Story Arc: First Contact with a Rogue Trader Militant
Episode 1: The Supercarrier Moonbreaker (III)
Chapter 3: An Overprotective Daughter and a Devoted Crew
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POV Narrator
When people first look at the Moonbreaker their thoughts are of its colossal size and they compare it to a fortress.
The Crownmaker-class Starship is not just a fortress that exists only in the physical space of matter.
USKY is an international space kingdom that was founded and led by someone who can only be described as a Sorcerer King, so it stands to reason that magic exists in some form throughout the kingdom.
The Moonbreaker is a fortress, even from a spiritual standpoint, possessing a tremendous amount of mystical defenses.
For an evil entity to enter Moonbreaker would be like trying to enter St. Peter's Basilica—practically impossible.
While magic is one of the foundations of this Spatial Realm, science stands on par with or even surpasses magic in certain areas, such as computer science, which has become so advanced that it is almost comparable to magic.
In a sense, Moonbreaker has a commanding presence not only in the material world and the astral world, but also on the digital plane.
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Moonbreaker's main AI, PANDORA (Personalized Advanced Networked for Defense and Operations Remote Assistant), is in its "royal room" within Cyberspace.
The "royal hall" can be described as a huge golden sphere with a floating throne made of a glass-like material at its center, and a semi-transparent black cube below it.
PANDORA sits on her glass throne, her arms crossed under her chest and a serious expression.
The entire surface of the sphere is covered with a billion holographic screens showing the interior and exterior of the Moonbreaker.
PANDORA's avatar has the appearance of a beautiful black-haired girl, this image denies an indisputable fact, she is one of the most advanced AIs ever created by the top experts of USKY and her body is one of the two Starships ever designed in the history of USKY.
If PANDORA ever went rogue, it would be a classic Omega-level threat, capable of destroying a planet.
At present, PANDORA is a being with a thousand eyes and a thousand ears with a single purpose: to keep her guard up and act at the first sign of danger.
The Starship Moonbreaker's Main AI maintained its focus from the beginning of the dimensional travel process until its end.
She was the first to notice the presence of several unknown Starships not too far from the Moonbreaker's position.
Normally, PANDORA would proceed to raise her shields and inform her dad of this discovery, and let him decide what to do, while she prepares for any eventuality.
Unfortunately, for those unknown Starships, this is not a normal situation for PANDORA.
Dimensional travel takes the Supercarrier Moonbreaker to unknown places where everything and everyone is a potential danger, the entire crew ready to strike at the first shadow they see.
The dimensional travel comes at the cost of tiring out their Rogue Trader Militant, who must act as a living battery to power the machinery to enable transportation to a new and unknown galaxy.
This awareness makes PANDORA much more protective and quick in her actions.
All the holographic screens in the "royal hall" began to glow red.
"Nothing and no one will touch my crew and disturb Dad's rest!" PANDORA proclaims, with a murderous look.
Holographic screens have appeared around the glass throne, showing a hangar bay and a digital archive filled with Digi-Daemons, or viruses of Technomagic origin.
"Admiral Ignis, I request initiation into the Sanguinius Protocol!" PANDORA declares, addressing Iggy by his rank and official name, instead of calling him Uncle Iggy, as she usually does.
This AI is deadly serious right now.
A winged blood drop symbol appeared on the holographic screens around PANDORA.
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Inside the Supercarrier there are tons of rooms containing every kind of thing imaginable.
Near the hangar area there is a huge rectangular room, sealed and with an armored entrance.
In this room there are just rows and rows of metal lockers with digital locks, as if it were the inside of a bank.
The digital locks on a dozen lockers began to glow red, the access codes being entered directly from the Moonbreaker's main system.
The lockers have opened, and inside there is no gold, jewels, or money, but something much more precious: ships in bottles.
Obviously they are not simple glass bottles with wooden models of old sailing ships inside.
They are cylinder-like objects, the head and bottom are made of metal and equipped with carrying handles and buttons, the body of the cylinder is a red force field.
Inside these containment and preservation devices are "miniature" Voidwalker Fleet Space Fighters.
