SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 57 - Mind Control Acclimatization
Added 2024-02-07 13:20:17 +0000 UTC“Who can tell me why Daisy uses cybermonkeys?” asked Seth.
Trudy spoke up almost immediately. “Biotechnology is less polluting than using pure electronics. It’s as simple as that.”
“Wrong! Anyone else?”
Trudy scowled at Seth, but, as usual, he didn’t care about her opinion. He seemed to have given up on his older students and showed more interest in Ariel and Kai.
Why did Seth seem to believe that Daisy’s choice to use cybermonkeys wasn’t motivated by environmental concerns? What other reason could there be?
“I give up,” said Ariel, exasperated.
“Kai?” asked Seth, hopefully.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Seth. Can’t think of anything either.”
“That is disappointing. Oh well, let’s break it down for you then. First of all, experimentation. Daisy has several tiers of minions. She’s successfully implanted chips in beetles, moles, and monkeys. If you check the records, you’ll see that these weren’t all released simultaneously. No, Daisy has been perfecting the technology. When I was a kid, there weren’t any chimps or gorillas, only monkeys and gibbons. Why the new species? What is she working up toward?”
“Are you implying that Daisy is studying how to use mind-controlling chips on humans?”
“Precisely!”
The notion horrified Kai. “Why would she do that?”
“Well, what is Daisy’s programming?”
“Saving the environment and perfecting humanity,” recited Ariel.
“And what are her limitations?”
“Asimov’s three laws, basically. She can’t kill,” answered Kai.
“Now, wouldn’t it make sense that to an AI, implanting chips in our brains and controlling us, like she does the monkeys, be the next logical step in perfecting humanity?” he said the last two words with exaggerated air quotes.
Kai gulped nervously. He hadn’t considered it.
“Here’s a good question to chew on,” continued Seth. “Why are the exams held online?”
“It’s easier than getting everyone together,” answered Ariel.
“True. But could it be that it also comes in handy for Daisy to test how our brain behaves in different scenarios? What better way to collect data?”
Kai was starting to feel dizzy.
“Here’s another for you. Why does Daisy offer the possibility of exile? Why is there an interest in erasing memories with someone’s consent? Does she need to test first on people who don’t offer resistance before she can learn to wipe our minds clean forcefully?”
“Those are just conjectures!” accused Sophie. “Daisy’s cyborgs allow us to live a carefree life. They clean and maintain the place.”
“Is it really? Dusting is not part of her programming!” countered Seth. “This brings me to the second reason she uses cybermonkeys: acclimatization.”
“Ridiculous,” snorted Trudy.
Seth turned to Ariel and Kai with passion burning in his eyes. “She wants us to get used to the sight of her controlling living creatures. Maybe it will make it easier for her to control our minds when the time comes. She is already working on lowering our defenses so that it’s easier for her to take over. How many times have you taken a good look at the cybermonkeys around you, kids? How often have you thought about how they have no will of their own? How they have been stripped of the right to live their lives and follow their instincts.”
Kai looked around him and spotted a distant cybermonkey sweeping the floor.
“One last question for all of us to think about. How do we know she isn’t controlling our minds already? How can we be sure we aren’t already working for her while, in our heads, we’re living in this world? How?”
Kai exchanged a look with Ariel, and he could see horror in her eyes. Could Seth really be right?
*
Captain’s Safe
Requirements: [Loot]; [Treasure]; [Pirate Captain]
Description: Open [Loot] cards immediately upon obtaining them.
Cost: 75uc
Pirate’s Den
Requirements: [Pirate Captain]
When a pirate’s hp reaches zero, they go into the den.
Cost: 150uc
Treasure Island II
Requirements: [Treasure]
Description: Generate randomly a [Loot] or [Treasure] card every turn.
Cost: 150uc
Kai currently had 332 victory points and 232 upgrade coins. Even if he hadn’t spent 100 upgrade coins purchasing the [Funfair] upgrade, he would still be 40 coins short of buying all these three new upgrades. Of course, that could be easily fixed if he spent more time crafting.
The first thing that stood out to Kai was how [Treasure Island II] made its weaker version obsolete. He would feed [Treasure Island I] to the Atlantian treasure chest, hoping for a better roll. This upgrade also led him to believe that [Loot] and [Treasure] were similar since they were both awarded by the same card generator.
The next thing that stood out to him was [Pirate’s Den]. The ability to keep all his pirate cards safe was incredible! If he understood it correctly, [Pirate’s Den] prevented pirates from being obliterated at the end of the round. Just in pirate cards alone, he currently had almost 50 points! Buying this upgrade was almost the same as obtaining a mythic card.
