[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/3X6doyS.png[/img][/center] [hider=last time] After encountering some nomads who raid layers for resources to survive the wasteland, and saving them from a shapeshifting monster, exo followed them to another portal and, there, discovered that god + layer = mortal when they stepped inside in a human frm and nearly got mauled to death by an invisible panther. Shaken but resolute to face this rather than run, they resolved to use the body of the panther to make themselves able to explore the layer more safely, despite the nomad’s insistence that they wouldn't have anything to do with it. Now, while the nomads go about their business waiting for reports of another safe portal to go investigate from their scouts, the god is about to finish their transformation. [/hider] The body of the machine made flesh hung in the air above the center of camp as it had returned from investigating the portal. Suspended from nothing, its form shifted, warped and changed before the nomads' eyes. Not that any were watching any more. Even those who had looked upon the repeated live dissection and reconstruction with morbid fascination had grown bored and were focusing on more important tasks by the time they dropped from their ethereal perch and landed among them. The human form was still there in silhouette, but the soft flesh was gone, replaced with a material the nomads couldn't identify, but which proved to be incredibly hardy and flexible, like a living metal. Small glowing ports littered the body which had no seeming purpose which would later be shown to project fields of defense or invisibility. More disconcerting than the body, which could well be put aside as a form fitting armor if you wanted, was the lack of a face. Where the entity had obscured their human face behind a hood before, now it was gone entirely, replaced with flat metal with a ring of light with two dashes through its width. The cloak and hood remind end despite not obscuring this bizarre faceless face, flowing over the alien body and pierced on the sides of the head by two cone-like ears. There was a brief pause, before the inhuman form proceeded to very humanly stretch: cracking its knuckles, shaking out stiffness, rolling its neck, and so on as if it had just awoken from a long sleep. [color=LightSteelBlue]”ahhhh. That’s better”[/color] it said after one last stretch, then snapped a pair of fingers, reached out, and failed to catch a large staff that materialized above it. The butt of the object hit the dirt and then the whole thing began to tip over, only for the machine to finally mange snatch it up before it did so, before twirling it around dramatically and then sliding it onto their back, where it hung despite not being strapped down by anything. [color=LightSteelBlue]”There we go. I have completed preparations. Shall we go investigate the other world?”[/color] it announced/asked the nomad’s scouting group who had saved it’s life earlier and, as the experts on the strange, been ordered to watch it by their leaders while it warped itself, putting them conveniently at hand for this request. “I told you” Vrandan spoke up first. Having seen the machine vulnerable did wonders for his confidence in confronting/standing up to it. Whether this was wise was debatable “the world is a wright off. We cant be safe in a world full of monsters we cant see” [color=LightSteelBlue]”Not to worry. The beast’s own eyes were capable of detecting others of its kind. I have added that ability to this new form’s vision, so i will be able to detect them with ease.”[/color] the machine helpful informed them “But we still can’t” the man countered [color=LightSteelBlue]”A fair point. I could modify you like I have myself?”[/color] it suggested The man glanced up and down the bizarre and, he now noticed, visibly sexless machine person and cringed at the prospect. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Why not”[/color] it asked, picking up on this rather blatant distaste they had at the idea. “No offence, but no one wants to get stuck looking like that.” Jayce, who was perhaps the most comfortable with speaking with the machine out of all of them, supplied. [color=LightSteelBlue]”I am capable of changing myself back, I could do the same for you… no that isn't quite the same is it. I could give you machines but, ah those won't last forever. I owe you my life”[/color] there was some surprise among the scouts and the growing crowd of not so subtle onlookers that it would realize or admit this so easily and bluntly. There had been expectation that they would need to carefully convince the machine to pay them back [color=LightSteelBlue]”It would not be fair to give you something that would not last just as long.”[/color] “Why not. Can’t you give us... Weapons like that one you used. The one that just that removed things from existence” Jayce asked [color=LightSteelBlue]”The reclaim tool is, well a tool. Not a weapon. Though it is very useful as one. It is also one of the things I cannot recreate, similar to the construction one. I could give you these”[/color] it tapped the staff [color=LightSteelBlue]”but without maintenance it would eventually break, leaving you reliant on me once again to repair it.”