Private The Price of Continuance

[Karl Von Strauss]

The first indication that something was wrong was not the security alerts.

It was the blood.

A crimson-stained handkerchief lay discarded beneath a workstation in an outer research wing of the Section C laboratory. Another had been carelessly shoved into a maintenance alcove; a third rested beside an access terminal, soaked through and abandoned. The trail continued deeper into the facility.

At a glance, one might believe this trail to be the work of some sort of wounded intruder, yet there was something about the pattern that was noticeably unsettling. The blood was too sparse, too measured. Whoever left them behind was not bleeding from a wound. They were dying from within.

Moreover, security records revealed another anomaly: sensitive archives had been accessed throughout the facility. Genetic databases. Neural mapping studies. Cybernetic integration research. Consciousness transference theories. Experimental biological augmentation programmes. But, nothing had been deleted or sabotaged. These files had simply been copied, as if looking for an answer. Or perhaps, a way out.

Eventually, the trail led to a genetic laboratory deep within the bowels of the Section C facility. The blast door was partially open; behind it was the dim glow of hololithic displays and the pulsing lights of dormant machinery. The air carried the sterile scent of antiseptics mixed with something metallic: blood.

From the doorway, two voices could be heard, one sounded like a feminine droid of some kind, the other was a raspy, slightly wet man's voice. They were arguing about something sufficiently advanced in bioengineering when the man shushed the feminine voice.

In the center of the room stood Karl von Strauss, and for the first time in decades, he looked his age. Beside him was a 'requisitioned' scientific droid, although the colors were wrong, it stood like a hurt mother next to the old Exarch. One of his gloved hands rested on the edge of a console for support. His posture remained upright through sheer force of will, but the effort was becoming increasingly apparent. There was fresh blood running from his nose; more stained the corners of his mouth. Thin crimson trails ran down his chin and disappeared beneath the collar of his uniform.

Yet despite his condition, his expression remained composed. Cold, measured. The pleasant old statesman known throughout the Confederation was nowhere to be found. The grandfatherly smile, the patient demeanor, the comforting wisdom was gone.

What remained was the man responsible for building empires. The architect behind contingency plans within contingency plans. The man who had survived governments, wars, betrayals, and the collapse of entire civilizations. His eyes slowly lifted toward the doorway. Sharp as ever. Calculating, unyielding.

"You are late."

The Lord of Hunger

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: ???
OBJECTIVE: ???
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Karl Von Strauss
​

The silent alarm had been running any and all Section C personel would be alerted of a breach, yet when the alerts reached a singular device, they stopped. All devices would be disconnected temporarily, followed by a missive indicating that the highest echelons among the shady organization was taking care of it. The AI was notified and ordered to simply clean up the mess, but to avoid any hostile action. The reason behind this missive was simple and twofold: on the one hand, only one truly desperate or deranged would ever think about delving into a Section C facility uninvited, and only a few had the means to access them... one of these was the former Exarch and Director of the N&Z Karl von Strauss, if the AI were to try and eliminate him under the assumption that he was to be deemed a threat, his THEMIS could become a liability if anything happened.

Gnashing his teeth, the skeletal looking abomination hovered over the ground, his crimson and golden eyes burning with both rage and a strange sense of amusement.

"It seems the time has finally come to offer the young one a deal he can't ignore," Slowly reaching for a pair of mismatched gauntlets and a golden mask to hide most of his features, the frail and old looking being slowly lowered himself to the ground, detaching himself from the Ommin harness which had been supporting him. At first several of the officers nearby tried to aid the being, but a simple wave of his hand made it clear such a thing would not be necessary. He could've enhanced himself, retained and regained his youth by drawing upon the Heart of Syn, but decidd not to do so, for the sake of allowing the jewel to recharge and refill its reserves.

Waving his cane in front of him, the man opened up a black, miasmic swirl of energy, allowing it to manifest in between the very fabric of space and time. Letting out a grunt as an indication of the cost such a performance would have on his remaining strength, the frail-looking monster passed through the portal.

Weakened as he might've been, the more desperate the mutation within and thus the stronger the very dread he passively seemed to exude. From behind his mask, his eyes being the only visible part, the monster looked around before walking towards the central section of laboratories, letting out a soft chuckle when laying eyes upon the man he had very much expected to see.

​

"You are late."

"Late is a question of perception...time in this case," A soft, surprisingly gentle nod was made by the cloaked and masked being, whose hunched posture betrayed he did not arrive at the height of his power. yet than again, would this even be necessary? "And I believe time is exactly that which you are lacking these days, are you not, Karl?"

Again the man chuckled, finding this roundabout summon, this veiled threat a bit showy for the former admiral, for a Von Strauss, this felt too...flashy, too forced. It was because of this that it wasn't hard for Credius to understand this wasn't a threat, nor an actual breach...it was a cry out of desperation.

