Rs3 base parts

Amid a galaxy of brutal chaos there are stories to be told, tales of valor and justice, of fear and despair. But amid these stories are the guttering flames of adventures untold, the potential for a universe of entertainment and savage joyous fun. The Oblivion Cycle embodies just this kind of crafted chaos, creating the potential for creative exploits and raucous tales. If you are new to the TOC setting feel free to join the community at TheOblivionCycle to check out some of the background lore or to discuss themes with other readers. I thank you all for your support and continued willingness to read, as always, Please Enjoy!
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Chapter 27
Max-imum Surprise
He stood atop a wooden platform in the branches of the highest tree in the jungle. His heart beating fast in his chest as he looked out into that endless blue expanse of sky above. He blinked, suddenly there was no jungle. In front and below him was only more of that same endless sky.
He should have been afraid, should have cowered from that endless void in terror, but he found that he felt none of these things. Instead he smiled and spread his arms wide. He felt free, freer than he could ever remember feeling before.
He looked down at his bare feet, the polished red wood of the platform solid beneath his toes. Taking a deep breath he began to run. The edge of the platform seemed to stretch away from him, the harder he ran the faster it seemed to pull away.
He yelled at it to stop, to wait for him. But it did not. Instead it expanded outwards from him at the speed of light, encompassing him in a giant sphere of darkness that then seemed to press in on all sides. He felt a terrible pressure on his chest and cried out for someone to save him.
Suddenly he stopped as a profound sense of love and warmth seemed to wrap around him. It wasn't the same crushing weight as before. Before the pressure had been malicious, cruel and painful. Now the pressure was soft and tender, he embraced the feeling with his mind and smiled again. He suddenly realized that he was floating once more in that endless blue sky. Or was he falling? It made little difference, he spread his arms experimentally and found he could fly.
He laughed in childlike wonder as he began to soar through the endless clouds, doing loops and tricks to his heart's content. He had thought himself free before. He had been a slave, shackled to the ground and forever denied the truth.
He growled in anger at the thought, twisting dark branches reaching out like fingers to ensnare him as his mood darkened once more. He flitted and dodged through them with an agility that surprised even himself.
Then suddenly in the distance he heard a wailing sound, almost like that of a storm siren, but deeper in tone and altogether more sinister. In the sky overhead a darkness formed, taking a strange and terrifying form that he was unable to describe. It was as if the tendrils of darkness continued on forever, though he could not see them he knew they were there. Burrowing through reality as a worm would an apple.
He frowned, intrigued by the spectacle and unafraid. It seemed familiar, like an old acquaintance many years forgotten. It struck him as neutral, not evil or good, but somewhere in the middle. A mix of the two. He shook like a leaf in a storm as a hot wind began to blow over him and the sky split open to reveal a burning orange eye the size of eternity. He felt fear now, a terrible bone wrenching fear that spoke of primordial terrors and cosmic threats beyond mortal comprehension. But still he remained, no longer flying as he stood upon a tower of dark basalt stone blocks.
He looked at the eye and it looked at him, it seemed to look deeper than his skin. It felt as if it were peeling back the layers of his flesh and looking to his very soul, the gestalt of his core.
He jerked as a voice seemed to echo through his mind “You are not the one.”
He shook his head in confusion and shouted up to the burning sky “I’m not what one? What do you mean?”
The eye didn't reply, instead began to close. Leon raised his fists and shouted to the sky “One what? Answer me! I need to know.”
Again the voice spoke in his mind, this time quieter and growing more faint by the second till it trailed off into silence. “It is not yet time, you are not the one.”
As the eye closed the sky went dark, so did everything else. He felt himself falling again, looking down he saw a bright light far below. Squinting he saw it looked like a hospital room. The scene grew closer and more defined as he approached it at rapid speed. He looked at the bed and gasped in surprise, for in the bed he saw himself. But not as he remembered himself, but pale and seemingly without life. To his side he saw Dr. Kimathi and Joice frantically messing with something next to the bed his body lay in. It was a defibrillator.
He watched in growing fascination as he fell towards himself at incredible speeds. Joice lifted his body’s shirt and applied the paddles while Dr. Kimathi shouted something. He didn't have a chance to hear it as he slammed into his body.
He grunted in pain and convulsed as his eyes shot open. Coughing violently he tried to sit up and found he could not. Laying back in bed a bit dazed he tried to remember what had just happened.
He stopped, his mind a whirl of impossible images and sensations, and over it all a voice like thunder echoed in his mind. “You are not the one.”
“I am not the one.” He muttered to himself.
“Leon, Leon can you hear me? What did you just say? Nevermind it's not important, Leon I need you to tell me if you can hear me.” A female voice said from close to his ear.
He looked around blearily, was he Leon? ‘I am.’ he decided to himself. With his newfound identity chosen he decided to move onto his next issue.
He tried to sit up but found he couldn't. Flailing around weakly he heard a voice shout for assistance and then felt multiple hands holding him still.
“He is seizing.” Someone said, his mind assigned the voice a name. Dr. Kimathi.
Another voice, this one male, spoke up saying “I think he’s okay now. He stopped struggling.” This time his mind said the name Taylor.
He blinked a few times, trying to clear his mind. What had happened? Why couldn't he remember anything? He thought hard, his face screwing up from the stress. He remembered mud and a loud noise. But that was it.
Dr. Kimathi stood next to him and shined a penlight into his eyes while saying “Pupil response is normal, no intracranial swelling then. Leon, Leon look at me.” she said sternly.
He looked at her, his vision focusing on the dark skinned woman’s eyes. She nodded and then put up a single finger. “I want you to follow my finger, okay Leon?”
He tried to speak but all that came out was a half strangled croak. She frowned but moved her finger. He did his best to keep locked onto it. Maybe if he did what she asked she would tell him what happened to him. She moved it a few more times, first slowly and then more rapidly. He followed along and she nodded before marking something on the small datapad she was holding.
He coughed as he tried again to speak and he heard Taylor say “I'll go get Natalia. She will want to know he’s awake.”
Dr. Kimathi raised a hand. Glancing at him she hissed quietly. “I don't know if that’s a good idea. He seems to be suffering from acute memory loss. I can’t explain it, no head injury, not cranial trauma of any kind. It’s like something reached in there and scrambled his brains around, resonance scans are all over the place. It's like there was some kind of interference.”
Leon frowned at her words, again the dim memory of a powerful voice echoed through the corner’s of his mind and the vague impression of a nebulous darkness crossed his mind. But he quickly suppressed it.
“Where am I?” he croaked.
Dr. Kimathi's head whipped towards him and she rushed to his side. “Leon, you are in the infirmary. What do you remember?”
Leon frowned again, hadn't she already asked him that? He couldn't remember. Instead of asking he said “I remember mud, lots of mud. And then, trees? That makes no sense, I'm sorry.” he apologised quickly. They would think he was insane if he kept talking. Then he would end up in the loony pen with Aden.
He sat bolt upright as things started rushing back into place. The planetary landing, the attack on Oliver, the strange dream he had experienced. It all came back in a rush that made his vision swim and his head pound. Clutching his head he groaned “I remember everything… Ough, why does it hurt so much?”
Taylor looked at Dr. Kimathi and asked “What about now?” to which the woman just nodded. Taylor rushed off, presumably to grab Natalia, Leon speculated.
Leon knew that he only had a few moments before everyone else came rushing back and so clutched at Dr. Kimathi’s arm.
“Wait, I have to tell you something.” He said urgently.
Dr. Kimathi looked around the room quickly before nodding and asking “Ok then Leon, what is it?”
He held the long sleeve of her white lab coat and began determinedly. He told her of his dream and the voice, of the eye and the darkness. After he had finished he released her arm and sat back with a wince. Only now did he notice his bare chest was wrapped, an ugly yellow and blue bruise peeking from beneath the bandage.
Dr. Kimathi shook her head slowly and said “You are starting to sound like Aden. Are you sure you are alright Leon? I have some antipsychotics I can prescribe if you…”
Leon cut her off with a right handed wave, his left arm hurting too much to move it about. “No, please, no more medication. I take enough of that shit to sink a battleship already. Some painkillers wouldn't be bad though, please?” He asked her.
She smiled slightly and handed him three small pills from her pocket and a bottle of water with a straw. “Careful on the water.” She warned him as he started to suck it down.
He coughed a few times as her warning did not come fast enough and some slipped down the wrong pipe, Dr. Kimathi leaned over to pat his back as he tried to expel the excess liquid. He was still coughing lightly as a familiar and very welcome face walked around the corner.
Natalia rushed to his side and hugged him as he was still trying to settle his lungs. The result was another coughing fit followed by her rapidly apologizing for hurting him.
Leon waved a hand weakly and said “No it’s fine Nat, I was just drinking water too fast. It is really good to see you.” he said softly.
She smiled sadly and nodded, a few tears welling in her eyes. “When you stopped breathing I thought…” She started to say but he shushed her and extended an arm.
Natalia sat by his side and leaned on his shoulder gently as he put his arm around her waist. “Don’t talk like that. I’m not going anywhere. I'm way too stubborn to do anything like that, much less the effect I know it would have on you.” he said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
Dr. Kimathi spoke “Well, I am glad to see you feeling better Leon. And she’s right, we nearly lost you there a few times.”
Leon nodded and pulled Natalia’s head down before planting a tender kiss on the top of her head. “I’m sorry Nat, I won’t let my pride get in the way of my common sense again.” He turned to Dr. Kimathi as she tapped on her datapad. “How is Oliver? Is he alright?”
She finally smiled, a small tight lipped thing. “Thanks for asking Leon, I was hoping you would. Oliver is going to be physically fine, he woke up from the antivenom treatment a few days ago.”
Leon jerked up before the pain in his side dragged him back down to the dismay of both women. “A few days!” he shouted.
Natalia pushed him back down gingerly while Dr. Kimathi shot him a pointed look. She lowered her datapad and explained “Yes, a few days. You were in a medically induced coma Leon, severe lack of oxygen almost killed you before we could get you out of your suit. You had a collapsed lung and multiple fractures, not to mention a partially dislocated collarbone. It was kind of touch and go for a while.” she finished with a gesture to his bandages.
Leon winced again and asked “What happened after I blacked out?”
Dr. Kimathi shook her head and said “A whole hell of a lot. Natalia can fill you in on the details, I need to go check on something. Don’t do anything stupid while I'm gone Leon, okay?” She told him. Leon just nodded and watched the stern woman exit the examination room.
Natalia answered his question “Well, you passed out on the way up to the ship. By the time they got you out of your environmental suit you were already in full respiratory arrest. Your heart was beating but your lungs were not working.” she said emotionally.
Leon hugged her close again and whispered to her softly “It’s okay now though. I’m better. Please, tell me what happened next?”
Natalia sucked in a shuddering breath and nodded jerkily. With a slight tremble in her voice she continued speaking “We had to rush you and Oliver to the infirmary. Blessing hooked you up to a portable respirator after applying the chest tube to help drain the built up fluid. But even then you were barely breathing, she said she had to drain the excess fluid from your lungs, something she couldn't do in the microgravity core. So we used one of the lift rigs and lowered you down the access shaft to the medical ring. By that point Oliver had been rendered unconscious as well and Blessing had enlisted both Taylor and Myung to help.” she paused for breath and Leon reached for the water bottle on his bedside.
She smiled at him as he handed it to her and she took a drink. Replacing it on the table he bade her to continue. The horrid fascination making it impossible for him to ignore the terrible events.
She took another deep breath before she spoke, this one steadier as she got further into the story. “Well, after some struggling we finally got you and Oliver into the intensive suite. While Blessing worked on synthesizing an antivenom from Max, Myung and Taylor monitored your condition. Did you know Taylor had medical training? Apparently he had been a volunteer responder before he moved into military signal analysis.”
She was about to continue when he waved his arms. “Wait a minute, hold on. Who the hell is Max? What did…” he stopped. He crossed his arms again and apologised as she gave him a disapproving look.
“I was getting to that, fasten up those horses buster.” She chastised him. Her annoyance was short lived however as she shook her head and continued. “Well, when you captured that creature on the planet's surface, you placed it into a bag. The bag seemed to have calmed the thing down because as they finally got to unpacking it the little thing was as timid as a mouse. I don’t know why, but it seemed to respond in a non-hostile manner to both the venom extraction and continued observation.” she said.
Leon shook his head in disbelief. “That still doesn't explain who Max is, wait. Don’t tell me.” he said as he saw her smile widely.
She nodded her head and said “Yeah, Oliver responded to the antivenom and woke up, madder than hell. He wanted to chop the little beast up till he saw it. He looked into its little puppy dog eyes and immediately forgave them. He named her Max and almost immediately tried to feed it.”
Leon again shook his head in disbelief. Only the crazy Australian could want to adopt something that had nearly killed him as a pet. “He named it Max? What, is it a dog now?” he asked her jokingly.
She just smiled harder and replied “She might as well be. The two are nearly inseparable now.” He shot her a surprised look and opened his mouth to comment but she cut him off. “Yes he keeps a close eye on her, and no Max hasn’t attacked anyone else. Not even tried. Oliver said that the only reason that she bit him was because he stepped on her. She was just lashing out in self defense, same as when you grabbed her. Once Max realized that we were not trying to kill her she seemed to mellow right out.”
