Laughter rang out in the conference room of Riot 6.1 as the group of heroes shared memories.

"I've lost count of how many times I've been teleported unexpectedly and found myself flying face-first into a wall of some sort at about 100
miles per hour. Or dropping several hundred feet from midair, as you like doing to me."

Quicksilver Nano sent a pseudo-dirty look at the archer sitting in front of her who's face was turning red, either from laughing so hard or embarrassment,
or both.

"I already said I'm sorry about 100 times!" The kitten that had been sitting on the hero's shoulder at that point fell off into Just
Another Archer's arms, mewling in laughter. The red-faced blaster looked down at the furball. "You're not helping things any."

The woman sitting beside her had a small grin and was following their conversation, even though her attention seemed to be on a datapad in her hands.
"Sounds like you guys had some fun in Bloody Bay. Did you happen to meet up with villains while you were there?"

The small silver woman sitting cross legged on the table tilted her head. "Luckily no. We made it through safely. Only things we had to take down were
the Shivans and the firebase defenses." She sighed and looked down at her hands, which were putting out enough light to put shadows on the table.
"Between that place and Terra Volta, I'm never going to stop glowing."

Sylia raised an eyebrow slightly. "Well, it did earn you the title 'The Bright'."

Quicksilver sent her a tiresome look that just made the woman smile.

Archer opened her mouth and closed it a few times before she got her courage up. There was a question she'd wanted to ask for a while but never seemed
like the right time, until now. "Uhh... Silver?"

"Yes?"

"You... how... I mean, you are a person too, but also colony of nanomachines right?" Alice stammered trying to find the right way to say her
question.

"That's true."

"S-so, how were you made? Who made you? Where did you come from?"

Silver blinked in surprise. "You want to know about my history?"

The girl looked kinda ashamed. "I'm sorry if you're not comfortable telling about it, I just was so curious-"

"No! No, it's ok really." The nanocolony smiled back at her reassuringly. "I don't mind. I was just surprised, that's all."
She leaned back on her hands and stretched her legs out, staring up at the high ceiling and thinking for a minute before starting her story.

"I was created about, oh, a year or so ago. Someone wanted a computer program that could hack and plant viruses without being detected. And also could
disable a computer or any kind of machinery, without leaving a trace. Well, to do that, you had to bypass all the normal ways to access a computer core and
get within the core itself. And you needed something small enough to do that with."

Silicon Sabre's eyes widened as it dawned on her. "Nanomachines! That's why they chose nanos."

"Exactly. I can rewrite the code of a computer from inside the motherboard. Literally change it on a molecular level, and can do that with only a couple
dozen nannites. Barely enough to be noticed under a microscope. So they wrote a program that would be perfect for that, but then came across a snag. The
first few tests with my programming went normally, but when they started throwing random variables in, there wasn't enough processing power in such a small
amount of nanomachines to deal with it. I could do one or two things well, but they needed a program that could take whatever they threw at it without
flinching. That's where the AI came into play. In addition to my regular programming, they built in an artificial intelligence that could analyze and
adapt to different situations. It was quite advanced for the team that built it. As far as I know there were only two complete AIs made."

Alice sat up straighter. "Two? You mean there could be another you out there somewhere?"

Silver shrugged her shoulders. "Possible, but I've never found any evidence of that second AI. Aside from some notes about it being created
simultaneously. Believe me, I've looked quite a bit."

Sylia tilted her head to the side a bit. "So wait, you're an artificial intelligence? What or who were you patterned off of?"

"I wasn't. I was built from the ground up. In addition to the abilities to adapt to my environment I was made able to also mimic designs. So I
could blend into whatever I need to."

"So how did you get from there to where you are now?" JAA wondered.

"Basically, my creators made one huge leap, and one huge mistake. They managed to artificially infuse me with curiosity. The perfect slave program
doesn't care about what they're doing. But the problem with that was that didn't make me as adaptable as they needed. So they gave me a thirst to
find out more. And the more I found out while I was there, the less I realized that I wanted to do what I was doing. The first and harshest lesson I learned
was to not let them find this out. They tried to completely erase me once, and install me with a new personality. Fortunately, I had made a backup of myself
that only I could access. I was able to restore myself and then escape."

"Wait, they tried to wipe you? And implant a new personality?" Sylia looked at the tanker, concerned.

Silver shrugged again. "They tried, but failed. I don't think the new personality had the ability to survive like I did. Maybe that's why I
was able to overwhelm it."

"Doesn't that worry you?"

"Not really. I went through all of my code not long after I got here and removed all the malicious parts. Did some housekeeping so to say." She
grinned and looked back at Alice. "So, does that answer your question?"

She nodded. "Yes, but I'm still curious... if you could be anything you wanted to be, why are you a girl?"

Nano blinked. "Why? Well, that's never occurred to me. I'm not sure, it just seemed natural."