A dozen Doctor Octopus-style mechanical tentacles reached out from the ceiling and grabbed the cylinders to insert them into transport tubes, which resemble a pneumatic tube system.
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Through a system of pipes, which should belong in a Steampunk setting and not in a Space Opera, a cylinder was sent into the fully automated hangar room.
This hangar does not have a gate that opens to let out a shuttle or Space Fighters, instead it has a large machine resembling an obsidian ring, with X-shaped hooks to hold it in place and power it.
The cylinder was ejected from the ceiling, but it didn't fall down like an apple from a tree.
As soon as the cylinder containing a "model Space Fighter" emerged from the tube, a device resembling a flying saucer or a metal donut created an electromagnetic field to direct the cylinder.
The flying saucer positioned the cylinder in the center of the room, holding it in mid-air half a meter above the ground.
Two mechanical arms emerge from the floor, simultaneously grasp the cylinder lids and turn them.
The energy field disappears, the "miniature" is kept floating, and mechanical arms place the lids into a newly opened compartment in the floor.
A device resembling a laser beam gun, with two barrels, emerged from the floor, just below the "miniature".
BLAM!
The device fired a red laser flash that hit the "miniature".
In a single moment, a small toy that could fit inside a glass bottle became a space combat vehicle.
This Space Fighters design resembles the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, a remotely piloted aircraft and Soundwave's famous vehicle form from Transformers Prime.
The Space Fighters, Laserbeak-020, has a length of 12 meters,
a wingspan of 20 meters and a height of about 4 meters.
C-shaped machinery containing armaments, power cells, and performance-enhancing accessories has emerged from the floor and ceiling of the hangar.
Followed by numerous mechanical arms that function as multi-tool maintenance/repair tools.
A neon red glow emits from the window of the Space Fighters as the machinery arms it.
Similar scenes are unfolding in several dozen automated hangars, as unmanned space fighters are being armed and prepared for takeoff.
PANDORA is a scary AI if provoked, but even scarier is Moonbreaker herself.
A Supercarrier can be thought of as a whale that holds sharks and piranhas inside it, ready to come out and tear the enemy to pieces.
Based on the size of the large monster, one can guess how many minions it carries with it.
It's a soothing thought, knowing that there's a limit to how many opponents can come out of your Starship and attack you.
But if you discover that a 100-kilometer-long Supercarrier has the technology to shrink Starships to the size of bottled models...
It makes you wonder what other devilry is lurking inside.
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PANDORA isn't the only one working, once she discovered the existence of unknown vessels nearby, she sent an alert to the entire crew.
The Moonbreaker is currently practically an anthill full of industrious and bellicose ants.
As soon as the sensors detected the unknown Starships, the crew immediately went to maximum alert.
All shields have been activated and brought to full power.
Engineers are checking out the Starship's weapons systems and engines.
Computer scientists are building defenses for their internal network.
Many other things are happening inside the Moonbreaker.
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On the Moonbreaker's bridge, three bigwigs are running the show, while their Rogue Trader Militant is resting.
Fleet Admiral Iggy.
The First Officer, Lady White.
Finally, Lady High Scientist of Mechanicus, Amelia, who also holds the position of Helmsman of the Moonbreaker.
"Unknown starships in sight, initiating Protocol Sanguinius, repeat, initiating Protocol Sanguinius!" Admiral Iggy declares loudly.
The Ysatnafian Admiral's voice is broadcast throughout Moonbreaker, and if that weren't enough, all public and military holographic screens glow red, with white writing and the symbol of the Sanguinius Protocol: a winged drop of blood.
No individual aboard the Supercarrier can ignore all this racket and light show.
Amelia, at the helm, grimaces slightly. She's not a fan of the Sanguinius Protocol, but I understand that the current circumstances require it.
"War is the result of the complete failure of diplomacy," Amelia thinks, her peaceful and gentle side suffering inside.
'But war is better than seeing my Life Partner hurt,' Amelia thinks, putting aside her heart of gold.
For the hulking space elf woman, her love for the Rogue Trader Militant is far stronger than her beliefs about war and peace.