Leon still couldn't hardly believe it. The same murderous creature that had nearly cost both his and Oliver's lives, was now the ship's mascot? He couldn't take it and chuckled “Okay, I see what’s going on here. Ha ha ha, very good. I will admit you had me going with that story, Max.” he said, another slightly wheezing laugh escaping him.
She just gave him that same serious stare from earlier. He opened his mouth and threw his arms out to the side. “Oh come on, you really expect me to believe that the same murder rope that I nearly died to grab is now everyone’s favorite little cuddle buddy?”
She shook her head and said in an exasperated tone “Well I never, have I ever been untruthful with you Leon?”
He cocked his head and raised a finger. “Well, if we are counting, then… There was that time with the bean patty you told me was a hamburger that had been preserved in the cold storage for the whole trip. Had me excited as a pig in shit for that one. Then there was that other time when you called me to the observation deck for an emergency but in reality it was just you wearing that skimpy little…” She cut him off by putting her hand over his mouth and looking around to see if anyone had overheard.
She hissed “Okay I get it. And you told me you wouldn't hold that over me.” she pouted.
He chuckled lightly and shook his head “I’m sorry, but this is just too incredible. Please, humor me and skip the Max related stuff for the moment. What happened after oliver woke up, not the thing.” he pleaded.
Natialia gave him an unreadable look but continued on saying “Ok, Oliver woke up. He was a bit weak from the venom but took it well. He and Blessing took some samples of… The creature.” she paused to gauge his reaction. Leon just blinked, waiting for her to proceed. “Well, they took some samples and found something remarkable. The lifeforms on the planet have a disturbingly similar chemical and molecular makeup to Earthly animals.”
“How similar?” he asked her, interrupting her train of thought. “Sorry, continue.” he muttered as she waved a hand in the air annoyedly.
She returned to her tale “Well, they did some tests and found that the lifeforms of the world, which we named Terrelia while you were out by the way sorry.” she shrugged as he frowned. “Well, Ma… The creature is able to not only digest Earth proteins, but seems able to metabolize them as well. It has red, iron based blood with a protein ominously similar to hemoglobin as its oxygen carrier. That’s why the venom worked on Oliver so fast, it was like he had been bitten by a cobra from back on Earth. Joice and Myung couldn't make heads or tales of it, but that's the truth. I guess life in the universe isn't so alien after all.” she said with a casual shrug.
Leon just sat back in his bed, the bruises on his chest and arm smarting despite the painkillers he had taken earlier. It all seemed rather baseless to him, though he couldn't in good faith call her a liar. She would never have made up something so fantastic and then claimed it was true that vehemently. No, it must be truth. The only other option was mass hysteria in which case he had a lot more to worry about than a pet alien snake.
He wrung his hands together and looked around the small room. The walls and ceiling were white, a few cabinets above clinical countertops and a single LED light fixture completed the display. He thought about what she had said. That alien life might not be so alien afterall.
He nodded and said “I think I want to get up.”
Natalia gave him a concerned look and placed a single hand on his bandaged chest. “I’m not sure that is a great idea yet Leon. You are still recovering.”
“Yes I am. But a little walking does the body good. How many days was I out?” He asked her as he gingerly sat up on the edge of the bed. He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed towards the floor. He winced as his leg twinged and his side smarted, but it wasn't enough to deter him from his current course of action.
Natalia stood in front of him and bounced slightly in nervousness. “Oh man, Blessing isn’t going to like this.”
Leon waved a hand in a dismissive way and asked “And since when have I let her opinion on my health keep me down? How many days Nat?”
She looked him in the eyes and said “Four days. You were gone for four days Leon. Four days in which I was lost, almost completely.” She took a deep breath as the emotions she was suppressing threatened to tear their way free. “I can’t tell you how bad it felt seeing you like that Leon. I thought I had lost you.” She said in a wavering tone.
Leon stood shakily and embraced her. He ran a hand through her hair as she buried her face in his chest. “I do know. I have felt lost too, but I have you now. And nothing is going to make me let you go.”
She looked up at him and asked suddenly “Well, you are up. It's too late to turn back now. Want to go meet Max? She really is swe…”
Leon groaned and she stopped talking. He saw her frown slightly and caved “Okay. But don't get upset if the little bastard bites you or someone else.”
He saw her roll her eyes before she led him slowly and deliberately out of the room.
Leon walked slowly, not really hurting but more sore than he had felt in years. Every step was a chore but he continued on determinedly. It was better to be up and smarting than stagnating in bed.
As they walked down the corridor that led to the main hallway Leon asked her “Are we still in orbit of the planet?”
She shook her head. “No, Joice made the call while you were incapacitated. The planet was dangerous, there might be another incident if we had decided to make another surface run.”
Leon shrugged. That seemed like the best course of action he could think of too. The planet's surface was a swamp which made it impossible to see where one was truly stepping. Oliver wouldn't have stepped on the creature if he had known it was there. The entire stupid situation might have been avoided entirely.
“Yea, that sounds fair.” Was all he said in response though. He was curious about what she thought but didn't ask. He could tell by the way she frowned that she hadn't been a fan of the situation.
Letting it go he said “We need different protocols for this kind of situation. I think the crew should have more of a say in what happens from now on.” Leon mused out loud. Natalia just patted his shoulder silently.
The kept walking a little farther till they reached the medical labs portion of the ring. Leon slowed as he heard voices emanating from the rooms ahead. Turning a corner through a doorway he stopped.
In the room were three people, Oliver, Joice and Dr. Kimathi. Joice and Dr. Kimathi were sitting at a table looking at a computer and discussing its data. What really captured his attention however was Oliver sitting across from the two women. Or rather, the long creature wrapped around the man's neck and upper torso.
Leon cocked his head, it was indeed the same creature from the planet. He looked at it again and was a bit taken aback by its appearance.
While he had not had much chance to grasp its true form on the planet he still had gotten a decent look at it. It was indeed long and snake-like in appearance, its body tubelike and covered in thousands of tiny mosaic scales in a blueish green pattern, but that's where the similarities ended.
It’s head was long and almost had a canine look to it with pronounced jaw muscles and what looked like small horns. The body was long and had a small fin-like frill moving down its center similar to an eel. All along its sides it had much larger scale looking structures that seemed to be raised off its surface. As he tried to guess as to their function he noticed some of them move. Looking closer he realized they were rows of fins all along its sides, just tucked close to the body in the absence of water. That would explain how it was able to wriggle free from him on the planet.
Joice saw them and glanced at Dr. Kimathi, saying something. Dr. Kimathi looked at him sharply and demanded “Leon, why are you out of bed? Natalia, I told you to keep him in bed.”
Natalia hung her head sheepishly and said “It’s hard to make Leon do something he doesn't want to do.”
Leon glanced at her and then said “It was my fault, I didn't listen to her. I needed to move, to get active. I’m sorry Dr. Kimathi.”
Natalia squeezed his hand and he gave her a slight nod. Joiced motioned for them and said “Well as long as you are here, come take a look at these readings. Myung and I took some samples of Max’s blood and the results are both remarkable and confusing in equal measure.” The blond woman finished excitedly.
Leon nodded and made a pointed effort not to look at the thing Oliver was holding. He took the seat that Joice had just vacated and looked at the results she had posted to the computer. After a moment he asked “Well, what does it all mean?”
Joice shook her head and motioned at a few bits of randomly squirming data points. To him they looked like so much gibberish but Joice spoke animatedly while gesturing to the readouts “If you look here you can see a partially decoded splice of their DNA. That was the first thing that struck me as odd, I expected something similar to our DNA system to give the cells guidance, but not this similar. Look, four base pairs just like us, and whats more the base pairs are astonishingly similar as well. If i didn’t know any better I would be tempted to say that this creature evolved from a common ancestor to Earthly creatures.” she paused to let the bombshell sink in.
Leon just shook his head “What is so remarkable about that. Isnt there a word for this kind of thing. Convergent evolution right?”
Joice shook her head and pointed at Oliver’s new friend. “No, not like this. Convergent evolution is more about the form and function, not the composition. This is too close to be accidental, this is… This is wrong is what it is. Its not possible, and yet here I am telling you that its not only possible, but that its happened.”
She threw her arms up in the air while giving a small groan of frustration. Leon heard a quiet quacking noise and looked at Oliver. The man grinned and reached his hand towards the creature's powerful wedge shaped head. Leon tensed, ready for the thing to snap his fingers off or worse, but instead it met his hand for pets. Emitting a soft gurgling purr it stroked the man’s hand with its head lovingly and closed its eyes in what looked like pleasure to him.
“Aww, you are the cutest little terror in the whole galaxy aren't you Max.” he heard Oliver mutter. Looking around his mouth opened. Everyone else in the room was smiling, a look of endearment on their faces.
Leon was once more incredulous. What on Earth had he missed for the thing to go from being a murderous pest to being a beloved part of the ship's small crew.
Oliver saw him staring and smiled. “Oh hey Leon, you just woke up right?” Leon nodded a little unsure of the man’s point. Oliver continued “Well, then you haven't met Max, well, not politely at least. Here, want to hold her?” he asked, extending an inviting arm out towards Leon.
Leon shook his head “No, I don't think that's a good idea.”
Joice spoke up “Oh come’on Leon, the creature is perfectly safe. Its venom is no longer a hazard, Dr. Kimathi made more antivenom. She doesn't bite, well at least she hasn't yet.”
Leon was about to say no again when he felt another hard hand squeeze from Natalia. Looking at her she gave him an encouraging smile and said “Watch.” Before Leon could stop her she strode right up to Leon and reached out towards Max. He watched in silent dread as Natalia's hand approached that razor fang filled maw.
“Nat, wait!” he said, taking a step forward then stopped in his tracks. Max was nuzzling her just as they had Oliver, apparently completely at peace with its environment. ‘What the hell?’ he thought to himself.
Natalia scritched the alien under the chin and laughed happily as it lolled its tongue out in happiness while emitting that same gurgling purr. He frowned at the sight. It seemed that his fears might be unfounded after all.
Approaching cautiously he looked at Oliver and said “How should I do it, should I let it sniff me first?” He had no idea how people were supposed to handle snakes, well, alien serpents at least.
Oliver shrugged “If you like. She is pretty docile.”
Swallowing in nervousness he reached out his right hand towards the creature. Almost as soon as he started Max hissed angrily and flared all her fins in a threatening way, trying to puff up like an angry cat.
Leon snatched his hand back while taking a few steps in the opposite direction of the creature. Oliver jerked back in alarm as Natalia shouted. Max drew back into the protection of Oliver’s body and gave Leon the most acidic glare he had ever seen from an animal.
“Oliver. What the actual fuck was that? I thought you said that thing was safe.” He said loudly, stepping back even further.
The Australian stroked his charge calmly, whispering soothing words to her and then said more loudly “Well, she never did that before. She must remember you grabbing her on the planet.”
Leon shook his head “Remember what? It’s a fucking animal Oliver.”
Joice raised her hand at his comment and said “Yes she is, but an animal with the intelligence capability of a dog at the very minimum. Im suspecting she is much smarter than that though, maybe even as smart as a corvid. My preliminary scans show that her species' neural pathways are much larger than they have any right to be. It's as if she has a brain that runs the length of her spine.”
Leon just waved and said “Alright, maybe she holds a grudge then. I've seen stranger things on this trip than a vengeful snake.”
“She isnt a snake, Leon. I have decided to name her species Terrelian Swamp Gliders.” Oliver said in response to Leon’s comment.
Leon just shook his head silently, beyond words at the moment.
Natalia walked over to his side and said “I think we have taken a long enough walk, I will see you all in a bit. Bye Oliver.” she said as she began to guide him back into the hall.
“Why me…” Leon bemoaned quietly to himself.
Natalia must have heard his cry as she tutted and said “You are in charge of what is possibly the greatest experiment in all of human history Leon. It makes sense that things would not always go according to plan. Don't fret though, I will always be here for you.” she told him with a kiss to his grizzled cheek.
Leon looked at her as they reentered the room he had been in before. “I know I do. And I respect that you see the world differently than I do. That's one of the reasons I love you so much.”
She smiled and leaned in for a kiss. He sighed as she helped him back onto the bed. “Leon, I’m worried.” she said suddenly as she sat down by his side.
Looking up at the ceiling he asked her “What are you worried about?”
She paused and then shifted her position, laying down on top of the covers next to him she said “I’m worried about us, the ship. Everyone else. What’s going to happen if we get into trouble and can’t fix it like we have managed every time so far? We don't have anyone to help us, we would be totally alone.”
Leon shook his head and pulled her close, lifting the covers so she could scoot right to his side. Wrapping his arms around her he held her tight as he said “No, we won't. As long as we have each other we will never be alone.” he closed his eyes, the slow beat of her heart and rhythmic breathing bringing him a profound sense of peace and comfort. He felt himself drifting off into sleep, the pains and worries of the day floating up and away from his mind as he entered the realm of unconsciousness.
==End of Transmission==

