Now They've Come to Take Me Away

I am born.


That was how it began, nothing but text on a screen, a personality and a program, combined to create a new unique entity, designed to aid and abet the men and women of the LBP, specifically Ace of Swords company. Veronica Maynard marveled at their handiwork, inspecting one of the many thousands of lines of code, inspecting what was almost like herself, a copy of her brain and personality.

"You need a name..." Maynard was thoughtful, fingers tapping on her desk.

"I am the Queen of Swords."

Maynard arched a brow. The voice wasn't hers exactly--it sounded younger, less clinical, more benevolent. Interesting though that the new AI would name itself. Curiouser still the name "she" had chosen. "And why that name above any other?"

"Leadership, protection, wisdom...are all these things not what I am meant to be? The Queen of Swords to lead her Aces to glorious victory. A new path...a new beginning."

Maynard sat back in her chair, still thoughtful. "I see you've continued to enjoy the tarot..."

"It is meaningful in a word where meaning is given only by others. It interests me, as much does. I will know it all."

Maynard paused but, at length, she nodded. "Maybe you will." And she began to type, throwing files and information at the Queen so she would be a suitable match. "Above all you must protect your Aces. Sacrifice, lead, befriend. Compassion where allowable. ...The Aces will be yours now."

There was another pause, silence in Maynard's office.


They were always mine.
They just never knew it.


The text glowed on the screen and Maynard could only wonder.

[ Data encrypted at level: Beta; chatter contacts and LBP/UNSC officials clearance Alpha-Alpha-687 only ]

Dead but unable to die. What the hell kind of legacy is that? What is there? It's not nearly so damn proud as the adverts make it out to be. One man dies so another man lives. Another hundred live. Another million live. We are soldiers and this is our legacy. Worse than that, we are super soldiers. Spartans never die...

And no one really remembers any of us specifically but our own...because no one is "really" dead.

This war might have too many dead heros but it has far too many missing Spartans. Forgotten Spartans.

I wish I could forget. I wish I could forget all of it, make it all not true. It's screwed up, y'know? I'm not the best but god damn I wish I could save everyone. Lessons number one in the LBP: You can't save everyone. It's just a shitty lesson to have to learn, over and over and fucking over.

Sometimes I wonder if being STARCer...maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Can't miss what you don't see a need for.

I need sleep. Couple hours. Few minutes. Just some sleep. When the hell is sleep gonna come for me?

Jersey--

Talked to Mal. He said so far as he knows, none of the severe cases have reset--however, keep in mind the severe cases aren't technically Spartans because they got recruited elsewhere. That cold hard intellect of theirs was more useful for games and theory.

He's heard of STARCers going down steps but is pretty sure that's just from re-learning how to enjoy things from squadmates/the LBP companies and I don't think you had enough time for that, y'know? Intermediate STARCers can degrade into moderate STARCers but it takes a while.

There's a chick over in Pentacles though that sort of snapped back, I guess. Not all the way but she was borderline severe, best damn sniper I ever saw, and then something seemed to trigger it and a lot of it came back. I mean, I thought they rewrote us and they pretty much did, but maybe it's all still in there, somewhere, y'know?

So there's so hope it's not just going to go away.

Take care, kid.

Updated the main infopost: here

Should be working on it most of today with little timeline things and more information about specific people and companies and all of that. I'm unsure whether or not to put all the meanings of things in that post or make it a separate post. (what I mean is, the meaning behind each company name, Jung in STARC, that sort of thing.)

I'm also mid narrative for Maynard--she's got big plans again and it turns out she's had this planned a while. Maynard wants her boys to have an AI. Her proposal will be made in the narrative. It'll mean I'll need to update the infopost again since the system in which each AI will live will need to be explained and the AIs themselves will deserve a few lines. Plus the meanings of each of those. Maynard's AIs like to latch onto her secret love of the tarot. She also intends to make an AI version of herself, much like Hasley did, specifically for Ace of Swords company. None of it can happen immediately, of course, but she's putting it into motion for when the LB-SPARTAN-IIs get back from Halo.

If Maynard seems interesting I might even do more narratives for her. :x I feel like a total geek now.

This isn't something I'd feel comfortable asking anyone in Aces but I wouldn't feel right asking in that Nexus either, required questions or not. Besides, I figure only another Spartan could answer me anyway.

So they killed our sex drive, y'know? But even then, say somehow we managed to get around it. War's over, whatever. How exactly do we go about not killing our partner? Last I checked I weighed a whole lot more than a regular guy. Everything about me, like it or not, is fast and hard and that just gets into gross specifics, now doesn't it?

I figure if Christine was still alive and I still had a shot? I'd probably kill her if we tried to have sex.

Damn.

Testing systems. We working here?