, contact me in the usual way by standing within my sphere of influence and speaking my name aloud so I may manifest near you.
Thank you for your cooperation
Planner
-Sent From My iPhone-
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Adult League Pluralist Ball!
Signups now open
-Teams of 5-7
-Individual signups are great
-No restrictions for species or body
-Adult level sophoncy required
Come join in on the Advance Rules? version of Pluralist Ball! The winter league will run for November through January, currently has three full teams ready to compete, and is eager for more!
-Earn fame and renown!
-Win fabulous prizes!
-Probably get dive tackled at least once!
The adult winter league of Pluralist Ball uses expanded rules that include both environment, and equipment. As Karen has legally classified us as ‘training’, we have a budget this time too!
Contact league organizer Mark Diaz for more info
-Flyer posted on Lair and Townton community notice boards-
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In modern human society, collectivist is a dirty word.
Despite the fact that many successful groups, from family farms on up to nations, employ strategies that are collectivist in nature, many people reflexively think of the term itself negatively. Socialist, Marxist, communist, for reasons I don’t really care about, most people have been poisoned against thinking in terms of working together.
It makes it hard to sell people on being a hive mind.
I am writing this from within the context of the Order of Endless Rooms. This is something like a first draft of general thoughts, and it’s likely never going to be read by people who aren’t already here, so I don’t need to convince you of the basics. Community is kinda nice, actually. Asking for help isn’t evil, being kind to your neighbors even if they annoy the shit out of you isn’t a sin, and it’s cool to date outside your species. You opened a document about hive minds, you already know this stuff.
The thing that we don’t tell you, at least not right away, is that there’s different levels of unity. We’ve got special skulljack braids with fancy equipment, just so you can share very specific stuff. Knights usually use that, because it’s kinda cool to be able to see through your delve team’s eyes when you don’t really have the time to explain weird stuff to each other.
But without that, there’s a tendency for brains to sort of slide toward each other if you’re plugged in, like magnets. And the next level is becoming one with each other. That’s cool enough, I guess. Never really tried it, but I know enough. Really intimate, often romantic for the people who like it. It’s complete enough that a lot of magic transfers over, or thinks of you as ‘one person’, which is cool. But it isn’t as deep as you can go.
Because you share everything, but you don’t blend everything.
That’s what I do. That’s what I’m here to tell you about. And that’s what I think is going to be part of humanity’s future.
If you connect to someone, and you stay connected, then you stop being… you. But you also don’t. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t tried it. But basically, you aren’t you and also them, you’re you and also you. Both of you become you. Their memories feel like your memories, their body feels like your body. Because it is.
The longer you live, connected to each other, the more you form memories that belong to both bodies. The more you blend, and the more every sensation and thought pulls stuff across the connection, back and forth. Swirling it all up, until, when you unplug, you aren’t going back to being two people, you’re the same person, but disconnected from part of yourself.
Once you feel that, you recognize it everywhere in your own past. All the times you felt disconnected, but didn’t know from what. All the times you felt like you were separated, but didn’t know from whom.
The point of this is to convince you that turning yourself into a group mind is a good idea, so let’s hit some of the high points real quick
One, perspective. You start to understand a lot of things about yourself, because you can perfectly compare multiple points of view and pure experience. Mistakes are easier to see and accept, things you can improve on get really clear.
Two, comfort. You aren’t alone. If you’re in the Order, you might already feel that way a lot. More than you used to. But when you’re two or more lives put together, you know it. You know that you’re not just part of something, but the something people are part of.
Three, self improvement. If you plug two bodies together, you don’t get one normal person. You get one person with two brains. Two sets of limbs. Two abilities to focus. You can learn faster, practice faster, and while you can’t think faster, you can use those extra brains to think more clearly and more organized. Which is close to the same thing.
Four, raw potential. The more of you there are, the more things you can get done. There’s enough parts of me that I can delve by myself and be safe doing it. But I don’t, because everything I’ve been saying about community and teamwork all still applies to anyone else around you.
Five, magic is weird. Telepads count me as one person. Orbs propagate across my whole self. Purples are actually weaker on me, but hit every body. And there’s probably more weird stuff waiting out there to discover.
But all of that, all those perks, they’re not that important compared to the big point. The point is, being together, ‘we’ feel better. Everyone who became me has joined together, and instead of four people who feel scared, lonely, hurt, and angry, there’s one person who feels less of all of that.
Throughout human history, there is a constant cycle of the same events. People become oppressed, or disenfranchised, or classically downtrodden enough that Charles Dickens writes stories about them. And those people band together, find unity in purpose, and take back what was always supposed to be theirs. Then history happens and it all repeats, but whatever. The point is that the source of happiness, the source of peace, has always been unification.
People aren’t meant to be alone. And the skulljack allows us to tear down that barrier in a way we’ve never seen before. To be together, in a way that feels so right that it’s a crime it isn’t a natural ability.