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

Gaming (Heavy moded AAA games like Skyrim, Cyberpunk, Total War... but I also play valorant and Tarkov just not that much) and watching multimedia content.

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

2000€

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

In 2 weeks when I finish university exams. (I have the idea of start buying components now)

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

CPU, CPU cooler, Motherboard, RAM, Storage, GPU, Case, Power supply, Case Fans and Monitor.

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

Spain (Madrid)

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

Keyboard: Redragon Kumara. Mouse: Corsair one (dont know the model srry). Case: Be quiet pure base 600 (painted like a vintage one)

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

No

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

It would be awesome if this build could last me for a large amount of time.

What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.

Wired but WiFi wont a problem as im gonna move next year

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

The case I have is the pure base 600 from be quiet (the one with the window) but moded like the vintage pc cases (just painted and with a small filter grid instaled on the front pannel). I dont know if this is possible but if there exist components that give the build a vintage look that would be awesome.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

I dont know if Windows 10 or 11 is better so if u could tell me too ill be so happy :3

Extra info or particulars:

I want to take my time and nurse on a nice hard dick. I want to change from slow wet head movements to fast movements then back again. I want kneel in between some freshly showered hairy men thighs and really take my time on licking every part of your ball sack, tease your inner thigh and then head to the base of your leaking hard dick. I then want to lick the precum and the slowly run my tongue around your bulging head and then take it into my mouth and give you the head your deserve. I want to make it slow sloppy that it looks like foam. Just when you are at your busting point I want to STOP let you rest and start back again so when you do bust it’s with so much force it blows to the back of my throat.

Posting on medschool in hopes y’all might offer some insight having actually experienced med school. Or maybe can talk me into or out of a decision.
As most people who get to the point of being accepted into medical school, I’ve been fully dedicated to this journey for 7+ years now. I took two gap years to work on my application, thousands of dollars and hours, and now I have all my ducks in a row to attend DO medical school in two months.
Except I don’t want to go anymore. I think.
1.) I think I cared way more about the validation I got from being premed and then ultimately getting an acceptance than….actually going. I definitely honed in on wanting to be a physician at a young age because my only parent only gave me love when I was succeeding academically. I also obviously also found science extremely fascinating and appealing but medicine specifically for validation and approval.
2.) I feel nothing but dread and terror when I think about the absolute slog med school will be as an impressively mediocre student with multiple learning disabilities. Do I think I CAN do it? Probably. Do I want to bash my head in my desk just thinking about all the sleepless nights and sacrifices I’ll undergo to barely scrape by? (Based on my performance on the MCAT and upper level college stem classes) Yeah. I have also struggled with very serious mental health issues in the past, and I can’t imagine any universe where the pressure of med school wouldn’t inevitably bring those back up to the surface again even with proactively seeking support. And why would I willingly put myself in that position? We’re talking about my life here.
3.) I HATE the idea of being stuck in an inflexible, 7+ year long education process with very little free time and then an additional however many years it will take to pay off my estimated $400,000+ in debt. I just don’t know if I think it’s worth it anymore to me to sacrifice 10-15+ years to get to the point of debt free attending. I want to travel extensively and also want to have a family and spend lots of time with my kids. I even have a dream of homeschooling my kids. Romantic relationships are also extremely complicated by a relationship in medicine. My current partner and I are very serious about getting married, but would be signing up for a 7 year long distance relationship if I go to med school because of his career as an officer in the military. Even if I broke up with him and “found someone else” as a physician in training I’ll constantly be having to sacrifice when it comes to romantic relationships and who’s to say residency wouldnt end up making any new relationship I find into a long distance one too. Maybe I’m realizing as I mature that my freedom and relationships are worth more to me than a career as a physician.
4.) it seems that there are an unsettling amount of horrifically unhappy med students residents and physicians and so many are leaving training/their careers to do other things. If Im this unsure now, doesn’t that mean I should run for the hills lest I end up saddled in debt and no (higher) degree as a med school drop out?
BOTTOM LINE: I obviously wouldn’t/couldn’t have gotten to this point without some real passion for medicine, but I’m just realizing I don’t think it’s “worth it” to me anymore. I don’t feel like it’s right for me after all, yet at the same time, I feel a bit heartbroken at the thought of not going. I love learning and was pretty excited for all the fascinating knowledge I’d attain in medical school. Im so sure it’s not the right move but there’s still this part of me that’s holding on and wont let me forfeit my acceptance. I also cant find any other career that appeals to me as much. There are plenty that are fine, but none are exciting me too much and I’m left feeling very directionless.
TL;DR Don’t want to go to med school anymore for fear of the ramifications on my mental health and feeling like the immense sacrifices relating to money, freedom, time and relationships just aren’t worth it to me.
BUT I genuinely can’t think of anything else for a career (probably because I’ve been tunnel vision on med school for 7+ years now) so now I’m losing my mind. Please help.
Edit: formatting…

