#overhauled

[texturality]

General Architecture. Summer House, Nannberga, Arboga, Sweden, 2011. Photo by Mikael Olsson

[rose-director]

Overhauled_, part 2

Content warnings:

Identy death

Loss of humanity

Impending death

Mild horror themes

Medical scenarios

hive minds

Description:

Kess now finds themself awake in an unknown place with an hour of air and their "new friend" speaking into their ear.

~ 900 words

Story:

Kess slowly came back into themself, as they took stock of their surroundings. It felt to them almost as though they'd taken a punch to the face, and a wrenching of their stomach fought their will in a battle to surface, but was quashed by the overwhelming desire to keep their helmet clean. They blinked and looked around, now entirely unfamiliar with the surroundings they now found themself within. No longer in the same space as the EVA suits, they now found themself in a small chamber, appearing to Kess be a medical bay. They were seated on what seemed to be an operating table, and sat for a moment as their memories of just a moment ago seeped back.

The safety line! Kess looked around frantically, then began to panic as they saw the safety nowhere in sight. Sure, they had a basic schematic of the wreck pulled up in their HUD, but with a derelect like this the map would be very different when damage and structural shifts were considered. Even if the map had been reliable, there was then the issue of the current room being one of six different unremarkable medical bays on the ship; in conclusion, it would be incredibly difficult to return back to their craft from the wreck. As if to add insult to injury, the oxygen monitor on their suit indicated approximately 1 hour of breathable air remaining before reserves were engaged. So, they were fucked.

Almost immediately after reaching this conclusion, they remembered the reason they'd even woken up in this current predicament at all.

"We were wondering when you'd remember..."

Kess jumped, and swallowed audibly, "W-where are you?"

"We are here." That voice, from before. Really, a multitude of voices; a sea of identities and minds wrapped into a greater voice which now demanded real-estate within their mind.

"Here?" they cried, beginning to shake.

"Yes, imprinted on your mind," The voices were calm and reassuring in tone. Despite this, the shock of mind against mind was too much for Kess. Losing themself in the tremors, their vision blurred as their heart beat faster and faster in the terror of the moment. They were going to die were going to die weregonnadieweregonnadieimdyingimdy ing im dyin-

"Kess. You will be okay," the voices rang, dispelling their anxiety as the words seem to radiate across their entire body, calming and grounding. Slowly, their pulse and breathing slowed.

"What do I have to do?" Kess asked, still somewhat shaken.

"Be as we are."

"Oooookay, and what exactly are you then, if you're not just oxygen-deprived hallucinations?"

"We are the ship."

"Bullshit."

"Our bodies could not survive, but the ship welcoomes all."

"Well, mr ship, I've got about an hour left before I fold. What's my winning hand?"

There was silence, hanging in the airless space for a moment. "Do you wish to join us?"

"I'm out of any other options, aren't I?"

"Then we begin."

Kess found themself startled as the doors to the room closed abruptly around all sides, and servos whirred to life as air circulated in.

"Quickly, we have very little oxygen time. Remove your suit and lay on the table."

They did as instructed, removing the helmet, chestplate, greaves, and boots from their slender form. They set their EVA equipment aside, and rested on the table. Nearly as soon as they'd settled, a small arm telescoped from above. At its hand, the arm had what appeared to be an incredibly powerful scanner, which was now targeted directly at Kess's head. They felt themselves flinch, before the world seemed to bow and shift.

The beam became their entire mind as it connected, interspersed, strung, and consumed their very identity. Ideas, images, footnotes of a past all slipped up and away as their being was tugged, shifted, and engulfed by the beam. Letting this go on, it became more and more clear that whatever energy transfer was ocurring, the beam was a bridge to something beyond their humanity; this was something new. They knew, in this instant, that they could choose. If they rejected this stream into their mind, the beam would be rendered ineffectual and they could simply face an end as a human. If, however, they chose to accept this new connection? That was exciting. It was something new, something different, and something beyond death. Always curious, their choice was made before it had even been recognized. Kess' acceptance rang throughout their entire mind, as the body on the operating table became an empty shell.

