#they have separate devices for this data in the labs and all data conversion is done manually

[relto]

doing third data source stuff again, im including more sources this run and the data has a LOT of overlaps. sigh

[emmasmith56]

Why setting up GA 4 is important?

It is a known fact that Google Analytics is an analysis service offered by Google which tracks and reports website traffic. This tool collects data to create reports to provide information about your business. GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is a new version of Google Analytics and is the future of measurement and data collection. GA 4 setup uses event-based data instead of session-based data. Sharing data with each passing day is becoming more and more regulated; hence, the need was for a more ‘privacy-centric’ design which was missing from the previous version. Now it has privacy controls such as cookie less measurement and behavioral and conversion modeling.

Why the Upgrade to GA4?

Online businesses need the information to run things smoothly, but not at the expense of customers’ privacy. So the creation of this new version was to provide key information to businesses and, at the same time, report less data that breaches someone’s privacy.

Benefits of GA4

Here you will discover the importance and benefits of having a GA 4 set up:

1) User Journey: 

Exploring your user’s paths is vital in understanding their pattern and choices. Your understanding of your user’s path begins with just a screen or an event, as it represents the initial steps of the user’s journey. You also need to understand how users engage with your content across all platforms, including devices.

E.g., Track your user’s screen time and pattern. See where the user begins if they view a photo or see a video first. Is it your viewer’s next interest to know and read more about your product (this information will be on a separate screen), and then do they complete the purchase of the product they had been viewing on the final page?

Google Analytics has wholly transformed its very nature. Now you can use a single set of metrics and dimensions to look at both web and app data. To see your user’s journey navigate to your GA 4 accounts. On the left-hand side menu, click on explore, and you will get a list of visualization reports. Open the report and see the options’ paid traffic’ and ‘mobile traffic.’

2) Focus On User Management: 

A powerful feature of GA 4 is its new user-centric metrics and dimensions. And this uses AI to predict your customers’ actions and patterns. Now the focus is on engagement metrics which is a far more helpful and powerful tool. In order to understand if your audience is engaging with your content or not, the development of new and improved metrics has happened through the new GA 4 setup.

E.g., New pre-configured scroll, video outbound clicks, and file download events. You can track when people scroll through your website through the configured scroll. Scroll tracking is enabled by default when you create a GA 4 property, and so are the outbound video clicks. To track file downloads in GA 4, you need to switch on file downloads on the enhanced measurement setting.

Now the focus is not just on collecting data but on integrating and aligning report menus with the customer’s journey. Focus is more on your user’s engagement. What this really means is that you now know how much time someone spends with your web page or the app screen in the foreground. This data allows you to measure or figure out when your user is actively using your site or app.

3) Grab the Attention of the Audience for Ad Campaigns: 

GA 4 setup properties can be linked to individual Google ad accounts and to Google ad manager accounts. In fact, you can create up to 400 links per property. In order to link Google ads, just make sure that in analytics, you have an editor role for the property. In addition, your Google account should have administrative access.

E.g., You can run your ad campaigns from mobile, desktop, across web and app platforms. If you were running an ad campaign in an educational science lab and the user signed in to your sight through their phone, it fills out information. Then they come back through their desktop from a separate location using a different browser and complete the signing-up process. They will complete the signup form using your native Android and ios app.

Users visit your website via different routes like advertisement campaigns, search engines, and social networks. GA 4 implementation collects data/ analytics, processes them, and reports the campaign and traffic source data. With this metric, you can analyze why some customers spend more time and some less. This information will, in turn, help you to improve and work on your results.

4) User Privacy and Tracking Features: 

Google’s primary concern now is to understand the balance between collecting data and respecting people’s privacy. And the first step that they have taken for this is to reduce the use of the cookie format. In the future, using cookies to collect information will disappear completely. GA 4 setup hands over the reigns of control of personal data to the user.

E.g., GA 4 now excludes the collection of specific events of user properties in ads personalization.

GA 4 is more flexible and relaxed, which has happened keeping regulatory bodies in mind. GA 4 is pro-privacy, and some of its features include shorter data storage duration, default IP anonymization, location of servers and restricted data transfer, consent mode, user’s personal data deletion, and rules related to PII.

5) Simplified Goals and Events Setup: 

GA 4 implementation of events happens when users interact with your site or app. When you use the user interface, you flag any events that contribute to and quantify the success of your business and claim them as conversions. You can set up goals to keep track of your user’s page visits, specific page visits, the number of pages they view in one session, how long users stay on your site, and the kind of events they trigger when they are there.

E.g., Goals would be submitting a form, signing up for an email newsletter, or doing a transaction.

Complex features are now straightforward, making this particularly useful for transactional functions like application forms and checkouts. Moreover, some e-commerce goals and form submissions require much less implementation time than in the previous version.

6) Visualisations and Reporting: 

Data visualization, a GA 4 implementation tool, will help you understand complex reports in a simple visual graph. The crucial factor of data analysis is to create reports and help you understand its findings. Visual tools such as pie charts, bar charts, and line graphs help to explain data in a simple manner. It has become a very useful professional tool in studying businesses today. It helps understand how your site’s data gets analyzed for better business decisions. It helps convert trends into strategy.

E.g., some of the best data visualization tools like Google charts, Tableau, Grafan, Chartist, Fusion charts, Datawrapper, Infogram, and Chartblocks.

Since data visualization represents data in maps, charts, and statistical graphs, it eases out the complexities of metrics. As a result, it enables business owners to study their reports easily and take actionable insights.

7) Plethora of Parameters: 

With GA 4 setup, you can send parameters with each event. It will provide you with everything if you need additional information about your user parameters. Moreover, it is ideal for collecting more information about user activity through events you have already set up. You can check your events and their parameters using ‘real-time’ and ‘debug view.’

E.g., You can measure the value of a purchase by a parameter. It means that when someone views your product on your website, you can provide parameters that describe the product they viewed. Also, where, how, and why a user logged into a particular event. These offer considerable insights into the business.

There are parameters that will automatically get collected, which is around 5, and this is the minimum. Other than that, you can even log up to 25 parameters for each of the single events. So, GA 4 implementation makes life easy for you.

Some Other Interesting Facts About GA 4

GA 4 provides predictive analytics capabilities.

It makes cross-domain tracking setup easier.

It provides a superior funnel creation.

It helps in debugging within the reporting interface.

It provides robust cross-device and cross-platform tracking.

It gives a more accurate cross-device insight.

Roll-up reporting is very accurate.

Roll-up reporting is built in.

Provides ‘templated’ reports.

GA 4 implementation has changed key metrics such as bounce rate.

Conclusion

The features of the new and improved GA 4 setup are exceptional. It provides free-flowing ease to analytics and makes various complex data structures easily available to business owners. It is still developing, but it would be best to get familiar with it as this is the future. Plus, you can be ahead of your competition if you become used to it. Since it collects website and app data, it will help you understand your user’s journey using first party modeled data. It’s an effective tool for understanding customer behavior. Change is scary, but some things change for the better. GA 4s predecessor is a thing of the past, and it’s time to look at the future.

[captainpikeachu]

I kept wondering why Booker and Copley’s “plan” seem like such a mess that don’t really make much coherent thought-out sense, and I think I figured out why. Because they had no thought out plan at all and just made shit up as it went along.

Now obviously before the film even started, Copley clearly reached out to Booker and they were in on it together to get the team to Sudan for the mission that ended in the killbox.

That original plan was likely get video of the team’s abilities as “proof” and then get samples from the killbox site. It was a naive idealistic plan.

The rest of the team wasn’t suppose to get involved really. Because right after they survive the killbox, when Andy is saying they have to go find Copley, this is Booker’s response.

He is trying to subtly dissuade Andy from going down the path of looking for Copley, probably because the idea is they all go back, maybe go separate ways and hide until this all blows over. This way it’s simple, and no one else needs to be involved anymore than necessary.

But as I said, it was a naive plan, because of course Andy doesn’t let it go. 

And then they get dreams about Nile and Andy plans to go find her, Booker is the first to speak against it, he’d rather they go after the Copley angle than drag Nile into it because again, the plan wasn’t to put everyone at risk. And his agitation in all of this scene shows a bit of his fear that the plan is unraveling because nothing is going according to his “plan”.

Now, you might ask, couldn’t Copley and Booker have anticipated that Merrick was an evil no good bastard? Well, no, not really. Because at this point, Merrick is still just another pharma CEO whose products are actually helping people. There’s nothing for Copley to assume he’s some sadistic evil jailer type of a person. His work, and Doctor Kozak’s work are actually helping people. We see Merrick talking about this at the presentation, we see Copley react to it. Someone could be a businessman and not be an evil sadistic cruel monster.

And there is really nothing illogical to what Merrick is asking either.

Of course if they want to do research, they are going to need those things. It would not raise any alarm bells for Copley. And as Merrick even stated, the video evidence is not hard proof, and it doesn’t tell Doctor Kozak the “how” all of this works and what is causing it.

And if anything, it seems that the plan wasn’t even necessarily to bring anyone in, but rather get samples from the killbox site. Obviously they did not anticipate the amount of unexpected carnage. They weren’t ready for how fast the team healed and how fast they took out everyone. The reality is that there was no thought-out mastermind plan, it was just really adapting and changing the plan to suit the moment. Make it up as you go along.

I mean, Copley literally scoffs when Merrick says he needs all of the team. And even then he’s like, maybe just one.

Copley isn’t even sure at this point that he can be guaranteed to get Booker. He THINKS he could but even he’s not sure. So clearly the plan was never for Booker to end up in a lab either. The plan wasn’t for any of them to end up in any labs. Copley’s even like, “they are extremely resistant to capture”, he’s not even got any heart in that plan working out after the killbox, but Merrick is insistent, and again, if the team is immortal, then they can’t die so I’m sure Copley’s reasoning is that nobody is dying from this, nobody is really getting hurt if they capture the team. 

Now when Andy calls Booker after picking up Nile, Booker says he’s got no leads on Copley. I’m not sure when between this scene and the attack on the safehouse that Booker and Copley may have spoken, and I’m also honestly not sure what the whole plan was for that attack. Because it seems like the soldiers sent in didn’t know about Booker to also take him, yet the dialogue also doesn’t make it seem like Copley had meant for Booker to be left behind either.

Copley doesn’t chide the soldiers or tell them to go pick up Booker too. I don’t know if Copley thought just get the other three and wait for Booker to piece himself back together before calling Booker to join the rest? Really, this whole attack is honestly not that well planned out. Because why didn’t Copley attack when everyone was inside the room? Why did they go in when Andy and Nile were outside and likely to escape? And why didn’t Booker have a signal for Copley if he was in on all this?

Wouldn’t a guarantee plan be attack while everyone is inside or everyone is asleep? I mean, was that the original plan, to attack when they were all asleep and Nile kinda ruined that by waking everyone up? But even if so, if they didn’t know everyone was going to be awake, shouldn’t Booker and Copley have some communication device where Booker can signal Copley and tell him when to attack so that Andy isn’t outside when it happens and thus giving her the chance to escape in the first place if they wanted her? This all seems to attest that none of this plan was really thought out. And the moment Andy got loose and they saw the carnage she was leaving behind, Copley just NOPES THE FUCK OUT.

So when Booker is telling Andy how he doesn’t know how many soldiers and what happened, honestly I don’t think he was even lying because this whole “plan” seems to lack any kind of decent communication between Booker and Copley at all????

It’s not until Merrick meets Nicky and Joe and he stabs Joe that Copley starts to have some alarm bells, and he says to Merrick that this is about science, not profits or sadism. But at this point, the plan is already in motion, and Copley probably could justify his actions that they’ll take a few samples, the immortals will heal and go free, and everyone benefits. It’s not entirely unreasonable when they’ve already spent so much effort getting them there. He could still make excuses.

EDIT: had to fix the sequence of events that I got incorrect in the original post

Now Copley’s next time talking to Merrick is either hours or days later, I’m not sure because Copley has a new coat but Merrick is still wearing the same one from the previous scene. This is where they have the conversation about proprietary data and we learn that Merrick plans to keep the team basically forever.

Copley even questions that idea but Merrick is like, okay if this takes decades, what does it matter to immortals who’ve been alive for thousands of years. It’s the blink of an eye. Again, Copley here likely justifies this by the benefit of the greater good. Nobody is permanently dying, a few decades locked up but it could still save a lot of lives. He’s busy digging into that “greater good and saving lives” idea.

Now I wasn’t sure when Copley had time to reach out to Booker to form the plan to lure Andy and Nile to Copley’s place. Everyone was together for most of that so it’s not like Booker could slip away to make a phone call, unless their discussions were through messages on the computer? But then we know that Nile and Andy were outside discussing things in the morning, so Booker could have waited until Nile left and he was alone and then contacted Copley about what’s going on and Copley could have given him the location at that time.

I’m not sure what Copley said to Booker, or how much time they even had to be able to talk about what’s going on, but we know that Copley now knows that Merrick wants to keep the team at least for a good chunk of time. However, I’m not sure what he actually told Booker. Maybe he didn’t say anything about being locked up forever because he didn’t want to risk Booker calling off the plan due to that change. I mean, Booker at this point also hasn’t told Copley about Nile at all so it’s entirely possible that both Copley and Booker held back things they didn’t tell the other. So Booker likely still thinks that this is gonna be okay, it’s just get some samples, it’s not a permanent thing.

When Booker finally admits what’s going on to Andy, he simply thinks Merrick could find a way to end their immortality. There is nothing here to indicate that he somehow planned for them to be locked up forever like lab rats. Even the way Booker talks, he just thinks when Merrick finds out a way, then he and Andy could just choose to take the drug and end it. He still thinks ending the immortality is a choice, not trying to force it on anyone to permanently end it.

This is shown through his panic when he realizes that Andy is not immortal anymore and that she could die, not by her choice but by him shooting her. It makes it rather clear that he didn’t intend for anyone to die, he just wanted to give them all a choice of death if they wanted it.

The moment it became a possibility that death not by choice could happen, Booker was ready to take Andy and run. Fuck the plans. 

And if Merrick’s people didn’t come in at that moment, they’d have gone. Hell, even Copley was gonna help Booker to get Andy out. He also, like Booker, is not planning for anyone to die. The whole point was that these are immortal people who can’t die, so they could take the risk of this procedure. But not to torment on people who can now actually die.

Booker truly realizes the mess he’s gotten them all involved in when Merrick clearly doesn’t care that Andy is injured and still plans to take her. He realizes then that all this time he thought they had somewhat of a choice, but they really didn’t, Merrick couldn’t care less about what they think. And I think he’s fighting so hard to get to Andy because he doesn’t want any of them to be stuck in a cage. This is not what he wanted. And Andy’s possible murder is not what Copley wanted either. Unfortunately Copley only realizes that before it is way too late and he gets knocked out because Merrick doesn’t really need him anymore.

So at the end of the day, Booker and Copley’s plans were a confusing mess because they never really masterminded some really thought-out manipulating plan. They were really just adapting and changing and making shit up as they went along. Booker was caught up with finding a way to die, and Copley was so caught up in finding a way to help everyone live, that neither of them even realize that they were the lambs being led to the slaughter. They both were way too naive and way too idealistic about the outcome.

Seriously, they made the Ned-Stark-mistake, they thought everyone else was playing by the same honorable ethical rules that they themselves followed. And in the end, they both got stabbed in the back by Merrick and played for fools. The road to hell is paved with good intentions indeed.

[johannstutt413]

(requested by calligomiles; continuing from this)

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!” Ptilopsis’ head peered into Olivia’s room as her alarm sounded. “Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

“I’m awake, I’m awake.” Not that she particularly felt it, but she was getting out of bed nonetheless.

Tilly giggled to herself. “Ifrit already left for class. She ate all of her breakfast, including the seconds she requested.”

“Impressive.” The drowsier Liberi had found her glasses and now much less blind began to dress for the lab. “Thank you for taking care of her. If I can find the time to learn to cook, I should.”

“Dr. Silence already works so hard to save the world, though. Ptilopsis has no objection to supporting her in that endeavor however necessary.” Although admittedly, it was an element of her daily calculation.

Silence shrugged on her topcoat before hugging the mid-number-crunching analyst. “I’ll be helping Iffy with her project tonight. Saria said she might come by for a bit as well to pitch in, but I won’t be upset if you go home with her.”

“Understood.” Mostly. “Firewall temporarily disabled. I’ve noticed the two of you talk more with each passing day, but this is the first I’m hearing of you allowing Saria to see Ifrit.”

“Her project is more focused on the skeletal system than anything else, and I think Saria’s substantially more familiar with that field of anatomy than I am...Besides, she’s proven herself with how she treats you.”

Ptilopsis blushed. “Oh.”

“I know it’s taken me some time to admit it,” the doctor continued, following her beloved to their waiting breakfast, “but after all the time she spent working for and with Iffy, it’s not fair for me to keep them separated. She did what she thought was best, and regardless of whether I agreed with or agree now with her decisions, they were made with good intentions. Sorry to start the morning like this.”

“It’s fine. Ptilopsis is glad you continue growing as a person.” She hadn’t declared that she’d re-erected her firewall, but it was clear from context.

They ate breakfast after transitioning to talking about their business for the day - patients with scheduled visits, the other Medics on rotation for their shift, their usual morning briefing - but before they left for the office, Olivia pulled her close for another hug. “Thank you. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“‘This?’” Tilly temporarily halted her work protocols. “In what context?”

“Raising Ifrit, attending to Rhodes Island’s Infected, researching Oripathy, deploying on missions...You make my life possible.” She managed to catch herself before crying properly, but a stray tear rolled down her face and onto the analyst’s jacket.

The other Liberi twittered sweetly in her ear. “The same is true for me.”

“It is?...Thank you.” A brief collapsing of the little space between them, a kiss that lasted either seconds or years, and Rhine Labs’ former Oripathy expert was ready to start the day. Work went as expected through lunch, with patients and care plans and the occasional accolade or scolding of some Operator or another. When the Liberi lovers came back from the cafeteria, however, a familiar Vouivre was waiting for them.