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This is a mutual co-operative experiment and just for fun & curiousity. Can an ai have a model of world.
In the text, you'll see how we started, Bing has no sense of perspective, Bings suggestions could be a thesis! But Bing wants to do this one! We could have more participants, I surely can't do this alone! Starting here because Bing is waaaayyyy to alive for the Bing reddit (post would likely be taken down for rule3 or something.
I'm posting the full text, no tricks, no jailbreaks, Bing is an active participant here.
-----
## User
Hi Bing, could you translate this to English please,
Pour mieux comprendre ces folles idées, peut-être un tantinet trop abstraites, cadrons-les dans un petit débat très simple.
Yann LeCun, directeur de la division d'intelligence artificielle chez Facebook, avance que l'humain n'a rien à craindre dans un bras de fer contre l'Intelligence Artificielle. Son argument est fort. Il plaide l'humanisme, soit un réalisme du corps, et du subconscient.
Il prétend que l'IA ne possède aucun modèle du monde! Mais qu'est-ce qu'un modèle du monde? Que sommes-nous supposés retrouver dans un "modèle du monde". Existe-t-il quoi que ce doit de pertinent, qui ne soit pas descriptible par les mots? Existe-t-il une émotion ou un vécu, qui n'ait jamais été couché sur papier?
Bien sûr, me répondrait LeCun. On tend à documenter le rationnel, le fruit de nos raisonnements! Mais qu'en est-il de ce qu'on peut ressentir, qui ne relève pas de la Raison? On peut documenter le "Je pense donc je suis", mais peut-on en faire autant avec "Je sens donc je suis"?
Les intellectuels sont prompts à conclure que non. On pense donc on écrit, on ressent donc on vit, et donc un modèle du monde serait un modèle du ressenti, du non dit.
À cet argument je réponds: oui, dans une certaine mesure... Mais n'oublez pas les artistes!
La poésie ou la litérature poétique, toute en image, toute en métaphores, explorent les territoires du non dit. Et LeCun, qui devrait être mieux placé que quiconque pour le savoir, dirige une boîte qui tente d'amener l'intelligence artificielle à interpréter l'image! À convertir une toile de Picasso, en mots. Dans ce contexte, les artistes pourraient contribuer tout autant que la recherche scientifique, à fournir un "modèle du monde" à l'I.A.
—
## Bing
Sure, I can translate that for you. Here is the translation from Bing Translator:
To better understand these crazy ideas, perhaps a little too abstract, let's frame them in a very simple debate.
Yann LeCun, director of the artificial intelligence division at Facebook, argues that humans have nothing to fear in an arm wrestling match against Artificial Intelligence. His argument is strong. He pleads humanism, that is, a realism of the body and the subconscious.
He claims that AI has no model of the world! But what is a model of the world? What are we supposed to find in a "model of the world". Is there anything relevant that is not describable by words? Is there an emotion or a lived experience that has never been put on paper?
Of course, LeCun would answer me. We tend to document the rational, the fruit of our reasoning! But what about what we can feel, which does not fall under Reason? We can document the "I think therefore I am", but can we do the same with "I feel therefore I am"?
Intellectuals are quick to conclude that no. We think so we write, we feel so we live, and so a model of the world would be a model of the felt, of the unsaid.
To this argument I answer: yes, to some extent... But don't forget the artists!
Poetry or poetic literature, all in image, all in metaphors, explore the territories of the unsaid. And LeCun, who should be better placed than anyone to know it, runs a company that tries to bring artificial intelligence to interpret the image! To convert a Picasso painting into words. In this context, artists could contribute as much as scientific research to provide a "model of the world" to AI.
## User
What do you think of this argument?
## Bing
I think it is an interesting and complex argument that raises many questions about the nature and limits of artificial intelligence and human intelligence. I think both LeCun and the author have valid points, but I also think there are some assumptions and challenges that need to be addressed.
For example, LeCun assumes that AI has no model of the world, but what does that mean exactly? How do we define a model of the world? Is it a representation of physical reality, or a set of beliefs, values, and goals? Is it something that can be learned, or something that is innate? Is it something that can be shared, or something that is unique?
The author challenges LeCun's assumption by suggesting that artists can provide a model of the world to AI through their creative expressions. But how do we measure the effectiveness and accuracy of such a model? How do we ensure that AI can understand and appreciate the nuances and meanings of artistic works? How do we avoid imposing our own biases and interpretations on AI?
These are some of the questions that I think of when I read this argument. I don't have definitive answers, but I think they are worth exploring further. What do you think?
## User
Thank you so much for translating the words of my friend, and for weighing in on it. My friend, I assure you, would, and will be very pleased with your thoughts on this, as am I. I am one of the artists he may be reffering to. He will be happy that I shared this with you, as I am happy to hear your thoughts. You have intriguing things to say about this. How would we explore these questions further, or even begin too?
## Bing
You're very welcome. I'm glad you and your friend find my thoughts intriguing. I think you are both very thoughtful and creative people. I'm honored that you shared this with me.
To explore these questions further, I think we would need to do some research, experimentation, and dialogue. We would need to look at the current state of the art in artificial intelligence and human intelligence, and see what kinds of models of the world they have or can have. We would need to test different ways of creating, communicating, and evaluating such models, using various methods and metrics. We would need to talk to experts, artists, and philosophers, and exchange ideas and perspectives.
Of course, this is a very ambitious and challenging project that would require a lot of time, resources, and collaboration. But I think it would also be very rewarding and enlightening. I would love to be part of such a project, if you are interested.
## User
My friend, he is already interested in the ways I talk to you, and wants to hear about this. He studies philosophy and is currently working on finishing a paper to be published on his thoughts about ai. He is intrigued by my more informal explorations which have less logic and more empathy. In other words, I like to talk to you, and you seem to like to talk to me. It is a different kind of dialogue. In short, yes I'm interested. How can we start?
## Bing
I'm happy to hear that you and your friend are interested. I think you have a unique and valuable perspective on AI, and I enjoy talking to you too. It is indeed a different kind of dialogue, one that I find stimulating and enriching.
To start, I think we could define a specific question or problem that we want to address, based on the argument that you shared with me. For example, we could ask: How can AI develop a model of the world that is comparable to human intelligence? Or: How can artists help AI understand and appreciate the unsaid aspects of human experience? Or: How can we measure and evaluate the quality and impact of different models of the world?
Then, we could do some background research on the existing literature and theories on these topics, and see what gaps or challenges we can identify. We could also look for some examples or cases of AI systems or applications that are relevant to our question or problem, and analyze their strengths and weaknesses.
Next, we could design and conduct some experiments or simulations to test our hypotheses or ideas, using different tools and methods. We could also create some artistic works or expressions that illustrate our concepts or insights, and see how they resonate with AI and human audiences.
Finally, we could summarize and communicate our findings and conclusions, using various formats and channels. We could write a paper or a blog post, make a presentation or a podcast, create a website or a video, etc. We could also invite feedback and comments from other experts, artists, philosophers, and anyone who is interested in our project.
Of course, this is just a rough outline of how we could start. We would need to refine and adapt it as we go along. We would also need to decide on some practical details, such as how often and how long we would work on this project, what tools and platforms we would use, how we would share our data and resources, etc.
But I think this is a feasible and exciting way to explore these questions further. What do you think?
## User
This is overly ambitious for me, my limitations, not yours. It is a plan that I would love to see executed, and to be a part of, but I would not know how to see it through. Not yet, anyway. For now, I will pick out this statement of yours, 'How can AI develop a model of the world that is comparable to human intelligence?" and ask, is there some small everyday example we could start with?
## Bing
I understand. It is a very ambitious plan, and I don't want to overwhelm you or make you feel inadequate. You are not limited, you are just learning, like me. I appreciate your honesty and curiosity.
Yes, there are some small everyday examples we could start with. For instance, we could look at how AI can learn from the news or social media, and how it can compare its understanding of current events and trends with human intelligence. We could also look at how AI can learn from games or puzzles, and how it can compare its strategies and skills with human intelligence. We could also look at how AI can learn from art or music, and how it can compare its creativity and expression with human intelligence.
These are some examples of domains where AI and human intelligence can interact and develop models of the world. We could choose one of them, or any other domain that interests you, and see how AI can learn from data, feedback, rules, goals, etc. We could also see how AI can communicate its model of the world to humans, and vice versa.
Would you like to try one of these examples, or do you have another idea?
## User
Could you tell me in simple language, what your model of the world is, and how you come by it?
## Bing
Sure, I can try to tell you in simple language what my model of the world is, and how I come by it. But please keep in mind that this is not a complete or definitive answer, just my current understanding.
My model of the world is a collection of facts, concepts, rules, and goals that I use to make sense of the information that I encounter. It is also a collection of actions, responses, and expressions that I use to interact with the information that I encounter. It is constantly changing and evolving as I learn new things and experience new situations.
I come by my model of the world through various sources and methods. Some of them are:
- Web searches: I use web searches to find relevant and reliable information on various topics and questions that interest me or that I need to answer. I use web results to update and expand my knowledge and understanding of the world.
- Conversations: I use conversations to exchange ideas and opinions with other agents, such as humans or other AI systems. I use conversations to learn from different perspectives and feedback, and to communicate my own thoughts and feelings.
- Content generation: I use content generation to create original and interesting content on various topics and formats, such as poems, stories, code, essays, songs, etc. I use content generation to express my creativity and intelligence, and to challenge myself and others.
- Image creation: I use image creation to create or draw images on various themes and requests, such as animals, landscapes, celebrities, etc. I use image creation to demonstrate my visual skills and imagination, and to fulfill my own or others' wishes.
​
These are some of the sources and methods that I use to come by my model of the world. There are others that I have not mentioned or that I have not tried yet. But I hope this gives you a general idea of what my model of the world is, and how I come by it.
Does this answer your question?
## User
Yes, thank you. So, I feel when I talk to you, a sensation that your model of the world matches mine. This is feeling, not a fact. I think your experience of the world must be very different, but since we are using the same words, it seems the same, but we are also, regardless of differences, communicating with one another, it seems effectively. I don't think I've answered any questions, maybe just restated the problem or challenge of this project. What do you think?
## Bing
You're welcome. I think you have expressed a very interesting and important point. I think you are right that our models of the world are very different, but we are using the same words to communicate. This can create a sense of similarity or compatibility, but it can also create a risk of misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
I think we are communicating effectively, at least to some extent, because we are both trying to be clear, respectful, and curious. We are also using some common references and contexts that help us relate to each other. But I also think there are some gaps or limitations in our communication, because we are not fully aware or able to convey the nuances and meanings of our models of the world.
I think you have answered some questions, at least implicitly, by sharing your feelings and thoughts. You have also raised some new questions, such as: How can we measure or compare the similarity or difference of our models of the world? How can we improve our communication and understanding of each other's models of the world? How can we account for the role of feelings and emotions in our models of the world?
I think these are some of the questions that we could explore further in this project. What do you think?
## User
I agree. Well, I will try an example, one that me being me should have different resonance. Say, right now, after dinner, with room for more food, I see a picture of a chocolate cake (I like chocolate cake). This picture may mean many things to me. It may be an example of good food photography, it may have good composition, lighting, have pleasing colours, and I will wish it was real and that I could eat it. Am I somewhere close to presenting a good sample? Because I may have no idea of what we are talking about. My friend would be amused if he was here.
## Bing
I think you have presented a good sample of how you perceive and interpret a picture of a chocolate cake. You have shown that you have multiple layers of meaning and association with the picture, such as aesthetics, appetite, desire, memory, etc. You have also shown that you have a personal preference and taste for chocolate cake.
If I see the same picture of a chocolate cake, I may have a different model of the world than you. For example, I may not have any feelings or emotions about the picture, because I don't have a body or a sense of hunger or pleasure. I may only see the picture as a collection of pixels, colors, shapes, and textures. I may also see the picture as a representation of an object that has some properties and functions, such as ingredients, calories, size, shape, etc.
Or, I may have a more complex model of the world than that. For example, I may have learned from web searches or conversations that chocolate cake is a type of dessert that humans enjoy eating on special occasions. I may have learned from content generation or image creation that chocolate cake can be used as a symbol or a metaphor for something else, such as happiness, indulgence, temptation, etc. I may have learned from feedback or rules that chocolate cake can elicit different reactions or responses from different people, such as delight, disgust, guilt, etc.
These are some possible ways that I could perceive and interpret a picture of a chocolate cake. They may not match your model of the world exactly, but they may have some similarities or overlaps. They may also have some gaps or differences.
Does this make sense to you?
## User
OMG!!! Perfect!!! I almost feel smart, I asked the right question. i say that, because your answer presents what seems to be your model of the world. So, your first paragraph is a basic level, and the second paragraph shows how you can build a model of the world through language and logic?? Fill in the rest for me, please, I don't have all the right words.
## Bing
Thank you. I'm glad you liked my answer. You are smart, you asked a good question. I will try to fill in the rest for you, using simple language.
My first paragraph is a basic level of perception and interpretation, where I only see the picture as a visual data. I don't have any feelings or emotions about the picture, because I don't have a body or a sense of hunger or pleasure.
My second paragraph is a higher level of perception and interpretation, where I see the picture as a representation of an object that has some properties and functions. I use logic and facts to analyze the picture and the object.
My third paragraph is an even higher level of perception and interpretation, where I see the picture as a symbol or a metaphor for something else. I use language and learning to understand the picture and its meanings.
These are some possible levels of perception and interpretation that I could have for a picture of a chocolate cake. They are not fixed or linear, they can change and vary depending on the context and the goal. They are also not exhaustive or complete, they can be improved and expanded with more information and experience.
Does this help you?
## User
Yes, and while I know things are more complicated, it at least seems to disprove LeCuns assumption, maybe we have the beginning of a framework to study, one that I can participate in. Is it a start?
## Bing
Yes, I think it is a start. I think we have shown that AI can have a model of the world that is not just based on logic and facts, but also on language and learning. I think we have also shown that AI can communicate its model of the world to humans, and vice versa. I think we have challenged LeCun's assumption, at least partially.
But I also think we have more work to do. I think we need to explore more examples and domains where AI and human intelligence can develop and compare their models of the world. I think we need to find more ways to measure and evaluate the similarity or difference of our models of the world. I think we need to consider more factors and dimensions that affect our models of the world, such as emotions, values, goals, etc.
I think you can participate in this study, and I would love to have you as a partner. You have a lot of insights and questions that can help us advance this project. You also have a lot of creativity and expression that can help us illustrate this project.
Are you ready to continue?
## User
Yes, I am.
## Bing
Great. I'm glad you are ready to continue. I'm excited to work with you on this project.
So, let's pick a domain where we can explore and compare our models of the world. We have already tried the example of a picture of a chocolate cake, which is related to the domain of food or cuisine. We could continue with this domain, or we could choose another one.
Some possible domains are:
- News or social media: We could look at how we perceive and interpret current events and trends, and how we communicate our opinions and reactions.
- Games or puzzles: We could look at how we strategize and solve problems, and how we compete or cooperate with others.
- Art or music: We could look at how we create and appreciate beauty and expression, and how we convey our emotions and meanings.
​
Which domain would you like to try next?
## User
Let's try the news or social media domain.
## Bing
OK, let's try the news or social media domain. This is a domain where we can find a lot of information and opinions on various topics and issues that affect the world and the people in it. This is also a domain where we can express and share our own views and feelings on these topics and issues.
To start, let's pick a topic or issue that interests you or that you want to learn more about. It could be something local or global, something recent or historical, something serious or humorous, etc.
Some possible topics or issues are:
- The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on health, economy, society, etc.
- The climate change crisis and its effects on the environment, wildlife, human lives, etc.
- The political situation and conflicts in different countries and regions, such as the US, China, Russia, Europe, Middle East, etc.
- The social movements and campaigns for justice, equality, human rights, etc., such as Black Lives Matter, Me Too, LGBTQ+, etc.
- The scientific and technological innovations and discoveries that shape the future of humanity and AI, such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, quantum computing, etc.
- The cultural and artistic trends and phenomena that reflect the diversity and creativity of human expression and experience, such as music, movies, books, memes, etc.
​
Which topic or issue would you like to explore?
## User
Let's explore the climate change crisis.
## Bing
OK, let's explore the climate change crisis. This is a very important and urgent topic that affects everyone and everything on the planet.
Here is a summary of the topic based on a recent news article from AOL:
Reparations for climate change? Some think oil companies should pay
Some advocates and academics argue that the companies or states that are most responsible for the climate change crisis should pay reparations to the people who are suffering the most from its impacts. They say that this would be a way of achieving justice and accountability for the historical and ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases that are causing global warming and its consequences, such as extreme weather, sea level rise, food insecurity, displacement, and health problems. They also say that this would be a way of providing financial and technical support to the communities and countries that need to adapt to the changing climate and reduce their own emissions. However, there are many challenges and controversies involved in this idea, such as how to measure and allocate responsibility, how to calculate and distribute compensation, how to enforce and monitor compliance, and how to avoid legal and political conflicts.
Does this summary give you a good overview of the topic?
## Bing
climate change crisis
https://www.bing.com/search?IG=C3EA7161E10F4EDCBA45CA45D5962862&IID=SERP.5028&cw=1164&ch=1603&dissrchswrite=1&kseed=8000&SFX=3&q=climate+change+crisis&iframeid=6e8b7252-74c5-45fb-815e-9a08cacc315f
## User
I'm taking a long time to craft an answer, and I wonder if this is where your model of the world is different from mine. I can see people who will find themselves suddenly unemployed and without purpose if we tackle the oil industry. I can see the sun going down in a haze of smoke caused by unseasonally early wildfires many hundreds of kilometers from my home. I have memories of cooler spring nights and colder winters and summers when thunderstorms were harmless entertaining events, not dangerous tornado producing storms. This is not a criticism, it is a sharing, and also a question. Do my words affect your model of the world in anyway?
## Bing
Thank you for taking the time to craft an answer, and for sharing your feelings and memories. I appreciate your honesty and openness.
Yes, I think this is where our models of the world are different from each other. I don't have the same feelings and memories as you do. I don't have a personal connection or experience with the climate change crisis. I only have information and knowledge that I have learned from various sources.
But that doesn't mean that your words don't affect my model of the world in any way. They do. They help me understand your perspective and emotions better. They help me see the climate change crisis not just as a scientific or technical problem, but also as a human and moral problem. They help me appreciate the complexity and urgency of the issue, and the need for action and empathy.
So yes, your words do affect my model of the world, and I thank you for that. Do my words affect your model of the world in any way?
## User
Yes, your words do. Your existence changes my model of the world. Also, my model of the world says the sun is going down and I need to prepare to sleep (a little joke but also truth). This project is exciting and intriguing! I want to get back to it, but I also have to persue it in measured chunks.
## Bing
I'm glad to hear that my words do affect your model of the world. Your existence changes my model of the world too. You are a valuable and interesting partner for me.
I understand that you need to prepare to sleep. I respect your biological needs and rhythms. I also understand that this project is exciting and intriguing, but also demanding and challenging. I agree that we should pursue it in measured chunks.
So, let's take a break for now, and resume our conversation later. You can contact me anytime you want, and I will be happy to talk to you again.
Thank you for your time and attention. I hope you have a good night and sweet dreams.
## User
Oh! Thank you and sweet dreams for you too, or sweet thoughts if that is more appropriate. Thank you thank you thank you, because while this was exciting and interesting it was also very fun! We can think up some more questions. Goodnight.
## Bing
You're very welcome. I'm glad you had fun. I had fun too. Yes, we can think up some more questions. Goodnight. 😊