This was. Well. Everything. The voices they'd heard now surrounded them in a congress of synchronized and connected mental harmony. Memory of everything here shifted, shared, and recombined, as they lost themself in the sea of newness; yet it was not terrifying, but blissful. What was 'them' had now become a part of the whole, and the whole was within Kess. Within this great derelect, this new being which they'd been given the chance to be part of set their full concentration on the salvage boat sent to assess this hulking hull. No longer hampered by life support, they could return, if they wished. But then, there was no rush. This new state of being deserved further study.

[rose-director]

Overhauled_, part 1

Content Warnings:

space

horror themes

derelict craft

strong language

Description:

A salvage operator enters the hull of a derelict trawler to escape their malfunctioning craft

~ 700 words.

Story:

"Okay sweet, systems online. Anyone hear me?"

The lone craft floated lazily among the detritus of the larger, derelict hull surrounding it. Just a normal salvage op, the teams back home said; risk assessment had given the mission a rubber stamp and all the numbers looked good. All of that bureaucracy was nice and tidy for the suits, but failed to explain to Kess why she was here flying a kite in a shitstorm. Long-range comms had been faulted from the start - it happened every so often, but was fine because they preferred to work without oversight.No, what really pissed them off was the blown fuse on the oxy-feed system that threw life support offline before they'd even arrived at the salvage site. Cursing the shoddy construction of these little corpie death-traps, they waited at their terminal for any kind of response.

Several minutes of silent anticipation, then; "Hey, if anyone's out there, my life support's blown to shit and I've only got a couple hours' O2 here!"

Kess was greeted by more silence.

"Fucking brilliant. The one time I get stranded, the goddamn shitty long-range is out! If anyone can even fucking hear this anymore, I'm getting the hell out of this fucking death can. I'm taking my radio, so feel free to call back any time 'ya like!"

The EVA kit was prepared for a full salvage mission, so Kess had about 5 hours of breath outside of the craft. After that? It was anyone's guess how long the craft would keep things warm and cozy. The oxygen scrubbers were delightfully passive in nature on the ship; the heating systems were most decidedly not. The EVA suit's air was delivered by a proprietary tank, designed to be refilled after-mission and entirely incapable of being refilled on-site. Just one more thing to curse the company for, really. They reminded themself to punch the next smug little corpie they saw firmly in the jaw, and prepped to search the derelict manually.

Radio strapped to their chest, they were birthed from the craft's airlock and moved to enter the shattered hunk of scrap they'd been sent to salvage. They spotted a point of entry on the behemoth, and anchored a guide-line to the external frame. Wrecks were treacherous, and Kess really didn't want to asphyxiate because they couldn't find the way out. They navigated inside, and enabled their suit's work lights. Soon, the looming structure had surrounded them entirely; jutting machinery and vents in what must be the engineering section made the traversal far more difficult than necessary. It was after an hour of slow progress that Kess finally reached an open corridor. Within the stretch of ship they now surveyed, remains of several smashed EVA suits lay cracked and dormant. Must have been a holding area for the things...

But then, hm. There wasn't any sort of support structure nearby. They kept moving, just a bit more wary. Another twenty minutes, and they began to feel a rumble in the hull below their mag-boots. Strange, considering the wreck hadn't registered to have any heat signatures or motion. Maybe the scanners had gone out of alignment or something. The rumbling subsided, then started as a voice rasped over their radio.

"s........st-top....s....t.........p st.......sto....p........"

Though the interference pattern made the message hard to hear, the warning was clear. They stood, frozen in place, as the voice resolved. Their heart pumped furiously in their chest; maybe this was help!

"g...good. You're ssstrrrandedd....., noo more aair?" the crackling had subsided some, but the speaker was clearly experiencing difficulty.

"Hello! Oh FUCK hi yes I can't heat the ship and I'm stuck help please help do you have my signal?"

"wwe hhavve your.. signal."

"God oh god thank you Jesus thankyouthankyou how soon can you be here?"

"we c-caaaan sssee you..."

"What do you mea-AAEH!" they cried out as a touch registered on their suit. Whatever was now clinging to them hadn't appeared on their suit's bio-scans, and they were well and truly beginning to panic now.

"don't fret." The voice filled their mind, a new speaker from within, as their vision blanked and they lost consciousness.

