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Tiralee
Ok - we've all dug through the massive pile of tangled plot threads that comprised "Portfolio of a Dragon: Dunkelzahn's Secrets" (Many thanks to Anchient History, some explainations were really needed.)

My interest is in the entry thus reproduced:

"To the elusive TX, whom I know exists, I leave 10 million nuyen on the condition that she come in from the shadows and report to the UCAS government for testing and training. I give her full assurances that she will not be harmed. I further authorize my executor to grant this same sum to any person or group of people who find TX and bring her, alive and undamaged, to any UCAS military installation. I authorize an additional 10 million nuyen for the hiring of qualified individuals to escort her safely home and, if necessary, to avenge any mistreatment of her with extreme prejudice."

-Has there been any definitive conclusion to this one?

Plot ides that do arise:

1: TX is an engineered being.
- Ok, maybe I've seen too many "Dark Angel" episodes (It actually took me 15 minutes and a pile of Google-Fu to dig up the damn title, sheesh) but this option hasn't really (To my knowledge) been explored very deeply in the SR universe.

2: TX is an Immortal Elf/Human/Ork/Troll/Rock/Sentient Bunny/Dolphin.
- Admittedly this supposes that Dunkie was expecting to be the Prez for a time AND that he'd have control or oversight over said testing. Hell, an Immortal Bunnie would be able to keep a bloody long and low-profile "watch" on the grassy woodland of choice.

3: TX is a Drake.
- Oh yeah, let's keep the old Human/Scaly fetish flowin'. Again, not at all sure why the UCAS Govmn't would be of use regarding testing, etc, apart from officially establishing the emergence of a new species. Or maybe having an "All American Dragon" in uniform would drum up numbers at the local recruitment centre.

4: TX has been given/accquired innate Magic, when they should be mundane.
- Woohaa! If, and this is a monsterous IF, such a thing has happened...well.
The massive and world-wide implications of such a thing happening are staggering. "Implant this, and you've got a magic rating - do the kids to and we'll throw in a 20% discount!"
IMHO, too world-changing and Loffy would sit on or eradicate it out of habit.

5: TX has had something "odd" implanted, something that shouldn't have existed.
- I haven't played Earthdawn or read deeply in its convoluted pages, but another long-shot "what if" is a magic/machine interface, Old-school mojo mixed with bleeding-edge headware. Use could be patchy without training in the necessary thought forms needed to "synch" with the machine (a Wireless, essence-free datajack/Remote control/deck?)

All are, well, unlikely. The Drake idea is up there, but so was the far-fetched "Friendly Invidae Queen" idea that I forgot to throw up above.

Thoughts, ideas, flames, solid intel?

-Tir.
Grinder
I'm sure TX isn't a Drake - Dunkie would never give the UCAS military the possibility to capture a drake and research it.

I like the Dark Angel idea though.
Kyuhan
Yeah the Dark Angel thing is what I lean most towards also.
Grinder
Any decision yet if TX is hiding of the UCAS military because of bad treatment/fear? Maybe an escpaed test subject which the Army wants back?
nick012000
QUOTE (Grinder)
I'm sure TX isn't a Drake - Dunkie would never give the UCAS military the possibility to capture a drake and research it.

It in his will, so by the time it gets executed, he's dead, by definition.

Why not spit in the eyes of all the other dragons on the way out? It's not like they could hurt him...
Grinder
But why should he handle a drake to the UCAS military? Because he's a patriot? I doubt that.
hyzmarca
There are many possibilities. A normal metahuman with a natural immunity of VITAS or HMHVV. A ghoul who doesn't have to eat flesh. A vampire who doesn't suffer from Essence loss.

The choice of terminology in interesting. "Undamaged" is used instead of "unharmed" or "uninjured".

Perhaps TX is a machine. A sentient drone; An AI; A sentient drone that possesses an Aura; A spirit bound to a computer that can somehow jack into the matrix through its homunculus.

The posibilities are endless.

Shanshu Freeman
QUOTE (Tiralee @ Aug 8 2005, 10:11 AM)
"To the elusive TX, whom I know exists, I leave 10 million nuyen on the condition that she come in from the shadows and report to the UCAS government for testing and training. I give her full assurances that she will not be harmed. I further authorize my executor to grant this same sum to any person or group of people who find TX and bring her, alive and undamaged, to any UCAS military installation. I authorize an additional 10 million nuyen for the hiring of qualified individuals to escort her safely home and, if necessary, to avenge any mistreatment of her with extreme prejudice."