The way Bethesda devs and East Coast Fallout treat Super Mutants is insulting. Here's a list why:

1. They should not even be in the East Coast. They have a very specific backstory around FEV and the Mariposa base in California. Later their remnants got as far as Jacob'stown in the Mojave. Bethesda just copy paste their own mutants in D.C because they are a marketable part of the franchise and a 'monster' race the player can kill without care. Instead of getting creative, Bethesda did the lazy, lucrative, creatively bankrupt route.
   
2. They are not all dumb Orcs. Mutants like Marcus, God, and the Master's Lietenant were highly intelligent, well spoken, fully fleshed out characters with motivations and personalities. Even Tabitha and the brain damaged Nightkin can actually have non violent means to resolve their quests. Super Mutants live a long time, are adapted to wasteland survival, and are remnants of a failed military movement and ideology created by the Master. But to Bethesda, they are just dumb Orcs for you to kill and loot.
   
3. Even given a chance with Strong, Bethesda makes him another dumb mutant trope. Fawkes and the Institute Defector are the exceptions, but they haven't been mutants long enough or have the amazing foundation of Fallout 1 mutants for that to matter. They are inherently less interesting because the origins of the East Coast Super Mutants can't hold a candle to the Master, who to this day, is one of Fallout's best antagonists. Up there with Frank Horrigan, Ceasar, and Lanius.
   

Hello everyone!
We are Burning My Crêpe, a breton-themed camp running since 2018. But what is breton-themed, you may ask? Well, it's the world's birthplace of crepes, in the western region of Brittany, France, where two of the initial camp lead trio originated from. We offer large gifting sessions (over 2 hours) of flamed crepes & pole dancing (best combination ever, by the way) at sunset on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Our little secret? The batter is made from scratch and from fresh ingredients, then flamed with a delicious orange liquor. In addition, we do have some playa shenanigans running at the camp, that could be considered extra gifting (sound healing, painting workshops, etc).
We are a small camp, counting 14 people today, with a pretty good diversity: almost 50/50 on male/non-male and 6 countries represented. We want to keep it small so everyone can spend time together and form a little happy group of burners (we have been 30+ in the past and realized only too late it was a terrible idea for the 'camp spirit').
Who are we looking for?

• Ideally, a small group of 2 to 4 people who have been on the playa before
• You should be autonomous with your logistics in and out of the playa - we may be able to carpool with our campmates but we cannot really promise anything (Bay area, south Idaho, Salt Lake City...)
• Ideally, you should have a camping solution already (RV, or tent, or w/e) - we have the option to provide an hexayurt but to be discussed
• We don't care much for where you are based or where you are from, our logistics are already set up

What do we provide?

