i am reposting this because people couldn't behave themselves on the original one. this is a benevolent dictatorship and if you can't behave yourselves here i'll shut off reblogs again. thank you.
the thing i think a lot of people have trouble understanding is that "ai" as we know it isn't a circuitboard or a computer part or an invention - it's a discovery, like calculus or chemistry. the genie *can't* be re-corked because it'd be like trying to "cork" the concept of, say, trigonometry. you can't "un-invent" it.
even if you managed to somehow completely outlaw the performance of the kinds of linear algebra required for ML, and outlawed the data collection necessary, and sure, managed to get style copyrighted, you can't un-discover the underlying mathematical facts. people will just do it in mexico instead. it'd be like trying to outlaw guns by trying to get people to forget that you can ignite a mixture of powders in a small metal barrel to propel things very fast. or trying to outlaw fire by threatening to take away everyone's sticks.
the battleground is already here. technofascists and bad actors without your ethical constraints are drawing the lines and flooding the zone with propaganda & slop, and you’re wasting time insisting to your enemies that it’s unfair you’re being asked to fight with guns when you’d rather use sticks.
as a wise sock puppet once said; "this isn't about you. so either get with it, or get out of the fucking way"
-----
Attempts to prohibit AI "training" misunderstand what is being prohibited. To ban the development of AI models is, in effect, to ban the performance of linear algebra on large datasets. It is to outlaw a way of knowing. This is not regulation - it is epistemological reactionary-ism. reactionism? whatever
Even if prohibition were successful in one nation-state:
Corporations would relocate to jurisdictions with looser controls - China, UAE, Japan, Singapore, etc.
APIs would remain accessible, just more expensive and less accountable. What, are you gonna start blocking VPNs from connecting to any country with AI allowed? Good luck.
Research would continue outside the oversight of the very publics most concerned about ethical constraints.
This isn’t speculation. This is exactly what happened with stem cells in the early 2000s. When the U.S. government restricted federal funding, stem cell research didn’t vanish, it just moved and then kept happening until people stopped caring.
The fantasy that a domestic ban could meaningfully halt or reverse the development of a globally distributed method is a fantasy of epistemic sovereignty - the idea that knowledge can be territorially contained and that the moral preferences of one polity can shape the world through sheer force of will.
But the only way such containment could succeed would be through:
Total international consensus (YEAH RIGHT), and
Total enforcement across all borders, black markets, and academic institutions, at the barrel of a gun - otherwise, what is backing up your enforcement? Promises and friendly handshakes?
This is not internationalism. It is imperialist utopianism. And like most utopian projects built on coercion, it will fail - at the cost of handing control to precisely the actors most willing to exploit it.
Liberal moralism often derides socialist or communist futures as "unrealistic.", as you can see in the absurd, hyperbolically, pants-shittingly mad reaction to Alex Avila's video. Yet the belief that machine learning can be outlawed globally - a method of performing mathematics that is already published, archived, and disseminated across open academic networks the globe over - is far more implausible. literally how do you plan on doing that? enforcing it?
The choice is not between AI and no AI. The choice is between AI in the service of capital, extraction, and domination, or AI developed under conditions of public ownership, democratic control, and epistemic openness. You get to pick.
The genie and the bottle are not even in the same planet. The bottle's gone, Will.
