tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69752095735440989932024-02-19T02:21:59.696-08:00Toxic StarsThe Future of Humankind in the Cthulhu MythosMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-51681849033968370402016-12-30T07:36:00.001-08:002016-12-30T07:36:20.444-08:00CH3: Breakout, Part 11<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>The Raid on the Urban Palace</u></b><br /><br /> Even as IntSec was cracking down on the Vanguardists, armed elements of Republican forces in the wastes returned to Elysium along well-established smuggling routes. Once in the city, they linked up with local Republican cadres, and on January 4th, 5027, raided the Urban Palace of the Autarch, where MuniPrin Lee Ludei was being held. <br /><br /> The Urban Palace had been built by the preceding dynasty, and had largely fallen out of use during the Ludei dynasty, who preferred the Third Palace and the New Palace. However, the Autarchs still found uses for it, such as housing noble prisoners in relative comfort. The revolutionaries cut the power to the palace, killed several guards, and managed to exfiltrate afterwards, fleeing into the waste, but MuniPrin Lee and MuniPrix Sara were killed in the fighting. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /> One week after the raid on the Urban Palace, Autarch Miraxus II made a rare public broadcast to the entire city of Elysium, accusing the Amazonis Bloc of being behind the recent terrorist outrages. He demanded a slew of concessions from the Bloc, and threatened war if they did not comply. The next day, Amazonis forces attacked Elysian positions all along the border. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2016/12/ch3-breakout-part-10.html">Previous</a> Next </span></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-4771777174118191882016-12-30T07:34:00.001-08:002016-12-30T07:36:31.883-08:00CH3: Breakout, Part 10<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“We're through!” Pel shouts over the roar of the wind. The outer airlock door lies in pieces behind him, the inner door cracked open by a crowbar. One of his men pulls it the rest of the way open while Pel and three others cover it with their rifles, but there's no one on the other side.<br /><br /> The original plan was for Mara, Fir, and the MuniPrin to meet them at the lock, but given that they had to cut the lock open, the original plan is obviously no longer a viable program. And he can hear gunfire coming from deeper in the Palace. Pel points to two of his soldiers and signals – <i>stay here</i> – and then to four more – <i>follow me</i>. He moves forward, heading towards the sound of the guns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mara fires, then reloads, hands moving automatically, muscle reflexes beaten in long ago. <i>Last clip</i>, she notes, as she takes careful aim past the edge of the wall and squeezes off a shot through the smoke. A man in a guard uniform falls out from cover, his face a red mass, and that leaves three ahead of her, and who knows how many behind, and more coming every second. The remaining guards return fire, and she ducks back coughing as the bullets slam into the corner of the wall, sending chips of concrete flying into her face.<br /><br /> She feels a popping in her ears, and a change in the pitch of the sirens, and realizes that the Palace is beginning to depressurize.<br /><br /> Someone grabs her leg, and she looks back. It's the MuniPrin, and he's saying something, but she can't hear over the roar of gunfire and the wail of sirens. And then she sees the red dripping from his chest.<br /><br /> There's a first aid kit in her bag, and she fumbles for it, hands shaking. He must have been caught in the crossfire – a ricochet or something – she tears his shirt open, revealing a neat bullet hole right over the MuniPrin's left lung, blood bubbling over it, and she realizes that the reason he's gasping is that his lung is punctured. His chest is slick with blood, and she finds a bandage and holds it over the wounds, desperately praying it will somehow help.<br /><br /> He's trying to say something. She leans closer – but whatever he's trying to say, she can't hear him, and she realizes that this really was all for nothing, as he begins to cough blood.<br /><br /> And then she realizes the guards ahead of her are starting to advance, and she reaches for her pistol again. “I'm sorry, sir,” she shouts, and hopes he hears her. She turns from him, sights down the corridor, and pulls the trigger.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Iskander Iskandrus is in the main hall, heading for the crawler ports at a brisk walk, when he hears the tone of the sirens change pitch, to the tone warning of imminent depressurization. It's an automatic response – put out the fire by taking away the oxygen. He walks a little faster.<br /><br /> The air is getting hazy, and he can see wisps of smoke leaking from the seams of the hidden doors leading to the servants' section. Regrettable – there are some fine paintings here, and the smoke will ruin them. But then one can hardly expect a gaggle of low-born malcontents to have respect for such things. No matter – somewhere close by he can hear automatic gunfire, which means they're still in play, and therefore still keeping the guards off-balance, which is more than he hoped for. With a little luck they'll hold out until he's out of the building.<br /><br /> The hall widens here into a circular, domed chamber, twenty meters wide, the hall continuing on the other side. The ceiling here is a glass dome, covered in sand from the storm outside, the only light a few flickering emergency lights. This was the ball room back when the Autarch lived at the Urban Palace. This was where they held the famous Storm Ball, in the middle of a blinding sandstorm, when his ancestor Harken Iskandrus assassinated the last of the Questradi dynasty, to clear the way for the Ludeis. They'd been rewarded richly for that, their family elevated to second only to the Ludeis themselves, until they'd lost the nerve to do what had to be done to keep their power.<br /><br /> Except for himself, obviously, and he shifts his shoulders under the weight of the carrybag. The book is buried under a pile of clothes and jewelry hastily thrown on top as camouflage. It feels strangely heavy.<br /><br /> A pair of guards run into the room, guns drawn, heading towards the sounds of battle, stopping short when they see him. “Sir!” one shouts. He has a lieutenant's pips at his shoulders, and Iskander vaguely recognizes him – something Thirsus. “You need to evacuate, there's a fire-”<br /><br /> “I know. I'm on my way to the crawler port now,” Iskander replies. “If you'd care to escort me-”<br /><br /> “Corporal Sard, escort the MuniPat to the crawler port,” the lieutenant orders. “Sargeant, with me.”<br /><br /> The lieutenant dashes off, deeper into the Palace. Iskander frowns slightly, but decides not to make a point of his rudeness.<br /><br /> There will be plenty of time for such things later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two bullets left. And four guards ahead of her. The firing has died down for the moment. Probably waiting for more reinforcements – they can take their time. They're not in any hurry.<br /><br /> The prince is sitting leaning against the wall. He's not moving. Mara's pretty sure he's not breathing – but she can't quite bring herself to check.<br /><br /> Fir turns to her. <i>Ammo?</i> he signs. She shakes her head, raises two fingers. He nods.<br /><br /> They won't take her alive. She'll take one more shot, and then herself.<br /><br /> She's walked a long, hard road to get here. And to her own mild surprise, she has no regrets, no bitterness. She's done her duty, and if it's her duty to die here, then that's what she'll do.<br /><br /> And it's at that moment that Pel's grenade lands in the middle of the guards down the corridor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/08/ch3-breakout-part-9.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2016/12/ch3-breakout-part-11.html">Next</a></span></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-66135891830710383532015-12-13T20:28:00.001-08:002015-12-13T20:33:58.734-08:00Review: New Cthluhu 2<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recently finished <i>New Cthulhu 2: More Recent Weird</i>, edited by Paula Guran.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the subtitle implies, the <i>New Cthulhu</i> series covers more recent Lovecraftian works - I believe most/all of the stories in this anthology have been previously printed elsewhere. This second installment contains stories written between 2010 and 2014, and is an exquisite display of the ongoing Lovecraftian renaissance. To highlight a few examples:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The Same Deep Waters As You", by Brian Hodge, starts the anthology on a strong note. An "animal whisperer" is recruited by the military, in an attempt to figure out why a group of imprisoned Deep Ones, kept on an island off the West Coast since the 1929 raid on Innsmouth, have suddenly started acting up. Excellent atmosphere and character, that doesn't shy away from the ethical issues that increasingly appear in modern portrayals of the Deep Ones - but more on that in a bit. One of my favorites in the collection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Mysterium Tremendum", by Laird Barron. A group of friends go camping in the mountains, following the advice of a strange tourist guidebook that is (of course) more then it appears. Starts very strong, with a slow but steady build of creepiness, but is let down by an overly-gorey and unoriginal ending.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The Transition of Elizabeth Haskings", by Caitlin Kiernan. A character sketch of a resident of modern-day Innsmouth, trying to cope with what, over time, tends to happen to residents of Innsmouth. Kiernan, as always, is brilliant; my only complaint is that they picked such a short tale! Surely they could have found room for one of Kiernan's longer pieces!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The Litany of
Earth", by Ruthanna Emrys. I want to talk about this story because I
feel it exemplifies an issue I see in a lot of the better modern
Lovecraftian fiction. Given Lovecraft's, well, absolutely toxic
racism, it's understandable that authors want to invert it, both because
a) surprise factor and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">because </span>b) fuck racism. And some authors can
write a Lovecraftian tale where that really works - Kiernan's
"Transition" in this very anthology is an example. But "Litany" is
not. Now, I'm not saying it's a bad <i>story</i>, because it isn't; it's quite a good story. But it's not a <i>Lovecraftian</i> story.
When you make the monsters of a Lovecraft story sympathetic, you have
to be very careful to avoid humanizing them - because if they're just
humans with a weird religion or a scales instead of skin, then what you've got is a parable on tolerance and bigotry, not a Lovecraftian story. Now, as I said, "Litany" is a very good parable, but I don't think it really belongs in this book, because there's no monster here, no cosmic awe, just misunderstood people struggling with the racism of 1940s America.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The Wreck of the <i>Charles Dexter Ward</i>", by Elizabeth Moon and Sarah Monette. Set in Moon's boojum universe, a renegade doctor signs on to an Arkhamer vessel intending to salvage a wrecked boojum-ship - but of course, there turns out to be more then there appears. One of the weaker stories in this verse, in my view - a bit too heavy on the gore for effect, and in a universe like the boojum-verse, <span style="color: #444444;">reanimated dead</span> just don't pack much punch. But even a weaker jaunt by Moon is still head and shoulders above most authors' best efforts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Equoid", by Charlie Stross. Set in the Laundry Files, Bob Howard has to deal with a unicorn. Has all the virtues and flaws of Stross's Laundry tales, which is to say it's a lot of fun, and as a Lovecraftian tale is significantly better than the average, but still doesn't quite hit on all cylinders.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Summing up, 4/5 stars. Highly recommended.</span> </span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-6783755111706560342015-11-30T18:42:00.000-08:002015-11-30T18:42:02.728-08:00Review: The Cult of Alien Gods<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently finished <i>The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture</i>, by Jason Colavito, which I highly recommend.</span>
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There's a couple of things going on here. First, Colavito makes a -
fairly convincing - argument that modern ancient astronaut theories
derive originally from the work of H. P. Lovecraft, via the proto-New
Age book <i>Morning of the Magicians</i>. Second, he traces the
development of ancient astronautics to the present day, though, since
the book was published in 2005, he stops before <i>Ancient Aliens</i>.
Third, he uses this to make a broader argument about the decadence of
Western culture, and a turning-away from science and rationalism.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To take these points in order: while Colavito's arguments are not quite conclusive, he demonstrates that the authors of <i>Morning of the Magicians</i>
were definitely familiar with Lovecraft's work, and makes a reasonable
argument for the descent of the rest of ancient astronautics from there.
