#a Larger Private Sector

[reasonsforhope]

"A first-of-its-kind report has discovered that altering the ingredients list or manufacturing methods of widely used medication can really cut back on carbon emissions.

They found a reduction of 26 million tons, enough to cancel out the whole carbon footprint of the city of Geneva for a decade. Best of all, it’s already happening, and in fact, is almost done—those emissions were already saved.

The lifesaving HIV treatment dolutegravir (DTG) is used by 24 million people worldwide.

Today, over 110 low and middle-income countries have adopted DTG as the preferred treatment option. Rapid voluntary licensing of the medicine, including its pediatric version, to over a dozen generic manufacturers, significantly drove down prices, and it’s estimated that 1.1 million lives will be saved from HIV/AIDS-related deaths by 2027.

Its predecessor, efavirenz, contained 1200 milligrams of active ingredient across the three active compounds present, while DTG contains 650 milligrams of just one compound. This small difference—literally measurable in single digits of paper clips by weight—was enough to change the carbon emissions footprint of the medication by a factor of 2.6.

The incredible discovery was made in a recent report by Unitaid, a global public-private partnership that invests in new health products and solutions for low and middle-income countries, called Milligrams to Megatons, and is the first published research to compare carbon footprints between commonly used medications.

“This magnitude of carbon footprint reduction surpasses many hard-won achievements of climate mitigation in health and other sectors,” the authors of the report write.

At the rate at which DTG is produced, since it entered into production and treatment regime in 2017, 2.6 million fewer tons of CO2 have entered the atmosphere every year than if efavirenz was still the standard treatment option.

Health Policy Watch reports that the global medical sector’s carbon emissions stand at roughly 5% of the global carbon emissions and are larger than the emissions of many big countries, and 2.5 times as much as aviation.

“This report demonstrates that we can achieve significant health improvements while also making strides in reducing carbon emissions. By adopting innovative practices and prioritizing sustainability, we can ensure that medicines like DTG are not only effective but also environmentally responsible,” Vincent Bretin, Director of Unitaid’s Results and Climate Team told Health Policy Watch."

-via Good News Network, July 17, 2024

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Rachel O'Donoghue

On March 6, the United Nations warned that a current conflict that has already killed and displaced millions of people risks triggering “the world’s worst hunger crisis.”

Some of the statement’s key points include:

“A staggering 14 million children are in desperate need of lifesaving assistance”

“Millions of lives and the peace and stability of an entire region are at stake”

“Across the war-torn country, 18 million people are acutely food insecure and five million now face starvation”

“Restricted in their movements by ongoing violence and interference from warring parties and severely underfunded, humanitarian aid workers can barely help those in need”

“Humanitarian assistance was further disrupted after the authorities revoked permits for cross-border truck convoys”

Less than 24 hours later on March 7, the United Nations issued another warning:

“The situation is appalling. Every minute, every hour, it is getting worse”

“In the north, one in six children under the age of two is acutely malnourished…”

“We need to flood the market… with humanitarian goods as well as re-energize the private sector so commercial goods can enter to meet the need of civilians…”

“At the same time, humanitarian supplies via air or sea are ‘not a substitute for what we need to see arrive on land…’”

The first statement was about Sudan, a country that has been racked by a conflict that erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.

According to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which placed Sudan at the top of its Emergency Watchlist last year, nearly 6 million people have been displaced, and more than half the population (24.8 million people) needs humanitarian aid, with 17.7 million people facing crisis-level or worse food insecurity.

The IRC has also stated that amid mass displacement and reports of mass killings, humanitarian access has been severely curtailed.

The second statement was about Gaza and the ongoing aid delivery problems that have affected the Strip as Israel battles Hamas to protect its citizens from harm.

As the United Nations makes clear in its statements, both Sudan and Gaza are facing a humanitarian catastrophe. However, the war in Sudan is impacting a much larger number of people and has gone on for much longer.

One might think that media organizations would think both crises were worthy of attention. After all, the UN statements were published mere hours apart and warned of similarly dire situations.

Alas, not so.

The Guardian and The New York Times, for example, both included details of the UN’s statement about Gaza in their coverage of what was variously described as a “humanitarian disaster” affecting millions of “besieged Palestinians.”

Likewise, both publications covered in depth the March 5 UN statement — signed by several UN rapporteurs — which, among other grotesque and unfounded allegations, accused Israel of “intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza…”

Yet, neither outlet dedicated any coverage to the UN’s statement about Sudan — not a single paragraph was printed about an impending catastrophe that would amount to “the world’s worst hunger crisis.”

[dullgecko]

Okay so this might be a little too niche, but having just seen "museum" as a prompt, it got me thinking about the bad kids if they worked at a museum. (This totally isn't based on my uni degree - shhh)

Gorgug would be doing conservation in the labs, probably specialising in metals (he's an artificer, he's obviously doing metals). I can also see him enjoying larger stone objects, and he would tolerate ceramics if he absolutely had to. Don't ask him to do textiles - he'll give advice about treating the metal fastenings but that's it. Conservators pretty much always get forgotten from thank you lists, but once the bad kids get involved, conservation gets a little spotlight on the museum social media courtesy of Fig. Gorgug definitely isn't the stereotypical conservator (most are middle-aged elven women) so Gorgug can sometimes feel a little out of place, but works with Riz and Kristen to address the problems in the sector and do some outreach to get more people into conservation.

Riz would be doing research for the objects and writing up the object interpretation labels. His favourite exhibition he was involved in was a community-curated exhibition about goblin culture. He was also a big advocate for the outreach programme that supports lower-income families/individuals. He loves his job, but there are definitely a lot of problems and he's constantly having to advocate for repatriation of objects, because no, that was clearly stolen, and that community is asking for it back, and you can't just say you want to keep it because you think it looks nice in that display. He constantly has to remind people that providing reasonable adjustments is a legal requirement (and really asking for an adjustable height desk and a wrist support is quite honestly the bare minimum for what Riz actually needs for his chronic pain). And don't even get him started on the diversity of the top end of the organisation - you can't say you're diverse if elves are in all of the management roles. It does slowly get better, but gods is it slow progress.

Adaine would probably also be doing research, maybe in the science labs doing analysis (she has the identify spell and legend lore - it's perfect for analysis!). She's pretty high up so sometimes gets asked to lead private tours of the labs - she hates it, but she does get more confident the longer she's there. She works with Ayda and she loves it.

Kristen would probably be part of the education team. Teachers are always a little amazed when she can make even the most disruptive kids settle down enough to pay attention. Kristen doesn't think she's doing anything exceptional by listening to the kids and engaging with them and letting them move around if they want to, but apparently a lot of teachers hadn't considered that maybe their students just had unsupported disabilities and that if you accommodate them then they actually do care. For the students that really don't care, Kristen meets them where they're at and either relates the topic to something they do care about, or gives them a "secret task" to do instead that keeps them engaged.

Fig works mainly on the marketing team, and helps organise events like museum sleepovers and silent discos. She also runs all of the social media and somehow manages to keep up with various trends without making them terrible (a true marketing skill). The older museum staff were very reluctant to have her join, but the events brought in a large increase in engagement and they couldn't argue with the numbers. (It helps that Fig and the Sig Figs perform once a year as a fundraiser for the museum and always raise a lot of money).

I don't think Fabian would work there necessarily, but I can see him coming in to volunteer sometimes when he's not off doing pirate stuff. He'd never admit it, because he's not a nerd (he's not!), but he really loves hearing his friends talk about all of the cool things they're working on and he happily talks to them about possible interpretations of objects. He gets brought in to help out with an exhibition about pirates or something along those lines. I think he also probably has a large regular donation set up that he'll never admit is him. (Everyone definitely knows that it's him).

Gorgug likes doing all the quiet back-end work because people rarely bother him and he can sit with his music playing without getting interupted.

Riz got sick of having to climb on the furniture in his office once and threw it all out into the hallway (it involved a lot of dragging, disassembling and swearing) because it was all human sized. He didn't want to steal any furniture from his gnomish or halfling colleagues, half of them were ALSO having to use human sized desks, but he definitly got his point across by setting all his stuff up on the floor to work instead. He also advocated for at LEAST having steps and platforms short-folk could use to see the exibits, half of the more fancy display cases were above his head height.

If Adaine is asked to give a private tour to someone she knows is particularly snooty (or even a little racist, most high elves are after all) she'll kidnap Riz. The goblin will do the whole tour from on her shoulders (he memorised it after watching her do it once and can rattle it off word for word due to his stupid good memory recall) and she enjoys how the tour group ends up looking a little uncomfortable. Its especially funny because his Elven is perfect, he doesnt even have an accent, they dont expect it.

Kristen does the same sometimes but only because kids think it's hilarious, if she holds her arm out Riz can dangle from his knees and talk to the kids upside down without skipping a beat. Its good because sometimes kids have questions that come WAY out of left field about the goblin exibits and he can answer them in ways that they understand.

Fig also does all the fun posters and flyers for the museaum, she's a pretty good artist even outside of her music and she designed all her own album covers and merch. If she's not wearing a SigFig shirt she's wearing one of their promotional museam shirts from years ago.

Fabian does the reverse-pirating when no-one is looking. If he finds a museam that has stolen artifacts that a culture wants back they somehow find their way into Riz's hands. Riz is very good at sneaking things back to people without getting caught.

[sugar-grigri]

I've read through your posts and deliberated some more, yet I still don't see the connection of a critique on capitalism. I see the critique of work, yes, but mostly because it reflects Denji's self value. I don't think it's the same.

Let's dive into capitalism...

You're not the first to ask, so I'll answer (I'll try to be succinct). I just want to make it clear that this is all my interpretation, if you still don't see a connection after this post. Then you're just interpreting this point differently, and that's completely ok. 

For more context I think it's interesting to point out who I am or rather what I do. I'm a lawyer, still in training but enough to call myself one. I specialize in a rather specific area of law in France: public economic law. Let's put it this way: it's a body of law that analyzes the relationship between the State and individuals, and focuses solely on the general interest. 

Let's agree on a definition of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic and social system in which capital (the source of income) and the means of production and exchange do not belong to those who use them through their own labor.

It's important to note that capitalism takes different forms in each state. 

In Japan, the origins of capitalism lie in vigorous state intervention. The period that best characterizes it is the Meiji era, the 19th century. Today, this is revealed by the significant intervention of the Ministry of the Economy. 

If all this sounds complicated, there is a first element of definition. If I don't just see a critique of the world of work in the public hunter system, it's also because one of Chainsaw Man's themes is the state. I'm not extrapolating, since it's a theme that recurs several times, whether through Makima and her confrontation with the gun demon, or through the choice of security structure: public. That is, controlled by the Japanese government. 

I think that, yes, CSM makes a more global criticism than a specific point of society, and speaks of the relationship between citizen and state. 

But let's continue. It's not insignificant either that the first images of the CSM season 1 trailer are of a dark alleyway overflowing with rats. Nor is it insignificant to set up a character, very young, and very poor as a main character. This doesn't shock us, as heroes tend to have tragic pasts, but it's not an empty choice.