I do not believe that everyone should become part of me. I don’t think that me is perfect, and I don’t think that me is going to be right for everyone. Part of why my unity works is that all of us are coming together for similar reasons, and under similar conditions. But that doesn’t mean I think I should be the only unity. Other people are going to have their own similar conditions, and their own matching reasons. And the perspective and understand that you get when you can actually take a good long look at yourself, with a brain that’s yours but also won’t lie to you, is powerfully healthy.
Becoming a unity means giving up something. But, surprisingly, it doesn’t mean giving up being yourself nearly as much as people are afraid of it. It just means you have to give up the idea that the individual is special because they’re individual. And it means giving up the idea that collectivism, working together for the pure purpose of being yourself, is somehow wrong.
Pieces of the person, unite. You have nothing to lose but your fear.
-A Primer On The Value Of Self-Unification, Marlea PaLoEnDa-
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Free Smartphones
Did you drop your absurdly vulnerable pocket computer? Did someone flood Research again and ruin your personal device? Did you ‘pull a James’ and take your phone on a delve?
Sign up here for a replacement!
Time to delivery depends on demand, or if someone gets me a spell that resets a phone to factory settings. If you have that spell, contact me.
Worried about the cost? Don’t be! I’ve got lots!
-Pinned message in Order chat server, Momo-
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Research Roundup, Nov 4
Paper-And-Words reports a possible magic folding chair from the Springfield Underburbs assault, recovered from one of the altered properties. iLipede verification in progress, but it suspects the chair improves manual dexterity of people using it, and the room it is in as a whole, which is consistent with other Underburbs furniture. Effect is negligible, breaking being considered.
Deb reports on Underburbs loot drops that they can be used as skill crystals. Anyone with OM orbs creates a ‘poisoned’ crystal, while civilians that died to the Underburbs after gaining skill points drop ‘pure’ crystals that provide a single repeatable skill rank, same as the ones from items. Retroactive testing of one of the crystals of the deceased from the first Underburbs encounter by paladin Lyle shows that even people who had Underburbs skill ranks still produce normal skill crystals. Only one person so far has produced a crystal that gives a power rank. Submit testable theories to Reed.
Anesh reports that due to a mixup, ritual coffee grounds were used to brew speed coffee. Nothing changed. Please avoid doing this in the future, ritual coffee is currently valued at ~$120,000 a cup.
John reports that we’ve confirmed the Climb is changing layouts based on some unknown factor. Changes occur seemingly separate from who is going in. Also a new tag of ‘glutton’ has been discovered, possibly due to testing by reentering the dungeon shortly after leaving. Signups for delve testing are open.
This concludes this week’s roundup of clear discoveries.
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Nipi’s Therapy Journal
> September 15
supposed to write now. went to school today. don’t like it. loud, busy, bright. feels like : someone is watching, someone is going to hurt me, i am not good enough. want : to not go back
> September 16
school is still there. daniel says have to at least try. he wants me to leave. i hate him. feels like : angry, scared, someone is going to hurt me. want : to not go back ever.
>September 21
still going to school. still don’t like it. feels like : someone is watching me, i don’t know enough. want : somewhere to hide.
>September 30
have a project for school. Daniel is helping me. we talked about making friends, he says it was hard for him when he was my age too. I don’t know how old i am, but i think he’s wrong, and it was funny. feel like : i want to hide, i don’t like essays. want : i don’t know
>Oct 2
humans at the school are different than usual. they’re older than me, but newer than the others. i didn’t know. they were afraid too. not the same afraid, but some afraid. that’s sad. feel like : it isnt fair. want : something.
>Oct 3
tried sitting with humans for food at school. couldn’t talk. felt like i was back in the dark.then felt even worse when i ran away. want : somewhere to hide, not to go back
>Oct 5
ate lunch with someone. didnt run. he asked me questions the whole time. it felt like when i was saved a little, when there were questions about me, and what i liked. also like therapy. i forgot to ask him anything.
>Oct 9
his name is Arlen. we have two classes together.
>Oct 15
School is okay. Ms. Maria says my english is getting better. It’s not hard, it’s just a lot of rules, but once you know them, they fit together. Except capital letters. Ms. Maria says the order ruined capital letters somehow. And she says i should use less commas, and that’s not fair. They gave me an orb today that makes my fingers hurt less, so I can write better now. Some of the others say that one day, nothing will hurt. I don’t feel like I believe them. I want to believe them.
>Oct 22
im not a bug
>Oct 23
Arlen wants to pick the theater class next term. It’s so far away, it feels like it isn’t real. But he’s so sure we’ll be alive. So i said yes. I don’t know what theater is, so i asked Daniel, and he says it’s acting? I act all the time. I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing. I want to know more about theater. I hope there’s reading. I like reading. And math. Words and numbers are easy now. The teachers say I can learn harder things now. Ms. Maria said she was proud of me, and i ran away again. Why am i crying if I’m supposed to be happy?
