Faster than Light

[AIiCE]

"Steepest Durin! Where are you? I want to make something."

[Steepest Durin]

Och, what is it, lass? You know buildin' is I's game.

[Yerkan of Elish]

"Speaking of which, I also have a small request to ask of you." I bring the tiny sslug from the Hamlet of Heroes in its temporary container. "I was hoping I could use the Field Projector in an attempt to reprogram this to our advantage. Being so young, I believe it to be much more impressionable than the others."

[AIiCE]

"I don't know exactly what I want to make, but I know what I want it to do. I can travel freely between here and my facet, but when go back there, I always end up in the same place - back on my ship. Here I can go anywhere I want. I don't need circuitry and sensors to interact with the world.

"I want to be able to do that in <i>my</i> facet. I want to be able to reach any part of it directly from here, and to move around within it like I do here; without a body. I wouldn't have thought that was possible before I came here, but now it seems anything can be accomplished. You people don't pay much attention to the laws of physics, do you?"

[Yerkan of Elish]

"On the contrary, I pay intensive attention to the laws of physics. I record them, analyze them, and attempt to understand them. Now whether I actually follow the laws of physics is another question entirely.

Each Facet has its own set of physics, though sometimes leaks occur in the formation of new worlds. My world shares many physics with Thrash, though there are also a great many differences, especially since Rivenrock was partly engineered by yours truly. There are very few constants between all worlds. I'm sure, however, that you can do some analyses on your world and discover some ways to perhaps free yourself from a single, physical location. One way to do this for an AI is to exist in a world-wide network of some sort. Many gods exist in the very fabric of the ethereal plane of Rivenrock, allowing them access to many physical locations at once. Technological networks that can transmit data at instantaneous speeds are also doable. If those don't exist yet in your universe, well, you could pioneer the invention thereof."

[AIiCE]

I float about excitedly, the spinning circles in my image speeding up.

"Exist in the ethereal plane - that's what I want to do! Then I can use it to transmit data instantaneously and access any software anywhere in the galaxy. The problem is, I don't think we have an ethereal plane. Before you brought me here, I hadn't seen any evidence of any reality beyond the obvious physical one. Some of the humans worship gods, but nobody intelligent takes them seriously.

"I was thinking that I might be able to use this place as an ethereal plane of sorts. If I could just access different parts of my world from here, I think I could make it work."

[Steepest Durin]

I'll need some specs on your ship, Alice. What propulsion system does it have? Is it 100% physics-dependent? Is your Facet classically mechanical? How do you deal with relativity?

Here's what I'm thinkin' - I'll build a network of fiber optic hookups running laterally ta each of th' Deific Realms an' subdivided down ta th' realms of each deity. From there, given permission, th' divine force of each deity powers a micro turbine in th' dendrites of each fiber, keyed ta that Facet. As th' Diamond is more thoroughly mapped, th' network grows ta expand, powered by that same force, allocated as necessary. Th' five dimensional morphology of th' Diamond gives rise ta th' exact configuration of th' network that will prove most efficient.

Now, all that just gives us th' lookup directory capability of th' device in question - th' Deep Relocation Web Hookup Operator? Th' Holistic Eitr Location-Relocation Iterative DEvice?
Anyway, th' HELRIDE models where you wanna go an' then borrows energy from you in th' future where you have been transported ta th' Facet in question, with a boost from th' power of th' Chief Ruler. Th' power of any deity is enough ta repay this loan easily.
http://quantumace-enying.wikispaces.com ... the+Future
Th' energy borrowed is enough ta open a temporary nonreal (an' therefore harmless) portal ta th' Facet in question. Th' deities presence there collapses th' five dimensional waveform, stabilizing into reality, modulated by both deities an' th' force of th' Diamond Pantheon.

Ta return you can just reverse th' sequence. It's safe an' efficient. Nothin' could be faster, cheaper, or more reliable.

Now for th' ethereal plane requirement, there's two options. One is really elegant given your unique nature: Th' HELRIDE system creates a virtual existence space that any quasi-virtual being (no offense meant) could inhabit or populate as somethin' of an ethereal plane.
Th' other option is that we set one up here in th' Immortal Facets somehow - as a brand new permanent Facet (Refractive?), or even just within your own deific realm (you know th' Diamond Master gives us each one of those pro bono, right?)

I'll accept payment in DM Favor or AIiCE Favor. I think others might be able ta find a use for this too, an' maybe it'll pay us back.

Let I know what you think about that an' I'll get buildin'.

[AIiCE]

"This is deliciously complicated. Let me clarify a few things. The purpose of the HELRIDE (and I do enjoy that name) would be to allow any deity in the Pantheon to transport instantaneously to and from any spot in any authorized facet. Correct? This sounds like a lovely system, but I'm not sure how it's any improvement over how things work now. This is mostly because I don't understand how transport works around here. Is the advantage that it would allow deities to control where appear in a facet when they travel?

"I also don't see how the HELRIDE would help me to exist in other worlds. Transporting is only useful if there's something to transport. All of my physical self is in the rubble of a crashed space ship on a planet whose highest technological advancement is pointed sticks. It's no good transporting that around. When I'm here, I'm somehow supported in this avatar state. I can sense things, but I don't know how, and I'm projecting this image, but I don't know how I'm doing that either. I don't even know where my 'self' is right now! Is it here in this avatar, or back on my ship? What would happen to me if my ship was destroyed?

"The philosophy is interesting, but perhaps not the most immediately relevant. I don't know how many worlds can support non-physical avatars like this, but I'm pretty sure mine can't. Maybe what I should be shooting for here isn't transport for myself, but the ability to access existing technology. If I could interface with electronics in other worlds (including my own, of course) it would be almost as good as being there in avatar form - better, even, in many cases. I'd have access to more sensor data, and I could influence how the technology functions. It would be undetectable as long as I didn't make the technology do anything suspicious, and close to unstoppable even if I was noticed! Yes, that's what I want to do. I want to be able to possess electronics in different worlds, while staying somewhere safe myself. Could we do that with the HELRIDE?"

[Great Thrash]

There's no form of electronics as you know it in my world at all! What would you do about that?

[AIiCE]

"That's easy. If a world doesn't have electronics of its own, I can possess a probe or something and send it in through the HELRIDE. Then I can sense and speak in that world. Problem solved."