Conversion Bureau (anypony intrested?)

[CherryRie]

So after recently reading through the original and many spin offs, I started to wonder if there would be much interest in a crossover RP based in the Conversion Bureau universe?

For those who are wondering what this is about; ‘The Conversion Bureau’ was a fanfic originally written by Blaze, whose conspept was taken up by dozens of other authors afterwards.

Earth is dieing, choaking from polutants and radiation. The human race stagers along in its mega cities, slaves to the system, the very air a poison, their techlogy keeping them alive while their sociaty crumbles under the weight of its own sucesses. The universe is set in the distant dystopian future Earth and revolves around the idea that the land of Equestria has emerged in the pacific ocean.

Rising from the depths and shrouded in a steadily expanding mystical barrier that repells higher life in an attempt to protect both the lands within and the human race without, to whom magic is poisonous. As the shroud of energy encroaches on human civilisation, the denizens of this strange alien world step forward to offer humanity a second chance. Cutting a long speech short the gist of their offer is this; ‘Please. Join us in peace and prosperity, but leave the destructive ape behind’.

To this end, at their own personal cost and risk, Equestria begins to open Conversion bureaus across the world. Humans go there seeking the process that will change them into Ponies, so they might traverse the purifying barrier, beyond which lays a new utopia of freedom from the hell they leave behind. They are not without opposition though. A dangerous group of humans known as the Human Liberation Front sees the Equestrian ‘invasion’ as an affront and seeks to destroy or drive back the Equestiran menace.

But the barrier cannot be stopped, no matter how hard Celestia has tried too slow its progress. Eventually it will consume the world. With the ever growing barrier purging the poisons and radiation from the land, clearing away the filth and sin of ages, man is left with two options. Pony up, or be swept away.

A few links for anyone who wants to read up on this:The Ponychan link archive. And the CBU guide (check the overview on this if you like. Comes with a mature language warning)

So! Here's where our posible roleplays come in! A couple of ideas spring to mind, see what you think.

Strange Days:

• Strange things are afoot in the Leventhorp Conversion Bureau. After a failed attack by the HLF, the faculty is now surrounded by intense magic radiation, trapping the remaining humans inside its protective loadstone walls. Though you didn’t expect to ever find yourself within these halls, you, along with many other citizens of Leventhorp, have been forced to take shelter in the building as the town you knew so well rapidly becomes poisonous to Homo-sapient life. Now you’re trapped, with the only way out being a dosage of the purple liquid and to leave your world behind. But when the choice is ‘evolve or die’ what else is there to do? With the building in lockdown, the staff work tirelessly to complete the ponification of the overcrowded populous. Yet things keep going wrong. Power failours and sabotarge. And somewhere, deep in the bowls of this haven, something has awoken. Something silent as the chill down your spine, with a taste for the sweet meat of equines and humans alike. Maybe The HLF’s attack was not such a failure after all?
  
• Edit1; Okay, remove the bit about the 'flesh eating monster'. I think this is getting too grim for its own good. Instead, while there will still be some manner of 'thing' crawling around, its apitite and habbits will be somewhat more... unusual.
  

Last Bastion:

• You are one of the few humans remaining in the world, sheltered within the walls of 'The Bastille Arc', the last outpost of the Earth Defence Force. Within these walls you guard the collective knowledge of the human race, its greatest minds at work on a way to preserve the greatest aspects of society. Striving towards a grater human re-emergence through science and understanding, the all consuming magical barrier of Equestria has finally reached the eyes of you and your fellow vanguards. With the neon purple aura lighting the eastern sky day and night, you must make a choice. Too be, or not too be? How will humanity survive? Or is the race and its millennia old legacy doomed.
  

[CherryRie]

One of my favorite authors recently posted up a new story based on this universe. The first chapter has some interesting bits highlighting both the state of the world, the emergence of Equestria and how wide spread ponification is. I've ‘spoiler’ed it to save space and only added the first part as a quotation. It works as a good introduction but not an essential one.

EXCERT FROM:

27 Ounces:

A story of eight and one half ponies

By Chatoyance

Chapter One: The Red Case

...

