#shit speaking of sns i need to write ftl talking to ep and dd

[finely-tuned-line]

RP:

Log 225

FTL: Alright. I have been planning my next project over the course of the last cycle. I've also been replying to everything that I've neglected to during the crisis. I do feel that perhaps I've missed some important events, but I didn't know about any such events before I partially repaired my communication systems, it's not much of a change.

FTL: As for my next project, I plan to attempt to create a beneficial Rot that will take over the role of the micro-organisms that repair the outer structures of Iterators - henceforth I will be calling them SRMOs, short for Structural Repairment Micro-Organisms. Calling them 'micro-organisms' is too vague, and the files I have on them don't give them any one specific name. Even if they did, I have no reason to utilise that name. SRMO it is.

FTL: Metal Rot is a now-uncommon byproduct of making a mistake when experimenting upon the genetics of an SRMO. The process of their creation is the same as any other Rot, and Metal Rot often ends up being an Expanding Rot. The reason that it becomes its own category (though Metal Rots can still fit into any of the sub-groups of general Rot) is due to its nature of being microscopic in starting stages, and therefore incredibly difficult to detect, as well as the fact that it can only consume the metal that the SRMO it was created from was capable of repairing.

FTL: SRMOs are actually very interesting themselves. From what I understand, they consume the metal, divide it into half, use up a bit as a source for energy, and then replace the metal that they previously consumed with double the coverage of the material that was previously there. Of course, this does mean that every single time this process happens, the metal gets thinner. SRMOs were never meant to be the primary repair mechanism, they were always just a backup for the meantime between maintenances. But with the Ancients now gone, they have indeed become the primary outer repair system for any Iterator that has them.

FTL: They were never sustainable. Just another example of the Ancients' lack of foresight. Truly, it astounds me every single time that I find a lapse of judgement like this on their part. I hold no true ill will towards Ancients, truth to be told, I hold no stance on them at all. I just do not understand how it's even possible to mess up so many times, and never do anything about it, simply leaving forever.

FTL: My project that I will now be embarking upon consists of my attempting to create a Metal Rot that has the exact same functions as an SRMO, except more efficient and sustainable. And, of course, not fatal or even detrimental at all to the structure that it is repairing. Sounds absurd, a beneficial Rot, does it not?

FTL: If such a modified Metal Rot is allowed to spread over the surface of an Iterator, then it could fulfill the same purpose as an SRMO while being, as previously mentioned, more efficient and sustainable. Efficient due to its nature of already being everywhere as well as being much quicker at the task, capable of redistributing resources across the surface instead of keeping faults concentrated in one place. That plays into the sustainability, which is also comprised of the fact that it'd ideally be able to gather nutrients from sources other than what it is repairing. Potentially the air? Unlikely that it'd ever be capable of gathering nutrients from biotic things, due to the fact that it is a Rot made from a creature that does not consume living things.

FTL: Most Rots are capable of consuming both biotic and abiotic materials, though most tend to stick to organisms as those contain more energy that it can utilise for itself. A Rot that can only consume one of the two would be rather interesting. Such a thing wouldn't typically happen, as it is extremely detrimental to it, especially so on the side of not being able to absorb biotics.

FTL: Of course, this solution too is unsustainable. While it would make structures last for longer than SRMOs would, the base mechanic of redistributing ever-thinning resources remains. But that is merely yet another fault of how Iterators were created in the first place; we are unsustainable in nature.

FTL: If I do have what I perceive as success in creating such a Rot, then I only have one option. That being to, of course, test it on myself. I do not know what I will do with it if it is successful, as I am doing this out of sheer curiousity, as is part of the motivation for many things I do. If my suspicions about me being successful are proven wrong upon my testing of the results, well. Same rules apply as always.

FTL: If I fail and succumb, it merely my fault, and those are the consequences that I must face.

FTL: It's nice to have a proper project once more. Engineering Rot will be an interesting endeavour.

#!!! the whole metal rot thing is an idea made by @registered-anonymous #am just taking it and expanding upon it o7 #MORE SHITTY SCIENCE AND SPECBIO LETS GOOOO #just ignore the fact that the more you think abt how this modified rot would work the less it makes sense #shhhh #OKAY IM DONE WRITING FINALLY #its 3:30 rn #thats. better than the last couple times. definitely. #aaaa this arc is gonna be so fun to write!! specbio galore #sticking to the theme of rot tho lol #ftl learned NOTHING from the whole ftlr-3 thing #beyond what happened with songs of the negative sunlight and stuff but thats not what i mean #shit speaking of sns i need to write ftl talking to ep and dd #eh later #i am going to sleep for now #rp #finely-tuned line #ftl logs #(i didnt forget tje ftl logs tag woooo!!)