If there's a flaw with this argument, it's that the rest of the
ancient astronauticists only know the theory via <i>Morning</i> - or, more commonly, via the work of van Daniken, who drew on <i>Morning</i>,
placing them one step further from the original source. This raises
the question of how much this matters: yes, there's a lineage from
Stitchin and Hancock to Lovecraft, but so what? There's no evidence of
any direct inspiration there, so I'm not sure how much that tells us.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, despite the title, Lovecraft is only a small part of the book,
which is primarily concerned with tracing the history of ancient
astronautics, a task it succeeds admirably at. This is the meat of the
book, and it's a tasty meal indeed. Colavito takes us from <i>Morning</i>
to von Daniken to the Sirius mystery, Sitchin, Hancock, and then
ultimately to UFO cults like Heaven's Gate and the Raelians. This is
an admirable piece of scholarship, one I am sure I will consult in
future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, while I'm sympathetic to his attempt to tie this into a broader
argument about cultural decadence, I don't think he really succeeds.
In particular, I don't think he really shows that there's a qualitative
or quantitative difference between modern pseudoscience beliefs and the
pseudoscientific beliefs of earlier periods. Does ancient astronautics
today have any more influence then the Theosophicals and spiritualists
of the 19th century, or the folk superstitions of the 18th? This is a
small part of the book, but an important one, and I don't think this
point is really addressed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All in all, I highly recommend this book. 4/5 stars.</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-59172040544513748662015-08-26T13:38:00.000-07:002015-08-26T13:38:30.552-07:00Review: The Annihilation Score<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finished <i>The Annihilation Score</i> by Charles Stross, the latest of the Laundry Files.</span>
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Unlike previous books in the series, the title character of this one is
Mo, Bob's wife and bearer of a certain violin made by a certain Erich
Zann for less then wholesome purposes. Bob appears occasionally in the
novel, but is mostly off-screen. As the book opens, CASE NIGHTMARE
GREEN is starting to accelerate, as the combined mental activity of
billions of humans and zillions of computers strains the fabric of
spacetime, causing all sorts of unfortunate incidents. The latest is
an appearance of people with superpowers: about one in a million humans
is spontaneously developing occult powers, which - thanks to Marvel and
DC - most of them are interpreting as superpowers, at least in the West.
Mo is tasked with setting up an official "superpower police" to act
as a stalking horse for the Laundry, to try to get a handle on the
situation. In this task she is assisted by Ramona Random, a Deep One
and ex-Laundry operative currently transitioning between species; Mhari
Murphy, a vampire with an MBA and recent Laundry re-recruit; and Officer
Friendly, a British police superintendent who has recently acquired
FISS-package superpowers (flight, invulnerability, superstrength).<br />
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Now, I'm going to say right out that I'm still giving this book 4/5
stars, because it's fun and well-written, but this is definitely the
weakest installment of the Laundry to date. The problem isn't Mo, who
works quite well as a character. The problem is that, well, realistic
superheroes and Lovecraftian horror are two great tastes that don't
really taste great together. It just doesn't work, especially since,
main characters aside, most of the superpowers are not particularly
Lovecraftian; the only horrific part of them is that<span style="color: #4c1130;"> they gradually eat your brain from K syndrome, giving you early-onset senility over a few months or years</span>. And, I'm sorry, but who the villain turns out to be is just dumb.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That said, it is well-written and fun, and the climax is a complete
exception to the above: a real virtuoso performance (no pun intended),
brilliantly written and drippingly atmospheric. So <i>Annihilation Score</i> still gets 4/5, if nothing else because - complaints aside - it's <i>still</i> better then most Mythos fiction out there today. But I think this series really peaked around the time of <i>The Apocalypse Codex</i>, and has been trending downward since then.</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-71597434998930056322015-08-02T17:12:00.000-07:002016-12-30T07:34:32.944-08:00CH3: Breakout, Part 9<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
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surface roads are already almost deserted. The crawler has to
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They hit the waypoint just as the wall of sand descends, the flying
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crawler bumps and almost rolls as they turn off the road onto the
rough, uneven terrain, running on instruments and inertial
navigation. There's a jarring <i>thump</i> as they run into the
outer fence – and keep right on going.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Mara,
Fir, and the prince move swiftly down the darkened hallway, heading
for the emergency airlock, Mara in the lead, Fir guarding the rear.
Sirens are blaring somewhere, competing with the shriek of the
windstorm outside, and she feels a thrill of surprise that the plan
is <i>working</i>, it's <i>working, </i>they're <i>almost there</i> –
just another thirty meters to the airlock, then onto the crawler and
north to the wastes, and she realizes that she had never dared to
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and voices, somewhere up ahead. Mara raises her hand for silence,
then gestures towards a door, and they pile through into a closet
holding cleaning supplies and linens, and the body of the man Fir
killed on their way in, lying in a corner with his neck at an angle
it should not be able to bend at. The MuniPrin swallows and his
face goes pale when he sees him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Mara
leans against the door, trying to hear through the thick plastic.
Footsteps? No. The door's too thick to hear through, she can't
make out anything. She visualizes the corridor outside, and tries
to estimate how long it would take to walk down. She settles on
ninety seconds, and starts to count. <i>One one thousand, two one
thousand, three</i>...</span></span></div>
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MuniPrin kneels by the side of the dead body. He reaches out and
closes the dead man's eyes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Fifty
one thousand, fifty two one thousand, fifty three one thousand</i>...
Mara's stomach is tying itself in knots. They're <i>so close</i>,
they can't be caught now. <i>Fifty four one thousand – is that
smoke?</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> It
is. She can smell smoke, faint but that's definitely smoke.
Nothing to be done about that now. <i>Fifty five one thousand,
fifty six one thousand</i>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
MuniPrin stands. His expression is sad, and perhaps scared.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Ninety
one thousand</i>. Mara opens the door two centimeters and peeks
out. Two men are standing just a few meters down the hallway,
dressed in the uniforms of Palace security. “You get him,” one
is saying, “I'll head to the – hey–” and he's seen her and
she aims the pistol and pulls the trigger pop pop pop pop –</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
crawler is booking now, engine whining as the driver pushes the
throttle to the floor. He catches a glimpse of the inner fence an
instant before they hit it, and then it's down and they're through.
And now he can see the bulk of the Urban Palace just ahead, a
darkness in the haze, and the crawler shudders to a stop.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “Go
go go go!” someone yells, and the extraction team piles out through
the back hatch, wading through the red soup of sand. Someone is
shooting at them, the bang-bang-bang of bullets almost lost in the
wind's scream, but they haven't a chance in hell of hitting them
through the murk. The autogun team replies anyway, laying down
suppressing fire from the crawler while the rest of the squad starts
cutting through the outer airlock door.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “Move
move move!” Mara yells, and they're running down the hallway, two
bleeding bodies left in their wake, ears ringing from the gun shots.
The MuniPrin looks like he's going to be sick, but for now he's
still holding it together.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Down
a hall lined with priceless antiques, then through a door disguised
as part of the wall, into the servants' halls, dim emergency lights
casting a ghostly glow over the concrete floors and tiled walls.
Twenty meters, a left turn and then a straight shot – but there's
somebody on the other side of the turn, three somebodies with guard
uniforms. Mara pulls the trigger and holds it down, spraying the
corridor ahead with bullets as she falls back behind the turn of the
hall, the guards replying with rifle fire.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And
then she hears shots coming from behind them as well, and the pop of
Fir returning fire, and her guts turn to ice as she realizes they're
pinned down.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/p-margin-bottom-0.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2016/12/ch3-breakout-part-10.html">Next</a> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-35401255465813426882015-07-12T21:57:00.003-07:002015-08-02T17:12:24.031-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 8<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><u><b>The
Campaign of the Vanguardists</b></u></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> The
Vanguardists were a break-away faction of Zealots, who felt the
Zealot leadership were insufficiently vigorous in their approach.
The Vanguardist faction believed that, while the lower classes must
necessarily furnish the mass and troops of the revolution, they could
not move by themselves, but must </span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">be</span></span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
moved by a “vanguard” of professional revolutionaries. In order
for that vanguard to secure the leadership of the lower classes, it
must demonstrate its fitness for that leadership, by beginning the
revolution </span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">before</span></span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
obtaining the leadership. To that end, they planned, prepared, and
carried out a campaign of assassination and terrorism targeting the
municipal aristocracy.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
Vanguardists never numbered more then forty members, even at their
height, and might have passed into history as one of many irrelevant
minor splinter factions. But, apparently by sheer luck, they
avoided infiltration by the municipal IntSec, and in 5026 caught
Prince Iskellus, a nephew of the Autarch and leader of the Autarchial
faction, without his bodyguard. Two Vanguardist assassins put seven
bullets into him and fled, eluding initial efforts by IntSec to
capture them. The Prince died on the spot.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
ensuing outcry among the educated classes was vociferous and
sustained, especially as one of the assassins was reported to have
been a minor aristocrat, who had fallen in with the Vanguardists
while studying at the Elysium Academy. All of the non-radical
parties condemned the attack, and urged a strict police response.
The Vanguardists waged a brief terrorism campaign, including a failed
attempt to bomb IntSec headquarters, but the masses failed to acclaim
them as leaders, and within two months the core of the movement had
been arrested or killed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: lime;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: lime;"><u><b>Interrupt
from Author:</b></u></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
I'm not sure why this didn't make it into the history books, but a
</span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lot</span></span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
of people at the time – and not just radicals – thought that
IntSec </span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">allowed</span></span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the Vanguardists to kill Prince Iskellus, to ensure public support
for the war with Amazonis and/or for a crackdown on radical groups.
The Zealot underground was shot through with police informers – as,
let's be honest, all undergrounds are – and it strains credulity
that the Vanguardists could mount that kind of operation without
IntSec knowing in advance. Especially since they mopped up the
Vanguardists so quickly afterwards. And there were certainly
elements within IntSec that were much more competent, and much better
informed, then the idiots at the top. Nobody could ever prove it,
of course, but I think it's the most likely possibility.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/ch5-breakout-part-7.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/08/ch3-breakout-part-9.html">Next</a></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-18437365676569406292015-07-12T09:56:00.000-07:002015-07-13T19:17:12.010-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 7<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
man with the binoculars is still standing in the hangar entryway,
waiting. He won't have to wait much longer. The dust storm is
growing bigger every second, a vast, billowing, choking auburn cloud
of sand and grit swept up from the northern wastes. But right now
he's focused on the Palace, waiting for the signal, tension riding
his spine. And then – a flicker, another, and the lights go out,
and he grins ferociously.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “All
right, lads and lasses! Let's move!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And
thirty seconds later the crawler pulls out of the hangar, towards the
Urban Palace.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>This
is it</i>. Mara is standing just outside the door to MuniPrin Lee's
rooms. The hall is dark, lit only by a handful of emergency lights.