QUOTE
TX
reminds me of two other terms we currently use; RX and NX, RX means reaction, or recieve, NX is a prefix applied to experimental craft. Sometimes TX means transmit or transaction. One of the rules of physics is that energy cannot be created or detroyed, and a theme in SR is that everything comes at a cost.

QUOTE
she come in from the shadows
Into where? Into the government's hands, or maybe into the Manasphere? Which shadows? The metaphorical shadows we run or real shadows, perhaps such as those cast by the moon, or other celestial bodies? (Besides, I heard something about how we only see one side of the moon, is that true? )

QUOTE
testing and training.

what sort of testing and training? the need to train (for whatever reason) this specific individual/being/entitity suggests that they are both 1. Unique and 2. Irreplacable (either due to being unreplicatable by the laws of nature, magic or science, or simply being cost prohibative, the fact that the Will allows for so much Yen in the pursuit of TX further supports the idea she is irreplacable.) That being said, if something is both unique and irreplacable, studying it and understanding it is usually the primary goal, and yet Dunklezahn and the government already have a specific task in mind for which she is to be trained.

QUOTE
escort her
suggests she cannot be captured or brown bagged in the traditional sense, that the parties returning her must accompany her, or travel alongside.


QUOTE
if necessary, to avenge any mistreatment
suggests to me that she will not be brought in unless she cooperates on some level. to gain this cooperation, she'll want certain wrongs rectified.

I propose that TX is a sentient space ship. Organic or mechanical or magical or some combination of the above. She may or may not be Earthly in origin, and she may or may not potentially be capable of generating or supporting some level of a portable manasphere. TX may or may not be capable of interstellar travel ( as a generational ship, stasis ship, but probably not as an FTL considering SR prohibitions against time space meddling.) and may be intended to spread humanity's seed amongst the stars as a safegaurd during the next coming of the Horrors or to protect the human race from being wiped out by ETs. (After all we do keep all our eggs in one basket here on Earth.)

The implications of the term "training," however suggest to me that TX will be expected to function on her own, rather than be directed or accompanied by people as we know them, therefore perhaps it is more likely that TX is expected to operate as a space probe ( or a sleeper ship) of some sort.

There are some incidental (probably unrelated although not necessarily) items in the Will, but there are themes in his goals. Among them, magic that can be manipulate by mundanes, manaspheres outside the Earth's, bolthole communities in orbit and under the sea, preservation of humanity, and so forth.



Then again, that's one possibility.
Hoondatha
But aren't there notes in some of the sourcebooks (I can't remember which ones, unfortunately), with her posting intimate knowledge of the Matrix and how to hack it. (One I remember was her telling people who to get into a system locked with a vanishing SAN, and the reply from the other decker was simply: "Cunning slot.") That would seem to limit our choices.

My personal guess is that she's a magically active otaku, though I readily admit that that's because it's one of the most fringe things I could think of. But it explains her skill with the Matrix and her uniqueness/desireability for study (since the rules expressly forbid such things). It also perfectly meshes with Dunkelzahn's desire to integrate magic and technology.
Edge2054
I like the idea of an escaped robot, like the one in I, Robot. I see the additional 10 million is to be paid to runner's basically, to escort her to UCAS once she's willing, then to be put on retainer to seek vengeance against anyone that ever tries to harm her.
Shanshu Freeman
maybe she's a ship that can access the 'trix?
Juggernaut125
What about a Free Spirit that is able to access the matrix?
Shanshu Freeman
QUOTE (Juggernaut125)
What about a Free Spirit that is able to access the matrix?

or a dykoted free spirit in the shape of a spaceship that can access the 'trix?


ps: what's the target number to hump one?
Kanada Ten
The free spirit decker aspect was suggested in the Denver Sb, so I doubt they would pull it out again, but...

The name, TX, seems to imply something to me (THX1138, to the point), and then additionally "testing and training": what could the UCAS military train a free spirit in? I doubt it would be decking.

I lean towards some kind of drake like creation, only of human making. Some combination of human DNA and free spirit essence, perhaps.
Shanshu Freeman
QUOTE (Kanada Ten)
The free spirit decker aspect was suggested in the Denver Sb, so I doubt they would pull it out again, but...

The name, TX, seems to imply something to me (THX1138, to the point), and then additionally "testing and training": what could the UCAS military train a free spirit in? I doubt it would be decking.

I lean towards some kind of drake like creation, only of human making. Some combination of human DNA and free spirit essence, perhaps.

I tend to agree with the idea that TX is something created, by some kind of project.
Panzergeist
I think maybe a biomechanical robot possessed by a free spirit, or maybe an ally spirit in a biomechanical homunculus.
Herald of Verjigorm
Interstellar otaku cyberzombie shedim ninja shifter adept.