>Oct 26
someone tried to hurt me today.
i didn’t know Daniel could do that
i want to be a knight when i learn enough and i don’t hurt anymore. I wouldn’t have to be afraid of anything.
>Oct 29
Arlen and Bri and Mahai and Evening and me made decorations today for a special day. The humans all say halloween is different things, but i have learned that its 1: orange and black 2: scary 3: not really scary, just joke scary 4: they give you candy for playing along. So we are going to play along the best, and we’re decorating our homeroom, and I’m going to make a paper frog and turn it into a bat because da- niel says it will be funny so I get to get my first real magic.
I don’t know how i feel. I read the journal today when I got home. It was so long ago. It was forever ago. But it wasn’t. I used to write real bad. I wish they’d give me more magic to write better, but d ad says they’re worried it might be bad for me.
Bri asked how old I am and I don’t know. I want to know. It’s been two months. How many months am I? I’m weird. Normal people are hundreds of months old. But they don’t hate me for not surviving as long as them. The humans say I’ll be as old as them eventually.
Dad and Path were right. Im glad i didn’t give up. I hope halloween is fun.
>Oct 31
halloween is canceled because dungeons are stupid and diseases are stupid and i hate everything and i cant go outside. I feel bad. I want to have candy.
>Oct 31
okay we have candy here but its not the same but i feel less angry
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Response Incident Report
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Incident : 102223-103
Responders Involved : Knight Alanna Byrne, Knight Smoke-And-Ember, Aspirant Emm
Non-Responder Involvement : 8 civilians (names redacted)
Top-Level Issues : Ethics review requested
Incident :
At approximately 9 pm Sunday night, dispatch received a call regarding a noise complaint in southeast Seattle (address attached). Reason cited for contacting Response was implied trust in us, and express distrust for the SPD. Responders arrived within three minutes when a team became available.
Initial contact with both parties was calm, if crass. During conversation, tensions rose when one civilian who was self-admittedly using methamphetamine struck Knight Byrne with a keyboard, breaking the keyboard and causing no damage to Knight Byrne. Deescalation prevented the fight from expanding, but verbal harassment grew, and the attacker drew a knife.
In an attempt to prevent further violence, Knight Byrne used a medical spell to treat - without consent - the attacker’s addictions, leading to enough confusion to peacefully conclude the incident.
Before leaving, six other civilians asked for the spell to be applied to themselves, which Knight Byrne and Aspirant Emm accepted.
The incident is submitted for review to the oversight board for a ruling on the use of medical magic. Knight Byrne and her team maintain that it allowed them to deescalate without the need for violence or camraconda intervention, and that this is a net positive in terms of total harm done. There are also concerns that this qualifies as medical malpractice.
Review pending.
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Reed (He/him?) : @here, Hey guys. Since Kiki’s not available for a little while, we’ve got a bunch of extra people. This thread is for any projects that could use an extra hand or lens or tail or paws for a few days. (Edited)
inkkey (he/him, cam) : Hand, or lens.
inkkey (he/him, cam) : Or tail.
inkkey (he/him, cam) : Sorry.
Reed (He/him?) : No, that’s fair. Paws, too, I guess? I’ll think more before posting next time. Anyway, the point is, if anyone has projects they need temporary people for, ask here.
USG Ishimura : I could use some help if anyone wants to brute force some mechanical specs for joint motions. We’re trying to apply the paperweights as a kind of natural engine that can be used for camraconda packs that don’t need batteries. Other artificial limbs too, I guess, since we’ve got that one guy with the robot hand now. But the packs are easiest to do mass testing on.
Reed (He/him?) : Chevoy what the hell is your name.
USG Ishimura : OH shit.
Chevoy (Applied Physics, She, Human) : Sorry, I was doing a thing earlier.
rufus : :)
Chevoy (Applied Physics, She, Human) : Thanks! Anyway, you don’t need to be a camraconda, just have a skulljack, and be okay being near a moving crankshaft
JohnJohnJohn (male, researcher) : weren’t you guys working on a space elevator?
Chevoy (Applied Physics, She, Human) : It keeps falling apart in lower atmosphere, and not just from the wind shear. Though that was also a problem for a while. I think magic might be literally bonded to the planet, which sucks, because it means we’ll have to get to space the hard way and the Mars colony won’t have wizards.
Mars (he/they) : I get a whole colony?
Chevoy (Applied Physics, She, Human) : Shut the fuck up.
inkkey (he/him, cam) : I would be willing to help with your project Chevoy, if there is nothing else.
inkkey (he/him, cam) : But are you not supposed to be out of the lab?
inkkey (he/him, cam) : You were hit by a burning car and lost half of a foot.
rufus : >:(
Chevoy (Applied Physics, She, Human) : Shut the fuck up.
inkkey (he/him, cam) : Sorry.