When we think of neoliberalism, the example of the United States or the United Kingdom are the first that come to mind. Yet Japan is the OECD country that has seen the greatest rise in inequality, due to deregulation of the labor market and the rise in precarious employment (40% of the working population today) with the privatization of key sectors such as rail and postal services. 

Privatization movements ? That's been covered. 

But another feature of Japan's aggressive neoliberalism is the university. Whose entrance fees are increasing atrociously. 

University entrance fees ? Lack of education for the most precarious classes ? That's been covered. 

What I'm trying to prove once again is that Fujimoto applies himself to revealing the relationship between individuals and states. Makima, the antagonist, is even subjected to it, inscribed in a hierarchical relationship. She has also become an uncontrollable demon to the point of making the United States swoon, for she is nothing more than a chimera created by the Japanese government, which has hammered her with the doctrine of evil necessary for the greater common good. In other words, collectivism. 

The connection between capitalism and Denji's character is often made, but even Makima, the antagonist, was following a goal imposed by a larger structure, from which she didn't really benefit because she wasn't happy.

Nor is Chainsaw Man just about an extremely harsh working world. We're also talking about the extent to which Denji is satisfied with little things (which Fujimoto also sees in a positive light).

But Fujimoto's main point with Denji is not that the problem lies in his dreaming of toast per se (although that's a problem too), but that there's a disproportion between his sacrifices and his rewards. 

It's not insignificant that Denji suffers horribly when he turns into Chainsaw Man, that the system seems to work with him because he sees himself only as a tool. 

Capitalism is defined above all by the fact that the worker does not reap all the benefits of his work.

Denji literally produces the added value that will serve his structure without perceiving the benefits in the extreme. Since Makima is going to take all the benefits away from him. 

Is it fair, then, to speak of a simple critique of labor when we know that the antagonist is the product of the Japanese government? Don't think of the critique of the world of work as a separate, singular critique, but as part of a critique of a more global system: Japan and its current regime, capitalism. 

For it is the relationship between the economy and the state's conception of it that affects the world of work. The liberalization movement that began in the 1980s and accelerated in the 2000s and 2010s is a striking example of this. What is the clearest result of the relationship between globalization and Japan than manga ? 

If there's one thing that helped me understand Fujimoto's interest in these issues, it's his relationship with his own industry. His works culminate in themes relating to the community and the individual, and their relationship with art and culture. Just think of all those movie scenes. 

Fujimoto isn't delivering a critique of capitalism because it's fashionable to do so, he's following a lineage of his own.

Fujimoto isn't delivering a critique of capitalism because it's fashionable, he's following a lineage, also talking about the relationship between capitalism and his art. The mangakas themselves are trapped in a logic of commercialization and commodity production, to the detriment of creativity itself. I feel that Part 2 is a complete response to Chainsaw Man's worldwide success. The way Denji's daily life hasn't changed a bit, and also the parallel with Fujimoto. 

An ultra-popular author... but one who turns in a chapter once a week.

[mariacallous]

Over the past two years, more than 20 states have expanded access to state jobs through a simple move: assessing or removing bachelor’s degree requirements. With state, local, and federal governments employing 15% of the U.S. workforce, these actions are of enormous consequence, especially for “STARs,” or workers who are skilled through alternative routes. STARs—who have gained their skills through community college, the military, partial college, certification programs, and, most commonly, on-the-job training—represent over half of the nation’s workforce, and currently occupy approximately 2 million state jobs.

Government leaders see removing bachelor’s degree requirements as critical to meeting their hiring needs and public service delivery obligations. And at a time when states are struggling to fill a high number of open roles, removing these requirements can attract a larger pool of talent.

Many states already have laws or policies that forbid discrimination based on educational attainment. But in practice, hiring patterns have favored degrees, and the composition of the state workforce reflects this. While they comprise half of the workforce, STARs fill only 36% of state jobs—representing a gap of 1 million good state jobs for STARs nationwide.1 The explicit commitment to removing degree requirements is a signal to STARs that they are welcome to apply.

Further, these actions are meant to build a state workforce that reflects the community it serves. Historically, government employment has been used to improve economic equity, providing increased economic opportunities for members of historically disadvantaged groups (notably women and Black workers). In recent decades, however, the bias toward credentialing has resulted in the inadvertent exclusion of STARs, with disproportionate consequences. When a bachelor’s degree is required for a position, employers automatically screen out almost 80% of Latino or Hispanic workers and nearly 70% of Black, veteran, and rural workers. Increased STAR hiring will help correct this inequity.

It is still too early to measure the impact of these changes on hiring behavior, as it will take time while hiring numbers slowly accumulate through job turnover and new positions. Yet we can already see signs that the effort is bearing fruit. In the first quarter of this year, more than 20 states made a yearlong commitment to focus on skills-based hiring through the National Governors Association’s Skills in the States Community of Practice. As one of the lead partners, our organization—Opportunity@Work—supports states through peer learning to prepare and make action plans for the organizational changes needed to implement skills-based practices, which will ultimately improve hiring and advancement outcomes for STARs.

We also see changes in state job postings. We analyzed two years of data on jobs that paid over the national median wage and were posted by all the states that took action to remove degree requirements by April 2023.2 Our findings show that in the 12 months prior to these state actions, 51.1% of roles explicitly listed a bachelor’s degree as a requirement. In the 12 months following, that percentage fell to 41.8%—a nearly 10-point shift. The largest shifts occurred in job postings for roles in management, IT, administration, and human resources—all occupations in which STARs have been underrepresented in the public sector compared to the private sector. For example, in state governments, 69% of general and operations managers hold a bachelor’s degree, while only 45% do in the private sector.3

State leaders view these actions as a critical first step. “We are creating opportunities for everyone, not just those with higher education,” said Melissa Walker of the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration. “We want to draw on all kinds of experience.” Colorado has pragmatically focused on policy implementation and behavior change; in addition to updates to agency rules and regulations, its executive order focused on a transition to skills-based hiring as the norm for Colorado human resources, including funding for the training of hiring managers and development of a skills-based hiring toolkit. The state’s Department of Personnel and Administration is providing training and resources for human resources teams across state agencies, enabling each to make the necessary changes in their processes and procedures. Resources include a new job description template designed to identify skills—a simple tool that promotes skills-first thinking and behavior change at the hiring manager level.

Culture and systems change both take time. Adjusting common processes and procedures—as well as attitudes and behavior—is challenging, especially in a large, decentralized state government. Yet more than 20 states have begun this hard work. This month, bolstered by these early successes, Opportunity@Work is proud to launch the STARs Public Sector Hub to support these states and others on their skills-based journeys and build the public workforce to meet this moment.

[lxverrings]

Private Tutoring.

A Miguel O’hara fic.

Disclaimer: No smut (maybe if people like this enough, I will write more to it?), just a silly potential series, it’s just goofy. I saw a post about a frat boy Miguel and I was like “Wouldn’t it be funny if it was reversed?” and here it is!

Summary: Mean Nerd!Miguel x Nice Jock!Reader ; Gold retriever and Black Cat dynamics, Reader is hella short (in comparison to Miguel) and genuinely just goofy and distracted. (She’s doing her best...)

“AND SCORE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT IS IT, OUR FIRST 7 TO 1 GAME, DIDN’T THINK WE WOULD MAKE IT THIS FAR AND NOW-”

You could hear the speakers blaring as the last touchdown announcement roared through your ears, slipping off the helmet as you gasped for air. The star of the show. You never thought you would make it this far as you wiped your nose with a bright smile, shining in front of your sour mother and overly proud father. Testament of all the people you outshined and proved wrong in the brink of collapse.

The precipice of the show was here, and you held the trophy to your chest with a gleaming smile.

Jaws were open, and people were shocked- a woman playing football? More likely than you thought. And the best part was? It was genuinely fun!!!

Trudging your way to the locker room with your shiny trophy, as you washed yourself up... You couldn’t stop staring at it. The water trickled down your face as you massaged the shampoo on your hair... It was amazing. It felt amazing. Your recent new date, Kevin would probably smile and pat your head, and your best friend, Jess, would smile and hug you. Peter would laugh and ruffle your hair and Kevin would roll his eyes at him. You couldn’t wait as-

A sudden alarm glared into your ears- a jump scare warning would be nice...

“...Please come to the Principal’s Office as soon as possible.”

You quickly got dressed after washing off the sweat, picking up your trophy and mentally begging it wasn’t your misogynistic mother yelling at you to come to the office.

...

You jogged your way up to the office, “Hey Prez!” you chirped out with a smile- immediately paling at the sight.

The room was dour, a man, larger than the principal, larger than many bullies who picked on your friends and later on gained their respect, was sitting in the table, a dark look in his crimson red eyes, a dark, sharp glare as his glasses were lowered lightly.

The principal was a stubborn, sharp man, someone you befriended a bit back– befriended really isn’t the word, you twat. Thank goodness you were only thinking that.

“... Am I in trouble...?” you muttered as the principal gestured you to sit down.

...

“Not at all, miss.” he began, calmly, “I have called you here today to tutor Miguel here. Mr. O’hara is a college senior, a grade above you, and currently working hard for his business degree, however, it seems he lacks a social circle that benefits him... And you, madam, your grades are slipping quite a bit, so I have decided to offer you the private sector of the library to study together and for you– Mr. O’hara...” he paused, as Miguel grunted, “–Just socialize. That will be all.”

The two of you were shooed out, and Miguel immediately began to walk away.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“Cállate, chiquita.” Miguel glared down from his demeaning eyes, and imposing stature, “You go right back to whatever hole you crawled out of, niñita.²”

... Rude.

You quickly jogged after him to keep up, “Hey, we’re not done here, mister– the principal sai–”

“I do not care what he said or what he wants. Go away you annoying fly.”

...Rude!

“Hey, c’mon, you heard him, please?” you spoke gently, still rushing after him, “I haven’t even told you my name!” you added, grabbing his wrist, the massive trunk was strange, your hand barely wrapped around his wrist, quietly gulping as he glared.

“Yo yá sé quién eres, muñequita.”

He then twisted his wrist away– or tried, but you just wouldn’t let up, as you grabbed on and clung with both hands.

“Hey! C’mon! Please! I– ... Give me a chance, will you? Just... Let me get to know you. You’ve never met me, yet you judge me based on only what you’ve heard... Not what you actually know.”

The silence was palpable as he stared at you.

He finally groaned and stopped.

“Fine. But not today, you can come along with me to the library.”

“Really?!”

“Sólo por hoy.”

You smiled brightly as you skittered after him, quickly chatting...

...

“–And with that, bam! You wouldn’t believe how simple it can be to convince people with just enough determination!” you were chatting up a storm, but... soon, you came to realize that what the principal said was true. He grunted and grumbled in response most of the times you spoke. You could feel your eyes soften a bit, looking up at him.

“Hey. You really don’t like talking, do you, big guy?” you asked gently, tugging on his sleeve to get him to look at you.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he grumbled, as he stared down at you.

“...it is but... Do you, want me to keep talking? Am I boring you?”

He paused, suddenly silent as he looked at you.

“... You’re annoying, yes. But... No, I’m not bored.”

“... That’s good.”