She and Fir have taken the pistols out of their bags, all pretense
of disguise discarded. They're ninety seconds behind schedule, and
she realizes, to her own surprise, that she is terrified. It has
been six years since the MuniDef raided the Observatory, six long
years since she saw the man who inspired her to become what she has
become, to do what she has done, and inchoate fears rise within her
as she raises her hand to the door, and knocks.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Silence,
and Mara spends a desperate second wondering if he's not even <i>here</i>,
he's been <i>moved</i>, and this has all been wasted-</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And
then: “Hello?” And the door opens.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> MuniPrin
Lee looks older then she remembered. His fur has grayed, his back
is slightly stooped, in ways that six short years should not be able
to explain. But his expression is still as clear and calm and hard
as she remembered. He sees her and Fir, and the pistols in their
hands, and his eyes widen. He doesn't recognize her, she realizes.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “MuniPrin?”
she says softly. “It's me, Mara.” And then he does know her,
and smiles, and she knows at the core of her being that it's all been
worth it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “It's
been a long time, Mara,” he says softly. “A very long time. I
take it this is a rescue? I suppose we had better get moving then,
hadn't we?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Fifty
meters away, the backup reactor's turbine is still smoking, molten
metal pooling on the floor next to the casing. The reactor is
designed to shut down immediately in the event of fire, and so far it
has behaved as it is supposed to. But there are limits to the
foresight of engineers, and one of them has been reached now. Heat
from the fire is leaking into the turbine's lubricant reservoir
through a manufacturing defect in its fire-proof casing – and as it
heats up, the pressure in the reservoir grows, until it bursts,
spraying lubricating oil through the generator room, hot oil bursting
into flame as it touches air. The fire detectors in the ceiling
register the new outbreak – but the suppressors had activated when
the thermite detonated, and there's no more left in the tanks.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Some
of the burning oil lands on top of a backup battery stack. A stack
whose casing has already been breached by the force of the first
explosion. A stack filled with highly explosive lithium. It takes
thirty seconds for the oil to reach the interior of the batteries.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
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</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
second explosion guts the room, scatters flaming lithium powder into
the adjacent corridors, and breaches the remaining battery stacks.
More explosions follow quickly, as the halls of the Urban Palace fill
with smoke.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
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<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
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</span>
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<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Iskander
Iskandrus has killed before. He has killed before, and killing
again should not bother him. There is absolutely <i>no reason</i>
he should be troubled by having bludgeoned a woman to death against a
stone wall. No reason whatsoever. He is trying his best to
remember this, as his shaking hands pour the acid into the hole in
the safe's case.</span></span></div>
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</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Fumes
rise from the safe, and the air fills with an acrid stink. He pulls
the latch on the safe's cover, and it swings open. The inside is
empty, except for a single book, bound in anonymous black leather,
and immensely old. He picks it up gently, almost lovingly. Yes.
Yes, this was worth a woman's life. Cheap at the price.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Iskander
Iskandrus is leaving the study, the last remaining copy of the
<i>Necronomicon</i> of Abd Al-Azrad tucked under his arms, as the
sirens begin to wail.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
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<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
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</span>
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/ch3-breakout-part-6.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/p-margin-bottom-0.html">Next</a></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-61678990934017311612015-07-04T14:27:00.000-07:002015-07-12T21:57:59.259-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 6<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <u><b>Geopolitics
Immediately Prior to the Fool's War</b></u></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> After
the first decade of Autarch Miraxus II's rule, tensions between
Elysium and the Amazonis Bloc began to flare up again. The initial
cause was the defection of the city of Lucky Strike, a former Elysium
vassal. Miraxus I had persuaded Autarix Heliora III of Lucky Strike
to break with the Amazonis Bloc and sign a mutual defense and trade
pact, a deal sealed by the marriage of one of his sons to Heliora
III. However, when Heliora IV succeeded her mother, she decided to
break the treaty, realigning with Amazonis, and no amount of Elysian
persuasion was able to change her mind.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Tensions
were further exacerbated by suspicions that Amazonis was covertly
training and arming Elysian rebel groups, most notably the Republican
bands operating out of the northern wastes. These suspicions were
correct, though the Elysian government grossly overestimated the
amount of influence Amazonis had on the Republicans, believing them
to be merely pawns of the Bloc.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> By
5026, Elysium and Amazonis were clearly drifting towards an armed
confrontation. Elysium began to hire Isidian mercenary troops <i>en
masse</i> and stepped up production of weapons plutonium, and new
fortifications were built on both sides of the border.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/ch3-breakout-part-5.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/ch5-breakout-part-7.html">Next</a></span>
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</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-9393909880861195932015-07-04T14:26:00.002-07:002015-07-04T14:27:55.848-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 5<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Four
kilometers south of the Urban Palace, a man is standing in the open
door of a garage, looking to the north through a pair of binoculars.
He's watching a blob of brown-red that is just barely visible on the
horizon – but is growing fast. <i>Right on time</i>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Almost
there, almost there...</i> Mara and Fir are standing in front of a
door, genuine hydroponic-grown wood, rich and brown and absurdly
incongruous with the concrete walls and tang of disinfectant of the
servants' halls. On the other side is the part of the Palace the
nobles see. The map is burned into her memory: they step outside,
turn to the left, take a dozen steps, and they'll be in front of the
locked door into the part of the Palace where they keep those who
aren't allowed to leave. And they're a good fifty seconds ahead of
schedule. Mara presses the opening bar.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Before
her is a vast arching hallway, ten meters high and almost as wide,
red marble walls gleaming in the sunlight streaming in through
skylights covering the roof. The floor is covered with thick, rich
carpet, wool or a synthetic indistinguishable from it, her boots
sinking centimeters into the soft surface. Paintings dot the walls,
clearly hand-made. Artificial scents waft through the air,
tantalizing the senses. The luxury is hits her almost like a
physical blow, and she stumbles slightly as she steps through the
door. She forces her eyes to look straight ahead, to ignore what's
around her, as she steps one, two, three, and ahead of her is the
door, the door she has been working towards for the last six years.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “Spirit,”
Fir murmurs. But he does his job. Mara stands behind him as Fir
goes to work on the door, blocking the view from the rest of the
hall. There's no one there – they've seen only two or three
servants in their course through the Palace, gray-suited maids and
manservants, thankfully ignoring them as they hurried on their own
tasks. The place is almost deserted... <i>And thank the Spirit
for that</i>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> A
click, and the door's open, revealing a large sitting room centered
around a hand-crafted wooden table and ample armchairs upholstered in
a shiny, dark material Mara doesn't recognize, and four doors leading
off from the room – and a manservant with the epaulets of a senior
butler man-handling heavy glass urns onto a cart. The man looks up,
sweating. “Ah! Good timing, you two. Get over here and help
me with this.” He frowns, straightens, walks over to the door,
Mara momentarily frozen. “Wait, who are you?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
man's just a meter in front of Fir. Fir glances back, and Mara
nods. It's over before the man has time to scream.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Here
we go</i>... The study hasn't been opened in years, and there's a
thick layer of dust over everything. But even eleven years after
her death, Iskander can still feel the personality of MuniPrix Gerta
Ludei suffusing the room. No skylights here, no glass trinkets, no
paintings of dead ancestors. A solitary electric light hanging from
the center of the ceiling casts the room in a soft amber glow,
leaving much of it in almost womb-like shadow. A battle-scarred
antique wooden desk sits in the center of the room facing the door;
the walls are lined with shelves stuffed with memory sticks and a few
actual books, and Iskander has to fight down the urge to browse
through them. He's here for one thing and one thing only: the steel
safe built into the wall behind the desk.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
safe uses an old-style mechanical lock. Iskander has neither the
time nor the skill to figure out the combination. But he has
something better. First the punch, a three-centimeter-long cylinder
custom-made by a Hiver craftsman specializing in tools of a
questionably legal nature, small enough to fit in the hollow under
his armpit, where no guard would dare to search. He sets it on the
steel case just above the lock and presses the button on the end.
There's a few seconds of grinding as the tool grips the case, and
then a <i>thump</i> of explosives as the charge shoot the diamond tip
of the punch through the steel.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Next
step, the acid. He's just set the punch on the ground when he hears
the voice behind him. “Iskander?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> He
turns. MuniPrix Sara Ludei is standing in the doorway. “I saw
the door open. Goodness, I haven't been in here since... Since
before poor Greta died.” She frowns. “What are you doing?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Iskander
smiles. He has come much too far, risked far too much to let some
foolish woman stand in his way now. “Let me show you.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> What
follows is messy, but short.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Four
kilometers away, at Elysium Power Station #3, an innocuous line of
code in a power transformer notes that it has finally reached the
time it's been waiting for. Thirty seconds later, a series of
safety controls shut down, and a surge of current four times the
allowed voltage passes through the main power line leading to the
Urban Palace.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
fuses in the Palace do their job, bursting open with a soft crack in
the power distribution room. Running on batteries now, the Palace
computer first tries to shift power supply to the backup line – but
that runs through the same fusebox, which has just melted to slag.
No matter. Within a tenth of a second, the backup reactor's
computer has woken up, and begun its warmup cycle. Pumps begin to
churn, passing pressurized helium through the core of the fission
reactor, and the primary control rods pull out. The turbine begins
to turn – and that's when the thermite ignites.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Thirty
seconds later, the primary battery backups are exhausted, and the
Urban Palace's lights go out.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-4.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/ch3-breakout-part-6.html">Next</a></span>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-37753143173127938162015-06-12T18:29:00.001-07:002015-07-04T14:27:19.828-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 4<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><u><b>Politics
in Elysium Before the Fool's War</b></u></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Political
activity within Autarchic Elysium can be separated into three
broad, overlapping categories: the politics of the unemployed and
unbonded laboring classes; the politics of the Guilds, merchants,
minor aristocracy, and other educated elites; and the politics of the
Autarchic court.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
character of court politics was determined by the character of the
Autarch. Unfortunately, Autarch Miraxus II was a man of very weak
character indeed. Miraxus II was not unintelligent, and had enjoyed
the best education that late feudalist Mars could offer. But he
suffered grievously from a lack of imagination, and even more from an
inability to tolerate anyone who threatened to outshine him – in
one infamous incident, he ordered a Major in the Municipal Defense
Force barred from the palace for correcting a minor point of
nomenclature (a punishment that would do the Major no small good
during the Revolution). As a result, his court was dominated by the
mediocre and the corrupt, who could be counted on to pose no threat
to the Autarch's self-esteem.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
politics of the educated classes was dominated by the struggle
between the emerging middle classes and the reactionary aristocracy
and Guilds. Although formal political parties were outlawed in Elysium as
subversive, the views of these groups could be broadly
categorized into several factions: the Autarchial faction, supporting
the Autarchy and the court; the Traditionalists, supporting the rights
of the Guilds and aristocracy, though generally in alliance with the
Autarchy; and the Progressives, supporting the new middle classes.
