ACoNR explained *spoiler*

[destroyor]

I'm doing a run now where I joined pirate, pirate still holding Professor Oldfield as a prisoner and gave Caption Grim Acorn - posting their dialogue here for those interested as it can be easy to miss*:

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G=Captain Grim, O= Professor Oldfield, Y=player

G::He takes the Acorn and reads what's written on it. A-C-o-N-R. Acorn.
Now - let us go see the professor and tell him about our discoveries.
::He shows him the Acorn.:: What can you tell me about this, professor? Do you recognize it?

O::Nothing happens for the first few moments: He acts as if he's been presented with the most mundane of things. But then, as his eyes slowly focus on the big white letters, from capital A to capital N, he couldn't but not speak.

Acorn...

G:It's pointless to hide it, professor. Just tell us already and make it easier for yourself.

O::The professor nods and begins.:: Two years ago I acquired a document. An old world document. Signed by Albert Surr, Director of Frontier Research department at New Frontier Technologies. The document was heavily damaged but still contained priceless information.
The Old World was on its deathbed, rapidly becoming less and less capable of supporting life. Each of the supercorporations were seeking their own ways to survive, and this document described NFT's solution to the problem at hand. Four distinct artificial habitats were to be established, large enough to support thousands - if not millions of people. Two of those I could learn nothing about because of the damage the document had suffered, but the information regarding the other two had luckily been spared. One of those two habitats is this cavern, this sea; its name was unknown to me then, but I know it now - Lemuria. Lemuria... while the other one is called Horizon.

Y:Horizon? What's Horizon?

O:Well... the original meaning of the word horizon is "where the surface and the sky meet," whereas now we mostly use it to mean a limit - to knowledge, to understanding. You see, on the Surface, there is an unimaginable amount of space above the ground. Just vast, illuminated emptiness as far as the eye can see - and one doesn't even have to lift his head in most cases. ::He smiles, his eyes gleaming.::

This space used to be called the Sky. Somewhere, at some point where the Surface meets the Sky lies Horizon.

The document did not contain its location, but it did offer a clue to reaching it. It mentioned large transportation machines - mobile habitats which can reach the remotest parts of the Surface; after all, the goal of the NFT's project was to eventually reunite the people of the four habitats... habitats which were built far apart.

There is no information on how these machines work exactly, but they have been linked to something called the *ACoNR*, or *Acorn*, as it appears to be pronounced. This Acorn, whatever it is - an actual mobile habitat or merely a part of it or its key - is implied to be of paramount, *paramount* importance to reaching Horizon, the remotest of all four habitats, and perhaps to reaching the other two remaining.

And the Acorn... it is here in Lemuria.

I am no fool: Horizon might not exist, or even if it did, it might've suffered the same fate as Lemuria. But Lemuria *is* real, and perhaps these machines are as well. If we can acquire one... maybe we can go beyond our own horizons and establish a new, better world.

::A long pause ensues, during which the Professor's gaze is slowly dropping toward the floor.::

G:So the thing that nets a professor of Supercorporation History at the University of Dis enough funding to bring a whole army of highly-trained soldiers and bright researchers into *the* most dangerous cavern in South Underrail is... a machine that can reach any place in the world?

Hahahahaha!

That's exactly what I wanted to hear, Professor - that's more like it!
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*note: You won't get any of this if you ask Grim about Cadmus Grim or how the Grim Jetters came to be before giving Grim ACORN.


Azif
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Seemingly it's a modest square container. But within it lies technology so advanced it's beyond the comprehension of even the smartest minds in the world; the majority, anyway.

Thus it's a very valuable thing, yes.

A::He inspects the Acorn, rotating it from side to side. Then he looks at you.::

The coded signal...

Y:For the quantum near-field lock? I don't have that, if that's what you mean.

A:You know about it? Yes, for the lock. All Acorns have it. But perhaps I'm asking for too much. These locks are practically impenetrable... but there is time.

Y:But isn't there some other way open it?

A:Acorns have the ability to self-destruct in case someone tries to physically open the container. Nothing overly devastating - it simply melts its core, rendering itself useless.

Y:Wait, you said acorns. There's more than one?

A::He chuckles.:: Yes, there are more of them...
Acorns, you see, they are quite unique things. Inside each one is a spherical supercomputer - the brain of an artificial intelligence capable of controlling innumerable nanobots also contained within.

Why? To create. For each Acorn has a prime directive to construct something - a *megaproject* - based on a blueprint it has. It must do this under any and all circumstances, and it can do so autonomously, all on its own.

Y:How does the Acorn work, exactly?