Detected in 2021, the Amaterasu particle ranks among the most energetic cosmic rays ever observed, carrying an estimated 244 exa-electronvolts. Its apparent arrival from a nearly empty region of space left astronomers perplexed. A new statistical analysis now points instead toward a nearby star-forming galaxy. Recorded in May 2021 by Utah’s Telescope Array Project, the Amaterasu particle delivered an energy roughly 40 million times greater than that generated at the Large Hadron Collider. According to the detection team, its incoming direction aligns with the Local Void, a largely empty stretch of space near the Local Group, raising fresh questions about where such ultra-energetic particles are born. An Extreme Detection From An Unlikely Direction As stated in an EurekAlert report, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays are exceedingly rare and are believed to originate in some of the most energetic environments in the universe. When Amaterasu entered Earth’s atmosphere, TAP recorded an estimated energy of 244 EeV, placing it just below the highest-energy cosmic ray ever observed. At the time, scientists could not determine whether the particle was a proton, a light nucleus, or a heavier nucleus such as iron. According to the Telescope Array Project’s reported findings, its trajectory seemed to point back to the Local Void, a sparsely populated region with few candidate sources capable of accelerating matter to such energies. That apparent mismatch quickly turned the event into a puzzle. Simulating Particle Motion Reconstructing the origin of a charged cosmic ray is complicated by magnetic fields that bend its path across intergalactic and galactic space. Even small deflections can obscure the true source. According to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal addressed this challenge using physics-based simulations combined with Approximate Bayesian Computation, a modern statistical method. Their approach generated three-dimensional maps of cosmic-ray propagation and their interactions with magnetic fields in the Milky Way. The researchers noted that reconstructing the energy of such particles is already difficult, which makes statistical source identification particularly demanding. By integrating simulations with observational constraints, they sought to evaluate a wider range of possible origins rather than rely solely on the initial directional estimate. An ultra-high-energy cosmic ray slams into Earth, triggering a cascade of particles across a vast detector array. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University/L-INSIGHT, Kyoto University/Ryuunosuke Takeshige A Nearby Galaxy Emerges As a Candidate The analysis suggests that Amaterasu’s source may not be confined to the Local Void. Instead, it could lie within a broader nearby cosmic environment. One candidate identified in the study is M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, located about 12 million light-years from Earth. According to Nadine Bourriche from the Max Planck Institute for Physics, the results indicate that the particle is more likely to have been produced in a nearby star-forming galaxy such as M82 than in a low-density region of space. The study presents a framework that connects simulations and observations more closely. As Francesca Capel, who leads the Astrophysical Messengers group at MPP, explained in the study, exploring these particles helps scientists understand how the universe accelerates matter to such extreme energies and identify environments where matter can be studied under those conditions. “Our goal is to develop advanced statistical analysis methods to exploit the available data to its full potential and gain a deeper understanding of the possible sources of these energetic particles,” she said. This Hubble image of M82 merges observations across multiple wavelengths. Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to our free newsletter for engaging stories, exclusive content, and the latest news.
Detected in 2021, the Amaterasu particle ranks among the most energetic cosmic rays ever observed, carrying an estimated 244 exa-electronvolts. Its apparent arrival from a nearly empty region of space left astronomers perplexed. A new statistical analysis now points instead toward a nearby star-forming galaxy. Recorded in May 2021 by Utah’s Telescope Array Project, the Amaterasu particle delivered an energy roughly 40 million times greater than that generated at the Large Hadron Collider. According to the detection team, its incoming direction aligns with the Local Void, a largely empty stretch of space near the Local Group, raising fresh questions about where such ultra-energetic particles are born. An Extreme Detection From An Unlikely Direction As stated in an EurekAlert report, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays are exceedingly rare and are believed to originate in some of the most energetic environments in the universe. When Amaterasu entered Earth’s atmosphere, TAP recorded an estimated energy of 244 EeV, placing it just below the highest-energy cosmic ray ever observed. At the time, scientists could not determine whether the particle was a proton, a light nucleus, or a heavier nucleus such as iron. According to the Telescope Array Project’s reported findings, its trajectory seemed to point back to the Local Void, a sparsely populated region with few candidate sources capable of accelerating matter to such energies. That apparent mismatch quickly turned the event into a puzzle. Simulating Particle Motion Reconstructing the origin of a charged cosmic ray is complicated by magnetic fields that bend its path across intergalactic and galactic space. Even small deflections can obscure the true source. According to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal addressed this challenge using physics-based simulations combined with Approximate Bayesian Computation, a modern statistical method. Their approach generated three-dimensional maps of cosmic-ray propagation and their interactions with magnetic fields in the Milky Way. The researchers noted that reconstructing the energy of such particles is already difficult, which makes statistical source identification particularly demanding. By integrating simulations with observational constraints, they sought to evaluate a wider range of possible origins rather than rely solely on the initial directional estimate. An ultra-high-energy cosmic ray slams into Earth, triggering a cascade of particles across a vast detector array. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University/L-INSIGHT, Kyoto University/Ryuunosuke Takeshige A Nearby Galaxy Emerges As a Candidate The analysis suggests that Amaterasu’s source may not be confined to the Local Void. Instead, it could lie within a broader nearby cosmic environment. One candidate identified in the study is M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, located about 12 million light-years from Earth. According to Nadine Bourriche from the Max Planck Institute for Physics, the results indicate that the particle is more likely to have been produced in a nearby star-forming galaxy such as M82 than in a low-density region of space. The study presents a framework that connects simulations and observations more closely. As Francesca Capel, who leads the Astrophysical Messengers group at MPP, explained in the study, exploring these particles helps scientists understand how the universe accelerates matter to such extreme energies and identify environments where matter can be studied under those conditions. “Our goal is to develop advanced statistical analysis methods to exploit the available data to its full potential and gain a deeper understanding of the possible sources of these energetic particles,” she said. This Hubble image of M82 merges observations across multiple wavelengths. Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to our free newsletter for engaging stories, exclusive content, and the latest news.