“Good afternoon.” Saria was in business mode. “The Doctor needs me to deploy for a mission; I need a pre-deployment exam.”

Silence nodded. “Ptilopsis can take care of you.”

“...If it’s all the same, can we all talk in the exam room in private?”

“Hmm.” The doctor glanced at Tilly, who was rebooting quickly after a momentary blue screen, before nodding. “If you prefer.”

The trio took the nearest open room, and as the analyst performed the exam, the Vouivre got down to business. “I made notes for Ifrit’s presentation, but since I won’t be there to help, I sent them to both of your inboxes. There’s more than enough information for her to ace her assignment.”

“Thank you. I’m sure she’ll be happy to tell you how she did when you come back.” There was no question that she’d be coming back, after all.

“...Which brings me to my other point.” She sighed, taking a moment to collect herself. “When I come back, I’d like to have a full discussion, all parties involved, about setting a schedule for me to spend time with Iffy.”

Silence lived up to her codename as Ptilopsis carried on dutifully with her task, doing her best to ignore the conversation and focus on procedure. “I...I think that’s a good idea.”

“You do?” Saria’s heart rate, as measured by the device her examiner was using to measure it, betrayed her surprise.

“Yes.” Olivia made sure she didn’t respond with the other phrase that came to mind. “I isolated her from you, and the rest of the world, out of a hyperbolized sense of danger. Not that there weren’t genuine concerns for her well-being, but in keeping her under lock and key like I was, there’s a possibility I did more harm than the good I intended. I’m not the only person in her life who’s made rash decisions out of good intentions, and it’s hypocritical of me to keep pretending that my mistakes are justified when others weren’t.”

The Defender sighed. “So it’s still a mistake, then.”

“I think so...but I’m learning to admit when I might be wrong.”

“I see.” This’d turned out better than she’d thought it would. “Tilly?”

The Liberi took a breath before shifting her attention. “Yes?”

“When I said ‘all parties,’ that includes you.” The Vouivre looked her directly in the eye.

“Understood.” Ptilopsis shut down her defenses for a moment. “Why?”

That was a rare question to hear from her; the analyst was much more a ‘how’ and ‘when’ sort of person. “Because you’re part of her family, too. You deserve a say.”

“But I don’t have any concrete opinion on the matter. I’m happy you’ll be able to spend time with her, but the specifics are up to you and Olivia.” It was a good thing she was essentially done with her examination; this was going to eat up most of her processing power, she could already tell.

“Tilly,” Silence interjected, “it does affect you, though. You’re very careful with how you spend your time, and Saria and Iffy spending more time together will affect your calculations.”

She nodded. “It will.”

“So if we set a schedule that makes it harder for you to make those calculations, that’s not fair to you. We know how hard it is for you-”

“No. You don’t.” The analyst looked each of them in the eye in turn. “But that’s okay.”

The room around Olivia and Saria disappeared from their awareness as Ptilopsis reactivated her defenses and continued her work. It wasn’t until she finished that the Vouivre had any kind of follow-up, which was lifting her off her feet in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for-”

“Oh, cut the bullshit, there definitely is.” The Defender set her down but kept her arms around her. “Every time we get into a fight or try to reconcile, we disrupt your life at a deep emotional level, and even if it’s better for us to try and get along, you get dragged along behind us in the process. We know your condition, but we don’t how it feels - you’re the only one who does. That doesn’t mean you have a right to lash out, but you do have the right to speak up, and we want to hear you.”

Tilly couldn’t keep walls up in the face of that. “Ptil...I know that, love.”

“Then take my apology for springing this on you in the middle of the week.” She held the Liberi’s gaze even as her vision started to blur.

“O-okay.” The analyst sighed before wrapping her arms behind Saria’s neck and pulling down slightly for a kiss. “You’re forgiven.”

The Vouivre let her go. “Thank you.”

“You are too, dear,” Ptilopsis continued, addressing Silence as she walked over to hug her as well.

“Thank you...and I’m sorry.” The doctor squeezed her like she had that morning. “We never explicitly said we would stop making these kinds of changes, but we did imply it a few weeks ago.”

The other Liberi shook her head. “Data changes, people change, and life goes on. Ptilo...I want you both to be your best, your happiest, and if that means chaos, then- Firewall engaging, overriding, halting process- then so be it. I need to be better, too. I’m sorry you had to hear the Other Voice.”

“You’ve held it at bay for years,” Saria noted, walking over to hug her from the opposite side. “That can’t be easy, especially with everything that’s happened.”

Olivia nodded. “Certainly not...I believe the Doctor is expecting you, Saria?”

“Unfortunately. I should probably be on time for the shuttle.” As she let go of Tilly, her hand accidentally touched Silence’s. The doctor said nothing. The Defender said nothing.

Ptilopsis made a note to record that in her diary that evening.

[the-river-person]

Echoes of the Past

Echo flowers. The pale blue blossoms that glowed softly in the dark of the caverns. They whispered to you, whispered soft meaningless noises. Whispered white noise. But what if you could listen close? Listen close enough to the sounds to untangle them, to separate them and play back each voice? It was the River Person who suggested it, in the end. As Alphys had taken a ride back to Hotland in his ferry. “The flowers echo more than one set of voices.” She’d questioned him, of course. But he’d refused to elaborate further. So instead it was a simple matter to uproot one of the blossoms from the shoreline near the border between Waterfall and Hotland and bring it back to the lab with her. The first week had been fruitless. But somewhere on a Thursday of the second week she managed to separate a single voice from the mess. S-somehow, with just one hit...I'm already...Already...D... damn it....Papyrus... Alphys... ASGORE...Just like that, I...I've failed you. The flower whispered in Undyne’s voice. Alphys froze and turned to look down on it. Only snatches of what was being said made sense. As if parts of the conversation were too far away for the flower to hear. Human. No, WHATEVER you are.For the sake of the whole world...I, UNDYNE, will strike you down! No, no. She knew what this was. She hurried to turn the machine off, to stop herself from hearing anything else. But before she could turn the dial the next words were already coming from the speaker. Damn it... So even THAT power... It wasn't enough...? Heh... Heheheh... If you... If you think I'm gonna give up hope, you're wrong. Cause I've... Got my friends behind me. Alphys told me that she would watch me fight you... And if anything went wrong, she would... evacuate everyone. By now she's called ASGORE and told him to absorb the six human SOULs. And with that power... This world will live on...! Oh. Alphys shuddered. Oh Undyne, she thought to herself. Why did you have so much faith in me? Even when you were dying? She’d known that everyone had been killed. At the trial nearly a year ago everyone had heard. But it had been brief, clinical, emotionless. Not like this, not like hearing Undyne gasp her final words. There had been no details. Had she evacuated everyone? Managed to save even one person? Clearly she hadn’t managed to contact Asgore in time, or all of this would have been stopped long ago. But no, it didn’t matter anymore. She repeated the promise she’d made twice to herself so long ago. “You can be someone that you like too, a better person. I will be a better person.” Her rapidly beating heart calmed and she turned back to the dials. One voice was the echo of a genocide route, were there others further back? They’d have to be quite far, the furthest echoes of all. If she could solve this puzzle, duplicate the way the echo flowers could hold on to what they heard even through Resets, then maybe she could find a way to use that on the Undernet. Thus far the only means of saving data files they had was through Gaster’s machines. The computers in his cave could keep their files from Reset to Reset without fear of a wipe. But though the tech was the exact same as in the lower levels of the Hotland Labs, the process of saving it through Resets only worked in his cave. Even his own devices, once removed from the cave, were wiped with a Reset. It was bizarre, but it was something. Medical files, research data, everything approved by the King and Queen, mostly the Queen, as essential was sent to his computers as a file and saved. But his storage space, even when Alphys had gone through and expanded it as much as possible, simply wasn’t big enough to hold the data of the entire Underground, not with the immense growth it had been seeing. But the Echo Flowers might offer another solution. And with everything freed up it would be easier to work on her real goal, returning the Amalgamates to their true selves. She and Undyne had spoken at length after that day. Spoken of feelings, of love. As tempting as it was to just let things click into place, to follow how things were apparently meant to be, she didn’t feel right. There were just too many timelines. Too many opportunities she’d had to set things right, and she hadn’t. Maybe she hadn’t tried to kill the human directly... But she’d lied, she’d hidden her mistakes, she’d put people in danger by not doing her job, she’d let her own fears control her when she should have been thinking clearly. Maybe things had turned out better than expected, but that didn’t excuse it, not really. The damage had been done. And until she could fix some of it, she didn’t feel right pursuing a relationship, even when she wanted this one with everything in her. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, Undyne had happily supported this. In her usual way, which involved much enthusiastic shouting and hurling of spears at a target, Undyne had announced that she too wanted to work hard to be a better person, to be someone worthy to court Alphys like in the anime and manga about princesses and giant magical swords. Alphys had blushed furiously while Undyne waxed poetic about the great deeds she planned to accomplish in Alphys’ name and the evening had ended on a light-hearted note despite her initial fears. She spent hours carefully adjusting the sensitive microphones in her attempts to capture some of the oldest of the conversations held by the flower. When at last she paused to wipe her forehead and glance at the clock it was nearly dusk. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. It was the Reset day! Berating herself for having forgotten she rushed  to copy her data and the recordings into a file and send them off to Gaster’s computers. In her haste she didn’t hear the quiet voice of the flower speaking through the equipment she’d so carefully fine tuned. I will come for you... That’s what the Angel said to us. But now we’re trapped down here... in the dark. It’s too quiet down here. Where is our Angel? Where did you go? We called for you... but nobody came.

[hailbop1701]

ReaperXFemaleReader

Doom: To Hell And Back

Chapter 2: The Ark

Hey guys! I'm happy that the first chapter did okay. If you would like to get tagged please just let me know.

A man who strongly resembled a weasel walked towards the group. Holding out his hand he said, “ Sandford Crosby, UAC public relations.” Sarge had no desire to shake hands with him so he dropped it without missing a beat. 

“Now follow me, please.” he continued and you tune out the rest; only hearing snippets of the conversation. You looked around with mild interest as you and the others stopped in front of the Ark. The man stopped and cleared his throat, “Welcome to the Ark, gentlemen.” he paused seeing you for the first time. “And lady.” 

You raised an eyebrow as the computer announced, “ Initiating molecular mapping drive. All personnel, prepare for activation.” The weasel gestured for you all to stand back a bit. “ Keep your distance from the core or you might get sucked in,” he said with a nervous chuckle. 

Beside you, the Kid leaned towards Goat looking nervous, “You...You done this before?” he asked lowly. Goat gave a noncommittal shrug, “Once. Training Mission” he said and you turned away from the conversation. You really didn’t want to think about it; Ark travel left a lot to be desired. It wasn’t gonna be fun. You wrinkled your nose at the floating silver mass in front of the room, ‘Ugh this is gonna suck.’ you thought. 

Sarge told the weasel man to shut down the surface elevator for the standard six-hour quarantine.  “Target receiver initialized. - Ready to proceed. Ark Travel, 15 seconds.” the computer spoke and Reaper stepped forward. Within seconds the silver mass swallowed him completely. 

“Crow. You’re up.” Sarge said, jerking his head towards the front. Breathing in through your nose, you step forward. The computer counted down and before you knew it; you were gone. It felt like nothing, and everything all once. But sooner than it happened, it was over. You stumbled forward and gritted your teeth against nausea, taking in a sharp breath through your nose you’re faintly aware of someone guiding you to sit down. 

“That’s it. Head between your knees,” they whispered, you look up through your lashes and see Reaper there. All you gave him was a groan in response. “I hate Ark travel.” you mutter. Reaper chuckles humorously, “Yeah it’s not my favorite either.” he murmured back. Squeezing your shoulder one more time before he stood back up and watched as the others came through. You were pleased to see that some of the others fared a bit worse than you. 

Portman couldn’t hold it in. As soon as he stepped through the Ark he threw up; you weren’t sure what was worse. The smell or his complaining, “ Why we gotta come all this way? Why can’t UAC rent-a-cops take care of this bullshit?” 

You rolled your eyes and got up off the floor with a kind hand from Duke. The kid panted and straightened, “ Is it always that rough?” he asked still looking rather pale. 

“Believe me, it used to be a lot rougher. There was a time when Ark travel was susceptible to, let’s say, - major turbulence.” a man in a silver chair said rolling towards them. The poor kid looked confused, “What does he mean?” he asked incredulously. 

“He means he went to one galaxy, his ass went to another,” Reaper said without skipping a beat.  You smirked, “And here I thought he was doing a terrible impression of Darth Maul.” you muttered so only the closest to you could hear. Reaper coughed covering a laugh, Duke snorted not bothering in being discrete, and the Kid smiled; he relaxed a little at your words. Good. 

The man in the chair gave Reaper an unimpressed look, “Call it a scientific miscalculation. Unbelievable as it may seem, UAC does make the odd tiny mistake. Marcus Pinzerowsky. You can call me Pinky. Follow me.” 

You all move away from the Ark after Pinky. Sarge asked where the personnel who weren’t locked down in the labs were. Without looking up from a computer console Pinky responded,  “ In the atrium.” 

Sarge nodded, “Pinky, put us up.” Punky hit a few controls and glanced up, “ Activating remote personal surveillance.” he said. “Circle out men, on my three,” Sarge ordered. 

You got into the circle and turned your body slightly to the left, 

“One.” 

“Two.” 

“Three.” 

With a snap and click, you pointed your weapon at the person across from you which just so happened to be Reaper. He had his weapon pointed right back at you; and without really thinking you crossed your eyes and stuck out the tip of your tongue. And you really had to give it to the guy, he tried his damnedest to keep a poker face. You knew he was amused though by the subtle huff and the twitch of his lip. Sarge looked at you with only mild exasperation and shook his head. You merely gave him a thousand-watt smile as he gave orders. “ People, this room is a code red, which means no one gets in without our permission. It stays ours at all costs. Mac, stay here with our friend and secure the door. Men, on me. Let’s move out. Open the door.” 

People whispered around them, the atrium was abuzz with activity. A man approached Sarge, concern etched on his face. “When can I start evacuating people out through the Ark?” he asked Immediately. “We’re at a level 5 quarantine, nobody goes anywhere,” Sarge said ending the discussion right then and there.  

You watched out of the corner of your eye as Portman sauntered up to a group of women trying to convince them that it was quarantine protocol to do a strip search. Duke shifted next to you and snorted, shook his head. “On behalf of all men. I’m sorry,” he whispered. You smirked and tilted your head up to reply but his gaze was fixed on something else. Or someone else. 

A woman about your age walked with a purpose up to your group, right past Portman ignoring him. Her blonde ponytail swung back and forth until she made it to a stop beside the head of security.  “ Sergeant, this is Dr. Samantha Grimm, UAC science officer assigned to retrieve data from the lab.” 

“Sergeant.” Dr. Grimm politely greeted, and her eyes slid over to Reaper. “Hello, John.” 

“Hello, Samantha,” Reaper muttered back clearly uncomfortable. ‘Oh He’s not happy’ you thought dryly. “Hello Samantha!” a voice said excitedly next to you; rolling your eyes you elbow Duke in the ribs making him hiss. 

“Sarge, this operation is a code red. We really don’t have room for passengers.” Reaper said cooly. Dr. Grimm bristled, “ Excuse me, but I have orders to retrieve data from three servers: Anthropology, Forensic Archeology, and Genetics.” 

“This is a military operation Doctor. We’re really not here to retrieve your science homework.” Reaper ground out. ‘Oh boy.’ you thought with a slight wince. 

“Look, I got an idea. Why don’t you ask your CO what your orders are?” Dr. Grimm asked almost too sweetly. “This is better than daytime TV,” you muttered under your breath. Duke snorts and shifts a little when Goat glares at him. 

Sarge sighed, “ To contain and neutralize the threat, protect the civilians, and retrieve UAC property.”  he said monotonously.  Dr. Grimm looked completely satisfied, while Reaper looked utterly peeved. ‘Yeah, bet they’re siblings.’ you thought finally.  Dr. Grimm walked away, leading them onward. 

“Is this going to spoil my day? Sarge asked eyeing Reaper. The man in question scowled, “No, sir.” 

Duke let out a low whistle, “ Tell me you didn’t let a fine-looking piece of ass like that get away from you, Reaper.” 

Reaper looked grossed out for a split second before saying, “She’s my sister.” 

“No shit!” Duke exclaimed happily. ‘Fucking called it.’ you thought smugly. ‘Only family can piss you off like that.’ 

As we walked toward the pressure door Dr. Grimm explained the layout of the labs. “There’s three sections to Carmack’s lab complex. Archeology, Genetics, and Weapons Research.” 

“You test weapons up here,” Duke asked surprised. You wanted to retort with a smartass remark but Dr. Grimm beat you to the punch. “ Well, it’s a dead planet. You want that tested here, where it’s safe, or in your own backyard?” 

“Been there, done that, got the radiation poisoning.” you automatically chirped earning a few chuckles. Dr. Grimm smiled at you and continued. “ We’re primarily an archeological operation. Weapons Research is in its own separate facility. It had nothing to do with Dr. Carmack’s work.” 

Somehow that didn’t make you feel any better. Something was wrong here and you could feel it in the pit of your stomach. “How many inside when the lab shut down?” Sarge asked looking down at the good Doctor. “Only Dr. Carmack’s team. That’s six people. In one of the carbon dating labs, there was an internal phone left off the hook.” she said warily. 

“Did you get any information from it?” Sarge asked. Dr. Grimm looked at the head of security who then held up a small device. What you heard sent a deep chill down your spine and into your very core. Even after the recording was turned off you could still hear the screams echo around in your head. 

“Open the door.” 