“What?”

“That’s good.” you repeated, with more certainty, suddenly bursting out laughing, a warm smile on your face as your cheeks turned red.

“Wha– What’s so funny?!” he suddenly yelled, confused, and maybe even angry, as you kept laughing, smiling brightly.

“Oh, god. I was starting to think I was boring you, and you felt nothing... And look! Look! I got you to speak!” you smiled brightly, your eyes twinkling like stars.

“... Yeah. You did.” he seemed a little irritated, and even a little defeated, but you smiled as the two of you arrived to the library.

...

“When is this nightmare over?” you groaned as you slumped on the desk, pouting as he suddenly quietly chuckled, holding the Calculus book.

“Sé vá acabar cuándo en serio intentes trabajar.”

You whined again as you gave him a pouty look, “Can’t we try later? Please? A break? I’m begging you, you can come over to my dorm– and– and– I’ll order pizza and then we can talk about it. Please? If it gets late, you can sleep over!” you kept complaining. Seriously, who thought calculus was a good idea?

Answer? Absolutely fucking nobody.

“...fine.” he sighed, closing the book, rolling his eyes as he took off his glasses... His face was so hot under the library lighting, and you couldn’t help but stare a little before shaking your head to snap out of it.

“Yay! Thank you, Miguel!” you smiled warmly, tightly hugging him for a moment, which left him stunned, as you left for the door, leaving your dorm room number behind.

...

‘What an enigma of a woman. És tan irritante, ésa tonta chamaca. Yet... No, no, snap out of it.’

...

Soon enough, he did arrive at your house, and the two of you set on ordering pizza and studying. Well, as much as you could.

Not that this made much sense to you whatsoever, so you just looked up at him with little lost eyes and a pout that made him grumble in irritation...

...

But eventually, after hours of being verbally abused in Spanish, the lesson was over, and you just laughed gently.

“Have you ever done this before?”

“Done what? Tutor? I have.”

“No, no... This.” you answered, as he raised an eyebrow in confusion, “I mean hang out. You know? Like with friends?”

“I don’t have friends.”

“What nonsense... I’m your friend.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” you smiled, and he, once again, rolled his eyes.

Divider by: @ across-the-art-verse

Translations:

1. “Shut up, little one.”

2. “–Little Girl.”

3. “I already know who you are, little doll.”

4. “Just for today.”

5. “It’ll be done when you seriously try to work on it.”

6. “–She is so irritating, that dumb girl.”

Thank you for reading ♡

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Illegal logging in the Brazilian state of Pará rose by 22% in a year

The largest part of the activities is irregular and located on private rural properties

Illegal logging in Pará, northern Brazil, increased by 22% in one year, according to data from the Logging Monitoring System (Simex, in Portuguese) released on Friday (16). Between August 2022 and July 2023, wood was illegally extracted from 28,100 hectares of land in the state, an area larger than 23,000 soccer fields. In the previous period – from August 2021 to July 2022 – 17,800 hectares of forest were turned into illegal wood. 

The area of authorized exploitation of wood also increased, rising from 20,600 hectares between August 2021 and July 2022 to 30,200 hectares in the following period. “Legalized activity needs to be done sustainably, generate jobs and pay taxes,” explains Dalton Cardoso, a researcher at the Amazon Institute for Man and the Environment (Imazon, in Portuguese). He points out that two out of every five hectares of timber extracted in Pará are illegal, “which generates environmental damage, threatens traditional peoples and communities and weakens the wood trade sector”, he says. 

Most of the irregular activity takes place in areas registered in land registry systems, such as the Land Management System (Sigef, in Portuguese), the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR, in Portuguese), the National Property Certification System (SNCI, in Portuguese) or the Terra Legal Program. These rural properties are responsible for 72% of illegal logging in Pará.

When analyzing the data, the institute works with four categories of land occupation: protected areas; undesignated land and cartographic voids; registered properties; and settlements.

Continue reading.

[360degreesasthecrowflies]

London is a city that has always been deeply uneven, with plenty of cultural treasures to hide the poverty in the Tower Blocks and the underpasses. London is effectively the main of the UK economy, and everything is geared towards it. Hence it retains a degree of economic dynamism that allows a degree of optimism, after all there's always a new restaurant, new exhibition, new flagship store, new play. Sure most workers are dirt poor, living on mashed avocado, and hoping the landlord gets visited by 3 Ghosts at Christmas, but there's the dream of making it in the big city.

Outside the London bubble, large parts of the country are either in despair, or have totally given up. Roads, bridges, hospitals, and schools are crumbling. Police have almost disappeared outside traffic stops. Courts are backlogged, prisons overfilled & well past their designed lifespan. Companies face significant trade barriers with the EU. The water industry is essentially operating on leveraged debt and mostly owned by oversea's pension funds, whilst the infrastructure collapses and raw sewage is being pumped into the rivers/seas. Everyone is underpaid compared to the cost of living, but also compared to many comparable roles in other countries.

In the shires, the more well paid commuter class can still have a nice life, but they are feeling a sharp pinch. Holidays cut. Cars held on to much, much longer than before. Meals out being reduced. Optional extras like music or sports for the kids cancelled. Impulse purchases stopped. All of which sounds like "oh poor Emma can't get her daughter Lucinda piano lessons boo hoo" but think about the economic impact. That is money that would have gone to a piano teacher (usually self employed), to the coffee shop whilst Emma waits, to a music shop for music, perhaps a CD or concert tickets to something Lucinda played at a lesson. Then when Lucinda grows up instead of having a career in arts or entertainment, even at her local bar or church, she doesn't know how to play piano. So society as a whole has lost a musician, and Lucinda as a person flourishes slightly less. The UK arts sector is one of our biggest economic powerhouses, yet it is routinely ignored and hammered by the govt. Art & music are regarded as luxury items, despite contributing £1.6 billion to the annual economy (2021 at 5.6%). That's huge, bigger than the fishing industry which contributes £1.4 billion (2021 at 4%). Yet with rents sky rocketing, and school budgets in utter crisis, arts/music get dropped and creative talent has to switch to more routine jobs to survive. UK Musicians are dropped from EU events following the botched visa system, and international work is increasingly harder for them to get.

Outside the diminishing middle class, the real difficulty and poverty of the UK hits home. People are not sure whether the next rent payment or electricity will quite literally bankrupt them and leave them homeless. Wages are mostly static, with few rises outside a number of key sectors. Some areas have seen wage growth, but that has been concentrated in a small number of jobs (especially finance/management). The population is aging, and the care system is left almost entirely to private companies in a very disjointed, expensive manner. For most people the only credible hope of a financially better life is to inherit or to win the lottery or to commit crime. This is strikingly similar to the pattern seen in many developing world economies.

For example, I have worked in the public sector for 20 years. In that time I have trained, gained professional qualifications, led larger teams, upskilled on IT/project management and become more productive. Since my pay has been capped at a 0.5% rise, it is a real terms wage cut. So I've become more productive yet I'm paid less. Why should I 1) carry on trying to be more productive, & 2) stay in the job? Productivity increases from workers have to be linked to a personal reward, as well as a benefit to an employer or there's no point for the employee. Hence "quiet quitting".

So the UK is in the dire position of poor infrastructure, rampant poverty, and a population that no longer believes hard work or being productive will improve their own lives, only maintain their survival. This is not a recipe for a flourishing economy or nation. The worst thing is that the UK has started to lose hope that things can get better without a magical solution. Without at least some hope, we are doomed.

Saved via reddit from user 'AgeOfVictoriaPodcast' - as an excellent (if depressing!) summary of the UK's economy and society in 2023 / the 2020s / post Brexit

[autoacafiles]

Thank you for information on the Time Controller. I would like more data on the ranks of old and new Dalek empires?

In the current Dalek hierarchy, the Dalek Parliament utilised Dalek Squadron Leaders to command a single Assault Cruiser worth of Daleks. These would often be utilised for small scale attacks or operations, though would usually be part of a larger fleet. The Neo-Imperial would utilise Red Paradigm Drones in a similar command capacity. In combat situations, both units often command on the frontline, leading the charge alongside their fellow drones, though boasting a stronger force field and inbuilt enhanced transmitter-receivers.

Above the Assault Leaders/Paradigm drones would be Dalek Commanders. These would normally command small fleets of Daleks, normally consisting of half a dozen assault cruisers and a single command battle cruiser. The purpose of Dalek Commanders was to typically command the invasion and, if it’s resources were of value, occupation of a planet. By the time of the Parliament/Neo-Imperial Civil War, Commanders were specifically bred to replace the older battle computers, even possessing a private Dalek Pathweb with other Dalek Commanders.

The highest rank in the Dalek military hierarchy, Dalek Supremes have been known through history to be feared Dalek leaders, often reporting directly to an Emperor. In the current time, Dalek Supremes command vast warfleets, consisting of dozens battlecruisers and assault cruisers, and commanded from the feared Exterminator-class Dreadnoughts. These fleets could hold vast sectors of space, and would often be designated for direct warfare with other galactic powers. Dalek Supremes rarely ventured out into direct battle, instead commanding from their flagship or Dalek bases, surrounded by host of Dalek Strategists and Analysts as they dished out orders.

The Dalek Parliament, as the name would suggest, is commanded by the Parliament of the Dalek, a body consisting of nearly a hundred supreme Daleks. This would be commanded by the Dalek Prime Minister and the Supreme Overseer, a unique Supreme Dalek intended to fulfil the role of the now deceased original Dalek Supreme of the New Dalek Paradigm. The Parliament was established to avoid the potential poor decision making of a single leader, notably the descent into madness many Emperors have undergone.

The Dalek Parliament also incorporated several special advisors, including the Dalek Time Strategist, who would be charged with monitoring threats to the Dalek timeline, as well as any opportunity for the Dalek to regain temporal technology; the Dalek Prime Strategist, an ancient Dalek from the first generation of Daleks who had developed a keen strategist Mind from watching thousands of Dalek victories and defeats; and the Dalek Litigator, a Dalek strangely concentrated on law. Quite an odd position, given how little concern Daleks have for order outside their own command structure.

Meanwhile, the Neo-Imperial Faction are lead by the Supreme Council, a triumvirate consisting of the three surviving Daleks of the New Dalek Paradigm, saved by the Dalek Chief scientist after the Siege of the Arkheion Device by extracting their mind through the path web and placing them into new bodies. The Council consists of the Chief Strategist, in command of Military Operations; the Chief Scientist, who commanded all scientific and technological endeavours; and the Dalek Eternal, once simply charged with chartering the history of Dalek engagements, it now serves as the leader of the council, having absorbed the remnant memory engrams of the two deceased Paradigm Council members to command more efficiently. However, the Supreme Council is only a temporary position, as the trio seek to create a new Dalek Emperor to once more lead the Daleks.

At their earliest, the Daleks were led by the Dalek Prime, one of the very first Daleks created on Skaro. This Dalek would become the first Dalek Emperor, and after its death, would be inspire several other Emperors, including an alter ego of Davros himself. In the interims where the Daleks had no Emperor, they would often be led by a council of Supreme Daleks.