Simulations reveal surprising electron temperatures near M87 black hole's event horizon
The first black hole images stunned the world in 2019, with headlines announcing evidence of a glowing doughnut-shaped object from the center of galaxy Messier 87 (M87 —55 million light years from Earth. Supercomputer simulations are now helping scientists sharpen their understanding about the environment beyond a black hole's 'shadow,' material just outside its event horizon.
"Ever since we made that first black hole image, there's been a lot of work trying to understand the environment just around the black hole," said Andrew Chael, an associate research scholar at Princeton University and a fellow of the Princeton Gravity Initiative.
Chael is part of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (EHT), which connects telescopes from around the world to form a mega-telescope roughly the size of Earth. The EHT uses a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry, a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy that compares telescope signals to stitch together images that resolve the M87 black hole.
Shown in the black hole image is light from hot electrons that spiral around surrounding magnetic field lines and produce synchrotron radiation.
"We want to understand the nature of the particles of this plasma that the black hole is eating, and the details of the magnetic fields commingled with the plasma that in M87 launches huge, luminous jets of subatomic particles," Chael said.
Like a beacon, the jets signal the possible presence of a black hole in center of the M87 galaxy as it spews particles thousands of light years from the source.
Using supercomputers to simulate black hole plasma, magnetism, and gravity
Across the globe, scientists are harnessing the power of supercomputers to unravel one of the universe's most extreme environments: the space around black holes.
Chael's research group is among those using advanced simulations to model the dynamic interplay between high-energy plasma, powerful magnetic fields, and the overwhelming pull of gravity near these cosmic giants. These forces do not act in isolation—they interact in complex, feedback-driven ways that allow black holes to consume surrounding matter, launch jets across vast distances, and emit the glowing radiation captured by the Event Horizon Telescope.
Chael's recent advancements in his simulation techniques are reported in his study published February 2025 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. They go beyond typical simulations that treat the electrically charged particles of protons and electrons in the plasma surrounding the black hole like a single fluid.
"This paper is a first attempt of using a more advanced, more computationally expensive technique to directly model these separate particle species of electrons and protons to try to understand how they interact, and in particular, what the relative temperature of the two is," he explained.
The relative temperature between the electrons and protons determines the brightness and other properties of the black hole image.
"What we found through simulations is the temperature of the electrons is much higher than is typically thought to be the case in M87. We're not able to reproduce the low polarization, which is one of the main constraints in understanding what the temperature of the plasma is around the black hole," Chael said.
The results highlight a fundamental tension between current models of electron heating in plasma physics and the observational constraints provided by the EHT.
"It seems like the black hole in M87 has electrons that are about 100 times cooler than the protons. This is an interesting direction to proceed," Chael said.
Chael completed his black hole simulations on the Stampede2 and later the Stampede3 supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), with allocations awarded by the National Science Foundation(NSF)-funded Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program.
"I've been using XSEDE, and now ACCESS resources at TACC since graduate school," said Chael. "It's been the primary academic supercomputing center that I've run simulations for my research. These systems were both extremely easy to use with my code," Chael said.
A series of 11 general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations (GRMHDS) that cover a range of different black hole spins were completed on Stampede2 and Stampede3 for this study. Breaking that down, 'general relativistic' accounts for the strong gravity of the black hole spacetime. 'Magnetohydrodynamic' takes a fluid dynamics approach to the magnetic fields of the black hole.
More research ahead
There are several years of EHT data that hasn't yet been imaged, and it hopes to make a movie that tracks its evolution over time.
In January 2025, Chael and his EHT collaborators published a study comparing the M87 black hole image captured by the EHT to a wide range of simulations. To support this work, he received computing allocations from ACCESS on the Stampede2 and Jetstream supercomputers, and he conducted simulations on the NSF-funded Frontera system at TACC.
High-resolution simulations revealed that while the black hole's shadow remains remarkably consistent in size and general structure from year to year, it is far from static. Also, the brightest spot on the ring shifts over time, driven by turbulent mixing and dynamic flows of plasma near the event horizon. As different regions of gas heat up or cool down due to these chaotic processes, the black hole's appearance subtly but measurably evolves.
