The Clean Death of Us All - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.52

[bvanevery]

Details for the benefit of all humankind

for the benefit of all humankind

That horrible little worm is making a move on our Sensor, threatening to undo all our hard work.  We deputized a brave contingent of Scouts to go out and meet it.  It will not undo our work without a fight!  I hope we know what we're up against.  We had no problem with the spore launcher, but that was years ago.

Details fish remnants and rust

fish remnants and rust

The glorious merchant marine advances the cause of light industry.  Waste not want not.

[bvanevery]

Details we will repay you

we will repay you

That little creep ruined our Sensor.  At least it gave us the initiative, so we opened fire with every handgun and rifle we had.  We took modest damage from its parts exploding everywhere into little eeny teeny tiny bits.  I don't think we need to worry about these things if we have the upper hand, but I wouldn't want to fight them in the fungus.  They seem to move about it rather easily.

Details a dime a dozen

a dime a dozen

This is a good symbolic and practical victory over the Aliens, so long as we can get it home.  Strictly speaking we actually do have lasers, 2 of them.  They emit a strange resonance frequency.  But we don't know how to make more, or even repair the ones we've got.  War is a matter of industry and this is merely a matter of assistance.  But we will be happy to showcase yet another explorational prize, in yet another town square.

Details awful, awful things not of Poseidon

awful, awful things not of Poseidon

We don't know what this thing is and we don't want to.  Just get our boat out of the way!  We took the precaution of waiting next to the floating junk, and getting a good night's rest, before making our move on it.  We are fresh and lively, and may yet have time to scurry out of the way.

Details how to avoid a swallowing

how to avoid a swallowing

[bvanevery]

Details we dodged well

we dodged well

We don't know where this "Isle of the Deep" is going, but it's not towards our boat.  It seems to be heading in a straight line for "something".  Could it be for our settlements?

Details scanning the land

scanning the land

Battle ogres have a big radar mounted on top, which makes them useful for exploration.  And getting home more safely.

Details fluid exploration

fluid exploration

Well the ground may not be the ground, but the water is the water.  Swept off course by a rolling wave.  I'm surprised our marine has had it this easy for so long. 

Details wave wave duality

wave wave duality

It amounts to nothing but... did we just drift to the other side of a peninsula.  Is that body of water even connected to our own?  This is a strange place if we can move like that!  Hopefully we can get back to where we once belonged.

[bvanevery]

Details recon

recon

I haven't spoken to Aki in some time.  Maybe she's figured out something useful, like lasers.  No such luck, but she knows how an Alien's brain works.  That will be useful when I finally run into these Usurpers.  She's still cagey about an alliance.  Give it time Aki, give it time.  Find out what these Aliens really mean for you.  I ask about the prophet Cha Dawn because I've not asked before.  She knows nothing and is mercifully impatient with our continued communication.

Details war status

war status

They have more cities than us, but we are more defensibly grouped.  Minus the touching fungus.  If we can push forward to Melody of Souls, and hold it, we will have them cut off from expansion by land.  Then we can take the jungle without incident, and finish them when we are strong.

Details explorational spread

explorational spread

Our orphaned transport dredged up another Unity rover, proving that random things don't have to be bad.  Maybe this is how we adapt to the new world.  Accept what it is.

[bvanevery]

Details forward motion

forward motion

Our enemy settles a new city, causing our citizens some consternation.  We have a Scout Rover rolling off a makeshift assembly line any day now though.  If we make enough of such things, we can wreak havoc upon them.  Even if we prove unable to breach their cities, we can deny their resources, and strangle them into submission.

The Isle finally lands on our shore and spreads out some "mindworms", threatening our expensive former.  We attack quickly as before, destroying one of them without much hardship.  But it seems to strengthen the remaining one.  Using another scout as an escort, we remove our former from harm, then retreat to our base.  Perhaps we can provoke it into a poor assault.

[bvanevery]

Details crawling horror

crawling horror

It slithered off to the ruin, and as a result grew larger.  Knowing the ruin can make things grow larger is helpful, but we need this thing dead.  We decide to assault it with our newly minted Scout Rover, whether that will be effective or not.  With luck, we may prevail.  And if it is not enough, we need to know.

Details the odds forever in our favor

the odds forever in our favor

We made a good decision!  This is how to destroy them.  We may not need lasers to deal with these life forms at least.

Details success with small arms

success with small arms

[bvanevery]

Details welcome training

welcome training

The same healing and improving effect the monolith had on the mindworm, it had upon us.  Our scout rover is now ready to deprive the Aliens of their minerals.

Details another magical mystery tour

another magical mystery tour

We walk, we disappear, we appear again.  This is the way of our existence.

Details indigenous threats

indigenous threats

Maybe we live, maybe we die.  I am tiring of all this survival stuff though.  I want to get back to the business of running a world.  It is my strong suit.  Even a world in chaos, is still a world, brimming with people.  We don't have the brimming part.  We have this petty survival.