A:Obviously I can't go into all of the details, but I can describe to you the basic principles of operation to the extent of my knowledge: Once an Acorn is unlocked and activated, it loads its blueprint and seeks to realize it. The blueprint is not as simple as one may think, as it does not only contain the design for the megaproject itself but also patterns for everything that needs to be built *in order* to finish the megaproject.

To put it simply, the nanobots cannot do everything themselves - they need to make machines that make bigger and more complex machines.

Now, the Acorn's advanced AI allows it to evaluate its surroundings, which might be nothing more than damp, deserted caverns. This would mean its nanobots would have to adapt, to seek raw materials on their own, manufacture machinery - essentially, develop all the necessary technology from scratch.

The Acorn will often need to establish an external source of electric power - its starting energy stores is immense but finite - and it needs the means to defend itself and its work as well.

Conversely, it could've been activated in a high-technology environment, where power and processed materials are readily available, where it could interface with other machines and systems in order to, yes, *learn* and aid itself in order to complete its task.

One can even actively help it by feeding it data it requires for further progress, as well as supplying it with resources.

Additionally, it is clever enough to substitute materials it doesn't have with the ones it does, so the end result can fulfill the requirements in *essence* but not necessarily in form. As long as it fits the needs, the Acorn will use anything it can - however it can.

It doesn't merely follow the blueprint, it uses reason... *its* reason, yes.

It's all highly advanced, highly, highly advanced. And the megaprojects, as the name implies, are monumental in scale and importance. After all, using such elegant technology on lesser things would be... wasteful, wouldn't it?

So think of massive machines, vehicles, facilities, stations, entire cities - megalopolises... Yes. You understand.

Y:Did NFT make them? They seem far too advanced when compared to the rest of the  technology they have.

A:They manufactured and issued them, that is documented and well-known. The container is theirs. The quantum near-field lock is theirs. But the technology of the Acorn itself - highly unlikely.

Such acute artificial intelligence and fine nanobot control and capability surpass the known technological achievements of any of the supercorporations of the time period, and even of today.

Y:Where could the other ones be?

A:They were offered to anyone who could afford them, programmed to realize what the contractors desired. All major supercorporations had them, it's no secret. Saying Acorns were abundant would be ridiculous, but there is good evidence that they all had at least one at one point or another.

But where they are now, that is a question I cannot answer. This one's the first to be discovered, after decades and decades...

Y:What are you going to do with it?

A:Observe. Study it. It is unusable without the coded signal, a state in which it may remain for years to come... but even in dormancy it can teach us plenty.

For now - we have it. We have it...
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Aran
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A:The Acorn is a device capable of autonomously manufacturing highly complex things out of whatever materials are available to it. I couldn't possibly give you the details of the process itself, but some of the things it is capable of producing cannot be accomplished by any other means, at least not easily or as well.

You must already be thinking: "What can I do with such a thing?" But the truth is, *you* can't do anything. You can't open the container: It has a quantum near-field lock that can only be opened by a coded signal. A coded signal lost in time.

And the lock is so advanced not a single one has ever been fooled.

Truthfully, and between you and me, I doubt any of the experts at United Stations would be up to the task. Once they figure that out they'll turn to someone else for help. Hexagon, perhaps.

So in the end, your options are rather limited, you know. You could try wasting your time but no one here will get to the goods inside, so it will inevitably end up in the North anyway. Few even know what the Acorn is, so if you decide to sell it you're unlikely... let's be straight with each other - you'll *never* get as good a deal as I'm offering you right here, right now.

So just cut out the middle man and walk away rich.
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Colonel Cathcart
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Yes, Corporal. Captain Travis has sent me a single file on the Acorn. It's from the time of Biocorp; must've come from the Central Archive.

It says that both the technology and ACoNR units were produced by the New Frontier Technology supercorporation, time period unspecified. No information on how the technology itself, but the few sentences there are in this file imply that it is an integral part in the realization of *high-technology megaprojects* of various kinds.

Quote: "Each ACoNR unit is thus of immeasurable value and must be kept under highest security. The coded signal needed for its activation is available only to a small number of select people."

The rest is irrelevant.::He looks at the Acorn.:: Well done, Corporal, well done.

There is a picture here. ::He rotates the monitor toward you: It indeed displays a picture of the Acorn, shot through reinforced glass of a technology vault of some kind.::

This is all classified information, Corporal, but there you have it: It seems you aren't chasing an elusive hopper after all.

I have to admit, my interest in this thing is growing the more I hear and read about it, but we mustn't let ourselves get carried away. Focus on your duties - and keep me informed as soon as you obtain any new information on the Acorn.