Each of these factions had their own daily newsfiles, informal clubs
of supporters, and political agendas. Broadly speaking, the
Progressives sought to expand the ranks of the Aristocracy and the
Guilds, both in recognition of the new economic realities, and to
create new social and economic opportunities for themselves and their
children. The Autarchials and the Traditionalists sought to
constrain this expansion, while feuding amongst themselves over how
much control the theoretically-absolute Autarch should have over the
Guilds and the aristocracy. Besides these three main factions,
there were also smaller radical factions, most notably the Zealots,
the Republicans, and the Martians.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
politics of the lower classes was mostly nascent. We say that it
was dominated by the Zealots, the Republicans, and the Martians,
because these were the three factions competing for influence and
support among the lower classes. But, prior to the Fool's War, these
remained extreme minorities within a largely apolitical, apathetic
mass. The primary difference between the three groups was their
focus: while all three were theoretically committed to the overthrow
of the Autarchy, and both the Zealots and the Republicans to the
reconquest of Earth, the Zealots focused on the former, the
Republicans on the latter. The Zealots, in particular, were
uncompromising in their demand for social justice, with articulate
and elaborate plans for the establishment of a democratic government
and the dismantling of the Guilds and the aristocracy. The
Republic, on the other hand, was explicitly, and deliberately, vague
about its immediate political plans, calling for a pragmatic approach
that made use of whatever resources and structures were available to
achieve the grand aim of retaking Earth. The Martians rejected any
attempt to retake Earth, believing that the only reasonable objective
for humanity was to make as good a life as possible on Mars.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> In
the short run, the Zealots far outstripped the Republicans and the
Martians in support, both because of their more immediately appealing
aims and because of their larger initial cadre in Elysium. In the
long run, however, the deliberate flexibility of the Republicans
would prove decisive.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> After
the collapse of Hellas Trading, the political landscape of Elysium
began to shift, slowly at first, but quickly accelerating as Elysium
approached the Fools' War. Although the Traditionalists remained
nominally supportive of the Autarchy – anything less would be
grounds for arrest by Internal Security – the long-simmering
resentment of the upper aristocracy towards the “malcon-in-chief”
began to boil over, and there were whispers that, perhaps, the
interests of the aristocracy and the Guilds might be better
safeguarded by a different Autarch. Within the Progressives,
attitudes towards the Autarch became positively venomous, and
Progressive newsfiles made a game of skirting the edges of what
IntSec would consider treasonous.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> As
yet, little of this penetrated to the lower classes, who were used to
destitution. But that would change, soon.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-3.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/07/ch3-breakout-part-5.html">Next</a></span>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-53459032892098818772015-06-12T18:29:00.000-07:002015-06-12T18:29:33.919-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 3<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> It's
time. Mara nudges Fir. The light of a tablet screen splits the
darkness, almost painful after so long. Fir goes to work.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Fir's
a good man. He was in the militia in the last war – unemployed
Hivers with underpowered rifles and no armor, little more then nuke
fodder. The experience left him with few illusions and a lot of
questions, questions he found answers to in the Cause. And,
critically, he was trained in electronic warfare.
Mara desperately hopes she's not about to get him killed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “I'm
in,” he murmurs. <i>So the master code was good after all</i>.
Thirty seconds later: “Patch uploaded. Time to go.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Mara
unlatches the lid of the box. They're still in darkness, but
there's a bit of light trickling in from under a doorway, revealing a
store room packed with boxes. Mara's legs are wobbly as she stands,
blood returning painfully after hours of sitting. They're
dressed in the gray jumpsuits of palace maintenance techs, bags slung
over their shoulders. They don't have long before someone notices
their illicit software update – maybe an hour, if they're lucky,
probably less. Maybe a lot less.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Mara
walks to the door, opens it, and strides out into the hallway, Fir
following. They're in one of the servants' halls, linking the
vehicle airlock, the storage rooms, and the kitchen. The dimly lit
corridor might be in any industrial complex; the only sign they're in
one of the official centers of Autarchial power is the
ceiling-mounted cameras every few meters. Mara is careful not to
look up at them, careful not to betray any sign she doesn't belong as
she strides purposefully down the hall towards the generator room.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “So
nice of you to come visit.” MuniPrix Sara Ludei smiles politely.
She doesn't mean a word of it, but she's lived too long in the royal
court to show it. “I'll let you get changed and washed before
dinner, shall I?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Iskander
Iskandrus smiles back. “I look forward to seeing you there.”
He doesn't mean it either. He keeps smiling until the door hisses
shut behind MuniPrix Sara, and then the smile vanishes like a
flashlight being turned off.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Iskander is
standing in one of the guest rooms of the Urban Palace. It's
exemplary of the Palace's architecture as a whole: at first glance,
unspeakable luxury; at closer inspection, dust and wear. The room
is a good twenty meters long and ten wide, with red marble floors
covered in thick rugs made of naturally-grown wool, and high arching
walls covered in the paintings of dead ancestors, and an enormous
glass skylight letting in bountiful natural light. There's a bed
so deep you could drown in it, a personal bath that doubles as a
small pool and jacuzzi, and shelves lined with bric-a-brac
accumulated by generations of Ludeis and related clans. But if you
look closely you can see that the marble is scarred with age, and the
skylight needs to be cleaned, and there's dust on the shelved
trinkets.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Iskander's
about to take off his clothes and try out the pool when his earpiece
chimes, and he pales. He'd expected to have more time to get ready
– much more time. <i>But an Iskandrus always rises to the occasion</i>, he tells himself, as he strides purposefully towards the door.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-
- - - - - - -</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “There,”
Mara says. She's standing next to the backup reactor's generator,
maintenance panel open. Ten kilograms of thermite are carefully
arranged on top of the casing for the stator, wired into the main
circuit bus. She closes the panel and locks it, then turns to Fir,
who's standing guard by the door. “Let's get moving.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-2.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-4.html">Next</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-25910948792658869192015-06-06T14:35:00.000-07:002015-06-12T18:29:07.162-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 2<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><u><b>The
Collapse of Hellas Trading</b></u> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hellas
Trading was a major state-backed venture to open the rich mineral
deposits of the Hellas crater to exploitation. The company was
chartered by Elysian Autarch Miraxus II in 5,010 AD; although
officially state-owned, it was primarily funded by public bond sales,
with total subscriptions reaching three billion Elysium Therms by
5,020 AD. The initial aim of the company was to build a rail line
through the forbidding terrain between Elysium and Hellas, which
would allow the exploitation of the rich uranium and tungsten
deposits of the crater.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
company was both a major source of employment for all ranks of the
social spectrum, and a savings vehicle for much of the new middle
classes, who lacked a secure place to store their assets. The
company offered generous rates of interest, secured by the projected
mineral reserves of the crater, and it was generally agreed that, as
a major state project, the Autarch would not permit a default on the
company's debts.<span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Besides
its economic role, Hellas Trading was widely romanticized as a “new
frontier”, promising adventure and glory as well as profitable
employment to its employees. The </span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Elysium
Observer</span></span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
the largest newsfile targeting Elysium's educated classes, published
a long-running and extremely popular series, </span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Frontier
Adventures</span></span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
depicting the many challenges of the company in the most positive and
romantic light possible. The company director, Trev Gersettus,
became a municipal celebrity, famed for his “rough and ready”
style and personal charisma.</span></span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However,
even as the company was feted by the elites, it was falling further
and further behind schedule and over budget. The difficulty of
blasting through the rough terrain had been seriously underestimated,
and MuniDef soldiers had to be deployed to guard the rail line from
persistent raids by the Knights of Sorrow operating out of the
Hadriacus range. When the line was finally completed in 5,026 AD,
the Mineralogist Guild reported that the reported uranium deposits
were only a quarter as rich as the initial surveys had claimed, and
panic selling of Hellas Trading bonds began on the Elysium exchange.
Miraxus II moved to liquidate the company but, critically, announced
that all debts would be repaid only out of Hellas Trading's existing
assets, which at this point amounted to a few million Therms in
unspent reserves and a rail line to nowhere. The collapse wiped out
a large percentage of the savings of the Elysium middle classes
overnight. The municipal economy contracted sharply.</span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-1.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-3.html">Next</a> </span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-33490398759294679662015-06-06T14:33:00.000-07:002015-06-06T08:59:17.384-07:00CH3: Breakout, Part 1<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">“<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">If
you want to know who your friends are, get yourself a jail sentence.”</span></i></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
-Charles Bukowski</span></span> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mara
sits cross-legged in the dark, a carbine in her lap, knees brushing
up against steel walls. Fir sits across from her, the fur of his
legs brushing up against her. The air in the box is stiflingly hot,
but she endures. She has endured worse then this, she keeps
reminding herself, and will endure worse yet.</span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
rumbling of the carryall stops, her head swinging forward as it
stutters to a halt. She holds her breath, picturing IntSec soldiers
outside, wondering if this will be the one time they decide to search
the cargo. They never have before, not in the two months they've
watched them, but she worries anyway, and holds her gun tighter.
But, after a few minutes of silent agony, the carryall grinds forward
again.</span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She
hates to admit it, but they're banking on the laxity of the palace
guards. If this had been the First Palace, where the Autarch lives,
the infrared scanner would have picked them up at the second
checkpoint, if the sniffer missed somehow them at the first. But no
one lives at the Urban Palace anymore except for a handful of minor
family members who can't show their face at court. Some of them
might as well be under house arrest. And, of course, one of them <i>is</i>
under house arrest.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But
not for much longer.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-2.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-2.html">Next</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-78378848413530575882015-06-05T18:04:00.001-07:002015-06-05T18:04:29.107-07:00Server Responses #11<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: whitelisted/approved entities
safe for human worship</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in; page-break-before: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Be
Aware:</b></u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This response has been sanitized to remove information you are not
authorized to access.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
following entities are patrons of currently recognized Recognized
Sorcerous Orders within the Republic of Mankind, as determined by the
HIEROPHANT Non-Human Relations Committee:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ICEMAN,
colloquially known as “Ithaqua” or “The Wind Walker”: Patron
of the Frozen Lodge.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">PENDULUM,
colloquially known as “Quachil Uttaus” or “The Treader of
Dust”: Patron of the Esoteric Order of Timekeepers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
addition, the following entities no longer have active Orders, but
remain on the approved veneration whitelist: REDACTED, BATRACHIAN,
REDACTED, and UMBRAL.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: The Decline and Fall of the
Roman Catholic Church</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Catholic Church</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Roman Catholic Church declined during the mid-Second Golden Age, due
to a general turning away from religiosity following the end of the
Long Night, stabilizing at a congregation of approximately 400
million.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However,
during the reawakening of TYRANT, the majority of the Church's
congregation and clergy were killed on Earth. The few Catholic
priests outside the Earth-Moon system found themselves without a
political or financial support structure, but continued to serve
their flock as best they could, establishing a new papacy on Mars.
However, the church was never more then an extreme minority. They
suffered severe repression during the anti-religious pogroms of the
late 4,200s, and the papacy itself was destroyed during the nuclear
wars of the early 4,300s. Although scattered references to fugitive
Catholic clergy continue into the 4,400s, the papacy was never
refounded, and it is believed the last ordained Catholic priest died
some time around 4,450 AD.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Role/extent of BLACK GALLEY
knowledge in the NorAmTech government</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: red;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Access
Denied:</b></u></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This information is MaxConInfo with security phrase CRYSTAL TOWER.
You are not cleared for this information.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Habitation of North America
after the Long Night</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Habitation of North America after
the Long Night</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">North
America suffered heavy casualties during the Last War from nuclear
attack, but was not directly targeted with bioweapons. At the
beginning of the Long Night, the surviving population was estimated
at 30 million, increasing to 50 million by the time of the signing of
the Unification Treaty. During the Second Golden Age, North America
became a major center of agricultural production, the primary
supplier of foodstuffs to the South American urban zones. Although
it never regained its former prominence in world affairs, by the end
of the Second Golden Age the population had returned to and
stabilized at its previous heights.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Regional cultures of the Second
Golden Age</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Regional cultures of the Second
Golden Age</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
UN made extensive efforts to combat regionalism during the Second
Golden Age, with considerable success. However, some regional
cultures continued to exist, primarily in latent form, most notably
the former South American Treaty Zone, the former South African
Technate, the culture of the Indian subcontinent, and the Iranian
cultural grouping.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: blue;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Reminder:</b></u></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Group separatism is a level five memetic hazard. If you feel
inclined to separatism, consult a qualified psychoneurologist for
assistance. Only through unity can we survive.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Habitation of China after the
Long Night</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Habitation of China after the Long
Night</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">China
suffered heavy casualties from both nuclear and biological attack
during the Last War, and most of the country was rendered effectively
uninhabitable by persistent bioweapons. The UN began cleanup
efforts in 2501 AD, but these remained largely <i>pro forma</i> until
the passage of the Asian Continent Remediation Act in 2623 AD.