"For a possible Starship confrontation, we will use the offensive method and use 60 Space Fighters with a self-destruct package and remotely piloted by PANDORA." Lady White said, receiving the information directly from the source.
All the Synthetics in the Fleet are connected to each other in a Private Network, which PANDORA acts as administrator.
"For the defensive, I propose using the six Sparta-class Heavy Cruisers led by Captain Leila." Lady White said, having no problem with using heavy artillery, both metaphorically and physically.
"How many Starships do we have ahead of us?" Iggy asks, wanting to know the potential danger, having not yet received an image.
The ladies on the lower floor raised half an eye to the screen for a few seconds, without interrupting their logistical work.
"A 700-meter Starship surrounded by four smaller 100-meter Starships." Lady White said, receiving the precise information directly into her mind.
"Four Corvettes and a Super-Heavy Corvette or a Super-Light Frigate? A possible Scout group?" Iggy said, treating his conclusions from the image.
Neither the Fleet Admiral nor the First Officer can imagine that those unknown Starships are a patrol composed of a Cruiser and four frigates.
Simply, the standards between the Voidwalker Fleet and the inhabitants of this galaxy are on different levels and scales.
"Just to be safe, we should ask Lady High Psyker of Astra Telepathica and Lady High Witch of Rainbow Coven to prepare their Jokers." Lady White suggests, wanting to use all the resources she has at her disposal.
"The lady leaders of those special divisions are already busy carrying out their duties under the Sanguinius Protocol, diverting their attention could have dire consequences," Iggy said, refusing Lady White's proposal.
"My apologies, Lord Admiral. I'm assuming we're facing a race that focuses solely on traditional science. The design of their Starships doesn't suggest to me that they've developed Magitech, Technomagic, Psitech, or Biotech. If we used the abilities of the Astra Telepathica or Rainbow Coven, we'd have a distinct advantage." Lady White said, convinced their potential opponents were primitives.
"Maybe you're right, maybe not, but it's better not to take risks and show off our full capabilities in the first conflict," Admiral Iggy said, being a calm and reasonable man.
The android woman, of unparalleled beauty, turns to the elf woman at the "helm" of the Supercarrier.
"Lady High Scientist of Mechanicus, would you please leave your current position and return to your division office?" asks Lady White, believing that Amelia might be more useful in a laboratory at the moment.
"In the short term, I'm a more useful woman on the bridge as a Helmsman than as a scientist locked in a lab with nothing to work on," Amelia said, having already made up her mind and not wanting to leave.
Amelia has two great talents: her scientific intellect and her piloting ability.
Her brain has repeatedly earned her the unofficial title of USKY's smartest woman, and all five of her daughters have become super-geniuses recognized as top experts in their fields.
Her brain has repeatedly earned her the unofficial title of USKY's smartest woman, and all five of her daughters have become super-geniuses, recognized as top experts in their fields.
Her talent for driving has made her a living legend among the military, lovers of speed and powerful vehicles.
It doesn't matter if they are Power Armoe, exoskeletons, motorcycles, cars, planes, rockets, Starships or Mecha, Amelia is able to drive them with her eyes closed.
When it comes to Amelia, there's always a debate about whether to send her to the lab to come up with a solution or leave her in the driver's seat and see what she can do with what she finds.
"If the Lady wishes to remain here to pilot the Moonbreaker, I have no objection." Admiral Iggy said, focusing on what he could do.
The smartest ones made the choice to let Amelia decide what role to play.
Furthermore, Fleet Admiral Iggy has no authority over Amelia, as she is his equal in rank.
The High Command of Voidwalker Fleet or High Table is made up of nine positions:
- Lady Administrator of Fleet Network
- Lord Fleet Admiral of Astra Navis
- Lord General Astra Militarum
- Lord Chief of Naval Intelligence
- Lady High Witch of Rainbow Coven
- Lady High Scientist of Mechanicus
- Lady High Psyker of Astra Telepathica
- Lord Captain of Kingsglaive
- Lord Grand Master of the Gray Knights
These nine lieutenants manage an invaluable aspect and/or division for the Voidwalker Fleet, and they all answer to the Rogue Trader Militant, their undisputed leader.