[/color] “How long would it last?” Vardan asked, assuming that whatever the machine had armed itself was likely powerful [color=LightSteelBlue]”Oh, several hundred thousand instances of the time that passed during the last rise and fall of the light in the sky”[/color] the fact that it was slowly increasing made ‘days’ a terrible measurement of time, but it was the best they had. [color=LightSteelBlue]”not forever. No, I need to repay you with something that lasts.”[/color] “Pretty sure that would outlast everyone here” Jayce remarked The machine cocked its head, then scanned its eye across the nomads watching it,young and old, some flinching away as they became the focus of it for the first time. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Oh. You are decaying and will eventually end. That is… sad. I’m sorry I do not know how to solve that.”[/color] it said with genuine and unexpected remorse. “It is how it is.” Vardan explained with a shrug after the awkward pause “So your staff, wherever that is, would be around for our kids and grandkids time” [color=LightSteelBlue]”But not for theirs. So it is not good enough. Instead I could modify you all so that you are better in a way that they would also inherit… but no that would be permanent again, and whatever change I make might not suit all worlds or states of this world. What was a benefit now could become a detriment later”[/color] It said, clearly mostly talking to itself as it mulled over the possibilities. [color=LightSteelBlue]”So. I could make a way to let you change yourselves... Like that creature that pretended to be a goat! It was infinitely adaptable, taking on the form of native creatures… I wonder if it was made to explore layers… never mind that, it would be perfect”[/color] “Again. Not sure if people want to be turned into a meat monster” Vardan interjected. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Yes. I’m seeing a pattern. But I do have an idea to work within it. We externalize the transformative ability, make it reversible and, importantly, I make it an ability you have control over. Complete control. Make it something you can produce and use however you wish”[/color] the machine said excitedly before flicking it’s wrist materializing the carcass of the invisible panther creature that had almost killed them from thin air with one hand, and then made a hand sized cube of familiar looking meat with the other, which it caught with ease this time. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Now, with these”[/color] they began, only to be interrupted “Hang on hang on. You said you destroyed that thing” Vardan said, angrily pointing at the flesh of the shape shifting monster that was clearly still alive somehow. [color=LightSteelBlue]”This? Oh it isn't the same. I have modified it so that it cannot move or change itself. It will be a domestic-able, self replicating source of the material that won't be able to shapeshift on its own. I’ve quite carefully keyed it to ensure this is the case. Also it is completely docile and herbivorous now.”[/color] Vardan grounded at the cube un-trustingly, but Jayce had realized a possibility this raised “So you can just wake animals? Could you make more goats?” [color=LightSteelBlue]”if i have the materials. Biological matter is somewhat lacking in the area, so I am limited to what I procured from the two layer predators and that flying scaled creature.”[/color] the Explorer explained “But if you got more...” Vardan prompted [color=LightSteelBlue]”I could convert it yes. I understand you cannot eat the fibrous material used for heat production? I could turnt that into something more palatable, for example. However that is not a long term solution as it relies on my presence and, again, I cannot replicate that ability.”[/color] It informed them [color=LightSteelBlue]”a more sustainable solution would be to create life capable of repopulating the region. There is light and water in this world now, when before it was dark and dry, life could grow once more“[/color] “We’ve considered planting seeds, but can you do that faster if you have this… ’biological matter’” [color=LightSteelBlue]”I could if I had the supplies. From layers. I would need your help with that, of course, as i cannot use the reclaim tool within the layers and thus would need to capture and then transport materials back here.“[/color] “It’s hard enough to just get what we need to survive. As good as that sounds, I'm not sure if we can afford that.” [color=LightSteelBlue]”Then I’ll make you a deal, one that, in light of my owing you my life, is sided in your favor. I will help improve your ability to acquire the resources you need to survive and generate excess that can be used to fuel the revitalization of the land. In return, you will help me explore and understand these world and allow me to experiment on the gates before they close“[/color] It raised a hand before the obvious objection could be made [color=LightSteelBlue]”Meeting your needs is the priority. If we have to use all the time the portal is open to acquire materials so be it, but, if i can study them, then I may be able to discover a way to hold them open for longer, and or find a way to close them prematurely. If I do, I will find a way to hand this knowledge down to you.“[/color] “We’ll need to discuss this,” Vardan said hesitantly. As much as he had been leading the ‘negotiation’ it wasn’t up to him what they decided. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Of course. It will give me time to prepare the solution“[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Cedys93.gif[/img][/center] The god tinkered, collecting the hair of a unicorn and a few base metals and combining them a slice of meat from the meat cube creature and fur from the panther as it worked, as the humans discussed. When they returned they found the machine presenting as a human once more and sitting by four cups of softly glowing liquid. “We’ve decided that, if you can prove you can help us first, by increasing the amount of supplies we can procure and making a healthy stockpile, then we’ll help you. Deal?” Vardan informed the machine punctually of the nomads' long argued over decision. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Deal. I am quite confident I can, Vardan. With That in mind I will now demonstrate what I have made to help you adapt to the varicose layers“[/color] it told them, before drinking one of the cups of fluid it had prepared. For a moment nothing happened. Then it closed its eyes for a moment to concentrate and suddenly all at one an incredibly fine fur sprouted from their skin, covering every part of their body. Then, when they opened their eyes, they revealed they too had changed, becoming slitted like those of the panther. Then, like the panther, they vanished. Or well, their body did. The robes remained where they were which in a way was comforting. The machine was not something they wanted to lose track of. Then as soon as it had vanished it reappeared again and grinned at them with pointed teeth. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Impressed?“[/color] it asked “And that will work for us?” Vardan asked carefully, even as the onlookers most certainly and vocally where. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Indeed, and before you ask, yes, it is reversible.“[/color] it told them, before drinking from the second cup, which caused the transformation to run in reverse, and returned them to a human complexion. [color=LightSteelBlue]”Not only that, but it can work with any species you might encounter“[/color] they drank the third cup and using it took on aspects of the dragon it had devoured with the reclaim too, scales, claws and, most amazingly a fully functional pair of wings, (which got rather tangled up in their robes when they first appeared) sprouting front their body, before they drank the final cup and returned to normal. [color=LightSteelBlue]”So. Who wants to give this a try?“[/color] it asked the amazed crowd of onlookers. There were plenty of volunteers. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Cedys93.gif[/img][/center] The sun was close to setting by the time they were done. The god taught them the recipes, and they were surprisingly quite simple. Unicorn hair for magical fuel, shifting meat flesh for transformation abilities (along with most of the logic to do the work stored in its ‘junk’ dna), a collection of elements to trigger the transforming flesh's active state and then material from a beast to change into in one potion, and then the hair of the drinker (harvested before drinking) in another to reverse the effect. Now the re-armored machine stood before the portal to the world that had almost killed it along with an assembly of scouts, all sporting the eyes of the panther so that they beasts could not hide from their sight. They also sported a hodge-podge host of other additions, from cat-like three jointed legs, claws, extra arms, fur, muzzles and the strange tentacles that sprouted from the beast’s back, which left no two looking the same. It turned out that the hard part wasn’t making the potion, but channeling the transformation process to get the effect you wanted. There were safeguards in place of course, no-one, not even the most rampant or uncontrolled transformers, had changed so much that their brain could no longer fit their body for example. Still, they’d get better at it and they had the aspects they needed, so it had been decided it was time to go and try their new abilities for real. They also had convinced the god to give them weapons in the end, meaning they all now sported strange toothed swords that wouldn't last more than a few generations according to the machine but had cut through the wood they’d practiced on like it was nothing. The Explorer and their guards approached the portal. It ordered the probe that had been blocking the portal out of the way, revealing another of the panther creatures stalking around it that it again had not seen. The Explorer and changed nomads did however, and it soon fell to arrows and one staff fired explosive bolt. They approached, but the machine god paused at the precipice past which it would become mortal once again. “Having doubts? I have to ask. Why are you doing this? If you're next too indestructible in this world, why risk going in there?” Jayce said, stopping next to them. The young human hadn't gone as far as some, only their slitted eyes and a pair of cat ears on their head marking out that they were under effects of the drug the machine had named Polymorphine. [color=LightSteelBlue]”If I don't, if i give in to the… to the fear of death, then I would have to stay in this world forever. There is much still to see, I know, but it is still a limit. A limit I will break, here and now, so that while I am exploring this world I will know I am doing so by choice rather than out of fear“[/color] it explained, and the machine got some respect from the others for that. [color=LightSteelBlue]”I have also been wondering, why have you stayed? There is no difference between this world and the others as far as your mortality goes.