It is the only true answer.
Shanshu Freeman
QUOTE (Herald of Verjigorm)
Interstellar otaku cyberzombie shedim ninja shifter adept.

It is the only true answer.

cyber.gif can it be dykoted???? biggrin.gif
Shockwave_IIc
QUOTE (Shanshu Freeman)
(Besides, I heard something about how we only see one side of the moon, is that true? )

Yup i beleive that is true, the moon doesn't rotate. I think this because of the term "Dark side of the moon" which is frequently used in reference to something on the otherside that is safe from prying eyes on Earth.


Back on topic.
I'm going with Drake, Free Spirit or Magically Active Otaku.
Digital Heroin
TX is a giant midget... she has been able to hide thusfar because she appears to just be a regular sized human...
lorthazar
How about a magical talent that lets her lend her skills to a large number of people? Would be the most valuable commodity of all.
OSUMacbeth
Actually the moon does rotate. If it didn't, we'd be able to see all sides of it from different parts of the earth. The moon's rotation is synched with its revolution around the earth in such a way that the same side is always facing us.

OSUMacbeth
hyzmarca
Why didn't I see it before. It is so obvious.

TX is a robot sent from the future to terminate John Conner. She failed in her mission and thus her future no longer exists, however she was able to make millions by turning her story into the script for Terminator 3:Rise of the Machines.

She has been using the procedes from the movie to hide out ever since.
Grinder
Ah, i see: Dunkie wanted retribution for T3. I can understand him, the movie sucked. biggrin.gif
Jrayjoker
I vote for a mantid spirit with a good merge in a cyberzombie.
Hoondatha
Just want to clarify something about that "dark side of the moon" thing that always bugs me.

We see at least some of the dark side of the moon on any night that isn't a full moon. It's the part that's, well, dark. And we see the entire dark side of the moon on the night of the new moon.

What we don't see is the *far* side of the moon. That only a handful of Apollo astronaughts have ever seen, because, as OSU said, it rotates at the same rate as the Earth (something with the moon's composition not being completely equal or something, the exact answer escapes me).

So what you should say is the *far* side of the moon, not the *dark* side of the moon. The dark side changes, the far side doesn't.
Herald of Verjigorm
Any objects orbitting each other will slowly alter the rotation of the other. While the rate of change for the earth in this equation is very low (something on par with a second every few centuries, probably even less a change than that), the moon has already synchronized to the earth such that a lunar day is equal to a lunar month. In theory, an earth day will eventually match a lunar day, but it will take a long time. Since solar gravity is the next strongest tidal force out on this rock, that's the next rotational synchronization scheduled if the objects involved survive long enough.

Of course, all it takes is one nice, big comet to mess up those really long term projections.
Hoondatha
Thanks. There's a lot of really interesting science that surrounds why we only see one side of the moon, and I'm afraid I don't know enough of it. Enough to state my point, but not to go beyond it.
frostPDP
Well, whatever TX is, I'm certain of one thing - She is a damn fun GM hook.

These are the sort of things which GMs base campaigns around. Perhaps in SR4 a sourcebook will come out. Perhaps TX created/was the Crash Code of 2029? Perhaps it is an AI which built itself a body, a fragment of Morgan that evolved?

Dunkie probably wouldn't consign a Drake to being examined. His brother would not be happy. Now...Some form of magically advanced machine? Perhaps. The "damaged" part is interesting, but it could also mean psychologically damaged. Perhaps its a brain?

I would love for it to be an Obsidiman, from what I know of Earthdawn. That'd be cute. As for Shadows, I think the best place for a living rock would be a place with a lot of dead rock - The Shadow of the Moon.

Happy huntin, GMs. Or, in a possible case if my group makes it this far, myself...

[Edit - Lunar Addition] - As for the moon, it is in orbit around our planet and revolving at exactly the same speed which our planet turns. Somehow this works out that the moon which we see will always be the same place. This might not be true with other planets wink.gif
Herald of Verjigorm
The phrase "alive and undamaged" is often used to discourage those who consider bringing in a prisoner/bounty in a manner that is technically alive, but only with the aid of life support.

QUOTE (frostPDP)
[Edit - Lunar Addition] - As for the moon, it is in orbit around our planet and revolving at exactly the same speed which our planet turns.  Somehow this works out that the moon which we see will always be the same place.  This might not be true with other planets wink.gif

You might be meaning something similar to what I said, but the apparent meaning of this part is wrong.

