Commander's Rounds

Entry 100-2: Nothing to Chance

Tester hadn't left anything to chance.

She had been willing to accept the possibility of a defeat when she attempted to capture the Anomaly during his engagement with Purifier, and even the loss of Purifier was something she didn't find bothersome- She was no longer useful, at any rate. Her forces in that battle had been assembled and launched in haste to seize a potential opportunity, and while she had failed, the result was well within the bounds of possible results.

She was very difficult to discourage.

The Siren (or at least, that's what the humans called them) had spent a great deal of effort arranging things for the Anomaly's arrival, retrieving automated ships, humanoid weapons, and a couple of other surprises for him. Zero had even approved a couple of special requests for additional equipment and materials for a special contingency she had prepared.

All that was left to do was wait for the inevitable engagement.

While she was waiting, she received an unexpected communication. Observer was normally content to let her do whatever she pleased, so this was one of the only things that had been unexpected about developments so far.

Tester was willing to accept a verbal intrusion from Observer- she was not distracting her from work that had not yet begun, so it wasn't long until she answered the call. Before she could acknowledge the communication, Observer spoke up. "Tester, you have gathered all of the forces we have been willing to allot to you. You believe that this will be enough?"

Tester smirked. "There is no chance that the Anomaly will not be ours. Once he is in our hands, we will be able to make him useful to us, and the parameters of the experiment will once again fully suit our needs."

"The Anomaly has responded to your challenge without reservation. Do you believe you have made a correct assessment of your strength?"

Tester oversaw the movements of her fleets and weapons. "I have performed the calculations numerous times, adjusting for the addition of even the most minor vessel or piece of equipment. This ends with the apprehension of the Anomaly."

"Conclusions derived from calculations are only correct if the inputs are sound. There have been irregularities surrounding the existence of the Anomaly that have developed since he was placed in command of the Kansen. You have accounted for this?"

Tester replied. "There is no property of an object in existence that cannot be measured. Even feats described as "extraordinary" or "miraculous" are merely the result of something performing at the upper bounds of its capabilities. Even if the Anomaly excels at the uppermost command performance for the whole duration of the engagement, it will be impossible for him to escape. The increased capabilities of the Kansen have also been integrated into my formulas. I have presented this to Zero and gotten her approval."

"You are confident in your assessment of the Anomaly and the potential force configurations and combinations? The number of permutations of their abilities and how they might interact with each other is something calculable, but cannot be ignored."

Tester paused. "It is how we have always operated- The categorization and assessment of all political, biological, and social entities in relation to their usefulness to the experiment. The great majority of human beings, for instance, are, for our purposes, inert organisms- creatures with no ability to assist or hinder our plans, and they can be freely liquidated in limited quantities as the experiment requires, much as we did so in the opening phase- Acceptable losses for our purposes, as human populations are self-replenishing. Only a small number of them can be of use for advancing our tests, and even fewer can hinder us. And few of those even know they have the capability of doing so."