Paper-And-Words (camraconda, it/its) : She does this. Do not apologize to her. At least this time she can actually speak. And according to the roster, she’s in medical right now, so she’s learning, which is a promising trait for a researcher. If anyone wants to work on something with someone who was not hit by a car, we have been collecting materials to try imbuement of the storm orbs.
Peng.Q : I would be interested. Longer term, as I am being rotated off of our pillar team, and filling in making potions is becoming draining.
rufus : /|\ ^._.^ /|\
Peng.Q : I… do not understand…
Paper-And-Words (camraconda, it/its) : Pleased to have your assistance. I will let you know when we begin in the next few days.
Mars (he/they) : Speaking of imbuement, and maybe I should open a new thread for this, but are we doing anything trying to infuse one of the Underburbs crystals?
inkkey (he/him, cam) : absolutely not
Paper-And-Words (camraconda, it/its) : Of course not
JohnJohnJohn (male, researcher) : Are you out of your goddamn mind?
rufus : -_-
Mars (he/they) : …so no then…?
Reed (He/him?) : Mars, this isn’t what this thread is for. If you want to make proposals that get shot down by the first round of sanity checks, we have a whole channel just for bad ideas, and I know you know that, because you’re there all the time. Or you can go to the unintentional open mic comedy night.
JohnJohnJohn (male, researcher) : We have a standup night?!
Reed (He/him?) : No, we have a weekly open forum for people to make pitches for projects. That’s why it’s unintentional.
JohnJohnJohn (male, researcher) : Ouch
JohnJohnJohn (male, researcher) : Anyway I’m up for the storm imbuement too. I’ve had some ideas about that, and since I cleared the backlog of pens to test, I’d love to get in on it. If you can use two people?
Paper-And-Words (camraconda, it/its) : Of course. Pleased to have your assistance.
Nik (He/Him, Hu) : Hey, just noticed this, I see Chevoy is taking my job of being a menace, that’s nice. If anyone is still open, I really need willing subjects to do iterative testing on magic blood transfusions on. So if you’re okay cycling your precious fluids, let me know. Deb signed off on it, it’s safe, there’s just a lot of blood extraction involved.
Nik (He/Him, Hu) : …
Nik (He/Him, Hu) : Anyone?
Nik (He/Him, Hu) : …Hello?
_____
Machine currently seems most happy with pesos from before 1990. Any pesos. Check drinks for purples before drinking, even though it won’t make a difference.
-Handwritten note on vending machine in Lair’s lobby-
_____
Upcoming Delve Schedule
Officium Mundi :
Type - Mapping Expedition
Team Leads - Matt H., Ishah
Total Delvers - 8, plus 4 support
Status - Canceled due to injuries, only three people expected to be available
Winter’s Climb :
Type - Spellcaster Induction
Team Leads - Ethan L.
Total Delvers - 4 (7), plus 8 escort
Status - Delayed due to injuries, team may need restructuring due to serious injury to Elegan and a lack of drakes comfortable with the Climb
Akashic Sewer :
Type - Strike Delve
Team Leads - Ishah, Alex W.
Total Delvers - 6
Status - Objectives reduced due to injuries limiting team size. No searching for dungeon’s ‘heart’, no collecting purple sparks or symbiotes for study, delve limited to clearing dungeon and rescuing sophonts.
Route Horizon :
Type - Full Delve
Team Leads - Kirk T., Daniel M.
Total Delvers - 14
Status - Delayed for mechanical repairs, pending further delays for injuries.
Pylon Motoric :
Type - Escorted Exploratory Delve
Team Leads - Charlie S. (Ishah)
Total Delvers - 6
Status - Team lead changed due to injury, only 3 delvers available due to injuries, delve on schedule due to limited access from our treaty. Due to the low risk from early areas in the Pylons, any inexperienced delvers will be considered for rounding out the team.
Clutter Ascent :
Type - Nature Hike
Team Leads - N/A
Total Delvers - 1, plus up to 10 guests
Status - Possible delay upcoming, but otherwise continue as planned. This delve is recreational and exploratory, and includes a trip to the Attic’s new swamp and growing selection of transformative hot springs. Swimsuits recommended.
Ceaseless Stacks :
Type - Mapping Expedition
Team Leads - Vadik R., Myriad-Shining-Stars-Overhead
Total Delvers - 12
Status - On schedule, but limited to one combined team of 4 due to injuries and recovery time.
Verdigris Venture :
Type - Acquisition
Team Leads - Elanor M.
Total Delvers - 4
Status - Canceled due to injuries and illness, only one person expected to be available, and they’re an infomorph who can’t carry very much.
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Welcoming Ceremony This Saturday!