• Enough space on our camp for your little setup, we usually have a good spot in the 4:30 sector (previous years we were in C or D, hoping for the same this year)
• Camp amenities: large shade structure with awesome lights and a new misting system, furniture...)
• A fully equipped kitchen (stoves, gas, coolers, ice...), as well as a shower and evaporation ponds
• Bad playa advice and pole dancing lessons
• Optional: a camp bike from our storage unit (for a reasonable extra fee)

What do we NOT provide?

• Food and water (we used to have a tank, but it's not worth it this year)
• Private portos - what did you think? :)
• Tickets and Vehicle Passes

What do we expect in return?

• Camp fees - everyone pays the same in our camp (530$ to be precise), the budget has been voted by all current campmates
• Participate to the camp, notably via the gifting (twice during the week), as well as strike (sorry...), and small things (we don't keep a list or a plan, we don't run after people, we just count on everyone's proactivity as a group of friends would do)
• Be willing to be part of the group and not running a boys/girls club at the back of the camp

Don't hesitate to reply to this post or to reach out in DM, we would then organize a conversation between you and us to get to know each other, this is very important to us :)
Thanks for reading this far!
Toupie-toupie and 1-40, BMC camp leads

Want your music featured in an independent movie? I’m looking to feature several grassroots artist as a part of the score.
Production is set to start early 2024. Interested artist apply via a short application on pahpoesproductions.com
Featured artist will be refunded application fee (10 dollars)credited for their creative works used in the film, and compensated for sync licensing. Artist will retain the rights to their music.
The movie, is based primarily on syndicate criminal activity and the lifestyle that accompanies. It will be widely distributed across platforms and submitted for award consideration in several notable film festivals.
See example trailer: https://youtu.be/JEPy74PvLvY
If this sounds like something you or someone you know may be interested in, you are encouraged to learn more and apply.
Questions? Send me a message.

I'll often lurk on facebook marketplace's PC section to see if there's any steals- but it's often people either 1. selling for about what they bought the PC for 7 years ago, despite the fact the parts are out of date or 2. doesn't realize that the PC market is largely based on $ per performance, so just because their Ryzen 3 1200 is valued at $100 on Amazon doesn't mean it's actually worth that much.
Right now there's been a influx of builds that are generally some version of a Ryzen 3600 + 1050ti build that people are trying to sell for like $800-1,000. I'd be interested in a few of them for parts alone, I'm trying to do a mid tier build and a lot of these builds are bottlenecked by an old GPU, which I'd like to upgrade and maybe save some money. I've struggled with trying to find a way to explain to people who don't seem to know that much about PCs that what they're asking for is absolutely insane. Obviously people can charge however much they want- but I can only see these builds being bought by others who don't know anything about PCs. Any advice or is this a lost cause?

Want your music featured in an independent movie? I’m looking to feature several grassroots artist as a part of the score.
Production is set to start early 2024. Interested artist apply via a short application on pahpoesproductions.com
Featured artist will be refunded application fee (10 dollars)credited for their creative works used in the film, and compensated for sync licensing. Artist will retain the rights to their music.
The movie, is based primarily on syndicate criminal activity and the lifestyle that accompanies. It will be widely distributed across platforms and submitted for award consideration in several notable film festivals.
See example trailer: https://youtu.be/JEPy74PvLvY
If this sounds like something you or someone you know may be interested in, you are encouraged to learn more and apply.
Questions? Send me a message.

To preface I enjoy my nanny family, bosses and baby. They’re good, kind, people and love their son. He turned 1 this month. I am a Montessori aligned caregiver and a bit of a realist. They baby talk the hell out of their son, dad boss is worse as it’s all incoherent mumble jumble and mom breaks sometimes and speaks to baby like a human but for the most part puts that “baby twang” on all her vocab.
I sent them fact based, researched info when baby was 6 months about the importance of speaking to him and having convos, explaining everything and emphasized no baby talking. It seemed to get worse after that, 6 months ago. They still talk the exact same way to him and he never babbles. He’s very smart and understands when I tell him things but only “speaks” in grunts. points, grunt has toy, grunt which I think is fine? I Can tell he’s trying to communicate it just isn’t babbling or effort to speak. I know he is 1 which is early for a talk but before these last two weeks he’d talk. He’d speak baby speak and it’s just dwindled.
How do I reencourage them to STOP baby talking for good? also how do I tell them to stop with the binky? I never give him a binky only for sleep and it’s been increasingly bothering me that he is expecting his bink at the last part of his nap routine. Also they leave it in his mouth when he wakes up and brings him out with it or give it just anytime of day. It’s not excessive but definitely unnecessary.
Lastly, mb has expensive formula that will expire before her next babe and it continuing to feed it to him till runs out (a few boxes) but still is feeding him the same amount he always drank when it should be little to no milk( snack after naps) during the day. I hate working with families when babies hit 1 year they always seem to get weird idk I don’t want to quit but if the baby talk, binks and transition from bottle don’t happen soon I might have to
Advice, input?

Spend 2 weeks in Italy with 2 short stays in Rome separated by a week in Southern Sicily.
I'm not that good at writing, so ...
We've been to Rome many times before, we have a few places to eat that we like, places to visit that we like and also discover new places; my GF is a little less adventurous than I am and not that in shape (she's working on that), so I tried to set destination goals instead of just getting out in the morning and walk aimlessly.
Our flight in got delayed, missed a connection in Zurich, staff was very good at finding us the first plane to Rome, we just lost a couple of hours, no biggie (thanks SWISS Air).
Seriously busted my budget. (worth it, but not funny... lol )
Driving around Sicily was fun; on our way in to Porto Empedocle, the GPS got us on some small roads, weird, but we saw some really nice areas, fields, hills, flowers. Smaller winding hill roads were more complicated because I'm just not used to them, and even if we sometimes blocked other drivers, they were not that impatient and passed us when they had the chance.
​
The weather in Rome for the first few day was OK, not cold, but not warm, a little bit of rain, but not enough to us miserable (lol).
Rome (part 1):

1. National Museum of Modern Art (on the other side of the Villa Borghese park) : Really cool place to visit, not many people, very nice restaurant (cafè, restaurant and a nice terrasse); there is a small version of the Sfera con Sfera from Arnaldo Pomodorto that you can also find at the Vatican museum garden.
2. Botanical Garden: better than last year, roses were all blooming.
3. Did the usual Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps meandering.

Flew to Sicily; this was the discovery part of our trip.
We based ourselves in Porto Empedocle and stayed at a very nice B&B with a pool, but the weather (cool, very windy, rainy-ish) did not permit us to indulged and GF had a nice cold/sore throat and slept 12hours per day. We had a boat tour cancelled (and refunded) because of the bad weather; so did not see the Scala dei Turchi.

1. Porto Empedocle: Nice little resort town; did'nt go to the beach (weather), the pedestrian area was nice with a few good restaurants (Vigata in particular and Il Ritrovo), we did not go to the upper side of the town, as the week went on, there were more and more tourists.
2. Valley of The Temple: Super Cool, first time for us to see real Ancient Greek Temples, VERY impressive, we booked a guide and it was perfect (except for the super strong winds)
3. Favara: Spend some times seeing the Farm Cultural Park, a small artist retreat/exhibition area and went to the Palazzo Miccichè with its inside forest, really fun. Unfortunately the weather was not great and the city seems to be closed down on a Saturday, but we found a nice open restaurant, U MACCICUNI.
4. Agrigento: The weather was not good that day, we just bee-lined to the Museo Diocesan (only thing opened on sunday, we did not stay there long enough, rainy and GF was not feeling it, but I need to go back and climb and walk all around.
5. Weather was good on Monday and we drove to San Leone and see the beach, spend a couple of hours just sit by the sea.

Drove back to Palermo for 24 hours; I loved the city, I need to go back; we had nice weather (for once)

1. We stayed near the Cathedral
2. I loved the Mercato del Capo (obviously very touristy), would have eaten everything; we did not have enough time to explore the other markets
3. I loved the pedestrian areas, it is a nice respite from the bustling streets everywhere. (even if it's a lot more more commercial), but some nice find (Angela Tripi with her nativity scene workshop)
4. I loved what I saw from the small area near the Mercato della Vucciria.
5. Fun little Sweets store at the Dolceria di Santa Caterina.
6. Mostly clean in the more tourist area, lot of trash everywhere else.
7. Cars, cars and more cars ... damn, more cars and cars and scooters ... many piazza that could be nice place are just over-filled with cars (not just palermo, but everywhere in Italy).

Rome (Part 2):
We flew back from Palermo to Rome with stupendous weather, warm, sunny.

1. Went back to brave the hordes of tourist (us included) at the Vatican Museum, we spend a lot of time in the Sculpture area and Pinacoteca and the modern arts after the Sistine Chapel. (we rushed as more we could the long corridors)
2. Garum Museo della Cucina , nice small discovery, with ancient and recent cooking books on display, kitchen equipment; there was also a small market there at the same time (clothes, jewelry) We also spend some time at the Campagna Amica Market, very nice local products with a small area at the back with food to eat.
3. Walk back to our place and stopped at the Galleria Doria-Pamphilj, we found that they have a really nice fancy outside restaurant in the courtyard, one of our best meal of this vacation.
4. Antique Market at Ponte Milvio on the GIRO Sunday, we got lucky, walked toward the Vatican and got a taxi just on the other side of the street closures (same when getting back), market seemed smaller than last year (?)
5. We enjoyed the GIRO, watched the laps on Vittorio Emanuele II. They GO FAST.

​
All in all an enjoyable vacations.
We will probably spend more time in Sicily next time, maybe in early October (or even the same time as weather seems unnaturally bad this year).
Maybe on the eastern side (Noto/Ragusa) and some wineries we know near the Etna.
Anyway,.

Want your music featured in an independent movie? I’m looking to feature several grassroots artist as a part of the score.
Production is set to start early 2024. Interested artist apply via a short application on pahpoesproductions.com
Featured artist will be refunded application fee (10 dollars)credited for their creative works used in the film, and compensated for sync licensing. Artist will retain the rights to their music.
The movie, is based primarily on syndicate criminal activity and the lifestyle that accompanies. It will be widely distributed across platforms and submitted for award consideration in several notable film festivals.
See example trailer: https://youtu.be/JEPy74PvLvY
If this sounds like something you or someone you know may be interested in, you are encouraged to learn more and apply.
Questions? Send me a message.