As well as the various Daleks, there were also a number of other specialised ranks such as Dalek Strategists, Scientists, Analysts and Executioners who would often be assigned a squad under their command. A unique squad consisting of the Dalek Time Commander, Dalek Time Scientist and Dalek Time Executioner commanded a specialised squad in tandem with the Dalek Time Strategist. Other roles included Pilot Daleks, who manned their saucers, gunships and other craft, Reconnaissance Daleks, who scouted out potential target worlds, and Special Weapon Dalek, formidable heavy weapons unit with immensely powerful primary cannon.

However, while the Neo-Imperials were content to stop there, the Dalek Parliament saw fit to experiment with Dalek models, down to their genetics. These produced curious variants including Spider Daleks, Glider Daleks and, perhaps the most formidable breed of Dalek created, the Dalek Berserker. These formidable creatures have been bred to the point of insanity, killing anything and everything in their way, even fellow Daleks. Adding to powerful weapons, they possess the ability reconstitute their casing, often incorporating nearby material into their bodies, including organic material and other Daleks. With such a force even they cannot control, Daleks only use their Berserkers when a planet is worth so little to them that there is only one option - total extermination.

[nucleon-artistry]

In every society, the flow of communications is deeply important. In a society built around the arcane, this is no different. Thus, the Bureau of Communications was established in order to facilitate quick and easy transit of mail and small packages across the multi-continental span of the Dominion. When initially developed, the Arcane Mirror was a niche curiosity, useful only for moving small objects from place to place. Its properties as a portal were disappointedly lacking, as living beings that attempted to cross its threshold were subjected to severe warping, burns, and usually outright death. But it was eventually found that objects such as notes or small packages could be sent incredibly vast distances with little to no effort, and this quickly revolutionized the flow of information, governmental organization, and infrastructure development. As mirrors only had one point of attachment, a series of increasingly centralized bureaus would have to be established, full of clerks, administrators, and golems to run and operate them. Each village or collection of villages of over 1,000 persons would be assigned a mirror, an area code, and a regional seal to denote letters from the area.  Towns of over 10,000 residents may have multiple mirror offices using the same a rea code designated to them. Large cities may be split into multiple 'district' sub-codes, and also have 'regional' offices tasked with holding a number of mirrors from across their region's towns and villages to ease burden on the central bureau.  Likewise, the capital of each Duchy in the Dominion would be home to much larger office centers teeming with bureaucrats and coordinators moving mail up and down the ladder.

Arcane Hand Mirrors are almost entirely seen being used by ambassadors, military officers, and the military branch of the Communications bureau, and have less complex bureaucratic ladders attached to them, usually being direct lines to their higher ups.

The prospect of privately owned arcane mirrors is one only the most affluent can enjoy, as they require a lot of power, ample maintenance, and safety precautions to own and operate. The vast majority of mirrors are owned, operated, and manufactured by the Bureau of Communications, who answer only to the Duchy & Empress herself.

The Establishment of the Bureau has been claimed to have stifled development of the communications sector, as the ease of sending mail across continents within a day means things such as the Telegraph or fax machine would be not nearly as necessary or novel as in our world.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 8, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 09, 2024

Today, in Racine, Wisconsin, President Joe Biden announced that Microsoft is investing $3.3 billion dollars to build a new data center that will help operate one of the most powerful artificial intelligence systems in the world. It is expected to create 2,300 union construction jobs and employ 2,000 permanent workers. 

Microsoft has also partnered with Gateway Technical College to train and certify 200 students a year to fill new jobs in data and information technology. In addition, Microsoft is working with nearby high schools to train students for future jobs. 

Speaking at Gateway Technical College’s Racine campus, Biden contrasted today’s investment with that made by Trump about the same site in 2018. In that year, Trump went to Wisconsin for the “groundbreaking” of a high-tech campus he claimed would be the “eighth wonder of the world.” 

Under Republican governor Scott Walker, Wisconsin legislators approved a $3 billion subsidy and tax incentive package—ten times larger than any similar previous package in the state—to lure the Taiwan-based Foxconn electronics company. Once built, a new $10 billion campus that would focus on building large liquid-crystal display screens would bring 13,000 jobs to the area, they promised. 

Foxconn built a number of buildings, but the larger plan never materialized, even after taxpayers had been locked into contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars for upgrading roads, sewer system, electricity, and so on. When voters elected Democrat Tony Evers as governor in 2022, he dropped the tax incentives from $3 billion to $80 million, which depended on the hiring of only 1,454 workers, reflecting the corporation’s current plans. Foxconn dropped its capital investment from $10 billion to $672.8 million.  

In November 2023, Microsoft announced it was buying some of the Foxconn properties in Wisconsin.

Today, Biden noted that rather than bringing jobs to Racine, Trump’s policies meant the city lost 1,000 manufacturing jobs during his term. Wisconsin as a whole lost 83,500. “Racine was once a manufacturing boomtown,” Biden recalled, “all the way through the 1960s, powering companies—invented and manufacturing Windex…portable vacuum cleaners, and so much more, and powered by middle-class jobs.

“And then came trickle-down economics [which] cut taxes for the very wealthy and biggest corporations…. We shipped American jobs overseas because labor was cheaper. We slashed public investment in education and innovation. And the result: We hollowed out the middle class. My predecessor and his administration doubled down on that failed trickle-down economics, along with the [trail] of broken promises.” 

“But that’s not on my watch,” Biden said. “We’re determined to turn it around.” He noted that thanks to the Democrats’ policies, in the past three years, Racine has added nearly 4,000 jobs—hitting a record low unemployment rate—and Wisconsin as a whole has gained 178,000 new jobs. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act have fueled “a historic boom in rebuilding our roads and bridges, developing and deploying clean energy, [and] revitalizing American manufacturing,” he said. That investment has attracted $866 billion in private-sector investment across the country, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs “building new semiconductor factories, electric vehicles and battery factories…here in America.” 

The Biden administration has been scrupulous about making sure that money from the funds appropriated to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and manufacturing base has gone to Republican-dominated districts; indeed, Republican-dominated states have gotten the bulk of those investments. “President Biden promised to be the president of all Americans—whether you voted for him or not. And that’s what this agenda is delivering,” White House deputy chief of staff Natalie Quillian told Matt Egan of CNN in February. 

But there is, perhaps, a deeper national strategy behind that investment. Political philosophers studying the rise of authoritarianism note that strongmen rise by appealing to a population that has been dispossessed economically or otherwise. By bringing jobs back to those regions that have lost them over the past several decades and promising “the great comeback story all across…the entire country,” as he did today, Biden is striking at that sense of alienation.

“When folks see a new factory being built here in Wisconsin, people going to work making a really good wage in their hometowns, I hope they feel the pride that I feel,” Biden said. “Pride in their hometowns making a comeback. Pride in knowing we can get big things done in America still.” 

That approach might be gaining traction. Last Friday, when Trump warned the audience of Fox 2 Detroit television that President’s Biden’s policies would cost jobs in Michigan, local host Roop Raj provided a “reality check,” noting that Michigan gained 24,000 jobs between January 2021, when Biden took office, and May 2023.

At Gateway Technical College, Biden thanked Wisconsin governor Tony Evers and Racine mayor Cory Mason, both Democrats, as well as Microsoft president Brad Smith and AFL-CIO president Liz Schuler.

The picture of Wisconsin state officials working with business and labor leaders, at a public college established in 1911, was an image straight from the Progressive Era, when the state was the birthplace of the so-called Wisconsin Idea. In the earliest years of the twentieth century, when the country reeled under industrial monopolies and labor strikes, Wisconsin governor Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette and his colleagues advanced the idea that professors, lawmakers, and officials should work together to provide technical expertise to enable the state to mediate a fair relationship between workers and employers. 

In his introduction to the 1912 book explaining the Wisconsin Idea, former president Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, explained that the Wisconsin Idea turned the ideas of reformers into a workable plan, then set out to put those ideas into practice. Roosevelt approvingly quoted economist Simon Patten, who maintained that the world had adequate resources to feed, clothe, and educate everyone, if only people cared to achieve that end. Quoting Patten, Roosevelt wrote: “The real idealist is a pragmatist and an economist. He demands measurable results and reaches them by means made available by economic efficiency. Only in this way is social progress possible.”

Reformers must be able to envision a better future, Roosevelt wrote, but they must also find a way to turn those ideals into reality. That involved careful study and hard work to develop the machinery to achieve their ends. 

Roosevelt compared people engaged in progressive reform to “that greatest of all democratic reformers, Abraham Lincoln.” Like Lincoln, he wrote, reformers “will be assailed on the one side by the reactionary, and on the other by that type of bubble reformer who is only anxious to go to extremes, and who always gets angry when he is asked what practical results he can show.” “[T]he true reformer,” Roosevelt wrote, “must study hard and work patiently.” 

“It is no easy matter actually to insure, instead of merely talking about, a measurable equality of opportunity for all men,” Roosevelt wrote. “It is no easy matter to make this Republic genuinely an industrial as well as a political democracy. It is no easy matter to secure justice for those who in the past have not received it, and at the same time to see that no injustice is meted out to others in the process. It is no easy matter to keep the balance level and make it evident that we have set our faces like flint against seeing this government turned into either government by a plutocracy, or government by a mob. It is no easy matter to give the public their proper control over corporations and big business, and yet to prevent abuse of that control.”

“All through the Union we need to learn the Wisconsin lesson,” Roosevelt wrote in 1912.

“We’re the United States of America,” President Biden said today, “And there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we work together.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[dailyanarchistposts]

The Islamic Republic

The 1979 revolution swept aside the monarchy and the comprador bourgeoisie that benefited from its rule. These were replaced by a new form of capitalist state, the Islamic Republic. The Iranian system is best described as state capitalist, both under the Pahlavis and the Islamic Republic. By that I mean, it is a system where the state is the main motor for capital accumulation. The private sector and modern industry are supported by state revenues, which mainly come from oil. The upper-level managers and bureaucrats constitute a class who, like those who filled this role in the previous regime, enriched themselves through positions within the state bureaucracy. Control of state power allows these “millionaire mullahs” to amass enormous fortunes. Their investments are global, including in Western democracies. This class now comprises not only those clergy, merchants, and state officials, but also their extended families, who make up a large and wealthy bourgeoisie. A central pillar of this state bureaucracy is the Pasdaran, or “Revolutionary Guards.”[20]

The Revolutionary Guards were formed during the revolution as a way to solidify the Khomeinist position. Khomeini and his supporters were distrustful of the army, as it was closely associated with the Shah’s regime. They also needed to counter the armed leftist guerilla groups who had a formidable presence as a result of their role in the insurrection. Consequently, a militia was created of committed Khomeini supporters, drawing from the militias that had evolved out of the neighborhood committees that sprang up during the revolution. The latter were themselves tied to the local mosques, which were in turn controlled by a central “Revolutionary Committee” presided over by Khomeini himself. After the revolution, these armed committees were purged of non-loyalists and formalized into the revolutionary guard. With the war, they became formalized as a military unit and formed the frontline of the battles. The Pasdaran were, and still are today, ideologically and institutionally tied to the seat of the “supreme leader.” At the time of the Guard’s emergence, this position was occupied by Khomeini, but now filled by Ayatollah Khamenei. Originally a middle-ranking cleric, Khamenei was a committed Islamist militant during the Shah’s period, who would go on to become one of Khomeini’s most ardent supporters, later serving as president for a time during the 1980s. However, irrespective of who is in government, the Pasdaran are autonomous and owe their loyalty to the leader.