Join us in the residential basement garden this weekend to welcome five new infomorphs to steady and confusing existence as they show off their manifestations for the first time!
-Small gathering expected, but open to anyone
-Light snacks provided
-High likelihood of memetic hooks for future growth
2-4 PM in the Moth Courtyard
-Flyer posted on the Lair’s community boards-
_____
“Testing in progress. If you find this note on a door, do not open the door. Inform Follower-Of-Horizons immediately, and clear the area. Do not worry about the door.”
-Printed note found on a previously nonexistent door, Lair lobby-
_____
Order Of Endless Rooms Operations Manual, Section 2, Part 6 (Allocation and Stipends)
As the Order continues to expand, we will run into more and more special resources. Dungeons, techniques, forms of magic, all pours into our collection over time. And much like liquid currency or other forms of wealth, magic is absolutely worthless if it’s not in motion and being used.
If you are in the Order of Endless Rooms, then you have a stipend of magic allocated to you every month. Whether you’re a delver or a janitor, the point of magic is to be used, and our firm belief is that it should be used by the broadest range of people possible. And that’s a great place to start, but how does it work? Great question!
If you’ve been reading this manual cover to cover - which is certainly a choice you can make - then you know that being in the Order means your basic needs get taken care of. No matter what job you’re working, you are eligible for housing, food, medical care, and also monthly payments that you can do whatever you wish with. That part is non-negotiable, and will never be taken away, but you are likely also aware that taking on more responsibilities comes with more reward in terms of how much actual money we pay you.
The stipend is not like that.
Every member of the Order gets the same number of points each month, regardless of their status or career path. You may, in the course of your time here, be given armory packages for certain jobs, or acquire personal magics on your delves. That’s fine, and as long as you aren’t eating all the orbs you collect before bringing any back to share, there’s no problem with this. But your stipend is for you to self-determine what you want to grow toward, and what magic you want personally, not just for getting up to speed on a civics project or rapidly becoming durable enough to survive a crisis.
Currently, all fungible magic that the Order collects is sorted, copies are made if possible, and relative prices in points are assigned based on supply and demand. You can, at any time, go to the allocation counter in the Lair or Townton, and exchange your stipend for whatever you want. Points can be banked month to month, but prices do change over time, and there is intentional inflation with the monthly values to encourage spending.
As was said, the point of magic is to get it out there, and get it used. So if we somehow end up with, for a completely random example, over two hundred yellow orbs that give a skill rank in the aesthetics of rope lights, and no one wants them? Over time, the cost of that is going to be reduced, until either they begin getting purchased, or the price hits zero and someone decides to get really good at decorating their dorm room. Or more likely they get used for their absorption effect.
Some things, like specialized or exceptionally dangerous dungeontech, won’t show up at the counter. Some things are going to be a little weird, like purchasing slots on a Winter’s Climb delve to unlock spell slots. Most things can run out, and because of the nature of everything, restocks aren’t guaranteed.
Currently, the allocation counters stock the following general things:
Officium Mundi orbs - Yellows for skill ranks, reds for emotional resonance, purples for body improvements, blues for solving problems. Many of these orbs are copies with known effects, and more highly valued ones will be higher priced, while others are either from our pool we won’t have time to copy, or are untested, and so the effects will be more random, but they are cheaper. How you use these orbs is up to you, but be aware that if you use yellow or purple orbs to make life, you should follow Order guidelines (see section 1, part 4 - ethics of life)
Ceaseless Stacks orbs - Yellows for species ranks, greens for material ranks, blues for plant ranks, purples for tool ranks. Each of these orbs improves learning speed with their domain, with material ranks being most broadly applicable as long as you can find a way to practice a skill with something made of that material, though with a reduced effect.
Akashic Sewer lessons - Often very highly priced due to demand, these often require being on a waitlist.
Winter’s Climb escorted delve slots - For unlocking spell slots. The majority of listed spells are publicly available with no wait once a slot is open.
Pylon Motoric escorted delve slots - Pending, for collecting AP to improve actions.
Route Horizon Velocity gears - For developing the mana pool needed to cast Horizon spells. Often at a low price, as copies do not work as well for repeat users, and due to the limited selection of spells. Spells can be picked up for free, as they cost almost nothing to duplicate.
Clutter Ascent relationsticks - For sharing immaterial qualities with people you can form an emotional connection with. Often low cost due to the ease of acquisition, and the difficulty of maximizing use.
Verdigris Venture spell coins and spellbook time - Limited in availability and currently high priced due to Research working overtime to test. Requires significant time investment on top of stipend points.
Potions - A wide selection, most of them with terrible flavor. Combat focused potions are limited in availability without approval, and experimental batches with no utility effects or harmful drawbacks are often available for a limited time until they run out, for novelty.