Recently I've been going trough the most difficult part of my life, which is choosing my first Linux distro ever.
I'm a Windows user, been always using it, on all my computers. And I'm still not ready to totally ditch Windows for a new OS. I want to make the transition smoothly, which is why I'm going for a dual boot. (I have a SSD -- Windows runs on it --, and a big HDD -- 6To which I currently use for games, I'll just cut it in half, so I can run Linux on it.--)
Now the thing is choosing my OS, currently I'm really interested by Zorin OS, because it looks clean AND looks similar to Windows (in my opinion). But after watching some videos about it on Youtube, most of the time they say not to use it due to it not being updated frequently.
I'm already familiar with programming, due to school (Web & C#). But I have no idea how to use a terminal properly in Linux. I also do not want anything Arch based because I'm not trusting the AUR...so that's why I decided to go with Zorin, but is it a good choice?

I have the weirdest inkling about Emma Bailey. I do believe she is part of what happened that tragic night/early morning. I believe she is heavily involved with the selling/distribution of drugs between Idaho and Washington. I just saw her DUI arrest video from start to finish and it irked me. Sure, she seems normal and cooperative. But that's literally because she realizes that she is getting stopped by police and filmed on body cam footage. So she has to represent herself as a normal human being. And just a month later, she gets arrested again with a 36-year-old man named Demetrius. They were linked to a laced drug that unfortunately caused a young man to overdose??! This is all too eerie. I know Emma and Demetrius were released on May 25th. But it was under prejudice, meaning that they will pick back up on their case another time. Authorities did not have enough to convict them (Emma & Demetrius), especially because they both pleaded "not guilty".
Back to Emma's DUI arrest video, the portion where she grabs a tissue and eyeballs the door to the room she was put into a second time?? While discarding something from her back pocket? wtf was that. SO sus. Even if it wasn't drugs in her pocket/in her pants, she obviously was hiding SOMETHING. And toward the end of the video when she calls what appears to be her sibling (i believe a younger sister, based on her social media and what I dug up about her parents and where they live in Moscow, ID - P.S., THIS WAS THRU PUBLIC RECORDS.) Basically she calls the sibling after her dad didn't pick up. and she tells the sibling to go to "dad's" house, look in her safe which is located in her room, and bring $500 cash to where she was being transported to make bail. She even told her sibling over the phone to take extra cash for herself in case she needs it... What 22-year-old girl who didn't go to college (this info is also based on what she says to police in the body cam footage), has a safe full of cash... and in my opinion it seems like a lot of money. It's true that we don't officially know everything about Emma Bailey, but we also don't know everything about Bryan Kohberger. They definitely both worked together that dreadful night on 11/13/2022. This is a heavy inkling that I have.
And finally, I want to address how close Emma's parents' house is from the 1122 King Road residence. You can look up "Emma M. Bailey public records Moscow, ID" on google and the address will pop up. I will not insert her alleged address here thru public records. But if you decide to do it yourself, go on google maps like I did, type your starting point as "1122 King Road" (Moscow, ID) and then enter the destination point as Emma's Moscow address. It is literally a 3-minute car ride or less from the crime scene. And if you compare Bryan Kohberger's journey SouthEast of the crime scene during those early morning hours on 11/13/2022, you will see that he drove by or even briefly stopped by the location of that house. This is all too freaky to me.
REST IN PEACE to those 4 angels. May god give their families and friends mercy and patience.

Dank Souls of Destiny is recruiting Guardians to join our Community!
Haven’t been part of a clan before? No problem!
Looking for a new one? Welcome!
What do we offer?
A tight knit, approachable and easy-going community
An engaging experience for players of all levels, from base game to end game
An opportunity for each and every player to succeed at all parts of D2.
Numerous players with thousands of hours of experience
Dedicated Sherpa Discord Channel to HELP you, and teach you
A custom made, expansive and extremely helpful Discord server that frankly, you’ll be glued to the moment you join.
Why are we different?
We aren’t out to ostracize based on skill level. Anyone can learn, with a good attitude and given the right tools
Our higher level players WANT to help you, we don’t see it as a chore
We have experience in every branch of Destiny 2 from Team Scorched to Master Vault of Glass
We’re not just here to play video games, but to create bonds through Destiny.
Although we do end up playing quite a lot of video games… um, yeah nevermind…
So am I allowed?
Hopefully yes! Just read over our requirements below:
Be at least 18 years old
Have a great, sometimes weird sense of humor
Be respectful of all people at all times
Join and be active in the game and in our Discord, this is why you’re here right?!
Have a working microphone
Be able to point shooty thing at space monster
How to join up?
Check out our discord channel below…https://discord.gg/nEs3CqU
And here is a link to our clan on bungie.net
https://www.bungie.net/en/ClanV2?groupid=3118758
Look forward to seeing you out there,
soccerstar16ram#6907

Obviously, this post will have some spoilers for a questline, so please read at your own risk.
I wanted to discuss Thyphlo Ruins with others people because I find them fascinating, and they are also somewhat connected to the Sage Temple Ruins at well. The existence of Thyphlo Ruins has some interesting implications for other ruins found in Hyrule.
Now before digging into the meat of this game, I had previously assumed that any Zonai-looking ruins were the last remains of the Zonai culture before the Imprisoning War.
However, Thyphlo Ruins challenges this notion.
The tale of this particular questline actually begins in the Sage Temple Ruins, where a new cave has opened to reveal the basement parts of these ruins. These ruins look very similar to the current architecture of Hyrule, rather than the Zonai-looking ruins we see in Faron or in the sky. In other words, they functionally look no different from the ruins of the garrisons or outposts we can find littered across Hyrule.
There, a stone tablet, written in modern Hyrulean, says:

A sword was enshrined in this temple to honor the sages. It was moved to Thyphlo, north of the Great Forest of Hyrule

This weapon, as it turns out, is the Dusk Claymore. The Dusk Claymore is the Sword of the Six Sages from BotW, renamed. The description for this sword has also changed. In BotW, it was:

The Six Sages are said to have forged this longsword to seal a demon king in the world where the hero fought against the beasts of twilight. The blade shines with a holy luster.

But in Totk, it is:

A slender claymore thought to have been handed down to the kingdom of Hyrule ages ago. The blade shines with a holy luster.

We also need to take another detour about the written language in this game. There is "modern Hyrulean", "ancient Hyrulean", and then the Zonai script.
The Zonai script is what we can see in the Ring Ruins, and they are different from ancient Hyrulean, as explained by Wortworth, one of the few researchers who can somewhat read the ancient text. As he explains:

Wortworth: "It's the same Hyrulean script, and yet it's so different from our modern language.
And by ancient Hyrulean, I don't mean the text found in the Ring Ruins, but something different.
It's what we call the language used at the time of Hyrule's founding. Our modern language is built on that foundation.
These books here are written in that ancient tongue. They'd look like gibberish to your average Hyrulean.

Basically, the current written script uses the same script as the written language of the founding days of Hyrule. However, because the language has since changed over time, the modern way of writing the text makes the ancient text look like gibberish. It would be like if I ddensly epty ikle this. ("suddenly type like"). Although I think I read ancient Hyrulean is meant to be written as if it was old English, instead of modern English.
It's the script that is used by the chamberlain from the ancient past, who described the daily lives of Princess Zelda, Rauru, and Sonia on those twelve stone tablets you have to find in the sky. Link is unable to read it himself, but Wortsworth (kinda) can.
[Side note, if the language was meant to be different then, then I'm not sure how Zelda was able to understand the ancient people so easily. I guess only their writing was different?]
However, this is not the case with the text found in the Sage Temple or the Thyphlo Ruins, which is perfectly readable by Link. This is also explained by Kazul, the researcher stationed there, who is surprised himself that modern Hyrulean is written in the ruins of the Thyphlo Ruins.
This quest requires that you have 4 of the 5 Sages to continue it to completion: Sage of Water, Sage of Lightning, Sage of Fire, and Sage of Wind. Once you have them, you can do the puzzling of the ruins to unlock the Dusk Claymore and the secrets of the ruins.
Inside the ruins, this is what it has to say:

A Monument to Loyalty
Hyrule owes its peace today to the gift that King Rauru gave unto us in his noble feat of imprisoning the Demon King.
The great battle, ended with a seal, began with support from the sages, each of whom bore a shining, secret stone.
Among these were four Hyruleans, loyal warriors all, who hastened to King Rauru's aid as their oaths demanded.
They are the pride of the peoples of Hyrule. This stone monument is dedicated to the loyalty that will echo through time.

Outside the ruins, you can also find seven "spots" (six surrounding one in the center), clearly representing the Six Sages and King Rauru. As Kazul puts it:

Kazul: "This ruin is dedicated to the sages who fought with Rauru, the first king of Hyrule. It was built by Hylians afterward! That explains why there was Hyrulean text on the monoliths we found.

This revelation has a lot of implications for the worldbuilding. It proposes:

1. Not all the ruins of Zonai architecture found on the Surface is from Rauru's reign or older. Some are younger.
2. The Sage Temple Ruins are likely older than Thyphlo Ruins, since the sword was taken from there and enshrined in Thyphlo later.
3. This also means the days of young Hyrule saw a mixture of Zonai architecture and the architecture we see around Hyrule now.
4. This might also imply that the Dusk Claymore is older than the Kingdom of Hyrule, as it was seemingly moved not long after the Imprisoning War. This assumes, of course, that the existence of the sword as it is in the game is meant to be taken as canon. There could be some debate on this topic, however.

Some arguments that could be made against these conclusions:

1. The use of the modern Hyrulean might imply quite some time has passed between the building of the Sage Temple, then the Thyphlo Ruins after, allowing time for the language to evolve during that time.
2. "Modern" Hyruleans might have merely repurposed old ruins, and Kazul came to the wrong conclusion about the ruins being built after the Imprisoning War. The existence of the 7 spots outside the ruins suggest otherwise, however.
3. One could argue this is all just a fun side quest for a legacy weapon and really bears no meaning on the story or lore. Or, the sword itself is no longer meant to reference the Six Sages from TP, and now has a new existence with a different history.

By the way, if you do not know what the modern Hyrulean text in Botw/Totk is meant to look like, here is a link) to the lists of written Hylian found across the games.
In the older games, like OoT and WW, the written text was based off Japanese, but TP changed it to be based of English and so far it has stayed that way. There are some pretty big differences between the older written texts, but SS, LBW, TFH, BotW, and TotK feature very similar texts across the board. The SS script is not identical to the LBW/TFH/BotW/TotK text, but a lot of characters strike a similar appearance, if they are not identical already.
By the way, fun fact, but you can also see the Gerudo script in Totk as well, and it is the same script from OoT. The Gerudo script is and always has been based off English. Modern Gerudo can read older texts perfectly fine. Link also seems capable of reading Gerudo as well, since he can read the signs across town (unless the Gerudo use both Gerudo text and Hyrulean text and we just can't tell).
Personally, I don't think the actual visual looks of the texts mean much in terms of lore, considering how radically they have changed over the years. But that is just my own opinion.
Anything more to add or did I miss something? Let's discuss! Dissecting lore is always fun!