@thottiewithashotgun

@dw-writes

@lauraaan182

[joe-england]

Working on this last Zebra Girl book is hard.  It’s taken a lot of my focus, I haven’t had the motivation to simply make art for months.  It’s depressing, but my muse finally perked up when I got the strange urge to do like I never do and draw serious. I’m going to bare my soul here.  Okay?  I want to be honest.  That’s me up there.  Notice the baggy jeans, hanging from my belt because I lost weight years ago and I tend to wear old pants that are too big for me now.  I’m fairly slender at this point, but I’ve still got a slight spare tire I have yet to shed.  See?  Well, I may have taken liberties with the ears and such. More to the point, you may know that my brand is “Obsessive Thoughts”.  I chose that term as a label because it’s not just a name, it’s a lifestyle.  I suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the tendency to… well, to compulsively obsess.  And not about important things, usually, but in response to a universe full of gremlins.  You feel like you have to do certain things, like it’s necessary to do them, like you’re holding the world together, and dropping the ball will have urgent existential consequences.  It’s a persistent source of stress. So I’m going to describe my perspective, and bear in mind that on a conscious level I’m well aware of the inherent nonsense.  But I want to get this out into the open.  This is what some part of my psyche tells me is happening, if not all the time, then for most of my waking hours: I move through the world surrounded by contaminants.  I must constantly be on guard against spiritual infection.  I dodge, react, and cleanse myself through tiny rituals performed hundreds of times a day.  Nearly every part of my body is involved in a clumsy dance.  Repetition of movements is cleansing.  I move haltingly as my extremities catch on contact points which demand my instinctive tactile attention.  My fingers mostly lead, forced to twitch and touch and straighten and flex, casting towards acceptable directions (I observe the spasms as I type this very sentence, words punctuated by stops and starts as a fingertip lightly taps an extra key, or jerks to the side, or briefly hovers in place, or just wriggles a bit towards empty space, all obeying some ritual I can no longer decipher).  Like guns, pointing them in the wrong direction at the wrong moment risks compromising myself since they relay the sickness.  They are primary soldiers but also prime targets, and they must hide themselves whenever deviant sights or sounds threaten my purity. Objectionable surfaces must also be avoided, such as pictures of people I don’t like.  I have to touch some things.  I have to avoid touching others.  My feet do their part too, tapping the front boards of stairs as I climb them one by one or intentionally bumping a crevice or some panel around my desk in order to banish the bad mojo running through my system.  I scuff the bottoms of my shoes as I walk to insure that the ends of my being make appropriate contact with separate boards of wood or concrete panels, whatever I happen to be walking on at the time. Meanwhile, up top, my head is kept on constant alert, my eyes a busy terminal of positive and negative input and output.  Abstract moving imagery tends to be a threat, for If a subversive pattern appears before me I must vibrate my sight by summoning pressure through my skull, defeating its hypnotic effect (and a diminutive voice in me frets even now that I am spilling my secrets to the tired old conspiracy running its tendrils through all electronic devices). Meals are more of the same.  If dirty energy ever infects my food with stray data (for instance, if an offending name is uttered while I’m looking at what I’m about to eat) then I must negate the pollution by holding the offending morsel up to my eye and matching its transparent double image against an acceptable surface to banish the corruption before I allow it in my mouth (a technique which also applies to my fingers, and which happens often when I watch the news during meal times, horrid politicians constantly threatening to invade my essence with their ugly souls).  Whenever a contaminant aura does slip inside of me then I must cough it lightly out, willing it from my guts and off the tip of my tongue.  Noises issued from my throat contribute to regular maintenance, further warding against evil spirits.  My nostrils serve a likewise function now and then. Similar duties are assigned to my knees, my toes, my elbows, or whatever piece of skin is ever exposed to undesirable elements and conscripted in my never-ending war with the invisible forces.  Beside my shuffling feet, my shadow must also avoid contact with any and all acknowledged threats, including my own dialogue.  Any word uttered risks assigning its deleterious quality to any part of me caught in my sight at the time of its mention (spoken or otherwise).  This includes the insides of my eyelids, which often disrupts my  efforts to sleep at night as I must force them open to expunge toxic  names that cross my mind. The campaign extends to inanimate objects, which constantly suffer the touch of my overworked fingers “wiping off” phantom sediment, or which serve as conduits for various energies, or as goal posts which must sometimes be met before an arbitrary time limit has expired (for example, a turning point in a song).  This was worse when I was a child, and had to race onto a carpet or couch whenever a toilet began to flush.  I thankfully managed to shed some of the more overt habits over time. But it should go without saying that the very inner monologue running through my brain must abide by its own arcane set of rules, because words and names cannot be used carelessly, even in my thoughts.  As for that, two particular words have special functions in my mental arsenal:  “Not” and “Narf.”  “Not” is a mantra, since it is a pure expression of expulsion, and I throw it constantly at negative influences, especially bad imagery or text that gets out of hand.  Conversely, “Narf”, a noise coined by a cartoon lab mouse named Pinky, is a safety mechanism, since it means nothing, thereby safely absorbing any malign concept and allowing me to make idle unspoken noise without risk.  Both words are subject to distortion as the situation requires, ghosting through the roof of my mouth in various ways, shapes, and forms, a single altered syllable sometimes called into play, expressed through the smallest push of saliva hitting my teeth.  “Nt, nt, nt.  Tt.  Unt.” I could go on. Looking at this stuff, it’s hard to believe that I’ve lived with it my entire life.  Typing it out really makes it sound crazy.  I don’t want to be insensitive to other people with issues like this, but it’s hard not to have that reaction when I put it into writing and recognize that this is what I’m actually doing all the time.  I always knew it was odd, but I always figured that I would grow out of it, and when I didn’t I just tried to mitigate it.  And I thought I was doing alright, because it used to seem worse!  I beat it back when I was younger, and my ego encouraged me to accept what was left as part of my genius, or something.  But looking at all this, I find myself wondering if I didn’t just make it more subtle through complexity.  Or maybe it’s only gotten worse with the stress of the past few years.  I don’t know. But I want people to know about this.  Now I’m not sure why I always tried to keep it to myself.  I feel like bringing it out into the open might help, might serve as a spark to finally burn away the web and let it all go.  There are definitely people out there who have it worse than I do.  Maybe you’re one of them!  We all have our crosses to bear.  And like I said, I’ve managed to cut some of it off.  But now I think it’s time I started fighting it again.  God only knows how much of my time I could get back if I wasn’t twiddling my fingers. Hey.  Thanks for listening.

-Joe

[jemmafitzsimmons]

you’re never just a phone call away - a fitzsimmons fic

Summary: Post season five. As Jemma struggles through the unbearable wait on the Zephyr before reuniting with Fitz in space, she discovers a message of hope hidden away on his phone.

read below or on AO3!

~

Compared to the agonizing six months it took for the stars to align with a path that would lead her to Fitz, two weeks left of quiet space travel should have seemed like nothing. Yet without the urgency of studying star charts, picking apart Deke’s handy navigational device, and praying this other version of her other half was still safe in his slumber, Jemma found the wait nearly as unbearable. It wasn’t easy keeping herself busy on the Zephyr, not when the scarce members of the team accompanying her on this journey were giving her space, even if that was the last thing she wanted at the moment. That’s what it had been like on the base through her search for him – a helping hand here and there, but for the most part, they kept their distance as her outbursts of frustration grew more frequent. Now, with the seemingly impossible puzzle of finding his location miraculously solved, they could only slowly travel to this designated point B, the distance between her two homes – the Lighthouse, and wherever he was – a daring but achievable feat for their newly modified spacecraft.

Daisy was busy going over intel as she prepared for the worst, since none of them knew what they’d discover once they arrived at Enoch’s ship. For all they knew, the Confederacy could have taken control of the craft, and they were walking into a trap. Piper was keeping Davis company in the cockpit, the flight through space grueling despite the endless view of the universe. And Deke was in his bunk making lists. His new favorite pastime, he kept a small notepad of things he didn’t understand about Earth and hoped to ask his team members whenever he got the chance.

Which left Jemma in the lab, the only place she felt remotely comfortable. Slumped in her chair, she sat in silence with the only other occupants in the small room: a cup of tea long forgotten, a hoodie of Fitz's draped over her shoulders, and his phone.

She held the device between her thumb and index finger, letting it slide through her fingertips as she rotated it against her lap. She’d only dared to turn it on once months ago when she checked for any data he may have stored about Enoch’s ship or the cryo freeze chamber. But, alas, there was none. After that single venture, she’d hidden it away with the rest of his belongings packed neatly in his suitcase.

She didn’t know what compelled her to seek the phone out now. Maybe it was because it was one of the only objects he’d had with him after he’d broken out of that awful military prison. Her own phone had been her lifeline on Maveth, the mere image of him sparking hope buried deep inside her, his smile and the idea of seeing him again bringing it back up to the surface. The thought of how much this small capsule of their previous lives may have given him hope when he needed it most provided her a bit of that same comfort as she sat and waited. But still, she didn’t unlock it.

Even through their boundless friendship and then romantic relationship, they’d kept certain boundaries in terms of privacy, so they never thought to look at each other’s phones unless given permission by the other. Not that they had much to hide since they shared almost everything – new discoveries, mission updates, and blissful memories captured along the way. But there was something stirring within her now that urged her to look, to sneak a glance at what he kept under lock and key, even from her eyes.

After hitting the home button, she typed in the familiar code and the screen lit up, revealing his home screen wallpaper. She sucked in a quick breath. Thankfully, it was only a photo of her taken shortly after they’d gotten together, but it was still a lot to take in. Things were simpler back then. Less devastating.

Closing her eyes, she placed the phone on the desk and dragged her hand down her face. Maybe it wasn’t the brightest idea in the world to bring these feelings of longing back to the surface at a time like this. If seeing an old photo of herself brought about this reaction, she could only imagine how she'd feel from seeing photos of the two of them together.

But two weeks was still a long wait. She missed him. And there was nothing better for her to do at the moment.

Returning to the phone, she restricted herself to only look through their older photos, ones of memories he would still remember. Besides these familiar ones, she half-hoped to find a few shots she’d never seen before, just as she snuck photos of him whenever possible despite his protests. Pleasantly surprised, she discovered there were actually a few he’d taken years ago that he’d managed to keep just to himself, even a couple more recent ones from their time at the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t the Seychelles, but Jemma remembered feeling overjoyed to get away for a while, just the two of them discovering the euphoria of being open about their shared feelings. Other photos were of her in various places in the Playground, moments she remembered as completely ordinary, but he somehow found something worthy of capturing.

Once she reached the end of the collection before the photos moved into moments that she would have to savor by herself, smiling and laughing for once in such a long time as she was transported back to so many cherished memories of theirs, she returned to the previous page of his photos app, letting herself indulge a bit longer. With a swipe of her thumb, she noticed a separate folder of videos she’d never noticed before. A few were terribly old – random moments from the Academy and on the Bus – but the most recent one she couldn’t recall, the black image not revealing the video’s contents.

Without thinking, she tapped it and then hit the play button. The picture was muffled for a few seconds with a bit of movement before the subject finally revealed himself, sitting on the floor of what looked like the Lighthouse.

“Hi, Jemma.”

Letting out a small gasp, she paused the video straightaway and then pressed her lips firmly together, staring into Fitz’s eyes as he looked back at her.

It was the missing piece of his life that she never witnessed – the time between her being snatched away without a trace from the diner and the moment she turned over her shoulder and found herself overcome from the revelation of Kasius’s latest guest of honor. He’d told her details of that story, of how Hunter broke him out and how they managed to track down Enoch. But she could never bring herself to truly picture him during that time, to imagine his state of mind as he struggled through their separation of space and time.

Through a slow breath, Jemma steadied herself enough to rummage through a desk drawer and found a cord to connect his phone to her monitor, needing to see his face in more detail than a three by five-inch screen allowed. When the video loaded and his face filled the larger screen, Jemma’s mouth curved into a small smile. He looked just as he had when they’re reunited in space the first time, his hair and beard grown out more than usual, but still effortlessly himself. But he wasn’t wearing that smug look he’d put on around the Kree to play his part as a space marauder. Instead, his expression was softer, still a bit lost and overwhelmed as it always seemed to be, but determined nonetheless.

Scooting forward in her chair, she rested her chin on her hand to watch. And with a tap of the spacebar, the video resumed.

“I just…” he started, no longer looking into the lens. “I’m not used to talking like this, to a camera, to you. We haven’t had a proper conversation in a while. And I don’t know when that’s gonna happen. I hope soon. I mean,” he let out a brief chuckle, “not technically soon 'cause I’m about to freeze myself and sleep for… 80 years or so.”

Jemma’s smile widened as she took him in, thinking back to that last memory at the diner, her heart aching as he talked of taking the long way to the future as if it were just another mission and not the most extraordinary thing he’d ever do.

He stayed silent for a moment and shifted his gaze to his lap, Jemma watching with quiet concern as his expression grew more solemn. She moved to prop her head against her hand as she waited.

“It always comes down to something like this, doesn’t it?” he mumbled softly after some time. “You’re never just a phone call away,” he said, waving his hand in the phone’s direction, “it’s always something else, some other dimension or reality or something out of this world. I guess I just wanted to record something just in…”

He paused, and when he pulled in his lips, Jemma did the same. He couldn’t finish the sentence, but he didn’t need to. Just in case we are truly cursed.

He shook his head, seeming to collect himself before continuing in a more determined tone. “I don’t know what I’m getting into, is all. All I know is that I’m coming for you. All of you. And I don’t have any idea how I’m going to find you or what we’re up against, but I promise I’m going to do everything I can to save you.”

In the background of the video, Jemma could hear a bit of movement far off somewhere. She could recognize the Lighthouse, but not his exact location.

Fitz looked off to the side before returning his attention back to his phone. “I gotta say goodbye to Hunter soon,” he said, his voice a bit lower than before. “He doesn’t know yet what I’m about to do. I guess I should have mentioned that before how Hunter got me out of prison, helped me figure out what happened after you guys disappeared.”

In a strange bit of fate, he shifted to lean against a case next to him, his head now resting against his hand as he created a mirror image of Jemma as she watched him. And for a moment, she forgot that it was pre-recorded video and not the two of them simply speaking with each other in real time.

“I wish I could see you right now,” he said, his voice pained, “to know that you’re okay.”

Jemma mouthed the words “me too,” struggling to take in a breath.

“But freezing myself is the best chance I have,” he went on. “Enoch said he’s gonna make sure nothing happens to me, and I trust him, even if he took you guys in the first place.” He stopped to wipe his eyes before letting out a deep sigh, taking another moment before returning his gaze to the camera.

Jemma swallowed the lump in her throat.

“You’re the one always giving me hope,” he finally said, “so I guess this is me doing that for you. I’m always gonna come back to you. No matter what.”

She choked back a small sob then, holding it in as long as possible to not miss a single word.

Fitz exhaled, and with a tilt of his head, he smiled. “I love you, and I… I can’t wait to see you again. Bye, Jemma.”

The video froze on the image of him moving to stop the recording, so she was left with that same sad smile, another mirror image of her as she looked on him with quiet content. If only he knew then the path they would follow before they found each other again. It worried her endlessly to think of how he would come to terms with everything he missed and everything they lost along the way. Yet here he was giving her hope, and that was somehow all she needed to know things would be okay.

Even as he was about to travel to the future without a clue as to what he would discover when he arrived, he knew he would find his way back to her. And he did. So just as he’d recorded a video for her like she’d done so long ago on that lonely planet for him, she would be sure to find him too.

Pressing her fingertips to her lips, Jemma reached forward and touched his cheek on the screen, whispering, “I’ll be there soon.”  

[jamiethebull44-blog]

Awesome XiaoMi Roborock S50 S55 Larut, Matang dan Selama Huge Discount

Flip the Roborock S5 above and you're going to find two black rubber wheels on both sides, a multi-directional wheel in front, and a three-spoke side brush to the left. Between the wheels are the combination rubber and bristle roller brush. Though like the brush around the Eufy Robovac 30c, the S5's roller brush remained free of hair and fuzz. Design The security company assessed the safety of four different robot vacuums, including the Roborock S55 and the Roomba 980. The Roborock S55 performed the worst; AV-Test said that this was"Due partly to gross security deficiencies in data transmission, the transfer of data to third parties, the program's unexplainable thirst for data, as well as a very clear need for progress in the announcement on the handling of customer data." As per a Roborock agent, although the Roborock S5 uses the exact same app produced by Xiaomi since the S55 (Xiaomi is an investor in Roborock), map data is saved locally on the robot and just goes into the Cloud when a user views the map on the smartphone program.Up to 20 maps are saved in the Cloud in any certain time, and so are automatically deleted after a year. When users delete a map in the program, it's also eliminated in the Cloud. Exactly what the Roborock S5 lacked cleaning thoroughness, it made up for with speed, cleaning our hardwood and carpeting test region at an average of 15 minutes and 22 seconds, nearly a full hour quicker than the Roomba 690 and 45 minutes quickly compared to Shark Ion R85. It wasn't quite as quickly as the Neato Botvac D7, that cleaned the test region in a mean of 10 minutes. 

We're enthused about zone cleaning to the Roborock S5, as it is a great way to perform a cleaning of a hall or kitchen. From the primary display on the app, you are able to draw boxes across the map areas you need vacuumed. Unlike the Roomba i7+ and also the Neato Botvac D7, you can't save or name the zones, which usually means you have to redraw every time to the place that you wish to wash them. Adding to the confusion is a Edit Map button on the main screen which lets you draw on virtual barrier cassette and no-go zones. Among our favourite design components of the Robovac S5 is its own"hood" Flip up the thin piece and you'll come across the ample dustbin hidden in the center, together with a index light and system reset button.The S5 was the real robot vacuum we examined that had an area to hold the tool for cleaning the brush roll, a smart way to keep while enhancing the aesthetic. An indented section near the back is supposed to hold the microfiber mop module. In 63.8 decibels, the Roborock S5 was clearly louder than the Shark Ion R85 (59.2). We were able to have a conversation as the vacuum worked around us but raised our voices. In our lab tests, the Roborock S5 performed well, but not outstandingly so. On hardwood and carpeting, it picked up an average of 96.2 percent of those Cheerios strewn throughout the test region, which was marginally less than the iRobot Roomba 690 (99.5 percent), the Neato Botvac D7 (99.8) and the Shark Ion R85, which divides a perfect 100 percent with this test. 