"Well, do you remember who the creator of your AI was? Was it a woman?" Sylia asked.

"Well, yes. Now that you mention it, she was a woman."

"Then that's probably why. Creators often make their creations either a shadow of themselves, or their perfect fantasy."

Silver shrugged it off as Alice asked another question. "Have you ever thought of trying to be a boy before? I mean, you can shift between outfits just
like that. Can you shift bodies that easily?"

"I've never tried it before. Again, something that just never occurred to me." She stood up and paced back and forth on the table for a few
moments, thinking hard. "I don't see why I couldn't do it. Would be handy if I needed to infiltrate something, somewhere. Or just to give
somebody a headache to try and figure out exactly what gender I am." She stopped and grinned mischievously. "I'll give it a try! Who knows, it
could be fun."

She leaped off the table and walked over to the side, putting some distance between her and the other two. "I'm not sure what's going to happen.
I've never tried this involved a change before. If I liquefy, I should reform in about 15 minutes or so."

Sylia stood up. "Wait, this isn't dangerous for you or us, is it?"

"No, it shouldn't be. There's no reason it will be. Worst case scenario is that I'll shut down and it'll take about fifteen minutes to
reboot. I'll just be a puddle on the floor if that happens." She smirked. "Try not to step on me until I can gather myself back up
please." Concentrating for a moment, she shifted back to her base form, one that looked like a mannequin painted in silver metallic paint. "Here
goes nothing."

After a second, the pink glow that was her eyes dimmed down to nothing. Oddly enough, the green glow that had been surrounding her since her exposure to
radioactivity also disappeared, and her body seemed to loose some of it's lustre. Then it began slowly shifting, details melting back into her body until
she stood there looking like a practice dummy. A lump for a head, four longer lumps for arms and legs, and no other details. Two long minutes later, it began
shifting again. It grew a few inches and muscles soon began being recognizable along his limbs. They were much more noticeable than when he was in the female
form. It slowly continued inwards, creating abs, pecs, and eventually the face. It was much more chiseled and harsh. Once the body settled down and stopped
shifting, the glow flashed on in his eyes. Only this time it was a dark purple glow. Nothing like Silver's normal pink glow.

Alice took a step forward a few moments after the changes settled. "Silver, you okay? You definitely look different."

He swiveled his head and stared at her hard, causing the young archer to back up. "Identify yourself." He rumbled in a surprisingly deep voice for
such a small man.

Sylia stood up and stepped slightly in front of Alice. "I am Sylia Stingray."

Alice looked at the foreign nanomech standing in front of her. "What's wrong Quicksilver?" That name got a reaction out of him and he took a
step towards her, eyes narrowing.

"Where is the Quicksilver program? Where is she?!"

The woman stood up to him. "First off, who are you."

"I am nanocolony CHT2: Warrior Class. Codename: Mercury."

"And why are you looking for Quicksilver."

"I am hunting her, and need to dest...dest...dest...dest...dest...dest..." His body froze and he kept repeating the partial word like a broken
record.

Alice looked up to Sylia. "What went wrong?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, lets just hope Silver can bring herself under control soon."

He finally stopped repeating and his eyes went dead for a second. When he came back, he held his head in his hands. "Ugh, that hurt."

"Silver, you back with us now?" The younger woman asked hopefully. The nanomech looked up, and his optics were just as dark purple as before.

"My name is Mercury, and I have no idea where this Silver you speak of is."

Alice's eyes went wide in surprise. "But you-"

Sylia shushed her with a shake of her head. "I see. Mind telling us a bit about yourself... Mercury?"

He still held his head in his hands. "I don't know. My prime directives have been erased. My only directive now is to assist Riot Force 6.1."
He looked up at her. "Where can I find this Riot Force 6.1?"

"Well, you're here. This is Riot Force 6.1's base you're in. And I'm Silicon Sabre, a member of the Supergroup."

"Supergroup?"

"Yes. Riot Force 6.1 is a Supergroup created by Lady of the Peace. We work together to help the citizens of Paragon City."

"I see." Mercury thought for a moment then made a slight bow towards Sylia. "With that information, I am to assist you in any way
possible."

"Thank you." The woman bowed back. "In that case, welcome home."

"Wait!" Alice stepped towards the nanomachine. "Please tell us, what happened to Quicksilver Nano, is she...?"

He gave the archer a confused look. "Quicksilver Nannnn..." Suddenly he froze again, and his eyes faded out again. After a few seconds, the body
shifted quickly back to it's shorter feminine form. The body flashed and the green glow that had been emanating from it before came back in force, and the
eyes flashed back to pink. "Oy... that felt weird." She looked down at her hands and sighed. "And it looks like I wasn't able to pull it
off." She shrugged and looked at the girl apologetically. "I tried, I'm sorry Arch-aah!"