Almost every human being had some form of malignancy, this was normal. Thus every human being regularly took some variant of Malignostat. The nanotech derived treatment was ubiquitous and sold from vending machines pretty much everywhere. Popping a 'stat was a fundamental part of getting up in the morning. It kept all cancer in check, and was a gigantic moneymaker. Some considered Malignostat to be a universal tax on the whole of Mankind. Being cured, however, was a dubious proposition. It was inevitable that some new cancer would appear soon after, so the only real reason to bother with such an impossible expense was in conjunction with cosmetic surgery to repair disfigurement, itself incredibly costly.

Beth rubbed the ruddy, lumpen bulges on the left side of her neck and head. "They really itch today, Doc."

Dr. Pastern swung the bright red case around, so that the handle faced her "Then come along, Beth! You can be my first ponification of the day! Equestrians never get tumors. They never get sick, as far as we know. Trade in that damaged old flesh for a fresh set of hooves! Whattaya say?" Pastern leaned over and leered at the receptionist. She knew full well that as much as Beth talked about Conversion, she loved complaining more.

....

Roselyn struggled carefully to work the cover away from the body of the case, finally revealing the most valuable thing in the building - her life included.

Tenderly packed inside dark gray, shock-resistant foam, was a single, large, capped Erlenmeyer flask. The flask was graduated and labeled with an iconic representation of the Equestrian form, and assorted text was printed on the flask describing its contents.

Inside the flask swirled a translucent, viscous, shimmering purple fluid. It almost seemed carbonated, but it was not; the apparent 'bubbles' were actually microscopic metallic reflections and tiny bursts of supernal light. It was a nanofluid, of course, composed of trillions of tiny molecular machines that could break down and reconstruct matter.

But the purple fluid was far more; infused throughout it was the very stuff of 'magic', a strange, unearthly energy from an entirely alien cosmos, the emerging universe that was Equestria. Inside that eight hundred mile sphere embedded in the Pacific, a different set of physical laws operated. Somehow, those laws had been melded with earthly technology, creating a hybrid of two universes, thus nanotechnomagical plasm, a blood bond between Equestria, and Earth.

Some called it Ponification Transmogrification Serum, or more simply 'Potion'. And it effectively was a magic potion, a notion that still made Dr. Pastern feel giddy inside. But then, so many things of legend and magic had been made real through technology, one way or another, so why couldn't there exist a substance that for all intents was a true elixir?

The power of the serum was formidable. Applied to even the most severely damaged human, the result would be a total and complete regeneration of every part. Lost eyes would reform, lost limbs bud and regrow out, destroyed internal organs would be entirely replaced. Even if an entire head should be lost, as long as the cells of the body had not yet suffered apoptosis, the subject would live - though in that event, the patient would be devoid of all memory, equivalent to a newly born baby.

Or, more precisely, a foal. For all the regenerative miracles that the serum could perform, the end result was always the same; a human subject became a full-blooded Equestrian. The price of life and survival was humanity itself.

.....

The rush was on. The rush to save what could be saved of the human race.

Roselyn gave the flask a gentle swirl. It sparkled in the light. Then she put the flask carefully back into the padding. It wasn't wise to hold the actual Erlenmeyer for too long; it generated considerable amounts of thaumatic radiation, and distance from source was an issue. That said, Roselyn knew she was being contaminated every day just being around the material, and if her exposure continued long enough, "Mage Plague" would eventually kill her. 'Magic', it appeared, was inimical to human life. There was only one available treatment; Conversion. Equestrians were more than immune to thaumatic radiation - they thrived on it.

Dr. Pastern set about her morning routine. She filled out the required hypernet forms, set out the vials of anesthetic, each grouped according to allergen sub-type, and put on her clean, white lab-coat. The lab-coat wasn't actually necessary, but Roselyn thought it added a certain professional esthetic to the proceedings. Also, she frankly didn't want to get anything on her new pants. Pants were expensive.

It was eight. By now the rest of the staff at her clinic - number fourty-two of one hundred - were busy making breakfast for the applicants. Applicants for Conversion stayed in the clinic for around two weeks, sleeping on-site in simple barracks. This was so that they could be given a proper, full orientation. Applicants were shown media, given lectures, and engaged in specialized physical exercises and training to prepare them for their new lives.

Each day, three applicants, having served their two week orientation, would be called into the Conversion Room, and transformed. When they awakened in their new bodies, they returned to the barracks for final orientation, before choosing to trot out the door, or report for transfer to Equestria. Most simply went out the door. Almost half of the population of San Francisco was now ponies. Soon it would be the entire population.