"Very well...let me hear your plea...former Exarch...enlighten me as to what you desire from me."

 

[Karl Von Strauss]

Karl watched as the figure stepped out of the swirling miasma. He held back a grimace at the indication that he was not long for this galaxy. While the figure was right, Karl hadn't acknowledged the end just yet. He took a small handkerchief from a pocket inside his imperial tunic and dabbed at his lips. When he pulled the fabric away, fresh blood stained its white fabric.

"Very well...let me hear your plea...former Exarch...enlighten me as to what you desire from me."

"Before I answer that, if would you indulge me for a moment." Karl said turning his back on the figure to insert a code cylinder into the console he had been using as a support. It activated the attached holotable and displayed a rotating image of a genetic sequence. From a cursory glance it was human, it had been modified, and it was ancient.

"My family lineage traces its origins to the Sith Empire. Specifically, its eugenics program." He took a step back from the console and began to slowly walk around the display. "The Sith wanted perfect, intelligent, obedient officers for their military. They and an ambitious collection of geneticists convinced themselves they could improve upon humanity."

A humorless smile crept across his face. "They succeeded." He followed the statement with a series of soft ticks with his tongue, the smile fading. "Unfortunately, perfection is frequently defective or imperfect."

He finished his circle and pressed another button on the console, making it zoom into the sequence, highlighting parts of it and showing massive amounts of data on each part. Karl looked up at it, he hadn't said that this was his own genetic code, but he very muched doubted that the figure didn't already deduce that. He was quiet for several seconds, only the soft hum of machinery filled the space.

"The flaw remained dormant for centuries; generations passed without consequence." A cough interrupted him. He tried to reach into his tunic for his handkerchief, but knew it was futile. He covered his mouth with his hand as a coughing fit took over his body, blood seeping through his fingers and dripping onto the floor.

THEMIS immediately turned toward him and pulled out a spare piece of fabric and gave it to Karl. <"Your condition is worsening.">

Karl gave her a angered glance as he ignored her warnings. "As I was saying... eventually, every debt comes due."

He said it without fear nor regret. It was at this moment he finally acknowledged it, the fact that his life was going to end. It was a statement of fact, but that didn't stop him. He stared into the shadows of the dimly lit laboratory, it almost seemed like they were growing consuming the room as he stared for too long. Then he blinked and turned his eyes towards the man who governed this shady part of the organization that he himself was a part of.

Yet there was no fear in Karl's eyes, just determination. Some might've come here seeking salvation; others might have begged. Karl von Strauss had done neither. He had exhausted every other resource at his disposal before coming here. This one path was the only one that remained; the one path that was, while not necessarily wise, still available to him.

"I have no intention of dying. There are matters unfinished." His voice began to lower, entirely devoid of warmth. "Plans that remain incomplete."

"Plans that I am tired of playing nice to achieve. If I have to burn half the galaxy to achieve them, so be it." His voice was roiling with unseen amounts of anger. He was tired and dying, but most of all he was angry, furious at the hand he was dealt.

"You wish to know what I desire?" Karl's eyes remained fixed upon the darkness, his voice steady despite the blood that stained his lips.

"I desire a vessel that cannot fail. One that will see me through to the completion of my work."

He paused, another crimson drop striking the floor between them. "But I will not trade one weakness for another."

His gaze hardened. "I have endured the frailty of flesh for long enough. It has betrayed me for the last time."

The Lord of Hunger

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: ???
OBJECTIVE: ???
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Karl Von Strauss
​

A smirk appeared on the Lord of Hunger's face as he listened to the former Exarch's words. Each and every syllable, each and every defiant word uttered by the surprisingly frail and withered looking imperial warlord hit home with the being who himself had long since transcended beyond their own humanity, at the cost of that very same humanity. He understood the price, he understood the consequences of the desires Karl Von Strauss bore all too well.

Even if by sheer accident and happenstance, the Lord of Hunger had unwittingly and most unwillingly opened a path for himself in which evolution was not just a desire, but a necessity. While his body was by all means nigh immortal, it was at the same time extremely unstable and subject to rapid decay and degredation every time he tapped into his own reserves within the Force. He had figured out several means to counter these drawbacks, but even if he had created counters, the drawbacks remained nonetheless.

He understood the search for physical strength, for a body which would not falter or fail. After all, it was partially through this desire that he had created the Mobius Tyrants and the Children of C, with one providing superior physicality, while the other provided the possibility of eternity through mental linking and bio-engineered micro-cellular overrides. Then there was the other aspect of evolution and perfection, as through KRONOS, the Lord of Hunger had managed to recreate his very mind, his thought process down to the most minute detail into an artificial lifeform with extensive and nigh unlimited capacity for growth and thus technological evolution.