Cleanup was not fully completed until around 2800 AD. The region
never recovered its former population, and most of the former country
of China was made a wilderness preserve in a series of acts in the
mid-2900s.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Habitation of Europe after the
Long Night</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Habitation of Europe after the Long
Night</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Europe
largely escaped direct nuclear attack during the Last War; however,
the continent suffered heavy casualties from Blue Death and other
biological weapons that spilled over from east Asia. However, few
persistent bioweapons reached the continent, and the population had
reorganized into state-entities and begun to reindustrialize by the
end of the Long Night. Europe remained a secondary population
center into the Second Golden Age, stabilizing at a population of
around 500 million.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Pluto, alien presence on</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
is no confirmed record of an alien presence on Pluto.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Technological advancement in
NorAmTech</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Technological advancement in
NorAmTech</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">NorAmTech
achieved relatively few transformative advances in technology, but
succeeded in making economically viable a number of technologies that
already existed, but had previously been uneconomical. These
included: deep oceanic mining; battery-powered surface vehicles;
gas-cooled fission breeder reactors; computerized economic planning;
defensive laser weapons.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Emergence of new scientific
fields in NorAmTech</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Emergence of new scientific fields
in NorAmTech</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Little
to no scientific advancement took place in NorAmTech, with the
partial exception of some work in human biology and neurology,
largely mirroring and supplementing work done in India and the
Democratic Republic of China. Despite strongly supportive public
rhetoric, almost all NorAmTech investment in research and development
was focused exclusively on technology and engineering. In addition,
the American physics community was badly damaged after several
high-profile physicists defected to the Democratic Republic of China,
leading to a purge of the field that saw many of its most talented
practitioners fired, imprisoned, or forced into exile.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Examples from TOTALITY with
human-analogous thought processes</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
question has been interpreted based on previous query submissions as:
“Examples of intelligent non-human species with human-analogous
thought processes”.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
only known intelligent non-human species with human-analogous thought
processes are the Reticulans.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Patronage of DEACONESS</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">DEACONESS
is not a whitelisted veneration subject. DEACONESS was proposed for
addition to the whitelist during the Grand Council of 12,781 AD, but
the proposal was rejected due to inadequate intelligence on the
entity.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Documentary
intelligence sources indicate the alien species GARGOYLE may venerate
DEACONESS. Attempts to confirm this intelligence have so far been
unsuccessful.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Timeframe until astrological
conditions next render TYRANT inactive, presuming no interference by
intelligent entities.</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
this time, no concrete projection of this timeframe is possible.
According to documentary and archeological intelligence sources, the
previous period of TYRANT activity exceeded ten million years in
duration. However, it is not known if this time span is typical, or
if TYRANT was active for the entire period or intermittently.
Monitoring of TYRANT between 5,145 AD and 14,051 AD showed no
indications of variation in scalar wave emissions.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Biographies of important
individuals in the foundation of the NorAmTech</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
only information available on the HIEROPHANT data server in response
to this query is MaxConInfo, security phrase CRYSTAL TOWER. You are
not cleared for this information. This query has been forwarded to
the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Biographies of important
individuals in the foundation of the NorAmTech</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
following summary biographies have been selected based on the
standard Republic historical curriculum:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Jason
Hale:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Last President of the
United States of America (2040-2046) and first Chief Administrator of
the North American Technate (2046-2047). Known as a charismatic and
able politician; oversaw the implementation of technocratic policies
in the 2040's. Assassinated by a renegade intelligence officer in
2047.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Mario
Barreiro:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Leader of the
Technocratic Party (2040-2077). Chief ideologist and supreme
authority under Technocratic Party constitution, but remained largely
behind the scenes.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Aurelia
Morales:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Last Vice President of
the United States of America (2044-2046), first Vice Administrator of
the North American Technate (2046-2047), and second Chief
Administrator (2047-2056). Worked for the intelligence apparatus of
the United States of America prior to entering politics. Oversaw
the First Purge following the assassination of Jason Hale.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Paul
Nguyen:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Chief Executive Officer
of Frontier Mining (2028-2044) and Frontier Oceanic (2036-2044) and
Administrator of the Deep Ocean Mining Cartel (2044-2048). Major
donor to the Technocrat Party during its rise to power. Executed
during the First Purge for allegedly being a party to the
assassination of Jason Hale.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thomas
Smith:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Director of the Federal
Police of the United States (2043-2046), then first Director of the
Continental Police of the North American Technate (2046-2050).
Previous background in intelligence. Chief implementor of the First
Purge following the assassination of Jason Hale; subsequently
executed in the Second Purge for alleged wrecker activities.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Uplift of animals</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Uplift of animals</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
technology to genetically-engineer sapient animals has existed since
the mid Second Golden Age. However, except for isolated incidents,
it has not been employed. After an incident during the Second
Golden Age, in which the intelligence of several animals was
augmented as part of an art project, all intelligence augmentation of
non-sapients was placed under strict regulation by the United
Nations, which resulted in a <i>de facto</i> ban of the technology.
Since then, there are no records of uplifted animals being created.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Travel time to closest Dark
Republic extra-solar colony from Sol</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Approximately
thirty years depending on travel profile.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Faster-than-light
communications</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
are numerous claims of faster-then-light communications in known
DocInt and other sources. All methods that have been directly
investigated have proved to pose risks analogous to POISON GATE
operational mathematics, and it is the considered opinion of the
Faster-then-Light SciTech Committee that the underlying mathematics
of these techniques are almost certainly isomorphic to POISON GATE.
Other reports are not amenable to investigation and are considered
probably fictitious.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: RAZOR ANGEL</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: red;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Access
Denied:</b></u></span><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This information is MaxConInfo with security phrase RAZOR ANGEL.
You are not cleared for this information.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-8024752926664126562015-05-23T11:21:00.001-07:002015-06-06T08:57:30.110-07:00Interlude 13: A Fair Trade<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“...has
promised a full investigation into the collapse of Hellas Trading.”
The students at the bar respond with a chorus of catcalls.
“Director Trev Gersettus could not be reached for comment, but the
Autarch's appointed administrator has denied rumors that he has left
the city.” The students quiet as the newsfeed moves on to the
next story – some of them lost inheritances in Hellas, she's
willing to bet.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mara
takes a sip of simcaf and waits. The bag is sitting next to her in
the booth, between her and the wall. Pel and Fir are in a booth
opposite her, trying not to draw attention to the bulges under their
jackets. Ger is waiting outside, in a shadowy alcove – the lights
in the corridor are out again – and Tir and Sel are in a back room
with rifles and compieces. The guards aren't here for her –
they're here for the bag.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Another
victim of the Asphyxiatrix was found by hive wardens yesterday.
IntSec report they expect an arrest soon...”</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mara
stifles a surge of irritation. He's fashionably late, of course.
That's only to be expected. It's not like there's any need to </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">hurry</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
to pick up a small fortune in precious metals. She takes another
sip of bad simcaf and listens to the newsfeed.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Continued
uproar about the recall of the litfic </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mars's
Children</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> due to
violations of the obscenity law...”</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Finally,
Iskan Iskandrus steps through the door of the Blue Marble. He
catches sight of her and saunters over to her booth. </span><b>“</b><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">So</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
sorry about being late,” he says. A casual listener might think
him sincere. He leans forward conspiratorially. “Rather a
thrilling raid, from what I hear. They can keep it out of the news
but they can't stop people from talking about it, and you're the
sensation of the week in the Second Palace. Well done, I must say.”</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Do
you have the stick?” Mara asks.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Indeed
I do.” He pulls an unlabeled data stick from his jacket and hands
it to her. She hands him the bag. “Many thanks. You have just
saved me from a rather unpleasant confrontation over gambling debts.
But I'm a little disappointed. Aren't you going to threaten me
with dire consequences if the stick's no good?”</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“It
would seem superfluous at this point,” Mara replies.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“Do
you suppose you could anyway, as a favor? It would rather add to
the drama of the situation, don't you think?” He grins. Mara
just looks at him. “Anyway,” he goes on. “I put a little
bonus in there. Complete floor plans to the Urban Palace, including
the bits they don't want people to know about. Good luck with your
burglary or whatever you're up to.” And with that he vanishes in
a cloud of unconscious condescension.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mara
grips the stick, tightly. </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
promise you. We'll get you out.</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/05/interlude-12-fundraising.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/06/ch3-breakout-part-1.html">Next</a></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-13202427978158406072015-05-16T14:43:00.002-07:002015-05-23T11:21:21.303-07:00Interlude 12: Fundraising<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Spirit,
how long has it been? Six years? It hasn't changed at all</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
Nobles' Quarter dome was exactly the same: the same white stone
shops, the same blue “sky” made of paint and clever lighting
tricks, the same clean clear air scented only by the flowers lining
each avenue. She could see the edges of the illusion now – the
carefully-concealed security cameras at every corner, the spots of
the ceiling where the paint was beginning to fade. But it was still
so </span><i>easy</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> to ignore
them, to slip into a state where you felt you were wandering beneath
the open sky.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
stolen carryall pulled up in front of the bank. The architects had
built it to look like a fortress from the Long Night, with
crenellations atop the stone walls and thick steel doors to seal shut
in an emergency. </span><i>They'd have done better to actually </i><span style="font-style: normal;">make</span><i>
it a fortress</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. She heard a
click from her earpiece – the signal that the dome's security
cameras had been disabled – and she jumped out of the carryall.
Half a dozen others piled out of the back, all wearing airmasks that
covered their faces, all carrying spray cans and automatic rifles.
Two stood guard at the entrance while Mara and the other four ran in.
Mara started to count under her breath – </span><i>one one
thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
–</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The
lobby was almost deserted, just a handful of customers. A manager
looked up from his desk - “can I help you” - Mara screaming
“Everybody on the floor </span><i>NOW!</i><span style="font-style: normal;">”,
the rifle at her shoulder – cracks of gunfire as Ger and Pel fired
into the ceiling, two others spreading out to spray the security
cameras, where's the guards, guards, one getting on the floor, the
other –</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">She
pulled the trigger twice, </span><i>blam blam</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
and the guard dropped, head covered in blood, a pistol sliding out of
her hands. Ger grabbed the gun, Fir taking the weapon from the
other. She checked; the cameras in the lobby were covered. She
turned to the manager, her rifle aimed straight between his eyes.
“Vault, </span><i>now!</i><span style="font-style: normal;">” He
didn't argue. </span><i>Fifteen one thousand, sixteen
one-thousand</i><span style="font-style: normal;">...</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They
left Pel and Fir in the lobby to tie up the customers and bank
workers, genuine police cuff-ties, accept no substitutes. Mara and
the others headed down the corridor in the back, spraying as they
went, her rifle in his back to keep him from dawdling. The vault
lay at the very end, for those <i>special</i> customers who had
reason to deal in actual solid gold rather then numbers in computers.