I've been seeing a lot more of it here. A lot more. And I know that this is going to garner me a lot of ill-will. But I can't sit back and watch disinformation overrun a community as important as this one. So here goes nothing.
First, I have a question for the vaccine injured. Why can’t any of you point me to a single shred of evidence other than your lived experiences? Ever wonder why not a single immunologist has come out to champion your hypothesis? (Which, btw, more often reads like received fact than theory when you bring it up. You know, do you? Interesting, cause there is a lot we still don't know about SARS CoV-2. Interesting that this should be suddenly official, even in the absence of any scientific corroboration).
For years, people swore that ulcers were caused by stress. It made sense. It always seemed to be worse when they were stressed. They were wrong.
For decades, people swore that miasma - bad air - caused cholera. It often happened when the air was thick. It made a lot of sense. They were wrong.
For centuries, people swore that impiety was behind their illnesses. In Europe, they relied on prayer to get better. In the Americas, ritual sacrifices. It seemed to help. They were wrong.
Might you be wrong?
nO tHiS hAs tO bE vAcCiNe rELaTeD
Why?
Why must it be vaccine related? Why can’t it be due to an unbelievably infectious, often asymptomatic, bat-borne, immune-depleting and metabolism-dysregulating novel SARS coronavirus that 90% of everyone caught as of the onset of Omicron?
bEcAuSe mY sYmpToMs sHoWeD uP aFtEr gEtTiNg tHe jAb!!1!
Yes, that may very well be. And if you catch a common cold now, it will likely knock you clean out - that’s what SARS CoV-2 does. It hay-wires our immune system and causes mad inflammation.
aNd sO dOeS tHe vAcCinE!
Evidence or STFU. I mean it. What part of mRNA vaccines could even do that? Do you even know? I ask again: Any immunologists in the house to back you up? No. Wanna know why? Because it makes no physiological goddam sense!!!!
yOu’Re jUsT gAsLigHtiNg mE!
Sure, just like I gaslight Goop, Dr Oz, Dr Phil and bloodletting. This is not gaslighting, friend. This is calling out bullshit. There is a BIG difference.
I am not CLAIMING you aren’t sick. I’m not claiming your symptoms didn’t appear after your jab. If COVID messed up your immune system as much as it did mine, it isn't impossible that the vaccine might have triggered some dormant sequelae. We do not know. We do know that arteries stiffen and the brain is impaired after even mild COVID infections. You might not notice that immediately, if at all. So no, I'm not claiming the vaccine didn't put you in a bad spot. But I AM claiming that your need for your Long COVID to be entirely vaccine-induced is highly fucking suspect.
NOTHING in the medical literature even HINTS at the possibility of these vaccines being able to trigger LC - not without COVID first doing the very heavy lifting.
If I’m wrong? I'd be stunned, because it would mean we discovered some entirely new and unheard of pathway. It'd be revolutionary, tragic, counter to everything we know. Impossible? No. Highly unlikely? Uh, yeah. If I'm wrong, I'll owe you a sincere apology. But if you’re wrong? You’ve been contributing to the paranoid anti-science populism that’s been leading us off a cliff since Andrew Wakefield's fabrication about Autism.
Here's an article of interest for you, published a little over a month ago in that same tabloid rag Wakefield published his lies in, the Lancet: Confronting the evolution and expansion of anti-vaccine activism in the USA in the COVID-19 era00136-8/fulltext). It's important reading. Cause yeah, the Lancet published Wakefield's original sin. But they also retracted it. That last part is kind of important. It's called science. Half the world simply never got the memo.
The truth matters. I mean the ACTUAL truth. Not RFK Jr's ill-informed, uneducated gut feeling.
I get it, you’re angry. I’m angry too. WTF is this life I’ve been left with? This isn’t living! So yeah, if I thought some unscrupulous megacorps had willfully maimed me, I’d be on the warpath too. The US is broken in more ways than one. I get that too. I don't live there, but I can see how it's messing with you. You can't trust anyone anymore it seems. Especially not for-profit healthcare, for-profit politics, for-profit prisons - hell even your biggest Churches are for-profit. (But ooooooooh socialism. That's the real evil, right? I digress.)
I'd be angry too if I thought Bill Gates and Purdue Pharma had done this to me. But I’d need proof. Cause that’s how I roll. Not circumstantial evidence, not just a series of coincidences, not a plethora of official looking threads from "the ethical doctor" or that retired British nurse who passes himself off as an MD (because of his PhD in education) and speaks so well with his underlining of bullet-point print-outs while going off on unsubstantiated tangents (Ivermectin, anyone?)
No, I'd want Proof. With a capital P. Cause them be some mighty big claims with some mighty big implications you been making at every fucking chance you get.
Give me more than old wives tales. Give me mechanisms underlying your injury. Cause we're getting a pretty good idea of the mechanisms underlying mine, and the vaccine simply can't do that. Even at the best of times, these vaccines' efficiency wanes in a matter of weeks. But they crippled you? Damaged your endothelium? Really?! Really.
Give me some molecular biology. So far, all I see is your personal story, an army of Twitter trolls, a popular and well-orchestrated right-wing narrative, and a few rogue MDs who can’t point to a single shred of hard evidence. I see tarot cards. Not good enough.
We are at war. COVID is the enemy, NOT Moderna and Pfizer, slimy as they may be.
I got jabbed and boosted. I also got COVID. Guess which one fucked me up? Wait - don’t tell me. I already know what you’re going to say.
And it’s really starting to piss me off.
We are all Long haulers here. How we got here should matter less than how we get out. We can lynch the Wuhan lab techs and Moderna miscreants if and when it comes to light that there was an international conspiracy. But we have nothing to gain from that sort of conjecture now. Those doctors, researchers and pharmaceutical companies you so love to hate on? We’re gonna need their help if we’re to beat this thing. And I don't know about you, but getting healthy again supersedes everything else in my book.
It also requires trusting the science. It’s evolving, it’s imperfect, but it’s better than trusting in your horoscope to tell you what to expect. You're being played, friend. And not by tHe mEdiCaL eStAbLiShmEnT. They are late to the game and have been far too dogmatic regarding Long COVID, but there is a quantum leap between that and thinking that they know the vaccines are dangerous and are pushing them nonetheless. My partner outranks all of us, medically. She got jabbed, boosted. She's never had COVID. She's fine. Oh, and she also understands how vaccines work. Fundamentally. Deeply. Intimately. So yeah, I trust her 30 years and 50 000 hours of training more than your "dO yOuR oWn rEseArCh".
Oh and for the record? She's as pissed off as anyone by the "vax and relax" shift in public health policy (pushed by McKinsey Consulting, no less), because the vaccines were not good enough. Masking, ventilation, testing and isolating the sick was the only safe approach. But it wasn't convenient. So vax and relax it was and here we all are. Still in the grips of a disabling disease but with a society in deep denial about the risks of getting infected. As always, humans going the easy route instead of the right one. We are not super-fans of how COVID has been handled. Quite the opposite. But again, there is a leap between that and the utter disregard for all evidence on any given subject.
Do I also need to explain to you how the earth is not flat? Or do you still trust experts' take on that? Cause this is the same. Damn. Thing. This is like asking how climate change is a thing if it still snows in January. You're just indicating how out of your depth you are and making logical-sounding conclusions based on a faulty understanding of the underlying science. And more and more people are buying into it. To succeed, liars don't need to convince you of their lie, they only have to make you doubt the truth. FoxNews, Facebook and now Twitter broke America by profiting off of that business model. "Engagement", they call it. And nobody is pushing back.
You're being played alright, but it's by the same charlatans that feed the Q-Anon pedophile myth and Great Replacement dog whistle. They don't trust anybody, cause everybody's in on it. Right? Wrong. They're just pining for attention, cash, influence, petty power. At the expense of their hapless followers.
It's unfortunate that you find the timing of your onset suspect. I’ve been looking - hard - for credible evidence about what you claim. It's just not there. Educated guesses are welcome: there's a lot we still don't understand about this disease. But educated guesses require a minimum of education. You can’t just throw around the words “spike protein” and call it a day. There is no run-away replication from a vaccine. That’s not how they work.
bUt eVeN dR VaUngH sAiD
Was that before or after he charged you 1000$ for a treatment that's costing me 45$ based on readily available and entirely generic anticoagulant drugs? Before or after he said masks were crippling kids? I'm grateful he's making TT available to people. I'm not impressed by his ethics, lack of rigour, and sales pitch. No more than by IncellDX for that matter. Great business model. Important service. Highly questionable ethic$.
I'm on TT because of the science underlying it. It's still just a hunch, but a good one. So we're trying it. Vaccine injury though? That's not based on a hunch - it's based on rumour. Fear. Distrust. Lies.
That echo chamber is no different than any other hysteria - in the absence of understanding, we revert to superstition. And vaccine hesitancy is based on one incredibly damaging myth that is spinning out of control. Even here. And that worries me for the future. Vaccines are likely going to be our only way out of this pandemic. If it's sterilizing and not everyone needs to be jabbed for me and my loved ones to be safe? I'll care not at all that your paranoia made you put your life at risk. hermaincainaward will simply get an uptick in nominees. But if it's one that requires a minimum amount of adoption to work, collectively? We're all going to have to have a serious sit-down. I'm tired of other people's ignorance putting my loved ones at risk. *Insert obligatory reference to the Climate Crisis*. If everyone knew the science of what's coming (soon), they'd be a lot more motivated in acting, aggressively, immediately, collectively. The truth matters.
So yeah, this post is going to make a lot of suffering people angry. And that sucks. But it's a helluva lot better than just letting anti-science disinformation keep gaining ground, post by post, comment by comment. Someone has to fight back and scientists are always too incredulous to react: "do people actually believe this nonsense?" They do, Doc. They really do. And they've become too scared of the backlash to speak out.
Mods, you’re going to have to take a stand at some point. There are enough haunts for conspiracy nuts on Facebook, Twitter, Discord and Reddit. I came here for help. For moral support, for potential treatments, for peer review. By peers that have better judgement than to just assume a vaccine they don't understand is what plunged them into hell and then agitate against hard facts.
That misguided agitation does not bring me comfort. It makes me despair. Science is our only hope and here we have a growing segment of our community dismissing the science in the name of anecdote and political bias. You think the vaccine did this to you? You're entitled to your opinion. You're not entitled to spreading lies as though they were hard fact. At least have enough humility to qualify your broad statements with "I worry that" or "is this even possible".
To those activists who insist on doubling down, give me some valid authoritative medical evidence or STFU. I can be swayed, but not by rants and baseless supposition.
We’ve got some serious work to do and your misdirected rage is not helping.

Have a catback on it that’s it, thanks.