"Black holes are extremely complicated environments," Chael said. "The best available tools we have are supercomputing simulations. It's amazing that we've been able to build these computers and codes that allow us to create accurate models of what's going on in such a strange and complicated relationship. Simulations give us confidence that we are accounting for all these effects, which are all interacting in complicated and sometimes unpredictable ways."
TOP IMAGE: Supercomputer simulations are helping scientists sharpen their understanding about the environment beyond a black hole's 'shadow,' material just outside its event horizon. Credit: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2025). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staf200
LOWER IMAGE: The Stampede3 supercomputer at TACC is an NSF-funded ACCESS-allocated national strategic resource used by thousands of scientists. Credit: TACC
Quantum Computing: The Next Revolution in Technology
What if the computer of the future could help alleviate some of the problems facing us today in seconds? It would take a traditional computer millions of years. That is what quantum computing promises to deliver: a revolution that can revolutionize all the sectors it comes into contact with. From science and medicine to finance and cybersecurity, quantum computing is spearheading the next technology revolution.
This article explores the fundamentals, current progress, and real-world applications of this innovation. We’ll uncover how it’s changing the rules of computation and setting the stage for a faster, smarter, and more efficient future.
Understanding Quantum Computing
Scientists have rebranded how computers calculate information by producing qubits, unbound by the binary constraints of traditional bits. Unlike traditional bits, which are 0 or 1, qubits can appear everywhere in a quantum superposition due to superposition and entanglement. This allows machines to solve several calculations at once, not one after the other, significantly heightening their ability to solve certain problems.
By superposition, the engineers enable a qubit to hold more than one state. By entanglement, they connect qubits in a way that a manipulation of one immediately affects the rest no matter where they are physically located. These operations permit quantum computing-based systems to be superior to classical systems in cryptography, molecular modeling, and optimization of data. As researchers improve the stability of qubits and system precision, they are bringing us closer to a solution deemed intractable.
The Evolution of Quantum Computing
Back in the early 1980s, physicists such as Richard Feynman talked about using quantum mechanics for computing. It took scientists several decades to work on the idea, but the technology was not ready yet to make it a reality. During the 21st century, scientists and engineers started surmounting such challenges by improving quantum hardware, sophisticated algorithms, and superior error correction methods.
In the past two years, companies such as IBM, Google, Intel, Rigetti and IonQ have invested a lot in creating reliable and large quantum machines. In 2019, Google achieved quantum supremacy when its machine solved an exact problem in just three minutes, while the fastest standard computer would have taken many days to do this.
Today, this rivalry continues intensifying with groups pushing the limits of innovation. What they do lays the foundation for a future when quantum computing upends areas such as cryptography, optimization, and materials science.
Quantum Computers in Practice
Quantum computers are starting to surpass themselves in real, applied applications in numerous sectors. In medicine, they are utilized by researchers to model and simulate intricate molecular interactions, which accelerate the discovery of new drugs and decrease costs of development. Crunching computations, slowing down traditional machines, quantum computers enable scientists to simulate compounds virtually before proceeding to actual experiments.
Logistics engineers use quantum-inspired techniques to tackle routing optimization, inventory optimization, and supply chain optimization. These systems are efficient at solving complex combinatorial problems at unparalleled speeds, enabling firms to save time and money.
Quantum algorithms are employed by financial companies to better model risk scenarios and identify fraud more appropriately. These innovations assist decision-making and possess a greater security feature.
Data scientists also incorporate quantum systems in machine learning pipelines, which reduces the time to train large models. Meteorologists look forward to more accurate weather predictions by more accurately modeling atmospheric systems. Cryptography and materials science advances also continue.
With quantum computing continuing to advance at a tremendous pace, its application is beginning to leave theory behind and head towards transformational uses. With more organizations turning to technology, quantum computers will help solve some of the globe’s most complicated and most critical challenges.
Quantum Algorithms: Solving the Unsolvable
Quantum algorithms propel the transformative potential of computation to be. Computer scientists and mathematicians created the algorithms to bypass challenges that in essence are insurmountable for traditional systems. Shor’s algorithm, for instance, breaks large numbers exponentially more quickly than any standard process — a development that threatens modern-day encryption standards. Security professionals everywhere now reassess cryptography systems in preparation for such disruptive capacity.