“[/color] it asked [color=LightSteelBlue]”Why stay in this broken one. Have you simply not found a land you consider safe?“[/color] “Who's to say the world's last after they close or that the short impressions we get are how they really are. Some of us did go, a long time back now. More than half I’ll admit. We found a world that seemed to be a paradise after a long string of deadly and dangerous ones. A lot of our people called it quits there, and, if they didn't, if they hadn't gone and left us with most of the portable supplies, we probably would have all starved by now.” he said, in a way that made it sound very much like he considered them staying as a sacrifice made so that the rest could live. “But maybe they’re all happy and safe now, and we’re the fools for leaving that world before the gate closed, but we’ve never seen them or that world again.” Vardan explained “So we can’t say if they are or not. Better the world you know persists than the one you don't, in my opinion, no matter how broken it is.” He glanced up, and the others followed his gaze, to the now sun as it fell behind a mountain “Not that I can say I know it now that it's changing again. For the better I hope” [color=LightSteelBlue]”We’ll make it so.“[/color] the machine insisted “If this works out, it's going to be you who did it, Explorer” [color=LightSteelBlue]”I won't be able to do it without you. And please. Call me Exo.“[/color] “Exo huh?” Vardan replied, as the machine, the person, suddenly had an actual name. That felt important, but they had work to do. “Well then Exo. Ready to go stare danger, death and the unknown in the face?” [color=LightSteelBlue]”Yes. Let’s go exploring“[/color] they said, stepping through the portal and being gripped by mortality for the second of many times to come. [hider=summary] Exo gives themselves a new bio-mechanical body more suited to exploring layers than a simple human one. Then they discuss with the nomads they are traveling with at length about how it will repay them for saving its life, with a focus on making sure what they give back it's something that will last as long as it's eternal immortal life rather than a temporary boon, even if temporary means generations to come. In the end, two things happen. First, a deal is struck. The nomads will explore the portals with exo, helping the god to survive there while mortal and allow them to experiment on the portals before they close. In return exo will use their godly powers to make the nomads able to make themselves better at exploring and surviving the worlds, will use their ability to turn inedible bio-material into edible material and, in the long term, will harvest and catalog life, amass more biomass, and then use that to make the area the nomads are in habitable again. They will also find a way to hand down what they learn about the portals and layers to the nomads, with the aim of giving them control over the gateways so that they can keep good ones open and the force bad ones shut. To start this deal, Exo invents Polymorphine, a drug that lets the drinker take on the parts, traits, and abilities of an animal or monster. The drug is made from the meat of the shape shifting creature from when they first encountered the nomads (converted into a docile domesticated and static form), unicorn hair used for mana fuel, a few bits and bobs that trigger the latent transformative power of the shapeshifter and part of an animal or monster the user wishes to gain the aspects of. Making a potion with your own bio material (generally hair) harvested before the transformation allows the a person to reverse the transformation and return to a human (or other) form once more. Using this, the nomad’s scouts gain the ability to see the invisible panther monsters stalking the world they have found from the one they killed and, along with exo, go to explore it. The god pauses on the precipice, and when asked why they would risk going back explains that they want to face the other worlds now both to understand them and to confront the mortality the cause head on, because if it doesn't, then it will be implicitly trapped in this one by the fear of death. Exo also learns that a while ago, many of the nomads decided to stay in a paradise they found, but have not been seen since. The ones that remain preferred the devil you know to the one they don't, but admit that with all the changes it's hard to know if they know this one any more. Exo insists they are good changes and that, together, they will make it even better. They also finally give the nomads their name, which marks something of a bonding moment (especially considering they’ve been thinking of them as ‘it’ or ‘machine’ as shown in the narration of the post) and is symbolic of the fact that they are working together rather than Exo just forcing their presence on the mortals whether they like it or not. Then they go exploring [/hider]