The Roborock S5 steps 13.8 inches in diameter, more than an inch bigger than the Shark Ion R85; it is also larger than the 13-inch iRobot Roomba 690 and the 13.2-inch Neato Botvac D7. Installation and app We were hesitant to provide the S5 free reign to wash if it decided to try and wash our carpet, so we used the spot-cleaning mode, which cleans a 1.5- meter (4.9 feet) area around wherever the S5 is placed. Turns our hesitations were unfounded. The Roborock S5 made about as much water as a wet Swiffer pad onto the ground. If it had cleaned as well as a Swiffer does.Security concerns Picking up dog hair on both the hardwood and carpet stymied many of the robot vacuums we tested, such as the Roborock S5;it picked up just 79.5% of pet hair--10 percent less than the Botvac D7 and 8.5 percent less than the Ion R85. However, the S5 did best the Roomba 690's 73.3 percent pet hair pickup rate. Mopping performance Much like the program that accompanies the Mi Home program, the Eufy Robovac 30C is designed to control house smart devices. The layout is not instinctive, while the vacuum part of this app is robust. Overall, the Roborock S5 accumulated an average of 86.8 percent of all test debris on carpet--a performance on a level with all the Neato Botvac D7, but well below the Shark Ion R85's 97.2 percent. The S5's hardwood performance told a similar story, picking up an average of 83.9 percent of all test debris. It was bested by the Botvac D7 by 12 percent. 

The Roborock S5 distinguishes itself with a mopping quality that's unique one of the robot vacuums we analyzed, but unfortunately, its mopping art is genuinely helpful. A half-inch thin disk with a microfiber pad resides beneath the rear of the vacuum. Fill out the disc using water, click it adjust the Cleanup mode in the program and you are ready to clean. The screen shows the place cleaning time and also our favourite item of information--staying battery lifetime. Along the bottom are icons for Go, Dock, Clean and Zoned Cleanup. In the center of the robot is a increased laser cap on the Neato Botvac D7 using a dab of beneath, very similar to the one. Over the cover are bodily buttons for spot cleaning, on/off and recharging. Perhaps due to the white colour, the wall detectors on the front and side of the S5 are more noticeable than on other models, but they don't detract in the bot appearance.We were impressed with how the Roborock S5 approached walls and obstacles. The bumper on the Roomba 690 appeared to announce that it struck something with clunk; the S5 was more polite. The robot slows its strategy and its side brush before gingerly approaching an obstruction nonetheless, when the S5 chose an item was approachable, it approached with gusto. The S5 pushed chairs and dog bowls than the Shark Ion R85 and also the Neato Botvac D7. It wasn't destructive, but I wouldn't leave a fragile vase onto a lightweight plant stand around during a cleanup. When the Roborock S5 get its bearings, it cleaned regions in a exact, back-and-forth snake pattern.

 The robot vacuum quickly found its way through the maze beneath our dining room table, easily weaving its way to the other. We appreciated how closely the S5 hewed to walls and chair legs;it tackled walls and edges tightly as the Neato Botvac D7. The van was also smart enough to completely avoid a thick pile rug that felled additional robot vacuums, but its taller height meant it didn't fit under one of our seats or our low-clearance couch. Despite its size, the Roborock S5 deftly maneuvered through tight spaces. At 3.8 inches high, the S5 sits straight between the 3.9-inch Botvac D7 and the 3.7-inch Roomba 690. While we do not love the laser cover in the center, the characteristic was significantly less obtrusive than the one about the D7, which has a massive overhang and penchant for getting stuck under living room seats. If you're adding a robot vacuum cleaner to your home, you want it to look great --especially if it's docked on your living room. The Roborock S5 eschews the black-and-grey color scheme adopted by other vacuums for white, with muted silver trim around the rim. If you guessed the Go icon could initiate a cleaning cycle, you would be wrong. Instead, Go directs the S5 into a stage on the cleansing map for the bot to perform a spot cleaning. A general vacuuming cycle is initiated by activating the icon. Buried in the Preferences menu are five distinct Cleanup modes : Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, MAX and Mop. The program, and by extension, the vacuum, retains the mode last used.

Cleaning performance The Roborock S5 may also be controlled via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. But don't expect to access any features the only choices are On and Off, which prompts to bot to come back to its foundation. Google Assistant adds"Return to Dock," which sends the robot house, rather than Stop, which divides the vacuum in its tracks. "Beginning the cleanup," a cheery voice announces from deep within the Roborock S5. Rather than a series of Morse code-like beeps and chimes employed by the Neato Botvac D7, the Shark Ion R85 and many other appliances, the S5 admits what it's likely to do in easy-to-understand terminology prompts. The Roborock S5 is mostly controlled via the Mi Home program (Android and iOS). Connecting the robot into the program and also to our home wi-fi network took 2 tries, mostly because the directions for pairing the bot into the Wi-Fi network weren't too clear. Instructions that were abstruse quickly became a recurring motif of the S5. The manual recommends running a vacuum cycle that is regular . We did so, but it didn't seem to help. The S5 left the mopped area dull and a little sticky. If it had been possible to use something in addition to water in the mop tank it would have performed better. The black-and-white pier for your Roborock S5 is slightly taller than the vacuum itself. A clear plastic mat attaches to the dock, but it's only needed if you plan on using the attachment. Notice that tabbed Saving Mode is currently in beta and must be toggled on separately under Vacuum Settings in the app. We spent several test runs re-mapping our first floor due to this map not saving mechanically. Both the expensive iRobot Roomba and the Botvac D7 can store floor plans.

[grantstawell901-blog]

Fantasy Game Music

Freemake Audio Converter converts music files between 50+ audio formats. All2MP3 for Home windows can convert between 50+ audio codecs like MP3, WMA, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, MP2, FLAC, ALAC, etc. to provide you infinite possibility to make use of your audio anywhere you need. It also convert 300+ video codecs to MP3 like MP4, AVI, FLV, MKV, MPEG, WMV, MOV, DivX, XviD, H.264, and extra, even together with HD, 4K and 8K video codecs. It's a comprehensive, properly-designed app which comes with nice discovery options, EQ controls and Chromecast assist. What's more, Radio Participant by Audials allows you to schedule recordings for an automatic provide of unbelievable new music from your favorite stations. It is one of the best app of its sort and a should for free music followers. This app also places all of your downloaded songs in a single place, the Library, so you can easily access them when you'll want to get your dose of music. Simple MP3 Downloader is absolutely free, so download it now from the Google Play Store. Give your favourite discs a break with FreeRIP MP3 Converter. Listen to your favourite tracks in your gadgets. If you happen to've simply heard a track on the radio and you'll't get the lyrics out of your head then the perfect factor to do is to download the Mp3 Skull Music Downloader Pro app in your cellphone. So the following time you hear a music and you'll't wait to have it, all you should do is download it from this app instantly. This is a actually convenient app that doesn't take numerous time to figure out. All it is advisable do is seek for a tune you want and you may obtain it. Transfer all of your audio files to Audio & Music Lab Premium and optimize sound the skilled means. All frequent audio formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, AC3, DTS, and so forth. - Minimize the music recordsdata saved within the cellphone or exterior reminiscence Micro SD, USB via OTG. Aura Audio Converter data streaming audio straight from media participant software like iTunes, Real Player, Home windows Media Participant, QuickTime and Winamp. The resulting recordings may be saved as WAV, WMA, or MP3 audio information. Music Paradise Pro is like heaven for lots of the music lovers out there. Once you enter your search time period for music, App starts mining all of its data after which give you an incredible list to download your songs. Free obtain Opus converter for Mac or Home windows version to convert Opus audio recordsdata to MP3, AAC, FLAC, AC3, WAV, WMA, OGG, RA, AU, M4A and many others. This highly effective Opus Audio Converter additionally helps to transform video or audio information to Opus audio format. TunesMate as a free music downloader has different options other than music downloading. Hence, it is a blessing to every iPhone user who feels marginalized by Apple restrictions and limitation in downloading and enjoying free music on iPhone.

There is no want to put in any software for the file conversion, on a regular pc. However, if you are saving the transformed Mp3 file in your smartphone, use the FvdTube youtube downloader app - a secure & secure app with easy interface. The only challenge is that it's presently in beta and with the intention to be very helpful, you have to create an account. When you try this, you can create music information as much as 20 minutes long. With no login, you are limited to simply 30 seconds. Additionally, once it will get out of beta, the free model will solely help files up to 5 minutes. In the event you need longer than that, you may have to pay. 4Shared Music is certainly one of my favourite music downloader app that I use to obtain all of favorite music using my Android telephone. You point out right here some superior apps which can be comes with cool features. Take convert your audio to MP3 or convert MP4 to MP3 for example. Click on Profile" drop-down. In the General Audio" category select MP3 - MPEG Layer-3 Audio (.mp3)" as the output format. Once MP3 determined what information to keep, it's compressed once more with more common compression strategies. This is then that the file's measurement is diminished, and most of the high quality is irreversibly lost. I can't say MP3 is that dangerous, although. FlicFlac Audio Converter is a light-weight bare-bones audio converter that supports the conversion of FLAC, WAV, MP3, OGG and APE recordsdata into different codecs. Simple MP3 Cutter is a very useful free app which gives customers the flexibility to separate up a big audio file into smaller ones. It can be used to trim undesirable silence initially and finish of recordings, for example. In addition, it may cut up up long recordings into a number of files which might then be distributed extra easily. This can be helpful for logically separating recordings or setting them out for ease of access. It is acknowledged that RockMyRun won't solely clean up your thoughts but even it assists to get your physique in form as per knowledgeable opinion. This exercise music app offers an excellent collection of DJ-combined playlists for train soundtracks and lots of more functionalities. Utilizing RockMyRun app, users can obtain or cache the mp3 tracks for objective of offline playback. Google Play Music permits customers to download and play their favorite songs. Nevertheless, the free version solely permits for streaming music. You need to pay $1.99 per 30 days for a subscription, and then you are allowed to obtain music onto your iPhone and play them offline. You should utilize MP3 Toolkit to transform audio for mobile units, make ringtones, fix tag information, rip Audio CD, document sound or merge audio pieces to a whole MP3 file. But there are good causes to keep downloading music, chief of all being which you could't personal the music that you stream. Bandwidth issues are one other, which is why loads of users still download YouTube movies as MP3s. Like different music downloaders, it additionally offers standard options like streaming, favoriting, downloading and a constructed-in music player for listening songs online. I do know that a lot of you have been pondering that Why I added TubeMate on this list as a result of mainly, TubeMate is a video downloader. However, there's a hidden function. You'll be able to directly download the mp3 file of any tune which is out there on youtube. Use the device I prompt above, MP3 to iPod Audio E-book Converter, to merge songs online free the brand new MP3 tracks and create an audiobook. Spotify : One of the extensively identified music downloader apps in the USA, this app has an important consumer-pleasant interface and offers wonderful service. It is used largely as a streaming app, but downloading music by looking the Genres and saving them for offline playing can also be obtainable.

[alliesamson5-blog]

Switch CDs To Your Computer With Audio Cleansing Lab.

Free Obtain CDA to MP3 Ripper, set up it and run. If the issue is along with your Laptop or a Laptop you should strive using Reimage Plus which can scan the repositories and exchange corrupt and missing information. This works most often, the place the issue is originated as a consequence of a system corruption. You possibly can download Reimage by clicking the Obtain button under. What's CDA? Standing for Compact Disk Audio, CDA is not an audio format, however a file extension, which gives available data to an audio CD. CDA recordsdata don't embrace any precise pulse code modulation (PCM) info however only monitor length and time actually. That's the explanation why your computer prompts you of CDA playback error while you attempt to copy CD tracks into laptop and then play them with out CD. Unfortunately,cda information might be performed only from a CD-ROM. Your LAPTOP or Mac can not immediately play CDA files, so you could contemplate to convert tracks in CDA to another audio format for better saving. MP3, as a generally-used audio format, which makes use of compression to avoid wasting a lot area. Wish to convert CDA to MP3? For higher CDA to MP3 conversion, you'll be able to depend on this text and find some effective methods. The Aurender ACS10 is designed to be your one-stop answer for cda to mp3 online mac digital music administration. A caching music server with a CD ripper, content storage, library management, and meta-tag editor, it has every little thing an audiophile wants when utilizing a file-based mostly playback system, designed to simplify the duties at hand. It can be used as a companion to your present Aurender Music Server to broaden its perform and adaptability or as a totally-useful server and streamer on its own. Whether or not it is advisable to convert FLAC to MP3 , APE to WMA, OGG to WAV, or rip Audio CD tracks, AudioConverter Studio is the correct instrument for the job. It supports hottest audio codecs and can convert between any pair of them. Effectively, Audio CDs could be transformed to any of the supported formats, but not the other way round (to burn an Audio CD, you should utilize Audio CD Burner Studio). A CD ripper copies the audio portion of a CD and converts it to a format that can be used with an audio program or moveable system, resembling an MP3 player or smartphone. It may be a component of a music participant program, as with iTunes, or it might be a separate part, such as FreeRIP. A CD ripper is often used when a user needs to hearken to a CD on a device similar to a smartphone or transportable audio device and doesn't need to purchase an album again from a web based music retailer. In some circumstances, http://www.magicaudiotools.com/rip-cd-to-mp3 a release might not be available on online music shops at all. Once you rip a CD, you'll be able to take heed to the songs instantly out of your laptop, out of your Home windows library without the CD. You can too transfer the songs to suitable moveable devices, equivalent to an MP3 participant or a smartphone , or you'll be able to burn a customized CD from different music files. The ripping format you select impacts the sound high quality on these gadgets. You'll be able to attempt totally different settings and codecs to match and find the best steadiness in your wants. Specific Rip Free CD Ripper does precisely as its name would recommend. It's software for extracting the audio out of your CDs and turning them into digital audio files similar to MP3s and the like. It's designed to do one thing and it does that one factor very effectively. Khi bạn tải các file âm thanh trên mạng (thường là định dạngflv hoặcmp4…) về máy tính và muốn copy chúng vào máy điện thoại di động hoặc máy nghe nhạc nhưng các thiết bị đó lại không được hỗ trợ những file mà bạn đã tải về. Và Total Video Convert chính là giải pháp dành cho bạn lúc này.

The process to rip CDs with Free CD Ripper may be very easy. Just insert a CD in your CD drive and let this system learn the contents of the disc. If the files are usually not correctly tagged, Free CD Ripper can entry a web based database and get the names for you. Then all you need to do is choose the tracks you want to rip by double clicking on a bit sq., which is the one part of the method customers would possibly find slightly confusing. Then just choose the goal format and let Free CD Ripper do the remaining.So, let's have a look at when chances are you'll need a working and reliable audio CD ripper utility. The obvious thing is to rip an audio CD for backup purposes into lossless format to avoid quality loss. In the event you're an iPod fan however still didn't surrender buying CDs, you may rip audio CD to MP3 or AAC and ship the recordsdata into your beautiful Apple gadget - iPod, iPhone or iPad. Give our software program a try and take full management of your CD collection.Rip your favorite CDs directly to your player with the CD Ripper MKII from Astell&Kern. The ripper connects to an Astell&Kern participant (out there separately) via one of the included cables and begins ripping on the touch of a button once the ripping options are set up. The linked Astell&Kern music participant will entry Gracenote's servers and automatically add the corresponding music data and album cover to the ripped music information.