It was this variety of options, this wild and unpredictable branched research which had led to the Lord of Hunger's reputation and infamy as a dangerous and wildcard-like entity within the galaxy. Thus he understood, if not encouraged this type of thinking in his compatriot with an uncharacteristic sympathy and genuine interest.

"Those who wish to grow, nay evolve beyond the point of their own humanity...must always understand the risks and consequences of their actions," The man took a step closer to the former exarch, his presence becoming stiffling, a nigh unbearable pressure exuding from him, like a mixture of dreadful chills and immense gravitational weight being bombarded upon those around him, while no changes were truly made in either the actual ambient temperature nor the actual gravity in the place they both resided in, it simply a reminder to the former Exarch that he wasn't dealing with some fallible human doctor or mad scientist. He was dealing with the very man who had built the N&Z from a small regional shipyard into a powerhouse which transcended generations, which had amassed so much wealth, power and intelligence that it could survive even without the factions it tended to support or prop up in order to extend its own reach. "The question is never wether one is willing to become something more... it is whether or not one is willing to sacrifice all they are to become something more."

Extending his hand, the Lord of Hunger looked down upon Karl, his eyes vibrant with their crimson and golden hues, the inhuman slit pupils narrowing as he looked upon the broken form of his ally. "Technology or biology... clones or bio-engineered restructuring, the ancient sith had the ideas, but we have the means, the technology and most importantly... the will to go beyond our limitations. Now... if you are willing to make the greatest sacrifices to achieve that which you desire most... perhaps rather than discuss the why...we should discuss the how."

 

[Karl Von Strauss]

Karl remained motionless, his pale blue gaze lingering on the hand extended before him. The oppressive weight radiating from the Lord of Hunger pressed against him like the familiar depths of Mon Cala. Yet, he did not flinch nor recoil, the older statesman stood firm.

he only recoiled when another cough escaped him; it was harsh and wet. His hand didn't not make it to his mouth in time, he turned his head as crimson droplets splattered across the floor. He reached into his tunic and raised his handkerchief to his lips once more. It was stained completely red.

For several long moments, silence reigned between the two men. Then, Karl let out a faint chuckle. It was not one of amusement, it was one of realization.

"You misunderstand me." He said with conviction and certainty; his eyes rising to meet the Lord's. "You speak as if this is a choice I have yet to make. That choice was made many years ago."

Karl straightened himself with deliberate effort. Every movement betrayed the frailty his body had become, yet his posture retained the dignity expected of a man who had commanded empires and weathered the collapse of them.

"You ask whether I am willing to sacrifice what I am in order to become something greater." His gaze drifted away from the Lord of Hunger and rested upon the scientist droid standing patiently beside a nearby console. But, it was a little more than another machine. "The answer is that I already have."

THEMIS remained perfectly still, yet the subtle tilt of her head betrayed an unmistakable awareness. She knew precisely where his thoughts had wandered. He spoke again slowly and deliberate.

"I surrendered my youth in pursuit of order, my peace for stability, and my conscience whenever necessity demanded it."

Images flicked through the old man's memory. Faces long dead. Friends buried. Comrades lost to wars. Entire governments raised through impossible effort, only to collapse beneath the weight of the very people they had been built to protect. Yet, Karl had endured.

"I have survived long enough to become little more than a relic remembered by those too young to understand the price of peace." He glanced between the Lord and THEMIS. "When I realized that memory itself was finite, I ensured it no longer had to be. THEMIS is not, nor was she ever merely an artificial intelligence. She is the proof, my proof, that consciousness could exist beyond biology."

He looked down to his bloodstained handkerchief and hand. His fingers trembled, not from fear but from failure. He studied his hand almost analytically, as though observing a machine that had reached the end of its service life.

"This," he said while raising his hand. "is failing hardware."

Another cough interrupted him. It brought more blood, more confirmation that his bell was going to be rung soon. His eyes narrowed.

"I no longer mistake the vessel for the man. I will not sacrifice who I am." His gaze locked with the Lord of Hunger's once again, carrying a conviction that seemed almost immovable. "I will sacrifice everything that prevents me from remaining who I am."

The distinction mattered; others saw flesh as identity, Karl saw it as equipment. Some believed humanity resided within bone and blood. Karl had come to believe that humanity resided within conviction. Within memory and purpose.

"A body does not define a man. My convictions, my purpose, my will defines me. If replacing this broken shell alters those things, then Karl von Strauss died long before he entered this laboratory."

Karl began to extended his hand. "There are those who seek immortality because they fear death. I do not. I seek continuance because my work remains unfinished."

His features settled into the cold, calculating expression that had once made military men and politicians alike measure every word they spoke in his presence.