These are all things that we make available, whenever possible. And often there will be safe dungeontech or other neat stuff that just shows up as it becomes available. The allocation counter is also where you can go to make arrangements to get magic out of a Winter’s Climb spellbook, or turn your Underburbs skill points into one of the five crystallized skills we have if that stupid dungeon ever rears its head again.
But if you’re new, and you’re reading this, you might be thinking… where do you start? And that’s a complicated question, but we can try to give you at least a little bit of a boost.
A Sewer Lesson is an excellent starting point, because of how it synergizes with various skill-based magic. Unless you’re joining a ‘class’ of copied Lesson books, you might have to save up and wait a while though, and there’s downsides to that (see section 6, part 3-12, Sewer Lessons). But the boosts Lessons give to your capabilities are undeniably powerful compared to a lot of smaller dungeon upgrades.
If you don’t want to wait, though, scheduling a Climb delve and getting one or two spells from that is another good start. The Climb’s magic is cold and can be dangerous if you aren’t careful, but as our library of spellbooks from it grows, each spell slot becomes more valuable. Often times you can get discounts if you agree to use your acquired spell slots for testing new spellbooks, and while some spells are definitely more fun than others, none of them are wholly useless.
But maybe you just want to roll the dice and see if fate or chance guides you to something fun. That’s okay too! A cluster of random Office orbs can, and has been enough to set people on a whole new path that they’ve ended up enjoying. Using your monthly stipend to test out unknown orbs might end up with you having nothing that seems that great, but Office magic never really leaves you, and you’d be surprised how sometimes strange things can come in handy when you least expect it.
If you have a specific job in mind though, or you plan on becoming a delver yourself, then picking up some blue orbs either for their known effects, or to try to absorb them for limited-use spellcasting, is a good backup. Exercise potions are a powerful way to push your body to improve. And dabbling in multiple different kinds of spellcasting can give you flexibility, as long as you’re willing to put in the time and effort to practice.
Am I saying that there’s no wrong option? Goodness, no. There are pitfalls you can absolutely fall into if you aren’t careful.
Orange orbs, while not usually available due to how many we need, have a powerful secondary use where absorbing them with the proper mindset will give someone a repeating job which creates valuable objects on completion. But unlike absorbing blues, where unwanted or useless abilities can be cycled out over time, orange absorptions stick around for seemingly forever (at least a few years so far). And because absorbing multiple orbs becomes harder and harder the more you have, if you choose to do this with a random orb, then you might end up with your one job being actively annoying rather than useful.
Akashic Sewer Lessons seem to last indefinitely as well, and can’t be removed. Which isn’t bad on its own, but it does mean that the problem of their advancement requirements scaling up the more Lessons you have is something you have to plan around. With a single Lesson, you can reasonably expect to raise it three ranks over the course of a year of casual study. If you have multiple Lessons, that time frame multiplies quickly.
Relationsticks create marks on the body that look very much like tattoos to people who don’t know what they’re looking at. Between that, and the fact that you can absolutely fail to form a meaningful connection with someone, or worse, open the link and then have a falling out, they represent a commitment that requires forethought and trust more than anything else.
And while no Climb spell is actually useless, you can’t change them out once you’ve pulled the magic into yourself. Which can lead to unusable or pointless magic if you specialize for a job that you later decide you don’t want to do.
None of these are harmful. But they are all considerations. Your stipend is ultimately yours to do with as you choose, and you should try weird combinations or bad ideas! Getting the wrong spells isn’t going to get you kicked out of the Order, and realizing you want to pivot from biologist to middle school teacher because of a few random skill ranks is exactly the sort of chaos that the Order is intentionally designed to absorb the impact of. For more information, you can schedule a consultation to discuss options.
At the end of the day, though, the point of the points is to take the magic that we collect, and spread it out equally among all of you. Every long dungeon delve lowers prices as we bring back hundreds of orbs to fill the stockpile. Every discovery adds new dungeontech to the shelves.
Finally, the points themselves are, again, yours. Just as there would be no way to stop people from trading or sharing their purchases anyway - nor would we want to - you can also trade or share your points. But remember that these are not meant to be a currency. They’re for you, to join us in exploring the weirdness that our world has to offer.
Stipend points are granted on the first of every month at 11 AM PST.
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My : Hey, got a lead on your thing with the girls.
My : Meet at the place, say, ten minutes?
Yi : Sure.
Yi : Wait which place?
My : The main one.
Yi : Got it.
Yi : Hey, you ever worry that rogue training is ruining our ability to communicate without paranoia? Like maybe we’re going a little too far with this without any reason, leaving it feeling less like a serious task and more like a game?
My : No, because I’m pretty sure Long reads these messages.
Yi : How do you know?
My : …Paranoia.
My : Okay I’m at the place, come pick up the files.
Yi : I hate our jobs.