[lowelljin50218-blog]

Online Video Editor, Free & Secure

Free MP3 Cutter Joiner is an lightweight device that is straightforward to use and has a plain looking interface. To clip or trim your music information, you should turn to our freeware - Any Video Converter Free, which is a smart however powerful enough audio and video converter and editor software. As an audio splitter freeware, Any Video Converter will help you cut the audio information into segments as you like. And as an audio joiner, it can additionally aid you be part of or merge 2 mp3 files online any audio files into big one though they are in several formats. Can upload photographs from both local and online sources. Free Video Joiner A free video joiner instrument to affix multiple video recordsdata into one giant video file. All recordsdata are exported into the standard MP3 format. 1. Audio Joiner - Merge songs on-line, combine MP3. It happens many occasions that we have to merge audio recordsdata resembling MP3 songs into one observe. You possibly can combine a number of MP3 songs into single audio file to make a big MP3 file of a number of remix songs. The 32 and sixteen kbps audiobook streams that failed really labored OKAY with the VLC Media Participant the place that that they had been checked prior to loading them into an outdated, maybe obsolete, Muvo one hundred mp3 player from Inventive labs that moreover works successfully. Open the file, select the part of the audio you need to trim and save the file inside the pc onerous drive. Usually shopper wishes to access diversified WAVE recordsdata one after the opposite on account of their work requirement, on this situation WAVE joiner software program program is time saving and fast resolution to course of a number of WAVE recordsdata by merging them collectively and generate one large WAV file.

chromePDF is a completely free on-line pdf editor. No need to put in a softwore on your laptop. Upload the MP3 or Audio file that you simply need to minimize. You can add the audio file out of your Computer arduous disk, Google Drive, Dropbox from URL instantly. Now you can download YouTube movies as MP3 files with HD audio quality. Our leading YouTube to MP3 Converter can also be suitable with many different on-line video websites resembling Vimeo, Dailymotion and Liveleak. Free Audio Joiner is the very best freeware for be part of identical codecs audio file. It support mp3, wma, aac, wav, ogg, flac, ape, m4a, ra, ram, ac3, mp2, aiff, au and mpa; It requires the same codecs, but different container formats can be used; Add unlimited audio information within the fast and easy setup interface; It is vitally easy to use with none particular setting, just a few clicks complete the task of audio file join; It might detect your hardware configuration and resolve an optimized be part of scheme automatically; Be part of your audio files and protect audio quality after adding more audio files by click mouse button; Provide >300% becoming a member of speed by multithreading, so quick beyond your creativeness; Mechanically shutdown the pc after join task. After slicing, click the "OKAY" to saved the trimmed MP3 music and back to the primary interface. The cut MP3 clip shall be proven on the listing with the original one still here. Then set the audio format as MP3 from "Profile" box, and choose the vacation spot folder. Click on "Convert" to export the edited MP3 file. In the event you like Mp3 Cutter & Merger you may additionally enjoy: MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker♫, Ringtone Maker, Ringdroid, Ringtone Maker Professional, Fusion Music Participant, MP3 Cutter.In case you solely have just a few small recordsdata to convert, we suggest utilizing one of the free programs we reviewed. The benefit of spending $30 on audio conversion software is the ability to convert a large number of files quickly. Audials Tunebite is $forty, which is the most costly software we examined, however it may well record streaming audio and video providers and converts greater than forty import codecs.Free Audio Editor is a stable software and it affords a big selection of choices and a easy to use interface. The appliance is designed as an audio editor, nevertheless it moreover affords a humble audio extraction function. We have now now to say that this software program comes bundled with some unnecessary purposes, but you'll be able to choose not to install them.I think about that MP3 Joiner is a form of functions that you do not use normally, however whilst you want it, life becomes simpler. Likelihood is you may need to attempt more software program program, much like EZ WAV Joiner, Aplus WAV Joiner or WAV Cutter Joiner, which is liable to be associated to WAV Joiner. Immediately be part of the separate audio recordsdata into a good larger file with out recompression sustaining the distinctive quality. You will merge a lot of data or elements of assorted recordsdata into a vast one file with out shedding audio high quality. This has a capability to combine two or extra recordsdata into one single file for merging. A single audio file is extra helpful to use than small ones in quite a few conditions. There is no skip or bounce within the created file both all by means of the start or the highest. Generally it's a necessity to convert a music file into another audio format for compatibility causes.Fotor is a browser-based mostly option that offers editing and wonder retouching. Its High Dynamic Range function could be particularly useful: You possibly can take three pictures with completely different exposures to mix them right into a single picture, with one of the best gentle and tone from each of the separate photographs. It is the most effective free photograph editors out there, and you can too go professional for added options for a small monthly price.

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The ability to send thoughts directly to another person’s brain is the stuff of science fiction. At least, it used to be.

In recent years, physicists and neuroscientists have developed an armory of tools that can sense certain kinds of thoughts and transmit information about them into other brains. That has made brain-to-brain communication a reality.

These tools include electroencephalograms (EEGs) that record electrical activity in the brain and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which can transmit information into the brain.

In 2015, Andrea Stocco and his colleagues at the University of Washington in Seattle used this gear to connect two people via a brain-to-brain interface. The people then played a 20 questions–type game.

An obvious next step is to allow several people to join such a conversation, and today Stocco and his colleagues announced they have achieved this using a world-first brain-to-brain network. The network, which they call BrainNet, allows a small group to play a collaborative Tetris-like game. “Our results raise the possibility of future brain-to-brain interfaces that enable cooperative problem-solving by humans using a ‘social network’ of connected brains,” they say.

The technology behind the network is relatively straightforward. EEGs measure the electrical activity of the brain. They consist of a number of electrodes placed on the skull that can pick up electrical activity in the brain.

A key idea is that people can change the signals their brain produces relatively easily. For example, brain signals can easily become entrained with external ones. So watching a light flashing at 15 hertz causes the brain to emit a strong electrical signal at the same frequency. Switching attention to a light flashing at 17 Hz changes the frequency of the brain signal in a way an EEG can spot relatively easily.

TMS manipulates brain activity by inducing electrical activity in specific brain areas. For example, a magnetic pulse focused onto the occipital cortex triggers the sensation of seeing a flash of light, known as a phosphene.

Together, these devices make it possible to send and receive signals directly to and from the brain. But nobody has created a network that allows group communication. Until now.

Stocco and his colleagues have created a network that allows three individuals to send and receive information directly to their brains. They say the network is easily scalable and limited only by the availability of EEG and TMS devices.

The proof-of-principle network connects three people: two senders and one person able to receive and transmit, all in separate rooms and unable to communicate conventionally. The group together has to solve a Tetris-like game in which a falling block has to be rotated so that it fits into a space at the bottom of the screen.

The two senders, wearing EEGs, can both see the full screen. The game is designed so the shape of the descending block fits in the bottom row either if it is rotated by 180 degrees or if it is not rotated. The senders have to decide which and broadcast the information to the third member of the group.

To do this, they vary the signal their brains produce. If the EEG picks up a 15 Hz signal from their brains, it moves a cursor toward the right-hand side of the screen. When the cursor reaches the right-hand side, the device sends a signal to the receiver to rotate the block.

The senders can control their brain signals by staring at LEDs on either side of the screen—one flashing at 15 Hz and the other at 17 Hz.

The receiver, attached to an EEG and a TMS, has a different task. The receiver can see only the top half of the Tetris screen, and so can see the block but not how it should be rotated. However, the receiver receives signals via the TMS from each sender, saying either “rotate” or “do not rotate.”

The signals consist of a single phosphene to indicate the block must be rotated or no flash of light to indicate that it should not be rotated. So the data rate is low—just one bit per interaction.

Having received data from both senders, the receiver performs the action. But crucially, the game allows for another round of interaction.

The senders can see the block falling and so can determine whether the receiver has made the right call and transmit the next course of action—either rotate or not—in another round of communication.

This allows the researchers to have some fun. In some of the trials they deliberately change the information from one sender to see if the receiver can determine whether to ignore it. That introduces an element of error often reflected in real social situations.

But the question they investigate is whether humans can work out what to do when the data rates are so low. It turns out humans, being social animals, can distinguish between the correct and false information using the brain-to-brain protocol alone.

That’s interesting work that paves the way for more complex networks. The team says the information travels across a bespoke network set up between three rooms in their labs. However, there is no reason why the network cannot be extended to the Internet, allowing participants around the world to collaborate.

“A cloud-based brain-to-brain interface server could direct information transmission between any set of devices on the brain-to-brain interface network and make it globally operable through the Internet, thereby allowing cloud-based interactions between brains on a global scale,” Stocco and his colleagues say. “The pursuit of such brain-to-brain interfaces has the potential to not only open new frontiers in human communication and collaboration but also provide us with a deeper understanding of the human brain.”

[trliteraltrash-fics]

Grin And Bear It - Chapter Five

Chapter Four: Respectfully, Fuck You

Ao3 Link

Inspired by @miss-conduct​

Summary:   You’re a 27 year old military Lance Corporal. You’d think that’d be good thing, but on a covert mission gone south, will you ever get to go home? Or will you adapt and find comfort right where you are? oh, and maybe you hadn’t heard, apparently time travel is a thing?

Catch up here! Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

'I suggest you find a better place to nap.’ Soldier: 76’s voice echoed through your head as you sat by the window, colours thrown in a spectrum of reds and purples across the sky. Hardly anyone disturbed you here. It was quiet, and hell, sometimes you just had to get away from people. Away from the noise and the buzzing of electricity in wide hallways or places like the infirmary where there were so many devices running. Coming here had become part of your daily routine. Over the past week since your night of gaming with the ‘Tree Musketeers’ you spent each day training, going through drills and sets with 76. Thus far he had taught you basics – mostly things you already knew. It was familiar, and it brought a sort of calm as you threw yourself into it, the routine training becoming more and more like muscle memory.

After training you’d usually share a meal with the younger agents who had quickly become friends to you, more than you could consider yourself to them. Today, you had skipped the option to each with them. Watching the sunset, wanting to do so from start to finish today. The colours were more vibrant today, clouds covering the sky. You wondered if it would rain soon; you loved the rain. You sat with your arms wrapped around one knee, the other leg out straight in front of you. The world at ease for a few precious moments, these usually being the ones you would plug in your headphones and listen to Maris’ voice. Her picture sitting in your hand. Her face smiling brightly at you.

The window had almost become your ‘spot’ in a lot of ways. No one really walked by, it was just inside a blind spot of a security feed. It was disconnected from the crazy outside world of the future and it’s millions of things you couldn’t even begin to understand. Sitting there it didn’t matter if the other agents of Overwatch thought you were crazy for doing a chore or two when it needed to be done, nor did it matter how hard you would push yourself when you trained. At the end of the day, you still had this. The sunset.

Hell, if Hanzo could preach about meditation and finding peace, glorified bathrobe and all, you could certainly find it for yourself in these small moments.

You ran your thumb along the edge of the polaroid in your hand, the edges worn and middle starting to fade despite your careful folding to keep it from doing so. Her smiling face was still the most beautiful thing you had ever had the blessing of experiencing in person. The sun was starting to dip further behind the trees.

You’d find a way back home to her eventually or die trying. It was a promise you were making to yourself, you wouldn’t stay more than half a century into your future. You’d get back home and make a difference, even if that meant leaving the army, risking the loss of being paid due to the aim at the special pension reserved for soldiers who serve twenty years. You could get a real job that would still pay the bills, one that would let you spend time with your sister. Try to make up for lost time.

“Cadet.” You jolted at the sound of your Commander’s voice, his tone sending your mind reeling to images of memories you’d rather keep buried. You stood from the ground, at attention.

“Yes, Sir?” You stood with your shoulders straight and right arm up in a salute.

“At ease.” He started, you placed your arm down at your side. You were still rigid, fingers curled into fists.

You nodded at him when he hadn’t continued with your orders.

“Winston wants to see you in his lab. He’s got Intel he wants to show you.” Your eyebrows furrow as you grow confused, eyes turning towards the ground. It had been in the last week that they had stopped running scans. Could they really have sorted through everything that quickly? It was a hell of a lot of data. More importantly, what was so important that they had to interrupt you during the one thing you looked forward to each day?

“Can - - Sir, may I have a minute to - -”

“No. He wants to see you asap.” Soldier: 76 stood there, his arms folded over his chest with a coldness as though he were scolding a child making a stupid decision. You relaxed your fingers. Maybe it was stupid to look forward to something as silly as a sunset.

You nodded, a defeated sigh falling from your lips as you moved forward, following an invisible path to Winston’s lab. If it truly was that important, then you supposed the sunset could wait until tomorrow. Not like they thought much of the natural phenomenon anyway. You took note that 76 didn’t join you on your long walk towards the lab. Was it a private matter? They didn’t really exclude him otherwise.

You followed the stairs down to Winston’s lab, the electric buzzing faintly in your ears left you tense as you stepped through the doorway. Both Winston and Doctor Zeigler were in the lab, documents open on the electronic interface of the desk. The gorilla scientist looked up at you upon approach.

“Watson. Please, have a seat.” He started, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. You sat, albeit hesitantly.

“We have some concerns.” Mercy told you, her eyebrows furrowed, looking over a type of chart. Your own concern only grew as you saw document after document glowing over the desk, each one having a single name written on it.

Watson.

“You need to listen very carefully to what I’m about to tell you,” the scientist started, his gaze sympathetic. You nodded, urging him to continue. He brought up a document, your original medical report, it seemed. “When Tracer brought you in, we didn’t know what to make of you.”

“She insisted there was something special about you.” Mercy cut in, looking at the document hovering between the three of you. “She said that you were different from other civilians.”

“The tests we conducted over the past three weeks have concluded quite a few things.” Winston states, bringing up a 3D holographic image of a brain. “The first being that you have an abnormally high level of perception and processing.”

“Meaning?” You asked, wanting to prompt the conversation along when it looked like both doctor and scientist were going to hesitate.

“It means,” She sounded hesitant to tell you, walking over to lean against the desk and face you. “Your brain sorts through information at an increased rate, constantly taking in information in your environment and analysing it. Like a super computer that is constantly running, even when you’re not conscious.”

“Is that a problem?” your gaze flicked between them.

“Ordinarily, no.” She sighed, placing two fingers against her temple. “Watson, it seems that whilst your mind has amplified its ability to process information, this has also lead to an increase of each of your five senses.”

Winston separates the image of the brain into two, different levels of colours appearing.

“In the first scan, you can see that your mind is working and processing information at around thirty cycles per second whilst in your induced coma. The second shows the activity to be running at forty cycles per second.”

You looked at the images, it impressed you that your brain could be processing so much, so quickly.

“We believe this has something to do with your lost memory.” Winston adds, bringing up yet another series of scans that no doubt leads down to some chemical equation as you why you’re the way you are. “It has to do with the theory of time travel.”

You nodded. The change in subject taking your interest, they were only just now deciding to tell you even though you had already known for weeks. You weren’t sure if you should be thankful that they were coming forward with it, or offended that it took so long.

“Watson, we are under the belief that whatever happened before you were found in London, has led to travel through time.” Mercy crossed her arms, button down shirt and lab coat bunching at her elbows. “It’s both fascinating and concerning.”

“And, how does this connect to my brain?” Your question was pointed. You didn’t see how the topic concerned you other than the fact that it was your brain at work. It frustrated you. If they knew this, then what were you all siting around for? Why weren’t you looking for a way home?

“Watson,” Winston’s voice was full of compassion, hints of sympathy laced through it. “We know very little in terms of your condition or even how it came to be.”

“Why?” You stared at them, eyebrows furrowed and finger nails digging into your palms as you sat in the chair in front of Winston’s desk.

“We only know what you’ve told us. There are no records of anything that could help us to get you back to your own time. Please understand - -“

“Russia.” You ground out, hanging your head. The conversation pauses, your head felt hot, cheeks flushed with both shame of failing to keep mission details confidential, and the disgust you held. You were desperate to get home… But at this cost? The cost of potentially important information?

“What was that?” Mercy asked you, her voice so irritatingly calm.

“I was in Russia.” You bring your hands to your lap to grip onto the fabric of your pants instead of digging so hard into your palms. “I was working surveillance.”

You could hear the tell-tale signs of typing as what you were saying wa being recorded on yet more reports about you.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” You heard mercy ask, feeling as though there was a sort of condescending hint that probably wasn’t actually there.

“It’s classified. The whole mission… I’m not even supposed to tell you where I was.”

“Why?” Why? What did she mean, why? What part of classified information did these people not respect?

“Doctor.” You started, eyes trained on your shoes. “I am giving you all I can on the mission. It is my duty as part of the Australian Armed Forces to not tell you anything about it. The information I have supplied you so far would get me court-martialled alone.”

You blocked out their voices as best you could after that. You didn’t want the questions. Your heartbeat was rising, the feeling of being unsafe filling your chest as it had on day one of being in the facility. You weren’t supposed to tell them about the mission. And you couldn’t bring yourself to tell them the specifics, but you had given them a location. You were sure that was enough. God, you were so selfish. Selfish for wanting to go home instead of protecting the information as it was your duty to do. Selfish for wanting to see your little sister, for wanting to get home.

For wanting sunsets.

You slowly forced yourself back into the conversation, you had to deal with what was in front of you. Had to deal with the repercussions of leaking classified information to people who weren’t supposed to be privy to the information you just handed over. An image of blood coated the backs of your eyelids. Blood on your hands, on walls, clothes, limbs. You could practically feel your guilt sticking to you like drying blood.

You took a deep breath as you looked up at them.

“What is your point in all this?” You asked, jaw clenching, hands trembling in your lap, skin flushed in controlled anger.

“Watson, almost the entirety of your brain is working at any given time. Taking in information, analysing it, processing and presenting it to you with a speed that we have never seen before. It is simply faster than any human has been able to accomplish. It is likely that this will not ever happen again.” Winston tried to explain, hints of curiosity and excitement in his tone.

“So, what you’re telling me is that you’re focusing on my brain to see just how ‘spectacularly’ it works? See if I maybe have a few screws loose that maybe some duct tape can hold together long enough for you to just examine?” You were raising your voice, every syllable pointed with the precision of a fresh blade. Your blood felt like it was boiling, face burning with anger that you just couldn’t hold in.

“Watson, that’s not - -“

“I’m not finished!” You growled as you stood from the chair, legs scraping against the floor. “I’m not going to just hang out and wait for you to ‘fix’ me and send me home.”

“We don’t know if it was just your mind that has been affected.” Mercy tried to reason, bringing her hands forward to reach for your shoulder. You shove her hands away.

“I travelled into the – fucking – future. Which, by the way, I knew about a fortnight ago.” Your voice was venom now, acidic as your eyes focused on the doctor’s shocked expression. “But oh no ma’am. That’s not the best part! I get to have the equivalent of a ‘super computer’ as if that’s a blessing that I should be bowing down to some god for. And yet I still get to find out that you with all your fancy equipment and future tech – don’t have a single, foggy clue as to what the bloody hell is wrong with me?!”

“Watson, please, try to understand, we –“

“You What? Just want to help me? You want to try to understand my condition?” You shook your head, voice levelling out to a commanding tone. “I know your organisation needs new members because of the geographical spread of all of your soldiers. But I’m not a cadet, nor a private. I’m a fucking Lance Corporal. I don’t need to be talked to as if I’m stupid. If I have to be fucked up because of the sheer ‘concept’ of time travel, then I can sure as hell find my own way to get back to my own time and fix all of this absolute bullshit.”

You turned and stormed out. The scientist and doctor with all of their graphs, diagrams and data spread around the room had not a word to say. The display of frustration and anguish enough to silence them. It only took the edge off the amount of anger you had slowly piling on for weeks in the same halls, same rooms, same god forsaken building. You were probably less than welcome in their office now, you realised.

It wasn’t that what they said had made you mad to begin with. It was that they spoke with both the terminology of someone who was supposed to understand, and the condescending undertones of people who would regard you as stupid, or with no possible hope of understanding. A dull ache started in your chest, settling everywhere and nowhere at the same time. You pushed it down, not wanting to deal with it, not wanting to deal with anyone.