Ignis, as Lord Fleet Admiral, manages all operations and matters concerning the Starships.
Amelia, as Lady High Scientist, manages all of the Starfleet's scientists, engineers, and technicians; the Research and Development department is her domain.
Finally, Amelia has command of her own Division, although it is actually more comparable to an Army, composed of: Collegia Titanica, Iron Knights, Legio Cybernetica, Legiones Skitarius.
"I don't have the authority to tell you what to do, Lady High Scientist, but it would be reassuring to know that Astra Navia has the support of the Mechanicus." Lady White said, sending orders via the iPad in her hands.
Amelia puts a finger near her ear, then begins to talk to her Deputy.
"Rakshata, this is Amelia. I want to make a change of plans. The pilots of the Titanic College remain in the remote cockpit, except for Squad Q-1, which must be prepared for a lightning deployment." Amelia said, choosing to commit a team of four of her best pilots to the offensive.
"Lieutenant Kallen's Star-Mecha is to be equipped with the miniaturized tactical warhead, Zettaflare, and its cockpit is to be the experimental Space-Void LL model." Amelia said, preparing one of her aces for any eventuality.
"Isn't Zettaflare one of the most powerful and difficult-to-use fire magic spells we know of?" asks Admiral Iggy, not being a magic expert, but knowing a lot on a theoretical level.
"Yes, you're right, Iggy. Recently, the Mechanicus managed to create a Magitech weapon capable of recreating 1/10th the power of the Zettaflare spell. It can't level a city, but it can create flames that burn for two days and two nights." Amelia explains a few things about her new weapon.
"With this emergency support, the Sanguinius Protocol will be carried out smoothly," Lady White said, focusing only on the task at hand and not what will happen next.
'At least we're not using the Starkiller Protocol, which eliminates any possibility of dialogue.' Amelia thinks, reflecting on the bright side of this situation.
'The Sanguinius Protocol doesn't make a good first impression, and using the Zettaflare head even less so, but we can't take unnecessary risks.' Amelia thinks, focusing on steering the Moonbreaker.
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The Voidwalker Fleet has seven standard protocols for interacting with new alien species: Starkiller, Sanguinius, Decepticon, Ghost, Militant, Pathfinder, and Goodwitch.
The Rogue Trader Militant of this Space Fleet is a paranoid individual who has prepared protocols for every possible scenario.
The seven standard protocols viewed from a moral point of view are divided into three categories: Bad, Neutral and Good.
The Starkiller Protocol is the worst of all, in the opinion of Amelia and many others.
The entire fleet erases all traces of the USKY, donning extermination armor and unleashing every single weapon they possess. After that, the fleet begins exterminating everything in sight, at any cost, even a planet.
Over the course of 14 years and three expeditions, the Voidwalker Fleet has used the Sanguinius Protocol only once. Although, of course, there's no complete proof of this.
The Ghost Protocol is as neutral as possible, hiding the Voidwalker Fleet from any means of scanning, remaining undetectable for as long as possible, while observing every movement of the strangers.
The Goodwitch Protocol, named after the Rogue Trader Militant's idealistic and super-friendly stepsister.
The Goodwitch Protocol can be summed up in these words: transparency, diplomacy, tolerance, and good intentions.
This Good Samaritan Protocol has been used a dozen or so times, when a planet with a civilization is in danger of extinction, or the Voidwalker Fleet has come into contact with a hyper-peaceful civilization or a naive race that has no concept of lies (yes, they exist).
The Sanguinius Protocol can be described as a dark shade of gray.
The attitude of the entire Voidwalker Fleet is a mix of paranoia, alertness, hostility, and rigid military doctrine.
Everyone works under the principle: prepare the gun and sharpen the hatchet, attack without hesitation at the first sign of danger, and whatever remains at the end of the battle is locked away and studied in minute detail.
If there's no sign of hostility, the principle improves slightly to this: break his jaw, break his legs, break his arms, then knock him out. Finally, throw him into an interrogation room, chained to a chair, then talk until it's clear he should be released beheaded.
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Through the corridors of the Moonbreaker, a pair of individuals are walking together as if it were a matter of life and death.