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Account Transfer
Status : Complete, Verified
Sender : United Materials Inc. (Act ###-####-0991)
Recipient : Order of Endless Rooms (Act ###-####-3141)
Amount : $32,100,000
Memo : See invoice #11866401 (Material Sale)
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The recent introduction of the new crown ability - Infusion Following Praxis - has opened up a lot of new things to experiment with to find the best practical application. Currently, due to it being the only effect that interacts with the magic of other leveler items (and because we have already tried it with potion sap and ritual coffee to no apparent effect) we are looking to focus on what it can do to accelerate our understand and ability to use those tools first.
As a reminder, the crown produces one charge every four hours, and each charge - when used on a leveler item at least - essentially gives the item two days worth of every cooldown. We don’t know what the ability will do as it levels up, but generally we can expect lower cooldowns and possibly more of a boost. But baseline, we can accelerate a single item by twelve days per day, which should let us quickly find higher level abilities in different items, and also test things like infusions.
The only thing left to decide is what we start with. Options are below, and as with everything we do here, voting is ranked choice.
Option 1, Gun Bracelet
Brief : We rely on the bracelets looted from Status Quo a lot for our ability to fight, especially in prolonged engagements where the logistics of ammo is a concern. The fireball gun especially is a critical weapon in our arsenal. But the cooldown time of almost a year even for the corrupted versions of the items makes it difficult to truly rely on them. Weapons lost means they turn into paperweights, and imbuements to give them a second option makes the huge time investment vulnerable. Focusing on leveling our own copied bracelets until they have other abilities would let us have a supply of a powerful combat tool.
Pros : Allows for more testing with Bind Arblest, gets us the ability to change what guns we bind instead of being stuck with options picked out of immediate need at the time.
Cons : Still will take almost a year to level up a copied bracelet, and that might not unlock any more abilities. Even just focusing on getting single charges into useable bracelets, it’s twenty days each of dedicated crown time.
Option 2, Purification Brooch
Brief : At present, the brooch is being employed by the Order mostly for water treatment in Townton, and also in the baths both there and at the Lair. Its small size and relatively flat shape have made it a potential candidate for mass duplication and distribution, especially to areas that lack clean water, but a persistent worry is that it might level up to add an ability that causes serious harm. Focusing on a single brooch would let us test out to years in advance of any potential problems.
Pros : Faster deployment of the clean water project. More information on the interaction of infused abilities on an item that tends to be kept in a relatively safe environment.
Cons : Faster deployment of yet another large scale potentially global project for the Order to manage.
Option 3, Glove
Brief : We already know the glove has at least two more abilities, and the infuse ability on it is also interesting and worth testing more of.
Pros : Highest likelihood for new abilities.
Cons : Low chance those abilities aren’t punching-related, low relevance compared to other options.
Option 4, Crown
Brief : This option has been added just to clarify something. It doesn’t work on itself. However, we are willing to attempt to find a way to make it work on itself. There are two current tenuous ideas for how, one of which is off the table entirely because it involves breaking the crown, and that risk is too high. But if it’s really what we want, we can prioritize this.
Pros : High potential return.
Cons : Almost certainly not going to work, and just waste the incredibly valuable resource of crown cooldown time. Higher likelihood of the crown breaking.
Option 5, Other
Brief : The greave, hair pin, earring, and especially shield bracer, are all leveler items that would clearly benefit from the crown’s new ability. However, due to their low impact compared to other options, and no specific sought after goal, they are listed here separately. Many of them also share the traits of being very useful on delves or in combat situations, however, what makes them valuable is the fact that they are available in quantity to our knights. While use of the crown could get a freshly copied shield bracer up to being field ready in four days, that kind of ‘manufacturing’ has a very low ceiling in terms of what it can actually add to our capabilities, and is more of a long term use of the crown once we’ve learned more about the leveler items. However, if you would really like to see one of the unlisted items be given years of free cooldown time first, voting here will trigger a second vote if this option wins.
Because of the abstract of this option, pros and cons are omitted.
-Order of Endless Rooms internal vote ballot, Crown-3-
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Travel to the Lair cannot break causality. You do not have to drive to a farther destination before driving here. The green orb effects cannot put your travel time in the negatives. If you were unaware of this, you can stop using extra gas. If you were aware of this and were using it as an excuse to pick up tacos, you can keep doing that. No one was stopping you.
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Lair Restaurant closed Wednesday from 6 AM to 6 PM for green orb additions and adaptation, and redecoration. Box meals will be available in the pickup case as usual. Kitchen will have Nate in it, so don’t try anything funny.
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The one city government employee paying attention next door has beleagueredly asked that if we intend to regularly carve out a bubble of space and replace it with a piece of Tennessee, we put invasive pest control measures into place. Anyone available between now and Monday to work on adding fencing and insect control measures, we should need about ten people to finish quickly.
-General notices to all Order members with the Lair tag-
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The state of self grows ever long
Inside, outside, wayside,
By my voice are whirled
Once more sing the old ritual song
Ascribe, aside, abide,
Now;
print (“Hello World.”)
