Finals week

I’ll try n update with part 2 of the Atoll lab faq after the procedures test.

Art has been delayed for finals. (I still haven’t forgotten about you Kirill)

Also: More ctrix , this guy takes chip-tunes to a whole new level. https://soundcloud.com/ctrix

TANK FU: ROUND-HOUSE KICK!!

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Cool article courtesy of vermifuge was this find about the construction of the SR-71 and the recently de-classified photos. You all should give this a read. http://sploid.gizmodo.com/fascinating-photos-reveal-how-they-built-the-sr-71-blac-1683754944/+jesusdiaz

ATOLL LAB FAQ part 2:

7) The World:

The story of Atoll Lab takes place in an alternate timeline of the real world but about 100+ years later. A Renaissance of space exploration occurred and prompted a huge boost in technological development for space travel.  Through resources brought back from space, Human kind was able to solve the power crisis, but not the age-old problems of overpopulation and war.  The militaries of the world decided not to retire the old models of machines they used, but keep them going with updated frames and internals, Funding instead went into the development of space drones and ship technology. So in this world, the A-10, the su-27, the T-90 ect.. they still exist with modern engines and armor.  The more developed nations saw advancements in medicine and cybernetic implantation, most humans carry at least one augmentation and it is as common as carrying a cellphone in your pocket.

When The Machine race fully arrives into the world and things have settled down, New governments form on top of old ones as the “Man-Machine Alliance governing bodies” or simply put “Alliance nations” come into power. (Humans had saw to it that the machine folk were issued a Turing test to determine weather or not they were truly sentient or if they were just mere robotic machines and every Dire passed.  Many humans recognized the former vehicles as people, But in reality, humans cant survive well without machines. it was well understood that the economy would collapse without the help of the Dire machine. ) The governing bodies ultimately protect human and machine life and outline new laws to ensure the Dire machine are regarded as true Citizens of the nation they live in. Like humans, The machine folk pay taxes and work for a living. they participate in nationally recognized holidays and occasionally get called in for jury duty when the need arises.

Architecture in alliance nations has changed as well. In our world, people complain about “wheel chair access compliance” , in their world, reasonable accommodations for large machines became a necessity, and new architecture with wide doors and advance elevation came into play.  Humans and machines work together as partners and pay is shared by both.

8) Opposition:

Not everyone recognizes the Dire Machines and their children as people. There are various reasons as to why great number of humanity still holds onto the old way of government by resisting the machine folk, Some of it religious, some of it personal. Outside of alliance governed countries, humanity continues on in denial: the huge lack of modern mechanized power makes their economy weaker then that of machine loving nations, but People here press on using gutted vehicles or older factory type machines to do labor and bring food to the people. Dire machines who cross the boarders into these countries must do so at their own risk, for they don’t have laws that protect them here like they do in Alliance nations. People here often times refuse service to the machines folk, and even humans with visibly corrupted limbs get ignored or turned away. It is however nowhere near as volatile as it is in Anti-machine towns, villages, cities where they attack and kill machine people on sight. In the Atoll Lab world, the source of the world’s pain tend to come in the form of terrorist organizations like “Humanist first” who claim that allowing the machine folk to mingle with humanity will cause man to go extinct. Humanist First men and women come from all corners of the globe to cause havoc against the countries that would willingly recognize the machine race as equals. They target humans and the children of humans who have chosen a machine to lay with siting it as a “betrayal of mankind”. They aren’t above using machines against other machines, and come with their own impressive array of captured weaponry from rockets to heavy machine guns. Because Humanist First is able to organize and strategize, they make for a much more dangerous opponent in the long run then even the success machines who are mostly wild and solitary.

