h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We seem to have found something to help occupy us, /and/ allow the Merovingian to show up, without having to get you involved until the end, because we're trying to rescue the Keymaker in order to get to the Grand Repository of Knowledge and find Anti-Affy5 again.

Cool. How will I be able to help out? Do you need a location and/or description for the GROK at some point?

Also, I've got some free time at the moment, so adventures aren't entirely out of the question. I think. I hope....

You'll only need to have the GROK itself by the end; NYC elected not to get involved because he assumed Anti-Affy5'd pull a "You can't kill me! You're me!" thing.

... or rather, not to get /you/ involved.

Probably a good idea. Though I don't see how killing me from another reality would affect the me here.

Yes, NYC's a bit silly that way ... And I suspect there was also that thing about working with his boss's arch-nemesis, no matter /what/ the ends were.

Possibly.

Though I'm still a little unsure as to why NYC and Corrupt decided to hunt down Anti-Affy5. Must've seemed like the next natural course of action.

Got me there, but I'm more than happy to do a situation that pokes fun at The Matrix Reloaded.

It really doesn't matter. I think it's just kinda like that one time in HHGTTG when Arthur Dent says, "So, what do we do now? We could work on finding the question to the ultimate answer, I suppose. It always bothered me that we never figured it out."

Just something for space travellers to spend their time on, nothing more.

Yes, indeed ... or even Matrix travellers.

Ah, but the strange thing about h2g2 is how some people are in the Matrix while here, and others are not.

Indeed! ... of course, since we're currently fighting at least 42 Smiths now, we can safely assume that we're at least /sort of/ in the Matrix.

Well, you're certainly interacting with the Matrix, at any rate. My theory is that they exist due to some highly advanced projection machine that is the output of a computer that has some Matrix programming, but no actual Matrix to put characters in. Ergo, the characters appear. The projection machine simply makes use of various force field technologies to give the programs substance.

I see ... sort of like an inside-out holodeck.

Yeah. Though that's just a theory.

Indeed ... but now that you've said "Ergo" in reference to the Matrix, you need to pull an Architect and use "concurrently" and "vis-a-vis" in context in reference to the same thing.

Lol!

Nah, I've been saying "Ergo" for years, in RL and in VR. The Architect copied me.

Yes ... and concurrently, you've managed to avoid using particular language, vis-a-vis swearing, during the entire time.

Yeah, I don't need to swear. I follow Mike Nelson's principle: swearing's too easy; trying to find another word is a better mental excercise.

Hmm ... Here's another thought I just had ...

Heros have no trouble whatsoever with defeating opponents who are less powerful/skilled/whatever than they are; and they generally manage to defeat opponents who are MORE powerful/skilled/whatever. It's the guys who're EQUAL to the heroes who are the problem. I mean ... well, I can think of a /bunch/ of instances when the most deadly and longstanding opponent to the hero was his/her equal. Off the top of my head, I can think of Sonic and Shadow, Inu-Yasha and Sesshoumaru, Ranma and Ryoga, Tetsuo and Kaneda (sort of) ...

And anyway, Darth Corrigible has sort of faded into the "stupid minion" category, with the help of the other Evil Clones. And I've had this idea for Yar Kramer's evil twin, named Ray Remark. And possibly he could decide to meet Anti-Affy5, which would mean making the Grand Repository thread sooner.

And speaking of which ... what /else/ is in the Clinstar Expanse besides the Grand Repository of Knowledge?