Kallen K. Scarlet is a Ysatnafian woman, specifically a Ysatnafian of the Hanyo (Hybrids) subrace, but she closely resembles a Majo (Witch) having inherited more racial traits from a single parent than from both.
Kallen is a 171cm tall woman, with a slim but stocky build, a well-proportioned physique and fair skin.
Its most obvious distinguishing features are the large blue eyes, the long, pointed ears of the Ysatnafians - Majo, and the short, pinkish-red hair, naturally pointed.
Its most obvious distinguishing features are the large blue eyes, the long, pointed ears of the Ysatnafians of the Majo sub-race, and the short, pinkish-red hair, naturally pointed.
Kallen is one of the youngest members of the Moonbreaker crew, being only 28 years old, with only 4 of those years spent in the military, all of which were spent aboard the Moonbreaker.
For a Ysatnafian who can easily reach 800 years of age, 28 is an extremely young age, despite being mentally/biologically/legally considered an adult woman.
Anyway, Kallen is racing towards the hangar of Q-1 Squad, a small team of four elite pilots from the Titanic College.
Kallen isn't moving on her own, she's holding a Lalafell named Marucho Totolucho in her arms.
Marucho is a Lalafell, an alien race similar to the Gnomes of Earth's fairy tales, famous for three things:
- The average height of an adult Lalafell, whether male or female, is 90 centimeters.
- The Lalafell are the first alien race with the Ysatnafians they came into official contact with purely by chance, when a Starship from one of the first Rogue Traders crashed on their home planet, Milalla.
- The Lalafell are an extremely kind people, with great talents for agriculture, trade, and craftsmanship.
Some joke that, due to the discovery of the Lalafells, pedophilic crimes have almost vanished from USKY history.
Returning to serious matters.
Marucho is an 84-year-old Lalafell male, 90 centimeters tall, and like all his race, he resembles a prepubescent child.
Marucho has golden blonde hair tied in a small braid with bangs that frame his face, large blue eyes, pointy ears, and pale skin.
He wears red glasses and a blue and black uniform of a Mechanicus engineer, specifically an engineer of the Collegia Titanica.
Marucho is practically the perfect target for any shotacon or lolicon.
"Kallen, I can walk on my own two feet." Marucho said, not appreciating being carried like a sack of potatoes.
"Your legs are short, if I carry you we'll get there quicker." Kallen said, unwilling to put the Lalafell down.
"That's why I'm going to make your belt tighter than it needs to be." Marucho said, as Team Q-1's engineer, he can play little pranks on his pilots.
"Do whatever you want, the important thing is to get to our hangar as quickly as possible. The Lady High Scientist has requested our presence for a special mission!" Kallen exclaims, speaking enthusiastically.
The red-haired woman thinks highly of Amelia, due to her successes as a pilot and creator of Giant Robots, generally known as Mecha.
"We can't refuse orders if they come from the Queen of the Mechanicus, pick up the pace, Kallen!" Marucho declares, changing his mind and pointing his hand towards a shortcut.
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The Moonbreaker has thousands of launch bays and specialized deployment decks to handle its massive internal fleet.
Primary bays, used for the rapid deployment of fighters and aircraft.
Secondary bays, intended for additional support and maintenance.
Material bays, designed for unloading supplies, ground vehicles and heavy equipment.
The Supercarrier also has six macro-hangars arranged inside it as if they were the barrels of a revolver.
Currently, each of these macro-hangars contains one Sparta-class Heavy Cruiser.
This type of Starship boasts a length of 18,000 meters (18 kilometers), a width of 5,000 meters (5 kilometers), a height of 6,000 meters (6 kilometers), and a weight of 300 million metric tons.
To function properly, each Heavy Cruiser requires a minimum crew of 30,000.
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On the bridge of the Heavy Cruiser, Weisswolf, sitting cross-legged on the Captain's throne is a beautiful woman.
Her name is Leila M. Isbre and, despite her age of 30 and six years of military service, she looks like a 17-year-old girl, just out of secondary school.