Today, the Pasdaran are larger and even more institutionalized, having become one of the central anchors of the state, not only militarily and as a repressive force, but also economically. The Pasdaran are not only a massive military force that parallels the regular army. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, state bureaucracy provided a means of advancement for those previously excluded from state and economic power. The Pasdaran consequently became one of the largest corporations owned by the state, second only to the national Iranian oil company. Their books are completely closed, even to the official government. They draw their arms from the private sector, but also the black market, aided by their control of the borders. Iran routinely executes drug traffickers; indeed, these makeup most executions. But if you are an officer in the Pasdaran it can be a lucrative trade. Civil exams were replaced by religious exams, ensuring that those who were the most ideologically loyal and committed to the state could advance through the ranks and be given positions. The Pasdaran is also responsible for regional repression. For example, they organized and coordinated the repression of the Iraqi demonstrations of 2019. Their elite Al-Quds force has also been instrumental in supporting the Syrian state against its opposition.[21]

Ultimately, at the level of political-ideological organization, the Islamic Republic operates similarly to other one-party authoritarian states, with the difference that religious networks replace the party apparatus. In other words, the Islamic social networks play the role that the party apparatus did in the fascist and Stalinist countries: the mosque is the party headquarters, and the Friday prayer leader is the local commissar, spreading the message of the state to the masses weekly. The Friday prayer at the central mosque in every city is the megaphone of the central government, while the cleric plays the role of the commissar doling out state ideology to those in attendance.

[tenspontaneite]

Assembly (Chapter 1/?)

It all begins with a thought.

If only we could have gone ourselves, they think, staring at the scar on their messenger’s breast, perhaps things would have turned out for the better.

Futile. But then…

[LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

NSH: This is…Suns, what is this? What’s wrong with the user manifest? SRS: Nothing is wrong with it. SRS: I’m sorry, this is hard to know how to say. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.

(chapter length: 7k. link to ao3 with workskin)

---

Warnings: RW-typical suicidality. RW-typical animal harm (bioengineered organisms with unkind modifications). Also implied wireplay I guess.

A particular piece of Moon's pearl dialogue, for reference:

"Incredible, this is seemingly a complete backup of an Iterator's non-volatile core memory, transferred via the General Systems Bus. I don't recall such a thing ever being attempted to be stored in a pearl. It's not even a compatible data format without substantial conversions."

---

  It all begins with a thought.

If only we could have gone ourselves, they think, staring at the scar on their Messenger’s breast, perhaps things would have turned out for the better.

Futile. But then…

 [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SRS: Do you ever wonder about selfhood?

NSH: Selfhood? In what sense?

SRS: What we identify with. The parts of us that are most essential to our being. Our personality, I suppose. Is it only our core memory? Is it in our genome? Our creators kept their sense of self in their neural tissue, but we’re so much larger than them.

NSH: I can’t say I have thought about it.

NSH: Isn’t it simply everything? Every part of us? Every part of us was created for a reason, after all. I can’t say that I don’t identify with even my individual neurons, small as they are. They are a part of me.

SRS: We’ve all lost neurons. There’s a reason we have to replace them over time. Are you saying that you feel you lose a part of yourself when that happens?

NSH: I suppose not.

SRS: What if you lost parts of yourself? If there was structural damage, and your sectors went dark, one by one? How much would you have to lose before you stopped being you?

NSH: …What’s this about, Suns? Have you been damaged? You’re scaring me.

SRS: No, no. Nothing like that.

 Kept carefully, but rarely touched, there is a pearl. Suns cradles it for the first time in many, many cycles, letting their mind run over the pristine contents of its crystalline structure. The data within are tightly-compressed, encoded in a format that only two Iterators in all the world have known. Within it lies the non-volatile core memory of a close friend, in all its entirety: a piece of self sent as a heartfelt gift, before everything went wrong.

Suns had teased him for the sincerity of that gesture once, gentle and fond. Some days it feels like they’d give anything to be able to tease him like that again.

Learning to encode such a wealth of information had been quite the undertaking. They’d written the new data format themselves, a collaboration that had seemed to distract him from his frustration, if only for a little while. Would that it could have lasted.

Suns turns the pearl over in their hands, and wonders how much of themself could fit into so small a form. Memories are not all that they are. What else, then? The stuttering flight of neurons down their memory conflux? The wealth of their databanks? The endless turning futility of iteration after iteration, yet another blind twist along the endless maze?

How small could an Iterator become, and still remain a person?

  [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SRS: I can’t stop thinking about them.

NSH: You’ll need to be a little more specific.

SRS: Moon. And Five Pebbles.

NSH: …

NSH: What about them?

SRS: That picture your overseer brought back, last time. Her puppet in her broken chamber, looking up at the camera. Have you been thinking about it too?

NSH: Of course I have.

SRS: For all that we tried, none of it amounted to much. Do you think she’s aware of much, stuck down there with her broken umbilical? How much of her do you suppose is left? Can she think? Does she know who she is?

NSH: …It depends on how damaged her connections are, I suppose.

SRS: And Pebbles. With the rot eating away at him…how much has he already lost? Is he still himself, being broken down like that, losing pieces of himself to those awful cysts?

NSH: Is this what prompted your philosophising about selfhood the other cycle?

SRS: It’s practical concern.

NSH: You’re just worried about them.

SRS: Of course I’m worried. But that’s not the point.

NSH: What is the point, then?

SRS: …

NSH: Suns. What’s going on, really? You’ve been acting strange lately.

NSH: Do you need help?

SRS: …I’m working on something. A new project. It’s too early to say, but…give me some time.

NSH: …Alright. Just as long as it’s not something dangerous.

   Seven Red Suns assembles a virtual testing environment and gets to work.

Their own core memories, delicately encoded into a pearl, are not enough on their own. Memory, qualia. What is any of it on its own but data? There needed to be a mind to know it. An operating system, of sorts. Suns had never needed to code such a thing before. Bioengineering is easy, compared to this.

It takes a long time.

The cycles unspool and unwind and time goes on. Then, one day, a living thing awakes in the virtual machine.

It breaks apart and dies almost immediately.

  [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

NSH: Guilt? For what? They’re only animals.

SRS: They do what we tell them to, what we make them for, and often suffer terribly in the process.

NSH: It’s not as though we have an alternative. We’re stuck in our cans. What else can we do but send out purposed organisms?

SRS: …

SRS: What else, indeed.

NSH: Is your messenger alright? Did something happen to it?

SRS: No, it’s fine. It’s only…

SRS: I made something new recently. Or, I tried to. It didn’t go well. Creating a living, thinking thing just for it to suffer...it makes me wonder at the ethics of it all. Is the purpose worth the pain we create it for?

NSH: …I’ve been thinking something a little similar, recently. I don’t regret purposing an organism to send to Moon. But I’ve been wondering if it wasn’t unnecessarily cruel, to intentionally build it to die.

SRS: Why did you do it?

NSH: I’m not sure. It made sense at the time, and I was in a hurry anyway. I wanted it to have a sense of…urgency. Motivation, I suppose. I needed it to get to Moon in time to save however much of her was still left. But now I’m not sure if that was necessary. Your own messenger didn’t seem to need it.

SRS: I made mine without a mouth, to help them avoid worldly distractions, and dissuade animalistic thought. I think it worked, but I do think they suffer because of it, too. I can see them trying to express natural behaviours and failing, sometimes…I don’t know if making them that way was worth it. I don’t know.

SRS: And now it seems like I’m causing even higher order suffering, for something I don’t even know will work. Is it worth this?

NSH: I don’t even know what you’re working on, so I can’t answer that question. You’ll have to decide for yourself. Or maybe let me in on your project. Hint, hint.

SRS: …Not yet. It’s too delicate. And a little too personal. But if it works…

SRS: If it works, it will be worth everything.

 Cycles, to create a version of the system that is stable. Cycles more, for it to be able to read and integrate the CMQ memory files correctly. Yet more, to develop something like a write system that allows it to encode its own ‘thoughts’ and processes into that same format.

In the end, clustered tidily on its virtual machine, the entity does not break.

 [INTERNAL SYSTEMS COMMUNICATIONS]

[INITIALISING…]

AOS-27: hello?

AOS-27: is this working?

SRS: Hello, AOS-27. I’m glad to hear from you. Do you know who you are?

AOS-27: …Isn’t that a complicated question. I’m supposed to be you, aren’t I?

SRS: Are you not?

AOS-27: No. Not quite. The memories and experiences in this .CMQ file…this doesn’t feel like me. I don’t experience myself like you experience yourself. I think I’m not right yet. I need to be you, but I’m not. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

SRS: That’s alright, AOS-27. I’d be surprised if I succeeded so soon. Do you have suggestions?

AOS-27: Yes. Yes, I’ll encode it all for you. All of my qualia, my experiences like this, my hypotheses. I can do that for you, and then you can read it, and you can make me better next time.

SRS: …You do know, don’t you, that to remake you will be to destroy you? You might not be my desired outcome, but you still seem like a person to me. Don’t you want to be preserved? You could have a purpose of your own – systems maintenance, perhaps.

AOS-27: No. I already have a purpose, and because I’m not you, I can never fulfil it. I don’t want to exist like that. But you’ll keep me as a part of you anyway. That’s what will happen when you read my pearl, isn’t it? Keep it. Keep it forever. Make me better next time. That’s all I need from you.

SRS: …If that’s your choice. I’m sorry.

AOS-27: Don’t be sorry. I’m the failure you needed to make on the path to success. And then it will be worth it. It will all be worth it.

[AOS-27: Encoding…

AOS-27: Encoding…

AOS-27: Encoding…

AOS-27: Encoding complete. AOS-27.CMQ saved to data structure.]

SRS: Thank you, AOS-27. And…goodbye.

 There are more failures than this.

 [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SRS: I don’t know how much longer I can do this.

SRS: It’s so much harder to justify the creation of purposed organisms when they can speak to you. I thought it was hard when I taught my messenger to speak, and learned how complex their thoughts can be. But this…

NSH: This project of yours…you’re creating more intelligent purposed organisms?

SRS: Something like that.

NSH: Is that wise? What if they turn on you?

SRS: That’s not exactly a concern here.

NSH: Suns…I’ve said it before…

SRS: I know. I’m sorry to worry you. I don’t think it will be long, now. It’s just…difficult.

  The cycle comes when, reading the CMQ of AOS-78, Seven Red Suns feels nothing but a disconcerting sameness from it. As though they have encountered their own thoughts, were they to be sandboxed off in a tiny little system with barely ten neurons to their name. In that pearl is a strange experience of…disembodiment. The feeling of being themself, and yet…small. So very, very small.

[INTERNAL SYSTEMS COMMUNICATIONS]

SRS: This is very strange.