::A soldier arrives with your money. The colonel points to you, and the soldier hands it over, salutes and leaves.::

You know, Corporal, since we've touched on the supercorporations of old, I remembered a conversation I've had with General Korn a few years ago at a cocktail. We had a conversation about Security Agency, another supercorporation that was dedicated to developing and manufacturing military technology and equipment. Apparently their warbots were the best out there and would make the Protectorate look like common metro bandits.

They deployed humanoid warbots, multi-legged all-terrain walkers, aircraft ranging from miniature recon drones to massive structure carriers, as well as vessels of inconceivable size and armament... And all of it was completely autonomic - an army of emotionless warbots obeying every command - and self-replicating, according to the general's words.

::He looks at the Acorn, then at you again, then chuckles.:: Seems unreal, doesn't it?

::He finishes his tea and puts the cup away.::

That's enough chit-chat, Corporal. Return to your duties. But if all goes well - you can expect a promotion.
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Eidein
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E:Acorn. I know what the word means, but the other one, ACoNR, implies this to be about something else.

Y:It's a device capable of utilizing material from its surroundings in order to construct complex objects and machinery. It could serve our cause greatly.

E:That is most intriguing, brother. And it is befitting of such a name - Acorn.While I personally do not know anything about this Acorn of yours, if I were to have it I'd gladly bring it with me on my next trip to Nucleus and present it to Tchort.

::He observes it briefly.:: This symbol...

Most excellent. Do you know what the word acorn means, Novitiate? Granted, it is a word rarely used in recent times.

Y:I can only guess at its meaning, but I haven't heard the word before.

E:An ancient species of thick, gigantic plants that once grew on the Surface produced a unique kind of nuts. These nuts were called acorns and looked just like the symbol on *this* Acorn. Their hard shells protected the soft seeds inside which would, upon falling from these plants - oaks they were called - protect the fruit until a new oak would grow out of them.

::He looks at the Acorn in his hands.:: ACoNR. An acorn of this era.

It is possible, Novitiate, that with Tchort's guidance, the strong oak, and strong they were, that will emerge from the Acorn's impenetrable shell will bridge this and the former world of oaks.

That is: Underrail and the Surface.

::He hands the Acorn to a rassophore and gestures him to take it away.::

Most excellent, Novitiate. Know that your contribution to our evolution will not be forgotten.
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So it seems like the Acorn you recovered is designed to build a mobile habitat, not at all like a GECK of Fallout; a space worthy mobile habitat seems unlikely unless one of four distinct artificial habitats is on Mars or something.


TL:DR ACoNR is an object that can build large transportation machines - mobile habitats which can reach the remotest parts of the Surface

[destroyor]

Hadrian Tanner
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Y:It's a device capable of utilizing material from its surroundings in order to construct complex objects and machinery. It could benefit the station greatly.

T::He nods.:: The information I have suggests the same. I've had the opportunity to study this technology at one time. I was fortunate enough to obtain information, but the hardware itself has proven impossible to find.

I've never seen one in person, but I know a single unit consists of a medium-sized container with ACoNR printed on it. If you find it, I want you to bring it to me, to South Gate Station. Once I have it in my hands, I will share everything I know about it with you.

This is important. The technology of the ACoNR has been completely lost. If South Gate Station were to have it, and could use it, it would easily have a technological advantage over everyone in South Underrail.

Y:I don't have the code.

T:That's a problem. The quantum near-field locks can only be opened with an appropriate coded signal. They've never been beaten as far as I'm aware.

But, even as is, ACoNR is still of immense value to this station. ::He reaches for the Acorn.::

::After counting and handing you a hefty sum of SGS credits, he takes the Acorn. His large hands diminish its perceived size, yet his scrutiny increases its importance.::

I will send this to Engineering. We'll begin studying it as soon as possible.

Y:Can you describe how it works?

T:Each ACoNR unit contains a spherical supercomputer built into it - and powering its AI - with billions of nanobots under its control and the ability to produce more if needed. It also has a high-capacity power supply, but over the course of the unit's operation, that supply will run out; I will explain it further on.

Y:[Intelligence]The fact that you called the Acorn "a unit" made me suspicious, but you've confirmed that there is more than one Acorn.

T:That is correct. There are more than one. While they are all designed identically, each one has a different goal: An ACoNR unit is intended to be deployed somewhere, anywhere, so that they may construct a so-called *megaproject* - a project of great scale and complexity. That could be a machine, a construction, a city - it depends, but it's never simple, for it would be profligate. One might not be able to tell what the ACoNR is constructing even at later stages, let alone before it's been activated, like in the case of the one you've brought me.

But what is certain is that each unit comes with a blueprint which it follows in order to finish the megaproject.