The moon is always showing the same side to the earth, (lunar orbit = lunar rotation)
The moon is not always in the same place in the sky (earth rotation =\= lunar orbit)

The first can be observed over the course of a month, the second can be observed over the course of a night.
frostPDP
Eh, you probably have a better way of phrasing it but, ashes to ashes, its the same idea.
ShieldT
I'd say she is the last descendent of a bloodline that Dunkelzahn owed a minor favor. He gets around to checking on her only to find she's majorly ***'d up her life, say she accidentally killed a parent at a young age with a spell gone wrong and she's run off into the Shadows as a decker. She's good, but her bloodline has an innate talent for Spell Design and Dunkelzahn's putting up the money so she'll get the training from the government (closed station, no otherworldly affiliation) she needs to accept her heritage and breathe new life into the world. She's completely against the idea, deepset phobia and resentment, last Dunkie heard, so she'll be coming in whether she wants to or not.
hyzmarca
QUOTE (frostPDP)
Well, whatever TX is, I'm certain of one thing - She is a damn fun GM hook.

These are the sort of things which GMs base campaigns around. Perhaps in SR4 a sourcebook will come out. Perhaps TX created/was the Crash Code of 2029? Perhaps it is an AI which built itself a body, a fragment of Morgan that evolved?

Dunkie probably wouldn't consign a Drake to being examined. His brother would not be happy. Now...Some form of magically advanced machine? Perhaps. The "damaged" part is interesting, but it could also mean psychologically damaged. Perhaps its a brain?

I would love for it to be an Obsidiman, from what I know of Earthdawn. That'd be cute. As for Shadows, I think the best place for a living rock would be a place with a lot of dead rock - The Shadow of the Moon.

Happy huntin, GMs. Or, in a possible case if my group makes it this far, myself...

[Edit - Lunar Addition] - As for the moon, it is in orbit around our planet and revolving at exactly the same speed which our planet turns. Somehow this works out that the moon which we see will always be the same place. This might not be true with other planets wink.gif

It has been a while since I've had access to my Earthdawn sourcebook. But, if I remember correctly, Obsidimen are essentially a hybrid of elemental spirit and living earth. Unlike the other playable races, they weren't created by Nightslayer in the Dragon myth. Their very existance requires high magic and a connection to the Earth through a magical Liferock. As such, one couldn't live on the moon. If one did, the result would be very bad. It would have to be highly corrupt. So corrupt that it cannot be understtod by metahuman minds. So corrupt that it would probably explode the second it touched Earth's manasphere.

The best place for an Obsiman would be underground, a system of caverns that once housed a Kaer, perhaps. It would have to have a Liferock somewhere and it would not stray far from that stone. Without the Liferock the Obsidiman would die.
fistandantilus4.0
are there any canon references to TX? Like shadow talk, similar to the random post in (I think) Cybertechnology where some chick comes on says "Merry Christmas, mind your manners" and what not.
Grinder
QUOTE (hyzmarca)
The best place for an Obsiman would be underground, a system of caverns that once housed a Kaer, perhaps. It would have to have a Liferock somewhere and it would not stray far from that stone. Without the Liferock the Obsidiman would die.

An Obsidiman falls asleep when he is under the earth for longer than three days. He only awakes when brought to the surface.
Note, that the mana level in SR is not high enough to allow Obsidiman or T'skrang.
Tziluthi
Three days? More like months. Unless they changed that in 2nd Ed or something, which I don't think they would have, considering that they used pretty much the same race texts that they did in 1st Ed.

Book ninja! Away! biggrin.gif

I have to say that something like an awakened Dark Angel type character would be pretty cool. That gets my vote! Of course, with the Matrix tie-in, it seems unlikely.
Wiz In Red
Maybe it's some one who can read threads or is actively a name giver? If you're going all Earthdawn-y.

Maybe the government needs the training, not the other way around...
Hoondatha
All of the metahuman races are already Name-Givers (even if they don't know it/don't call themselves that/don't recognize the power of names), and all of the dragons and IE's know patterns and threads, which means that talent wouldn't be unique. I like the idea of the government being the one needing training, but I think that's why Ehran's on the DIMR board and Aina joined the DF.

Now I'm getting curious about TX comments. I know they're out there, I just haven't had time to look. Now it's looking like I need to start reading all of my books again. I'll see what I can find.
Dashifen
QUOTE (fistandantilus3.0)
are there any canon references to TX? Like shadow talk, similar to the random post in (I think) Cybertechnology where some chick comes on says "Merry Christmas, mind your manners" and what not.

TX was mentioned in Loose Alliances. She/He/It was connected to Assets Inc. (Ryan Mercury's crew) and it was said that they and others were still looking for TX.
Hoondatha
My mistake. I tracked down that reference. It's in the Tir Tairgire Telecomunications section, but is posted by TS, not TX. So that drops me firmly back in square one.
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