However, the most meaningful upgrade to him right now was the cheapest. He wanted to see what [Loot] did, and [Captain’s Safe] might just be how he could do it. This would help him decide whether to invest more resources into getting more [Loot] cards, or not.
Was it a good investment, though? He was comfortably ahead of his opponent. His opponent hadn’t reached the 300 mark, while Kai still had plenty of cards to craft. He would still discover what [Loot] did after this round if he waited a few moments. Why waste upgrade coins on something that might not prove worth it when there were other upgrades he’d rather buy?
If [Loot] was worth something, he could still get more in the next round. He would surely buy [Pirate’s Den], so he would always have many pirate cards from now on. He also had plenty of giraffe technicians to fix the ship. In the end, Kai held off on buying any upgrades for now. Just before the round would end, unless something better came up, he’d purchase [Pirate’s Den] to have those extra victory points in the next rounds.
Kai left the console, walked over to the table again, gathered all pirate cards into a neat pile, and left them aside. He still had plenty of time and many recipes to try.
He picked up the two [Child] cards he’d captured at the end of the last round. He had thought it would be such a good investment; however, he hadn’t taken the time to go around the fair photographing emotions. Should he use [Strength] and [Accuracy] on [Child]?
He put both [Child] cards aside and grabbed their upgraded version.
Illuminating Adult (Legendary)
A human who has been forged in the fires of wisdom and love.
Hp: 1
Vp: 20
[Illuminating Adult] was originally a [Child] card. However, it still hadn’t reached its maximum potential, stuck at a legendary grade. Maybe, instead of starting from scratch and using [Strength] and [Accuracy] on [Child], he could just invest it in [Illuminating Adult] instead.
He would make a copy before running experiments on it. Instead of using up two legendary cards as fodder, Kai used the [Mirror] card. Kai was confident that [Mirror] was the secret to making him rich in upgrade coins and ensuring he won this and the next rounds.
Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Strength] and [Accuracy] for [Mirror].
Trading the spent trait cards that offered zero victory points for [Mirror] was a no-brainer.
Seeing that [Illuminating Adult] only had one hp, Kai frowned. He wanted to heal it a little before copying it. However, he only had one last [Cotton Candy]. He’d learned his lesson from the last round: he should always keep a healing card in the bank.
As he looked for cards to use as fodder to copy [Cotton Candy], he found he was running low on uncommon cards. He just had to take a slight detour before doing more experiments. Pulling up his sleeves, he got crafting.
[Giraffe] + [Hammer]
Giraffe | Hp: 4→3
Hammer | Hp: 2→1
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Giraffe Technician].
[Giraffe] + [Hammer]
Giraffe | Hp: 3→2
Hammer | Hp: 1→0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Giraffe Technician].
With this, he had one spent [Hammer], which offered no victory points and could be used as fodder. Kai kept going, looking for a second sacrificial card.
[Giraffe] + [Flint Axe]
Giraffe | Hp: 2→1
Flint Axe | Hp: 1→0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Giraffe Lumberjack].
Giraffe Lumberjack (Rare)
A giraffe that can chop trees.
Hp: 3
Vp: 2
[Flint Axe] was spent but still granted three victory points. If he could help it, he’d rather not use it now. He chopped the [Acacia Tree] instead.
[Giraffe Lumberjack] + [Acacia Tree]
Giraffe | Hp: 3→2
Acacia Tree | Hp: 3→2
You’ve crafted [Acacia Leaf].
You’ve crafted [Acacia Branch].
[Giraffe Lumberjack] + [Acacia Tree]
Giraffe | Hp: 2→1
Acacia Tree | Hp: 2→1
You’ve crafted [Acacia Trunk].
[Giraffe Lumberjack] + [Acacia Tree]
Giraffe | Hp: 1→0
Acacia Tree | Hp: 1→0
You’ve crafted [Acacia Branch].
You’ve crafted [Thorn].
He used one of the [Acacia Branch] cards, which offered zero victory points, and copied [Cotton Candy]. He would have captured a few more healing cards if he had known he would be using them so much.
Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Hammer] and [Acacia Branch] for [Cotton Candy].
[Illuminating Adult] + [Cotton Candy]
Illuminating Adult | Hp: 1→4
Cotton Candy | Hp: 4→0
Crafting failed.
Now that [Illuminating Adult] had a more respectable hp, Kai felt better about copying it.
[Illuminating Adult] + [Mirror]
Illuminating Adult | Hp: 4→3
Mirror | Hp: 4→3
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Illuminating Adult].