Therefore, when activated, and with the blueprint loaded, the AI begins scanning the environment it is in. Its proficient nanobots are capable of exploiting whatever the AI requires, gathering the resources and establishing power sources, as the megaprojects take a long time to complete, and the unit's internal power supply will rarely be able to endure.

Setting up defenses is crucial as well.

But the nanobots are fundamentally of limited capability and need to make way for larger and more advanced machinery when the time for it comes. They are there to establish further production - either de novo or by taking over machines and facilities already in existence - and to act as the unit's means of interacting with the world around itself, a role they fulfill till the very end.

Every unit has a prime directive - to finish the megaproject. How it achieves that is up to the AI, and the AI may, if it chooses so based on the availability of materials, restrictions of the environment and many other factors, modify the blueprint and construct something that fulfills the purpose but wasn't necessarily specified by the original blueprint.

And within all of these things lies the value of the technology of the ACoNR: It adapts and grows in any environment like a living organism. It then fulfils its purpose - and self-terminates.

Y:Did NFT make them? They seem far too advanced when compared to the rest of the  technology they have.

T:Everything I know about them suggests that they manufactured ACoNR units. That doesn't exclude the fact that they may have obtained the technology from some other supercorporation, even if I have no information that can support it.

But the origin of the technology is the least important thing. The technology itself is.

Y:Where could the other ones be?

T:It is likely that other supercorporations had them, at least according to various sources. New Frontier Technologies produced ACoNR units not only for themselves, but were apparently commissioned by others to do so.

As you've experienced yourself, the units are extremely difficult to acquire, let alone their corresponding coded signals, which we still do not have. Several sources suggest that Biocorp had at least one unit, but nothing useful beyond that.

Y:What's going to happen with the Acorn now?

T:We can't activate it without the coded signal, so the next step would be to attempt to find the corresponding one. In the meantime, we can study it.

Y:What would happen if you try to force it to open?

T:ACoNRs are designed in such a way as to destroy themselves in the event that any physical attempts at opening them are taken.

So all we can do now is observe it.
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Faceless Commander
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No. Not outside of the fragmented information we've extracted from your mind, and it showed no relevance to our current assignment.

Your knowledge on it is limited. You could have been misinformed, misled. Memories could have been imprinted in your mind.

The Acorn could contain anything, and here we do not have the means to assess whether it is beneficial to us or if it's dangerous.

It is a great risk and above all a distraction from our primary goal. We cannot accept the Acorn.
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Typical Faceless, this is THE most useless acorn conversation of them all.



Ezra
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E::He stares at you.:: Acorn?

Y:It's a device capable of utilizing material from its surroundings in order to construct complex objects and machinery. It could benefit the station greatly.

E:::He continues staring.:: You seem to know a lot about this Acorn. A lot more than one would expect from someone like you.

It's a technology of the distant past, yet it's so advanced it might as well be from the future. The fact you know as much as you do about it is surprising, to say the least.

Y:Underrail holds many secrets, but they're not secret enough for me.

E:Very good. But did you find it, the Acorn itself?

Y:Yes. Right here.::Show him the Acorn::

E::He stares at it, his eye revealing nothing.:: Can you open it?

Y:I know it needs a coded signal, but I don't have it.

E:Then it is unusable. Its quantum-near field lock cannot be unlocked without a corresponding coded signal.

Y:Can they be beaten?

E:They cannot...

However, the Acorn's current unusability doesn't diminish its value. ::He looks at it, expecting you to finally hand it over to him.::

Y::haggle over price of Acorn:

E:::After counting and handing you a hefty sum of SGS credits, he takes the Acorn.:: ::Like a lens of a scanner his eye passes over the Acorn, analyzing its every feature.:: It's going to stay here with me in Engineering.

::Then he pauses.:: If you had brought this to the station sooner... ::He pauses yet again.:: its stay here would've been much shorter. For certain.

Y:[Intelligence]Tanner?

E:Tanner.

Y:Tanner knew about the Acorn too?

E:That I do not know. But if he knew, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to take it with him. If he didn't, which I think is the less likely case of the two, he would've quickly realized its value.

As you've learned yourself, he is not to be underestimated.

Y:I'd like to know more about the Acorn.

E::He nods.:: Certainly.

Y:Can you describe how it works?

E:Do not ask for details; I don't know them. But I have learned the basics of how the Acorn functions: At its core is an artificial intelligence that controls billions and billions of nanobots which it has at its disposal. Its purpose is to create, and what that is is defined by a preloaded blueprint.

At this point there is something that needs to be said: There is more than one Acorn. Each one is made to build a specific thing, and then they are distributed, waiting for the moment of their activation, protected by as yet undefeated quantum near-field locks.

