The Pods
Flood: Thanks to Zion's own precious red pill programs, we've located some of the other Machine pod clusters. The General and his Sentinels have been dispatched to investigate. Although we knew that they were out there, of course, I find any reminder of there being more of you out there distressing. For some reason, Malphas enjoys this sort of thing, and I'm told that he has further details to impart. I'll thank you to keep them to yourself.
Operator: His Broodiness is in there.
Blood Noble: Yes.. I suppose you do look like someone who grew up blind and dumb in a pod.
Blood Noble: I agree with the Machines on that. Humans are delicious energy sources.
Malphas: The General was able to sample the power output of the pod cluster next to the Fields, using the nearby battle between EPN and the Machines as cover. With that information, once we can calculate the total number of humans in Machine pods, we can estimate the total energy that the Machines have at their disposal--assuming that the pods, with humans and their mysterious form of fusion, are their sole energy source. The General and his Sentinels are attempting to scout further afield now in an attempt to estimate pod cluster density. His increased distance, however, is causing communication difficulties. Flood will have instructions for you regarding this.
Malphas: They must have some other source... Hm? Oh, nothing. Please proceed, operative.
Flood: Here's some news for you that shouldn't come as much of a surprise, operative: the General is making a botch of things, and we've got to save him once again from the depths of his own of ineptitude. Not only is his long range broadcast signal straying, but the Machines have picked it up. We seem to have located it, but you'll have to beat the toasters off with a stick before you can receive his transmission.
Operator: At least when the General's involved, Flood makes fun of him instead of us. Okay... I think I've got a reading on the General's projected signal in there, but I've also got Machines all over the place.
Security: This information is prohibited.
Security: They must not be allowed to make contact.
Operator: That takes care of them for now. Let's see what the General's got that's so important.
Holographic Projection: ...scouts have found more pod clusters......rough grid pattern...approximately every 100 to 150 miles. These clusters... ...tenth of the size of the cluster by the Fields... Will continue operation until...
Operator: Okay, I think I caught the gist of that. Let's go see what Flood wants us to do with this forbidden data.
Flood: What did I tell you before about deluging me with trivial figures, Mayk? Save them for someone who's paid to care. Now, try to pay attention. You're to go speak to Sunshine, an insufferably cheerful program who managed the Machine's solar power operation before you vile humans shrouded the entire planet in shadow. Why? Always questions with you, isn't it, operative? You're to get some idea from her of the total surface area the Machines might have at their disposal for their pods. That's right: more numbers.
Operator: Sunshine usually hangs out with her Phoenix gang near the docks in Ikebukuro, but when you work for the Merv, the riff-raff come to you! Oh, well, she could be classy for all I know.
Phoenix Inferno: Don't mess with our Sunshine.
Phoenix Inferno: I don't think I'd ever want to go out...there. It sounds awful.
Sunshine: Hi! Gee, the Merv doesn't ask me for help much. This is exciting! Hm...Total surface area... Well... The Machines didn't really let me stick around for very long once there was no more sunlight, but I've heard that those clouds have caused the Earth to cool abit--though not nearly as much as you'd have thought. But even with just a little cooling, the polar ice caps will expand, and there will be increased glaciation in mountain ranges... Oh, well, and the Machines can't keep humans in really cold areas, you know; then they'd have to heat them, and that wouldn't be efficient. So, hm... I'd say as a rough figure, maybe about 1/16th of the Earth's surface is good for storing humans. Do you think that's helpful?
Operator: There's no way she's really that cheerful...but I suppose that guesstimate of hers is better than nothing.
Sunshine: Oh, yay! Well, good luck! I wish the sun would come back. I didn't get to find out just what it was that the humans did, but it must really have been something to keep that storm going all this time!
Flood: Well, operative, now that you've collected your sackful of numbers, kindly deliver them to our noble leader.
Operator: 100 divided by 16... Wait... Circumference equals Pi times diameter... Oh, forget it. Yep, the boss is in there, and I think old Malphas is, too.
Elite Guard: I can't see why there's all this fuss over you humans, anyway.
Elite Guard: Can't you do that in your head? Sad.
Elite Guard: Good thing the Machines had to go take care of other business.
Twin: Here's something that's been puzzling me. Why go to the trouble of faking this big city? I'd think most chaps would be perfectly happy floating in jelly, every bodily function catered to. Just hook up a telly with old re-runs, and Bob's your uncle.
Twin: You'd save them a fortune on their power bill, you would. Only, what if they couldn't get any good shows?
Twin: If they could get the old classics, it just might work.
Twin: Well, I can't be expected to think of everything.
Malphas: Hm... 1/16th of the surface... Clusters of pods 100 to 150 miles apart...containing 1/10th of the 3 million of the large cluster near the Fields... That works out to nearly 1000 pod clusters, and close to 300 million humans in them. That is more than three times higher than our previous estimate, but the population output of the Fields would be too low to account for the birth rate seen in the Matrix.
Malphas: Numbers are easily manipulated. It would be dangerous to make hasty decisions based on these rough estimates.
The Merovingian: 300 million? Eh, that is more like it, mais... Even at 100 times the amount of power the General sampled from the 3 million, it is still not... Well, I don't wish to bore you, mon ami. Suffice it to say that we must have the General look still further afield, eh? These numbers do not yet add up.
The Merovingian: I will tell you though, Mayk, that I am starting to suspect why the Machines are not acting like their old selves.
Flood: It's a tedious business, operative, and I still don't see why I'm supposed to care one jot about that mud-ball of yours, or what the Machines do with it. As for their power output, well, so long as they have enough juice to keep this place going, what does it matter?
((And that's it until next time))