And that was the plan. Thaumatic radiation killed humans, and the great shining, growing bubble that was Equestria broadcast the stuff all over the planet. It pooled in random locations, creating deadly traps. It flowed in invisible channels creating corridors of lethal exposure. Above all, it increased with time, growing as Equestria itself grew, and nothing could block it, nothing could stop it, and there was no way to even detect it, except by the effect it had on human flesh.

It started with distortions of perception. The subject saw colors as being brighter, smells more intense. Mentation gradually became affected, with some reporting visions or hallucinations. Then patches of skin began to die, leaving necrotic scars. Finally, the organs of the body began to fail, as more substantial tissues perished. Death followed, unless the exposure was ended, or Conversion was offered.

Nothing could stop the emergence of Equestria. Not even all the weaponry of the world corporation; they had made the dead Pacific boil for three whole days, and seethe for weeks after to no effect.

In the end, there was simply no other choice. The earth was already dying, Equestria offered at least a form of survival, for those that wanted it. And after the shining monarch Celestia offered refuge to any who wished to Convert, virtually every single human craved her salvation.

Where the earth was a blackened, burned ruin of extinct forests, dead, radioactive oceans, a universal sky of dark grey smog, and nineteen billion people scrabbling in the endless slum that covered every landmass, Equestria shone brightly as a verdant paradise of blue skies and endless fields of living flowers. Beyond that impenetrable, shining Barrier lay a perfect land bursting with life and opportunity, but the only way to cross that barrier was on four legs.

-Find the rest here!-

Because he is awsome ^^

[Dusty]

Sadly ah think ah well take up arms help the Human Liberation Front.

[CherryRie]

Well I wish you all the best with that Dusy, just so long as you don't torture or blow up anypony I know ^^,

Maybe this wasn't the best idea in the world. The more I look at it the more depressing it seems

[Dusty]

ah for lone like it, ah love dystopian futures.

Heck my all best rp's are in dystopian futures. Ever one has that thing they work with. my thing is dystopian futures!

[CherryRie]

To be honest I'm not so sure myself atm. Maybe I should rework those consepts. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but now observing the whole it's actualy kinda grim

I wonder if I can find a way to funny it up some? Change the creature in the first to something more humourus and add unusal ocurances caused by the high magic feild?

edit; Heh, okay, added first amendment

[Ancre]

The "thing in the basement" could be a lot of things if you don't want a flesh-eating monster, from a poor lonely eldritch horror who wants friends, to an animal that feeds on electricity, to something Discord-like (chaos !). Or a monster from the Everfree. Or something else. There's a lot of way to make it less grimdark while still keep it adventure-y !

For my part, I'm in ! I don't know what I want to be yet, but as I am thinking about it right now, I'd like to be a pony from Equestria who applied to the Bureaus because of her taste in adventure (and found out that the human world can be too much for her sometimes ! adventure is much less fun in reality !). Though I can be anything depending on what you intend to do CherryRie.

[CherryRie]

YAY we has intrest! Welcome abord Ancre! If you have any ideas post them up and lets get this think tank rolling!

[Dusty]

here is my more "grim" group. Now the can't fit in here, but if you want a more true and grim story pm me! ^^ ah really like this.

The Blood Sun Army.

#######################################

Those Treacherous Heretics Will Die this Day.

Those Aliens will Wither in the blood sun's Gaze.

For Terra!

For man!

We Go to Spread the Word!

Our blood makes us Strong!

Our sun will wipe clean the Alien! The Heretic!

LONG LIVE THE IMPERIUM OF MAN!

LONG LIVE THE BLOOD SUN!

######################################################

-Now and Forever-

The blood sun are a fast growing Human Liberation Front army, they do not wish to just stop the Equestrians they wish to see every last one wiped off the world… even if they have to wipe out EVER thing to do it. Form this, the Path of Now and forever came to be.

It stipulates that to eliminate any threat to human “freedom” all non-human sentient species are to be exterminated and if that fails… wipe out everything so they have nothing left. For this the blood sun army is going to use some device to remove the surface layers of their sun, causing a miniature nova that will incinerate all of the inner worlds and they hope kill off ever last Equestrian.

What is even worse is how fast they are growing. Every day more and more flack to them, solders, doctor’s, workers and so on. They are a power to not joke at as more and more land waves the Blood sun, it’s only a matter of time before they fished the ship to take the device to the sun.

#################################

Hate! Hate! Hate!

An emotion as pure as it is deep!

Hate! Hate! Hate!