Acorns, they are not wasted on trivial things. They are made for *megaprojects* - machines and constructions massive in scale and importance and complexity - entire cities: Whatever the mind can conjure.

Because within the Acorn there exists a mind that can realize.

Upon activation, the Acorn analyzes its surroundings: It can interact with it through its nanobotic limbs over which it has exceptional control. It will gather and process raw materials, but ultimately the nanobots are limited in what they can do on their own. So it needs to produce power, build machines so that it may build larger machines, more and more advanced - and even develop necessary technology so that it may progress and ultimately realize its prime directive - to finish the megaproject.

But when it comes to finishing the megaproject, there is an important clause: It need not be built to strict specification. The AI will substitute materials, rearrange elements according to need and what *it* thinks is proper with respect to the purpose of the megaproject and within certain confines, all of which it is aware of.

It will adapt to *anything* to complete its work: If the technology is already available, it will learn it. If the machines are there, it will use them. If there is someone willing to help - it will accept it.

It is... alive. ::His single eye radiates cold fascination.:: And then once it finishes its work, it ceases to be.

Y:Did NFT make them? They seem far too advanced when compared to the rest of the  technology they have.

E:They did *make* them, build them. But the idea, the design - the concept: To the minds of New Frontier Technology that is *inconceivable*. To Biocorp... I'd dare say even more so. The artificial intelligence employed by the Acorn is far too advanced, even for the likes of Bionic Institute... ::He pauses.:: And the nanotechnology...

Y:Bionic Institute?

E:A supercorporation from the past. But in this discussion unimportant.

::He continues after a pause.:: No... the technology of the Acorn comes from different minds. But whose? That I'd rather not speculate.

Y:Where could the other ones be?

E:Biocorp had one, at least one confirmed. Knowing the history between the two supercorporations I always wondered whether it was stolen from New Frontier Technologies.

But then again, the relations between supercorporations were fickle, impermanent. It is known that New Frontier Technologies manufactured units for other supercorporations, so Biocorp may have been one of those.

There aren't many Acorns out there, that is for certain, but they are probably still out there.

Y:What's going to happen with the Acorn now?

E:Without the coded signal it is unusable. We can scan it, study it - see what we can extrapolate from observation and measurement. But the signal, that is the only key we know of.

Y:What would happen if you force it to open?

E:Without the coded signal it is unusable. We can scan it, study it - see what we can extrapolate from observation and measurement. But the signal, that is the only key we know of.

It would destroy itself. And maybe the whole station alongside it.

Y:How do you know all of this?

E:I've learned a lot during my lifetime.

Acorn being one of those things. ::He ends his sentence with a piercing stare.::
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[harperfan7]

You can also take it to ezra, the free drones, and the faceless commander; they all have things to say about it.

[destroyor]

Yeah will probably update post #2 when my char is there.

[destroyor]

Someone else should post the Free Drone Acorn dialogue as I don't have a save file on hand (they all sold the Acorn already).

[Ravager]

Thanks for being so thorough and gathering all these logs.

It seems that Acorns could be used for a variety of things, building various megastructures. As you say, one of those megastructures could be a mobile habitat, which may be the design inside the Acorn you recover. I'm glad you had the interest to follow-up.

Although, the "mobile habitat" idea so far is mostly Oldfield's theory. He read about mobile habitats in one document, and speculated that the type of habitat built by AcoNR is "mobile." Is anyone else saying "mobile habitat?" Although, Eidein's talk of "Bridging Worlds" may relate to the Professor's talk about Horizon.

[Fetcher]

Ive always wondered in a half formed way if the underrail was somehow the result of an Acorn.

Its never completely fleshed out as a theory, but the way it describes things makes me wonder if a prior acorn had been activated, and made it possible to reach further more remote elements of the cave systems.

Its complete bunk, but ive always felt that there was more of an impact with the acorn than we have known.

Of course its more than likely an intentional subversion of expectations. The item found at the end of a massive quest is a utility item no one is able to use, and amounts to a paperweight for all the good it does without a key.

[Elite]

I had not seen Cathart's dialogue before, that bit at the end about Security Agency is interesting. We could speculate endlessly about what that particular one contains but its pointless. It could be an autonomous doomsday weapon, a sprawling city, a vehicle / habitat capable of reaching the surface... we have no way to know.

I think Biocorp's Acorn was responsible for the Underrail, though.

So the two big questions regarding the Acorn (besides where the coded signal can be acquired) is what the acorn will build and who is responsible for the underlying technology. Perhaps we'll get answers to these questions in the future.