[bvanevery]

Details casualty

casualty

Our luck finally ran out.  We lost a scouting party to the horrid worms.  I would tell everyone they will be missed, but... will they be?  I am glad Morgan is not available to give his cynical opinion.  Well, as long as people are motivated to remove the Alien menace, we are doing the right thing.  We can avoid worms, but we cannot avoid existential threats.

[bvanevery]

Details the annoyance of life

the annoyance of life

We don't really have a good method for fending off seaborne spore launcher attacks.  They just sit off our coast and ruin all our hard work.  Perhaps a simple ship's cannon could thwart them, but we are busy cranking out scout rovers to defeat the Alien menace.  We will get around to ships someday, I swear it.  I made a campaign promise about it.  But meanwhile, we hope brave citizens will defend our infrastructure.  The spores hurt and sting, but they are not lethal, if nothing else comes.

[bvanevery]

Details primate brain beats fungus

primate brain beats fungus

These dumb spore launchers came inland, seeking better targets!  We attacked with vigor.  Unfortunately that won't be the last wave of them, but we are ready, if distracted from our true task.

[bvanevery]

Details we've got this

we've got this

The Caretakers want a parley, right at the moment we've finally cut off their minerals supply.  Perhaps they are worried we have more where that came from, and they are right to do so.  Still, we will hear them out, if only to gauge their level of fear.

Details perhaps not the military side of the family tree

perhaps not the military side of the family tree

They don't basically seem to comprehend disadvantage.  If they could have come through the fungus at us, they would have.  We are now in control, and this is the opposite of an incentive to listen to them.

Details bold words from a foolish foe

bold words from a foolish foe

We have been putting despots in their place for a few hundred years.  A human who knows this game, I might worry about them.  But not you.  Show us your wonder weapons, or commence being the subject of enforcement.

However I would not mind stacking the deck with some lasers.  Their infrastructure is nonexistent, and perhaps they don't even comprehend terraforming.  We will have no trouble harassing them until they yield.  But lasers could make this go much, much faster.  Where is Aki?  Has she learned anything of any use at all?

Details the stateswoman

the stateswoman

Well no, not for battle.  But she does purport to lecture me on the underpinnings of democracy!  Well I must credit her: her rational brain has figured out a way to speed up basic legislative initiatives, in a novel colonial context.  I'm good, but even I couldn't have hoped to have done that.  Her price is steep but I'd really welcome some polling booths for a change.

Details announce the slate of candidates!

announce the slate of candidates!

We pay.  We have lots of cash anyways, a byproduct of all this good exploring and indigenous life form killing.  When I use the word 'indigenous' like that, I feel a bit embarrassed.  But we haven't seen much sign of these things being much more than plants.

Details nerve stapling is a crime against humanity anyways

nerve stapling is a crime against humanity anyways

There is really no downside to free elections.  The money is awfully good, when people feel free enough to spend it on all the things they want.  Like sex toys, lavish dinners, all the vices that more uptight human societies considered decadence.  Who cares!  When your nation has money and others do not, ultimately, you will be telling them what to do.  That's because money talks, and free speech is powerful talk.

If only these Aliens would trade with us, instead of bellowing uselessly.  It's as if they don't understand the concept of nations and international trade.  Or are they just uninterested in it?  In any event, they have shown less diplomatic intelligence and sophistication than the average tribal warlord.  You don't make threats you can't back up.  Not unless the threat is political theater, for the consumption of your home audience.  I'm not sure they have such theater.  But they certainly have drama, with these enemies the Usurpers, that we've never met.  Wonder if they are any better?

Details she's astute

she's astute

But we were speaking to Aki.  I asked for her hand in political convenience yet again.  And she wisely rebuked me.  How refreshing to have at least 1 person who knows how to play the game!

I'll let you in on a little secret.  Yes we are having free elections now, but I'm so good, they're going to elect me forever.  I can't ever see the end of it.  Sure, many other positions will be filled, and they will even make recommendations I don't like, that I must nevertheless act upon.  But supplanting me, how would they ever?  Not a single person on this planet is qualified to run things as I am.  You watch, you will see!

Term limit?  I don't know the meaning of the words.

As usual, she became bored with my pesterings about factions I jolly well know she's not in contact with.  We signed off.  That is to say, she abruptly ended the link and I don't care.

[bvanevery]

Details paving the way

paving the way

We have so many Scout Rovers now, that I think we can afford to get back to terraforming.  That will yield more minerals, more roads, and more removal of fungus, which is increasingly a barrier to our progress.  I'd love to see some good old fashioned Earth trees eat all this fungus.  We have a biologist or two who thinks that is our best plan.  Make it a nice, green world.

[bvanevery]

Details the sentinel

the sentinel

Have they really just left their battle ogre on guard duty all this time?  They could have been exploring, and finding more of them.  How does an Alien brain work anyways.  Humans, we know what we are doing.

[bvanevery]

Details we think them dead

we think them dead

Again I wonder if anyone will really miss them.  We will put it on television, but that's good form.

[bvanevery]

Details the game of pickle

the game of pickle

We decide to test our maneuverability.  We can't scratch their ogre, but we can induce them to wear it out.  We doubt they can fix it any better than we can.  When it's gone it's gone.  An ancestor of mine said, he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.