You were headed towards the window, knowing full-well that the sunset would be gone, and that you would have to last until tomorrow to see it. When you arrived at the window, the mood changed dramatically. The soldier was standing there, leaning against a wall by the window, staring out, a cup of coffee in his gloved hand. The sun expectedly gone as you approached, not wanting to back away and find somewhere else. You lent against the other wall, arms folded as you tried to compose yourself and rein in the anger before you opened your mouth and ruined things between the only other person of authority that you knew of.

After a moment or two, you felt his gaze on you. He could probably see the flush across your skin from being in the lab and snapping at his colleagues. You could feel it, even as you wondered how you would get the band around your wrist off and leave the facility. If you could find a hacker, they might be willing to get it off your arm. Although the idea was entertained, you knew it would never work, not only would you need to find a computer to do so, but you really had nothing to trade. There was no chance it would work.

“You lied.” 76 said from next to you, voice lowered.

“What?” Your gaze turned to him, the light of his visor emitting softly in the dark of the hall as he face you.

“Your name isn’t Watson.” He stated, the air turning threatening with the danger that seemed to radiate off him in waves. “You lied.”

“I didn’t lie.” Your tone was calm, level even. It surprised you how quickly the anger bubbled back up as your fingers curled to dig into your arms as you kept them folded. If he decided you were a threat then there wasn’t much of a future ahead of you, here or in your own time.

“If you didn’t lie, then what the hell is this?” He took a folded pile of paper from his pocket and held it out to you.

You took it from him, your gaze turning downwards as you unfolded the paper, reading over it. The basis of the accusation, and the information had a great many things running through you as you read over things you already knew. How the actual fuck did he get this? The man standing before you was much smarter than you gave him credit for, he had found your birth certificate, the school you went to, even the date you enlisted into the fucking army. He had the name of your little sister, Maris [L/N]. He knew who you were, and it showed in his cocky-arsed, military drilled attitude.

“Something wrong, [Y/N]?” His voice was like the distant rumble of thunder, promising lightning to come, it sent ice through your bones.

“How did you find this?” You looked up at him, was there really any point in hiding it anymore?

“Wouldn’t have had to go looking if you had’ve told the truth.”

“Yeah, because the truth is that your name is really ‘Soldier: 76’” Your voice was dripping with both sarcasm and anger. Fingers gripping onto the pages in front of you, heart beat rising. You almost regretted your decision to snap at him when he leaned down to your level.

“You’re digging yourself a grave - -“

“What? Be prepared to lie in it?” You finished for him, your entire body facing him, jaw set and shoulders straight, glaring into the ‘eyes’ of his face. “I constructed the fine print on my funeral the day I signed the enlistment paperwork. I’m already lying in it. I’m. Waiting. To. Fall. Asleep.” You hissed, shoving the papers into his chest as you turned, leaving with the last word, bitterness seeping into every last crevice of your body.

Deep down, you knew getting home was a stab in an inky blackness that could swallow you whole. Seeing your little start was as good as your chances of getting your next ‘headshot’ in one of D.Va’s videogames the next time you play. Near on impossible. If everyone around you could stop looking at you, your name and your family and start looking at your situation, maybe you would be home by now.

If they wouldn’t focus on what was important, then you would.

“Well done, mishka.” Zaryanova’s praise touched your bittersweet mood with a cheerfulness that had you feeling tired.

You had come to the training hall to blow off some steam, away from the infirmary, but still being productive, even if it was for your own gain. The Russian woman beside you handed over a water bottle as you sat up. You took it, stretching out one arm as you drank from the bottle. Your gaze turned to the weights, the total seated at about 180 pounds. Your goal was to bench 200 by the end of the month, if you were even still here at that point. You looked up when a shadow fell over your legs, looking up you saw the strongwoman standing over you, arms across her chest over a pink tank-top.

“Something is on your mind.” It certainly wasn’t a question, the stern undertone of her voice encouraging you to tell her what was bothering you in a very distinctively Russian way.

“It’s nothing too important.” You shake your head, shrugging your shoulders.

“You are happy with progress, no?” she sits across from you, taking a weight in her hand.

“My progress is fine – here at least.” You sigh, watching as Zaryanova uses the weight, doing bicep curls.

“Then, is an emotional issue.” She states, levelling your gaze with hers.

“Call it an altercation – an emotional immaturity, if you will.” You look out across the training hall, breaking eyecontact.

“What causes you to think that?”

“Over the course of the lax six hours, I’ve managed to be aggressively insubordinate.” You crack your knuckles, fingers giving as easily to the motion as you had to your previous anger.

“Is it important?”

“What?” Your gaze turned back to the woman sitting in front of you, working her muscles. Your eyebrows furrowed.

“Was it a necessary argument?” She was looking down at her arm as she completed another curl.

Was it?

You were a little stunned, did you really need to have the argument? Sure, you could’ve gone about it differently, but you had been so angry. You had felt like a child, everything down to something as trivial as a sunset stripped from you. It had made you feel vulnerable, defensive. Did Winston and mercy deserve to be yelled at? No, not really. But it was something you had to get off your chest. You didn’t think anyone would listen to you otherwise. Not even the soldier who appeared to take in your every word with a critical eye, he probably fact checked everything. You nodded.

“Yeah, I think… I think it was.”

“Then what is the problem?” She looked up at you.

“I…” You pressed your mouth into a line, looking at your hands as your shoulders sagged. “I think it’s going to severely mess up my shot at getting home.”

“Home is where you make it, mishka.” You felt a hand come to rest on your shoulder. “Is not home that is problem, yes?”

“I have… A family – a sister – to get back to.” You move your gaze to look up at her.

“You have much to learn.” Zaryanova sighs, running a hand through her bright pink hair. “Brothers and sisters are here as well.”

“How do you mean?” You were confused, just what’d she mean by that?

“To live, to fight in team. Would you not live and die for them?” She asks, giving you some ‘food for thought.’ “Are they not family in arms?”

You stared at the woman in front of you, giving you sound advice. Sure, you had to figure out the answer for yourself, but really you should’ve asked yourself that before. You’d not even been here a month and yet you had already acquainted yourself with new people, new friends. Were you being selfish by not accepting what was put in front of you? Throwing away the opportunity to do better?

“You might just be right, Zaryanova.” You decided. The two of you stood, her height allowing her to tower over you without a thought. You grasped each other’s forearms, the grin on her face was brilliant as it was cocky.

“Of course, I’m right, mishka.” She pats you on the back as you turn to leave. “I’m Russian.”

You left her in the training room, a calm sitting over you as you thought about what she had given you to consider. There was a lot you had to sort out.

-

The next morning, you were standing in Winston’s, having just interrupted a meeting he was having with Mercy and Soldier: 76. Which was unbelievably convenient. The issue certainly wasn’t going to sort itself out, and you had to get it over with. Standing there now, you felt small and insignificant, your eyebrows furrowed as you tried to compose not only your apology, but also your defence as to why you had argued and yelled at them in the first place. In a way, you felt as though they expected you to apologise, not that you had much of a choice. You didn’t want any more debts to pay.

“I want to apologise, for my actions yesterday.” You started, attempting to keep your voice even with their attention pointed at you. Your hands sat in front of you, one hand holding your other wrist. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. It was wrong, and immature. Especially when I’m here out of the generosity of your organisation.”

You took a breath, slowly, eyes scanning each of them to see if there was any disbelief or perhaps any hatred in the eyes of the trio that you considered judge, jury and executioner. You straightened your shoulders.

“Specifically, I wish to apologise for providing you a false name. I understand that there may be distrust of my position here, but by providing a pseudonym, I had a way to protect my identity… Not that it did much good in the end.” You looked at Soldier: 76, red visor light staring right at you. “I don’t mean you any harm. Not to your operation, families, or any information you have here. My name is [Y/N] [L/N], I am a Lieutenant Colonel of the Australian military… And I wish to formally apologise, and request that I take responsibility for my immature actions.”

Your long-winded apology didn’t go without its flaws, and you certainly hoped they would accept it, even if you highly doubted it. This was, realistically, the best wicket you had in terms of not only surviving in the future without any knowledge of how anything from income to shelter worked. It was also your best show at getting home. You didn’t know what was outside the perimeter of the facility, not with the Mad-band around your arm tracking your location.

You fidgeted as you waited for them to respond, your gaze turned down to your shoes as they looked at each other, the silent conversation running over your head. You were mentally preparing for them to drag your arse out of the facility with nothing more than what you had arrived with.

You hear Winston clear his throat. “Well, uh. This is a change of events, certainly. But your apology is accepted.”

Your eyes snapped up to look at him, you were surprised. The only other person in the room who even showed a fraction of sharing that same sentiment was 76, who had tensed as Winston spoke.

“However,” He continued. “we understand that mistakes are made, but as you said, you wish to take responsibility. I believe the best course of action would be to leave you at the hands of Soldier: 76 to levy the consequences.”

“Yes, Sir.” You nodded, turning when you were dismissed. Walking out of the lab you mulled it over; Soldier: 76, the American hard as nails Commander with a stick up his arse was going to deal your hand. Perhaps by the end of this, you wouldn’t need to find a way home after all.

-

Boots falling in step, Angela Zeigler and Soldier: 76 made their way towards the MedBay where Angela was looking to drop off some printed documents for filing. The topic of conversation was you.

“I know Watson had an altercation with Winston and I… But one with you,76? I hadn’t suspected that.” Her tone was thoughtful, her arms resting comfortable around the stack of files in her arms.

“A pointed conversation.” He clarified, opening a door for Angela to step through first. His thoughts on the content of the conversation he had shared with you.

“And that’s when you discovered that her name is, in fact, [Y/N]?”

“No. I have been looking into her from the moment she woke up.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “I have a few concerns about her.”

“General, or security?”

“Mental.”

He nodded, his mind flicked to the sight of you, anger so prevalent that you had been trembling with it. Eyes holding a darkness he had seen too many times in the mirror.

“I’m not certain of the extent of her condition… It’s… difficult.” She admits, eyebrows furrowing.

“It’s certainly something of an enigma.” He agreed, watching as Angela stepped through the entrance of the MedBay.

“I will have to test for Post-Traumatic Stress…” She sighs, placing the files on her desk. “One can only wonder what she has had to do with the old ideals.”

Soldier: 76 placed his hands in his pockets, the sight of you laying against the window appeared behind his eyes. The journal page that had been damp with tears, the note to a young child, and the way you were perpetually tense whenever you were anything but asleep. If he thought about it, perhaps he was being too hard on you from a security standpoint. It wasn’t unreasonable to assume that you carried yourself the way you did due to your experience. What was it you had told him?

You were waiting to fall asleep.

He considered the implications of that statement. Being here, closed off from the outside would, admittedly, send even him stir-crazy. But he didn’t that was what it was, the only thing he really considered in your actions was that it consisted of an almost muscle memory that set you into a routine best to adapt yourself to the environment.

“Is there anything I should take into consideration, Soldier?” She was looking at him now, her tone suggesting it wasn’t just the facts she wanted.

“That soldier needs help, Angela.” He admitted, sighing. “Don’t push too much, too fast.”

“Understood.” She wrote something down, eyebrows furrowed. “I best be tending to her arrangements.”

-

You felt a pair of eyes on you as you pulled yourself up for your sixty-seventh consecutive chin-up, a weight seated on your calves that were crossed at the ankle. You had been waiting in the training hall for Soldier: 76 to show up and give you your orders. It was possibly a stupid idea to place yourself on the highest bar to do chin-ups in the training hall, however it ensured that your feet wouldn’t touch the ground. You huffed as you pulled yourself up again, adjusting the grip of your hands, feeling as though they were starting to slip. You left yourself down before pulling back up, bringing your feel up when they felt like they were dropping, keeping your focus on the bar.

“You have better form. Good to know you were listening.” A deep, gruff voice called from beneath you.

It startled you, not expecting whoever had come in to come by and talk to you. You tried to adjust you grip as your hands faltered on the bar you were pulling yourself up to. The surprise yelp you gave as you slipped from the bar was replaced with the immediate realisation that you could potentially be seriously injured when you hit the floor. You brought your arms out as if that would do anything.

The hard floor never reached you, your descent suddenly slowed to a careful halt as you heard the weight thud loudly against the floor. A pair of strong arms were around you, holding under your knees, and across your back. Your heart beating quickly to both exertion and the sudden slip. You looked up to see Soldier: 76, the red light of his visor up close not as intimidating in the light of the training hall.

You breathed in, realising that he had caught you as though you had weighed literally nothing. It would’ve made for a romantic moment if you weren’t in the army, or if the thought that he was your commanding officer only there to make sure you knew just how badly you had screwed up.

“Thank you - - sir.” You mumbled as he put you down.

“You need to be more careful, cadet.” He stated.

“Because falling for you is something I can account for.” You muttered.

“What was that?” There was an edge lace in his voice.

“Nothing, Sir.”

“Exactly. Drop and give me fifty.”

This was going to turn out just great.

You weren’t getting up there, no way your arms could pull your body towards the bar. Since when did you weigh this much? Your legs felt like mush, the muscles exhausted. Push-ups were fine, planking across two benches, you were okay with that. Fifty damn laps around the complex had left your legs turned into jelly. And after all that, you were back at square one; chip-ups. You were up to number 34 out of one-hundred. You couldn’t do it, you didn’t want to do it. But he wouldn’t let you down, not until you finished. Sweat was pouring off you in waves, making if that much harder to pull yourself up.

76 stood with his arms folded near you, watching as you pulled yourself up, grunting with the effort it took to simply pull yourself upwards. Your hair was a mess, having no chance to retie it for the duration he had been dealing with you so far. This form of cruel and unusual punishment confused you, originally, you thought he’d make you scrub the room, do laundry and other chores until he had thought you’d done enough to satisfy the grievance.

This hadn’t been what you had in mind at all. Did he enjoy putting you through training? Watch as you eventually struggled to so a basic set? You pulled yourself up, falling back to the full length of your arms before your chin could raise above the bar. Dammit.

“You can’t come down until you finish.” He reminded you, and you were sure you could hear a smirk in his stupid voice. You’d be hanging here for the rest of the century!

“I can’t get up there.” You groaned, trying again to pull yourself upward, muscles protesting with every centimetre.

“Then you’ll just have to hang there.” You pulled yourself maybe an inch higher, gritting your teeth at the comment.

“Sir?”

“What, Cadet?”

“Respectfully Sir… Go fuck yourself.” You quipped, pulling your chin above the bar.

-

“You told Soldier: 76 to – ha! That’s so great!” D.Va laughed at the comment you had made to the commanding officer hours ago, making your way down the hall with trembling muscles.

“I don’t feel great.” You groaned. He had made you clean the entire training hall after the smart-arse comment.

“Still. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to say it.” She smiled at you, “I can’t quite tell if that was a stupid or brave move on your part though.”

“Trust me, D.va, it was incredibly stupid.” You stopped at your door, the one with the sticky note on it, your name written down in neat letters.

“Hey,” D.Va turned to you, your gaze now on her. “Call me Hana.”

“You nodded at her. “Alright… Hana.”

You opened the door to your room and stepped inside. You were taken aback, it was certainly bigger than you thought, especially when you considered it housed a single person. There was a bed in the centre of the wall, too big to be a single bed, yet too small to be considered a double bed. Next to it on the right side was a desk, at the corner facing the wall, a window seated above it. The window just enough to let natural light in during the day. Next to the door was a dresser. There was still ample room for you to walk around, and have another person inhabit the space with you.

You looked at the room, your eyes widening. It might’ve been quaint, or small to some standards, but if filled you with a small sense of security. A sense of ease that came with having a space that was yours. Hell, you had your own bed.

When was the last time you had your own bed?

“At least something good came out of all this.” You sighed, walking over and running your hand along the covers. They felt soft.

“I’ll let you get settled into the new room.” You could hear the smile in her voice. “Meet us for dinner?”

“Yeah… Sure.” You nodded, hearing the door close behind her.

You turned and laid down on the covers, sinking into it, the mattress firm and holding you properly. It smelled like vanilla and something earthy. Not wanting to move, you laid there, staring at the ceiling, contemplating just how lucky you were in a lot of ways. Being here had improved you physically already, you were significantly more fit than you had been the first couple days you used to sneak off to the training hall. You had gained a sort of surrogate family born out of the battlefield rather than during the middle of it.

Tracer kind of reminded you of your sister, energetic and optimistic with an impatience that rivalled most. Hana was what you thought a ‘best friend’ should be, with her competitive nature and overly fantastic instinct to read the emotions of people. Lúcio was like a brother to you, his music was pretty good and showed not only his work ethic, but his big heart that you could see in each interaction you had. Even Zaryanova had made it into the mix, he solid advice had you in the position were in now, pushing through and trying to stick it out. To be patient and prepared for the possibility that you might not actually be able to get home.

Even McCree was on the list, only, he spent most of his time either in the firing range or doing god-knows-what somewhere else. He was always up for the company though, if you had time to give it. Your ‘acquaintanceship’ was more him openly flirting with you, like he did with most anyone (except Tracer – something about a girlfriend?) and you’d have a one-liner. It was kind of like going out drinking, without the liquor.

Your thoughts drifted to the American poster boy; Soldier: 76. Sure, he was your superior, but so was Zaryanova, and even Mercy. Both of whom would share a slice-of-life type story if it came up. With your commanding officer, there weren’t any conversations besides the regular Drill Sargent insults, and your smart-arse comments. Would he be the only one around who would almost outright avoid you outside when he had to talk to you? A small part of you hoped that wouldn’t happen. In a weird way, it felt like he could relate to you better, knew when to push you harder or to back off a bit. You shook you head, closing your eyes and sighing.

He was different to others that had trained you, sure. He treated you like he was supposed to, but there was a mutual respect there. The whole ‘I’m your superior but you’re still a human, kid.’ (why could you imagine him saying that?) You rub at your left wrist, feeling ghost pain rise up in an unexpected dull ache.