Grover’s algorithm optimizes searching by greatly decreasing the amount of time needed to find a particular item within unordered databases. Rather than going through each entry individually, Grover’s algorithm enables users to learn outcomes with considerably fewer steps, providing a quadratic speedup.
In contrast to conventional algorithms that simulate existing computing paradigms, quantum algorithms rework problem-solving solutions altogether. They function on new foundations of principles, using entanglement and superposition to produce outcomes that are outside classical bounds. Designers must now work on creating new logic and architecture that leverages this style of computing.
Instead of just extending the capacity to compute, quantum computing…
Anyways. I have a general idea on how every part of the FNaF (and subsequent related media) animatronics work. The one thing that tends to be a reach in my brain is ANIMATRONICS WALKING.
so here’s my theory/redesign on how this works!!!
(warning, this is a brain dump i wrote at midnight, so it may not be fully coherent! additionally, im not a mechanic nor do i have any mechanic/engineering experience. i just likea da robot)
i find the walking a bit hard to make realistic. around the 1980’s larger animatronics weren’t walking at all, and we’re only recently starting to make good walking robots. historically animatronics have been held in place via stands… so.
with walking, there are a lot of things to be considered. technology constraints, movement systems, balance, etc etc.
for technology constraints and movement systems, we have to look at how animatronics of this time typically function. they are powered by hydraulics (bursts of air), which requires gas and gas canisters. the mechanics of the hydraulics are connected to a computer, which up until recently (when chuck e cheese got rid of EVERY SINGLE ANIMATRONIC 😐) used pre-programmed floppy disks to run their movement.
a walking animatronic (powered by hydraulics, which is a technology constraint of the time) would need all of this to be INTERNAL. so along with all the other internal stuff like the endoskeleton, support layer (typical for more period accurate animatronics), hydraulics, you’re also adding a COMPUTER and a GAS CANISTER. this would, of course, make the animatronics quite heavy.
with these constraints in mind, here’s how i think walking would work. first, the animatronic would need to have its weight redistributed. the computer would be in the lower chest near the pelvic region, since computers are Heavy and it needs as much support and room as it can get.* the gas canisters would either just be stored in the legs, or both the arms and legs, though the latter might result in it being more top heavy which is not what we want.
*additionally, animatronics are large, and children (the target audience) are small. if they have an internal sound system, the sound system would likely come from the computer as well, which basically puts the sound at a child’s level, which adds to the benefit of it being lower in the body.
we need the weight evenly distributed so it can properly balance. it would be easy to just give it wheels or have it shuffle without picking up its feet, but we something that can WALK. so. you know what ill just make a diagram of my conclusion
thank you freddy!
now. this may seem like a simple conclusion. but it took a while for my brain to accept it since it had to consider Every Single Other Factor Beforehand. For Example:
1. how the joints work (the knee, pelvis, abdomen, and ankle are sliding joints, i think is what they’re called…)
2. how they know where to move (like how an npc moves in a video game. they have a predetermined path coded into their computers, and stop when an obstacle is in front of them)
3. how they return to an idle position (instead of stopping the walking code entirely, they run a different code which brings them back to an idle stance instead of stopping them mid walk, which could leave them off balance)
4. how the hydraulics work (gas and servos that control gas output)
5. things that i could’ve potentially gotten wrong (step four of the diagram when the opposite leg swings up, weight distribution, how joints work, etc etc cuz im not an engineer or a mechanic)
6. alternate solutions (“why not servos for all movement?” unrealistic for 1980’s animatronics. “why not ball joints?” cuz ball joints ain’t gonna work here. “why don’t they have some of these features in game?” scott didn’t do research on how animatronics work in 2014. “why can’t they just be powered by the ghosts?” they can, this is specifically pre-ghost, since it’s implied in fnaf 1 and 2 they were able to walk before being possessed. id imagine being a ghost would just allow for control of electrical impulses, which would make the computer essentially useless since controlling electrical impulses means controlling the movement. the gas canisters would still need to be refilled though!)
Okay. That’s all. Let me know if you want to see more (there is always more) or you want to critique this or if you have any ideas. Love you!!! Bye!!!
Position Available: Associate Producer, Rickey Smiley Morning Show
Overview:
Syndicated Network targeting the African-American community is seeking an Associate Producer for the Rickey Smiley Morning Show.
Candidate will assist the Executive Producer with managing day to day operations including technical and administrative responsibilities as well as creating informative and entertaining material for on-air broadcast.