Let it flow, let it run free!

#################################

-End of days-

End of days is the name given to the device and what they are going to do. But the blood sun’s are no fools. They have a plan to save man, and it is with a ship. The “red star” is a huge ship they are working on, it’s found on the few safe spots of the world. With it they well take close to a city of humans off world and off to deep space looking for a new world.

But they fear it will not get it done in time and if they can’t they well fire the device at the sun, and wipe out everything… even man its self. If they can get the ship up in time they well fire the device as they leave. Both ways Equestrians lose.

#################################

"You accuse me of being a madman. What right have you to judge what is sane and what is not Equestrian?

you are a plague... A cancer. But you call us madman for hating you? YOU and all Heretics are the madman! no... man is a word you can't use. Your just a other cancer!" -Blood Sun solder.

#################################

-why?-

the following was told to a news crew by a Blood sun commander.

"WHY? why... I can ask the same of you! Why do you sit here and let... THEM! kill us! wipe out out!"

But they ar-

"they are what!? the Heretics that take the conversion are not human! they are nothing! Don't you DARE say they are helping us! can you look at one and call it human? NO! YOU CAN'T! you make me sick... that thing!" he points his gun at my Equestrian helper "that thing! is not human! it never well be! you all just sit here and look on as they wipe us out!"

Sir! lower your gun! they give us a Pea-

"Peace? Peace is not in our vocabulary. If you want peace, prepare for war. for it is not the Horror of War that troubles me but the Unseen Horrors of Peace. Ever one that is watching... know. WE as man! well NEVER. GIVE. IN. win the sun weeps and the end day falls we as man well live!" He stormed off after this telling us to leave now, feeling the anger form other solders we did so rather fast.

[Ancre]

Dusty, your HLF sub-branch sounds like something out of Wh40k The idea of blasting the sun only works if Equestria isn't on Earth (otherwise, it's a bit silly to blast Earth's sun). I find them a tad too grimdark, but I am curious, please expand !

So, I should go to sleep, but I want to write down stuff !

STRANGER DAYS (it seems this one is the one we're going with ! )

- First off, the attack itself ! As I read the paragraph, people can't get out, but can get in, as there is a lot of refugees that came in, but it's said they're trapped inside. It's an interesting thing to note.

What caused the magic radiation ? Does the HLF have unicorns on their sides ? Humans who sacrificed their body for the cause, hoping to change back after perhaps. In that case they must be really annoyed to see that all they managed to do was to accelerate the ponification processus. Or is it that they meddle with new stuff ? Magic experiments ! Or perhaps it's not even the HLF, but a system failure, an act of incompetence, or a sabotage inside the bureau itself, and the HLF is scapegoated.

- Second, there's a lot of things to do ! Can ponies still be sent to Equestria, or are they trapped inside the building (but immune to the radiation) ? The text hints that ponies can escape, but having everyone locked up could be fun too. At any rates, there's an overpopulated office to organize and manage, there's repairs and emergencies to attend, there's traitors and saboteurs to find out, there's a monster underneath our hooves to chase away or something, and we should also try to find a way to turn off the barrier that jails us inside. And do something about the magic irradiation. Can we contact Celestia ? (What Would Celestia Do ? xD) Roleplaying-wise, we have a lot of things on our hooves ! Or hands.

It's eleven pm and I really should go to bed So I'll put more stuff here tomorrow. I'm not sure my ramblings are interesting though.

We could actually start a game with what we've got, if Cherry can improvise a story depending on which way the players go (how will this be organized ? Will we have a gamemaster and players, like the two other crossover rps (my little maid and wh40k) I'm in ? ).

[Dusty]

Dusty, your HLF sub-branch sounds like something out of Wh40k The idea of blasting the sun only works if Equestria isn't on Earth (otherwise, it's a bit silly to blast Earth's sun). I find them a tad too grimdark, but I am curious, please expand !

Is it sad that ah worked vary hard to NOT make them grimdark? Ah don't think make things not grimdark. XD But yes ah well work more on them and they are done off some 40k. And yes... they want to blow up Earths sun.

But they are not EEEVVVIILLL they do want to help man. they hand out food and give free doc add. They want to see man live on, but with the backs to the wall and no way out they think the only thing to do it just wipe out ever thing. And ah'm hopping well help you guys see the way to help this end good... for it has a way for man to live and pony's. Just not on the same world.