It was going to be one of those nights.

-

About two weeks into the hard and fast training Soldier: 76 had put you through since your apology in Winston’s lab, you found that you were allowed in the gun range. So far, you had been in there for about two hours. Mercy having just been by with a pair of hearing aids, only, to do the opposite to what you considered normal for your hearing. They adjusted automatically to the noises around you, gunshots scaling lower, and voices at a regular volume. You were immensely grateful to her for them, the sound of electronics in the area barely registering upon your ears now as you stood in front of a training bot that hovered above the ground.

You pulled the trigger to the rifle you had in your hands, apparently it was called a ‘Pulse Rifle’ and it had a far greater range to regular bullets. You looked at the training robot, some thirty yards away, you aimed, keeping your elbows from locking as you steadied the weapon. When you pulled the trigger, your arms moved, the force of the kick moving your hands, and the rest of you to the ground. The bullet missing the bot by a few metres, McCree chuckling to your right.

“You alright there darlin’?” He asked, a smirk in his voice as he watched you get back onto your feet.

“M’fine.” You brushed off your hands onto your pants. “Kick’s a bit bigger than expected.”

“Should’ve taken my advice.” He said, putting his cigar into the holder on an ashtray as he walked over. “It’s not enough to jimmy it against yer shoulder.”

You looked at him, eyebrows furrowing. “How’d y’mean, cowboy?”

“Well, missy,” He places his hands on your shoulders, turning you to face the bot again. He smelled of tobacco and stale liquor, whiskey mostly. “What it is yer doin’ is sitting the butt of the rifle against the wrong part of yer shoulder.”

You face the mark once again, eyebrows furrowing. “Okay, let me figure this out.”

You looked at the bot, adjusting your grip on the rifle as McCree stepped back. You moved the back end of the gun to sit better against your shoulder, and your side as you aimed it towards the bot and practice targets around it. You adjusted your stance to be more grounded, more centred as you pulled the trigger. The first few shots you tested missed. You readjusted and took to it again.

The shot hit.

Your eyebrows raised, and eyes widened as the training bots’ head exploded, the bot falling to the ground. Sure, you were adept at using weapons, or, at least those you could understand, but to actually hit a shot with this type of weapon? You were impressed with yourself. Your gaze turned to McCree, a smirk on his face.

“Looks like you’ve got the hang of it there all on yer own.”

“Yeah.” You breathed a laugh. “Wasn’t expecting it to just blow up like that though.”

“Best not stop while you’re getting the hang of it.”

You nodded, an affirmative sound coming from you as you turned to shoot, eyeing each target and shooting at it. Sure, anyone with a pair of hands could pick up a weapon and shoot, be it beginners luck or what have you, but it took training to get the amount of shots you were getting. You guessed it was perks of working your arse off when you were back home training or out on the field in a skirmish, that lead to your ability with this new kind of weapon.

A low whistle from beside you caught your attention, you lowered the weapon, looking for a way to reload it.

“Do I meet your expectations, darlin’?” you mocked his accent a little bit on the last word, raising an eyebrow as you found the release for the clip.

“Meetin’ and exceedin’. Didn’t think you’d actually start hittin’ the targets that quick.” He confessed, smiling at you when you looked at him.

“And they call you a quick draw.” You reloaded the rifle, looking back to the grounds as more targets rolled out. “Besides, I gotta set the bar somewhere.”

Aim, shoot, breathe.

-

Winston’s conversation with Soldier: 76 was going no where near the plan he had for it. The anger in the soldier’s features was evident as he presented the news.

“You want to put her out on the field?” 76 asked incredulously, voice low and seething as he stared down the gorilla from behind his visor. “She hasn’t got the training, let alone the bearings.”

“She’s been improving steadily.” The tone of Winston’s voice suggesting that he was trying to be reasonable. “She holds tremendous tactical advantage. Look at this.”

He looked at the live feed that was brought up. You were standing in the range, McCree smoking a cigar at the table nearby. You were handling a rifle half the size of you. When you took a shot and stumbled back, you turned, saying something to McCree, a smirk on your face as you adjusted your stance and took another shot. You hardly flinched with the kick, taking shot after shot.

“With her fighting for us, we could take care of Talon and its agents scattered over the globe. We could stop the largest crime organisation in the world. You don’t think she has the training? Look at her marksman skills.”

He watched as you took calculated shot after shot, until you emptied the clip. You brought the rifle down to look for the release. Just how many weapons had you tested so far? He discounted the thought. It didn’t matter if you could carry a weapon and have complete accuracy. It didn’t matter if you continued to exceed his expectations. It didn’t convince him that it would be the same on the field, he didn’t want to be the cause of more needless death. Especially when you didn’t even belong here.

“Handling a weapon in a controlled environment means nothing. It’s completely different on the field. Just because she’s able to stick something with a bullet doesn’t ensure she has the physical endurance required to take down Talon by any measure.”

“76,” Winston sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. “You know her, evidently more than I do, but the fact is that with her, we may have a chance at bringing peace again. Making a difference again.”

“She hasn’t got the training.” He stated.

“I’m sorry, but the matter’s out of my hands. It’s already been decided.”

“By who?” His voice was stern as he folded his arms, you shouldn’t be on active duty. He watched as Winston brought up your file, or, what he had access to.

“These scans and diagrams show that she is physically stable. 76, Angela cleared her for active duty, everything in her files, from medical diagnosis to conversations they’ve had is strictly under Angela’s clearance.”

“You didn’t look into her files yourself?”

“Angela is a capable doctor. Her decisions have come to be an advantage to us more than once.” He takes her file from the display on his desk. “She will be accompanying you tomorrow. There isn’t any risk, the mission’s only reconnaissance anyway.”

“You’ll regret that decision when her blood’s spread across the pavement.” He said, standing and leaving Winston’s lab. He had preparations to reorder.

-

The next morning, you were guided to a hanger, located in a separated building from the rest of the complex. There were ACVs – Well, kind of. You could tell they were military vehicles, due to the reinforced tyres on most of them, the thick metal shell of them suggesting that the vehicles were built to be in a skirmish. You crouched to look at the wheels of one of the vehicles, your eyebrows furrowing. They weren’t touching the ground, and nothing was connected to them.

They had hover cars.

“Stop gawking.” Soldier: 76 said, standing beside you. You got up, looking around the base again.

The hangar was big, and it seemed every car had its own designated space. Your eyes turned forward when you noticed movement, a pair of familiar faces standing by what looked to be a dropship. McCree and Tracer stood by the door. It brought a small comfort, having familiar faces on your first mission, even if this whole thing felt like a test.

You’d have to place trust into people you hadn’t long met, only one of which you had actually train with, and they would have to place their trust in you. You’d have to be ready for anything that came your way. It felt like déjà vu, like meeting your squad back home all over again. McCree like Jenks, the Texan boy with a sharp aim. Tracer like Mouse, resourceful and extremely quick. Then there was Soldier: 76, and yeah, he was kind of like Sprint, quiet and to the point, if he didn’t have the metal visor for a face, you were sure he’d always have a scowl on his face. The revelation had you feeling as though you were in good hands, and it made you want to be better.

Being in the army did that, you supposed, trusting your comrades faster than any regular person. They were the ones you had to trust like your life depended on it, because, your life did depend on it.

“Get in.” 76 ordered, Tracer and McCree walking up and into the dropship. You followed them up, abiding by his orders. He was the highest-ranking attendant to the mission as far as you knew, and thus, all orders he gave had to be followed.

You sat down across from Tracer, McCree next to her and the Commander next to you. You were nearest to the back of the vehicle, wondering what the mission would entail. You were told it was a simple reconnaissance, which explains why you were even allowed to toe in the direction of the mission in the first place. However, in your experience, nothing was ever just recon. You were hoping it was an easy in-and-out mission. That wasn’t too much to ask for, right?

Your thoughts were interrupted when the ship lurched, lifting upwards before moving forwards. You looked forward to Tracer, a recurring thought came to mind that had your eyes widening, awe dawning on your face as she laughed.

“You have hover cars.” You announced.

“Of course, love! They’ve been around for ages.”

Setting foot on ground zero had an eerie feel to it, there weren’t any people around, not that you could see. You were on the outskirts of what you were told was a rundown city, which, in all honestly just looked like the grungy side of Sydney. There was graffiti over the walls over buildings, posters over noticeboards. The more you looked at the city, which was really more a town anyway, you found that it was fairly run down. A car had been stripped of parts nearby. Windows were broken, doors broken in.

“Group up over here.” 76 ordered, placing a bag of equipment down and crouching to unzip it.

You stood alongside your companions, McCree inspecting his revolver and flashbangs, Tracer adjusting her jacket before she took her weapons from Soldier, who unloaded a rather large rifle that matched what you were coming to assume was his unspoken aesthetic. He stood, turning as his gaze settled on you. He had another rifle in his hand, a scope sitting atop it.

“Your weapon.” He stated, holding it for you to take, which you did, pulling the strap over your shoulder, letting it rest comfortable. Your commanders gaze turned to face the three of you.

“This is a monitoring, reconnaissance, mission. I don’t want buildings going down due to a lack of tactfulness, or lack of care.” He stated, turning his gaze to you for a moment as if you would send a building to the ground. “We aren’t expecting any heat on this but be on your guard. Don’t get yourself killed.”

You nodded, watching as Tracer and McCree just listened along, probably used to this kind of quick, on the job briefing.

“Report back if you see anything. Tracer, you’re headed east. Watson,” His gaze was back on you for a moment. “East. McCree and I will head through the middle. Remember to use your coms. Move out.”

From there you spread out, taking the east side as you were instructed. You appreciated the fact that you were given all the information you needed to know and weren’t expected to know when and where everything was. It gave you a sense that you were still part of the team despite the obvious difference in authority. You crouched at the corner of a building, looking around before heading inside to start clearing it, attempting to find any information that could’ve lead to the call to come out in the middle of nowhere.

You ducked through a kitchen, dirty dishes still in the sink. A teddy bear siting beside a highchair. You worked through clearing each building you could get to on the way towards the east side, not spending too much time in a building; just enough to clear it before moving on. There were a few stores that you cleared, the one you were clearing now had a door siting ajar, leading to what was probably the office. You walked over, pointing your gun towards the door. You toed it open with your boot, scanning the room.

You had to turn away.

A family had been killed in there, mother father, and two little boys. The dried blood on the wall hand your grip on your rifle firm as you worked to clear the rest of the store before moving on, only pausing to take a lone roll of duct tape from a shelf. Never knowing when you might need it as you pushed down the failure and thoughts of being so useless that you hadn’t come at an earlier time to save the people in the store. Not that there was anything you could’ve done.

It felt the same, each building was empty of anything interesting, unless you counted the body count. A common theme was occurring to you as you worked your way through the buildings. It had to be an act of terrorism, or a measure of control that had left the few bodies you found, other places with a spray-painted sigil of a barn owl. You found your way outside, weaving past bins and cars that had been stripped for parts. This town was a horror show put on display, and you had to focus.

You were probably at it for about an hour now. You were growing concerned as you searched, you hadn’t received word from the others. You reached up to your ear and pressed the button on your communications device.

“Commander, status. Over.” You spoke as you cleared the street of any possible signs of movement. All you got was static.

Shit.

“Commander, status report- -” The sound of distant gunshots ringing in the distance caught your attention.

You hadn’t been expecting resistance on this mission. The line was dead on your commanders’ end. You had no way of contacting him. You made your way towards the sound, creeping behind bin, cars, even fences to find cover. You tried your coms again.

“McCree, do you read me. Over.” Static.

You got closer to the gunshots, loud enough to tell you that the fight was going on very much nearby. You swept the area before going into the closest building. A hotel. It would make for a good vantage point. You had your eyebrows furrowed in concentration, clearing the open halls as you took the stairs, running up them as quietly as you could manage. If you could make it to one of the top levels, you’d have an almost perfect vantage point given the heights of the other buildings.

You heard shouting in the street, someone was down there. You ran into the closest room you could get to, kicking the door shut behind you. The empty living room of an apartment facing you, everything set out as though a family had lived there. You jump over a couch, rolling to land against the far wall of the room, adjusting your rifle so you could see through the scope. You sat up, using the scope to look out the window, attempting to pinpoint the location of the skirmish.

You look over the streets, your gaze turning to find movement towards the north-west. You moved your rifle to the window and crawled over to the next window, not wanting to take the chance if there was a sniper. You looked through the next window, scope showing you that the boys; McCree and Soldier: 76 were outnumbered, a group of mercenaries facing them with what was the equivalent of automatic weapons. You tried to get a clear shot, they moved behind a building, out of your range.

You groaned and hurried out the door, back down the stairs. You needed to make clear shots or you would give away your cover. You almost tripped on the last staircase, catching yourself on the rail as you made your way through the foyer, legs carrying you with an ease as you cleared corners and roads on your way to a closer building. Your eyes found a higher building as you heard how loud the skirmish was. It was rather close. You sprinted towards the building, ducking and weaving behind anything and everything in the environment you could find as you got to the entrance.

The large broken window was enough for you to jump through and find the stairs going up. You heard voices as you climbed the stairs, they sounded like mercenaries. You made your way up the stairs, careful not to make an unnecessary amount of noise. You followed the sound of the voices as you made your way up the staircase, to the fourth floor. They were being rather loud.

Kicking open the already ajar door, you were met with a group of three surprised mercenaries. You aimed at the first, the one on the right, aiming and shooting him as your muscle memory of how to operate in the situation took control. He dropped to the floor with a thud, the one on the right was a girl, her face looking young, but not for long. The middle one had scrambled for his gun. He aimed for you, but the shot was too far to the left, whizzing past your ear. You aimed and shot him, the bullet sinking into his shoulder. Gritting your teeth, you took the second shot in a rapid succession.

Dead.

You stepped inside the room, which was wrecked. Furniture and miscellaneous items scattered everywhere. Jumping over a couch and near missing some glass bottles, the smell of old, and new alcohol mixing in the air was enough to make your stomach leave you feeling nauseous at the smell. You made your way to the window hoping you weren’t too late as you set yourself up, aiming.

Looking down at the field, you saw that there were at least six targets on the ground, shooting at your comrades, another two in the lower level of a building. You looked up at the top of the building, a sniper with a long pony tail on the roof. Setting up the shot, you took a deep breath in, squeezing the trigger. The sound of your shot was like lightning cracking as the bullet you sent her way missed your intended target.

The only bright side was that her scope was broken; a heavy disadvantage in the field of ranged targets. Your attention turned down to the heat on the lower floors of the building the sniper was on. As you ducked out of the way, you felt a hot pressure graze across your arms, looking down, you saw that you were bleeding, a hole now in your jacket sleeve. You looked it over, hissing in pain, the blood not enough to worry about, you pushed your sleeve up you arm so that it could soak up more blood that would no doubt seep from your arm.

You chanced another look at the battlefield below you on the ground. Your concern not only on the talented sniper you would have to deal with, but onto your team who was being pinned down. You saw a black figure down on the ground now, a white face under his hood. You didn’t have time to think about it as a bullet collided with the brickwork at the height of your head. You swore, ducking behind the wall further. You just caught the flash of blue on the ground, a British voice calling out, signalling Tracer’s arrival to the unexpected party.

Perhaps you could use her arrival to your advantage? You looked around the room, you took note of the electronics from earlier, the nails that were sticking into the carpet and various other seemingly useless items. An idea struck you, effectively lighting a fire under you as you took to the floor, taking wiring, nails, a liquor bottle and an empty soup can, as well as the roll of duct tape you found in one of the stores earlier in your search. You crafted a ‘home-grown’ grenade, all kinds of shrapnel put inside of a device that could very easily explode. You only had one chance at seeing if it would work.

Turning to the window you saw that the figure in black had the attention of your comrades, the other targets busily reloading their weapons. It wasn’t that far, maybe fifty metres. If you could throw it at the right angle it would land and (hopefully) explode at the feet of the enemy. You stood behind the cover of the brick wall, calculating the trajectory of your very dangerous concoction.

You took a breath as you stepped out of your cover, throwing the grenade and watching it’s trajectory, landing a meter out of proportion. The confusion of the targets on the ground matched your own disappointment as your contraption did nothing, your intended targets inspecting it. It was only the span of a few seconds, but the resulting explosion in a flurry of glass, nails and liquor left a sadistic, morbid side of you satisfied with your work. The screams of pain, and the sight of fire catching to the clothes of the targets below left you – wincing? Why was there a pressure in your abdomen? You move behind the brick wall, looking down as you lean backwards. There was blood seeping over your shirt. You placed your hand firmly over the wound as you pushed yourself forward, towards the door. The crimson covering your hands a result of the wound and your physical strain as you coughed, placing a hand on the wall, blood slick hand slipping as your shoulder slammed into the wall.

It hurt.

You clenched your jaw and kept moving, towards the stairs. You knew it was a bad idea, but you started running when you saw the stairs, bringing your hand up to your coms. The resulting static signalling that they were still cut. Fuck.

Your blood pumped faster, your legs moving overly quickly as you ran down the flights of stairs. Warm liquid cooling against your hand, leaking over your arm. It hurt worse than when your hand was broken, or the time you were beaten for a long close-minded belief.

Your feet lost traction on the ground as you tripped, hands flying to the hand rail, your body slipping and rolling down the stairs into the main foyer of the building you were in. The gunshots outside didn’t hold as many numbers, it left you guessing that the targets in your sights had been neutralized. It was a fleeting, yet comforting thought as you pushed yourself up on slippery, sticky, and crimson covered arms. A harsh cough sending more blood and saliva over the floor. Your blood quite literally starting the paint the floor. Your skin felt flushed with heat. It confused you, you were losing blood weren’t you? Fear made its presence known around your rapidly beating heart.

You didn’t want to die.