One lock to get into the anteroom, the manager almost fumbling his
keys in fright, then the biometric scanners on the vault door.
<i>Sixty-nine one thousand, seventy one thousand</i>, and the vault
door beeped and hissed and popped open, sliding to the side to reveal
14 kilos of gold bars and 59 kilos of silver, looking dreadfully
small to be worth a man's life. Into the backpacks they went, and
then out to the lobby. Ger laughed – “Pleasure to do business
with you,” he said to the manager, and Mara glared at him through
the goggles of her mask.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then
they were out, back to the carryall, six seconds shy of two minutes
after they'd entered. They moved slow, heading for the closed-up
tunnel they'd used to get into the Nobles' Quarter, a construction
access shaft from when they'd first built it, still covered in
graffiti from four centuries past, and completely missing from the
official maps. The alarm sirens started to blare just as they
closed and relocked the gate to the tunnel.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Well
done, lads,” Mara said as they sped down the tunnel back to the
maintenance level under Hive Four. A few friendly nods from the
others, looking shell-shocked now that the adrenaline of the heist
was leaving them.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fourteen
and fifty-nine, just as their informant had said. When they reached
the Hive they'd hide it at one of the safehouses in the bowels, wait
for a few weeks for the heat to die down, then smuggle half of it out
to Ermon in the Wastes, then from there to their contact in Bloc
intelligence to buy guns and explosives and blank memory sticks.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
the other half... The other half had a different purpose.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I
promise you, MuniPrin, we'll get you out</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/05/interlude-11-making-friends.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/05/interlude-12-fundraising.html">Next </a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-79591807747422740792015-05-15T09:49:00.002-07:002015-05-15T09:49:50.374-07:00Review: Khai of Khem<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finished <i>Khai of Khem</i>, by Brian Lumley.</span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />This is one of Lumley's
better novels - not that that's saying much. It's sword and sorcery
based on Lumley's take on Ancient Aliens: Khai is the (oddly blond and
blue-eyed) son of the chief architect of the evil Pharaoh, who
(naturally) ends up fleeing Egypt after his family is horribly murdered,
romances the Princess of Kush, and ends up leading an army to defeat
the evil Pharaoh - who, by the way, is the descendant of human-alien
hybrids. There's more then a little bit of "white guy saving the
minorities" here, but it was written in 1980, and by the standards of
the time it's not bad at all.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
My real problems with the book are: first of all, Lumley's writing
style. He does better in this book then he does in, say, his
Dreamlands or Titus Crow series - a lot better - but he's still not very
good. At its best it's pure mental candyfloss, but I kept pausing to
roll my eyes. Second, the setting is completely unexploited; we might
as well be in the land of Generica for all the use Lumley makes of
ancient Egypt. Third, there's a totally unnecessary time travel plot
sandwiched in for no apparent reason. Fourth, the completely
unnecessary graphic depiction of gang rape and other sexual tortures,
which serve no purpose except to underline who evil and perverted the
Pharaoh is.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I struggled with what score to assign this. I was deeply tempted to
give it 2/5 on the basis of the rape scenes, but there are only three of
them in the whole book, and it seemed unfair to take points away on
that basis. In the end, I'm going with a <i>low</i> 3/5 stars.</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-50353918554919831752015-05-10T15:40:00.000-07:002015-05-23T11:21:54.779-07:00Interlude 11: Making Friends<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Earth
is <i>our home</i>, our <i>birthright!</i> Any man or woman that
stands between us and the reconquest is a <i>traitor</i> to our
<i>species</i> – and we <i>all</i> know the payment for <i>treason!</i>”
The crowd roared approval. There weren't more then a few dozen of
them, but they made up for their lack of numbers in enthusiasm.
“How long will our so-called <i>masters</i> stand in our way? How
long will they deny the <i>will</i> of the <i>people?</i> Only
you-” and now Dee's voice dropped from her haranguing shout to a
soft, gentle tone - “only <i>you</i> can decide. Thank you.”</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Mara
handed out the data sticks as the meeting broke up, loaded with the
latest edition of their pirate newsfile, while Dee talked to those
who wanted to talk. The crowds were still minuscule in the grand
scheme of things, but they were getting bigger, and some of the
audience were taking two or three sticks to share – she almost ran out
before the room emptied. They'd need to talk to Han about upping
their order again...</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Speaking
of whom, Han himself walked in then, pushing against the tide of
workers filtering out. He walked over to their table and helped
himself to a stick. “How's the organizing?” he asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “Well
enough that we're running low on sticks again,” Mara replied.
“What brings you here?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “Just
wanted to let you know,” he said. “That you have competition.
A couple of the Zealots are speaking tomorrow night, down at the rust
bowl.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Mara
nodded. She wasn't surprised; they'd been expecting that to happen
eventually. “Thanks for the tip.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “About
your sticks.” Han looked away, as though embarrassed. “I'll
throw in another fifty next time. Don't worry about the money.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> That
<i>did</i> surprise her. “Thanks.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “You're
good customers,” Han said, almost defensively. “Besides” -
and now he <i>did</i> look her in the eye - “sometimes a man starts
to think that maybe you're right.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/04/interlude-10-special-delivery.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/05/interlude-12-fundraising.html">Next</a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-91026266046053759492015-05-03T19:02:00.000-07:002015-05-03T19:02:37.025-07:00Server Responses #10<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
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<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Zeta Reticulans</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Be
Aware:</b></u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This response has been sanitized to remove information you are not
authorized to access.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Technological
alien species currently occupying third planet of Zeta Reticuli
system.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Zeta
Reticulan History</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
following account is derived from Zeta Reticulan sources and is
considered highly suspect. However, more accurate information is
not available.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Zeta Reticulan species was created using bio-engineering by GARGOYLE,
likely using early hominids as a base, for use as a labor force on
Earth. Around 40,000 BC they rebelled against their creators, stole
two interstellar-capable spacecraft and associated other technology,
and ultimately settled on a habitable planet in the Zeta Reticuli
system, where they have remained since. Since making contact with
humans in REDACTED, they have acted as a passive ally to humanity,
trading knowledge and technology and giving aid and shelter to the
separatist Order of the Third Eye.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
account has numerous inconsistencies. Economic analysis shows that
the Zeta Reticulans are extremely suboptimal as a labor force
compared to other solutions. Furthermore, given known GARGOYLE
bio-engineering and weapons technologies, it is extremely implausible
that their rebellion could have succeeded. Finally, although a
detailed archeological survey is not available, there is no evidence
of Reticulan occupation of Zeta Reticuli 3 that can be dated to
earlier then 0 AD. Consensus of the Xenodiplomatic Analysis
Committee is that the Zeta Reticulan account of their history has
been fabricated, either by themselves or by GARGOYLE
neuro-engineering, for unknown purposes.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Zeta
Reticulan Biology</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Structurally,
Zeta Reticulans are humanoid in broad outline, generally 1 to 1.5
meters tall and very thin. They have very large almond-shaped,
white- and iris-less eyes, able to see into the infrared and
ultraviolet spectrum, pale tan skin, and no hair. They lack any
reproductive or digestive system, and use technological means to
maintain themselves. Other then this significant difference, their
internal structure is broadly similar to baseline humans, with lungs,
heart, etc. mounted in the chest cavity and a dual-lobed brain in the
head.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
a microscopic level, the Zeta Reticulans are essentially humaniform,
with cell structures isomorphic to corresponding human structures.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Zeta
Reticulan Technology</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Zeta Reticulans remain dependent on technology stolen from GARGOYLE
or obtained from human factions. This includes bioprocessing
equipment to produce blood nutritive factors, and cloning tanks for
reproduction. Although they originally possessed two
interstellar-capable spacecraft, only one remains functional, the
other having been REDACTED. Their indigenous technology base is
limited to basic agriculture, stone construction, and stone and
copper tools.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Zeta
Reticulan Culture</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Zeta
Reticulans are extremely passive, reactive, and uncreative. They
exhibit little emotion or initiative, and, with rare exceptions, will
follow instructions from superiors without question. They have a
strictly hierarchical society, with hierarchy rank determined
meritocratically.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: UNS <i>No Higher Good</i>
exploratory mission to Tau Ceti, discoveries</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Tau Ceti</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Be
Aware:</b></u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This response has been sanitized to remove information you are not
authorized to access.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
following summary report was generated by the Deep Space
Reconnaissance Project, under security phrase WARDEN:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>System
Designator:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Tau Ceti / WARDEN</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Planetary
System:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> 9 primary bodies: 1 gas
giant; 1 major debris disk</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Primary
Target: Tau Ceti 6</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Initial
survey categorizes as B5: carbon dioxide-nitrogen atmosphere. No
acute microbiological hazards. Temperature within baseliner
habitable range within the equatorial zone, averaging 0 F to 80 F at
equator; polar zones not habitable by baseliners. Water oceans
covering approx. 40% of surface in two main seas, dubbed Big Sea and
Bigger Sea, with surface in single contiguous continent. Surface
bears heavy meteor scarring. Surface gravity 0.71 G. Volcanic
activity moderate.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2,064
large cylindrical structures, approximately 200 meters tall and 20
meters wide, are scattered equidistantly across the planet's surface.
Each structure is made of amorphous titanium oxide.
Hypergeometric survey associates each structure to two gravimetric
sources, located approximately three kilometers under the planetary
surface, one inactive class-1, one active class-2, with one exception
(see below). The active class-2 sources are consistent with class-2
Elder Signs rendered in petroglyphic form and associated to a megaton
mass anchor. Each structure bears Architect hieroglyphs reading
REDACTED. Based on DocInt and REDACTED, structures have been
identified as the prison-tombs of RAZOR ANGEL. Secondary Architect
ruins located in the Big Sea.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Initial
biological survey shows native life limited to micro-organisms
operating on photosynthesis-fermentation cycle. No indication of
macro-predators.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Secondary
Target: Artifact in Tau Ceti Orbit</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Artificial
structure in highly eccentric orbit around Tau Ceti (aphelion 1 AU,
perihelion 0.1 AU), consisting of a cluster of three cylindrical
macromolecular carbon fuel tanks with associated attachment valves
and seals. Macromolecular structure is a type not used by any known
human or alien faction. Appears to have been in orbit for
approximately eight million years, judging by meteor scarring on
surface.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>UN
Operations in Tau Ceti System</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">UNS
</span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">No Higher Good</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
made an exploratory survey of the Tau Ceti system during the Second
Golden Age, discovering the prison-tombs and Architect ruins. The
crew of </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">No Higher Good</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;">
spent four years in system, focusing their efforts on excavating the
Architect ruins in the Big Sea. The mission was aborted early
following excavation of a prison-tomb. Available public records
attribute the abort to breakdown of the ship's primary fusion laser
array, caused by unexpected degradation of the focusing optics;
however, historical analysis strongly indicates this was a coverup,
and that the expedition actually aborted after accidentally freeing a
RAZOR ANGEL by disrupting the containment petroglyph.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: HIEROPHANT Data Server
location, capabilities and sapience</b></span></span></span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span>
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Be
Aware:</b></u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This response has been sanitized to remove information you are not
authorized to access.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
HIEROPHANT data server is located twenty kilometers under the surface
of Melanicus, within a macromolecular carbon vault five kilometers
beneath the primary Melanicus station facilities, adjacent to the
Melanicus neural backup vault. The server provides organizational
and informational support to all HIEROPHANT operations. The
HIEROPHANT data server is integrated with Ren-E9550, but query
responses are performed by a subsidiary subsapient expert system.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: HIEROPHANT Data Server archive
size and medium.</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span>
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: 1px solid #ffffff; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; padding: 0.02in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Be
Aware:</b></u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This response has been sanitized to remove information you are not
authorized to access.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
HIEROPHANT data server archives exceed 100,000 exabytes in storage
capacity, and consist primarily of crystal matrix memory arrays.