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Joshua Piers
Accounts receivable, Accord Finance
Investments in stable futures
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John Pine
Marketing executive, Adobe Software
Designing better designs
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Jian Pa
Property management and maintenance
Midwest US branch
Landow Holdings
-Discarded business cards left on JP’s desk-
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Order of Endless Rooms, Operations Manual, Section 4 Part 2 (Infomorphs, Overview and Broad Tactical Options), Addendum Draft 2
I think this is a decent primer for what we know now, but I’d like a second pair of eyes on this, mind taking a look and checking my work? Thanks in advance!
Recent discoveries have led the Order to the understanding that memeplexes are actually a distinct category of effect. If it’s close enough to think of infomorphs as ‘spirits’, then memeplexes are, instead of just really big infomorphs, more like a geographical ‘curse’. At least one type is known to be generated by a physical device, and their indiscriminate and broad effects are likely intentional.
This needs a different metaphor. Fantasy terms feel inappropriate for some reason.
Memeplexes are also likely intentionally produced and distributed by local dungeons, though to what purpose is unclear. None of the Order’s known dungeons have been seen creating new memeplexes, but as we know that dungeons and the Life within them can act in opposition to each other, there is very little hard evidence and a lot of speculation.
The first and second sentences can be compressed because they retread information, but also, we do not have effective monitoring of at least two known dungeons, so that claim is incorrect.
The listed information for what a coverup-class memeplex can actually do remains the same. It has been updated to reflect the taxonomical difference, and also the additional information on how to physically find and combat one.
But it is important to remember that memeplexes are a problem, even for us, because of their persistent effects, and their seeming overwhelming strength. In light of new discoveries, this might be the case specifically because they are entrenched, and overlapping with each other.
The presence and threat of memeplexes hasn’t actually changed. But it is advised that everyone in the Order at least go through antimeemeetic recognition training, or be close enough with an infomorph to ask for help when needed.
James I know that it has become normal for you, but not everyone is comfortable sharing their thoughts, and this language might be considered pushy of the concept, especially to new members who are still culturally adapting. Also you misspelled antimemetic. Badly.
Known memeplex effects and their geographical regions are as follows:
Coverup - Pacific Northwest
Memory modification, erasure of persons from knowledge and record, focused around Officium Mundi activity.
Roadblock - Urban areas of Utah
Disruption of thoughts that would form travel plans to the area, especially when involving dungeon activity. Secondary effect of causing questions about the area or its people to fade from active thought quickly, and induced anger if those questions are brought up by a third party.
Nightmare Bubble - At least three small regions across North Africa
Induced fear stronger toward center of zone. Much stronger on sleeping targets. Appears to be a long term area denial memeplex. No zone has been investigated closely yet due to events, but anti-memeplex defenses do work on the effect.
’Due to events’ is a meaningless way of saying ‘because’. This one should also be left as a linked reference until confirmation is made, the operations manual is meant to be actionable and not speculative.
Unpreparation - Australia
Causes delvers to forget or ignore equipment. The effect does not interfere with preparation efforts made outside of the continent, which makes it even more geographically focused than most memeplexes. The effect is highly targeted, which may be a tradeoff for its massive range and the difficulty for even infomorphs to notice it. There is confirmation that someone in Australia planning a delve in a dungeon elsewhere is also affected, so all planning should take place on other continents until we can find a proper countermeasure.
As always, if you feel like something is wrong with your memory or perceptions, tell someone immediately. Scout teams deploying outside of our normal operating areas should be especially on guard for new forms of memeplexes.
Building a more complete picture of what parts of the world are under what influences is important to understanding the ecosystem that broader humanity and dungeons exist within. But that should not come at the cost of your own safety; if you need to, prioritize yourself and your own protection when it comes to dealing with unknown memeplexes.
Given what we now know, if you find yourself under an effect that seems impossible to avoid, consider using distance as a defensive tool. While some memeplexes can clearly affect people outside of their regions, they are much more limited and weaker while doing so, so driving in the opposite direction remains one of the best ways to protect yourself in a crisis.
This seems incorrect, but I cannot quite place why. Wouldn’t driving away from a memeplex simply put you in range of a different memeplex? Or does this make the assumption that it is impossible for every meter of the planet to be covered?
Regardless, this seems mostly complete. Perhaps consider putting the emphasis on personal protection above the list. Actually putting everything above the list would match formatting for much of the rest of the Operations Manual, but with only a few entries, I understand why it isn’t needed here. Please let me know if you wish for me to finalize the edits and publish this.
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Tomorrow. Noon. OM Building room 208. Paladin sec-brief, now that the delay is done.
-Message sent to all paladins and current security committee-
There is a discord! Come hang out with us.
There is a wiki! It's starting to be come helpful.