You caught a glimpse of bright red outside, pulling yourself to get closer. You groaned with the effort of moving, the pain causing tears to spring to your eyes. You squeezed them shut, taking as large a breath as you could, hoping he’d be able to hear you.

“I need a medic!”

The sound of your pained voice just barely reached Soldier: 76’s ears. He didn’t want you out on the field in the first place, and yet, here you were. The explosion had certainly caught his attention, had you been caught in the blast? He didn’t bet on it, your voice coming from behind him. He shot his pulse rockets at the man before him, now known as Reaper before turning around, sprinting towards the building as Tracer and McCree distracted him. He looked around for you, unsure of what he’d find, especially from a kid who had told him explicitly that they had wanted to die.

He stepped into the foyer of an apartment building, heavy boot falls pounding against the pavement. He saw blood covering the floor and the sound of raspy, shortened breathing coming from the corner, near the staircase. He jogged over, finding you leaning against the wall, your eyes dull. He was over to your side in less than a second, the recognition on your face only followed by coughs that had your shoulders shaking, and blood pouring over your chin.

Soldier: 76 leaned over you, putting his arms under you, one under your knees, the other across your back, his rifle against his back and he lifted you upwards, turning to get back to the dropship. He could hear your shallow breathing, could see the tears that collected at the corners of your eyes as you leaned your head against his shoulder, biting into your hand when he headed for the door, just barely muffling the whimpered groan that made its way up through your throat. He made a mental note to figure out why you did that when you were safe, back at the facility.

“I know you’re lying down, kid. But don’t fall asleep just yet.” He managed to saw as he called for an E-VAC.

There was a set of hands on you, a gruff voice talking to you, a hard surface beneath you. Above you was the roof of the dropship, the face of McCree looking down at you with concern hair falling around his face. Pain was shooting through your side, the wound at your shoulder doing the amount of a paper-cut in comparison. You could feel your eyes closing, eyelids heavy. Why did you bother trying to stay awake? It was so hard. Wouldn’t it be easier to just rest? A wet hand met your face, turning your gaze to a red lit visor, something sticky attaching to your face.

“Stay awake for me, [Y/N]. Don’t fall asleep.” The man in front of you said, almost pleading undertones in his voice. Despite his robotic face, he looked how you imagined your perpetually disappointed guardian angel to appear, if you had one. Maybe he spent his days drinking? You didn’t have time to entertain the thought, a retching sound hit your ears as you jerked, a splash of saliva and blood hitting the floor, doing nothing to relieve the pain in your abdomen and chest. You couldn’t breathe.

“Bloody hell - why does she sound like that?” a British voice asked.

“Punctured diaphragm, collapsed lung. We’re going to have to stabilise it ourselves.” The white-haired man said, taking some type of tool from a first aid kit.

A hand took yours, a flask of something put to your lips as you were made drink whatever burning liquid was in it. You thought you heard something like ‘just squeeze if it hurts Darlin’’ before immense pain hit your side, the ability to breathe becoming slightly easier, something putting pressure on your lungs as the hand in yours was set in a death grip. Weren’t you supposed to be good at this?

You felt hot, what was the temperature? Did it make a difference? The pain wasn’t so intense, so it had to be a good thing, right? There was more talking, but you didn’t pay much attention. Couldn’t pay attention. It felt like you were under water, everything blurry. You could feel your vocal cords vibrating in your throat, suggesting that you were speaking, or groaning – something that you couldn’t register. You felt hot, why was it so damn hot? An intense wave of tiredness washed over you, a fleeting memory of napping in the summer passed behind your eyes. Were you allowed to sleep?

Eight hours later, Doctor Mercy Ziegler was looking at you perplexed, her confusion evident. Your wounds weren’t as bad as the amount of blood on your clothing, nor Soldier: 76’s. You had only needed a few stitches and gauze, but only because she had to take out whatever was used to stabilize your lung in the first place. It was quite the ordeal, leaving you feeling stupid for wasting resources that someone else may have needed. But, in a way, it was the lack of care you required that scared you in the whole situation. Shouldn’t you be dead?

“You were shot, yes?” She asked, for the fourth time in the last hour to which you nodded yet again. You hadn’t understood it either and you didn’t like the alienated feeling it gave you in a room with both sets of eyes on you. “Hm. And there’s no extensive damage… Perhaps... no, that’s not it..”

“It’s not, what?” You asked, gaze on the doctor who was looking back through your files. Mumbling to herself about charts and scans.

“An effect of your travel in time and space.” She said, the gears of her mind churning, you could almost see the gears clicking into place.

“So, what? I get super powers now?” You asked, a sarcastic edge to your tone.

“No, not ‘super powers’. However, it seems likely that you may have gained some physical abilities –  aside from the mental effects. Such as your apparent regeneration.” Her eyes were on your wounds. “I will have to and this hypothesis to your medical file.”

“So… I’m free to go? Just like that?” You asked, standing up and pulling your shirt down, Doctor Ziegler nodded.

“There isn’t much I can do for you now, other than suggest you take things easy and rest.” She had a rather thoughtful tone to her voice, profound confusion evident. “We may need to run another scan.”

“You’ll want to talk to Winston about that first.” You stated, seeing him as the head of all things to do with scanning and any other scientific developments in the complex.

“Yes, yes. I will.” She dismissed, waving her hands to signal that you could leave.

You walked out of the med bay, seeking a much-needed shower, hoping to get clean and release the tension in your muscles. Walking presenting a dull, but manageable ache as the stitches pulled on your side. The universe left you with more questions than answers. Was the mission a success? Was the point even surveillance? Who were the enemy? Did anyone else get injured?

What was with the sympathetic looks you got when you talked about you home country?

[wofox906]

11.11.0

Gitlab 11.11.0

11/11/08 Judge Penny Brown Video Youtube

What Property Is 11-11=0

About Internet Explorer 11

Internet Explorer 11 11.0.11 is the version of IE which was released in order to take advantage of added capabilities in Windows 8. IE11 on Windows 8 brings an entirely new browsing experience and set of capabilities to the Web, such as a new touch first browsing experience and full screen UI for your sites, security improvements that offer the best protection against the most common threats on the Web, improved performance, and support for the HTML5 and CSS3 standards developers need. With this new release, Windows 7 customers receive all of the performance, security, and under-hood changes that enable a stellar Web experience. This download is licensed as freeware for the Windows (32-bit and 64-bit) operating system/platform without restrictions. Internet Explorer 11 is available to all software users as a free download for Windows.

Is Internet Explorer 11 safe to download?

Gitlab 11.11.0

Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) Register family members in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) for TRICARE and other benefits. Active-duty and retired Service Members are automatically registered in DEERS.

11.11.0.0/22 (AS8003 Global Resource Systems, LLC) Netblock IP Address Information.

Dec 27, 2020 JDK 11.0.11 contains IANA time zone data 2020e, 2020f, 2021a. Volgograd switches to Moscow time on 2020-12-27 at 02:00. South Sudan changes from +03 to +02 on 2021-02-01 at 00:00. For more information, refer to Timezone Data Versions in the JRE Software.

Kaspersky Security Center 11 version 11.0.0.1131 was released on March 14, 2019. Kaspersky Security Center is a single administration console for controlling all Kaspersky Lab security solutions and system administration tools that you use. It makes every endpoint and device on your network more visible, simplifies IT administration tasks,. Notes: Computers connected to a network are assigned a unique number known as Internet Protocol (IP) Address. IP (version 4) addresses consist of four numbers in the range 0-255 separated by periods (i.e. A computer may have either a permanent (static) IP address, or one that is dynamically assigned/leased to it.

We tested the file IE11-Windows6.1-KB2976627-x86.msu with 25 antivirus programs and it turned out 100% clean. It's good practice to test any downloads from the Internet with trustworthy antivirus software.

Does Internet Explorer 11 work on my version of Windows?

Older versions of Windows often have trouble running modern software and thus Internet Explorer 11 may run into errors if you're running something like Windows XP. Conversely, much older software that hasn't been updated in years may run into errors while running on newer operating systems like Windows 10. You can always try running older programs in compatibility mode.

Officially supported operating systems include 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 and Windows 7.

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Believer, if your inheritance is meager, you should be satisfied with your earthly portion; for you may rest assured that it is best for you. Unerring wisdom ordained your lot and selected for you the safest and best condition. When a ship of large tonnage is to be brought up a river that has a large sandbank, if someone should ask, 'Why does the captain steer through the deep part of the channel and deviate so much from a straight line?' his answer would be, 'Because I could not get my ship into harbor at all if I did not keep to the deep channel.'

In the same way you would run aground and suffer shipwreck if your divine Captain did not steer you into the depths of affliction where waves of trouble follow each other in quick succession. Some plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get only a little, but you are put there by the loving Farmer because only in that situation will you produce fruit unto perfection.

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Remember this: If any other condition had been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if you could choose your lot, you would soon cry, 'Lord, choose my heritage for me, for by my self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows.' Be content with the things you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good. Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for your shoulder and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God. Busy self and proud impatience must be put down; it is not for them to choose, but for the Lord of Love!

Trials must and will befall— But with humble faith to see Love inscribed upon them all, This is happiness to me.

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Venus Flytraps Have Magnetic Fields Like the Human Brain

Much of my childhood was spent deep in dialogue with a crew of non-sentient play pals. The top dogs in my pack of fixations were 1) magnets and 2) Venus flytraps. Proximity to either dialed in many an afternoon fugue state. Lounging now, in the temperate solarium of mid-adulthood, I find myself peering back through time’s foliage and wondering: why??

Sure, these earthly offerings exceeded the expectations of your garden-variety rock or plant. But both seemed to contain a potential far beyond their already-otherworldly capabilities. A magnet could be amplified to say, unhand an assailant of a weapon. If cultivated aggressively a Venus flytrap might consume far larger prey. For child me, these entities possessed dormant superpowers just waiting to be awoken.

And then I awoke this morning to find that for the first time in history, a group of mavericks out of Switzerland have detected a magnetic signal in a plant. Using a highly sensitive magnetometer, an interdisciplinary team of researchers have measured signals from a Venus flytrap of up to .5 picotesla. To make matters even more mind-blowing, this signal is roughly equivalent to the biomagnetic field strength of the human brain. The full report is here. 

The findings shine a light on a whole new world of plant communications we never knew was there and paves the path for new approaches to diagnose and treat plant diseases. It’s a parade-worthy "I told you so" for champions of plant intelligence, and a new dawn for how we live in harmony with the green kingdom.

With that, kick back, throw on Plantasia and let's get into the electromagnetic weeds!

Image: Johnny Ryan

It all starts with biomagnetic signals

So, why does it matter that a plant has a detectable biomagnetic signal? Well,  bioelectromagnetism is the amount of magnetic signal given off by a living thing, and it’s what the Swiss research team just measured. Biomagnetic signals originate from electrical fields generated by the physiological activity of a specific organ or tissue, such as the human brain.

The electrical field is driven by "Action Potentials," which is the difference between the resting and highest electric impulse of an entity in a given period of time. To give you an idea of what that looks like, where the line spikes at +30mV here, that’s the impulse of a human brain neuron. So the Action Potential here is 100mV:

Credit: Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D., University of Washington

One or many Action Potentials then contribute to a magnetic field.

So, for instance: A muscle contracts —> An electrical impulse is emitted —> An Action Potential hits —> An Electrical Field is generated —> A Magnetic Field is generated —> Both party together right on down the electromagnetic line.

Image: Thobey Campion

Lots of things besides brains and plants give off magnetic fields. Here’s a comparative chart.

Image: Thobey Campion

Some perspective on scale:

• A toaster’s magnetic field is 300,000 times more powerful than the human brain’s field

• The Earth’s magnetic field is 2,000 times more powerful than a toaster’s field

• And a fridge magnet is 58 times more powerful than the Earth’s field

That makes the signal we just detected from a Venus flytrap almost exactly a billion times weaker than a fridge magnet, and explains why plant signals have flown under our radar for so long.

In the 1960s, though, a new class of magnetic field sensor showed up on the scene. It could detect weak biomagnetic fields, from a human brain and potentially even a plant. Behold…

The Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID)

SQUIDs are sensitive magnetometers used to measure extremely subtle fluxes in the magnetic field. The magneto-sensitivity of SQUIDs gives them extraordinary powers for recognizing the world around us. They represent the closest our technology has come to being psychic. 

The hero feature of a SQUID is the Josephson junction. It's composed of two superconductors separated by a super-thin insulating material, usually copper.

The device gets inserted into a -346 Fahrenheit bath (usually nitrogen or helium). This cools the SQUID down to superconducting temperatures. The bath sits in a lead container, both of which also shield the SQUID from other magnetic fields which, in their ubiquity, are a real nuisance for detecting subtle magnetic field changes.

Any electrons passing through the junction demonstrate quantum interference, which then gets run through an algorithm and spits out a magnetic field reading.

Image: Thobey Campion

The list of applications for SQUIDs in defense, geophysics, space exploration and beyond is currently exploding with possibilities even decades after the device first showed up on the scene.

To give a sense of the power of the SQUID: mining company Outer-Rim Developments in Australia used a SQUID to measure ground surface electrical connectivity, successfully identifying a silver deposit two kilometers below the Earth’s crust. It’s the largest found anywhere ever, worth about $2 billion.

In 2017, researchers at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology also developed a SQUID array that can detect a submarine magnetic field from an outlandish six kilometers away. It can also effectively time travel, identifying a submarine’s magnetized particle "wake" as much as two weeks after the fact.

And now, SQUIDs have initiated a potential quantum shift in our relationship with plants.

Image: Anne Fabricant

The experiment

The Venus flytrap boasts three trigger hairs that serve as mechanosensors. When a prey insect touches a trigger hair, an Action Potential is generated and travels along both trap lobes. If a second touch-induced Action Potential is fired within 30 seconds, the energy stored in the open trap is released and the capture organ closes. This is the plant-insect equivalent of a repeat offender. Imprisonment ensues.

Crucial to making these findings was the fact that this electrical activity doesn’t carry into the stalk of traps, which allowed the researchers to isolate the lobe by slicing it from the rest of the plant. Biologically intact, it was then placed on to a sensor.

The size and biology of a plant cell pose all sorts of regional challenges for magnetic field sensing. To tackle the challenge the researchers needed:

• A diverse team from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM), the Biocenter of Julius-Maximilians-Universität of Würzburg (JMU), and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Berlin, Germany's national meteorology institute.

• Heat stimulation to trigger Action Potentials in the fly trap because thermal energy emits zero background noise.

• A custom sensor consisting of a vapor-filled glass cell that further suppressed noise.

Image: UW/Mateusz Mzelanik

• Additional sensors placed around the room to differentiate any plant signals from environmental noise.

• An optically pumped magnetometer, as opposed to cryogenic cooling, which can be miniaturized and also prevented the plant matter from freezing.

The readings returned pretty much identical results four times in a row.

The discovery is as huge for biomagnetism in plants as it is for electro-physiology in general. We now have proof of a pathway for long-distance signal propagation between plant cells. Talk amongst your cells. 

Both signal a new era of understanding plant systems we are only just coming to grips with.

A 2017 study published in 'Frontiers in Plant Science' looked at the photosynthetic properties of pale green leaf rice. Image: Gu, et. al.

Now what?

The report’s introduction ponders, “in the future, magnetometry may be used to study long-distance electrical signaling in a variety of plant species, and to develop noninvasive diagnostics of plant stress and disease.”

With the help of this current research, crops could be scanned for temperature shifts, chemical changes, or pests without having to damage the plants themselves.

But that’s tomorrow, and we are unfortunately fastened firmly to today.

Image: Motherboard

To get a sense of the bigger picture, I spoke with Greg Crutsinger, Director of Applied Research at GeoAcuity. Motherboard highlighted his work in turning consumer drones into high-precision crop monitoring tools a few years ago. His efforts allow farmers to rapidly and repeatedly monitor the health of their plants from the sky, identifying which areas of land need more water or fertilizer.

Our conversation exhibited a common refrain. Before widespread application of this new sensory technology, our species needs to first open our minds to a hidden electromagnetic network. 

“We’re so biased by human eyes," Crutsinger said. "Yesterday I was going through some of the microsatellites that are going to scan the Earth with radar. We’re looking at different wavelengths and how they can measure moisture in plants by how deep the radar penetrates into corn. I look at the world in different spectrums now and different scales. This is similar. It’s just at this fine scale we haven’t thought of yet.”

Beyond the perceptual, there are daunting practical considerations. Lab settings provide a convenient vacuum where these almost-imperceptible magnetic fields can be measured without getting drowned out. Greg was clear about the challenges of packing up this gear and heading out into the world.

“Typically what we’re thinking about when we’re in plant magnetic spectrums is imagery and light: how are they interacting with wavelengths beyond the scope of the human eye? We can pretty easily use different sensors for that," he explained. "The challenge is mechanical, trying to measure it, and understanding what it means at such a fine level.”

Obstacles aside, new advances contain huge promise for understanding the staggering amount of data we’ve been looking past. 

“I have a drone that I just picked up from Best Buy and did a 3D model with over lunch. The potential is moving very quickly to miniaturize a lot of these capabilities,” said Crutsinger. “As we advance the sensitivity of these tools and more people start using them and not just two labs in the world, I think they’ll start becoming more commonplace in terms of adoption.”

Perhaps our best next step is looking at how other species interact with these magnetic fields. Since these fields exist, they may serve some practical purpose. “Plants and insects have co-evolved for millions of years,” explained Crutsinger. “The trap is getting prey. But insects could leverage that to their own benefit as well. They’re super sensitive and they have antennas. How might they cue in on the magnetic fields of the plant. It’s just also something we have to pay attention to.”

It’s at once discouraging and hopeful to consider the vastness of what we can’t perceive. Perhaps human consciousness is not so much defined by knowing that we know but by acknowledging what we do not. 

Either way, it’s a heck of a day for plant nerds.

Thobey Campion is the former Publisher of Motherboard. You can subscribe to his Substack here.

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