9) Refugee centers:

Thought the boarders to the Alliance nations are camps run and maintained by the Demi machines with the intent on helping out those Dires or Dire couples who have escaped from over the boarder away from unfriendly nations who would try to harm them . Because there were many vehicles per people before the advent of the Dires, not all of them were gutted for use or destroyed outright. Occasionally some of those vehicles do still awaken and find themselves in a scary place. If they make it to the boarder, the refugee camps are there to help these machines become citizens and tend to their wounds if they have any. There are services for pregnant machines and corrupted humans and every effort is made to ensure the safety of the staff and charges inside. Each facility contains a small armory for defense, and these places double as disaster shelters if that need arises.

10) Flotilla cities:

The ship folk (much like the locomotive folk who are trapped to their rails) Found themselves at a disadvantage compared to their land dwelling neighbors as they relied upon the mainland for many supplies. Ship folk could only access supplies through harbors, waterways, and rivers, and attracting humans to come to the sea to mate with them also proved to be a daunting task.  The natural segregation via topographical differences caused the ship folk to form their own tight knit culture and endeavored to construct huge floating cities or land mass extensions to facilitate bringing the people of the land closer to the people of the sea. These Flotilla cities operate independently from the alliance nations if they are more then 300 miles away from shore but carry with them much of the same spirit of the laws from these places too. The sea-fairing nations are ruled by a parliament of aircraft carriers and other ships who convene to decide on the issues of the day and carry out swift action on those who break the rules. The Environmental health of the oceans in the future are not terribly great. Many great species of fish and other animals on the brink of extinction so The ship folk do their best to protect what is left of the beasts of the sea as it is what the humans also want. Fuel is largely provided by synthetic plants who process the energy materials brought back from space, No deep sea oil drilling is conducted anymore.  Food for the humans are grown on green house ships and fish are provided by shoreline farming. The navy is revered here, with many of the plane folk still choosing to serve a navy life for the peace and quiet it brings. Submarine Dires form a subculture all their own, operating closely with the Parliament, and frequent the flotillas for news and entertainment.

11) Pleasure hangars:

One of my favorite parts of the story, Is the pleasure hangars. Dire machines and their children are constantly influenced by that need to find a mate and have lots of sex so they can breed the next generation. Dires can and do often mate amongst themselves (making Super Dires) But very much desire some human DNA in their offspring. Finding humans who are willing to love them, is the hard part. So Many places have sprung up to attract that very small % of humans who do have a sexuality fluid enough to consider loving a machine. People with means donate their large hangars or homes, once or twice a month, to becomes a warm, safe place for humans and machines to go to have a sexual experience for free. Refreshments are provided by the hosts, and humans who come are not pressured to do anything they don’t want to. People here leave their clothes in the hall and enter the main area as nude as the machines themselves- a symbol of leaving one’s shame behind. No one judges here. old, young, thin, fat, and any racial type are welcome as long as the people act with civility. Machines aren’t allowed to ask the name or any other information of the human unless it is offered up first, This is to cut down on likely violations of privacy outside of the event. There are board games, movies, places to bathe, and quiet places to talk.. but many just come here to have a sexual experience with a desperate Dire/Demi of their choosing. These places are so popular now, machines are being turned away due to lack of available space.

10) The Moon:

In this setting, much of the fossil fuels on earth have been used up more then 50 years prior. With the great space Renaissance, new sources of fuel where discovered in the great beyond and on the moon where helium 3 is mined and processed to be sent back to earth for use. All machines in this setting use ‘Synth’ diesel, ‘Synth’ petrol, or have an engine that runs with the use of super futuristic portable hot/cold fusion. On the moon is a huge colony of humans and machines working together to expand on the world’s need for fuel and address the questions of how to proceed in the long term. It is here in the stars where the Space machines truly rule, even as the average car or plane never ever meets one in his or her’s lifetime.

The last great world war was over distribution of materials from space,  The costs involved employing, mining, transporting, said fuels still make it so power cannot be freely subsidized. Getting resources to poorer nations continues to be an issue.

So that’s it, That/s my Dire machine FAQ in a nutshell. If you read this and have a question about something that perhaps I could add another entry, Do not hesitate to drop me a message.