"The galaxy mistakes restraint for weakness. It mistakes mercy for complacency. I have spent a lifetime believing civilization could be guided. However, I have come to understand that it must be engineered."

His outstretched hand clasped the Lord of Hunger's. "So, yes, let us discuss how."

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: ???
OBJECTIVE: ???
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Karl Von Strauss
​

The former Exarch showed once again WHY he was a Director to the N&Z, why he was the only one of them actually allowed to overrule even Amalia, why the Lord of Hunger hadn't opposed Tertius' desire to collect talented individuals. Karl Von Strauss was in Credius' opinion the mold upon which a stable and successful government could be built, the blueprint for what a stable, secure and intelligent statesman should aspire to be. it was the deep thought, the calm and collected demeanor, the straightforward and uncompromising nature of this man which had managed to draw the abomination's attention.

"THEMIS is but the start, old friend... you're train of thought is not far from my own, as before the happenstance which had turned me into the being I am this very moment, I too had gambled on the continuance of my will, my plans and my desires through the use of highly advanced technology," It was no secret to Karl, that the template used for the immensely powerful KRONOS AI, was none other than Credius himself, thus the truth was borne and proven with the words uttered by the Lord of Hunger. "I myself would not hesitate to aid you in such an undertaking, for you are indeed correct: your work is not done, your path has not yet ended...where you may discard the flesh and the weakness inherited from it, the mind must persevere and continue the undertaking which you have devoted yourself to."

There was the issue of time though, as the Exarch made it clear that their chosen path was that of steel and technology, it ment that the body had to be preserved and maintained until a suitable creation could be made to hold not just the ideals of the man, but the very essence which had made those ideals and who'd enforce them to become reality.

"There are several options, several means at our disposal to fully reach the point you so desperately desire to become your new heralded beginning," The Lord of Hunger nodded and seemed to glance upwards for a moment, as if to test the waters with his words. "To survive, you'll probably need treatments, continuous monitoring and injections...but to prolong your life will mean to prolong your suffering, until your new vessel is well and truly tested to be superior. It is your choice whether you would weather the waning moments of your physical self or be removed from all suffering right her and now..."

 

[Karl Von Strauss]

For the first time since entering the laboratory, Karl's expression changed. It did not change into fear or hesitation, but into consideration. The Lord of Hunger had presented him with two choices, and to a lesser man the choice might've been an agonizing one. To continue living meant that the suffering, the invasive treatments, the consistent monitoring, and watching as his body continued to deteriorate would be prolonged.

The alternative was far simpler: an end to the pain, the weakness, his frailty.

Karl looked down at his hands once more. His tremor had grown more pronounced. He flexed his fingers, as though he was testing an experimental mechanism. He frowned slightly; if this was a mechanism, its tolerances were horribly failing. He thought back: his hand had signed orders that moved militaries, had signed treaties, and had reshaped governments. Now they struggled to remain steady.

Almost imperceptibly, a smile formed on his lips. "If I wanted an end," he said quietly, but with no trace of despair, "I would not have come here."

His gaze returned to Credius. However, behind it there was something different. It almost seemed like, for Karl, his purpose had renewed. "I have endured worse than pain."

He thought back to his wife, his sister, and leaving his career behind to survive. He allowed himself a moment to consider the alternatives. They would certainly be easier; but ease had never been the measure by which Karl von Strauss made his decisions. He had spent his life choosing the difficult path, because, ultimately, they were the paths that produced results. And this would be no different.

"I will endure." He said with certainty.

"I have my own doctors and medicines, but I'm sure you have connections that I am blind to. It will be painful, but I will take on every inoculation and invasive procedure if that preserves me until the work is done. But understand something," He said, his statesman's demeanor returning. "I will not be placed into a box and told to wait while others determine what I am to become."

He gestured to THEMIS, "She will be involved. Every component, every system, every safeguard. After all..."

He tapped the back of his skull, where the Skuld Anchor sat, "...she and I are connected through a neural interface." THEMIS's stolen photoreceptors brightened for a second before returning to normal.

"If we are meant to construct a vessel capable of carrying my mind beyond the limitations of flesh, then it must surpass what I am." To others, what would have sounded like arrogance was not the intended emotion for that statement, only conviction. "A vessel that can fail is simply another form of mortality. Yet, I have no need for immortality, just the opportunity to become something that no longer requires it."

For the first time, Karl's future was no longer measured in days, months, or years. Only stages: stabilization, preservation, construction, transfer, and then ascension. He extended his hand once more toward Credius.

"I will make sure his body survives until its replacement is ready." His expression turned almost severe. "And when that day comes…"

A faint smile touched his lips.

"…I will not be transferring Karl Von Strauss into a machine. I will be taking the next step."

Tag: The Lord of Hunger