Kai felt as if he were cheating! He had enough hp in [Mirror] cards to make several more [Illuminating Adults] if he wished. Before he did that, though, he needed to see how much more powerful [Illuminating Adult] could become.
He grabbed [Strength]. It had lost one hp after he’d fed it to [Pirate Basher], but there was still more than enough juice in it to empower [Illuminating Adult]. Kai took a deep breath and deposited one of the [Illuminating Adult] cards on the table. The table hummed to life, shining brilliantly due to the card’s high grade. He placed [Strength] next to it, and the table burst into light, blinding Kai momentarily.
After his vision returned, a new card was sitting on the table.
[Illuminating Adult] + [Strength]
Illuminating Adult | Hp: 3→2
Strength | Hp: 6→0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Illuminator].
Illuminator (Mythic)
A hero who fights injustice, dazzling the world of crime.
Hp: 2
Vp: 25
This card also works as an upgrade. You’ve unlocked [Super Trooper].
Another mythic card! Kai couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of [Illuminating Adult], who had become muscled and now wore spanks and a light bulb symbol on his uniform. He had to say that this was his favorite round so far. He was playing around with pirates, treasure, and super-heroes. This was any boy’s dream. He wondered whether Ariel would be playing around with princesses and queens instead had she been here.
He wondered what the new upgrade did. Seeing that the crafting table hadn’t changed, he guessed it would be related to the snapping stage.
Since the uniform came with a light bulb, Kai couldn’t help but think of his [Light] card. They both had infinite hp. It was a combination that couldn’t go wrong. Just in case something came out of this, he copied [Light] first. He wanted to keep a copy because of its synergy with shadow cards.
[Light] + [Mirror]
Light | ∞→∞
Mirror | 3→2
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Light].
[The Illuminator] + [Light]
Perfect merge! You’ve crafted [Super Illuminator].
Super Illuminator (Mythic)
A superhero who fights evil, dazzling the world of crime.
Hp: ∞
Vp: 40 (Max)
Seeing how [Iluminator] and [Light] had both disappeared to give birth to this new card, he wiped his brow. It's a good thing he had made copies! His conclusions about how ‘perfect merge’ worked were proven wrong. Both ingredients did not have the same stats, yet he had triggered it. Maybe ‘perfect merge’ only meant that both ingredient cards disappeared to generate the new card.
He studied the illustration on his new mythic card. It was very similar to that of [Illuminator], but now the muscled man in costume also had a cape and was hovering in mid-air. Anyhow, it was time to make a mythic card assembly line! Building on his experience, he didn’t forget to copy [Accuracy] first.
[Accuracy] + [Mirror]
Accuracy | Hp: 6→5
Mirror | Hp: 2→1
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Accuracy].
Now that he had a failsafe, he tried recreating the recipe that had generated a mythic card.
[Accuracy] + [Illuminating Adult]
Illuminating Adult | Hp: 2→1
Accuracy | Hp: 5→0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [The Illuminator].
He had expected him to receive a different hero, but he was stuck with [The Illuminator]. Not wanting to lose his [Light] card, Kai copied it again.
[Light] + [Mirror]
Light | ∞→∞
Mirror | 1→0
To continue, he had to make a fresh copy of [Mirror].
Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Mirror] and [Accuracy] for [Mirror].
He lost a few victory points from the [Mirror] card, but he didn’t care. He stood to gain much, much more.
[Iluminator] + [Mirror]
Iluminator | Hp: 3→2
Mirror | 4→3
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [The Illuminator].
[Illuminator] + [Light]
Illuminator | Hp: 2→1
Light | ∞→∞
Crafting failed!
“What?!” yelped Kai. “Why did it fail?” The recipe was the same! It should have worked. “Unless…” Unless Daisy only allowed players to have only one of each mythic card. Daisy had made mythic cards like shadow cards. They were unique! To test his theory, he tried to copy [Iluminator].
[Iluminator] + [Mirror]
Iluminator | Hp: 1→0
Mirror | 3→2
Crafting failed.
He could only have one of each mythic card! Kai had hoped he could create several [Illuminator] mythic cards, but it looked like Daisy wouldn’t allow it. Setting up an assembly line of legendary cards was the limit. Being able to copy [Illuminating Adult] several times wasn't a bad deal, though. Each card provided 20 victory points. That was good enough for him.
At the same time, if [Mirror] was a requirement to get to other mythic cards, investing in only one type of card might not be the best result. Each mythic card came with an upgrade. Was there another mythic card he could get to here?
He looked at all his legendary cards, and his eyes landed on [Pirate Captain]. Could he help it transcend into mythic grade?