Position is based in Dallas, TX.
Primary Responsibilities:
Assists with generating and researching ideas, topics and guest(s) for studio and on- location broadcasts.
Assist with writing material for scripts, show rundowns, call list and/ or interview questions, including timely breaking news or topics.
Contribute to and making use of archives and audio resources which can be used for “Best Of” and / or “Emergency” shows.
Book and pre-interview on-air guests as needed, including appropriate and timely newsmakers.
Maintain compliance with local, state and federal (FCC) rules and regulations.
Ensure all technical connections are secured and functional prior to broadcast.
Maintain online guest booking calendar as needed.
Produce content for various outside correspondents, talent/programming segments, rejoins, demos, etc.
Coordinate and brainstorms creative ideas with Executive Producer, show host, staff and programming management as directed.
Coordinate talent studio/broadcast needs when broadcasting from offsite location.
Produce and script daily promo.
Refresh/Create new imaging and drops on a consistent basis.
Verify and sign studio traffic logs per REACH Media Policy, as needed.
Post program content to Program’s various Social Media platforms as directed.
Co-ordinate with Executive Producer/Program Director on a weekly planning calendar for show to include, but not limited to, booking guests, promotions, campaigns, interactive, programming content, and other characteristics of Talent’s Show.
Provide back-up services including board operations, phone screener and/or production responsibilities for Reach Media syndicated programming as directed.
Step in as backup when the Executive Producer is not available.
Perform various other tasks as assigned by management.
Requirements:
Extremely organized and able to effectively prioritize tasks while being attentive to details.
Excellent communication & interpersonal skills to work in a diverse environment.
Creative problem solving to make spontaneous decisions under time constraints.
High level of creativity and ability to develop show concepts.
Strong knowledge of current FCC rules & regulations.
Strong computer skills including Internet website navigation, competency in Microsoft Office Suite and broadcast related programs.
Proficient with the use and operation of on-air broadcasting equipment and various digital editing software including Pro-Tools and Adobe audition.
Flexibility to adjust work schedule as needed in order to support Reach Media syndicated show(s) demands.
Flexibility to travel as requested.
Experience/Education:
BA/BS college level degree in related field preferred and/or minimum five plus years relevant experience in broadcast radio or related industry experience.
Professional Producer experience required.
Compensation: Competitive hourly rate based on qualifications/experience.
Location: Dallas, TX. No relocation will be provided.
Reports To: Executive Producer, Rickey Smiley Morning Show
Position Availability: As soon as possible
Candidates possessing the required professional experience, who display high energy and want to work in a dynamic and vibrant work environment should submit their resume along with salary requirements and references via email:
Ooo, I would love to see more of Jaskier traveling with Lambert and Adrian that sounds like it would be fun
This is probably a little different to what you had in mind (I think this ask was off the back of the fic where Geralt doesn’t compliment Jaskier and so Lambert threatens to take him away). However, this idea has been bugging me for a good week and you gave me the perfect excuse to write it <3
Another Lifetime
The pogroms were getting worse, anti-Witcher sentiments had never been higher. Somehow, the most dangerous thing on the Path was no longer the monsters and creatures, it was humans. Over the course of a few years, following Nilfgaard's victory, the number of Witchers dwindled, they started seeking each other out and Kaer Morhen, unexpectedly, became a safe haven once more.
Come spring, nobody seemed eager to leave. They were all on edge, waiting for someone else to make a move. Not even Eskel, usually so dedicated to his role in the world, made a move to get back on the Path. Vesemir wasn't urging them either which was perhaps an even more damning piece of evidence.
"We can't just keep hiding up here," Lambert raged. "The fuckers are only going to come again."
It was the sad truth, the world wasn't safe for Witchers, not even when they retreated from the world to try and carve out their own little corner to exist in. They were running out of options, it was no longer a question of enjoying life, it was a fight for survival and the right to live.
"There may be a solution," Yennefer offered. It wasn't an option she gave lightly or even wanted to try but it was looking like the only possible way out. "The world isn't equipped to deal with Witchers. So we take you out the equation. Leave it maybe 200 years before you come back."
Time travel wasn't a possibility, they all knew that and Lambert was about to scoff when Jaskier piped up.
"That kind of magic hasn't been done in a long time. What you propose, you'll need Fae help with it."
"Just as well your heritage is enough."