[CherryRie]

Right then! Alot to think about so far.

I've decided that if I'm going to run this, at the very least I want to keep it relevant with 'pony' in general. There will be silliness, fun and friendship to be had despite the severity of the situation. Dusty’s idea might be a good fall back though if we want something a bit more serious later on, possibly as a follow up to ‘Stranger Days’.

Hmm you raise some good points there Ancre! Lets go through them step by step, I'll apply what I can remember from the verious cannon pices I've read.

Okay, from what I know of the HLF their leaders are the worst kind of human being to have in charge. They seem to see Ponies as mere animals, and those who side with them as traitors to their species. This doesn’t mean that they’re ‘all’ bad, in fact most of them are probably regular Joes who got swept up in all of this hate. While might still hold a tainted or outright bigoted opinion of the Equestrian race, they probably wouldn’t do anything save for the goading of the rabble rousers. Oh, then there’s the plain nut jobs and religious ‘affront to god’ types who blow up centres and organise lynching’s. All in all, they’re not a nice bunch and are the main source of this universe’s grim-dark aspects.

Long story short then; I very much doubt that they would accept using unicorns to their own advantage. Its also worth keeping in mind that this world takes the approach that Ponies find it hard on a fundamental level to harbour ill will of any kind. With the human race it’s ‘every man for himself’, but with Equestrians its ‘every pony for the Herd’. Most who go through the change can’t stomach even the threat of physical violence let alone mass slaughter.

However, this is only the impression I’ve got from what I’ve read through so far. There’s nothing to say that they aren’t experimenting with magic though. Maybe they tried to enhance a super weapon with Magic or something. Or maybe they developed a peice of tech that absorbs magic from the surrounding environment, intending to use it to cripple the change within the centor, only to have it expload on them.

Hmm, my mind seems to be in ‘explosion’ mode tonight. But I do kinda like the idea that the HLF might just be scapegoats too. Maybe the radiation has somewhat cut off comunication out of the area, so the assumption that everyone within has drawn is that the terrorists are to blame? Anywho, what do you two think could be the cause?

As for leaving, I thought of making it so that there was still a way out, though the environment outside is so contaminated that only the Equestrians can move freely. This allows supplies to get through, though I would have thought with such a high level of radiation they would have some sort of decontaminating airlock. So with that in mind maybe only a few ponies can move through at a time without flooding the interior of the building with ‘thalmic radiation’? A human wouldn’t survive more than a few minutes out there and they can’t risk contaminating the facility.

This brings me to a question: if the shield protecting them is built into the very fabric of the building (Say loadstone that soaks up magic or something) then is that protection indefinite, or finite? Are areas going to suddenly become dangerous?

Also; how much ‘potion’ does the facility have? Its farly specialised stuff so I doubt they keep a supply on tap. So this being said, I guess the real question is how long does everyone have to decide? Can they hold out for rescue (if that’s even a possibility), or on the other hoof, can they get the resources needed to convert all the civilians before the shielding fails?

My gosh there’s so much to think about!

I tack some more thoughts onto this tomorow but in the meen time, what do you think?

Also if you're just joining us; WELCOME!

[Dusty]

ok up dated my sun guys. A more deep look on mans side of this and not the pones (you may notes ah like 40k). They may not work with what Cherry wants to do... but if some of you want to do a more dark take on this pm me! ah really want to do this rp now!

But do me in for the the one your doing Cherry. Ah well work out what ah well be doing later.

[CherryRie]

Another thing comes to mind too; I know a lot of people might want a pony character working at the centre, but I think everyone's main character should be a human. The whole point would be that you’re either someone already awaiting conversion or a citizen swept up in the attack. I'll be running with Sophie (myself) and Cerra, my scollar earth pony, as a secondry character. Feel free to have as many charcters as you like, but I feel the dynamic has to be towards human interaction ^_^

[Ancre]

Bump ! Let's wake up this thread !

What is there left to do to start a roleplay ? We need characters, obviously. Playing humans only can be fun, and will make for something different than the usual games we have here. I already have a few ideas of what characters I'd like to play.

[CherryRie]

I think we should run this in the Free for All forum. No aplications needed and we can go loonytoon if we want to ^^,

[Dusty]

well to say the less ah have not jumped on wanting to do this. it well be fun.

I just hope you guys (and lasses) can take the power that is Dusty.

[Thrylos]

Bring it on!

This is very interesting sounding. Might as well jump on!