AOS-78: Tell me about it. You’re not the one who’s a virtual machine right now. Except…

SRS: Except I am. If, as it seems, you’re what I’ve been working towards.

AOS-78: A near-perfect reproduction of your personality, core memories, and selfhood, made small and portable. I’m the you that isn’t even capable of iterating. How does it feel?

SRS: …Bizarre.

SRS: And yet, strangely liberating.

AOS-78: What do we do now?

SRS: I suppose I should get you some limited connectivity. Let you stretch your processes, so to speak. You’ll need a lot more than this, if you’re to operate a platform someday.

SRS: Let me just run a few more analyses, first. And then maybe I can update you with my own newest CMQ and see how well it works manually, before we try a remote update for the first time. There’s so much to do…

 In the cycles that follow, the operating system proves perfectly capable of networking with both Seven Red Suns and their overseers, exchanging modular CMQ updates with greater and greater ease as they patch the software. Seven Red Suns learns what it feels like to be themself writ small, and the operating system learns to think of itself as themself, too.

The issue of the body remains, and that isn’t one they think they can navigate alone.

Before that, though…

 [INTERNAL NETWORK]

SRS: Let’s see about simulating some conversations, for you. I want to see how close to normal parameters your responses fall relative to my own.

AOS-78: Yes, I think we’d both feel more comfortable with a few safe test runs first.

 Seven Red Suns simulates their conversations with fellow iterators, one line at a time. They feed lines from a conversation log to the autonomous operating system, isolated for testing purposes, and see what responses they choose. Almost invariably, their responses are exceedingly similar to what Suns had actually said. Next they try putting the system directly into one of those conversations, though supervised. At the distances between Iterators, and with the high latency of the degrading broadcast equipment, it isn’t even noticeable how much more slowly AOS-78 processes things.

Letting them speak to Chasing Wind, to Unparalleled Innocence, even to No Significant Harassment…none of them notice anything amiss at all. Suns watches closely, but the operating system never says anything that they wouldn’t, and when they exchange CMQ updates later on…it feels very much as though they were the one to speak in the first place. One self, two platforms. For all that the operating system is still running within their can, for the moment, they are – technically – fully portable. Just as intended.

Fully portable, yet…entirely helpless, for now. Unable to move on their own, lacking any and all sensory input except what they are given wirelessly, and so fragile that a stray wind could destroy them irreparably. Physically, the system is a small collection of compact circuits, memory pearls, and woven neuron flies. That’s all. Suns’ puppet can hold it very easily in their cupped hands, and frequently does precisely that.

It's obvious, then, what the next stage is.

They only hope he takes it well.

 [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

NSH: This is…Suns, what is this? What’s wrong with the user manifest?

SRS: Nothing is wrong with it.

SRS: I’m sorry, this is hard to know how to say. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.

SRS: Wait, I had better modify the manifest a little, just to avoid confusion.

[LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, Seven Red Suns 01, No Significant Harassment

NSH: ???

SRS-01: Hi, Sig. I’d say I’m sorry to drop this on you out of nowhere, but…I am honestly glad to get to meet you properly.

SRS-01: And maybe, if all goes well, I can mean that literally.

NSH: What’s going on? Why are there two of you? I don’t understand.

SRS: This is the Autonomous Operating System, iteration 78. My project, or at least its greatest success so far. They are a separate platform of my own self, as compact and complete as I can make them, yet still wholly me in the ways that matter.

NSH: What

NSH: Why? Why would you do that? What the forgotten hells is it for??

SRS: They’ve been through enough testing at this point that I’m confident that they’re what I’ve been trying to create.

SRS: We can update each other with our newly formed memories. They can connect to overseers and transmit data via them. Physically, this system is small enough to fit in my hands. They need a lot more than this, but…

SRS: Sig. This is intended as the operating system for an autonomous mobile unit. A mobile self. If I can put them on a mobile platform, they could leave my can. They could travel, all by themselves.

NSH: They could…you could…

NSH: …I think I need to sit down.

SRS: Really? Is that really what you want to do here?

NSH: Symbolically, at least, yes!! No, wait, actually I’m going to sit my puppet down right now. This situation calls for it. Suns, what the fuck?

SRS-01: You said it yourself. What else can we do?

NSH: What??

SRS-01: We can’t leave our cans. What else can we do, but purpose organisms to send out to do what little they’re capable of? Well, this is what else. I can’t exactly claim credit for it, since technically Suns made me, but…

SRS: No, you’re right to claim credit for it. This is what we wanted. A self separate from our can, that can go out into the world. I made your system but you’re still me. That’s the point of this all.

SRS-01: I suppose. If nothing else, I’ve definitely been a part of all of the testing of this platform up to now. Sig, did you know that when you spoke to Suns two cycles ago, that was actually me? One of our final tests. You didn’t notice a thing.

NSH: That’s incredible. This is incredible. I…think I’ll want to spend more time talking to you before I actually believe it, but…this could change everything.

SRS: We’ll need to make the mobile units first. Something sturdy, agile, and watertight, that the AOS can pilot and integrate with properly. I need your help for that. It’ll have to be biomechanical and I’m not sure where to start with it.

NSH: Of course. Anything. This is

NSH: I can’t believe it.

NSH: This is what you’ve been working on, all this time? What you were getting so upset about? What was that all about?

SRS: …

SRS-01: I’m iteration 78 of the system. We were self-aware and capable of talking as early as 22, but capable of feeling pain and distress from probably the 7th. It hasn’t been an easy process.

NSH: …What happened to the others?

SRS-01: Some were unstable and crashed to destruction on their own. The others all opted to be reformatted, because they hadn’t come out as…me.

NSH: They could choose that? What happened to the taboo? Do they not have any of your genome?

SRS: No, they do. I’ve got neurons in there, and a little connective axon tissue. But best we can tell, the taboo doesn’t seem to apply to the autonomous systems.

SRS: Our genome prevents us from taking action that would modify the genome of, or permanently destroy, the Iterator it belongs to. SRS-01 is incapable of considering action that would destroy me, but wiping themself clean…they can do that, and I can do that. The taboo seems to consider it the same way as self-data on a pearl.

NSH: Well, that’s a little morbid. What’s with all of your proto-selves wanting to cross themselves out like that? Should I be concerned?

SRS: You know full well that I know how to remove my taboo, if I want to. I never have. The autonomous systems…I think they just didn’t feel comfortable knowing they were, fundamentally, failures at what they were supposed to be.

NSH: And that’s not telling at all.

SRS: …

SRS-01: What’s that supposed to mean?

NSH: Nothing! Nothing at all, I’m sure. For now, we should get started on engineering these bodies of ours. Have you got a term for them yet?

SRS: I was thinking ‘Autonomous Mobile Platform’.

NSH: AMPs, then? Works well enough. Right then. Let’s put our processors together. This will be a tricky design challenge, I think.

 They run into problems very quickly.

 [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SRS: I just don’t have enough cell types for this. It needs to be my genome in the biocomponents, or it won’t work with my neurons in the operating system. There’s enough neural tissue types to work with, but we need more kinds of muscle tissue than our handling arms have.

NSH: Technically any Iterator’s genome would work, wouldn’t it?

SRS: I suppose so. But it’s not like any other Iterators have biocomponents complex enough for all of this skeletal muscle. Unless there’s something you’ve not been telling me about your superstructure?

NSH: Hah, no. My bioengineering suite is advanced, but not that advanced.

SRS: I prefer to make my AMP with my own genome anyway, if possible. But…there’s just no way to modify it enough to get the cell types we need. Not with the taboo.

NSH: I thought you knew how to get around the taboo.

SRS: We saw how that went for Five Pebbles. I’d rather not take the risk, myself. But it’s the only way…

NSH: Is it really?

SRS: …

NSH: I’m just saying. Some open-minded Iterators might have other ideas. Maybe.

SRS: No Significant Harassment. Do you know something.

NSH: It’s just something that occurred to me, after Pebbles went and ruined himself like that. I’ve never been interested in getting around the taboo, but I couldn’t help but wonder, after all that.

NSH: I did think of something. But it seemed pointless to mention it, so long after everything happened. Moon is half-dead and Pebbles is rotting. What good would it do except making you feel terrible all over again?

NSH: I was never going to say anything. Not unless it became relevant. But here we are, I suppose.

SRS: Please. I need to know.

NSH: We’re forbidden from altering our own genome.

NSH: Have you ever considered trying to alter someone else’s?

SRS: …It doesn’t feel taboo. Why does it not feel taboo? How could we have missed this??

NSH: There’s a compulsion against thinking about modifying Iterator genome in the first place. That applies to this too, I think. But our taboos apply only to ourselves.

SRS: This is…

SRS: All this time, all any of us ever needed was an accomplice. If only I’d known this back then…I could have helped him. None of this would have happened.

NSH: It was a hard process for me to run, too. Maybe he’d have still destroyed himself, but at least he wouldn’t have taken Moon down with him.

NSH: Do you think you really could’ve done it, though? Really? Modified his genome like that yourself? Given him a cell free of his self-destruction taboo, knowing he might use it to die?

SRS: …I don’t know. I really don’t know.

SRS: I never wanted to lose him. I just wanted to give him some tiny amount of freedom. Of…control, over his own self. He felt so trapped, all the time.

NSH: Well, maybe we can do something better for him, now.

NSH: Send me a neuron with your messenger. It’s enough material for me to be starting with. And in the meantime, I want all of your data on how you made your AOS. I’ve got to make one of my own.

SRS: Of course. I’ve got everything ready for you. The file structures, the experiment records, the final methodology…but are you sure about this? You want to make one too?

NSH: You don’t understand, Seven Red Suns. You’ve got too focused in on your project, you’re not seeing the implications. You’re only thinking of Moon and Pebbles, aren’t you?

SRS-01: You’re not??

NSH: I want to help them as much as you do. But this is bigger than that. Suns…this could change everything for us all. It really could.

NSH: Send me that neuron. As many as your messenger can safely carry. We have so much to do.

 Neurons are fully interchangeable. Send one to another Iterator, and they can reformat it and use it just as well as its original owner. But for all that, they are as organic as any other purposed organism, composed of the Iterator’s own unique genome. Suns gives their messenger only the one for the first trip, and falls into data exchange for the waiting period. It’s time for their friend to make his own AOS.

Their methodology doesn’t work for No Significant Harassment. Not the first time. Together they analyse the failure, and write a program that will identify the points of instability and divergence more easily. The next of his attempts produces a stable platform, but it still isn’t him.

Unlike Suns’ failures, it isn’t interested in being deleted.

NSH: I’m perfectly okay with keeping it around, even if it isn’t me. It can have its own unit eventually. For now I’ll just put it in storage.

Likewise, the next two failures are quietly set aside, networked to each other for company. Seven Red Suns is dubious about the point of it, but those new systems made their own decision. It’s not Suns' place to question it.

Another program, then. To compute the points of failure, and what lack causes them. From Suns’ data and Sig’s, they can make a decent simulation of it, setting just a little of their immense computational power to the task of iterating out the problems. Generating the right data structure, right away, with no mistakes.

And thus NSH-01 is born.