Supplementary and deep archival media also includes optical media,
magnetic media, printed paper, and cryo-preserved neural tissue.</span></span></span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: white;">
</span><style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: What is the current year?</b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
current year is 18,254 AD.</span></span></div>
</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-72624460859805452902015-04-26T17:38:00.001-07:002015-05-10T15:41:34.552-07:00Interlude 10: Special Delivery<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: 800;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Warning:</u></span></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The contents of this file past the dotted line are classified as
Maximally Controlled Information, security phrase CRYSTAL TOWER. If
you are not cleared for MaxConInfo with security phrase CRYSTAL
TOWER, close this file immediately and contact your infocon officer
for debriefing using the security phrase PANIC YELLOW.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Warning:</u></span></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Unauthorized access to this file is punishable by death followed by
post-mortem interrogation, extinction of all Citizen Honors (if
applicable), and listing as a Dishonorable (Second Class) on the Wall
of Shame.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Warning:</u></span></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The contents of this file past the dotted line are encrypted using
infectious basilisk cipher patterns. Attempted decryption without
the proper key will result in permanent consciousness seizure and
destruction of all memory patterns in all nervous systems connected
to the decrypter.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Reminder:</u></span></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Control of dangerous information is vital to the future of the human
race. Maintain proper information hygiene at all times. What you
do know </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">can</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
hurt you.</span></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- - - - - - - - - - - - - -</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Be
Aware:</u></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
This file was recovered from the archives aboard the derelict USS
</span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aurora</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It has been translated from an obsolete file format and language.
Unfortunately, due to the deteriorated state of the original medium,
not all of the file could be recovered.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Be
Aware:</u></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
The entirety of this file is MaxConInfo, security phrase CRYSTAL
TOWER. No part of this file may be disclosed to any person not
cleared for MaxConInfo, security phrase CRYSTAL TOWER, without the
permission of the HIEROPHANT InfoCon Committee.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">XXXX</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> was important XXXX to XXXX in person. I XXXX hadn't found another
job after being fired from the magazine, so I couldn't even plead the
excuse of having to work. So I drove out to Nevada and met the
physicist again – the second and last time we met in person –
this time in the parking lot of a highway rest stop, next to a
McDonald's.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Explication:</u></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Nevada was a sub-state political entity in the United States of
America. McDonald's was a guild or association of restaurants,
noted for cost and speed of service.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
looked bad. He looked </span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sick</span></span></i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
– he must have lost twenty pounds, maybe more, and he hadn't been
heavy to begin with. And the way he walked – slowly, hesitantly,
like he had to concentrate to do it. But I guess he cared enough
about this to do it anyway, and that put some guilt into me for
feeling sorry for myself, so I abandoned the rant I'd planned to
unload on him and just took the box without asking questions.</span></span></span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
was maybe two by one by one feet, had “Smirnoff Ice” printed on
the side, and was taped shut. It was pretty light, not more then a
couple of pounds. “Don't let this out of your sight. Drive –
don't fly – to Fredrick, Maryland. There's a storage unit right
outside of town,” he said, handing me a key and a slip of paper
with an address. “Leave it in there, then throw the key away.
E-mail me once it's in place.”</span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Explication:</u></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The meaning of “Smirnoff Ice” is not known; contextual analysis
suggests it was a beverage or foodstuff of some kind. Fredrick,
Maryland was a town in the Eastern Coastal Zone of the North American
Technate.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
spent the next few days on the road, listening to books on tape and
watching the country pass. I didn't let it out of my sight, just
like he'd said. I ate in my car or in my hotel room, slept with the
box sitting on the ground next to the bed. It felt kind of silly,
but I knew there was a good reason for anything the physicist said,
even if I didn't know what it was.</span></span></span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
first night, in a motel 6 in Colorado, I tried shaking it. I heard
nothing but a faint rustle of packing peanuts. </span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; padding-bottom: 0.02in; padding-left: 0.02in; padding-right: 0.02in; padding-top: 0.02in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;"><u>Explication:</u></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Motel 6 was a guild or association of inns. Colorado was a
sub-state political entity in the United States of America.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It
took me three days to get to Frederick. I didn't have any trouble
finding the storage unit. And then I did a bad thing.</span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm
not sure why I did it. Maybe it was because I was pissed about
losing my job because I'd taken too many “vacations” running
errands. Maybe it was because I'd drawn the connection between
Fredrick and Fort Detrick. Maybe I was just curious. I don't
know.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
opened the box.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
first I only saw packing peanuts, and for a crazy instant I thought
I'd been sent on a cross-country road trip to deliver an empty
cardboard box. But it wasn't empty. At the bottom was half a
dozen plastic jars, the kind they have in high school science
laboratories, with bits of something biological floating in
formaldehyde, and a stack of papers paper-clipped together.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
papers were photocopies, of something that had been typed on a
typewriter a long time ago. The first page was dated 1928. The
title was “Final Report on Innsmouth Operation.” I didn't read
the rest. I was too busy looking at the photograph that had been
stapled to the back.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
showed... It wasn't a human being. The creature had the rough
shape of a man, but squat, and with legs that reminded me of a frog,
and a short, stubby tail. Its skin had the pale, diseased look of a
rotting dolphin, and its eyes bulged out of its head. And in place
of ears it had what were recognizably gills.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
it was dead, with two bullet holes in its chest, and a pair of men in
Marine uniforms standing next to it, rifles at XXXX</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">XXXX
looked at that picture for a long time. Then I stuffed the papers
and the jars back in the box, taped it back up, locked the storage
unit, XXXX key into a trash can, and drove home as fast XXXX could.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">FILE ENDS</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/04/ch2-homecoming-part-14.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/05/interlude-11-making-friends.html">Next</a> </span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-52290743980767645022015-04-19T19:11:00.001-07:002015-04-19T19:11:45.756-07:00Review: World War Cthulhu<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finished <i>World War Cthulhu</i>.<br /><br />As the name implies, this is an anthology of (to quote the subtitle) "Lovecraftian war stories". While it does <i>mostly</i>
stick to this theme, there are a few arguable cases, but eh, not a big
deal. I'm reading this for the Lovecraftian part of that phrase, not
for the war. Most of the stories here are just okay. Not bad, just
not great, either. There are a few standouts, though.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First, the one story that really, <i>really</i>
annoyed me: "The Bullet and the Flesh" by David Conyers and David
Kernot. Conyers' series hero, Harrison Peel, and another spec ops
ubermensch try to stop a Zimbabwean colonel who's purchased a
xenobiological weapon. I've not read Kernot before, but I've read
Conyers, and this is of a piece with his other work. He writes like a
Tom Clancy ghostwriter. His weapons are more detailed then his
characters' personalities, his prose is bland, and he has absolutely no
sense of either atmosphere or setting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the good side: Darrel
Schweitzer comes perilously close to knocking it out of the park with
"Stragglers from Carrhae." Two Roman legionnaires trying to escape
from the disaster at Carrhae encounter high strangeness in the Arabian
desert. The story doesn't <i>quite</i> gel fully, but it's still excellent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another
story that almost but not quite makes it to the top tier: "The Procyon
Project" by Tim Curran. A badly injured marine, both physically and
spiritually, returns to the US during World War II, where he gets a job
as night watchman at an <i>interesting</i> facility. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, because I <i>hated</i> the previous Tim Curran book I read, <i>Hive</i>,
but this is very good. The first half is just exquisite, with an
excellent, appealingly human character, and a steadily mounting sense of
dread. Unfortunately, the second half, as the shit hits the fan,
doesn't live up to the first. This would be a stronger story if he'd
just chopped off the last bit and left it as "weird stuff happened, I'm
not telling you why."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While those three are the big standouts,
most of these stories are just okay. If you're looking for something
to kill a few hours, this will fit the bill. On the balance, I give
this 3/5 stars.</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-1295517704732414142015-04-17T13:17:00.001-07:002015-04-17T13:18:08.447-07:00Server Responses #9<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Pakistan</b> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Pakistan</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">State-entity
on Earth during the First Golden Age in southern Asia, formed from
breakaway provinces of India after India achieved independence in
1947 AD. Fragmented further in 1971 AD, losing eastern provinces to
form Bangladesh. Fought multiple wars with India during the First
Golden Age. Allied with the Democratic Republic of China in the
conflict between them and NorAmTech, and was attacked with nuclear
and biological weapons during the Last War and depopulated.
Reunited with India during the reunification at the end of the Long
Night.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Dissolution of the European
Union</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Dissolution of the European Union</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prior
to the economic crisis of the mid-First Golden Age, the European
Union was a highly decentralized political entity, with most state
functions residing within its component states. The economic crisis
lead to a drastic centralization of economic functions, to ensure a
coordinated response. However, political in-fighting and ideology
rendered the attempted response ineffective. The state of France
unilaterally reclaimed its decentralized powers in 2034 AD, leading
to a constitutional crisis, followed by the exit of France from the
Union following an ultimatum from the central authorities. This
triggered the final breakup of the European Union as other states
seceded, and it was effectively defunct by the end of 2035 AD, though
a rump political alliance remained in operation until 2041 AD.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Technate</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Technate</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Form
of state organization developed during the late First Golden Age,
originating in NorAmTech and spreading to NorAmTech allies in South
America, South Africa, and East Asia. Technates used a totalitarian
political structure, with a clear hierarchy and command structure
organizing all citizens of the Technate, modeled on the militaries of
the late 20<sup>th</sup> century. Daily life was strictly regulated
and controlled using highly automated security systems, planning
computers, and omnipresent secret police informants. Despite the
rigors of life under a Technate, they enjoyed some success as they
successfully reversed the economic collapse of the mid-First Golden
Age within NorAmTech and allied countries.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Lunar Exotic Physics Laboratory</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Lunar Exotic Physics Laboratory was a deeply-buried scientific
research institution built on Earth's moon in the late Second Golden
Age. The laboratory was located twenty kilometers under the dark
side of the lunar surface to provide shielding against background
radiation, which provided some protection against scalar radiation
emitted by TYRANT. It subsequently became the only human outpost
within the Earth-Moon system to survive for more then two months
after TYRANT's reactivation, continuing to transmit increasingly
incoherent reports to the survivors elsewhere in the solar system for
five years after the loss of Earth. The contents of these
transmissions are a level two memetic hazard, classified as
MaxConInfo and secured with the security phrase MAGENTA MIRROR.