The plan was hatched, it if could be called a plan. A sleeping draught to keep the Witchers in stasis until the world was ready for them again, Witchers nothing but a myth of the past and they would be free to live as they pleased. Given his Fae blood, Jaskier wouldn't need to be put to sleep, he, Yennefer and a few other sorceresses would become the sleeping Witcher's guardians. They put word out, the last few stragglers arrived at Kaer Morhen. There weren't many of them left, the four Wolves, a handful of Vipers led by Letho, a few Cats and the last Griffin. Plus Ciri who was seen to be as good as a Witcher by most, and Cahir who left Nilfgaard, risking his life for love.
Potion brewed, one last night together in the halls of Kaer Morhen before it became silent again, the guardian of sleeping Witchers and friends. One by one they drank the potion, snuggled up with their loved ones and trusted the promise that they'd wake to a better world. That the sorceresses could shape the future in a way that there was a place in the world for them.
First to wake was Lambert. It took a little while to rouse, and when he did, he frowned. The room wasn't in Kaer Morhen, he wasn't in the embrace of his lovers. Stumbling out, he found himself in a little cottage in the middle of some woods. There was not a soul in the area for miles. It took him a few days of trekking until he got to the edge of civilisation and what a sight that was. Houses like he'd never seen before, lights without fires, carriages without horses. It was bewildering, terrifying. And he was all alone. People gave him a wide berth when he tried to ask where he was, nobody seemed to care but also didn't want to help. So maybe not so much had changed in the 200 years or however long it was.
Music caught his attention. It wasn't like any he'd heard before but the voice was familiar. It was Jaskier. How he ended up in a small box was beyond Lambert but at least the owner of the tavern took some pity on him and sent him on his way with some knowledge. Jaskier lived somewhere in Redania still and, if Lambert's suspicions were right, he would be in Lettenhove still.
Thankfully he was right. The mansion had changed a lot over the years but it was still just as gaudy as ever. What hadn't changed was the welcome he got, Jaskier throwing himself at Lambert in a hug.
"We lost track of you. Welcome home!"
It turned out, Kaer Morhen was going to be destroyed. The locals had had enough of being so close to Witchers and had planned to raid it. Thankfully Triss had caught wind of it before it could happen and the sorceresses had decided that the safest thing would be to disperse and hide their sleeping charges. Except, 200 years was a long time and, after so many moves and helpers taking on the role of guardians, they accidentally lost track of who was where.
On the plus side, they were all in positions of power. Not forefront public figures but the important ones in the background who actually made things happen. Yennefer had quite the hold on the local political landscape, Triss was the one who held sway over education, Tissaia had the criminal underworld in a tight grip while Sabrina made a move into law making. It was quite the tidy setup because Lambert found himself with all the right paperwork and even qualifications within a matter of days to start his new life. Except, he didn't want a new life, not without his family. So he pestered Jaskier to write songs that, if heard, would lead the others back home too. Something about roads taking someone home to the place they belonged. Anything to get the family back together.
Aiden was next, still yawning as he stumbled in, having only been on the other side of town, in a badly sealed off cellar. He'd quiet terrified the family who lived there, knocking down their wall and strolling out while looking like some re-enactment enthusiast or general all round odd person. His reunion with Lambert was somewhat bittersweet, the two of them were together but they were still missing half of their partners. Eskel and Cahir were nowhere in reach.
One by one, over the course of the next ten years, Witchers returned home. They were all given the same warm welcome and helped to settle into life. Geralt and Jaskier were inseparable, married as soon as they could organise a wedding. Letho and his merry gang dispersed into the wind as soon as they could, eager to live a life without constraint. Rumour had it, Letho became Tissaia's righthand man and excelled at the job.
With Eskel's return, Lambert's heart healed a little more. All the Witchers turned up. About a hundred years later Ciri arrived too. Only Cahir was missing. They searched for him to no avail. Their hopes and memories dwindled. In a way, Lambert was glad he was struggling to remember his partner's scent, it made waking up without it in their bed just a little easier.
Technology moved on, the Continent was becoming better connected. While Aiden took to it better than duck to water, Lambert found himself preferring to stick to more manual work. His little mechanics shop had become quite the trusted hub. Eskel helped out from time to time but he ended up running some kind of website for cryptid hunters - something about it being part of his research. Of the three of them, Eskel was the one who couldn't give up on Cahir. Ever after hundreds of years, he kept his flame of hope alive.