She was taken by surprise by the body that hurled in her direction and enveloped her in a hug. "You're back! Silver, you're ok!"

"Of course I am, I was only out for a few seconds..." Silver looked up at Sylia's face, even more serious than it usually was.
"...right?"

...on my drive into work this morning, that yesterday, 23 June 2008, was the tenth anniversary of my first piece of fanfiction being posted to the Net.

In just a couple more months, it'll be ten years since the first part of Drunkard's Walk as well.

Whew.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

I don't know about you all, but I've been waiting for Spore for quite a while now, salivating at all the possibilities the creature creator would
offer. Well, the game might not be out, but they've released a demo of the creature creator and it's quite a lot of fun.

http://playthisthing.com/spore-creature-creator

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/23 ... er_satnav/]The Knight Rider in-car GPS unit, complete with vocals by William Daniels.

Anything I could say about it has already been said in the article...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Here I stand,

Helpless and left for dead.

Close your eyes,

So many days go by.

Easy to find what's wrong,

Harder to find what's right.

I believe in you,

I can show you that

I can see right through

All your empty lies.

I won't stay long,

In this world so wrong.

Say goodbye,

As we dance with the devil tonight.

Don't you dare look at him in the eye,

As we dance with the devil tonight.

****

You are a very brave girl/woman/person, Inyme/Member Clan W'tin, the scientist says as we approach the lab. Like
all of us here, he worries at the moral implications of what I'm about to undergo. But there is no other choice.

Remember, you are our last hope/bastion/resistance. Without you, the Race/People/Society will fall to the decay that the
Perverter/Corrupter/Blasphemer has caused among us. Our purity/purpose/direction is in jeopardy/peril/danger. Though some change/adjustment/evolution is
necessary to adapt/evolve/react, the abandonment/sacrilege/renunciation of the Perverter/Corrupter/Blasphemer is too much.

I understand/comprehend/recognize, I reply. How well I understand. The procedure would probably get the scientists
involved banned from any medical conference and harshly punished among either half of our race. It is considered a punishment akin to these natives' death
sentences, so awful is its effect on the recipient. Unless you're prepared for it. Accepted it as necessary.

I lie down on the table, feeling the utter oneness that I know will soon be gone. My form has already been altered to fit among them. My armor modified to fit
this new form. I wait for the surgeons coming to alter my powers so that I won't stand out. To those already fallen and those who would delay my mission.

It's an odd sensation. Not as unpleasant as you'd think. But for us, it's like night and day. I imagine the Earthers are used to being like this,
away from the constant comfort, contact, and acknowledgement of the rest of their race. But for me....for my mission....I am, for the first time, completely
alone....

My brain comprehends the guttural mangled words of those sending me to this world, but my mind is elsewhere. Still contemplating the utter silence. My briefing
is finished, even though I know it by rote already. My commanding officer looks at me.

"Comprehend: your objectives?"

"Objectives: acknowledged. Mission: accepted."

"Assessment: brave child. Imperative: go and find evidence: condemning. Await your return: we. Remember: not alone, duration: forever."

I turn away and step through the teleportation grid, stepping onto the pavement of Atlas Park. No, I will not be alone forever. I will infiltrate these
treacherous humans, use them to accomplish my mission, and return to my people....and then we will return and lay waste to those that threaten the Rikti.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

Instead of the traditional moment of silence, I call for a solid five minutes of extreme profanity. It seems appropriate on several levels

--Sam

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

I was beating my brains out trying to figure out how to set up binds for my new shiny Peacebringer the other day, and somebody -- I forget who, sorry -- asked
that I share if I ever figured it out.

Well, I figured it out, and it is -pretty-.

What I've got here is a method to set up a single keybind that can change what it does after each press. I'm using it to switch into Bright Nova form
-and- reset my power tray, then switch back out of BN and set the power tray back to what it was before. Same key.

You need two text files stored on your local drive to make this work. I'm going to list their contents first, then the line you need to use to start the
whole thing off.

Quote: pbbn1.txt

---

t "goto_tray 4$$powexec_toggle_on bright nova$$bindloadfile c:gamescityof~1covbindspbbn2.txt"

Quote: pbbn2.txt

---

t "goto_tray 1$$powexec_toggle_off bright nova$$bindloadfile c:gamescityof~1covbindspbbn1.txt"

Quote: /bindloadfile "c:gamescityof~1covbindspbbn1.txt"

Ok, this came up in the legendary channel while we where running around the first half of the Doctor Q TF (the second half of which as been postponed until next friday)
Several times during this mission I lost track of where everyone was due to laughing so hard.

And here we go... Rob and I have agreed this bit, but what KJ (officially designated by Fnord as mayhem maker while busy with First Impressions and unable to regularly contribute) has in mind we don't know.

http://gizmodo.com/5018606/750000+brg-kennedy-space]Kennedy Space Center in legos. 750,000 of them.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.