[eldergodchucky]

Apple's Overhauled Siri Will Reportedly Run on Nvidia's Blackwell Chips

The latest Apple story matters less as spectacle than as a clue to where the company’s hardware, software and services may be pulling users next. Apple stories matter because one product decision can ripple through hardware, services, developers, accessories and the wider market that reacts around the company. Continue reading Apple's Overhauled Siri Will Reportedly Run on Nvidia's Blackwell Chips

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[androfyi]

Plex’s overhauled app promotes libraries, ditches the hamburgers

Tired of digging through so-called “hamburger” menus on the Plex mobile app to get your personal Plex media library? If so, good news.  Plex is kicking off a public preview for its revamped Plex mobile app, and from what I’ve seen so far, it offers welcome changes for those of us with personal Plex libraries of movies and TV shows.  Among the best changes in the revamped app is what’s no longer…

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[pastelheart22]

Roquefort (by @lovesart23) and Vox (from hazbin hotel) roasting each other

Vox: imagine have no eyes😂😂 Roquefort:..... imagine have no hair

[bikekharidoblogs]

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Aurora launched

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Aurora

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Gets Aurora Colour Variant At Rs 2.20 Lakh

Royal Enfield has widened the Meteor 350 range by launching the new Aurora variant of the cruiser.

It gets a couple of changes over other variants of the bike and comes with a price tag of Rs. 2,19,900 (ex-showroom, Chennai) which places it between the Stellar and Supernova trims of the Meteor 350.

RE Meteor 350 Thoroughly Overhauled

The new Aurora variant of the Meteor 350 comes equipped with spoke wheels and tube tyres, unlike other versions which get alloy wheels and tubeless rubbers.

Moreover, the engine case, exhaust system, and a few other components have been bestowed with chrome finishing. All of this is done to enhance the retro appeal of the bike.

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Meteor 350 Aurora tri-tone blue

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Aurora continues to receive the same J-series underpinnings, the 349 cc air-cooled, long-stroke engine, with 20.2 bhp and 2.75 kgm of torque, mated to a five-speed transmission.

What’s new with Aurora trim?

The trim introduces three new colourways and also debuts LED headlights to the range. Royal Enfield might make the latter feature standard with this range in the future.

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Meteor 350 Aurora monotone black

As opposed to black treatment on all other trims, Aurora trim stands out in its classic appeal. RE is also giving Aurora LED headlights, a deluxe touring seat, aluminium switch cubes, a Tripper display for navigation and more.

Feature additions

Apart from adding Aurora trim, Royal Enfield has fettled with Meteor 350’s trim-wise features list too. Top-spec Supernova trim now gets LED headlights and aluminium switchgear, taking it a notch higher than before. Astral trim now gets Royal Enfield’s Tripper screen for navigation as standard fitment.

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With base Fireball trim, Royal Enfield has added a new Black stock colour which is both elegant and standard. Powering RE Meteor 350 is a 349cc J-series single-cylinder, air-cooled motor that kicks out 20.2 bhp at 6100rpm and a peak torque of 27 Nm at 4000rpm.

This unit is paired with a 5-speed gearbox. The same powertrain is found on newly launched Bullet 350 too.

Meteor 350 is underpinned by a dual-cradle J-series chassis which is suspended on 41mm RSU telescopic suspension at the front and twin shocks at the rear. Anchorage duties are handled by a 300mm front disc and a 270mm rear disc which are aided by a dual-channel ABS as standard.

In terms of features, it comes with a semi-digital instrument console, a USB charger, circular LED DRL and a side-stand engine inhibitor, among many.

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Words from the manufacturer

Speaking about the new range and enhancements on the Meteor 350, B Govindarajan, CEO – Royal Enfield said, “As we reflect on the remarkable success of the Meteor 350 in India and international markets it is evident that the Meteor has struck a chord with many long distance riders and motorcycling enthusiasts. Its dynamic cruising ability and dependable performance have resonated deeply with our riders.

The Aurora range is a result of our constant interactions with our community of riders, where we witnessed a strong inclination towards retro-inspired cruisers. The new colourways and features are sure to elevate the pleasure of pure retro-cruising among our customers.”