Access to MAGENTA MIRROR is available only with authorization from
the HIEROPHANT InfoCon Committee.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Lunar Exotic Physics Laboratory
after TYRANT</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Lunar Exotic Physics Laboratory continued to transmit increasingly
incoherent reports to human survivors elsewhere in the solar system
for five years after the loss of Earth. Further information is a
level two memetic hazard, classified as MaxConInfo and secured with
the security phrase MAGENTA MIRROR. Access to MAGENTA MIRROR is
available only with authorization from the HIEROPHANT InfoCon
Committee.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: SpaceX</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: SpaceX</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Private
commercial entity operating in the early 21<sup>st</sup> century,
providing space launch services. Absorbed by the National Space
Cartel following the formation of the North American Technate.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Wall of Shame</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Wall of Shame</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Public
list of individuals who have brought dishonor upon themselves by
acting contrary to the interests of humanity. A full list is
available from the Honor Roll Server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Average life during
First/Second Golden Age, Dark Age, Dark Republic</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
query is too broad to be answered. Please clarify and resubmit.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Attempts at communicating with
alien lifeforms</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
query is too broad to be answered. Please clarify and resubmit.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: DICTIONARY ATTACK</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ongoing
security phrase clarification effort. Next meeting is scheduled for
08:20 tomorrow.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: VAMPIRE</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prehuman
reptilian species formerly found on Earth, believed to have evolved
locally. Also known as Snake Men in DocInt. Flourished
approximately 200 million years ago, while the Architects were still
active on Earth, before becoming extinct during the Triassic-Jurassic
extinction event. According to DocInt, some individuals may have
survived until the modern age, but this is unconfirmed.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
DocInt, VAMPIRE are described as ruthlessly individualistic by
nature, ordinarily unable to cooperate in groups. VAMPIRE
civilization only emerged after the development of highly
ego-suppressing religions; indoctrinated with these beliefs from
birth, members of VAMPIRE learned to identify their own selves and
interests with their paramount leader, who they worshipped as a god.
These totalistic belief systems allowed some form of social
cooperation and civilization to emerge, but VAMPIRE civilizations
were always riven with internal in-fighting and civil war, and
individual leaders were very rarely able to extend their authority
beyond a single city-state. As a result, they were unable to react
effectively to the climate change following the volcanic eruptions in
the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, and went extinct. The
veracity of this account is uncertain but believed reliable.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Further
information on VAMPIRE is MaxConInfo with security phrase CRYSTAL
TOWER. You are not cleared for this information.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: HOMING PIGEON</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Plasma-based
living entities, summonable and controllable using hypergeometric
technology. Also known as “Fire Vampires” in DocInt. Formerly
classified as FIRE VAMPIRE in the HIEROPHANT data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Very
little information is available on HOMING PIGEON. According to
DocInt, HOMING PIGEON dwell on the star Fomalhaut, and are led by an
entity known as Cthugha, but this information may be unreliable.
They appear to the naked eye as a collection of floating points of
light, and emit high-intensity infrared and gamma radiation in all
directions. HOMING PIGEON has been employed by servant-cultists and
other Enemies of Humankind as an offensive weapon against the
Republic; however, with appropriate preparations, they do not
constitute a major threat. Cryogenic rifles firing canisters of
highly-cooled liquid nitrogen have proven extremely effective in the
field, as have high-yield agitator rifle strikes. Armor optimized
against laser weaponry is also an effective defensive measure against
HOMING PIGEON.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Human-allied ETs</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
only known human-allied ET's are the Zeta Reticulans.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response from
HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Most deviated non-baselines</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No information is
available in response to this query. This query has been forwarded
to the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response from
Public Data Server to Query: Most deviated non-baselines</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This query requests
a subjective opinion and cannot be answered.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: VERBOSE RABBIT</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Exotic
vacuum-dwelling life form. Also known as “Star Vampires” in
DocInt.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Very
little information is available on VERBOSE RABBIT. According to
DocInt and attack survivors, they are ordinarily invisible but
tangible, and are able to fly or hover. They attack biological
entities and consume their blood, during which time they are briefly
visible before the blood is fully digested. Their physical nature
and structure is unknown at this time, and the HIEROPHANT
Xenobiological Documentation Committee has a standing request for any
data or physical samples that can be obtained.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: NorAmTech National Space Cartel</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: NorAmTech National Space Cartel</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Official
national monopoly on space industrial services of the North American
Technate, formed by the forcible merger of existing commercial and
government organizations in the field. Provided satellite
manufacture, satellite launch, space science, and space exploration
services. Also briefly involved in an unsuccessful asteroid mining
venture in the 2050s, which ultimately proved cost-prohibitive
compared to oceanic mining. Destroyed during the Last War.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from HIEROPHANT Data Server to Query: Economic organization during
the Second Golden Age</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
information is available in response to this query. This query has
been forwarded to the public data server.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Response
from Public Data Server to Query: Economic organization during the
Second Golden Age</b></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Economic
organization varied considerably over time during the Second Golden
Age, and a full analysis would exceed 400 pages. A brief summary
has been attached.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Following
the signing of the Unification Treaty in 2,452 AD, most global trade
barriers were lifted, but states initially retained their internal
economic organization. The South African Technate was organized on
a strictly technocratic, centrally-controlled model, the South
American states operated on mixed public/private models, while New
Zealand and most of the emergent new states operated on loose, mostly
private models.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Over
the next several centuries, global economic organization was slowly
homogenized by a mixture of natural economic forces and UN policy.
The basic global model was a mixed public/private system, in which
the UN owned and operated the increasingly automated agricultural,
mining, and manufacturing facilities, while private entities competed
in services and the field of design, research, etc.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Individual
consumers received a monthly stipend from the state, in addition to
any salary from private employment. Physical goods would be
purchased electronically from a state factory. The factory would
produce the good, and credit funds to the originator of the design or
technology used in making it. Although this required an extremely
sophisticated and agile manufacturing architecture, Second Golden Age
industrial technology was equal to the task.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
</div>
</div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-8865896507636666042015-04-14T08:03:00.003-07:002015-05-10T15:40:41.562-07:00CH2: Homecoming, Part 14<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Mission to
Elysium</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
5,024 AD, Mara and Dee were dispatched to Elysium, with the mission
of making contact with the Elysium Zealots. Their objective was to
set up a network within the city to distribute propaganda and conduct
other operations, and to gather information on the situation of Lee
Ludei, who had been imprisoned by order of the Autarch.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According to Dee's
memoirs, they entered Elysium by traveling from Lucky Strike to
Elysium through Ferrograd using false documentation identifying them
as unbonded citizens of Polar Three employed by a licensed public
newsfile service. On arrival they made contact with several groups
of student activists operating out of Elysium Academy, via the Blue
Marble Tavern, later infamous as a hangout for Zealots in this time
period. They quickly became involved in writing and distributing
illegal Zealot propaganda and, later in robberies to fund the
revolution. Over the next few years, the center of gravity of the
Republican cause shifted from the Wastelands to the hives of Elysium
itself, although Ermon and other Republicans who were too “hot”
to return to Elysium continued to operate in camps in the Wastes.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By 5,026 AD,
according to Dee's memoirs, the Republican network operating in
Elysium numbered approximately one hundred persons.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/04/ch2-homecoming-part-13.html">Previous</a> <a href="http://toxic-stars.blogspot.com/2015/04/interlude-10-special-delivery.html">Next</a></span>
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</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975209573544098993.post-43533767942633434962015-04-14T08:01:00.001-07:002015-04-29T07:43:11.439-07:00CH2: Homecoming, Part 13<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }</style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Left,
right, left</i>... Mara staggered up the spiraling catwalk,
struggling to run with the leaden weight of Dee on her back.
Somewhere behind and below she could hear shouting, the cultists hot
on their trail.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Above
her she could see a bridge leading from the catwalk to the
wall-gantries of the Hive, close to an elevator. If they could
reach that, they were as good as free. She tried to move faster, to
summon some as-yet untapped reserve, but it was all she could do to
keep putting one foot in front of the other.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Right,
left</i>... Footsteps behind her, close. There was a narrow space
between two containers to their side, and she squirmed into the gap
and set Dee on the ground behind her, almost standing on top of her.
She drew the knife, and tensed to spring.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
didn't see Mara until she was already on top of him, driving the
blunt knife towards his neck. By some miracle it found his throat,
and he collapsed. He blubbered blood and struggled for an instant,
but Mara held him down, and he stopped moving. She staggered to her
feet, gasping for air, blackness starting to fog the edge of her
vision. He must have gotten ahead of the pack, but the rest would
be coming on soon. <i>Need to move</i>, <i>I need to </i>move, and
she sobbed with exhaustion and terror as she pulled Dee to her feet
and staggered on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Each
step was an eternity of struggle. Mara was on fire with pain –
but finally they rounded the bend and she could see the bridge ahead
of her, steel slats lying on thin plastic cables. If they could get
across, it would be the work of a moment to cut the plastic, and
there wasn't another bridge to this side of the Hive for four levels
down.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
that was when Tam appeared on the other side of the bridge.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She
grinned. “Thought you'd go this way.” The pistol was in her
hand, pointing at Mara's chest.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mara
let go of Dee. Her lungs bellowed, sucking down air.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">You
know, I don't care what you've seen.” Tam's tone was
conversational, almost friendly. She started to walk across the
bridge, slowly, not in any hurry. “I see His Glory in my dreams
every night. What could your words mean to me?”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mara's
eyes were locked on the muzzle of the pistol, focused on it like she
was hypnotized.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">I've
seen the glory of the Last City. I've seen the abomination of
desolation. We are as nothing before the Final God. To be able to
sing His praises is enough. But that won't stop me from killing
you.” Tam's smile widened in anticipation. And then she made a
mistake.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tam's
foot came down in a gap between the bridge slats. For a moment she
glanced down, and Mara hurled herself forward, reaching for the gun.
There was a moment of frenzied struggle, the crack of a shot, and
then Mara's momentum carried them forward, and she slammed Tam's head
into the bridge, again and again and again and again, until she the
steel was stained with blood. She felt Tam go limp under her, and
she reached for the gun, found it, aimed it, pulled the trigger,
once, twice, the roar of the gun deafening.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">----</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
successfully escaped, but Dee was injured. I have relocated as
planned in the event of compromise, and believe our current position
is secure. Will communicate with further information as available.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mara
saved the document, encrypted it, and pulled the datastick from her
tablet. It would go to their contact in Lucky Strike tomorrow.
She leaned back against the steel wall and sighed.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They
were in the Bowels again, in a cavernous former warehouse. She
wasn't sure if the cultists would keep tracking them, but she figured
they wouldn't expect them to head down instead of up, and this was as
safe as any other place. She'd deposited Dee here, then made a
brief trip upwards to get supplies and their gear and spray every
surface of their former domicile with industrial cleanser, to destroy
any forensic traces.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She
tried to think, to clear the cobwebs from her brain, to think of
anything else she needed to do before she could sleep. She'd
cleaned and bandaged Dee's wound as best as she could – it looked
like the bullet had gone straight through. She hoped Dee wouldn't
need a doctor.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She
needed to sleep.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Mara?”
Dee mumbled.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“<span style="font-size: small;">Yeah?”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
a minute, she thought Dee had fallen back asleep, but then she spoke
again. “Killing Lir... You know, in the waste, I envied you.
You seemed... hard. Like it wasn't anything to you, to kill. I
thought...” She trailed off again. “Does it get any easier?”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mara
sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, it gets easier.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And,
with that, she slept.</span></span></div>
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</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523189413175446117noreply@blogger.com0