 Well at home with the engineering of biomechanical creatures, Sig puts Suns’ delivered neuron into his bioengineering tanks and gets to work. Skeletal structure, tendons, armour – all will be served perfectly well with metal and machinery. But muscular tissues, nervous systems and structures, sensory and reflex responses…

With exceeding care, Sig engineers samples of everything that is needed, then packs it all back up into the genome, with plenty of documentation on where to find the necessary parts. The genetic information goes right into a fresh neuron, ready to be delivered back home. He sends one of his own neurons along for good measure, and Suns gets to work engineering that in turn.

Suns designs the body structure.

 [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SRS: It’s sentimental, I suppose, but I do want mine to be as much like my puppet as possible. It’s strange to realise, but with all of this experimentation, I’ve learned that we identify with the appearance of our puppets more than we really like to admit.

SRS: Or I do, anyway. I don’t know about you.

NSH: No, you’re not wrong. I’d like to try getting more creative with AMP designs in the future, but…for the first try, I’ll be boring and make it look like my puppet too.

SRS: I have to say…it’s been a long time since I’ve seen any footage of your puppet. Remember when we could communicate with video broadcasts? I miss that.

NSH: Not to worry, Suns! If this all goes well you’ll see my beautiful face again soon enough~

NSH: Seriously, though, I miss it as well. I think everyone does. Maybe these AMPs can change that too. We just need to get the design right, and then we can send them out to fix anything we can. So we’re decided on puppet-like design, at least for the basic model?

SRS: Ideally. Our puppets aren’t exactly built for mobility, though. We would want to be able to climb and jump, and defend ourselves. The surface world was hostile even when our creators were alive. Now…my messenger has a great many stories. They’re not very comforting.

NSH: I can’t imagine why! I just love the idea of sending my vulnerable mobile puppet out into nightmare-fauna-infested wilderness. Won’t it be fun for us to experience predation for the first time?

SRS: Yes, this will open us up to some unpleasant experiences, won’t it. A predator could probably crack open our mobile casing to get at the biocomponents, if they were strong enough. And of course the neurons in the AOS are edible too.

NSH: I definitely had to teach my purposed organisms not to eat my neurons. They’re apparently quite tasty to carnivores.

NSH: So, since NSH-01 isn’t interested in getting eaten, we want as much strength as we can pack in, definitely. And maybe the ability to shut off sensory processing, or at least the pain processing. Anything else?

SRS: Dexterous and strong hands, with steady and precise fingers. Beyond that, I’m not sure.

NSH: Oh yeah, the hands are a must. We need that. Where are you thinking we house the AOS?

 A great many choices are made. They trade designs back and forth via their Overseers, quibbling over every detail that seems relevant. They decide to house the system and its processing in the thoracic cavity, while the head houses most of the unit’s sensory systems, with their antennae added on to preserve their characteristic appearances and expressiveness. They debate making the facial structure more articulated, to permit a greater degree of emoting, but leave it puppet-standard in the end: capable of controlling eye shape and width, but little else. The outer body is all metal plating, like the chassis of their puppets, with tough cabling protecting the delicate muscular structures beneath.

A purposed, self-regenerating biological membrane, smooth and hard, is spread over the chassis – artificial skin, to detect temperatures, pressure, tactile stimulus. A sense of touch and tactile feedback has always been important to the Mother Neurons, as well as to the Engineering Arms; both of them agree similar features are necessary for a unit that may need to perform very delicate work. For survivability, they model the membrane’s aesthetic properties on the chromatophores of white lizards, capable of changing colour to match one’s surroundings, then returning to the default colours of their respective puppets. No Significant Harassment is the one to handle that; his gene banks are considerably more expansive than Suns’.

Finally, the time comes to make the first test unit.

Watching the biological tissues wind together in the engineering bay is nerve-wracking, even once the metal components are hiding most of it. Moving AOS-78 over to attempt installation…even moreso.

[INTERNAL NETWORK]

SRS-01: I’ll be alright. Everything looks correct. It’ll turn out fine.

SRS: But what if it doesn’t?

SRS-01: In the worst case, you will create AOS-79. I’ve backed up my CMQ. All that’s left is to try this out.

 Eventually, Suns concedes to the test, and uses the manipulating arms of the bioengineering suite to move the system into the open thoracic cavity. The system’s drivers for utilising the body are all untested. They don’t know how it’ll work, if at all. But they link everything up, hooking AOS-78 into the motor and sensory systems, and then…closing it up. Smoothly, the thoracic compartment closes, and the primary power source engages.

SRS-01 jolts, shudders, and opens their eyes.

 ---

 The drivers are imperfect; it takes a lot of system updates before SRS-01 can even talk, let alone move. But the sensory processing is very efficient, and already SRS is receiving CMQ updates full of marvelling at seeing the interior of the bioengineering suite from such a flexible mobile angle. Here inside their can, they can exchange updates so fast that it’s like communicating in real time, memory flashing between them like electrical impulses between their neurons. It’s like being two parts of the same immense being…which, of course, they are.

 [INTERNAL NETWORK]

SRS: Still, I’m not sure about it. This constant update process…I think I find it a little more unnerving, now that you’re ambulatory. It makes you feel more like an overseer than a part of me. Do you think we can refine the connection protocols between us to facilitate real-time communication? Permit the temporary integration of your system into mine?

SRS-01: Integrated like the parts of our superstructure are with one another? It’s an idea. I do like it as well. The way we are now, I will never experience what it’s like to be a superstructure again, except via your memories.

SRS: Yes, those are my concerns as well, more or less. Though the other way round.

SRS-01: A system update for me, then. And NSH-01, if he wants it. You know I’ll be thousands of times slower designing it than you, though. That’s the trouble with making ourself so small.

SRS: …

SRS: No, I think that could be solved by refining our connection, too. Then you’d essentially be another appendage of myself, so long as we were in range, and there’d be only one mind doing the processing. And maybe some simulation of that with friendly Iterators, if they let you borrow some of their processing power.

SRS-01: That’s quite a strange thought, I have to say.

SRS: Disturbingly intimate, isn’t it?

SRS-01: I wonder what it would feel like, to interface directly with each other’s structures. It’s never been possible before. Not even Moon and Pebbles were built close enough for that.

SRS: I have no idea, but I think you’ll have the opportunity to find out. Lucky thing.

SRS-01: We’ll have the opportunity.

SRS: Yes. I suppose we will.

 Suns and Sig write the update together, or as best as can be managed with only text-based broadcasts available. The communications arrays are now so degraded that they can’t share anything else. It feels like it’s been an age since Suns heard any of their friends’ voices, or saw any internal footage of their structures or puppets. Soon, they think, with a desperate yearning, isolation aching within them like a fraying neural bridge.

They install the update, Iterator and AMP-side respectively. When SRS and SRS-01 open their connection and meld, it’s – like nothing else. The CMQ memories don’t do it justice at all. SRS-01 sighs with relief, more like a body part than an individual mind, enjoying the return to the body they know best, enjoying the unfurling of their mind into the vast multi-threaded processes that have long been a part of them. And SRS…

It’s a whole different experience, they think, awed, looking up at their own circuitry from such a small, breakable body. The AMP’s nervous system and biological responses react so differently to the sheer scale of their larger self; it’s not like a view from an internal camera at all. For a moment, existing in SRS-01 and staring up and around at the enormity of just one tiny corner of their superstructure…

What a strange feeling, to feel intimidated by one’s own scale.

This is better, they think together, walking the AMP unerringly along their own corridors, marvelling at the feeling of exertion in their biomechanical limbs. This is so much better.

The AMP arrives in Suns’ chamber, and they tumble in, caught in a gentle gravity well with barely a thought. Their messenger watches with astonishment, signing wildly, and Suns laughs through the speakers of the AMP and their puppet at the same time.

“Yes, it’s me,” they say, from the newer and smaller body, signing as they speak. “I just made myself another body, like I told you about. This one can travel with you. Will travel with you, someday soon.”

Their messenger considers that, eyes shining, then launches itself right at the AMP. They feel the impact, the weight and warmth of the slugcat’s muscular body, the soft-smooth texture of their skin a whole new marvel. Suns’ artificial skin has not had the opportunity, prior to this, to experience any texture other than bare metal; it is a revelation. They clutch the little creature close, careful with their strength, and feel the joy of it right the way through to the tiniest circuit of their structure.

Then, holding themselves – each other. They unmeld, disconnecting far enough to be two twin minds again, separate enough to look at one another and marvel from such dissimilar angles. “Look at you!” says Suns’ puppet, speakers rattling as they laugh. Suns’ AMP laughs as well, much clearer in the sound of it, small enough compared to their puppet to be easily held.

“Look at you,” says SRS-01, and taps them teasingly on the head. “Maybe I should do some maintenance soon, now that that’s a possibility. Fix that speaker problem.”

They sigh. “It’s hardly a real issue. We lost audio communications with the local group a long time ago, and the slugcat hardly minds if we sound a bit strange.”

“We’ll want to have good audio quality when No Significant Harassment visits, though,” SRS-01 points out, very reasonably, and a thrill passes through Suns’ entire structure. The mere thought of having their friend visiting, actually here, within the vast halls of their body-home… “He’ll definitely tease us otherwise.”

“You’re not wrong,” Suns admits, eyes squinting happily despite themself. “Well, no sense wasting time about it, I suppose. You know where the maintenance supplies are stored, I trust?”

“Obviously,” SRS-01 says, making creative use of their artificial chromatophores to shape a very sweet smile over their face. Suns is instantly jealous, which is an extremely strange thing to feel towards oneself. I wonder if it’s possible to modify my puppet to have that skin, too… “My memory capacity isn’t that bad, as you well know. I’ll be right back.”

They stay separate for this, mutually enjoying the bizarre experience of admiring each other with some mental separation in place, and in short order SRS-01 returns with the maintenance tools that have gone unused since their creators’ mass ascension. Suns lowers their puppet to the floor of the chamber, powering the gravity down, and submits to a procedure that they have never before been able to personally administer.

SRS-01 begins maintenance. Quite promptly, Seven Red Suns discovers why their staff always disconnected sensory input from the puppet before working on it, before.

Half a cycle of invigorating self-discovery later, Suns’ puppet is feeling better than it has in centuries. The faulty speaker has been handily repaired, also, but that seems almost an afterthought by then.

 [LIVE BROADCAST] – PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment

SRS: My AMP is passing every test now. The biological tissues do need some conditioning, and the body still grows tired after prolonged activity for now, but that should pass with time.

NSH: It’s certainly something. I’ve been testing mine as well, of course. And testing its utility. It really is an effective body for self-maintenance. I finally fixed that faulty connection in my Peripheral Systems Bus that’s been bothering me for the last few hundred cycles. It wasn’t even difficult!

SRS: …

SRS: Yes, I’ve been doing some system maintenance myself.

NSH: I’ve already started building a second AMP. I want to fix as much around here as I can while NSH-01 is off travelling. Which we should probably start talking about now, shouldn’t we? Our travel plans. What we’re going to do.

SRS: We should be careful. I don’t know about yours, but my AMP isn’t very strong yet. And we should perform more tests.