Leila has amethyst-colored eyes and long, light blonde hair, with bangs that reach her eyes and two strands framing her face. Her hair reaches her lower back and she wears it in two egg-shaped buns, usually held in place with golden hair clips.
He wears a custom blue and black Astra Navis Officer's uniform, with markings that he holds the rank of Starship Captain and that he has command of a Starship Battle Group.
Leila does not belong to any of the breeds that make up the USKY
Leila is a Vestalian, a humanoid alien race nearly identical to humans on the outside, except for their eyes.
The Vestalians come from the Vestal Republic, a federal space state encompassing twenty planets, divided into three star systems.
The Vestalians are a rather advanced alien race, famous for using a particular type of battle machines in the form of mythical creatures as their main weapons.
The Vestal Republic and the USKY enjoy cordial relations with each other and are trading partners in the robotics and computer industries.
In recent decades, the Vestal Republic has been facing several internal problems, the risk of open civil war is a possibility.
Under these conditions, many Vestalians have decided to migrate or seek political asylum in the USKY which has a policy of keeping an open door for refugees.
Leila M. Isbre was brought to USKY territory by her parents as a child to escape danger.
Then a lot happened, and Leia decided to join the Astra Navis, the USKY's naval space military force.
Due to her academic achievements, she was sent to serve in the Voidwalker Fleet.
"Crew members, you must go to your designated positions. In two minutes, the portals will open and we will take off!" Leila declares, informing her subordinates of what is about to happen.
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Returning to the Moonbreaker's bridge.
On the enormous holographic screens PANDORA has activated a communication just received from the unknown Starships.
[I am Captain David Edward Anderson of the Cruiser SSV Tokyo and Senior Officer of the Systems Alliance Navy Patrol Fleet.]
"Humans in space, that's a sign of a galaxy full of problems, more than usual," said one of the women in charge of logistics.
[On behalf of the Systems Alliance, the body representing Earth, its colonies, and its citizens, I greet you and extend the hand of peace. Humanity looks forward to peaceful coexistence with your people. But should you attack us, know that we are no strangers to war and know how to defend ourselves.]
"Admiral Ignis, what do we do, continue with the Sanguinius Protocol?" asks Lady White.
"The Sanguinius Protocol continues, only we will be changing our target, no more destruction operations, instead we will proceed with the neutralization and capture of those Starships." Admiral Iggy said, taking a slightly less bellicose approach.
A small smile appeared on Amelia's face.
"I'm confident PANDORA can execute a crippling cyber attack without causing any human casualties," Amelia said, knowing her digital daughter's capabilities.
"So be it." Admiral Iggy said, waiting to see what would happen in the next few minutes.
Continues ...
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Codex: Difference between Magitech and Technomagic.
Despite what outsiders think, that Magitech and Technomagic are synonyms of the same word, that is, Magic and Technology combined, this is fundamentally wrong.
At USKY, children learn the difference during their first science or magic lessons.
Magitech is magic as technology, magic being used as fuel to power machinery using crystals, runes, or bound spirits.
Magic is being pushed into a more controlled system, usable by the masses for civilian and military purposes. In some cases, powerful magic can be introduced into a purpose-built machine, enhancing it to absurd levels.
A classic example is the self-defense spell [Fireball]. Used alone, it will do little damage. But when used in conjunction with a Magitech scepter specifically designed to work with fire magic, a simple [Fireball] can destroy a car or house.
A person who specializes in Magitech is called an Artificer.
The title originally referred to magic users who specialized in creating magical items, infusing equipment, and using tools to cast spells.
But nowadays it is used to refer to choosing to master the path of Magitech.
Technomagic refers to magic applied to technology, more specifically to the direct interaction of magic with technology.
A person skilled in Technomagic is commonly called a Technomancer.
A technomancer can be considered a hybrid between a scientist and a wizard, but in reality, he is more of a scientist with a cover for magic.
Instead of casting spells using only your own magical power or complex rituals, you channel arcane energy through circuits, microchips, and machinery.
The field in which Technomagic has thrived the most is computer science, creating viruses that can be compared to the demons of hell and methods for allowing physical matter to be converted into information and vice versa.
There is a danger that the Digimon or Bugsters of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid become real.