When Eskel went missing with just a note to say he'll be back, Lambert did panic. It took Aiden pointing out Eskel's website updates to think that maybe things were okay. The only thing Lambert had to hope was that Eskel hadn't dashed out on a fool's errand. The article on the computer was one that could mean anything.
The Slumbering God Stirs
It was a piece about some strange sect that worshipped a sleeping god who would bring either destruction or divine blessings upon waking. And it seemed that he was going to wake up soon, whatever that meant. Lambert didn't want to think about how people assessed when a god was about to wake. In his life, there were no gods, only men who were scared or without purpose, desperate to find meaning to their existence.
Four days later, the familiar sound of Eskel's truck pulling up in front of the house. Lambert and Aiden were falling over themselves, wanting to figure out just what their partner had gone and done. They didn't expect a smug look as Eskel sauntered closer to them.
"I brought you something." He jabbed his fingers towards the truck, where the passenger seat was out of view from where it had been pushed to lie down.
Curious, Lambert and Aiden walked closer, peering in through the window. While Lambert froze at the sight, Aiden squealed, pressing up against the window.
"You found him! You found him!"
The door of the truck was almost ripped off in excitement as Lambert yanked it open, leaning in over the sleeping figure.
"Ciri took a hundred years to wake, she's got Chaos in her. Cahir is just a plain old human. You remember how difficult it was to wake up for us after the potion. It will probably take him a few days."
A pair of sleepy eyes blinked up at Lambert, accompanied by a lazy smile. With shaking hands, he lifted Cahir out of the truck, tucking him close against his chest. Eyes burning, Lambert, looked between his partners.
"He's slept for near 500 years. A few more days won't hurt. But we can give him what we didn't have. He can wake up in the arms of his family, knowing that it's all going to be okay."
Lynn Ann Conway (born January 2, 1938) is an American computer scientist, electrical engineer, inventor, and transgender activist.
Conway is notable for a number of pioneering achievements. She worked at IBM in the 1960s and is credited with the invention of generalized dynamic instruction handling, a key advance used in out-of-order execution, used by most modern computer processors to improve performance. She is also widely-known for the Mead-Conway VLSI chip design revolution in very large scale integrated (VLSI) microchip design. That revolution spread rapidly through the research universities and computing industries during the 1980s, incubating an emerging electronic design automation industry, spawning the modern ‘foundry’ infrastructure for chip design and production, and triggering a rush of impactful high-tech startups in the 80s and 90s.
Conway grew up in White Plains, New York. Conway was shy and experienced gender dysphoria as a child. She became fascinated and engaged by astronomy (building a 6-inch (150 mm) reflector telescope one summer) and did well in math and science in high school. Conway entered MIT in 1955, earning high grades but ultimately leaving in despair after an attempted gender transition in 1957–58 failed due to the medical climate at the time. After working as an electronics technician for several years, Conway resumed education at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science, earning B.S. and M.S.E.E. degrees in 1962 and 1963.
Conway was recruited by IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, New York in 1964, and was soon selected to join the architecture team designing an advanced supercomputer, working alongside John Cocke, Brian Randell, Herbert Schorr, Ed Sussenguth, Fran Allen and other IBM researchers on the Advanced Computing Systems (ACS) project, inventing multiple-issue out-of-order dynamic instruction scheduling while working there. The Computer History Museum has stated that "the ACS machines appears to have been the first superscalar design, a computer architectural paradigm widely exploited in modern high-performance microprocessors.
After learning of the pioneering research of Harry Benjamin in treating transsexual women and realising that gender affirmation surgery was now possible, Conway sought his help and became his patient. After suffering from severe depression from gender dysphoria, Conway contacted Benjamin, who agreed to provide counseling and prescribe hormones. Under Benjamin's care, Conway began her medical gender transition. While struggling with life in a male role, Conway had been married to a woman and had two children. Under the legal constraints then in place, she was denied access to their children after transitioning. Although she had hoped to be allowed to transition on the job, IBM fired Conway in 1968 after she revealed her intention to transition. IBM apologized for this in 2020.
In 1987, Conway met her husband Charles "Charlie" Rogers, a professional engineer who shares her interest in the outdoors, including whitewater canoeing and motocross racing. They soon started living together, and bought a house with 24 acres (9.7 ha) of meadow, marsh, and woodland in rural Michigan in 1994.On August 13, 2002, they were married. In 2014, the University of Michigan's The Michigan Engineer alumni magazine documented the connections between Conway's engineering explorations and the adventures in her personal life.