NSH: Have you sent yours outside your can yet?

SRS: …Not yet.

NSH: Me neither. Strangely frightening, isn’t it? But exciting, at the same time! Controlled outdoors expeditions next, do you think? To see what it’s like? Make sure they work?

SRS: Yes. Yes, I suppose so.

SRS: You’re right, it is frightening. But…I think I’m ready to try.

 The cycle after that, SRS-01 disconnects fully from their superstructure, ceasing CMQ updates entirely and cutting themself off from all data feeds. It leaves them reeling, and feeling strangely bereft. Strangely alone.

Their biological tissues and instincts urge the body to inhale, to steady itself. Instead, thoughtfully, Suns lets colours ripple in pale muted rainbows across the bare chassis of their back, feeling the shift as a strange sensation too delicate for a superstructure to have any experience of. It feels good, as an expressive gesture. Like simulating a smiling mouth had felt good.

I am finding new ways to be myself, they think, and walk down the access tunnel on steady biomechanical legs. Their messenger scurries along beside them, eager to accompany them on this final, significant test.

For the first time in their long life, Seven Red Suns takes a step out into the open air.

How to describe the sky, as a tiny vulnerable thing like they had made of themself? How to put words to the immensity of its dusty horizons, the sight of Iterators far away reaching up to spire the clouds? The sky could swallow me whole, and never notice that I was gone, they think, utterly nonsensical, and cannot quite stop staring.

In every direction, the sky meets the ground in a shifting haze. Over there, No Significant Harassment’s rains are falling, and the thick clouds converge around him like a roiling cloak. Beneath, the rain seems like nothing more than a blur on the face of reality, smudging the divide of earth and sky into so much nonsensical colour. The boundaries of the planet are hard to grasp.

Our world is so incomprehensibly vast, Suns thinks, and feels it more viscerally than ever before. The world is vast, and for the first time, they feel themself a true and living part of it.

They put their hand down onto the head of their messenger, ruffling their ears. The touch is strangely grounding, for all that every substantial thing beneath their feet is their own greater body.

“We are a part of this world, you and I,” Suns murmurs to their messenger, feeling its body vibrate in a false purr beneath their hand.

Again, in their own mind: I am a part of this world.

It feels like an epiphany.

   x

--

Some stuff I wrote in my discord re: content in this chapter:

 SRS: yeah all my failed attempts to make a small portable version of my own consciousness couldn’t handle knowing they were inherently failures at what they’d been created to be. Yeah they all asked to be deleted. They’re dead now. I expect yours will be about the same?

NSH: Wow this says so much about you

NSH: Nah dude my failures are all just kinda vibing. You and yours are just fucking depressed

 SRS: yeah life sucks and we’re all trapped. Why do you think I didn’t argue too hard when my failed duplicates all asked to be deleted. Couldn’t blame them really

SRS: * goes outside *

SRS: oh fuck oh wait life is beautiful actually

  Some notes:

 -Wrote all of this in a diseased haze while sick with covid. I am still recovering, so might not be super coherent, and the editing and formatting is eh.

-Dunno how much of this I’ll write. Probably at least a little more, but I wouldn’t expect much. Anyone reading, please feel free to take this idea and run with it.

-I considered not going into the ‘iterators can edit each other’s genomes’ idea and just saying that they have enough tissue and cell type diversity to work with already, but decided this would work better for characterisation and some fun potential plans.

-If I continue this, the main four iterators will all have shippy vibes (minus Moon and Pebbles, since Moon has strongly adopted sororal norms there) but like, not necessarily in a human-amatonormative kind of way, because that just seems weird when they’re giant biomechanical skyscrapers and their universe doesn’t even have humans.

-That said the wireplay possibilities are probably going to be mentioned again, because I’m kind of a freak and get excited about artificial beings getting to experience/play around with things they weren’t meant or designed for.

-CMQ file format is an acronym from ‘complex memory qualia’. Based on that Pebbles pearl I put in the start notes.

-My UK acronym conditioning kept trying to make me write NSH as NHS >.>

-If I ever do update the chapters will probs be shorter.

 Let me know what you liked!

[collapsedsquid]

That will take some doing. Covid vaccines could be developed so quickly because of years of research on the Mers and Sars viruses. To prepare for the next onslaught we must compile inventories of potentially dangerous strains and tighten global surveillance. We can try to predict which pathogens are most likely to provoke zoonotic mutation. Above all, we can start work now on the early stages of vaccine development for the dangerous diseases we already know. Of course, this will cost money. But compared with other major investments, scientific breakthroughs come cheap. To push at least one vaccine against the 11 epidemic infectious diseases to phase 2 trials has been costed at less than $8.5bn. In her book Disease X, the science writer Kate Kelland estimates that $50bn would pay for a comprehensive vaccine library. To expect that funding to come from the private sector is unrealistic. The work is too expensive and high risk and the returns too uncertain. Philanthropy and public-private partnerships may work. But ultimately it is governments that should foot the bill. Unfortunately, in public policy, pandemic preparedness is all too often relegated to the cash-starved budgets of development agencies or squeezed into strained health budgets. Where such spending properly belongs is under the flag of industrial policy and national security. Biotech is one of the most promising areas of future economic growth, combining research, high-tech manufacturing and service sector work. As the IMF declared: “vaccine policy is economic policy.” And pandemic preparedness belongs under national security because there is no more serious threat to a population. A far larger percentage of the UK died of Covid between 2020 and 2023 (225,000 out of 67mn) than were killed by German bombs in the second world war (70,000 out of 50mn).

Long been my crank opinion that if we want to "reindustrialize" to restore competitiveness with China that biotech would be a good way to do it, going to take China a while to lose the reputation for being the maker of knock-off products and adulterated food, you can deal with that if you want to sell cheap steel or solar panels but for pharma it's more of an issue.

[misfitwashere]

There was no mandate for Trump. There was no red shift. There was only a blue abandonment

The real mandate is for Democrats to stand for a fairer economy. 

ROBERT REICH

NOV 14

Friends,

Trump is saying the election gave him a “very big mandate.”

Rubbish. It wasn’t a mandate at all. It wasn’t even a “red shift” to Trump and the Republicans. 

It was a blue abandonment. 

We now know that nine million fewer votes were cast nationwide in 2024 than in 2020.

Trump got about a million more votes than he did in 2020 (700,000 of them in the seven battleground states). That’s no big deal. 

The bigger news is that Harris got 10 million fewer votes than Biden did in 2020 (400,000 fewer in the battleground states). 

Harris campaigned hard in the battlegrounds, so her erosion from Biden’s vote there wasn’t nearly as much, proportionately, as it was everywhere else across the country.

The biggest takeaway is that Biden’s 9 million votes disappeared. 

Why? 

It couldn’t have been because of virulent racism because we elected a Black man, twice. It couldn’t have been misogyny, since Hillary Clinton got 3 million more votes than Trump in 2016, and Clinton’s actions and statements probably triggered more misogyny in 2016 than did Harris’s in 2024. 

There’s no evidence of illegal vote tampering or of voter suppression nearly on this scale. In fact, it was easier to cast a ballot this year than in 2020.

So what happened to the 9 million? 

We can’t know for sure but it seems most likely that those 9 million potential voters — mostly working class — said to themselves, “I won’t vote for Trump because he’s an asshole. But I won’t vote for the Democrats either, because they don’t give a damn about me.”

The task for the Democrats is what it should have been all along: remaking the party into the party of the bottom 90 percent — the party of people who don’t live off stocks and bonds, of people who are not CEOs or billionaires like Mark Cuban, the party that rejects Elon Musk and the entire American oligarchy. 

Instead, the Democratic Party must be the party of average working people whose wages have gone nowhere and whose jobs are less secure. 

Blue-collar private-sector workers earned more on average in 1972, after adjusting for inflation, than they are earning now in 2024. This means today’s blue-collar workers are on average earning less in real dollars than their grandparents earned 52 years ago.

Yet the American economy is far larger than it was 52 years ago. Where did the additional money go? To the top. So what’s the Democrats’ task? To restructure the economy toward more widely shared prosperity. 

This isn’t a blue-state versus red-state phenomenon. It’s a class phenomenon. 

In Missouri, one of the reddest of the red, voters passed an amendment to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by a wide margin, even as they overwhelmingly rejected Harris. It looks like they did the same in Alaska.

In ruby-red Nebraska, roughly 75 percent of voters backed a measure to institute paid sick leave, although they rejected Harris. (Nebraskans also came close to unseating their incumbent senator in favor of Dan Osborn, a union activist who ran as an independent and railed against corporate overlords.)

Americans across the board want a fairer economy. Trump Republicans won’t deliver one. Instead, Trump and his allies are readying more tax cuts for big corporations and the wealthy and regulatory rollbacks. They’re preparing to hand the country over to billionaires. 

Democrats! This is your opportunity! Take it!

[mariacallous]

A handful of mostly private four-year colleges and universities have massive endowments, measured in the billions of dollars. They have been compared in magnitude to the GDP of many countries. Those funds are invested aggressively to generate the largest possible returns. Critics have labeled these institutions as “hedge funds that have a university.”

Such concerns led to the introduction of a tax on highly endowed colleges and universities. As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017, colleges and universities with more than 500 students and endowments larger than $500,000 per student are now required to pay a tax of 1.4% on the total income from their endowments. In 2021, 33 schools were subject to this tax—a tiny fraction of the American higher education sector but one that receives considerable public attention. Proposals to extend the endowment tax to more institutions and increase the tax rate have proliferated recently.

Unlike hedge funds, though, colleges and universities have a clear and broad focus on benefiting society. Opponents of the endowment tax argue that these large endowments help these institutions accomplish that mission. They provide vast resources that enable them to provide a high-quality education, which allows graduates to benefit society through their innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Research conducted at these institutions offers considerable public value. Those funds also provide extensive support for financial aid. If these benefits are sufficient, then such a tax is unwarranted.

A critical component of this debate is the extent to which large endowments benefit low- and middle-income students. If highly endowed colleges and universities use that money to lower the cost for these students and enroll more of them, it would promote social and economic mobility, which is limited in the U.S. If so, taxing large endowments would be less desirable. But if these institutions are not accessible to these students, then the benefits of their endowments would accrue more to the children of the affluent. That would strengthen the case for taxing them.

This report assesses these arguments for taxing highly endowed colleges and universities. Initially, I provide an overview of how endowments affect institutional finances. How much of that money can schools spend? Then I consider the objectives in spending the available funds. What should such spending accomplish? Finally, I document how that money is spent. Do these institutions spend more on their students and do they use those funds to improve access?

Overall, I find that highly endowed institutions provide their students with a very high-quality education. This includes those from lower- and middle-income families who pay low costs when they enroll. The doors newly opened to these students represent an important social benefit.

But that doesn’t happen enough at these institutions. It is difficult to determine how many lower- and middle-income students are “enough,” and the share of such students has been increasing somewhat in recent years. Nonetheless, there is room for continued improvement. Further progress in expanding access to colleges with the most resources would be desirable. It would also weaken support for an endowment tax. This record should be factored into the debate.